Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Wild Scriptures

Wednesday, August 30, 2006 -- Week of Proper 16

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm 119:1-24 (morning) // 12, 13, 14 (evening)
Job 6:1, 7:1-21
Acts 10:1-16
John 7:1-13

There seems to be loose dealing with sacred things all over the scriptures today. Job sounds like he is taunting God. Peter has a vision that leads him to overturn traditional scriptural categories of clean and unclean. Jesus says one thing and then does another.

Let's start with Job. The first ten verses sound like a lament that could come from millions of humans living today. One fifth of humanity lives on less than $1 a day. Job's words sound like the complaint that describes so many people trapped in desperate and marginal lives.

But then, with remarkable audacity, Job taunts God using sarcastic words that parody that great Psalm 8 -- "What is man that you should be mindful of him?" Turning the psalm on its ear, Job cries, "What are human beings, that you make so much of them, that you set your mind on them, visit them every morning, test them every moment? Will you not look away from me for a while?" Job is challenging God. "Leave me alone. Am I that big a deal to you, God, that you must spend your energy making me miserable?" Job speaks his mind to God with rare boldness.

Peter sees a vision of clean and unclean animals. He knows which is which because the distinction is made clear in Hebrew scripture. "Get up, Peter; kill and eat." The voice contradicts scripture and tradition. Peter refuses. "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean." Even though this tradition has been carefully observed for centuries; even though the scriptures that mark the clean from the unclean animals have been obeyed for centuries -- the voice says, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." The vision challenges the authority of the tradition and scripture that Peter has known.

Peter's response is what some today would call a revisionist response. He follows the vision and revises the tradition and scripture. His decision will be the door that opens the Gospel to the entire Gentile world. Had Peter remained loyal to the tradition and scripture, he would have inhibited the expansion of the Gospel beyond its identity as a reformist sect within Judaism.

Jesus tells his brothers, "I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come." Two verses later, "after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret." I was a kid when I first read this. It sounded completely believable. I said one thing and did another all the time. Reading as an adult, the story gives me pause today. What is truth-telling? ...consistency? ...a change of mind?

Wild scriptures today. Job taunts God, playing loose with the psalm. Peter sees a vision that contradicts tradition and reason. Jesus says one thing and does another. Makes you wonder.

Lowell
________________


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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Friends and Trust

Tuesday, August 29, 2006 -- Week of Proper 16

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Discussion Blog: To comment on today's reflection or readings, go to http://lowellsblog.blogspot.com, find today's reading, click "comment" at the bottom of the reading, and post your thoughts.

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm 5,6 (morning) // 10, 11 (evening)
Job 6:1-4, 8-15, 21
Acts 9:32-43
John 6:60-71

Sometimes friends don't come through. Job complains that his "companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed, ...you see my calamity, and are afraid." His suffering and his condition is intimidating. And he is not one who rewards his visitors by being overly solicitous with them. He has even asked God to release him and let him die.

It is not easy to be with a friend in such distress. His friends are unable to be with him simply, to accept his suffering and his complaint. In various ways they try to "fix" him. They offer Job advice. They speak to defend God in the face of Job's complaint that his suffering is unjust. Job's isolation is magnified by the failure of his friends, who "see my calamity, and are afraid."

In the gospel we see Jesus in the midst of a dispute with his friends. They have been confused and offended by his graphic language -- "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." Part of what Jesus is doing is absorbing human life in all its earthy reality, including pain, suffering and death. He unites himself to our life and takes it into eternal life. He invites his friends to let the earthy reality of their lives be assumed into the spiritual. Ultimately "it is the spirit that gives life." He tells them "the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

Some of his friends can't go with him. They turn away. Even some of the twelve seem involved in the dissent. Peter speaks a word to recommit them. "You have the words of eternal life."

Job's friends refuse to surrender to their confusion and fear. They keep trying to fix him. They continue to be part of Job's burden, and ultimately God will not confirm their ministries. Peter surrenders even though confused and fearful. He accepts his unknowing and places simple trust in Jesus.

Our instincts to control and fix often block us from the life giving "spirit and life" of simple acceptance in trust. Peter doesn't know what the future will be. If it did, he might have shuddered in his recommitment. But with simple acceptance and trust he will have what he needs when he needs it. He's not in control. That's okay.

We get a peek into his future in the stories from Acts. After the passion and death of Jesus. After the resurrection. Peter is healing a paralytic and resuscitating a woman from death. Now he has the words of eternal life. He's living in the spirit that gives life.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Tricky Reading

Monday, August 28, 2006 -- Week of Proper 16 (Augustine of Hippo)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm 1, 2, 3 (morning) // 4, 7 (evening)
Job 4:1, 5:1-11, 17-21, 26-27
Acts 9:19b-31
John 6:52-59

(Note: the second half of today's gospel reading along with most of tomorrow's reading was the gospel for yesterday's Sunday Eucharists. My sermon on this passage is found on our web site at http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id165.html or at www.lowellsermons.blogspot.com)

Reading Job can be tricky. You have to remember who the narrator is. Today Eliphaz speaks. He rebukes Job by arguing from a traditional orthodox perspective. He defends the justice of God by saying that the universe will turn against the wrongdoer. He tells Job to trust God who will indeed execute justice -- punishing the wicked and saving the righteous. Job will be safe with God. (You can almost see the Psalmist who wrote today's psalms in the background agreeing. "Listen to Eliphaz, Job. 'For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed. ...Happy are they all who take refuge in him! ...Deliverance belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be upon your people!'"

But it's not that clear. The whole point of the book of Job is that this comfortable, confident, conventional theology falls short. God does not confirm the words and theology of Eliphaz. Sometimes the innocent suffer and the unjust exercise power. That is the way it is.

In the end Job will be overwhelmed by a mystical experience of God which will bring him peace. But the naive religious confidence of voices like Eliphaz and today psalmist is not confirmed by God.

In Jesus, we have another answer to the problem of evil and injustice. Jesus meets and absorbs evil and injustice with nothing but love. He is raised from the dead. Dorothy Sayers says it nicely: "God did not abolish the fact of evil. He
transformed it. He did not stop the crucifixion. He rose from the dead."

Lowell
___________

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Friday, August 25, 2006

Silence

Friday, August 25, 2006 -- Week of Proper 15 (Louis of France)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm 140, 142 (morning) // 141, 143:1-11(12) (evening)
Job 2:1-13
Acts 9:1-9
John 6:27-40

Sometimes words cannot help. When Job's three friends come to see him after his tragedies, they cry, they tear their robes as a sign of mourning, and they sit with him for seven days and nights, saying nothing to him. They do not speak until Job speaks. (It might have been better had they continued to observe silence with him. Their speeches will not help.)

Sometimes words cannot help. I know of someone who suffered from a lengthy bout of depression. The person who he found best supported him was someone who came by regularly and sat with him without feeling the need to engage in conversation. His silence and faithful presence was a powerful sign of unqualified love.


Lowell

_
_______________________________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Job & Philip

Thursday, August 24, 2006 -- Week of Proper 15 (St. Bartholomew)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm 131, 132, [133] (morning) // 134, 135 (evening)
Job 1:1-22
Acts 8:26-40
John 6:16-27

I was a freshman in college. The class was called "The History of Ideas." Our teacher was introducing the book of Job. She knew to whom she was speaking. For the most part, we were all good boys and girls who had been raised on the buckle of the Bible Belt.

"You've all been taught that God is good. God is all good; is that right?" "Yes," we answered. (Everybody knew that.) "And you've been taught that God is powerful. God is all powerful; is that right?" "Yes," we answered. (Everybody knew that.) "So, class. Why is there evil and injustice? Especially evil and injustice that happens to the innocent, like the suffering of an innocent child. Either God is good but not powerful enough to stop injustice, or God is powerful but not good enough to stop injustice." On that day, I became an agnostic.

Today we begin to read one of the great creations of ancient literature and philosophy -- the Book of Job. It is a passionate, sustained reflection that asks: Is God's governance of the world just? Like many of us, the ancients saw justice as the activity of upholding the righteous and punishing the guilty. How do you explain God's activity in the presence of the suffering of the innocent?

The story is personalized: "There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job." The prologue which we read today lets us know something that Job's friends will not know -- Job is genuinely innocent, and God is testing him.

The testing begins. All of his possessions and his family is destroyed in a single day. What would I do?

Job mourned, worshipped, accepted his disaster and blessed God. "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing." We are in for a treat. For the next month we'll be reading Job.
______

The story of Philip's witness to the eunuch from the Ethiopian court touches some of the same theme as Job. Though highly placed in a position of great trust, we sense some deep sadness in this eunuch. He is moved by the description of Isaiah's suffering servant. Maybe he too is a suffering servant. (Maybe he knows that scripture excludes people like him from the congregation of God's people -- Lev. 21:20, Dt. 23:1)

Philip tells this unnamed eunuch the story of Jesus, the cursed one who suffered and who rose to new life. The eunuch is moved: "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" Philip could have answered Leviticus 21:20 and Deuteronomy 23:1, but he didn't.

It is a major theme of the Luke-Acts narrative that in Jesus God breaks down obstructions separating people from God's kingdom. In Luke 11:52 Jesus chides the religious lawyers who interpret others out of the kingdom. In 18:16 Jesus welcomes the little children. In Acts 10-11 the door is opened for Gentiles. Those who previously were barred from full inclusion are welcome. It is a major New Testament theme. Here's the Good News -- the eunuch is welcome. Nothing is to prevent his welcome into the congregation.

Lowell
________________________________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Contrasting Styles of Power

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 -- Week of Proper 15

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm 119:145-176 (morning) // 128, 129, 130 (evening)
Judges 18:16-31
Acts 8:14-25
John 6:1-15

Today's readings offer some contrasting examples of ways to exercise power and authority.

In our first lesson we read the conclusion of the story of the founding of the tribe of Dan. It's a pretty sorry story. It starts with some cursed silver that the household of Micah tries to redeem by taking part of it and casting an idol. Then a traveling priest comes by and accepts the opportunity to become the priest of the household.

Spies from the tribe of Dan discover the household while they are scouting for vulnerable cities. They find the isolated town of Laish where they observe a people "living securely, ...quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing on earth, and possessing wealth." They also find the home sanctuary of Micah. The tribe returns, attacks and burns the city, then forcibly takes the idol and appointments of Micah's sanctuary. The opportunistic priest goes with them. It's a good deal for him economically. He can be bought. Might makes right. (There are several references elsewhere in scripture to the belligerent nature of the tribe of Dan.)

That's one way to exercise power and authority. We get a different picture in the two New Testament readings. In John's gospel Jesus takes the modest offering of peasant's bread and fish from a little boy. He feeds the multitude. All are satisfied and there is an abundance left over. In the Acts of the Apostles, a scouting party of Hellenists go to Samaria (a region hostile to Jews; the home of an heretical sect). When the people receive the gospel the apostles Peter and James come to help promote the spread of the Holy Spirit. They have a confrontation with a local magician named Simon who offers money for the spiritual power they demonstrate. Peter chastises Simon in strong terms. The gifts of the Spirit are not for sale. Purify your heart.

Contrasting stories. In one power is exercised in that old fashioned way -- money and physical threat. In the others, a new manifestation of power -- generosity and service. Not a bad measuring rod when judging between authorities.
___________________________

Lowell

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Interpreting Scriptures

Tuesday, August 22, 2006 -- Week of Proper 15

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123 (morning) // 124, 125, 126, [127] (evening)
Judges 18:1-15
Acts 8:1-13
John 5:30-47

Jesus is in conflict with those who have seen the works that he has done, works of compassion, healing, and abundant feeding. Although they have seen these good things that Jesus is doing, they are stumped because they cannot peg Jesus into a place of authority that they are comfortable with. Part of the problem, it seems, is the Bible.

"You search the Bible because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf." The people whom Jesus is addressing have searched the scriptures, and they don't see it the same way Jesus does. They do not see that Jesus is fulfilling the expectations that they have from their interpretation of the Bible. Jesus offers them his own interpretation, but they disagree.

Part of what Jesus is claiming in this passage is that John the Baptizer has functioned in the Biblically expected role of being the forerunner of the Messiah. We can find some of the other Biblical references Jesus may have used to interpret his ministry. But these interpretations are not convincing to this group. They are probably holding out for a Messiah who fulfills the conventional hopes -- a powerful leader who will restore Israel to power and expel her occupiers. (Those are Messianic prophesies of scripture.)

So this group reads their scripture and rejects Jesus' ministry. Jesus points to the scripture that drives his vision. They point to the scripture that drives their ministry.

How do you judge between them? There's a great hint in this passage. The critical principle is knowing God's love. Jesus is accusing these who reject him as not knowing God, not hearing God's voice. The ultimate critique: "I know that you do not have the love of God in you." That's why they are misinterpreting the scripture. That's why they can't see his authenticity. It's all about love.

Those who love catch on. Those who follow a God of love are drawn to him. That is the "name" of the Father that Jesus comes from. In the sentence after he references God's love, Jesus says "I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me." This same Johannine tradition will write simply in the epistles: "God is love."

The love of God and following a God of love is the interpreting centerpiece. Those who read the scriptures and interpret it from the perspective of a God of love will recognize the Messiah. Those who are looking for a different kind of God and a different kind of messiah will not recognize Jesus as he truly is.

Lowell
________________________________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Dealing With Novelty

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 -- Week of Proper 14 (St. Mary the Virgin)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 979)
Psalm 97, 99, [100] (morning) // 94, [95] (evening)
Judges 13:1-15
Acts 5:27-42
John 3:22-36

Dealing with Novelty

In Acts 5 we have the gentle example of Gamaliel whose reconciling words bring some relief to an escalating religious conflict. Peter and the disciples are preaching a novelty. It is a teaching that has some bite to it in that they accuse the religious authorities of wrong action. "You wrongly killed Jesus," they are saying. "He has risen and so God has justified him. He is the Messiah."

Peter's argument is not convincing. A crucified Messiah is a hard sell, especially to the authorities who consented to his crucifixion. Peter rubs it in by saying you "hung him on a tree." The Holiness Code of the Torah says "cursed be all who are hung on a tree." A Messiah who is cursed by Holy Scripture is a hard sell.

The authorities have tried to stop this novelty by putting them in prison. That didn't shut them up. They believe that they are following God's will. They have said they will continue to proclaim the crucified Jesus. They must obey God's authority rather than the religious authority.

Most systems with authoritative power would ratchet up the punishment at this point. Banish them; throw them out of the community; maybe longer prison terms; some corporal punishment; the threat or the act of capital punishment if necessary. But Gamaliel offers a gentler option.

We've seen other novelties come and go. Don't get too anxious about this one. If it is not of God, it will not last too long. But, if it is of God, you can't stop it, and you might even find yourself fighting God. Let them alone. The council accepts this moderate proposal, and the disciples are flogged, admonished and left alone.

Many years ago I was on the National Cursillo Committee. A dear friend who is now a Bishop successfully proposed a resolution that leadership roles is Cursillo would be withheld from people whose lifestyle was inappropriate -- it was a resolution targeting people who were gay. The next year, two people who had been long-time diocesan leaders in their Cursillo communities asked the committee to reconsider its decision. One of those person's cited this story of Gamaliel. "You don't have to accept or agree with us. Just let us alone. Don't ban us. Let us offer our ministries." We adjourned for prayer. This was the reading appointed. Later that day the committee rescinded the policy.

Recently a rector and most of his congregation in Kansas sought to leave the Diocese of Kansas because of their objection to the decisions of the General Convention. Instead of going to litigation to prevent the group from retaining any interest in the church property (all church property is held in trust by the diocese on behalf of the whole Episcopal Church), the diocese negotiated with the priest and congregation that was leaving. They arrived at a fair and mutually agreeable settlement. The diocese bought the church's property and assumed its debt, allowing the group to leave with some resources to begin their new church. The diocese is now helping those who wished to remain Episcopalians to renew their congregation in the old building.

How can Gamaliel's law help us in these times of conflict?
__________________

A quick note about the first reading. It was struck by Manoa's question of the angel. This promised child will be special -- under a Nazarite vow for life. The father asks, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy's rule of life; what is he to do?"

Having a rule of life is an important part of our spiritual practice. Reading Morning Prayer and writing my Morning Reflections is a part of my rule of life. Summer is a good time to review a rule of life. What is it? How is it going? What needs to be changed, renewed?

Lowell
__________________________________________________________________________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Monday, August 14, 2006

Light and Dark

Monday, August 14, 2006 -- Week of Proper 14 (Jonathan Myrick Daniels)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(p. 979)
Psalm 89:1-18 (morning) // 89:19-52 (evening)
Judges 12:1-7
Acts 5:12-26
John 3:1-21

There is some irony in the juxtaposition of the readings today. In Judges we have the story of Jephthah, who is like a character out of a Mafia movie. The illegitimate son of the tribal chieftain Gilead, he was hounded out of town by his legitimate brothers. So he left from there and gathered a gang of outlaws around him. When the Gileadites began to be oppressed by the Ammonites, they went to Jephthah to ask him to help them. He still holds a grudge. I'll fight for you, he says, only if you'll make me your head and commander.

Jephthah provoked the Ammonites into battle. Before the fight, he made a vow to God -- if you will give me victory, I will offer to you as a human sacrifice "whoever comes out of my house to meet me when I return victorious from the Ammonites." He wins the battle, and sure enough, his only child, a daughter comes out to meet him first. She accepts her fate and begs for two months reprieve to mourn her virginity. After the two months, she is offered up by Jephthah as a burnt sacrifice.

That's what happened up to today's reading. Today, the men of Ephraim come to pick a fight because they weren't call to fight the Ammonites and enjoy the spoils of battle. So Jephthah with his army of Gileadites fight and defeat the Ephraimites. At each ford, they challenge the stragglers with a password -- "Shibboleth." Since the Ephraimites can't pronounce their "h's", anyone who says "Sibboleth" is killed. The saga closes, "Jephthah judged Israel six years." You can almost hear the unwritten next sentence, "then he slept with the fishes."

In our gospel Jesus enjoys a verbal repartee with the likable Pharisee Nicodemus, inviting Nicodemus to expand his consciousness. "You must be born from above (or anew). ...What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. ...The wind/Spirit blows where it will." Then Jesus identifies his own ministry with the Spirit and complements anyone who will love light and live in light.

The world of Jephthah and the world of Jesus seem like the worlds of darkness and light. Jephthah's is a violent world where might is power. Jesus' is a non-violent world where love is power. To get from one world to the other is like being born again, being born from above. There is a saying that the Archbishop of Canterbury recalled a few years ago commenting on the lack of imagination in our generation as we face threatening conflicts: "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Jephthah is a man who solves problems with a hammer. Jesus, the carpenter, is a man who solves problems with Spirit.

"And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light... But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Lowell
__________________________________________________________________________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Friday, August 11, 2006

Signs in Cana

Friday, August 11, 2006 -- Week of Proper 13 (Clare)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(p. 979)
Psalm 88 (morning) // 91, 92 (evening)
Judges 9:1-16, 19-21
Acts 4:13-31
John 2:1-12

Signs are important to John's gospel. Signs point to God's presence in the activities of Jesus. To see the signs and to understand them fosters belief that Jesus is from God.

The first of the signs that John narrates is today's story of the wedding in Cana. A social catastrophe has occurred. The wedding hosts have run out of wine. At his mother's bidding, Jesus has the servants fill large stone water jars with water, and they become wine. The feast's steward complements the bridegroom that the best wine was saved for last.

Interpreters have long enjoyed the metaphor of water turned to wine. It is an image of plain, colorless life that becomes filled with color and taste. Wine is a symbol of ecstasy. Sharing wine together is a way that people relax and enjoy fellowship with one another. There is a happy restfulness associated with wine. There is also a danger associated with its power.

Jesus' first sign in John's gospel is to act to save a celebration and feast by turning water into wine. He is the life of the party. In the other gospel stories, at his last supper with his friends, Jesus will take wine, bless it and give it to them, identifying the gift of wine with his own death. Recalling Jewish tradition that the life is in the blood, he will give his life's blood as a sign of the new life that they will recall to their presence each time they drink the cup of salvation. He is still the life of the party.

For many people Cana has again become a sign. On a recent Sunday morning Israeli missiles struck buildings in Cana and killed 56 people, 34 we children. Memories returned to a similar incident in 1996 when over 100 people were killed in the shelling of a refugee camp at Cana. Tel Aviv University political science professor Ze'ez Maoz speaks for many Israelis saying, "This war is not a just war. Israel is using excessive force without distinguishing between civilian population and enemy, whose sole purpose is extortion. That is not to say that morality and justice are on Hezbollah's side. Most certainly not. But the fact that Hezbollah 'started it' when it kidnapped soldiers from across an international border does not even begin to tilt the scales of justice toward our side." Just as the U.S.'s reliance on war has resulted in extreme civilian suffering, a civil war in Iraq and the empowerment of the region's most extreme state, Iran, so Israel's excessive violence has provoked extreme suffering and the empowerment of Hezbollah as the heroes of the Arab world.

Today is the feast of St. Clare of Assisi, who heard her neighbor Francis preach at the first gathering of his order in 1212. A wealthy and beautiful woman, she embraced "holy poverty" and spent her life serving the poor and neglected with works of mercy. During her last illness, the Pope was among the many who visited her bedside. We still use her blessing in our liturgy, first spoken from that bed: "Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. God forth without fear, for he that has created you has sanctified you, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be God, for having created me."

I wonder if a new spirit of charity and fearlessness might be the new wine that could restore life and peace to our day.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Thursday, August 10, 2006

The Only Name?

Thursday, August 10, 2006 -- Week of Proper 13 (Laurence)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(p. 979)
Psalm [83] or 145 (morning) // 85, 86 (evening)
Judges 8:22-35
Acts 4:1-12
John 1:43-51

At the end of today's reading from Acts, we have one of two verses in the Gospel that express our confidence and faith in Jesus in its most exclusive form. (the other is John 14:6) Peter is talking to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish authorities with whom Jesus and the early church had their most severe conflicts. Peter tells them that the healing of the lame man was done by the power of the name of "Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead." He quotes a favorite text of the early church, Psalm 118:22 -- "the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone." The Peter closes: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."

There are some who interpret this verse, along with John's text, "No one comes to the Father except through me," to mean that unless a person commits to Christianity and to Jesus specifically, that person cannot come to the Father, cannot be saved. Gandhi, Rumi, and eventually the Dalai Lama when he dies -- all are destined for eternal hell.

I am among those who are bothered by that interpretation. First of all, it is contrary to the kind of person we see in Jesus, who is God incarnate. Second, it seems contrary to the God that Jesus points us to.

There are many other verses that have a more inclusive flavor -- whoever is not against me is for me, I have sheep that are not of this fold, whoever does the will of God is a friend of God, I will lose nothing, etc. (On my "to-do-one-of-these-days checklist is to make a study of the inclusive passages of both testaments.) Jesus' own activity is profoundly inclusive toward those outside his circle of disciples and outside Judaism. He typically directs loyalty and thanksgiving toward God, not to himself.

To me, these verses are a way the early church had for expressing the fullness of its experience of the saving power of Jesus. "Can anything or anyone be more wonderful?" they exclaim. It's a little like saying, "You are the best Mom in the world. My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world."

In this passage attributed to Peter, we have the additional element that he is challenging the authority of the Sanhedrin and the authority of the law. The Sadducees assert that there is no resurrection. They are the conservative party of first century Judaism, accepting the authority only of the Torah, which makes no claim of resurrection. Peter is challenging them. Peter is challenging their theology. We tend to make our most polemical statements in such scenes of debate.

I'm bothered by the exclusivist interpretations that tend to picture God in such tribal terms. We shouldn't limit God's mercy.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

What kind of Messiah?

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 -- Week of Proper 13

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 979)
Psalm 119:97-120 (morning) // 81, 82 (evening)
Judges 7:19 - 8:12
Acts 3:12-26
John 1:29-42

In our Judges reading, Gideon defeats the armies of the Midianites through the instrumentality of God. Enemy commanders are executed. It is a story of a holy war. God puts the enemy to panic and the armies slay them. There is a lot of bloodshed.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter uses the healing of the lame man as an opportunity to witness to Jesus near the Temple. He speaks in classical prophetic language.

It is unlikely that the progression of his argument would have been convincing to all. There is a weak point, or at least, a point of contention. Peter says, "God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer." I can hear the mumblings of the crowd. "Whoa. All the prophets? Where does it say that? Most of the prophecies about the Messiah speak of his triumph and power. We await the Messiah who will fight the holy war and expel the Romans and raise Israel again as the highest power."

A Messiah who suffers and is shamefully executed was a hard sell. It might still be.

Today we hear some Christian voices spinning the news of war and violence in the Middle East with their hopes in the same kind of Messiah that didn't come 2000 years ago. The expectations they have for Jesus' return look a lot more like Gideon than they look like Jesus of Nazareth. The "Left Behind" series and the "Late Great Planet Earth" and other apocalyptic Christian preaching anticipates the return of a Messiah who will fight the holy war and conquer all enemies and rule the world from Jerusalem. There is a lot of bloodshed.

But what if the Jesus who returns is the same Jesus as the Lord we know? What if the Messiah really works through suffering and compassion instead of through power and violence? It is as tempting for our generation as it was for theirs to hope for victory through might. That's not how God has manifested power through Jesus Christ. His is a victory through healing, compassion, forgiveness, and love. He is a vulnerable Messiah who takes upon himself the suffering and death of all the world, and raises it to new life. There is no bloodshed, except his own. And that blood is transfigured into the cup of salvation.

Many of those who listened to Peter rejected his words. They didn't want a Messiah who would suffer. Many voices in the Christian world seem to be of the same mind.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Radical Hospitality

Tuesday, August 8, 2006 -- Week of Proper 13 (Dominic)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web
site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(p. 979)
Psalm 781-39 (morning) // 78:40-72 (evening)
Judges 7:1-18
Acts 3:1-11
John 1:19-28

Under the Holiness Code of Leviticus, the lame were excluded from the Temple. "For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles." (Leviticus 21:18-20) Conventional religious thought believed these people to be sinners who were punished by God. They were not whole. Therefore, they were not worthy of entering the Temple for worship, and one who associated with them risked contamination.

One of the aspects of Jesus' ministry that caused public scandal was his willingness to associate with such people. He gave special attention in his healing work to those who were lame. He welcomed to his table fellowship those whom the Holiness Code marked as sinners.

Following Jesus' tradition, Peter does not avert his eye from the lame beggar, as might be done either by those who wish to insulate themselves from possible contamination or from the obligation to charity. Peter "looked intently at him, as did John." In the name of Jesus, Peter facilitates the man's healing.

Today at 5:30 we will have our healing service at St. Paul's. I've seen people healed through that service. Just the other day I had a note from someone who has found the healing ministry of our parish to be a source of healing, strength and hope, relieving him of pain, enabling his mobility, and giving him a joy and hope. I've known people to be physically healed. I've known people to be emotionally or spiritually healed. Healing happens. Sometimes healing happens though a disease or disability may not disappear.

One of the great healings that is at the center of the Jesus tradition is the inclusion and welcome of those who were considered broken or sinners. The radical hospitality of Jesus and the early church is one of the major themes of the Gospel witness. It was a cause of both scandal in the wider community and occasional conflict within the church. Peter helped open the door of inclusion to Gentiles, a door that Paul had to struggle to keep open throughout his ministry.

Maybe it is a sign of how successful the work of Jesus and the early church has been that we are no longer scandalized by the presence of someone who is lame. Radical hospitality is a mark of authentic discipleship. In our communion, those who are broken or "not whole" are welcome in our table fellowship, where they may leap and praise God as part of the holy community.

Lowell
__________________________________________________________________________________

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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Friday, August 04, 2006

From Deborah to Pentecost

Friday, August 4, 2006 -- Week of Proper 12

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(p. 977)
Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38 (morning) // 73 (evening)
Judges 5:1-18
Acts 2:1-21
Matthew 28:1-10

Judges 5 is among the oldest pieces of literature we have in the Bible, and our earliest example of Hebrew poetry. It was probably written soon after the events it describes, the great battle at the plain of the river Kishon, west of Mount Tabor at the Megiddo pass. Archeologists have evidence to date the battle around 1125 BCE.

The leader who calls Israel to battle is Deborah, the judge. She commanded Barak to lead the armies against Sisera the general of the Cannanite army of Jabin. He consents to lead in battle, as long as Deborah, the charismatic leader of Israel, will go with him. The poem gives her the honorific title "mother in Israel."

Victory comes largely because of a storm which causes the waters of the Kishon to rise and confound the chariot led army of Sisera. The poetry of the Song of Deborah praises the God of Israel who caused the storm which defeated the enemies.

This was a significant battle which effectively ended any united tribal resistance to Israel. In the poem, ten of the tribes are mentioned. Deborah had called Israel's tribes to war. The praises the six who responded, and she bitterly censures the four clans who did not answer her call.

Within the story of the victory, is the death of the Cannanite general Sisera at the hand of a woman, Jael, the wife of a Kenite named Heber. While Sisera was escaping, Jael welcomed him to her tent (there are sexual overtones), where she killed him with a tent peg and mallet. (Women usually set the tent pegs for the homes of these tribes.)

A quick note on the work of the Spirit. In this most ancient of passages, we see God's Spirit active in the charismatic leadership of a Judge of Israel, an office that arises when needed, filled by one chosen of God. We see God's Spirit creating the storm that brings flood which turns the battle.

In Matthew we see the power of God's Spirit accomplishing the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. And angel announces the news to the women. Jesus appears to the women and tells them to be his first witnesses. He will meet them all in Galilee.

In Acts we see the gift of the Spirit poured upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost. They are filled with power to speak God's praise in the language and dialect of other people. The Spirit is restoring the divisions of tribe and language.

The Spirit's activity presents a movement from tribal battle and death to resurrection and union. We're called to continue that trajectory.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Joseph of Arimathea

Thursday, August 3, 2006 -- Week of Proper 12

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 977)
Psalm [70], 71 (morning) // 74 (evening)
Judges 4:4-23
Acts 1:15-26
Matthew 27:55-66

Today we read Matthew's gospel account of the act of Joseph of Arimathea to provide a burial place for Jesus. (Joseph's feast day was Tuesday.) Matthew identifies him as "a rich man." Mark and Luke identify him as a member of the ruling council of the Sanhedrin which had condemned Jesus. John and Mark say that he was a disciple of Jesus, though John says he was a secret disciple because of fear. Luke describes him as a "good and righteous" man. In Mark's account, the "whole council" of the Sanhedrin is implicated as "looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death."

So Joseph of Arimathea is something of an icon for us. He is a person of power and community standing. He is a person of wealth. He is part of an institution that enacts injustice, yet he finds a way to act justly, with compassion.

Joseph uses his standing and his wealth to do something that may have been costly for him in several regards. He uses his connections to ask for the body of Jesus and he generously provides for a dignified burial in his own new tomb.

Jesus was a convicted and executed capital criminal. He had been condemned as deserving death on a charge of blasphemy by the religious authorities, the high priests and the Sanhedrin. Jesus had attacked the venerable and powerful religious institution of the Temple in Jerusalem and deserved to die. He had been convicted of treason or rebellion against the Empire and ordered to be tortured and publicly killed by crucifixion by Pilate the Roman political authority. For Joseph of Arimathea to use some of his personal capital to ask Pilate for the body of a rebel he has just executed took some courage. (Pilate was recalled to Rome a few years later for his heavy-handed dealing with disorders, and Rome had a pretty strong stomach for violent response to disorder.) How might it appear to both the political powers and the religious authorities that their friend Joseph showed kind interest in this criminal Jesus?

He gave of his own personal wealth to provide for Jesus burial. This would have been unexpected, bordering on the rebellious. More commonly the bodies of crucified criminals were left on the cross to be picked apart by carrion birds, the bones to be carried away by dogs. Part of the indignity and punishment was the horror of having no place of burial or remembrance. The person disappeared in the most undignified way possible. Joseph used his own personal power and wealth to act with compassion and courage toward Jesus. It was a costly act.

Joseph of Arimathea is a patron saint for those of us who enjoy a degree of power and for those of us who have some wealth. Thinking globally, each one of us as Americans enjoy unique status as members of the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world. Joseph is a model for us.

Joseph is an icon for the wealthy and powerful. How do you use your power or your influence? Are you willing to risk it on behalf of something or someone who may be right, but unpopular or out of favor? How do you use your wealth? Are you generous, especially in compassion to the weak or unfavored.

There are several places in scripture that speak sharply to the wealthy. Can a person be wealthy and faithful? "It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven." Joseph stands as a model for a person of wealth and power who uses those gifts generously for good.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

The Death that Opens

Wednesday, August 2, 2006 -- Week of Proper 12

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(p. 977)
Psalm 72 (morning) // 119:73-96 (evening)
Judges 3:12-30
Acts 1:1-14
Matthew 27:45-54

We have today Mathew's account of Jesus' death. He speaks those words of utter abandonment, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It is a reminder to every person who has experienced themselves as desperately alone and even abandoned by God that, in truth, God is with us. Even the experience of being abandoned by God is in God's heart.

The words are from the opening of Psalm 22, which speaks of the awful suffering of one who is in a dire, life-threatening situation. Yet that psalm ends with a universal redemption. "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall bow before him." Even "all who sleep in the earth" will join in worship of God, according to the psalm. A vision of the whole world united in praise of God, who is present to all.

So in Matthew's account, when Jesus breathes his last (or gives up his spirit), immediately the "curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom," opening up the Holy of Holies to the entire world. On the outside of the curtain was pictured the zodiac, the pattern of the stars of heaven. Just as when Jesus was baptized, so now, the heavens open. The curtain between humanity and the holy, between heaven and earth is torn in Christ's death. Tombs open and the dead are raised.

Our attention shifts a few weeks forward to Acts 1. Jesus has risen. He has appeared to his disciples. They know him to be alive. They know that death is conquered. In this account from Luke, before his departure Jesus promises to the disciples the gift of "power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." They (we) will be his witnesses "to the ends of the earth."

In Christ, God is revealed in power, breaking down all of the barriers, political and religious, opening to the other nations and to all people the intimacy of God's presence with us, even through and beyond death. All that threatens or separates is overcome. We are one with God and with all humanity in a universal redemption. What can threaten? What can separate? Nothing.

Lowell
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To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Crucifixion

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 -- Week of Proper 12 (Joseph of Arimathaea)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this link -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 977)
Psalm 61, 62 (morning) // 68:1-20 (21-23) 24-36 (evening)
Judges 2:1-5, 11-23
Romans 16:17-27
Matthew 27:32-44

We're reading of the crucifixion in Matthew's gospel. The leader of Jesus' disciples Simon Peter has denied him and run away in fear. Another Simon, a stranger, is conscripted to carry Jesus cross for a while.

Several clues mark this as a Roman political execution. The charge which publicly announces the reason for this execution is posted on the cross. "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." A few years later Herod Agrippa would be named in Rome as "the King of the Jews." Jesus is killed as a revolutionary. His actions have been seen by the Roman authorities as a form of rebellion. Several of his acts had corresponded to Jewish Messianic hopes. He taught of an alternative "kingdom of God." Roman temper was very short. There were no alternative kingdoms or kings. Jewish messianic hopes were confronted with swift violence, publicly displayed.

From the Roman perspective, Jesus is crucified with others like him, other bandits. Bandits is the word that was used for an assortment of crimes, but particularly for those who fought an underground war against Roman interests. The Jews referred to some of them as "zealots." Today they might be known as terrorists, at least from the perspective of the empire. It is not unfair to say that Jesus was numbered among the terrorists. He was arrested, tortured and killed for being a threat to the empire.

Although it is historically unlikely that the chief priests would have been present at the cross as Matthew pictures them (it would have rendered them ritually unclean), doubtless they too were implicated in Jesus' arrest, trial and execution. Jesus directly attacked the Temple interests. Those interests were powerful and economically lucrative. The Jewish authorities who collaborated with the Romans wanted no interference with their business. They saw that their interests to keep Jesus from challenging their authority corresponded with Rome's interests to broke no rivals.

In a way the story is thoroughly familiar. Today our world, particularly in the Middle East, is torn apart by religious rivalries, by terrorism and alternative claims of political authority. Today people will be killed for some of the the same reasons Jesus was. Part of the power of the cross is to say that even in those sordid and tragic places, God is present, working with the power of resurrection. God suffers with us. God brings new life out of evil, violence and death. We pray that God will do so quickly.

Lowell
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To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR