Category: Living in The Story blogs

As You Read. Week 6. Jacob.

As you read this week, consider the ancient theme of “naming.” The stories of our Scriptures remind us that these ancient people did the best they could making sense of the who and the how and why of God. Often this making-sense is described in the stories as the characters naming their experience.

Abraham names his experience with Isaac and the ram in the bush and the angel who stops the knife as: “The Lord provides” (Genesis 22).

Hagar, the courageous slave of Sarah, the tenacious mother of Ishmael, the cast out one who was found and nurtured by divine intervention, is said even to name God: “The One who Sees” (Genesis 16).

Jacob names the place of his dream with a ladder of angels and a promise of blessing as Bethel: “the house of God” (Genesis 28).

Jacob’s wives name their children in light of their relationships with Jacob and God and life (Genesis 29-30).

Jacob names the place of his wrestling Penuel – “I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved” (Genesis 32).

To this day, we moderns also do the best we can asking questions, probing mysteries and naming the experiences of our own lives in ways that attempt to make sense. In this way, we are not really so different from our ancestors.

Continue reading “As You Read. Week 6. Jacob.”

Paul’s Jesus

We have two versions of Paul’s come-to-Jesus meeting in our New Testament: one from Luke as he wrote the Acts of the Apostles and another from Paul himself. Initially, adversary-Saul-transformed-to-apostle-Paul resisted the proclamation of the Jesus People that this crucified Jesus was the messiah Israel had been awaiting. First, it was preposterous that God’s Messiah would have died in such shame; the Roman cross was designed for ultimate humiliation and misery. Second, Paul’s Jewish commitment was to the One God, the True God therefore suggesting that somehow God had become human outraged his deepest piety.

Paul’s Damascus Road experience and his vision of the Resurrected Christ turned him and his entire belief system upside down and inside out. Paul almost never referred to the earthly Jesus in his writings because Paul’s Jesus was always the Crucified and Risen One.

This essay on Paul’s Jesus offers excerpts from Charlotte’s 2011 seminary paper, The Gospel Paul Preached.  If the language seems more academic than most of Charlotte’s Living in The Story blogs that’s because it is. Although the seminary paper focuses on the opening verses of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, this adapted essay also summarizes the big picture of Paul’s Christology, i.e. how Paul understood Jesus the Christ: Paul’s Jesus.

Paul’s thesis statement for the Letter to the Romans may well be the thesis statement for his entire life’s work. He understood himself to be one called and sent, one saved and spent for the sake of the gospel. Paul’s confidence in the gospel is grounded in the power of the One True Triune God: the eternal will of the Father, the faithfulness of the Son, the life-giving love of the Spirit.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, Paul proclaimed, it is the power of God …

Romans 1:16

Paul was a deeply pious Jew immersed in the story of Israel as the chosen people of God. Drawing from the rich conceptual history within the Hebrew Scriptures, Paul proclaims that “the gospel of God” is also “the gospel concerning his Son.”

The gospel concerning God’s Son flows from the narrative story of Israel.

For Paul, Jesus is:

  • herald of the good news,
  • legitimate king in the line of David,
  • the anticipated Messiah,
  • beloved of the Father.
  • Son of God.

The gospel is God’s story, God’s movement, God’s purpose and grace, God’s action on behalf of all creation. It is “the gospel of God,” Paul insists, the good news of, from and about the One True God permeating the holy scriptures from the very beginning.

Paul’s spirit-breathed brilliance was his ability to think and then rethink the meaning and mystery of God’s story in light of the life-death-resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The conversion of his mind, his fresh examination of previously fixed conceptions, his complete surrender to the sheer force of God’s story re-imagined, led him to perceive and proclaim a message of God’s reconciliation of ALL people: God indeed has kept covenant with Abraham and has now created one family of God from all the families of the earth.

Continue reading “Paul’s Jesus”

Wrestling with God

I dislocated my shoulder during the week I was preparing to preach the Genesis story about Jacob’s encounter with God by the river Jabbok. That entire week, I was moving slowly with a fair amount of pain; all that week I was living with my own limp so now I have so much more sympathy for Jacob than I’ve ever had before.

As I studied Genesis 32, I kept thinking about the ways we all wrestle with God; at least the ways I wrestle with God.

  • I struggled mightily with my call to ministry. It took me years to be able even to hear a call; then more years to know how to say “yes” to that call; then even more years to lean in wholeheartedly to God’s call into ministry.
  • I struggle to understand why cancer, dementia and hopelessness continue to be epidemic; why some babies are born much too early and some people die much too soon; why violence and arrogance and divisiveness seem to be valued in our society while compassion and compatibility and humility are scorned.
  • Sometimes I struggle to forgive; I struggle with insecurity; I struggle with discouragement. It seems like I am always living my life with a limp.

I imagine you have your list. I’ve come to believe that if we are human then there will always be ways we wrestle with life; ways we wrestle with God.

But what I began to see as I studied our Living in The Story texts for this week is that the wrestling match by the River Jabbok was not initiated by Jacob.

The story is very intentional to describe this wrestling as a Divine Intrusion, a Divine Interruption.

Continue reading “Wrestling with God”

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Who said this? If you are familiar with the passion stories in the gospels, you will undoubtedly answer: Jesus.

But as we read in the psalms, we understand the words came from the poets of Israel as they considered and re-considered what it meant to be God’s chosen people.

If God is our covenant God, (Israel may have pondered) then won’t God remain ever faithful to covenant promises for blessing? But did they forget the covenant also promised consequences for sin?

So again and again in The Story of God’s people, painful cycles repeated themselves throughout generations. Faithfulness degenerated into unfaithfulness. Passion turned to apathy. Obedience became disobedience.

And in those cycles the Covenant God would draw back, leaving the people to their own devices.

So the poets of Israel sang a painful lament:

 Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.

Continue reading “Psalm 22”

As You Read. Week 5. Isaac.

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As you read this week, consider that – unlike the stories of origins from the first 11 chapters of Genesis – the stories of the Patriarchs are set within a historical context.  These stories would have been told generation after generation as a part of the oral histories of this ancient people, however they probably weren’t written until the time of the Babylonian Captivity 1500 years later.

This is probably the era when the Genesis stories were actually gathered and edited, penned and preserved for posterity. Consider the meaning these stories would have had for the nation of Israel exiled in Babylon.

As you read Genesis 21-26, remember that God had called Abraham and promised him descendants like the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5). In the ancient world and even among some peoples today, having descendants that continue on beyond your life is a kind of immortality as it were. This was the way Abraham believed his life could extend beyond his one lifetime.

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But if Abraham followed this call of God to sacrifice his son, if he consented to give up the long awaited son of promise, the future God had promised him would disappear. His life would have no meaning and Abraham himself would become as if he had never existed.

Continue reading “As You Read. Week 5. Isaac.”

The Binding of Isaac

Sacrifice_of_Isaac-Caravaggio_(Uffizi)

The story of the binding of Isaac stretches me beyond my comfort zone.

We’ve considered the faithfulness of Father Abraham on his journey of faith and we’ve been impressed by his commitment to follow God, to trust and obey. But this?

  • Who is this God who would ask such a thing?
  • Who is this father who would do such a thing?
  • Who is this beloved son who would give himself willingly – and why?

Within the Islamic tradition, it was Abraham’s son Ishmael who submitted to this binding, so here is an excellent opportunity to take the Bible seriously without taking it literally. This story is true; it tells us something deeply true about God and ourselves and our relationship to God. The story is true even if it is told differently in different traditions. The story is true even if it never actually happened in history.

In Abraham’s culture (and among some people today) a man’s descendants ensured that his life would live on. But if Abraham followed God’s call this time, it would mean he was sacrificing not only this son whom he loved, but also his hope that his own life would have meaning and continue within his descendants.

So here is a story that speaks to the very real possibility of complete annihilation and extinction, not only of Abraham and his descendants but also of God’s own promise.

Continue reading “The Binding of Isaac”

Psalm 23

The beloved 23rd Psalm is a song of gratitude and deep confidence.

In the best tradition of poetry, the Psalms offer us images, metaphors and pictures of this God who created and sustains all things. Here is the lovely image of shepherd, repeated in Psalm 28:9 and Psalm 80:1.

The poet acknowledges the reality of “dark valleys,” “evil” and “enemies,” but even so, there is complete trust in this God who is Shepherd and Protector. The psalmist believes everything that is needed for life – food, drink, and right paths – comes ultimately from the hand of the God who is Shepherd and Provider.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the image of shepherd often dovetailed with the image of king. Within the ancient Jewish tradition, the king was to be caretaker and protector of God’s people. A common complaint of the prophets was that the kings of Israel too often neglected this shepherding role and instead plundered God’s flock. The prophetic word of the Holy One promised to once again gather the scattered flock, leading them and tending to them as the faithful Shepherd.

In the New Testament, the Gospel of John amplifies this Shepherd metaphor as he tells the Jesus story. For John, it is Jesus who leads the sheep, provides food and offers protection. John’s Jesus says explicitly: I AM the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

As we read the Psalms this year, we will see other metaphors that describe our human experience with God.

Continue reading “Psalm 23”

As You Read. Week 4. Abraham

As you read this week, you might consider the fact that Abraham was not a Jew. Is that a startling statement? The people known as “Jews” didn’t come into being until much, much later than the time of the Patriarchs. Abraham is highly honored in the traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam because all three monotheistic religions see him as one who shaped the understanding of these faiths in deep ways. See Charlotte’s blog on Abraham for more reflection on how ALL people of faith (even those without “religion”) can appropriately see themselves as “children of Abraham.”

As you read Genesis 12-20 and as you read all of these stories about the Patriarchs in Genesis, see the numerous descriptions of ancient Middle Eastern culture within the story. For example, the common practice of polygamy, producing children with several wives, concubines and slaves. And also the cultural understanding of the role of women who were subservient to the male head of the household and whose “value” was measured by their ability to produce sons. (In light of this, consider how unwise it is for modern societies to use the Bible as a template for “biblical family values.”)

While there is significant “covenant” language in the story of Noah (God covenants with the earth and promises its continued existence, marked with the sign of the rainbow), in the Abraham story, covenant is personal and more specific. God chooses, calls, guides, protects this one man and creates covenant with him and his descendants. Covenant is always God’s initiative and God’s sustaining grace.

From Abraham, the story will persistently narrow. It is his son, Isaac who continues this particular covenant relationship with God, not Ishmael. It is Jacob who continues The Story, not Esau. Jacob’s twelve sons become the tribal people of Israel who eventually become the political nation of Israel.

There are countless stories of other people and nations who lived during the time of the stories of the Patriarchs and Israel, but they either are not mentioned at all or are mentioned in a kind of footnote. The Hebrew Scriptures are the story of one particular people. It is Israel’s witness of their experience with the one true God; the good, the bad and the ugly of their human experience. Their mistakes, misunderstandings, foolishness and violence are documented with startling honesty.

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As you read Psalms 23 and 25,  consider the nomadic life of Abraham, a shepherd of his time, dependent upon the land and the seasons. Watch for the affirmation of the covenant recognized both in relationship with God and relationship to the land.

As you read John 13-17, you will see the beginning of John’s Passion Story. The washing of the disciples’ feet, the final discourse/teaching, the Lord’s prayer for his followers – watch how John’s Jesus is confident and unshaken by the coming event of the cross. This Jesus is always in charge, always in control.

You also might want to look back at John 8 while you are reading the Abraham story this week. There is an important conversation between Jesus and “the Jews” that discusses the meaning of Abraham for the people of Israel as understood by John. (Remember “the Jews” does not mean all Jewish people; it was John’s designation for those who did not accept Jesus as Messiah and were in constant opposition to the new Jesus movement.)

“Abraham is our father” … these opponents insist.

“If Abraham were truly your father, you would do what Abraham did” … Jesus responds.

“We have one father, God himself” … they counter.

“You are from your father, the devil” … Jesus accuses.

“You are a half-breed, possessed by a demon” … the dialogue heats up.

“Your ancestor Abraham saw my day and rejoiced” … Jesus tantalizes.

“YOU have seen Abraham?!?!” … they mock.

“Amen. Amen. I tell you: before Abraham was, I AM.”

So they picked up stones to stone him…

As John’s Jesus has spoken so often in this gospel, here again he proclaims: “I AM.” It’s a theologically brazen claim; a Christology that conflates the being of Jesus with the being of God. Consider how difficult it would be for faithful monotheists to hear this.

In the journey of faith, remember how crucial it is to “begin with faith.” John demonstrates what it can look like when religion is not actually grounded in faith; when the forms and doctrines become more important than a foundational trust in God. God will not live in our boxes nor jump through our hoops. “Trust” means we trust anyway even when we do not understand.

unity

As you read Romans 4-8, see how the apostle Paul hearkens back to the Abraham story to make his crucial arguments for the inclusion of Gentiles within the new Christian community.  Abraham is the father of ALL the faithful, he insists, not just those who are circumcised (a crucial symbolic act for all faithful Jewish males.) “Circumcision of the heart” is the sign of unity within the Christian community.

A person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal.

Romans 2:29

Abraham’s faith was “reckoned to him as righteousness” before he participated in the sign of circumcision. This is huge for Paul. It’s not the obeying of the Law that produces righteousness but rather the living in faithfulness, living with trust.

Paul uses Abraham as an example: the way Abraham believed in the promise and trusted in God’s word that he would have a son even when his body was as good as “dead.” Acceptable relationship with God doesn’t come about by our human efforts; relationship (covenant, promise) is God’s divine grace to us.

Just as Abraham experienced grace – with all his mistakes and stumbles, with his “dead” body – so we too experience God’s gift in our weaknesses, in our sinfulness, in our estrangement.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death (8:1-2).

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness (8:10).

Paul’s letter to the Romans is considered a masterpiece of theological reflection by a master theologian. Romans played a crucial role in the thinking of Martin Luther and was a catalyst for the Protestant Reformation.

Photo (Chris D): This icon representing the embracing of Jewish & Gentile Christians can be found in the St Peter and St Paul Orthodox Church, Antakya, Turkey (formerly Syrian Antioch). Peter was the apostle to the Jews and Paul the apostle to the gentiles.

Week 4: Abraham. Where is All This Going?

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Several years ago, a group of friends and I went on a field trip to walk a labyrinth.  It was interesting to do this personal spiritual practice alongside a larger spiritual community. We all started in the same place, of course, but we began at different times and progressed at different rates so we never were in the same place at the same time. We were all in various places even though we were all on the same path.

When you walk a labyrinth, at first it feels a bit like a maze with a pathway that twists and turns. But unlike a maze, in a labyrinth there is never a dead end; there is always a way forward. Sometimes we would be oh so near the center and then the way would spiral around until we found ourselves almost back to where we had started and our orientation would be completely readjusted.

The Christian practice of walking a prayer labyrinth developed centuries ago as a mini-experience of holy pilgrimage with Jerusalem as its center. These days, many Christians who engage in this spiritual practice understand the center not as a geographic place but rather as an experience with God.

Walkers of this way also understand that our “center” is not one location; rather the whole labyrinth – our entire journey of faith – is embraced within THE Center, the Ground of all being. Everything in all creation is enveloped and enfolded within the One who is Love and Truth and Reality.

As we read the Genesis stories, we hear God’s call for Abram to “go,” to enter the pilgrim’s life and leave behind everything familiar and comfortable. Abram is called to walk away from land and home and family and to walk toward a totally unknown future in his labyrinthine way with God.

Continue reading “Week 4: Abraham. Where is All This Going?”

Psalm 10

Psalm 10 articulates an ancient human dilemma:

If God is good, then why does evil exist?

If God is powerful, then why doesn’t God do something?

So maybe God is not so good.

OR maybe God is not so powerful.

Theodicy is the name theologians use for this conundrum.

But most of the rest of us just ask: WHY?!?!

I wonder how many people have turned away from faith because of these unanswerable questions. I say “unanswerable” because we won’t find The Definitive Answer this side of heaven but still each of us answers the questions some way or another. Here is how the Psalmist grapples with the question.

Naming the Reality that Can Be Seen

In arrogance, the wicked persecute the poor.

Those greedy for gain renounce the Lord.

Their ways prosper at all times and they think in their heart, “We shall not be moved.”

They lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

They think in their heart, “God has forgotten; God has hidden his face, he will never see it.” I could easily use these same words to describe my own world in 2019. This is what America looks like to me, how the world turns on its tilted axis. The world is not “straight” and “true” according to my gut assessment of how things “ought” to be.

Questioning  God

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

And so the Psalmist – and I on so many difficult days – challenge God. “Where are you? Why won’t you act, intercede, interrupt this madness? Why don’t you DO SOMETHING!”

Some Christians believe it is sinful to question God. They would say such arguing shows a lack of faith. But I say – along with the Psalmist – that challenging God shows an immense faithfulness. We call upon God to keep promises, to bring light and order into the darkness and chaos. We want God to be God.

This profound faithfulness of asking, seeking, knocking is grounded in our faith that God IS indeed God. That God IS at work in the world. That God IS bringing justice and righteousness and shalom into being. Even if we can’t see it. Even if generations of believers won’t see it fulfilled or completed.

We hold on to hope, confidence, faith that God knows, that God sees, that God keeps promises.

Naming the Reality that Cannot Be Seen

But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
    that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
    you have been the helper of the orphan…

O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
    you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed…

Here is the Psalmist’s answer to our painful theodicy. God IS good. God IS powerful. God IS just. God IS at work in the world.

Maybe instead of asking: “why doesn’t God do something,” a better question would be: “why don’t WE do something?”

So let us stay busy participating in the divine work of goodness and justice. Wherever we are, with whatever power we are given, in whichever challenges we encounter.