EPC Resources
Build Up
In this week’s gospel story (Mark 12:38-44), often called “the widow’s mite,” Jesus is commenting on hypocritical behavior (sin) and generous behavior (stewardship or tithing).
In this scene, Jesus raises up the person most people would look down upon, and he criticizes the person most people would give respect.
Jesus is certainly discouraging hypocritical behavior and encouraging generous giving for the building up of the church community.
But he is also talking about our inner state of being and how this determines the quality of our days, life in this world, and whether or not we taste the “kingdom of heaven among us.” The Apostle Paul, St. Augustine, and Luther all wrote about this problem. All of them describe the core problem as human beings suffering from “incurvatus in se,” being blindly turned in on themselves.
A life that looks good on the outside, but is inwardly driven by selfishness, rigid private agendas and the pursuit of “measuring up” at all costs is a life turned in on itself, cut off from fluid relationality to others and to the Divine.
A life of open-heartedness and relationality, like that of Jesus Christ, is the opposite of being turned in on oneself.
A life of generosity – whether wealthy or poor – is the opposite of being turned in on oneself.
Take a look at all the lectionary readings for Sunday here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=228
See you Sunday!
Jane
The First Commandments
The gospel reading for this coming Sunday is Mark 12:28-34 in which we witness a conversation between Jesus and a scribe regarding the first commandments. We know this commandment well: “to love…” to love God and to love others as we love ourselves. Mark 12:28-34.
The crowd is left speechless as they hear Jesus and this scribe agree so wholeheartedly on which commandment is the greatest and what it means.
What is this love that leaves them without words? Is it a feeling? A thought? A right belief or doctrine? A right group to which they might or might not belong?
Richard Rohr reminds us that first century Christians did not have doctrine or dogma. They did not have a singular identity as a people, but were Jews, gentiles, men, women, rich, poor, slaves, free, and citizens. They called themselves followers of “the way.” Perhaps the love of which Jesus and the scribe spoke is “the way,” a way of being, a way of acting, a way of living.
We will ponder more on these questions as well as others, as we take the gospel passage alongside the Deuteronomic text from which Jesus and his interlocutor reference.
Take a look at all the passages for this Sunday’s lectionary here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=227
See you Sunday!
Jesus Heals A Blind Man
What are we to do with this week’s gospel lesson of Jesus healing the blind man?
I am not always sure what the gospel healings mean to me or to contemporary Christians.
We each have a life cycle: being born, living, and one day passing on into the next life. This same life cycle applied to the people Jesus healed, even to Lazarus who was raised from death.
So what do healings mean? How are we to understand them?
Should we take the healing stories as metaphors for spiritual renewal. I do.
Should we regard them as mythological language that speaks to deep truths about the human condition and our ever-evolving relationship to what we call the divine? I do.
Should we dare to believe that God’s miraculous healings still take place, that Christians can and should pray for wholeness and healing for themselves and for each other? I do.
All these questions arise for me when I read the accounts of healings, and for this I am grateful. Within my own heart, and amongst fellow believers, these questions lead to rich discussion and heartfelt prayer. God uses our intellectual questions as well as the current situations in our lives to speak to our faith lives through the Living Word. This too is a miracle in my mind.
Take a look at all the lectionary readings for Sunday here, including the gospel reading:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=225
See you Sunday!
Jane
What it means to ask the Lord for what we want
The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a departure from our usual lectionary cycle. We have revisited the creation stories in Genesis to study God and ourselves, to marvel at the miracle and mystery of life. We have taken time to remember and give thanks for our creaturely status and our blessed relationship with the creaturely world, particularly in our relationships to family pets.
This Sunday we return to the lectionary and find the Sons of Zebedee - James and John - asking to be elevated in position, to be placed at the right and left hand of Jesus. James and John want a promotion! They are so full of passion and excitement for the Good News they want to help oversee things and make good things happen for this created world trying to find its way back to union with God. What could be wrong with that? Nothing, nothing is wrong with this, though Jesus gives wise counsel and gentle pause.
The interaction between James, John, and Jesus gives us insight into what it means to ask the Lord for what we want. It gives us insight into prayer, passion, and how our deep longing to serve Jesus is ever entwined with our own limited human perspective, with our ideas of what is desirable or undesirable. We don’t know what we don’t know, and thank goodness Jesus walks with us daily as we live and grow and have this human experience.
See you Sunday!
Song, Word, Fellowship, Gratitude…and Critters.
This coming Sunday we will have A Blessing of the Animals
Animals have been part of the human story, and part of God’s story, from the very beginning. In the oldest of the creation stories in Genesis, God “formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man...” What a Creator we have that called the cat and the aardvark, the whale and the chihuahua into being!
This Sunday, we will gather outside under the pavilion (and in the surrounding grounds if needed) to have a service of blessing. We will have music and readings and hear from each other about the ways we have been blessed by God’s gift of animals.
“Animals” refer to all the living creatures that bless our lives, particularly ones we have known as pets and family members. If your animal companion would be uneasy coming to the service or if your beloved animal has passed away, you may wish to bring a picture. You may also wish to bring a picture of an animal you have enjoyed studying or seeing in the wild.
Please make provisions for your animal to be kept safe and comfortable by having him or her on a leash or in a carrying case. There will be plenty of room outdoors to have space between our animals, so we can all stay safe and happy.
I am so excited to meet your animal friends and have you meet mine!
Do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions about Sunday’s blessing of the animals and feel free to invite your friends and neighbors to join in this fun and worshipful day of blessing and giving thanks for God’s creation.
See you Sunday!
Who Do We Worship?
Who is God?
Who is Jesus?
Who is the Holy Spirit?
And who are we?
These are basic questions we learn to ask ourselves anew, year after year in our faith walk. For many years, we may not sense a change in what we understand as answers to these questions. Other years, life has brought us experiences that may lead us to see more deeply who God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and we humans are. Some of us may even have experienced what St. John of the Cross describes as “the dark night of the soul,” a time when our sense of understanding goes dim and we walk by faith through difficult times until God brings us into new revelations.
This Sunday, the lectionary offers readings that touch on these questions. Take a look at all the selections here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=222
This Sunday we will look not only at this week’s Genesis reading, an account of the creation of humans, but also the second account of creating humans, not included in this week’s lectionary. While the readings may seem to contradict one another, we will read them for the richness each gives.
See you Sunday!
Jane
Esther
Esther becomes queen by a surprising turn of events and saves her people from death and destruction. Moses, once a baby found in the bullrushes, has risen(and fallen) through Egyptian court to become the leader of the escaping Israelites. As Jesus’ fame grows during his ministry, other people teach and cast out demons in his name and John is troubled about whether they have the right to lead in this way.
All three of the readings from the lectionary this week deal with issues around who is fit to lead, the challenges of leading, and the ultimate fact that it is God’s work that is being accomplished, not the personal work of any one of these leaders.
As you know, the scope of our Sunday service does not allow us to go in-depth on all lectionary readings. This Sunday, we will focus on the story of Esther, but all the readings are rich in encouragement and grounding for the walk of faith, particularly as it pertains to the work of leading others through the way we live our own lives.
Take a look at the lectionary here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=221
See you Sunday!
Jane
9/19
Esther becomes queen by a surprising turn of events and saves her people from death and destruction. Moses, once a baby found in the bullrushes, has risen(and fallen) through Egyptian court to become the leader of the escaping Israelites. As Jesus’ fame grows during his ministry, other people teach and cast out demons in his name and John is troubled about whether they have the right to lead in this way.
All three of the readings from the lectionary this week deal with issues around who is fit to lead, the challenges of leading, and the ultimate fact that it is God’s work that is being accomplished, not the personal work of any one of these leaders.
As you know, the scope of our Sunday service does not allow us to go in-depth on all lectionary readings. This Sunday, we will focus on the story of Esther, but all the readings are rich in encouragement and grounding for the walk of faith, particularly as it pertains to the work of leading others through the way we live our own lives.
Take a look at the lectionary here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=221
See you Sunday!
Jane
You are the Messiah
The gospel reading for this week comes from Mark 8: 27-38.
Peter knows from the bottom of his heart who Jesus is. He declares it: “You are the Messiah.” There is nearly an audible sigh in the text. Finally, the truth is coming out, the story is beginning to unfold, and the identity of Jesus has begun to be revealed in its full truth and glory. Peter must have felt on top of the world in this moment.
Just as quickly, though, the scene takes an abrupt turn. We see Peter mistaking Jesus’ identity. Jesus is not the one who will reign in glory as Peter defines glory. Jesus is not the one who will achieve victory as Peter defines victory. Peter is harshly reprimanded for suggesting that Jesus should not suffer. “Get behind me Satan!” Jesus says.
Our human expectations of deliverance and victory can get in the way of our freedom and security in God. I find it timely that Proverbs 1:20-33 is included in the lectionary passages for this week. The final verse, verse 33 reads: “but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster." The promise is NOT that disaster won’t come. The promise is that those who listen to the Lord will live at ease, “without dread of disaster.”
What is it about knowing who Jesus is and not “being ashamed” when things seem to be less than glorious, or even downright disastrous, that allows us to live at ease?
What is it about knowing and living in the love of Christ that makes having all the treasures of the world pale in comparison?
Take a look at all the lectionary passages for this week here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=219
And I’ll see you soon!
Love in Christ,
Jane
When We’re Running Low On Love
“Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,
they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.”
Thus opens the gospel selection in this Sunday’s lectionary reading.
Haven’t we all looked at someone else’s behavior or language or dress and thought of them as somehow defiled in comparison the traditions or values we believe to be good and right?
Just this week, Annie served a customer who made a snarky comment about what Jesus might think about her unconventional look. Annie thought it was kind of funny, but when she told me, I responded in my own heart with just as much snark about what Jesus would say concerning that lady’s stingy narrowmindedness.
Does hypocrisy ever end? According to Jesus, no, as long as we teach human precepts as divine doctrine, hypocrisy of heart cannot end. One human doctrine bumps up against another, judging, competing, contradicting.
Jesus does, however, offer us a path out of hypocrisy by telling us where the problem begins: in the human heart. We may not be accustomed to thinking of the danger in our own hearts, certainly not in these times when there seems to be such danger coming from outside our hearts. And yet, this is where Jesus tells us to begin with our obedience to God’s law of love: in our own human heart.
Questions that might help us think on these things this week:
*What are the signs that you might need to spend time in the loving presence of the Lord? Do you get judgmental, easily perturbed, overly self-critical, moody, despairing?
*To what thought or activity do your turn when you find yourself running low on love?
Click here to see all the readings for Sunday, August 29th, 2021:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=217
See you Sunday, Friends.
Love,
Jane
Concluding John
Friends, we made it. We made it through the five weeks of semi-continuous readings from the Gospel of John in which Jesus teaches about who he is as bread of life, the bread come down from heaven. We have seen his teachings go from poetically metaphorical to downright difficult.
We are not alone in finding his teachings difficult. This week, we see that his disciples also found his teachings difficult. We see some of the disciples go away, and others stay. Even the ones who stay admit that his teachings are hard, but they have tasted life in those teachings, and therefore, there is nowhere else for them to go.
Life is hard. Feeling lost is hard. Being spiritually hungry is hard. Jesus’ teachings are hard.
Which one brings life and healing and community and a lifetime of growing in grace and mercy and love? Jesus’ teachings do all this.
All options are hard: we can pick our hard.
May we remember the lifegiving fruits of this faith path when we choose.
The times we live in today are hard. You are in my daily prayers. I pray our fellowship and communion at EPC goes with you all throughout the week and you feel the presence of Jesus very near to you each day, opening doors, keeping you safe, and watching over those you love.
I will be so glad to see you Sunday,
Jane
Take a look at all the revised common lectionary selections for this coming Sunday here:
An Effective Use of Shock
When the writer Flannery O’Connor was first published and reviewed, she was categorized by some critiques as belonging to a “cult of the Gratuitous Grotesque.” In her writing, she often creates fictional narratives that lead to a moment of shocking violence. Her characters are often exaggerated, unappealing figures, all to recognizable to many of us.
What does Flannery O’Connor have to do with this week’s gospel passage?
As a Christian writer, Miss O’Connor used shocking plot developments and violence to convey her vision in a belief that people were too accustomed to living with corrupt ideas, that, in fact, modern humans actually embraced some very distorted ideas as “good.”
In another installment of the “bread of life” semi-continuous readings from the Gospel of John, we will hear Jesus say some shocking words. Perhaps it is from Christ himself that Miss O’Connor learned that grace and mercy can sometimes come as a shock.
We will ponder these things together; thanks be to God.
Take a look at the full lectionary selection here:
*https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=215
<https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=215>*
See you Sunday!
Jane
A Grim Conclusion for King David’s Family
Take a look at all the readings for this week here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=214
This week, we hear more of the life and times and trials of King David. A tragic season in David’s family comes to a grim conclusion. Accordingly, the selection from Psalms mirrors the lament of hard times.
For the service on Sunday, we will continue reading in the gospel of John, will hear our liturgist read from Ephesians on how to imitate Christ who feeds us. John tells us who Jesus is and Ephesians describes how we would look and behave if we accept Jesus for who he is.
Grab your masks and come on out for time together.
Where Is The Good News In Hard Passages?
Read all lectionary passages here -
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=210
We have some very difficult texts this week. The psalm listed is enough like the songs of praise we sing each week, looking up to God who delivers, but the passages from 2 Samuel and Mark deal with heartbreak, jealously, and even death. In our Old Testament passage, we see King David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant. A lesser-known player in this drama is Michal: she watches her husband David with hate and heartbreak from a nearby view. In Mark 6:14-29 we read the terrible story of John the Baptist being imprisoned and beheaded by King Herod.
Where is the good news in these hard passages? It can be hard to find this good news, unless we are able to see in ourselves some of the same behaviors or motivations we see in King David and King Herod. Let us open the word together this Sunday and see what God may be saying to us in our lives now.
See you Sunday!
Who Is God Using?
In our gospel reading this week, Jesus arrives in his hometown. He has been traveling throughout the region teaching, healing, and gathering a group of twelve devoted followers, in addition to attracting growing crowds. We might imagine this homecoming as a great celebration, the joyous reception of a local son who has done well. The gospel of Mark tells us otherwise.
The NRSV says the locals who greeted him were “astounded” at Jesus’ teachings. Yes, astounded is one translation of the Greek word “exelpessanto,” but there are others that reveal their underlying attitudes. “Where did this man get all this?” they ask each other. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!” It is not long before someone asks the question on everyone’s mind: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and John and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here among us?"
We wonder, from this end of history, how anyone could have questioned Jesus, how anyone could have been in the presence of our Lord and rejected him and the gift of grace he brought. We cannot fathom how the people of his hometown could have been blind to Jesus in their very midst. Our wondering takes on new life when we wonder about our own lives and ask of ourselves “who or what is in our midst that God is using spread lifegiving grace to us?”
Take a look at all the lectionary selections for this week here:
Everyone Is Not Well All The Time
In the lectionary readings this week we are asked, yet again, to sit in that place of mystery where God is good, God is sovereign, God loves us, and yet all is not well all the time. More importantly, everyone is not well all the time.
The reading from the Gospel of Mark gives us the story of two women who have suffered for years, one a synagogue leader’s daughter and one an anonymous woman on the street. All turns out well. And yet, from 2nd Samuel, we also hear of the death of Saul and his son Jonathan. David is torn by these losses. Saul would have seen David killed, and yet David grieves, for Saul was his king and the father of his beloved friend Jonathan. Losing Jonathan is depicted as David’s greatest loss, as he loved no one more than he loved Jonathan. How can all be well?
The verses from Lamentations 3 and Psalm 130 leads us along this narrow path, leading us gently through hope and grief, through faith and pain: the very act of seeking God, of waiting, brings us life.
Take a look at all the lectionary readings here, including lines from the Wisdom of Solomon and 2 Corinthians:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=208
As you let these words, beautiful and difficult, speak to your soul, I offer this prayer, one of my very favorites, from Julian of Norwich: “God loved us before he made us; and his love has never diminished and never shall. All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be exceeding well.”
See you Sunday!
Jane