Today, March 24, is the 31st anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, and tomorrow, March 25, the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City which killed 146 workers (mostly young immigrant women).
Archbishop Romero and the young women in New York did not seek martyrdom. In the case of Archbishop Romero, he was a reluctant bishop and advocate for justice. The young women worked in inhumane condition to provide for their families. Forces beyond their control propelled them into the center of the movement for justice.
This is the season of Lent. A time of reflection, repentance, and recommitment. I pray that we reflect on the horrific working conditions that the young women in New York faced and that people throughout the world endure today; repent of our exploitation of people in El Salvador and many countries because of our allegiance to the false gods of materialism and greed; and recommit ourselves to follow the saintly example of Archbishop Romero who proclaimed in word and deed the gospel of Jesus, the good news of God's coming reign of justice and peace.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Lent 2: Psalm 121
Psalm 121: Lent 2(A) March 9, 2011
Lent is an invitation to a journey. The life of faith is a journey, the way is as important as the destiny. The earliest followers of Jesus were known as people of the way. What is the way? The psalmist's invites us to a communal recitation of our assurance of God's presence during our sojourn. The descendants of Abram and Sarai continues the journey.
Bobby Morris' reflects:
“Journeying was a major reality for ancient life. As a result of the available modes of traveling, the ancients are likely to have had far greater appreciation for what was involved in getting from one place to another that we ever can. Abraham and Sarah took the countless steps necessary to travel from Haran to the land of Canaan and even as far south as Egypt. Elijah made the arduous journey from northern Israel to Mount Sinai and back again. Even Jesus traveled throughout the Galilee and eventually down to Jerusalem.
Not surprisingly then, one of the most common Hebrew verbs in the Old Testament is the one for "going, walking." Likewise, a good deal of the biblical text, as alluded to above, deals with the undertaking and complexities of traveling. One such example is Psalm 121.
Psalm 121 is the second of the Psalms of Ascents (120-134). These texts seem to have been used by pilgrims during their travel to Jerusalem and/or as part of celebratory worship at the temple there. Individual cases have been made for the use of Psalm 121 by a traveler who is approaching and departing from Jerusalem. In either case we can say with some certainty that Psalm 121 deals with journeying.
The stark geographic diversity found in the land of Palestine is such that travel for the ancients was at best difficult and commonly dangerous. The availability of water would have been a constant concern, especially in the hot dry summers when the sun mercilessly beats down. In addition, the danger of bandits could never be ruled out, as the parable of the Good Samaritan later bears witness.
Psalm 121 responds to what must have been unavoidable misgivings about travel with unwavering reassurances that God protects his beloved. In fact, the Hebrew verb translated as "keep," which has the sense of "watch over, protect," occurs six times in only eight verses. In all of these occurrences God is the one doing the action. God protects the traveler from a host of possible dangers, from the most basic slipping of the foot (verse 3) to the light of the moon (verse 6), which in ancient times was viewed with a degree of supernatural apprehension. It is because God is the same one "who made heaven and earth" (verse 2), meaning all that exists, that the sojourner can rest assured in God's ability to offer such far-reaching protection, even of the traveler's very life (verse 7).
It may be enough that Psalm 121 offers such profound reassurance to the traveler moving from place to place. Yet it exceeds this particularity by reaching into the journey of human life itself. The final two verses of the text hint at the broad scope of God's protective activity as it references to the protection of the traveler from "all evil" (verse 7) that lasts "from this time on and forevermore" (verse 8).
The life of faith that begins with baptism is indeed a journey on which God's guidance and protection is needed. Accordingly, Psalm 121 plays a prominent role in the worship life of the Christian community of faith. Verse two contributes to the understanding of God the Father in the Apostle's Creed while other parts of the text have appeared in either the baptismal liturgy or funerary services of various faith traditions. The reassurances of Psalm 121 are thus able to accompany the faithful at the beginning and end of their life's journey, as well as help sustain and uplift them with God's presence and protection along the greatest journey of all. “
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=10/17/2010
Lent is an invitation to a journey. The life of faith is a journey, the way is as important as the destiny. The earliest followers of Jesus were known as people of the way. What is the way? The psalmist's invites us to a communal recitation of our assurance of God's presence during our sojourn. The descendants of Abram and Sarai continues the journey.
Bobby Morris' reflects:
“Journeying was a major reality for ancient life. As a result of the available modes of traveling, the ancients are likely to have had far greater appreciation for what was involved in getting from one place to another that we ever can. Abraham and Sarah took the countless steps necessary to travel from Haran to the land of Canaan and even as far south as Egypt. Elijah made the arduous journey from northern Israel to Mount Sinai and back again. Even Jesus traveled throughout the Galilee and eventually down to Jerusalem.
Not surprisingly then, one of the most common Hebrew verbs in the Old Testament is the one for "going, walking." Likewise, a good deal of the biblical text, as alluded to above, deals with the undertaking and complexities of traveling. One such example is Psalm 121.
Psalm 121 is the second of the Psalms of Ascents (120-134). These texts seem to have been used by pilgrims during their travel to Jerusalem and/or as part of celebratory worship at the temple there. Individual cases have been made for the use of Psalm 121 by a traveler who is approaching and departing from Jerusalem. In either case we can say with some certainty that Psalm 121 deals with journeying.
The stark geographic diversity found in the land of Palestine is such that travel for the ancients was at best difficult and commonly dangerous. The availability of water would have been a constant concern, especially in the hot dry summers when the sun mercilessly beats down. In addition, the danger of bandits could never be ruled out, as the parable of the Good Samaritan later bears witness.
Psalm 121 responds to what must have been unavoidable misgivings about travel with unwavering reassurances that God protects his beloved. In fact, the Hebrew verb translated as "keep," which has the sense of "watch over, protect," occurs six times in only eight verses. In all of these occurrences God is the one doing the action. God protects the traveler from a host of possible dangers, from the most basic slipping of the foot (verse 3) to the light of the moon (verse 6), which in ancient times was viewed with a degree of supernatural apprehension. It is because God is the same one "who made heaven and earth" (verse 2), meaning all that exists, that the sojourner can rest assured in God's ability to offer such far-reaching protection, even of the traveler's very life (verse 7).
It may be enough that Psalm 121 offers such profound reassurance to the traveler moving from place to place. Yet it exceeds this particularity by reaching into the journey of human life itself. The final two verses of the text hint at the broad scope of God's protective activity as it references to the protection of the traveler from "all evil" (verse 7) that lasts "from this time on and forevermore" (verse 8).
The life of faith that begins with baptism is indeed a journey on which God's guidance and protection is needed. Accordingly, Psalm 121 plays a prominent role in the worship life of the Christian community of faith. Verse two contributes to the understanding of God the Father in the Apostle's Creed while other parts of the text have appeared in either the baptismal liturgy or funerary services of various faith traditions. The reassurances of Psalm 121 are thus able to accompany the faithful at the beginning and end of their life's journey, as well as help sustain and uplift them with God's presence and protection along the greatest journey of all. “
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=10/17/2010
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Black History Month
Here is a prayer for Black History Month by the Rev. Paul Sadler, a United Church of Christ Pastor in Ohio.
Let us join the voice and work for freedom of Sengbe Pieh, a leader in the Amistad uprising, who cried out “give us free”.
Let us join the voice and work for freedom of Sengbe Pieh, a leader in the Amistad uprising, who cried out “give us free”.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Beatitudes
The gospel lesson for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany is Matthew 5.1-12. As we reflect on the words and images of the following video (Matthew 5.1-16) may God grant us the grace to live out these words.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Can We Get Along?
The epistle reading for the Third Sunday after Epiphany is 1 Corinthians 1. 10-18. Here is the reading and some thoughts I shared with my Lectionary study group.
10. Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
11. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.
12. What I mean is that each of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ."
13. Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14. I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15. so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name.
16. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
17. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.
18, For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (New Revised English Version)
Now that the decorations are safely put away and the monotony of winter settles in, the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation begins to fade from our imagination. The assurance of blessed communion with others who confess Christ remains a hope at best. The reality of the ordinary life seems to overpower the reality of the grace filled life. Committee meetings, budget reviews, phone conversations with the insurance company, working on the furnace, are viewed as signs of heaven when compared to the bickering, jealousy,and mean spirited battles that is common among the baptised. And yet...
“I believe in the Church”.
The earliest baptismal formulas affirm the centrality of Church in the faith.
The divisions that grieve the Spirit is ever present. Can we heed the plea of the Apostle in the first century and stop passing judgment and make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification?
“I believe in the Church”.
The fundamentalists. The progressives. The loving but culturally, intellectually, spiritually, or theologically limited parishioner who is wrong about human sexuality, war and peace, the authority of the bible, gun control legislation, the church's contribution to the denomination's latest church wide appeal, and whether we should ask Mrs. Thompson to consider hiring an assistant editor for the church's newsletter.
“I believe in the Church”.
"Therefore I will put up with this Church until I see a better one," wrote Erasmus; "and it will have to put up with me, until I become better."
10. Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
11. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.
12. What I mean is that each of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ."
13. Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14. I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15. so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name.
16. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)
17. For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.
18, For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (New Revised English Version)
Now that the decorations are safely put away and the monotony of winter settles in, the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation begins to fade from our imagination. The assurance of blessed communion with others who confess Christ remains a hope at best. The reality of the ordinary life seems to overpower the reality of the grace filled life. Committee meetings, budget reviews, phone conversations with the insurance company, working on the furnace, are viewed as signs of heaven when compared to the bickering, jealousy,and mean spirited battles that is common among the baptised. And yet...
“I believe in the Church”.
The earliest baptismal formulas affirm the centrality of Church in the faith.
The divisions that grieve the Spirit is ever present. Can we heed the plea of the Apostle in the first century and stop passing judgment and make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification?
“I believe in the Church”.
The fundamentalists. The progressives. The loving but culturally, intellectually, spiritually, or theologically limited parishioner who is wrong about human sexuality, war and peace, the authority of the bible, gun control legislation, the church's contribution to the denomination's latest church wide appeal, and whether we should ask Mrs. Thompson to consider hiring an assistant editor for the church's newsletter.
“I believe in the Church”.
"Therefore I will put up with this Church until I see a better one," wrote Erasmus; "and it will have to put up with me, until I become better."
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Epiphany of Our Lord
Today's reflection is written by the Abbot of the Order of Corpus Christi, the Right Rev. Richard Hammond Price, OCC
To Speak Now of God: Epiphany - Divine Revelation: "The Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord (January 6) focuses us on “divine revelation” - God revealing himself to us in Jesus Christ. Throug..."
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and for ever. Amen.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
HIP HOP HEIDELBERG
There is a movement among black Christians to affirm the truths of the insights of the Reformers and offer an alternative to the "prosperity gospel" that is a dominant theme in many African American churches; indeed, this other gospel is a popular strain within evangelical Protestantism in general.
St. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, understood the necessity to know the culture in order to see how the gospel may address the deepest needs of a people. Hip Hop is a lens through which two generations view the world. Thus, today's ambassadors of Christ must understand, speak, and respond to Hip Hop Culture.
Curt "Voice" Allen is a part of this new Reformation.
St. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, understood the necessity to know the culture in order to see how the gospel may address the deepest needs of a people. Hip Hop is a lens through which two generations view the world. Thus, today's ambassadors of Christ must understand, speak, and respond to Hip Hop Culture.
Curt "Voice" Allen is a part of this new Reformation.
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