Glad to be back (BCP)

This whole thing (blogging that is) started with a seed. Scott had it in his head that this might be a cool spiritual practice. So he invited some friends, some enemies, some scholars, and some acquantances to join him. We began last lent looking at, among other things, the 10 commandments. And much to my delight we find ourselves back there this week. We won't spend 40 days here as we did last time, but 5 has to be enough.

It feels so strange to be full ciricle on this. God is still call me to obey his commands (especially that sabbath one), and I'm still trying to figure it out. I get it right, and I write about it. I get it wrong, and I write about it. I don't even try, and this I do not write about. Yet God continually calls me back. "Hello, remember me, I'm the jealous God?" God calls me agian and again just as he called the people of Israel again and again.

BCP- Paul Again? Paul Again!

For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.

Paul opens up a can of spiritual whoop ass in just about every letter. Can you imagine living with him however? I can't I probably would have thrown him out...not that he would have stayed he would dusted his feet long ago and been out on the road bring spiritual gifts. Opinionated? Yes. Man of his times? Yes. Gives persons with a Multi cultural, diversity loving backgrounds heart attacks? Yes. Needs to be wrestled with...most certainly yes.

Paul writes with such conviction and power. At this point in my spiritual life (and later I most likely will see it differently) I see Pauls central conviction that the body will die. Knowing that the physical body will die, Paul theology seems to dwell on it. What I see today is not that he even sees the body as so bad. The body simply will not do for him what Christ crucified will do for him. For that reason the body stands in sin. Pursing the needs of the body is for Paul secondary for pursuing those things which last beyond death ie the spirit. I don't think Paul is a duelist but more of a realist. The body dies so by giving it all the attention (rich foods to eat, money to buy things to build up the body, excercise so that one never gets old, etc, etc, etc) is a losing proposition. It is not so much that the body is bad (I think) but that the body has only one direction...death. If all I have done is emphasize the life of the body in my life I have lived into...death.

The law is spiritual. That suggests that the life of faith is following the law of the spirit. This means placing the spirit above the body...not because it is better but because it will live and to obtain it is to live into it.

Ok I have a class...time to go.

Diversity!!!

This has nothing to do with this weeks texts, but I just have to share the above article with someone. Arpin-Ricci makes commentary that VTS needs to hear.

"Within every culture, God has invested something unique of Himself. I believe that He does this intentionally, so that to truly know Him, we must embrace the uniqueness of all His created peoples."

(BCP) One of these Generations...

... We'll get it right.

"I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments."

Hasn't anyone since Moses brought the law down from Sinai gotten this right? To love God and keep his commandments doesn't seem that hard, and yet, we continue to mess up. The Israelites screwed up immediately. We screw up daily. And while we have a hard time accepting that God punishes us for our sins, it seems pretty clear that our discomfort while well founded isn't Biblical. It seems as though we aren't going to get this right, contrary to my title.

But, we have something Moses and the nation of Israel didn't, Jesus Christ who did love God and did keep his commandments. Because of Jesus we are shown God's steadfast love from day-to-day til "the thousandth generation."

Thanks be to God I don't have to do it on my own.

BCP- Yup, chock full o' info

Lent three is full. Preaching would be a pill...not because there is nothing to say but mainly because there is so much. The pill is that the themes are not gentle. No children sitting on Jesus lap. God is active this week. In Exodus there is the first command which dominates the text. There is only one God. In Romans we get (what feels like) Pauls set up. The whole pericope is filled with his failure. The body is sin. The intent of Paul turns into sin. He seems trapped. After highlighting continued failure he seems to peak on one statement. In Christ he is free. In the Gospel we have God active. The temple in the Gospels, like most of my spiritual life, becomes diverted toward lesser goals. Jesus with zeal for his house drives them out. Zeal for his house resonates with the first command.

The message: First things first. God is seeking us to keep first things first. God is a jealous God.

Geez - BCP

Man am I glad I'm not preaching on Lent 3! What a tough batch of lessons! The 10 Commandments, The author of Romans rambling on about the law of sin, and Jesus getting pissed off? Are they serious? Wow.

And yet, as glad I am about not preaching, I'm sort of bummed I'm not preaching. The great things about the Lectionary is it puts us precisely in these positions. I can't in good conscience preach on the collect becuase the Lessons of Lent 3 Year B are hard. The latest post on the emergent-us blog is all about how cool it is to preach within a lectionary. When I read it a week or so ago it didn't mean much, but today, staring into a Sunday that I'd rather skip, I know that Dr. Clendenin is speaking the truth.

I wonder where this week will take me. I wonder if God will open my eyes to the sermon he will construct on my heart. I wonder if in the midst of paper writing and stress I'll be ready for God to call down from the mountain. This is indeed getting good.