what's with all the anger?

Jbap, as he's come to be known in theology books, seems to be one angry dude. As Luke tells the story in chapter 3, John, who no doubt had pretty wild tendencies, not to mention eyes, lays into the crowd that has come seeking the baptism of repentance.

Let me repeat that. The crowd at which Jbap is yelling and angry is a crowd of people who have come from the city, to the wilderness, to take part in the baptism of repentance that he preached.

What is with all the anger? (<--read this as though Chandler Bing was saying it) There must have been some murmuring in the ranks as Jbap preached and baptized. There must have been some who came for appearances sake and not in search of true repentance. There must have been some hypocrites to make up the brood of vipers. And if there were, Jbap had every right to lay into the crowd.

Repentance is not an easy thing. Repentance requires substantial effort. To turn oneself 180 degrees from a life of the world to a life of God is a taxing thing. Human nature would be to play an easier card. 'Oh, me? Nope, no need for repentance here, I'm a son of Abraham.' or 'Oh, me? Naah, I'm good, Jesus died once for all.'

But the grace of God, freely offered, ain't cheap. Sure, the Son of God died upon the cross to take my sins, rose from the dead to defeat death, and ascended into heaven to come again with power and great glory, but the story doesn't end there. In fact, it doesn't even begin there. It begins with the foretelling of his coming by the prophets, and by his cousin Jbap.

'He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.' The grace of God comes free, but damn if it doesn't burn like hell. The refining nature of God's love, always calling us away from our self and toward a closer walk with Him will be painful as we give away our own desires for those of God. Our hearts will burn and break within us as we see the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, victims of war and disease.

'So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.' Despite all appearances, this grace, no matter what the cost, is good news. The Gospel message is that grace is available to all; poor, rich, tax collector, prostitute, Enron executive, social justice worker, whatever... We can all share in the pain of Jesus on the cross, and that is Good News. Sharing that pain brings us to his granary, where there is no pain, where the images of the prophets are reality, where God, in His ever present love, is felt.

The lectionary is alive with songs this week

Peace and blessings my brothers, and thanks for keeping this site going. I will be honest and say I had lost hope but good brother Scott renewed my spirit and so I report back to add few words about what I see, or in this case, what I hear.
It being Advent 3 we will be lighting the pink candle this week. I heard in today's Seminary Euch that it is meant to bring joy in the midst of our searching for Christ in our lives. As I look at the readings, I am pulled into song by the OT, the Response, and the NT. I think it is Hymn 678 for the First Song of Isaiah that is in my ears, but joining it is a song from the Sunday School at my field ed site, Rejoice in the Lo-ord Al-l-ways and a-gain I say Rejoice (clap clap). If you don't know it just ask me to sing it when you see me next.
But then the Gospel doesn't seem to want to be sung, does it? John, almost foaming at the mouth, begins a diatribe against the ever growing stream of folks who now are more interested in following the crowd than actually repenting and turning. It would be nice to hear this more loudly today, with so many putting up Christmas trees, lights, spending more than they have, and overusing Christmas carols before their time. It would be nice to hear that searching for Christ, for preparing the way, has nothing to do with following the crowd and everything to do with making space, making ready. We can be joyful only because we go through Advent. I for one will be singing Christmas carols starting on the 25th. Today's readings tell me my voice is better used for preparing, and that is cause for rejoicing.

the prophetic imagination

"It is the prophetic task, in a time of unraveling hopes, to declare the unimaginable, to assert the rationality of the unthinkable, to call the people to new hope, grounded not on the past but on sheer faith that God is about to do the impossible." - Walter Wink

ON THAT DAY...

The words of the prophet Zephaniah sound a lot like the words of any other prophet of the Hebrew Bible. After criticism of the status quo, the wailing of the Israelites due to their unpleasant situation (or for others the pending doom due to their faithlessness) Zephaniah brings hope to the hopeless.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem...

Zephaniah goes on to tell the story of the restoration of Jerusalem and her people. In the time of the exile this story is unimaginable. The people have been spread out to repopulate other areas of conquest for the Babylonians (or was it the Assyrians). Others have been brought in to populate their land as slaves. No one has an ethnic identity under this regime, they are but pieces in the economic system. And yet, Zephaniah sets forth a vision for the impossible. The vision becomes the operating mindset for Israel, it is accepted despite its apparent impossibility.

That is the prophetic task - to point people to a reality that by human means is utterly unimaginable. To point them there over and over and over and over again so that eventually, the people relent, the people believe, and the vision becomes the reality.

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An update from yesterday's post - Mom had an MRI and Spinal Tap yesterday. The MRI looks "good" according to the Neurologist. The ST results will take a day or two. In the meantime they may do some sort of test on the blood vessels in her brain, but they are unsure this is necessary as of yet. She remains at LGH and will be there for at least a couple of days. Thank you for your continued prayers.

do not worry

Yeah, right! Do not worry!?! Easier said than done, I'm afraid.

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

It finally happened. My mom was admitted to Lancaster General Hospital last night at the request of her neurologist. For more than a year she's been sick on and off. Whether any of those things are related to the current situation remains to be seen, but it all came to a head six weeks ago when she began having neck pain. Then her vision went blurry. Then she started getting migraines. Then her eye went lazy. Then her arm went weak. She's been to her GP, a ophthalmologist, a neurophthalmologist, an ENT doctor, and finally, on Monday a neurologist. She's had blood work, a Lime disease test, an MRI, an MRA, and a CT Scan. And still she gets worse each day rather than better. So finally, when her neurologist called to schedule her for a second, this time closed, MRI and she had to wait until January, she was admitted. (BTW - what can be diagnosed with an MRI that can wait a month? A knee injury? Brain damage? I'm at a loss) They did blood work again last night along with a chest X-ray. Orders have been given for an MRI with anesthesia and a spinal tap. Things are moving, but not in the direction anyone was hoping. On the table is MS, Lupus, Vasculitis, among other not fun things.

I'm really trying not to worry. I'm trying to offer it all up to God in prayer and supplication, but I can't do it on my own. Would you please pray with me? For my mother as she awaits a diagnosis. For my dad as he tries to continue to go about daily life in spite of it all. For my family as we come to grips with the reality that news isn't going to be good. For healing for us all.

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servant Pat for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon her with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort her with a sense of thy goodness; preserve her from the temptations of the enemy; and give her patience under her affliction. In thy good time, restore her to health, and enable her to lead the residue of her life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant she may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Show us your mercy, O LORD, *
and grant us your salvation.

I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

I love that line Mercy and Truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

I hope I am one of those who have turned his heart to Him. I think so but do not think that what I have done in the past has any indication at what happens in the future. Past deeds are no guarantee of Grace. One must continue to trust in that salvation for those "who fear him."

The image that comes together as a result of the kiss is the majesty of Jesus being born in the desert un appreciated of the world. God making himself known in the most sorted place unannounced like a rain that quickly transforms a desert into a garden.

In Christ there is in Bethlehem and especially at Christ's Baptism the intersection of Righteousness and the world. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

That is all...one little line. One little image.

the dreaded [ ]

For those of you who might not be well versed in the Lectionary, there comes a time, inevitably, when the people who put together the lessons for a Sunday are afraid they've made the readings too long. So they have a system. They use the whole lesson, but put part of it in brackets [ ] to indicate an optional part which may be omitted for time's sake. If you look at the lectionary reading page, here, you'll see under the Epistle for Advent 3, Year C, BCP that verses 8 and 9 of Philippians 4 are optional.

The unfortunate thing about these options, is that people take advantage of them. Ultimately you might end up hearing 25 verses of Scripture on a Sunday, and some will think even that is too much. In all reality, however, one can never be exposed to too much Scripture in the course of a worship service. The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, 1979, is ripe with Scripture, though it isn't referenced I've heard up to 75% of the words in that book come from Holy Writ. My exhortation here is to read the parts in [ ] even if it adds two minutes to the service.

My reason for writing all of this is the richness of Paul's words placed in brackets. 'Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things' What a beautiful list of the things of the Kingdom. As we strive to be more and more like Christ, we are called to the Truth. This Truth, the truth of God, will call us to the rest of the list; honor, justice, purity, pleasure, commendation, excellence, and praise. God grieves when we turn our back to Him in sin. God rejoices when we follow the Way of Jesus Christ, though inevitably that Way takes us to the foot of the cross. Doing what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise will, despite what it sounds like, not always lead us to an easy life situation. There will be struggles and pain. There will be uncertainty and fear. But ultimately there will be redemption as the God of peace walks the Way with us.