Have you ever wondered what your pastors are reading?

Well, sometimes we’re reading theology, sometimes Christian living or ethics, sometimes books on spirituality or youth ministry, and we’re also often reading a novel or two apiece!

Right now, Teri is reading two books (click the titles for the amazon.com pages):  Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne, about the political and ethical implications of the gospel, and Take this Bread by Sara Miles, about her conversion experience and how important food is to our faith.  She also just finished a novel made up of short stories called What the Thunder Said, about two sisters who grow up in the dust bowl during the depression and about what happens to them and their families.

Would you be interested in reading a book along with your pastor, then discussing it?  We’re contemplating the possibility of a “read with the pastor” book group–were we tell you what we’re reading and invite you to read along and then meet to talk about the book.  Leave a comment if you might be interested!  What are you reading right now?  Share with us in the comments!

Last night we had a wonderful Taize service–our last one until fall, actually, as we plan to take a summer break–and I once again noticed something odd during the prayer time.

At our Taize service we have a time where you are invited to simply say the name of a person or place that you want to pray for. We organize the prayer into “categories”–things we are grateful for, people we want to pray for for various reasons, places in the world we pray for (especially to receive peace/healing/etc), and then a time when you can pray for anything you like. In those first three, people generally just say the name of the person/place/thing–it’s not a long beautiful prayer, just a mentioning of things on our minds.

For several months now I have noticed that people are not shy about praying in the first two categories, but when we get to the third (praying for the world), everyone is silent. I find this surprising since we are a congregation with such a mission focus–we have ministries in/with Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, Colombia, and more. Plus we are a well-informed congregation, I’m sure we know what’s going on in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Afghanistan, Darfur, and the streets of Chicago and even of Crystal Lake. So why aren’t we praying for these situations and places?

It has been suggested to me that we don’t want to sound political by mentioning these things–that bringing up political “issues” can disrupt prayer for some people.

Well, I suggest that then politics has paralyzed our prayer when really it should be motivating our prayer. Whether or not there is a “side” to be taken, there are people and situations that need prayer. If we are unwilling to pray for the people of Zimbabwe or the situation in Darfur or the people experiencing food shortages here and abroad or the people who are homeless at a time when PADS shelters are closing for the summer, simply because we are afraid of becoming “political”, then I’m afraid of what Jesus might have to say.

Remember, “politics” is simply how we live together as a community, a polis (city). Partisanship is different, it’s taking sides. I might argue that Jesus does sometimes take sides–with those no one is willing to pray for, eat with, be friends with, touch, or even see. But in any case, prayer is not partisan, though it may be political (because it can be about how we live together as a global human community).

So the next time you have the opportunity, remember to pray (even out loud!) for these situations and the people in them. We aren’t going to be judging your political party based on what you pray for–instead you are helping us to remember all of God’s people, around the world, and to pray for God’s peace and justice and grace to be known throughout the world.

As we gather together, even in this virtual space, I invite us all to pray for God’s people who know violence, fear, hunger, anxiety, and grief, and for those places like Iraq, Darfur, Egypt, Afghanistan, Kenya, Israel and Palestine, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Chicago, and even Crystal Lake that need to know God’s presence, peace, and love. And to pray also for ourselves, that we might be bold in prayer and in action. Amen.

job 38:1-11
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?— when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?

This text comes near the end of the book of Job.  You know the story.  In a matter of days Job loses everything: his wealth, his family, his health.  Three friends come to comfort Job, but soon they tell him that he must have done something evil for God to have inflicted so much suffering upon him.  Chapter and chapter, page after page, Job maintains his innocence.  He demands an answer from God as to why he (Job) is suffering unjustly.  Finally, in our text, God shows up—a voice from the whirlwind answers Job.  But God’s answer is not what we’d expect, and certainly not what we’d want to hear.  God seems to be telling Job that he (Job) is really only a tiny part of a vast, complex, beautiful, dizzying creation.  Job seems to take comfort in this realization that he is only dust and so perhaps his suffering does not have cosmic significance.  Would we?  (RAF)

When a child is baptized, at least in a Presbyterian church, both the parents and the congregation make promises. The parent promises to “live the Christian faith and to teach that faith to your child.” The congregation makes promises to “guide and nurture” the child “by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful members of his church.”

This past week we baptized an adorable young boy and we made these promises to him, to his family, and (most importantly!) to God. It is our responsibility to love and nurture and guide, to show Christ’s love with our lives, to teach and pray.

We have a number of young people in our congregation who are baptized members–they have had promises made on their behalf and they participate (at varying levels) in our common life. There are many in our congregation who have taken very seriously and literally the promise to guide and nurture–we celebrated many of them this past Sunday. Our Sunday School teachers and youth leaders have undertaken a huge project–teaching, building relationships with, praying for, and loving our children and youth week after week. It takes time and commitment and we are so grateful to them for their work in this important ministry.

In two weeks we will celebrate another milestone on this journey. Several of our youth have completed a nine-month confirmation class in which they have studied Scripture, our faith tradition, and ways to practice their faith. On May 18th we will, as a community, tell them that “we rejoice that you now desire to declare your faith and to share with us in our common ministry.” These teens will make a public commitment to following the way of Jesus, to joining us in worship and ministry and mission, to seeking God’s call for them. It’s a big day and I hope you’ll join us as we celebrate their journeys and re-commit ourselves to walking the road with them.

So–many thanks to those of you who have taught in the Sunday School, the confirmation class, or led in the youth program. And many congratulations and prayers to those youth preparing to publicly take up the cross and follow Christ.

Acts 1.1-14
Easter 7A, May 4

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

In this text we are invited to consider what it means to be a witness to Christ. Does it mean we stand around watching, looking, waiting to be taken up into heaven with Jesus? Or does it mean that we get moving, go out into our communities, our nation, our world, and share the good news in word and deed? How might we together, as a community, discern our calling and then get moving?
(TCP)

Easter 6 (April 27)
acts 8:14-24
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money! You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.” Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”

The center of this little story is Simon’s attempt to “buy the Holy Spirit franchise” from Peter and John. We learn in an earlier text that Simon was a local “magician” who had some power before the disciples showed up. People started converting—including Simon. But Simon lost his “status.” So it looks like here he’s trying to get it back. Peter’s reply suggests he does not look favorably on Simon’s request.

The larger issue here is the effort to “commodify” the Spirit (i.e., to turn it into something that can be bought and sold). The Spirit has many layers of meaning—it brings illumination/insight, healing, freedom, and so on. More basically, it is the Spirit of life itself. (Remember Genesis 2.) So the by trying to “commodify” the Spirit we are trying to “commodify” life itself. Life is a gift from God; to treat it otherwise is to be (according to Peter) “in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.” In what ways do we try to “commodify” life?
(RAF)

for March 30 (Easter 2)
john 20:19-29
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

The 2nd Sunday in Easter (or the “Sunday after Easter” for people who assume Easter is only one day rather than a whole season) is often called “low Sunday” because attendance is usually spotty. Why is this? Did Easter take it all out of us? Did it take so much energy to sing “alleluia” that we need a week off? Or did the “come down” after Easter just leave us kind of empty? We sing “Christ is risen” and celebrate the victory of life over death, then we go back to the “real world” and nothing has changed and death seems just as victorious as ever. This story from John is a perfect follow-up to Easter, because it shows people trying to deal with the new reality. Thomas (often called “doubting” Thomas) wants to touch Jesus’ body to confirm the resurrection. It raises an important question for us: where might WE touch Jesus’ body? One place is communion (which we are not scheduled to celebrate this Sunday, sadly). Another place is the “least of these” (see Matthew 25). A final place is, of course, the church, which is the “body of Christ”, after all. So how do we find the risen Christ? Break bread with friends and strangers, serve people in need (the “least of these”), and stick it out with that wacky community called the church. That’s where you’ll find him. (RAF)

March 16
Palm Sunday
Matthew 21.1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.’ This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

Today we celebrate Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem–a parade that we often imagine as being of mythic proportions, with huge crowds, coats flung on the road, and palm fronds waving in welcome. In the midst of this parade we often miss some of the significance of this act. There are very real social and political ramifications to this story. This is no normal parade–this is a parody of a royal procession, with the king riding a donkey instead of a war horse. This is a (intentional?) fulfillment of Messianic prophecy–in fact, Matthew takes such pains to tell us it was written by the prophet that he mistranslates the couplet to say that Jesus rode not just a donkey but its colt as well! This is an act that comes right up to the line of rebellion–Jesus and his followers, people who came with him from the countryside, and those who’ve gathered along the way, come into Jerusalem and the whole city ends up in turmoil. In Matthew’s account Jesus heads straight to the Temple for a workout with tables and moneychangers.
Who is the king here–the one on the donkey, or the one in the palace? Who has the real power here–the one with a crowd of country rabble, or the one with priests and soldiers? Where is real security to be found–in a royal parade or in a procession led by a donkey? (TCP)

for Lent 5 (March 9)
Ezekiel 37:1-14

Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. 11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.”

In part this text picks up on our ongoing (perhaps beaten-to-death) Lenten theme of “holy insecurity.” The people of Israel, in this vision, are as “insecure” as it is possible to be: they have had everything stripped away from them, down to their bodies, down to life itself. And of course the promise is that it’s never too late for God, that there’s cause for hope even in a valley of bones (even dry bones), because God can and will bring newness. An interesting aside is that God’s newness comes through the prophet. The prophet is called to speak, and only after he speaks does the miracle happen. Are we too called to be prophets, to speak God’s words of hope in a valley of dry bones and thus play a role in the miracle of new life and transformation? (Answer: yes).
(RAF)

Lent 4

Psalm 23

1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
3he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Our theme for the Lenten season is “holy insecurity”—that is, learning to live with life’s uncertainties by relying on God’s provision rather than our desperate efforts to secure ourselves (which are usually disastrous). Psalm 23 is a perfect statement of holy insecurity, of the way God provides whatever security we find in life. Notice it is God who “makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.” Notice also that the threats and insecurities are not taken away: the valley of the shadow of death remains—but God is with us, so we are not afraid. And our enemies are still there—only instead of blasting them, God sets a table, perhaps inviting enemies to become friends at the table. As we continue to travel through Lent, and through our lives, Psalm 23 should serve as our traveling song, reminding us of our holy insecurity. (RAF)