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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (1/24/21)

Jan 24th, 2021 by

The Way of Love: Time

Mark 1:14-20, NRSV

Reflections

Lord of time fulfilled,
who was not born an angel
but walked the common earth:
with those you called by the lakeside
may we share your mission
to bring good news to all,
to let the world know
that God is among us;
through Jesus Christ, the one who reigns.
Amen.

— Steven Shakespeare, Prayers for an Inclusive Church

  • Guest Preacher: Diana Butler Bass
  • Sense of day and time is a bit lost during the pandemic; temporal dislocation
  • Major theme of the gospel of Mark: The Way
  • “The time is fulfilled”; time has something to do with The Way
    • Be aware of when time is fulfilled, keeping track of time by having seasonal holy days; “time is near”
    • Keep in mind of purpose of time: history; it becomes meaningless, historically dislocated, when there is a loss of time of peace, justice, harmony
    • when people were misled with distorted purpose, it gives people a sense of misguided meaning
    • the difference of preaching from a true prophet than a false prophet: the Way of Love, not a way of power, not a way of dissatisfaction
    • Love sometimes upsets empire, upsets injustice
    • the time is at hand: Jesus invites us to join the way of Love

 

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (1/17/21)

Jan 17th, 2021 by

The Way of Love: Follows

Psalm 139:1-6, NRSV
John 1:35-51, NRSV

Reflections

What would happen if we left our comfortable vantage points, and dared to believe that just maybe, we have been limited and hasty in our original certainties about each other, about God, and about the world? To “come and see” is to approach all of life with a grace-filled curiosity, to believe that we are holy mysteries to each other, worthy of further exploration. To “come and see” is to enter into the joy of being deeply seen and deeply known, and to have the very best that lies hidden within us called out and called forth.

— Debi Thomas, Journey with Jesus

  • To refuse to name evil in specifics, is to allow it to grow exponentially
  • “The most needed theological correction for American evangelicals at the moment is to learn to see America not as a kind of biblical Israel, but as a kind of biblical Babylon” – Brian Zahnd
  • Jesus’ invitation, challenge

 

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (1/10/21)

Jan 10th, 2021 by

The Way of Love… Receives

Mark 1:4-11, NRSV

Reflections

As we enter the season of Epiphany, new questions arise: Will we allow the light that has broken forth to illuminate the darkest corners of our hearts, our families, and our lives? Can we—will we—follow Jesus as he untwists the mangled metal of our shattered souls … and redeems it? Can we—will we—trust the light or will we hide from it? These are the questions of Epiphany.

— Lisa Sharon Harper

  • Obsession of security is of an earthly empire, not the Kingdom of God
  • Jesus’ baptism (and repentance) is not for Jesus Himself, but in solidarity with us

 

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (1/3/21)

Jan 3rd, 2021 by

Dark Winter Hope

Matthew 2:1-12, NRSV

Reflections

Hope is a song in a weary throat.
Give me a song of hope
And a world where I can sing it.
Give me a song of faith
And a people to believe in it.
Give me a song of kindliness
And a country where I can live it.

— Pauli Murray, from Dark Testament verse 8

  • story of “star, strangers, murderous psychopath”
  • like Magis, we look for leaders to cross lines and boundaries to search for God, but also bring gifts and serve

 

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (12/27/20)

Dec 27th, 2020 by

Those Who Dream… Will Not Keep Silent

Luke 2:22-40, NRSV

Reflections

Then perhaps there is a third kind of loss—the loss that comes when you notice the limits of your knowledge of God, when you feel bereft of guidance, when you feel the loss of God’s saving power or of God’s grace. This feeling of loss is really a way of noting, and mourning, God’s hiddenness. This is the loss you name when you ask why God does not answer your prayers. It is the loss entailed when you realize that Jesus is more mysterious and more inscrutable than you had at first understood.

— Lauren F. Winner, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis

  • Simeon and Anna — spent their whole lives hoping and waiting
  • Simeon learned to listen to God, and Holy Spirit rested on him, before even there was Pentecost
  • Anna lived as a widow for a long time, living through decades of social upheaval with different rulers, but still hoping and waiting

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (12/20/20)

Dec 20th, 2020 by

Those Who Dream… Sow Joy and Justice

Isaiah 61:1-4, NRSV
Luke 1:46-55, NRSV

Reflections

If this great reversal (of Mary’s Magnificat) is not my longing, if I hesitate or downright refuse to construe Christ’s coming in terms of systemic change and resistance to oppressive forces, Mary’s Magnificat presses me to ask if I am among the satiated and satisfied, “the rich” who are “sent away empty” from this Advent season because I am unable to hope for, and thus unable to receive, divine promise.

— Jennifer McBride, Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel

  • And when we listen to Mary’s son, we get a sense that her rebel anthem moonlighted as Jesus’ lullaby. Mary’s Rebel Anthem
  • With the Magnificat, Mary not only announces a birth, she announces the inauguration of a new kingdom, one that stands in stark contrast to every other kingdom—past, present, and future—that relies on violence and exploitation to achieve “greatness.” With the Magnificat, Mary declares that God has indeed chosen sides. And it’s not with the powerful, but the humble. It’s not with the rich, but with the poor. It’s not with the occupying force, but with people on the margins. It’s not with narcissistic kings, but with an un-wed, un-believed teenage girl entrusted with the holy task of birthing, nursing, and nurturing God. Mary, the Magnificat, and an Unsentimental Advent
  • “About 90 percent of the Old Testament is missing [and] 50 percent of the New Testament is missing” Slave Bible From The 1800s Omitted Key Passages That Could Incite Rebellion

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (12/06/20)

Dec 6th, 2020 by

Those Who Dream… Prepare the Way

Isaiah 40:1-11, NRSV
Mark 1:1-8, MSG

Reflections

Preparing the Lord’s path means challenging systems and structures that we have institutionalized as normal but that God condemns as oppressive and crooked. It means clearing the path of self-aggrandizement, self-absorption, and greed to make way for a community where all of creation is valued

— Traci Blackmon, “Preparing the Way for Justice”, Alliance for Fair Food

  • 2020 has been a year of bad dreams
  • John the Baptist was sent as the messenger, preparing the way ahead for Christ, and also for us to come to Christ
  • to be faithful dreamer, waiting for the coming of Christ
  • Wilderness is where John the Baptist started preparing the way, with all sorts of struggles, physically/spiritually, but it is also where God reveals Himself

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (11/29/20)

Nov 29th, 2020 by

Those Who Dream… Keep Awake

Isaiah 64:1-4, NRSV
Mark 13:24-37, NRSV

Reflections

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

— Langston Hughes, Dreams

  • dominant power is not the ultimate power
  • keep awake is to do truth telling, often with sadness
  • learning to wait for God
  • what God is doing in you while you wait, is more important than the thing you are waiting for
  • Advent Credo by Allan Boesak, From Walking on Thorns

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (11/22/20)

Nov 22nd, 2020 by

When Things Fall Apart: Deconstruction

Acts 9:1-19, NRSV

Reflections

Fanaticism is always a compensation for hidden doubt. Religious persecutions occur only where heresy is a menace

— Carl Jung

  • The dark night is God’s attack on religion. — Rowan Williams
  • It was Apostle Paul’s dark night
  • Jesus is one with the bodies of those who have called on his name and followed in his way by the Spirit. Their pain and suffering is his very own. … The mystery of God is found in human flesh, moving in and with the disciples who are a communion of suffering and a witness to life. — Willie James Jennings

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Unintelligible Sunday Notes (11/15/20)

Nov 15th, 2020 by

When Things Fall Apart: Unraveling Internalized Shame

John 4:1-16, NRSV

Reflections

Our internalized shame can become a barrier to intimacy with God. When we are seen for who we are, we can begin to heal and reconcile with our true selves, reconcile with our community and also reconcile with our Creator.

— Mira Sawlani-Joyner

  • Usual focus of this story is why the Samaritan woman at the well has been married 5 times
  • she is venerated as a saint with the name Photine
  • opened up to Jesus, although just a little bit, in admitting her shame
  • she experienced acceptance from Jesus
  • showing vulnerability and being authentic
  • shifting the internalized shame to becoming authentic
  • being authentic allows us to connect to others, to the community

 

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