Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 49; Daniel 4:1-18; John 15:1-11; 1 Peter 2:18-25; Psalm 14
One of my strongest memories from my days as an undergraduate student at Pacific Lutheran University was the time I spent in Dr. Philip Nordquist’s classroom. Dr. Nordquist taught a freshman class in a program call the Integrated Studies Program. The was basically a humanities class that covered the early modern period of world history. This was the mid-1980’s so world history still meant primarily Western European history, but I digress. Dr. Nordquist was an amazing figure. He was tall (a former basketball player in call), brilliant, and had one of the driest senses of humor I’ve ever encountered. Dr. Nordquist also had one interesting trait that I noticed over the first six weeks of the class. He never called a student by name in class. He would always either nod in your direction when you raised your hand, or simply look you in the eye and say, “Yes.” One day in late October, Dr. Nordquist asked the class a question and said, “Mr. Peterson, what do you think about that?” I nearly dropped to the floor. I had no clue that he knew my – or any other students’ - name! His simple act of reaching out and calling one of us by name made Dr. Nordquist seem much closer to us. This morning’s passage from the Gospel of John has a similar moment when someone who is often thought of by some as incredibly distant is brought closer. As the passage culminates, the author(s) of John’s Gospel quotes Jesus as saying: “I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father” (John 15:14-15 – The Message). What an intimate way of thinking of our connection with – and to – Jesus. Friends. Today, I would invite you to think about how you would characterize your relationship with this Jesus. What word would you choose to describe your relationship? What would that word say about the nature of your connection? Til next time…
One of my strongest memories from my days as an undergraduate student at Pacific Lutheran University was the time I spent in Dr. Philip Nordquist’s classroom. Dr. Nordquist taught a freshman class in a program call the Integrated Studies Program. The was basically a humanities class that covered the early modern period of world history. This was the mid-1980’s so world history still meant primarily Western European history, but I digress. Dr. Nordquist was an amazing figure. He was tall (a former basketball player in call), brilliant, and had one of the driest senses of humor I’ve ever encountered. Dr. Nordquist also had one interesting trait that I noticed over the first six weeks of the class. He never called a student by name in class. He would always either nod in your direction when you raised your hand, or simply look you in the eye and say, “Yes.” One day in late October, Dr. Nordquist asked the class a question and said, “Mr. Peterson, what do you think about that?” I nearly dropped to the floor. I had no clue that he knew my – or any other students’ - name! His simple act of reaching out and calling one of us by name made Dr. Nordquist seem much closer to us. This morning’s passage from the Gospel of John has a similar moment when someone who is often thought of by some as incredibly distant is brought closer. As the passage culminates, the author(s) of John’s Gospel quotes Jesus as saying: “I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father” (John 15:14-15 – The Message). What an intimate way of thinking of our connection with – and to – Jesus. Friends. Today, I would invite you to think about how you would characterize your relationship with this Jesus. What word would you choose to describe your relationship? What would that word say about the nature of your connection? Til next time…
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