What I’m Reading Today: Luke 18-19
One of the parables contained in today’s passage from Luke is a controversial parable that raises the ire of many progressives. That parable is the story of what Eugene Peterson terms the Tax Man and the Pharisee in the Message.
The parable causes many progressives trouble because of the way the Tax Man – the one whom Jesus praises - conducts himself in the Temple. When the Tax man approached the presence of God in the Temple, Jesus told us he did so by slumping “in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up” and said these words: “‘Forgive me, a sinner.”
Those words are uncomfortable because many of us children of the Enlightenment would much prefer to focus exclusively on what Rousseau and others would call the perfectibility of humanity. The traditional notion of sin (especially in relation to our human nature) calls that perfectibility into question. As a result, we often end of getting rid of the notion of sin all together.
I, however, have no problem thinking of myself as someone who wrestles with sin. Maybe that’s because I was lucky enough to learn during seminary that the word we know of as sin is derived from the Hebrew word that means simply “missing the mark”. I know that I frequently “miss the mark” (both unintentionally and intentionally). That’s why I’m so comfortable with the notion of sin.
So what about you? Do you find yourself focusing exclusively on the goodness and perfectibility of humanity; or are you able to carve out some room to acknowledge both the limitations of humanity and our tendency to “miss the mark”?
Til next time…
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Sunday, April 11, 2010
What I’m Reading Today: Luke 17
One of the more interesting periods of my ministry occurred during the winter and spring of 2001/02. Let me backtrack for a moment in order to explain why that period was so significant.
In April of 2001, my candidacy for ordination was derailed by my local United Methodist church due to my sexual orientation. As a result, I went into a prolonged period of depression. In those first few days following their decision I carried with me a tremendous amount of pain which had been inflicted on me by the institutional church.
If you would have asked me at that time when I would be ready to serve a local church, I would have said, “It will be years before I’ll be ready to do that!” Yet just six months after I went through the experience of getting spit up and chewed out by my home church, I started serving a local church part-time as a consultant. And just two months later I was serving a local church full-time!
So how did that process happen so quickly?
I guess in many ways my experience was much like the ten lepers in today’s passage from Luke. In that healing story, Jesus chose an interesting way to effect healing in the lepers. Instead of touching them and causing their healing immediately, Jesus instead instructed them to head back to the priests. It was only on their journey that they were healed.
In both the case of the lepers and myself, healing was a process: one that didn’t begin until the individuals involved took the first step out on faith. God eventually took care of the rest.
Perhaps there is a pain that you have been carrying with you: one that has kept you paralyzed or immobilized. Maybe you’ve told yourself and God: “Sure, I’ll get on with my life – but only after I’ve completely healed from this pain first.” If that’s the case, use today’s story as encouragement to take a risk and step out in faith right now. You might find that the healing that has thus far eluded you might take place on your journey.
Til next time…
One of the more interesting periods of my ministry occurred during the winter and spring of 2001/02. Let me backtrack for a moment in order to explain why that period was so significant.
In April of 2001, my candidacy for ordination was derailed by my local United Methodist church due to my sexual orientation. As a result, I went into a prolonged period of depression. In those first few days following their decision I carried with me a tremendous amount of pain which had been inflicted on me by the institutional church.
If you would have asked me at that time when I would be ready to serve a local church, I would have said, “It will be years before I’ll be ready to do that!” Yet just six months after I went through the experience of getting spit up and chewed out by my home church, I started serving a local church part-time as a consultant. And just two months later I was serving a local church full-time!
So how did that process happen so quickly?
I guess in many ways my experience was much like the ten lepers in today’s passage from Luke. In that healing story, Jesus chose an interesting way to effect healing in the lepers. Instead of touching them and causing their healing immediately, Jesus instead instructed them to head back to the priests. It was only on their journey that they were healed.
In both the case of the lepers and myself, healing was a process: one that didn’t begin until the individuals involved took the first step out on faith. God eventually took care of the rest.
Perhaps there is a pain that you have been carrying with you: one that has kept you paralyzed or immobilized. Maybe you’ve told yourself and God: “Sure, I’ll get on with my life – but only after I’ve completely healed from this pain first.” If that’s the case, use today’s story as encouragement to take a risk and step out in faith right now. You might find that the healing that has thus far eluded you might take place on your journey.
Til next time…
Saturday, April 10, 2010
What I’m Reading Today: Luke 16
Not too long ago I reconnected with a friend from my high school years. She was a wonderfully vivacious person who had lots of energy and was fun to be around. She was the epitome of what it meant to be alive.
Sadly, this person was diagnosed with cancer last year. Her diagnosis came late so the cancer was very advanced. She is now in the position of living out her final days. She is doing so with lots of grace and courage.
What I found interesting is that many of her former friends from high school have been made aware of our friend’s plight. Sadly, most have not reached out to her.
And why is that?
There are lots of various reasons I suppose. One reason would be because it’s been over 20 years and people may feel like because they haven’t stayed in touch with her that they don’t know her any more. Another reason, however, might be because they fear if they re-establish contact with our friend who is dying, they might be forced to deal not only with our friend’s mortality but their own as well. It might be easier to stay disconnected and in denial than re-connect and grapple with some of life’s biggest questions.
In today’s reading from Luke, Jesus introduced us to two very different individuals: a rich man and a poor man named Larazus. The two men not only shared different experiences in the here and now, but following their deaths we are told they went on to have two very different experiences as well. Larazus went on to experience torment while the poor man went on to experience bliss.
One of the lessons Jesus was putting out there to challenge us with was that there are consequences to the choices we make. That lesson had been out there for the entire lifetime of the rich man – yet he failed to learn it until after his death. To his credit, once he realized this he asked to be allowed to return to his loved ones to help get that lesson across to them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t allowed to do so. He was told it was up to his loved ones who were still alive to learn that lesson for themselves.
While the imagery of the story can be uncomfortable for us progressives to deal with since our experience of God is typically one steeped in values like grace, unconditional love, and mercy; there is an important lesson here for us to mine. That lesson is this: our lives should have a sense of urgency about them in terms of addressing the important things in our lives. We shouldn’t put off living in those ways that we think are important because we may not always have the time to make those choices later.
Today I would encourage you to explore your own life and see if there are lessons that you may have learned in your head but have failed to integrate into your life. If so, use today’s passage as motivation to incorporate those lessons and live by the values that really matter.
Til next time…
Not too long ago I reconnected with a friend from my high school years. She was a wonderfully vivacious person who had lots of energy and was fun to be around. She was the epitome of what it meant to be alive.
Sadly, this person was diagnosed with cancer last year. Her diagnosis came late so the cancer was very advanced. She is now in the position of living out her final days. She is doing so with lots of grace and courage.
What I found interesting is that many of her former friends from high school have been made aware of our friend’s plight. Sadly, most have not reached out to her.
And why is that?
There are lots of various reasons I suppose. One reason would be because it’s been over 20 years and people may feel like because they haven’t stayed in touch with her that they don’t know her any more. Another reason, however, might be because they fear if they re-establish contact with our friend who is dying, they might be forced to deal not only with our friend’s mortality but their own as well. It might be easier to stay disconnected and in denial than re-connect and grapple with some of life’s biggest questions.
In today’s reading from Luke, Jesus introduced us to two very different individuals: a rich man and a poor man named Larazus. The two men not only shared different experiences in the here and now, but following their deaths we are told they went on to have two very different experiences as well. Larazus went on to experience torment while the poor man went on to experience bliss.
One of the lessons Jesus was putting out there to challenge us with was that there are consequences to the choices we make. That lesson had been out there for the entire lifetime of the rich man – yet he failed to learn it until after his death. To his credit, once he realized this he asked to be allowed to return to his loved ones to help get that lesson across to them. Unfortunately, he wasn’t allowed to do so. He was told it was up to his loved ones who were still alive to learn that lesson for themselves.
While the imagery of the story can be uncomfortable for us progressives to deal with since our experience of God is typically one steeped in values like grace, unconditional love, and mercy; there is an important lesson here for us to mine. That lesson is this: our lives should have a sense of urgency about them in terms of addressing the important things in our lives. We shouldn’t put off living in those ways that we think are important because we may not always have the time to make those choices later.
Today I would encourage you to explore your own life and see if there are lessons that you may have learned in your head but have failed to integrate into your life. If so, use today’s passage as motivation to incorporate those lessons and live by the values that really matter.
Til next time…
Friday, April 9, 2010
I'm on an overnight mini-vacation on the beach. I don't have an internet connection (I'm writing this from my BlackBerry). This means I can't write today. I'll return to action in the morning when I'm connected again.
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