Today’s Readings: Psalm 104; Ezra 9:1-15; Matthew 14:22-36; Revelation 17:1-14
If you were like me, growing up you probably had many a conversation with your parents/guardians about who your friends were. The adults in your life went to great lengths to monitor whether or not you were hanging around with the right kind of people. They paid attention to those you hung out with because your parents/guardians knew that the people you spent time with often play a huge role in determining the choices you make in life.
Today, we hear a variation on that them as Ezra spent time chastising the Israelites for hanging out with/marrying whom he considered to be the wrong kind of people (i.e. the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites). He did so because he feared folks from other backgrounds would draw the Israelites from their own faith.
On one hand I can understand Ezra’s fear that “the other” would threaten the spiritual well being of the Israelites by exposing them to different ways of being. On another hand, I think Ezra was using “the other” as a convenient scapegoat to blame for the Israelites’ own choices. Those individuals who have a mature and deep faith are generally not threatened by the presence of “the other”. I wish Ezra would have spent some of the time and energy he devoted to railing about “the other” calling the Israelites to redouble their commitment to their own faith.
Perhaps there is an area of your own life that you are wrestling with: an area where you might be tempted to succumb to Ezra’s approach and point toward “the other” as the root of your problem (who or whatever form “the other” might take for you). If that’s the case, resist the urge to scapegoat the other and instead focus on your own life. You might be surprised at the spiritual growth such a shift in perspective might spur. Til next time…
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Friday, November 6
Today’s Readings: Psalm 51; Ezra 7:27-28, 8:21-36; Matthew 14:13-21; Revelation 15:1-8
As someone who is an extrovert, I draw a huge portion of energy from being around people. I feel most alive when I am meeting and interacting with others. While this can generally be a positive trait, I’ve learned over the years that it can also get me into trouble.
I find being around people so invigorating that I often do it too much and find myself completely drained to the depths of my soul. By just the fourth year of my ministry, I had given so much to others that I began to wonder if I could continue in parish ministry..
So how did I reverse that trend and find a way to continue in ministry?
I began to take seriously Jesus’ example in today’s passage from Matthew. In that passage we learned that when Jesus found himself completely exhausted from the demands around him, Jesus did something critically important: “he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself” (Matthew 14:13 from the NRSV).
The time I have learned to spend in silence over the past four years has become the thing that allowed me to continue in ministry. It allows me to recharge my battery and strengthen my connection with God. It is only then that I can find the energy I need to give a portion of myself to others.
So what role does silence and solitude play in your spiritual life? Are they annoying intruders that infrequently push their way into your life when you have nothing better to do; or are they some of your closest friends that keep you spiritually grounded?
Til next time…
As someone who is an extrovert, I draw a huge portion of energy from being around people. I feel most alive when I am meeting and interacting with others. While this can generally be a positive trait, I’ve learned over the years that it can also get me into trouble.
I find being around people so invigorating that I often do it too much and find myself completely drained to the depths of my soul. By just the fourth year of my ministry, I had given so much to others that I began to wonder if I could continue in parish ministry..
So how did I reverse that trend and find a way to continue in ministry?
I began to take seriously Jesus’ example in today’s passage from Matthew. In that passage we learned that when Jesus found himself completely exhausted from the demands around him, Jesus did something critically important: “he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself” (Matthew 14:13 from the NRSV).
The time I have learned to spend in silence over the past four years has become the thing that allowed me to continue in ministry. It allows me to recharge my battery and strengthen my connection with God. It is only then that I can find the energy I need to give a portion of myself to others.
So what role does silence and solitude play in your spiritual life? Are they annoying intruders that infrequently push their way into your life when you have nothing better to do; or are they some of your closest friends that keep you spiritually grounded?
Til next time…
Thursday, November 5
Today’s Readings: Psalm 97; Ezra 7:11-26; Matthew 14:1-12; Revelation 14:1-13
When we are reading the sacred texts of our tradition, it is easy to receive the words at face value and draw conclusions that may not be in line with the author’s original intention.
Take, for instance, today’s passage from Revelation. In that passage there are two references to the number 144,000. Revelation 14:1 reads: “Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Revelation 14:3 reads: “… they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth”.
Some folks in the Jehovah’s Witness tradition interpret those words literally and suggest those words mean there will only be a total 144,000 individuals who will be redeemed. Others interpret such passages metaphorically and think the importance of the number is more symbolic than literal.
The challenge in our faith walk, it would seem, is to have a discerning spirit and know when to engage material at face value and when to engage it metaphorically. My question for you to consider today is this: how do you decide how to engage the material in the sacred texts? Do you chose whatever method seems most convenient for you on any given issue, or do you have other ways of discerning this? Til next time…
When we are reading the sacred texts of our tradition, it is easy to receive the words at face value and draw conclusions that may not be in line with the author’s original intention.
Take, for instance, today’s passage from Revelation. In that passage there are two references to the number 144,000. Revelation 14:1 reads: “Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” Revelation 14:3 reads: “… they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth”.
Some folks in the Jehovah’s Witness tradition interpret those words literally and suggest those words mean there will only be a total 144,000 individuals who will be redeemed. Others interpret such passages metaphorically and think the importance of the number is more symbolic than literal.
The challenge in our faith walk, it would seem, is to have a discerning spirit and know when to engage material at face value and when to engage it metaphorically. My question for you to consider today is this: how do you decide how to engage the material in the sacred texts? Do you chose whatever method seems most convenient for you on any given issue, or do you have other ways of discerning this? Til next time…
Wednesday, November 4
Today’s Readings: Psalm 89; Nehemiah 13:4-22; Matthew 13:53-58; Revelation 12:1-12
Last night was an exceedingly difficult night for me. It was difficult because there were ballot measures before the voters in two states that dealt with the rights of members of my own community: the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender community. I can’t put into words how helpless one feels when you are a member of a minority community and the majority gets to decide whether or not you will get the same rights others.
As the results trickled in from Maine, I was moved to tears as I thought of how my friend Holly and her partner were losing their legal rights as a couple. Some of the grief was temporarily offset, however, when I learned that voters in my home state of Washington had protected the rights of same-gender couples. As I dug into the electoral map of Washington State, however, my joy was tempered when I saw that the voters of Eastern Washington (the place where I was born and raised) were strongly opposed to the recognition of such rights. It served as a brutal reminder that my family and I will probably never be welcomed back into the area in which I was raised.
Needless to say, I can totally relate to Jesus’ words in today’s passage from Matthew: ““‘Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” The words from the next verse are even more poignant for me: “And [Jesus] did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:57-58 from the NRSV).
While Jesus would have loved nothing more than to be in ministry with folks from his hometown, he was unable to. Jesus did not let that painful reality hold him back. He moved on to other areas that could receive his ministry. Jesus gave me a powerful example to follow as ten years ago I had to acknowledge the attitudinal limitations of the area in which I was raised and move on to other areas of the country that could receive my ministry.
Perhaps you are wrestling with a similar dynamic in your own life. Maybe there’s a group of people you would desperately love to reach that are not open to you. If that’s the case, I would encourage you too to follow Jesus’ example and move on to those who can receive the fullness of your gifts. Til next time…
Last night was an exceedingly difficult night for me. It was difficult because there were ballot measures before the voters in two states that dealt with the rights of members of my own community: the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender community. I can’t put into words how helpless one feels when you are a member of a minority community and the majority gets to decide whether or not you will get the same rights others.
As the results trickled in from Maine, I was moved to tears as I thought of how my friend Holly and her partner were losing their legal rights as a couple. Some of the grief was temporarily offset, however, when I learned that voters in my home state of Washington had protected the rights of same-gender couples. As I dug into the electoral map of Washington State, however, my joy was tempered when I saw that the voters of Eastern Washington (the place where I was born and raised) were strongly opposed to the recognition of such rights. It served as a brutal reminder that my family and I will probably never be welcomed back into the area in which I was raised.
Needless to say, I can totally relate to Jesus’ words in today’s passage from Matthew: ““‘Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” The words from the next verse are even more poignant for me: “And [Jesus] did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:57-58 from the NRSV).
While Jesus would have loved nothing more than to be in ministry with folks from his hometown, he was unable to. Jesus did not let that painful reality hold him back. He moved on to other areas that could receive his ministry. Jesus gave me a powerful example to follow as ten years ago I had to acknowledge the attitudinal limitations of the area in which I was raised and move on to other areas of the country that could receive my ministry.
Perhaps you are wrestling with a similar dynamic in your own life. Maybe there’s a group of people you would desperately love to reach that are not open to you. If that’s the case, I would encourage you too to follow Jesus’ example and move on to those who can receive the fullness of your gifts. Til next time…
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