Epiphany 4B (January 29, 2012) Mark 1:21-28

Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” Mark 1:23-24 (NRSV)

My gratitude to dear friend and colleague, Merle Timko, who is preaching for me this week so I could be relieved of the preparation as I needed to have a minor surgical procedure. 

Merle is going to be speaking about 'possession': what can and does possess us -- evil spirits only? And considering voices, wondering whose tend to command our attention and influence our actions?

Does Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy One of God 'possess' you through the voices of those you listen to?

Christian Singers at Wee Kirk (NW Pac) Boise, ID 2009

local band playing at Seacrets, Ocean City, MD

Beth and Bryan Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore (Dallastown, PA)

Kang Yup Na speaking at Wee Kirk NEPA, Laurelville PA, 2010

Band from Church of All Nations, Minneapolis, MN leading singing at GA, 2010

Ashley Crago speaking about a mission trip to San Francisco, 2011

 

YAADs leading a song at General Assembly, Minneapolis, MN 2010

Visit to the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Lunch during the General Assembly, Minneapolis MN, 2010 by Landon Whitsett, V-Mod and Cindy Bolbach, Moderator ::

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Epiphany 3B (January 22, 2012) 
Jonah 3: 1-5, 10 and Mark 1:14-20

     Jonah entered the city, went one day's walk and preached,  "In forty days Nineveh 
     will be smashed."  The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God......He did change 
     his mind about them. What he said he would do to them he didn't do. Jonah 3:4-5a, 10bc 
     The Message.


     After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: "Time's up! 
     God's kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.".... A dozen yards or so
     down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee's sons. They were in the
     boat, mending their fishnets. Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their
     father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed. Mark 1:14-15, 19-20 
     The Message.

Who doesn't love a good fishing story?  And here we have two of the best known in all of history! There are so many ways these passages impact people right where they live, inside their skins. I'm sure someone else has noticed this long ago, but I've not heard it preached nor seen it discussed so far: God issues an urgent call and when people respond, it's like being overtaken by a flood. Afterward there's a lot of debris lying around. Or one lone man.

Case in point: one MAJORLY ticked off reluctant prophet who didn't want any part of going anywhere NEAR the enemy's capital to call for repentance. Yet he did that job for God too well ... because when they heard God's word of judgment they actually repented and God did the unthinkable: showed mercy and decided against the planned course of destruction. Result: an even more ticked off prophet, bitter and angry at God's mercy extended to the enemy.

Case 2: I wonder about Zebedee... his sons are working with him and there's enough work to have hired hands as well... then Jesus comes along with his call and now what? Will they expect their share of the income even though they aren't working for it? He'll need a good portion at least to pay for extra help for sure. And there's the pain at sons not following in their father's footsteps. Result: a good dad feels abandoned by his nearest and dearest ... (and by God, too?)

The question I hear from this odd juncture of two fish stories: How much does God expect us to rejoice in another person's generous gift or exciting call? 

Camp Pine Springs, Jennerstown, PA

 

Lake at Green Gables, Jennerstown, PA

Cuthbert's Cell, Lindisfarne, England

Meditating beyond Cuthbert's Cell, Lindisfarne, England

5x7 Folded Card

Dotted Pink Ribbon 5x7 folded card

Creating Christmas cards have never been this easy.

View the entire collection of cards.

2nd Sunday after Epiphany (Jan. 15, 2012) John 1:43-51

        Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under 

        the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, 

        “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God 

        ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” 

                                                                                   John 1:50-51 (NRSV)

I love the way Nathanael has pretty much spit out 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' as if it were an epithet .... and yet for whatever reason, he responds to Philip's invitation to 'come and see.' 

And having gone and seen and decided that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, 

I really, really love the way Jesus banters back 'Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these' -- almost as if IT were an epithet! Almost as in a game of verbal one-ups-man-ship, as if Jesus was saying, 'Touche, Nathanael, you think YOU are cool? know it all?' Of course, Jesus has no need to 'best' Nathanael in a verbal duel. But I kind of like the idea of a Lord and Savior who not only can but DOES gently and (as I imagine it) with a large twinkle in his eye, basically 'dish it out better than he takes' -- at least once in a while.

The question I am hearing this week: If there was one topic that Jesus could shine a spotlight on, 'call you out' on, even pull the rug out from under you with, what would it be? (and what is it about THAT topic Jesus would be zeroing in on to reveal?)

over the Portland International Airport

More Portland

Still more Portland

on the Mon Valley expressway south of Pittsburgh, PA

on the PA turnpike near Monroeville

Baptism of the Lord Sunday (Jan. 8. 2012) Mark 1:4-11

"In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was 

baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up 

out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit 

descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, 

“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

                                                                             Mark 1:9-11 

I am totally captured by this text, especially here in Mark. He punches his way through the passage like a baker punches down a yeasty bread dough 

or a potter wedges clay before putting it on the turntable. It's not just a very visual image, it's a very physical one full of the heavens tearing and Christ rising up out of water.

      

Which is such a polar-opposite to what most folks in the pews observe 

when a baby is baptized! The people coo and smile and say how cute/

darling/sweet the baby is. And most of the time there's no fuss/screaming/

kicking and the comments follow about 'how good s/he was!'

But, as several commentators featured at www.textweek.com pointed out, baptism is no nice, sweet, 'pretty' event. It's a life-changing tearing apart 

of the person who was before from the new person who is afterward. 

        "Their lives after baptism are different because they are 

         called God's beloved ... Immersed in the Christian life, 

         soaked in the stories of scripture, they (we) are "marked 

         as Christ's own forever." Torn apart from the life that might 

         have been, we are made whole by love."

             Rosemary Beales 1/2/12 responding to David Lose's 1/1/12 post 

             on Lectionary Homiletics 'Homiletic Hot Tub' blog. 

So my question for this week: how is God still tearing you apart from the life that might have been, calling you beloved, making you whole instead?

Storm Damage

Vines doing their destruction along PA 51 north of Perryopolis, PA

Font at Greyfriar's Church, Edinborough (where the National Covenant was signed in 1638)

Font at Roslyn Chapel (made famous in ;The DaVinci Code')

Font at St. Cuthbert's Presbyterian Church, Lindisfarne

Font at the Parish Church of St.Mary the Virgin on Lindisfarne, England

'Dove's - Eye View' of the font at New Salem Presbyterian, dressed to be 'overflowing with water'

 

Epiphany Sunday (January 1, 2012) Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

                                                                                                 Isaiah 60:1-3

The use of 'light' or 'darkness' in scripture has stood as a powerful image or metaphor throughout the ages. Who of us hasn't been in a basement or a mall when the power went out? In the moment before  emergency lighting came on, what were you thinking?  feeling? 

And there is the very revelatory aspect, as light in a room reveals where the potential obstacles are placed. (And in the reverse: it reveals where the lost coin has rolled or 'the way' to go.) 

But what about the misuse of these images, the ways  they have been misapplied? They are an imperfect attempt at describing the character of God and God's relationship to creation. This is no warrant for creating a human 'pecking order' built on  the shade of one's skin or hair or eyes.

The propsed solution has been just avoid all use of 'light' and 'dark' imagery in our liturgy and preaching. But what richness we lose if we do that.

And even more: we only treat the symptom, not the disease. Until we can look at all people with our eyes truly size/shape blind AND colorblind, and all people can truly sense that is how they are being seen, we have accomplished nothing. We have failed to be mini epiphany of the Epiphany. (see Bruce Prewer: Resources for Common Lectionary: Epiphany)

And so the questions I hear from this text are: Have YOU welcomed the light? Have YOU risen up? Are you shining brightly on ALL people?

My light is most like that of the moon

 

 

Fort Pitt Tunnel, Pittsburgh PA

Isle of Mull, Scotland

 

 

along the PA Turnpike

New Year's Eve Sunset, 2010

Along the Amos K. Hutchins Bypass

 

 

Father's Day 2009