email: whitpresby@charterinternet.com
Spiritual readings "Greetings from Whittier Presbyterian Church"
April 2004
Psalm & Revelation quote from “The Messiah” I Corinthians 1:18-25 on the cross Judas in John 13. Foot washing in John 13:12-20 Fourth of the Seven Last Words from the Cross.
Matthew 27:45-46: Craddock on Holy Saturday Lyrics from BWV 68 Jeremy Taylor: We
are all artists Thievery Corporation “Richest Man in Babylon” W. H. Auden on Evil Poverty & Materialism Willimon on serving Caesar In this week’s “Lent with The Messiah” class we
listened to pieces in that work that set 2 verses of Psalm 2 and the parts of
the book of Revelation that are set into the famous “Hallelujah” chorus.
Here are those texts Psalm 2, verses 4 & 9 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has
them in derision. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Revelation 19:6 & 11:15 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great
multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty
thunderpeals, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were
loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our
Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.” As is appropriate for the Easter season, when this
part of “The Messiah” is often played or sung, the message of God’s
triumph in Christ over sin and death is proclaimed.
Here are the questions we asked our class. In what areas of the world or your own life does it seem
that God is NOT in charge? Why is the “Hallelujah Chorus” so popular? When you ask yourself those questions, you may find the
places in your life where God can speak to you most directly and you may find
the heights of emotion that praising God can reach. That is good work for a Lent and Easter season. Grace & peace Geoff During Holy Week I like personally
to focus more upon the cross in order to grow deeper into the Lent/Easter cycle.
I’ve done the same in these emails.
(See those for March 2002 and April 2003 on the website.)
The cross is both the central symbol for our faith and at the same time
the most difficult element of our faith to deal with, to fully understand and
integrate into our personal lives.
It is comforting for me to realize that the early Christians had much the
same struggle with the cross that we have still, 2000 years later.
Paul addresses this question in several of his New Testament letters.
For me one of the most concise discussions takes place in I Corinthians
1:18-25: For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who
are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the
discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through
wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those
who believe. For Jews demand signs
and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to
Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness
is stronger than human strength. For those confused by the
geographic or ethnic twists in this text, think of the Jews as the religious,
“church-going,” “waiting on a miracle” folks, and the Greeks as those
seeking wisdom, mostly in secular terms. I
like to think of modern “Greeks” in this sense as the journalists and those
who read the paper for “the buzz” or to know what’s happening, what’s
popular or sensational. To both
groups Paul says the cross is confusing. For
the “religious,” how moral or upright you are, how often you go to church,
is not what the cross is about. For
those seeking wisdom or to be “in the know,” something like putting others
before yourself or not seeking glory, riches and power is nonsense.
I find Holy Week, leading to Good Friday, then Easter, is a good time to
reflect upon the cross in my life. This
year, I would also recommend a viewing of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the
Christ.” For all the controversy
surrounding the film, it is most appropriate to view it this week, as part of
our own faith in Christ. Where does the cross fit into YOUR life?
May your Holy Week revolve around that question, as these emails will. Grace & peace Geoff During Holy Week we again focus
upon the cross in order to grow deeper into the Lent/Easter cycle.
See emails on the website for March 2002 and April 2003 for past years’
musings on the cross. The cross is both the central symbol for our faith and at the
same time the most difficult element of our faith to deal with, to fully
understand and integrate into our personal lives.
Today we review the story of Judas in John 13. After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and
declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking.
One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to
him; Simon Peter therefore motioned
to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.
So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when
I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he
gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After
he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do
quickly what you are going to do.” Now
no one at the table knew why he said this to him.
Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling
him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something
to the poor. So, after receiving
the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
I always get two messages from the story of Judas.
The negative one is that I too betray Jesus every time I choose my will
over God’s, every time I put my needs before others, every time I act out of
fear instead of faith. But the
positive message is that Judas is at the table with Jesus and the other
disciples. In all the gospels
Judas’ betrayal does not happen until after the symbolic actions of the
Lord’s Supper and the foot washing have taken place.
Jesus offers these gifts even to those who betray him.
That is a love that puts others before oneself.
And if Judas belongs at the Last Supper with Jesus, I know there is room
for me, no matter how far short I fall of God’s will.
Even the person who hands Jesus over to be crucified is included in
God’s amazing love in Jesus. That
is a love with the cross in the center of it. May you find that deep, forgiving and accepting love of
Jesus in your life this day. Grace & peace Geoff During Holy Week I like personally
to focus more upon the cross in order to grow deeper into the Lent/Easter cycle.
I’ve done the same in these emails.
(See those for March 2002 and April 2003 on the website.)
The cross is both the central symbol for our faith and at the same time
the most difficult element of our faith to deal with, to fully understand and
integrate into our personal lives. Tonight at our church we will have
foot washing as part of our Maundy Thursday service. I find the connection between the foot washing and the cross
a profound one. Washing another’s
feet is an intimate thing to do, more so in our society even than in Jesus’
day I believe. It puts one in a
position of service that we are not used to being in.
Listen again to the way Jesus explains the foot washing in John 13:12-20. After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and
had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to
you? You call me Teacher and
Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another’s feet. For I
have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor
are messengers greater than the one who sent them.
If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to
fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against
me.’ I tell you this now, before
it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.
Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and
whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” When Jesus tells us he has set an example he expects
us to follow, he means more than just washing feet.
He means an attitude of service-in-love to others.
The Christian form of this service-in-love needs the cross right in the
center of it. May we find the cross in the center of our lives in all we
do. Grace & peace Geoff The cross is both the central
symbol for our faith and at the same time the most difficult element of our
faith to deal with, to fully understand and integrate into our personal lives.
On this Good Friday, 2004, we put the cross front and center in our
lives, with Jesus on the cross, a very un-Protestant thing to do.
But for one day a year, it helps keep us balanced.
This is the one day when I would encourage people to see Gibson’s
“The Passion of the Christ.” For
all the controversy around it, it is appropriate for a Good Friday Meditation. I’ll be speaking today at our
Whittier Area Clergy Association’s Good Friday service on the Fourth of the
Seven Last Words from the Cross. This
is found in Matthew 27:45-46: From noon on, darkness came over
the whole land until three in the afternoon.
And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,
lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus is quoting Psalm 22 here,
one of many lament Psalms in the Psalter. The
laments teach us how to take our grief to God, to trust God with our care.
They remind us of our vulnerability, a vulnerability that we share with
all other humans. On Good Friday we
are painfully reminded not only of the price God in Christ paid for us, but also
of an alternate way to face the world and the pain the world inflicts upon us.
See the web site for the email of Jan. 27, 2004 for a very contemporary
application of this alternate way. How do you handle your grief and
pain? Can you, with Christians down
through the centuries, pray your grief through the biblical laments?
You will be healthier for it. May you, if only this one day this
year, face the tortured dying Christ on the cross, and be moved towards an
alternate way of living. Grace & peace Geoff The cross has done its grisly
work, Jesus is dead and the disciples are in despair. I was reading the 23rd chapter of the Gospel of
Luke, to get an idea what the followers of Jesus did on that Saturday, the day
between the death and the resurrection. Here’s
what I found: “On the sabbath day they rested
according to the commandment.”
What? Rested!
They’ve just had their world blown apart and they have a “normal”
Sabbath? Seems difficult to accept.
So I snooped around in some commentaries etc. and found this very
sensible reflection in the commentary on Luke in the “Interpretation”
series, by Fred B. Craddock. John Knox Press, Louisville, 1990. “When the ground gives way
beneath the feet, when heaven and earth are shake, when life’s reason has been
removed by death, something has to be the same, dependable and certain.
What, at such a time could be more nourishing and stabilizing than the
same house of worship, the same pew, the same Scriptures, the same faces,
prayers, voices, the same order of service.” I thought “indeed, that is how
real people would react, that is how I would seek comfort, looking for some
stability in the things, places and people that touch me deeply.
I would look to church and familiar worship to provide comfort.
Unlike those women on that Saturday, we know what is coming, we know the
deeper meaning and ending of the story. But
for future reference, when our world is blown apart, let’s seek for comfort
and stability in what and whom we know well. May you all have a most blessed
and joyous Easter tomorrow. Grace & peace Geoff After a strenuous Lent, I always appreciate the comment
from Kathleen Norris’ book “Cloister Walk.”
She talks about an Easter party she attended in a monastery. “Maybe
these people can enjoy Easter because they also observe Lent well enough to be
happy to see it go.” Bye bye Lent, hello Easter season. In my preparation for this weekend’s Bach program
& concert (see the web page for details), I’ve been looking at the liner
notes to the cantata “God So Loved the World,” BWV 68.
This was a new one to me and I have found I greatly enjoy it. The
Aria, “My heart ever faithful” in particular is a joy to my ears.
According to the liner notes for the CD, a Hanssler CD, #92.022, with
Helmuth Rilling conducting the Gachinger Kantorei & Bach Collegium of
Stuttgart, this is “a favorite among Bach’s sacred cantatas, thanks to its
light-hearted and upbeat nature.” Here
are the words to this aria. My heart ever faithful, Exulting, sing gladly, Thy Jesus is here!
Hence, sorrow! Hence, grieving!
I will simply tell you:
My Jesus is near! As we enjoy the post-Easter season.
Let us be reminded that, indeed, Jesus is here, Jesus is near! Grace & peace Geoff I have a dear friend who, at the age of 60, is blossoming
into quite the oil painter. Seeing
some of his work reminded me of one of the highlights of my Lenten season.
I attended a dream work workshop led by Rev. Jeremy Taylor, one of the
true pioneers in using dreams in spiritual life.
See his web site at http://www.jeremytaylor.com.
In part of his lecture he said this phrase that dug very deeply into me
and has stayed with me over the weeks. “Artists are not special kinds of human beings, we
are all special kinds of artists.” As I talk to people, I find myself wondering what
their particular artistic talent is. I’m
reminded of the way the New Testament talks about the gifts we all have, in
places like I Corinthians 12. What special gift do you have? Can you use it the way an artist would, to bring out
different elements or colors in your life or the world around you? May your own special artist bloom more in the days to come. Grace & peace Geoff Errata: There
was a typo in Tuesday’s email. The
line printed “My Jesus in here” should have read “My Jesus is
here.” Regular readers of these emails will be familiar with my
love of music. One kind of music I
love is Reggae, for its beat, but often for its social message.
Here are the lyrics from a Reggae-inspired song called “Richest Man In
Babylon,” the title song of an album by the group Thievery Corporation, ESL
Records, CD ESL0060. Note the
religious language. “There is no guidance in your kingdom/Your wicked
walk in Babylon There is no wisdom to your freedom/The Richest Man in
Babylon Your beggars sleep outside your doorway/Your prophets leave
to wonder on You fall asleep at night with worry/The saddest man in
Babylon The wicked stench of exploitation/Hangs in the air and
lingers on Beneath the praise and admiration/The weakest man in
Babylon There is no hope left in your kingdom/Your servants have
burned all their songs Nobody here remembers freedom/The richest man in Babylon If you know how to listen to this song over the
Internet, I would encourage you to do so. I
trust you are familiar with the symbolism of Babylon in the Bible, and maybe you
can find other images in the song that speak to you. I like to listen for messages of God wherever I might hear
them. May you find God speaking to
you in a variety of places. Grace & peace, Geoff Last night I attended a Christian-Jewish dialogue about
Gibson”s “The Passion Of the Christ.”
I was reminded once again of the important dynamic of the story of Jesus,
that each of us is responsible in our own ways for his death.
Then, this morning, I ran across this couplet from W.H. Auden: Evil is unspectacular and always human And shares our bed and eats at our own table We have evil inside of us that we must acknowledge or
it will blind-side us when we are least aware.
Jesus reminds us of the importance of this in Matthew 7:1-5, where we are
reminded to get the log out of our own eye before we tell our neighbor to get
the speck out of their eye. Our
human tendency is to find the blame or fault in others before we look at
ourselves. A Christian spirituality
reminds us of our own shortcomings first. Whether
you have seen Gibson’s movie or not, a part of your faith response must be to
remind ourselves that Jews did not kill Christ, we did, whoever the “we” is
that you identify with. This is a
hard lesson, but one of the most basic and important in our faith. May you be more self-aware this day, and offer ALL of
yourself in service to God. Grace & peace Geoff Spirituality often means taking something old and
re-fashioning it for contemporary use. I
ran across an example of this in the book “Working on God” by Winifred
Gallagher, Random House, 1999. She
talks about Rev. Jeff Golliher’s re-wording or re-thinking of the teaching on
poverty of St. Francis of Assisi. Golliher
was a priest on the staff of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in
New York City. Here’s my edited
version of what she says. “(Poverty) doesn’t mean penury as much as not
giving THINGS the utmost importance. This
(holy poverty) is the antidote to greed, which Francis considered the worst sin.
Greed is not only material, but emotional, sensual, and perceptual.
Like a depth charge, the idea that its sinful to hog not just things but
experience—attention, even affection—quietly sinks into our brains.” We have a tradition where pride has been called the
greatest sin. Here is a nomination
for greed to take that role. With
this expanded definition of greed, we can see how powerful it can be in our
lives. How many of us are greedy
for the attention of parents, spouses, children?
Sometimes we act on impulses that shock our religious sensibility or our
sense of what it means to be an adult. I
always find those surprising actions in my life to be sources of humility.
I just hope I will outgrow them soon!
Alas, it may be that we need to be humbled to be reminded that God’s
grace is the only true basis for our lives and our loves. May you find God’s grace to be truly humble the next time
you need it. That very same grace & peace to you Geoff I’ve been watching the movie “Friendly Persuasion” in
preparation for our upcoming “Wednesday at the Movies” class.
The film does a good job of raising the issues of Christian response to
war or threat of war. I found this great quote from William Willimon, who, I
believe, is the chaplain at Duke University.
These words were part of his Palm Sunday sermon last month. “During the last presidential election, there was
debate about Senator Lieberman. ‘He’s
a devout Jew,’ some said. ‘He
keeps Kosher. If we have a national
crisis and need to go to war on a Saturday, could we count on Lieberman?’ Nobody said ‘George Bush is a Methodist, Al Gore is a
Baptist, don’t these Christians have some funny ideas about violence?
Can we count on them to kick butt when we need it?’
Nobody asked because, well, when it comes to such issues, you can’t
tell the worshippers of Caesar from the devotees of Jesus.” Willimon is one of my favorite writers whose pithy
statements often cut right to the heart of the matter at hand. This
is an example of that gift of Willimon’s.
“Friendly Persuasion” is not a pithy statement.
Even by standards 50 years later it is a fairly long movie. But it raises the issues of a Christian’s stand toward war
in as good a fashion as I’m aware of any film doing.
I’d invite any of you within commuting distance to join us for
Wednesday at the Movies. May you plumb some of the depths of your faith this day. Grace & peace Geoff
