METAMORPHOSIS

It's one of our earliest assignments in elementary science: metamorphosis, from caterpillar to butterfly. Sunday's lection is also about metamorphosis although most English Bibles use "transfiguration."

If we read our Bibles then we know that Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all experience mountain-top encounters with God. All three went through very trying and challenging times in their lives and their encounter with God enabled them to complete the tasks that God has called them to do. The three went up caterpillars, they came down butterflies.

Metamorphosis.

But not everyone who encounters God come back as butterflies. Like Peter. In the mountain Peter experienced something so special, so unique that we expected him to come out as a butterfly. He does not. He opposes Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem. He denies Jesus. Three times!

Everyone who encounters God in God’s mountain needs to come down. When Moses came down he led in the birthing of a people whose love for Yahweh was expressed in love for neighbor, especially the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the strangers. When Elijah came down he continued the struggle against Israel’s oppressive kings and began a prophetic tradition that ended with John the Baptizer. When Jesus came down he followed the path that led to Jerusalem and eventually to the cross.

My friends, do catterpillars know they will turn into butterflies?

To believe in God's power to effect metamorphosis is to believe that goodness will always triumph over evil; that hope is stronger than despair; that faith conquers fear; that love is greater than indifference; that life will always, always, conquer death! To believe in metamorphosis is to believe in God's power to transform catterpillars into butterflies. Yes, eventually even Peter. And, yes, even you and me!

*art, "The Transfiguration," JESUS MAFA, Cameroon 1973 (from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives)

MOSES, ELIJAH, AND JESUS

The Gospel Readings since the end of January have been on Matthew's "Sermon on the Mount," particularly Chapter 5. "The Law and the Prophets" serves as a hermeneutical key when reading these passages.

My Jewish teachers in graduate school taught us that one of the best ways to understand the Hebrew Bible--especially the Law (Genesis to Deuteronomy) and the Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve [Hosea to Malachi])--is to focus on who speaks for God in these traditions.

In the Law, God speaks through Moses. In the Prophets, God speaks through Elijah (and Elisha, Deborrah, Samuel, and the rest of the prophets). In our lection (and in the gospels), God speaks through Jesus.

My friends, God speaks through anyone God chooses. God especially speaks through those whose lives proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, liberation for the oppressed, and God's Jubilee of justice!

Lest we forget: Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are not, and never have been, Christians. Those of us who take pride in calling ourselves Christian should stop thinking that we have exclusive access to God.

*art, "Sermon on the Mount (2010)," by Laura James (from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives).

Salt, Light, and a Grain of Wheat

Two of the most popular metaphors for the church come from Paul. When you ask people what the church is, most of them will respond with "Body of Christ" or "Bride of Christ."

There are actually more metaphors and three of the most powerful come from Jesus. Salt. Light. And a grain of wheat. The first two come from Sunday's Matthean lection. The third is Johannine. We have heard so many homilies about these three. We are the salt of the earth, we give flavor to life. We are the light of the world, we push away the darkness. We are a grain of wheat, we need to bear fruit... We feel good about being salt, light, and a grain of wheat.

We are so comfortable with these interpretations we miss what those metaphors demand from us: all require self-sacrifice, all require emptying, all require death...

Salt dissolves. Light burns out. And "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."

We should never forget what Jesus commands us: "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." We should never forget what his earliest disciples remind us: "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another."

We should never, ever, forget that we follow a Crucified and Risen Lord. There is no Resurrection without the Crucifixion.

When Christ calls us, he bids us come and die.+

*art, "Shine," by Mike Moyers (from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library digital archives).  
+Deitrich Bonhoeffer

BLESSED ARE THE POOR

The Greek word for poor is "ptochos--" people who are destitute, people who are so poor that begging and stealing become options for them to survive. They are drowning in misery.

War, slavery, and indebtedness leave people widows and orphans and strangers. War, slavery, and indebtedness leave people destitute, displaced, and dispossessed.

The Hebrew Bible, over and over and over, challenged the Ancient Israelites and Judahites to care for widows, orphans, and strangers. War, slavery, and indebtedness were all part of the structures and systems of evil that made the rich richer and the poor miserable.

During the time of Jesus, the 1% owned and controlled the land and practically everything else. Half of the population was slowly starving to death. Life expectancy was 28 years.

The poor that Matthew talks about are people who have to beg God in prayer to give them today the food they need because that's how they get to tomorrow.

There are people who love to pray this prayer while they have cupboards--or even storehouses--of food enough for a week, a month, a year, or longer.

These people are not poor. They should stop praying the prayer.



*art, "The Sermon on the Mount," JESUS MAFA (from the vanderbilt diviniyt library digital archives).

GO FISH!

I am pretty sure that many among us used to sing a song that went, "I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men. I will make you fishers of men if you follow me." I haven't heard this song sung in years. Probably because we have stopped fishing for people. Why is that? We have stopped FOLLOWING JESUS.

What have we done instead? We praise Jesus. We worship Jesus. We proclaim, "Christ above all!" We do everything in our power to make other people look like us; pray like us; act like us. We have stopped doing what Jesus actually told us to do in order to fish for people. FOLLOW HIM!

Why is that? Because following Jesus is hard. It is dangerous. It means loving our neighbor, including our enemies. It means taking up the cross. It means going against empire. It means being red-tagged, vilified, and demonized. It means being crucified. It means offering one's life as a ransom for many.

My friends, Jesus is, right now, waiting for you and me to follow him to Galilee. By the sea. To go fish for people.

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*image, "St. Peter and St. Andrerw," by Peter Koenig (from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives)

THE LAMB OF GOD

Last Sunday's lection on the baptism of Jesus reminded us that, in Scripture, God does everything possible to live among God's people here on earth--whether it is God descending on Sinai, journeying with the Israelites via the tabernacle, taking residence at the temple in Jerusalem, and fulfilling the promise of "Immanuel."

This Sunday's Johannine lection resonates with the same theme: God finding ways to live among God's people here on earth. The number of sermons and commentaries on "The Lamb of God" is voluminous. But contemporary Hebrew Bible scholarship-- especially on the Priestly Tradition in the Pentateuch--can help us better understand the meaning of "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Whether it is about Sinai, the tabernacle, the temple, and eventually ancient Israel and Judah, the blood that is offered as purification (or sin) offerings acts as ritual detergent. "Sins" make God's dwelling place dirty. The offerings and its related rituals (washing hands, bathing, etc.) make sure that God has a place God can call home among us.

In other words, my friends, the blood of the lamb resets God's dwelling place to its "original factory settings" so that God can dwell among us. For the Christian, Jesus is the reason the whole world is cleansed. For the Christian, Jesus is the reason God is not in heaven anymore.

Immanuel.

*image, "The Lamb of God" at the Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano (Rome, Italy), from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.

THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED...

 

Sunday's lection from Matthew talks about the baptism of Jesus by John. Mark and Luke have parallel versions. Only Mark reports that the heavens were torn or ripped apart when the Spirit descended upon Jesus. Matthew and Luke say the heavens were opened.

There are so many people who are fixated on going up to heaven. There are those who do most of what they do in order to secure themselves a place up in heaven. There are also those who believe that investing their 70 to 80 earth years on "heavenly" endeavors--putting numerous bills in the offertory, donating land, and building air-conditioned churches--will get them a reward in the after-life that spans eternity.

Now, there are those who read their Bibles, pray everyday, and grow, grow, grow in the realization that many times in scripture, God does everything possible to live among God's people here on earth whether it is God descending on Sinai, journeying with the Israelites via the tabernacle, taking residence at the temple in Jerusalem, and fulfilling the promise of "Immanuel." Of course, our lection says that the Spirit descended, came down, like a dove. I would like to believe that the Spirit tore or ripped the heavens apart because the Spirit could not wait to leave heaven for earth.

And, do not forget this, ever: the Spirit that came down has not gone back up to heaven. And Jesus likewise. He is still down here on earth, particularly in Galilee where we do not want to go. He is waiting for us to join him as he works among the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, the dehumanized, and the silenced.

*art, "John baptizes Jesus," JESUS MAFA, 1973 (Cameroon), from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.

THE PARABLE OF THE GREAT SURPRISE. PART TWO

We grew up with this parable. Almost every time we hear preaching on this passage we are challenged to be like the sheep. We are called to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, care for the sick, and welcome strangers. We are challenged to care, especially, for the least. And we are cautioned about imitating the goats.

In other words, if we love God, we should care for the least among our sisters and brothers. If we don't, then we really don't love God.

But why call it the Parable of the Great Surprise if we already know what the story wants us to do? And not to do?

My friends, take note that both groups were surprised. Those who were blessed did not expect their blessing. Those who were cursed did not expect their plight.

The parable is not about charity. The parable is not about loving God. The sheep did not do what they did for God. This is why they were surprised when they were blessed. They said, "We did not do any of these for you!"

And the cursed ones? They did not do anything to help their sisters and brothers. Even if they did help, they would be doing it for God. Again, the parable is not about loving God.

Never forget this: the blessing is based on what you do for people for people's sake; not what you do for people for God's sake.

Surprised?! SURPRISE!

P. S. How does Paul, who probably wrote half of the New Testament, sum up the Law? One commandment. Love your neighbor!

*art, "Food for the Hungry, Drink for the Thirsty," relief sculpture at the Hospital of the Holy Spirit (Biberach, Germany), from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.

THE PARABLE OF THE GREAT SURPRISE

Sheep and goats usually make up the same flock. Many people cannot tell them apart, especially sheep and goats in Asia and Africa. But shepherds know.

Sunday's lection use sheep and goats to make a similar point about people. One cannot tell the blessed from the cursed. But the Son of Man, like a shepherd, knows.

Of course, there are those who are so sure they are blessed and claim they know how to tell them apart. And they have cherry-picked Bible verses to prove it!

But Sunday's lection reminds us that only one really knows how to separate the blessed and the cursed. And it is not me. Nor you.

The blessed were surprised. So were the cursed. Every. One. Was. Surprised!

Don't forget this, ever: God is a God of surprises!

*photo by Aaron Cederberg from the Library of Congress, "Sheep and Goats being taken to Market" (Jerusalem, Palestine).




 

THERE WERE SHEPHERDS...

Sunday's lection begins with a decree from Emperor Augustus and ends with shepherds glorifying and praising God.

Shepherds were day laborers. They were part of the lowest 15 percent of ancient Palestine's class structure. If we read Luke, the Gospel is Good News to the poor. God takes sides and always with the poor. Shepherds were probably the poorest, so they receive the gospel first!

My friends, lest we forget, women make up more than half of the world's shepherds. Rebekah, Rachel, Miriam, Zipporah and her sisters were shepherds. The shepherds in our lection were probably all women. Most importantly, many faith communities celebrate Mary--the mother of the Lamb of God--as a shepherd! (Unfortunately, more often than not, all the characters in our Chrismas art, pageants, and tableaux are male, except for Mary!).

Unless we understand that Jesus came for those whose only hope is God, for those who need God the most, then we don't really understand what Christmas is all about.

This Christmas, will our hearts, our homes, our hands, our doors, our tables, our churches be open to welcome shepherds? How about Lumads, refugees, orphans, widows, and strangers? More often than not, they are the ones who come glorifying and praising God.

JOSEPH THE DREAMER

The Gospels offer us two distinctly different birth narratives. In Luke's version, we have the angel Gabriel visiting Mary, shepherds watching over their flock, more angels, and the baby Jesus in a manger. In Matthew's version, we have an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph in a dream, a star, magi or wise men from the East, Herod, the boy Jesus with Mary inside a house, and gifts.

We have harmonized these two stories together so we have nativity scenes, Christmas pageants, and "Belen" decorations which now include Three Kings, sheep, goats, other animals and even the Little Drummer Boy!

Sunday's lection is part of Matthew's version. Many times we forget that there are two dreamers named Joseph in the Bible. And both have fathers named Jacob! Most of us are familiar with Genesis's Joseph the Dreamer.

Matthew's Joseph the Dreamer encounters an angel of the Lord four times. Four times Joseph follows what the angel of the Lord commanded him to do. And those four dreams were all about making sure that Joseph took care of Mary and Jesus.

I believe that God reveals Godself outside and beyond the little boxes we have created to contain God. This is why I believe that God continues to reveal Godself through dreams.



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*image, "Joseph's Dream," Detail from the north portal tympanum of Lille Cathedral. 1854 (Relief Sculpture in Lille, France), from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.

THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

Sunday's lection reminds me of Muhammad Ali. Today, people will not hesitate to describe him as "The Greatest"--with the same energy he called himself "The Greatest," to boot!

But those same peoole who praise Ali now often forget--deliberately, even--the times in Ali's life when many treated him with hostility, disdain, and called him a "loud-mouthed nobody".

His close friendship with Malcolm X, his decision to become a Moslem, and his being a conscientious objector against the Vietnam War made him one of the most hated men in America. Like John the Baptist, he was one voice crying in the wilderness.

Sunday's lection also reminds me of young Emmet Till. His abduction, torture, and lynching at age 14 in 1955 for allegedly offending Carolyn Bryant and the acquittal of his murderers illustrate the depth and breadth of racism, injustice, and evil that victimize the most vulnerable in society: children.

Despite rhetoric to the contrary, the world continues to treat prophets and children as dispensable and replaceable nobodies. Prophets are silenced while children are traded. Prophets are vilified while children are comodified.

Sunday's lection reminds us how Jesus feels about prophets and children. For him, they are the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. But that's for Jesus. He always took the side of those in the margins. How about us who take pride in calling ourselves followers of Jesus?

*image of Emmet Till (from the Emmet Till Research Collection, Florida State University Library).

THERE WAS A MAN NAMED JOHN

All the canonical gospels feature John the Baptist. But most scholars agree that Sunday's Matthean lection comes from "Q" (short for "quelle" meaning, source)."Q" is theorized as an earlier collection of Jesus tradition that was only accessible to Matthew and Luke.

John, like the prophets before him, did not pull punches. He calls everyone to repentance, to change direction, and to follow God's way of justice.

My favorite part of the passage is how John addresses those who think they do not need to repent or change their ways because they are God's "Chosen,"; that they are God's favorites. John basically tells them, "God can make God's children out of a pile of stones." (John's retort resonates with Jesus's "stones crying out" response to some Pharisees in Jerusalem).

John's message remains relevant and powerful today, especially to us who think we're "Chosen". We need to repent. And repentance means doing, not thinking, nor praying: specifically, it's doing acts of justice. Or we face God's wrath.

We all need to repent! God can still make God's children out of a pile of stones.

#Advent2022
#IAmWithJesus
#JusticeForMyanmar
#FreePalestine
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#ChooseJustice
#AlwaysJustice

*image, "St. John the Baptist," (Jacek Malczewski, 1854-1929) from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.