SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR
Sunday, February 5
 
Psalm 112:1-10
Isaiah 58:1-12
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Matthew 5:13-20

“... wee must Consider that
          wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill,
                the eies of all people are uppon us....”
-Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop, a Puritan preacher, in his sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity,” preached while at sea, on the way to America aboard the ship Arabella in 1630.
 
Can we get past the way people wrote, four hundred years ago ?  [modern English translation: “...we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill.  The eyes of all people are upon us.”]

Can we get past the sad and shameful way that the Pilgrims failed to see the native Americans as fellow human beings, but rather treated them as brutish savages, even though the native people helped them to survive ?

Can we get past the fact that the Pilgrims were members of a traitorous, disloyal group which fled their homeland as refugees and exiles ?

Can we get past the way this quotation was famously used by John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Mitt Romney in major speeches ?
 
Our Bethel might possibly possess some lenses, through which we may see beyond the layers of stuff that history has heaped onto those old words.  Maybe by God’s grace we can cut through the mists of history and experience, to hear directly what Jesus is telling us today.

† Since 1931, when the “Christian Church” movement merged with the Congregational Churches of New England, our Bethel learned to share in the Puritan heritage of the Congregationalists which was brought to these shores in the 1600s.  At the core of their beliefs, the Puritans sought to strip away the sixteen-hundred years of stuff that the church and the world had heaped on top of Jesus’ teachings.  The Puritans often failed to hit the mark— they were only human, as we are— but it was a worthy goal.

† Among the founding principles of Bethel as a part of the “Christian Church” movement was this: “The Holy Bible is a sufficient rule of faith and practice.”  Perhaps we could go directly to the gospel, to Matthew 5:14, where Jesus’ words are recorded about his followers being “a city built upon a hill.”   We have our own Bibles,  in many translations and versions, and we have freedom not only to read them but also to meet and discuss the deep questions, “What is Jesus saying to us, in this passage ?”  In Sunday School, in Bible study groups— shoot! even, possibly, in the occasional sermon, for heaven’s sake!— : we are free to hash these things out through reading, discussion and prayer.  [N]o one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 
                                            1 Corinthians 2:11-12

Lenses to see through the mist; sharp tools to cut through the crap:  Lord Jesus, speak to us today !
 
You, dear reader, are most likely a U.S. citizen: that is a privilege sought after by oppressed people all around the world.  Nearly all of you are blessed to have potable water, food, shelter, and basic personal safety: these are blessings which most of the world’s people enjoy to a lesser degree than we.  And you have been privileged with ample access to not only the teachings of Jesus, but what’s far more important, a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus as Lord: that is the ultimate heavenly privilege for a mortal creature.  So...
“You are the light of the world.... 
let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father in heaven.”                     
                                          -Matthew 5:14, 16

In our day, when the winners close the borders, limit access to healing, and claim God’s blessings only for a select few who are like themselves, we followers of Jesus may need to declare days of fasting, as the prophet Isaiah declared on God’s behalf: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?  Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your Vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’”                                   -Isaiah 58: 6-9

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR 
Sunday, January 29 
Psalm 15
Micah 6:1-8
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Matthew 5:1-12

At lunch-time on Sunday, February 5, enormous crowds of Patriots and Falcons will be preparing to struggle for the National Football League championship in Houston, Texas— the annual Super Bowl. 
Meanwhile, in the social hall of a church near Elkton, Virginia (and many other houses of worship around the nation), some followers of Jesus will be lining up to eat some soup and sandwiches in solidarity with poor people— the SOUPer Bowl of Caring. 
It’s scheduled so you can experience both: you don’t have to miss the Super Bowl to take part in the SOUPer Bowl !
At the SOUPer Bowl of Caring, we bring gifts of non-perishable food and money to be shared with ministries that feed hungry people.  In our area, we support Elkton Area United Services’ Food Pantry, which offers a monthly food distribution to low-income people on the Third Friday of each month, as well as emergency food aid throughout the month, and classes on healthy food preparation methods and good nutrition on a tight budget.
I ask you to pray about your role in feeding the hungry.  When Jesus said, “I was hungry and you fed me... when you did it for the least of these sisters and brothers of mine” (Matthew 25: 35, 40) – how do you and I respond to that ?
 
This is our year of reading the Gospel according to Matthew.  For the next four Sundays, we will be focusing on Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, as reported in Matthew.  Jesus sat on a hill and taught his first disciples, along with the crowds who came to him for healing.  This “Sermon on the Mount” gives Christians a big part of our direct instruction from Jesus. 
It begins with nine blessings that Jesus pronounced.  Jesus named nine practices, nine things that humans can do, which God loves and affirms.  Because the Latin word for “blessed” is beata, this list of blessings came to be called the Beatitudes.  But beware !  Contrary to what some preachers have said, in our lifetime, Jesus was not blessing “attitudes.”  Instead, Jesus gave his blessing to people as they— we— do God’s will.
If you can, read Matthew 5: 1-12 and try to prepare yourself to claim these blessings for yourself. 
By the grace of God, we may do what God wants and God will bless us.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit….
“Blessed are those who mourn….
“Blessed are the meek….
“Blessed are those
                 who hunger and thirst for righteousness….
“Blessed are the merciful….
“Blessed are the pure in heart….
“Blessed are the peacemakers….
“Blessed are those
                 who are persecuted for righteousness' sake….
In the Fall of 2006, I had the privilege of learning from Archbishop Elias Chacour, who was a major leader of Christians in the Holy Land— specifically, in the Galilee, the area where Jesus lived and conducted most of his ministry.  He challenged us seminary students to obey Jesus’ teachings in the spirit Jesus intended.  A prime example was the “Beatitudes.” 
Chacour explained to us the lesson which Jesus taught on the little below-sea-level hill by the hot shore of the lake: “Straighten up!  Take the steps you must take to reach your goal !  Get up, get moving, do something !  Peace needs no contemplators !  Get your hands dirty !  The ‘Beatitudes’ are blessings, but only on people who get busy and do the work Jesus called for.  They are not attitudes.  Humble your spirit for dirty work.  Sit and weep and mourn WITH those who suffer.  Behave meekly.  Stand in for Jesus even when your own people hate you for it.  These are actions that Jesus blesses.”
Another teacher who has helped me to grasp Jesus’ strange blessings in the Sermon on the Mount is Shane Claiborne.  In his book, Irresistible Revolution, he quotes the French theologian Jacques Ellul: “Christians should be troublemakers, creators of uncertainty, agents of a dimension incompatible with society.”  Claiborne adds, “You don’t get crucified for being cool; you get crucified for living radically different from the norms of all that is cool in the world.  And it’s usually the cool people who get the most ticked off, since you are disturbing their order, for it was indeed the cool religious leaders and the cool politicians who killed the Lover from Nazareth.  Some things never change.”
                God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom....
                                       -1 Corinthians 1:25

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR 
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Psalm 27:1-9
Isaiah 9:1-4
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23

[Paul writes, ] 
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you be in agreement
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.                                                         1 Corinthians 1:10

... [A]s nations and individuals, we are interdependent....  It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated.  We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.  We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.  Did you ever stop to think that you can't leave for your job in the morning without being dependent on most of the world?  You get up in the morning and go to the bathroom and reach over for the sponge, and that's handed to you by a Pacific islander.  You reach for a bar of soap, and that's given to you at the hands of a Frenchman.  And then you go into the kitchen to drink your coffee for the morning, and that's poured into your cup by a South American.  And maybe you want tea: that's poured into your cup by a Chinese.  Or maybe you're desirous of having cocoa for breakfast, and that's poured into your cup by a West African.  And then you reach over for your toast, and that's given to you at the hands of an English-speaking farmer, not to mention the baker.  And before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you've depended on more than half of the world.  This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality.  We aren't going to have peace on earth until we recognize this basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality....
I have a dream that one day men will rise up and come to see that they are made to live together as brothers. I still have a dream this morning that one day every Negro in this country, every colored person in the world, will be judged on the basis of the content of his character rather than the color of his skin, and every man will respect the dignity and worth of human personality.  I still have a dream that one day the idle industries of Appalachia will be revitalized, and the empty stomachs of Mississippi will be filled, and brotherhood will be more than a few words at the end of a prayer, but rather the first order of business on every legislative agenda.  I still have a dream today that one day justice will roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.  I still have a dream today that in all of our state houses and city halls men will be elected to go there who will do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with their God.  I still have a dream today that one day war will come to an end, that men will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, that nations will no longer rise up against nations, neither will they study war any more....  I still have a dream that with this faith we will be able to adjourn the councils of despair and bring new light into the dark chambers of pessimism.  With this faith we will be able to speed up the day when there will be peace on earth and good will toward men.  It will be a glorious day, the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy....

Of course, some of you reading this will have realized by now that the preceding words are those of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..  They are taken from a sermon he preached on Christmas Eve, 1967 at his own Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  Although he was not speaking directly  about  our  Scripture  text  from 1 Corinthians 1, he might as well have been.
You can read a transcript of this sermon at
http://www.ecoflourish.com/Primers/education/Christmas_Sermon.html
or you can hear it at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jeyIAH3bUI
In his sermon, just before the last paragraph printed above, he said,
“In 1963, on a sweltering August afternoon, we stood in Washington, D.C., and talked to the nation about many things.  Toward the end of that afternoon, I tried to talk to the nation about a dream that I had had, and I must confess to you today that not long after talking about that dream I started seeing it turn into a nightmare.”  Dr. King then recounted the terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, the bombings of cities and villages in North Vietnam, and other violent news of those years.
​
Through repentance, reconciliation, and God-given healing, Jesus offers us that dream.  May we live into Jesus’ blessing:
“Blessed are the peacemakers,
           for they will be called children of God.”                         
                                               -Matthew 5:9

Scripture Readings for Sunday, January 15 
Psalm 40:1-11
Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
John 1:29-42

Last Wednesday evening, we held our Quarterly Church Council meeting.  Looking over the Financial Secretary’s report, which includes attendance numbers and offering totals, we noted that we hadn’t missed any Sundays due to bad weather yet.  Ha !!  Of course, when wintry weather quickly followed, we took the decision very seriously, whether to cancel Sunday School and worship.  We discussed a variety of possible options, short of simply calling off everything.  In the last analysis, what decided the matter was concern over any individual— even one— slipping on the ice while getting in or out of their vehicles.
I know, from the discussion, that we were also thinking about what cancelling church would mean for the majority who wouldn’t slip on the ice.  But regard for the one who might slip won the day.
 
For my part, I have tentatively decided to call for the Scripture readings and songs we would have shared on January 8th to be used this coming Sunday, January 15th.  In the scheme of the Church Year, the Sunday following Epiphany is the time to remember Jesus being baptized.  We will hear that story as it is told in the gospel of Matthew, chapter three.  Matthew reports that Jesus went to the Jordan River to be baptized, and John the Baptizer baptized him.
However, the gospel lesson for January 15th would normally be John 1: 29 – 42.  If you read John’s account closely, you will see that he never says that Jesus got baptized.  But the gospel according to John does emphasize that John the Baptizer pointed out Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  The next day, John the Baptizer was standing with two of his own disciples when he saw Jesus walk by.  Again, he told them, “Here is the lamb of God.”  Those two disciples then left off following John and began to follow Jesus.  It appears that was what the Baptizer wanted. 
Not to put too fine a point on it— the attitude taken by our church leaders in the wintry weather is the same one shown by the Baptizer: he wanted what was best for each individual under his care, even if he himself ended up getting left alone. 
 
                                  †                      †                      †
 
This week brought news from my friend and leader, Rev. Marie Bacchiocchi, our Associate Conference Minister, who has been serving this part of the Central Atlantic Conference for several years now.  Many of you Bethel folks would have heard her preach when I was ordained at Bethel in October of 2012.

                                                                                  December 26, 2016
My Dear Friends,
I am writing to resign as Associate Conference Minister of the West of the Central Atlantic Conference United Church of Christ.  My last day with the Central Atlantic Conference will be February 24, 2017.
I have accepted the call to be the Interim Conference Minister of the Southeast Conference United Church of Christ.  I am excited about this call.  It feels like the place where God is calling me next.  However, I need to admit that I leave my current position with much sadness.  I have truly loved being a part of the Central Atlantic Conference.  A part of my heart will always be with you all.
In this time of transition, I will continue to faithfully minister with you.  Thank you for allowing me to serve in this amazing conference.
​
Blessings and peace,
Rev. Marie A. Bacchiocchi
Associate Conference Minister
 
The Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ includes churches in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 
I have been blessed to have worked with Marie.  I am sorry that we won’t be conducting ordinations, installations of pastors, and other such events together in the foreseeable future as we have over the past few years.  If you are like me in expecting that you will miss her, stay tuned— our Association is planning a Service of Release and a reception for her, near us, before she goes away.    I will publicize it !
I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
                                            1 Corinthians 1: 4 – 7

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR 
Sunday, January 8
Psalm 29
Isaiah 42:1-9
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:13-17

“The Year of Our Lord 2017”
Here is a brief summary of how we got our year number: Some time around the year we call “A.D. 525”— that is, close to 1,500 years ago— a monk in Rome named Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis Little) obeyed an order from the Pope to calculate how many years had passed since Jesus was born.  He must have worked hard, figuring the lengths of the reigns of various Roman Emperors and other historical events.  Finally, he arrived at an answer: “Jesus was born five hundred and twenty five years ago.”
It took a few hundred more years before this new way of naming each year became the norm in the Christian world.  We began to use the abbreviation “A.D.” for the Latin expression Anno Domini, which means “the Year of Our Lord.”  So, this year is called “A.D. 2017.”
Modern historians have come to understand that Little Dionysius was off by a few years in his calculations.  Based on Matthew 2, we know that Jesus was born before King Herod ‘The Great’ died, and we now know that Herod died in the year which our system would number as “4 B.C.” (Before Christ).  Thus, if we really want to say which Year of Our Lord we are entering— precisely how many years have passed since Jesus was actually born—, we might have to call this, ‘A.D. 2021’ or ‘A.D. 2022’ !
But, spiritually speaking, every year belongs to God.  And Jesus Christ is the Judge over all people and everything that we do during all years.  As Peter told his new friends in the home of the Roman centurion Cornelius, “he is the One ordained by God as Judge of the living and the dead.”                                                   (Acts 10:42)
On January 1st at Bethel, we took part in a service in which we renewed our covenant with God.  One element of the service was committing to be God’s obedient, faithful servants.  We said, “Let me be Your servant, under Your command.  I will no longer be my own.  I will give up myself to Your will in all things.”
The Bible speaks a lot about being servants of God.  In our reading this week from Isaiah 42, we have the first of Isaiah’s famous prophecies about God calling His “servant.” 
 
“Here is My servant, whom I uphold,
     My chosen, in whom my soul delights;
  I have put My spirit upon him;
     he will bring forth justice to the nations....
“I am the LORD,
    I have called you in righteousness,
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
    I have given you as a covenant to the people,
     a light to the nations,
   to open the eyes that are blind,
    to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness."
                                    Isaiah 42:1, 6-7
Over the past two thousand years, Christians have looked through these words of God’s calling and seen Jesus Christ.  Certainly, Jesus Christ fulfills these words.  They are clearly echoed by the voice of God over Jesus’ baptism: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)  These words speak to us of our Savior who sets us free from sin and who heals us.
When Isaiah originally gave this prophecy, hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, he may have been picturing his nation, the descendants of Jacob, as “the servant of the LORD.”  Isaiah saw God calling them home from the places where they had suffered exile, to return and once again give glory to God by being obedient.
 
When we confront these words of God’s calling, now, in the year we call “A.D. 2017,” can we see them as God calling us to servanthood ? 
If we take seriously Jesus’ commands to his followers, we know that he wants us to continue and expand his work.  “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
                                                 (John 14:12) 
And the same gospel according to Matthew which tells us about the visit of the magi to the baby Jesus, and about how Jesus was baptized, also gives us the Great Commission: after Jesus was raised from the dead, he told his followers, “Go... and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
​
                   God’s servants in A.D. 2017 have work to do !