SCRIPTURES for SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Psalm 71:1-6
Jeremiah 1:1-10
1 Corinthians 13
Luke: 4:21-30

There is a line of balance somewhere between humility and boldness.  But life as a disciple of Jesus Christ calls for both humility AND boldness.  Every day, situations arise which call me to DO SOMETHING !!  Sometimes I leap into action... and end up making a mess like the proverbial “bull in the china shop.”  Other times, I shrink back from challenges, and end up with regrets and “what-ifs.”  I personally have difficulty getting the balance right.  But I imagine I am not the only one.
At the humble extreme, I may think, “I am only one person.  Other people have more information or wisdom or strength or authority than I do.  I should just stay out of this.”  And I’m often wrong.
At the bold extreme, I may say to myself, “You can do this !  You have what it takes— just do it !”  And I’m often wrong.
Then there are the times when I try to finesse it— when I try to walk the knife-edge between caution and courage, between passive and active.  But I never get it perfectly right.
And then there’s Jesus.  Jesus always got it right.
But, he also got crucified.
Let’s take a closer look at how Jesus balanced his humility with his boldness.
In terms of wisdom, strength, and authority, nobody ever had more than Jesus: all-knowing, all-powerful Son of God. 
And yet, as we see his story unfold, he humbled himself over and over in his human life.  From his birth to a poor girl from the boondocks, to the manger in the stable, to his narrow escape from the country as a refugee, Jesus certainly had a humble beginning as a human.  Then, in his career as a traveling healer—teacher—preacher, Jesus walked the humble path: he had no home of his own, he ate what people gave him, he spent his time among the lower-class people, and he was looked down upon by the high-class people.  Ultimately, Jesus suffered a most humiliating death, beaten and tortured by his own people and publicly executed by the Roman occupation government.  Humility, humility, humility.
But then there’s Jesus’ other side: his bold side.
In the lesson we’ll hear this week from Luke’s gospel, Jesus stood up in the midst of his hometown people and declared that he was anointed by God for missions of healing and liberation for the brokenhearted, disabled, and downtrodden.  When his hometown people began to make nice noises about his reading and speaking skills, Jesus launched into a wild proclamation: he told them that they, his hometown people, would NOT be the focus of his ministry, but that, like the ancient prophets Elijah and Elisha, he would perform miracles for foreigners.  His hometown people responded by running him out of town, even trying to kill him.
That was early in Jesus’ career !  Was he wrong to be so bold and prophetic, upsetting his people ?
I find it interesting that that particular episode ends mysteriously: But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.  (Luke 4:30)
 
As we read the gospels, over and over, Jesus chose some moments to stand up and challenge “the powers that be,” but he chose other moments to quietly go his way.  At one certain point, Jesus announced to his disciples that it was time for him to go to Jerusalem and be handed over to the authorities who would abuse him and kill him.  And there he went. 
What a brilliant, crazy combination of lowliness and high-handedness.
Trying to understand the mystery behind Jesus’ way, I submit two observations.
† Jesus prayed a lot.  We see this especially in Luke’s gospel (for example, 3:21, 5:16, 6:12, 9:18 and 28-29, 11:1, 22:32 and 39-46, 23:34 and 46) 
I love to share this advice from Patrick Keifert:
1. There will never be enough time in your life to do all the good that you think ought to be done.
2. There will be plenty of time to do all the good that God intends for you to do.
3. A regular practice of spiritual disciplines [such as prayer] is essential to discerning the difference.
Such spiritual discernment is required, to be both properly humble and properly bold.

† Jesus overcame death itself.  Once we, his disciples, “get” that, we may imitate him better.
                                   Jesus lives, and so shall I.
                                   Death! thy sting is gone forever !
                                   He who deigned for me to die,
                                   lives, the bands of death to sever.
                                   He shall raise me from the dust:
                                   Jesus is my hope and trust.

                 words of Christian F Gellert, translated by Philip Schaff

 

Scriptures for Sunday, January 13, 2019
Psalm 29
Isaiah 43:1-7
Acts 8:14-17
Luke 3:15-22

If you have been following the news of our Central Atlantic Conference of our United Church of Christ, you may remember that this month marks the conclusion of Rev. Roddy Dunkerson’s service as our Interim Conference Minister.  We have elected Rev. Freeman Palmer to begin work as our new, full-time Conference Minister on February 1.
Rev. Dunkerson came to us from Nebraska when our previous arrangements for an Interim Conference Minister ran into trouble.  He has faithfully served, by participating in events and activities in each Association within our Conference, including many here in the Shenandoah Association.  I have enjoyed his help with meetings, a memorial service for a friend, and other important occasions here.
I have also enjoyed his open letters to our Conference, which have been published by email as part of a periodic “CAC Happenings” newsletter.
[You are welcome to subscribe to it:
email                  amegna@cacucc.org (Angela Megna)     or
                           tbattle@cacucc.org   (Tristan Battle). 
Our dollars to Our Church’s Wider Mission at work!] 

Here is Rev. Dunkerson’s most recent open letter:
 
News from the Interim Conference Minister
Dear Friends,
“Epiphany” has wriggled into our vocabulary as a flash of insight.  But, in the church, this Greek word has been used to describe the coming of the foreign astronomers (astrologers) who have been led to the baby Jesus by an appearance in the heavens.
Epiphanies can be uncomfortable.  And this story is not an exception.  This story is about God using something that the people of Jesus’ family would not have seen because they associated those who looked for such signs with foreign gods.
For those of us who are very unlikely to be genetically connected to Jesus without going very deep in our genetic history, this story is our entrance point into Christianity.
God used a Pagan thing to invite the Gentiles into the family.
Yeah, that is an uncomfortable sentence.
It has elements of “insiders” and “outsiders” that can make us wince. 
Religion, by its very nature, creates insiders and outsiders.  But, if God is God, surely everyone is an insider.
When we think of the complexity of the universe, we are drawn to ponder the enormity of time and the question of whether time actually works as a concept.  What does it mean to have no beginning?  But, if there is a beginning, what was before that?
Without settling any of the unsettling questions, we have come to understand that God may not like our concepts of Insiders and Outsiders.  Paul seems to see this when writing Galatians: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you belong to Christ Jesus.”
As a human being, I am always grateful when I read other words from Paul that suggest he didn’t get the full meaning of the words he wrote.
Boundaries can keep us safe, but, they also can limit us.
As we ponder these “wise” travelers, may we be open to the fact that God might want us to step into the uncomfortable reality that there are not friends and enemies, just people we are called to serve.
                                 Rev. Roddy Dunkerson  (1/4/2019)
                            †                      †                      †

This Sunday is the traditional day to remember The Baptism of Our Lord, and a good time to remember our own baptism and reflect on what it means to us— and to those whom God has included in our spheres of influence and blessing. 
Yesterday, while on chaplain duty in the hospital, I was shaken by sacred moments with a patient who was struggling with big questions.  One question was, “Am I worth anything ?” 
Do you ever have to ask yourself that question ?
Or do you smugly assume about yourself (as I catch myself doing, sometimes), “I’m good” ?
It is deeply humbling to accept that God has gifted EVERY creature, every person — including you and me – with intrinsic value.  Not because we are good, but because God loves us.
It is deeply humbling to grasp Jesus’ offer, to name you and me his sisters and brothers as children of God.  This is part of the meaning of our baptism.
  Thus says the LORD: ... you are Mine.
                                                - Isaiah 43:1

Scriptures for Sunday, January 6, 2019: Epiphany
Psalm 72:1-14
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

I am writing to you on the last day of this year, A.D. 2018.  The “last day” of anything has a special feeling to it, as we realize that we won’t pass this way again. 
One of the Scripture lessons recommended for New Year’s Day is Matthew 25:31-46, where we read Jesus’ teaching about the great Judgment, when he will separate those who will be forever blessed in God’s Kingdom from those who will be cursed to eternal punishment.  As a guide for how to live in this world— seeing Jesus in the faces of people who are hungry, thirsty, lacking housing and clothing, sick and imprisoned, this is among my favorite passages in the Bible.  But many people focus on it more as a prophecy about the end of the world.
After I re-read this passage today (it happens that it was the text for our Sunday School lesson, yesterday), I opened an email from my fried Ubaldo Rodriguez, who with his wife Joy is working in the Philippines.  Ubaldo says, “We are doing fine, training God's people for the work of missions for the 10/40 window.  This work of mobilizing God's people in order to reach the unreached people's groups is sometimes a lonely endeavor.  However, we get energized when a congregation decides to participate in this mission to see everyone reached with the Gospel, and after that, as the Scripture says, the end will come (Matthew 24:14).”

                      www.send.org/give/missionaries/rodriguez-u-j

“The 10/40 window” is a popular topic among missionaries.  The term was coined by missionary Luis Bush in 1990.  It refers to a region in the Eastern hemisphere of our world, between 10 and 40 degrees North latitude, where the largest populations of people living in deep poverty and lowest quality of life are located, and at the same time, it is the part of the world having least access to Christian resources. 
This concept ties in with the view, popular among some Christians, that we may hasten the Second Coming of Jesus Christ by focusing our missionary efforts on places where the Good News of Jesus has not yet been heard—like this “10/40 Window.” 
For my part, I remember Matthew 24:36, 42, and 44, where Jesus says, “about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,  but only the Father.   ...   Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ... Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” 
In either case, we have plenty to keep us on our toes, going forward.

So now we cross over the imaginary line into the Year of our Lord 2019.  Only God knows what lies ahead of us.  As God also knows all the good and bad things that kept us busy in the old year, now past.

One new thing on the horizon: the Rev. Dr. Freeman Palmer will become Conference Minister of our Central Atlantic Conference on February 1, 2019.  Delegates from all around our Conference met on November 17th and affirmed him to take this role.  The day before that vote, Rev. Palmer visited Harrisonburg so we could meet him and learn more about him.  When people asked him about his vision for the future of the church, I took note of two particular ideas he mentioned.  (I am reconstructing my memory of what he told us: these are not his exact words) 
For one thing, he noted that people in society at large have a view of “the church” as an institution, and church people as insular— that is, it seems as if we are on our own island, apart from regular people.  By contrast, Jesus was not “in”: he traveled through the world as an outsider, mixing with whoever was around.  The church should imitate Jesus more, both by standing with people who don’t fit “in” in society, and also by spending our efforts outside the walls of our church buildings, where people live.
Another remark Rev. Palmer made that caught my ear was that, among older people, there used to be a “culture of obligation,” in which folks did things because they felt it was expected of them, whereas now we are surrounded by a “culture of choice,” where each person does whatever pleases them at the moment, like shoppers in a store.  The church ought to be aware of this shift in attitudes, not because one is right and the other wrong, but because we can’t succeed if we fail to understand how our current crop of humans feels about our world and the church.  We must meet people where they are, for God’s sake. 
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
                                               - Isaiah 60:1