Scriptures for Sunday, March 8, 2020
Psalm 121
Genesis 12:1-4
Romans: 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3: 1-17

The old saying had it, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.”  Four days into this March, I have experienced both lamb winds and lion winds already.  I put it down to the confusion of the seasons this strangely mild Winter, most likely influenced by the changes in the Earth’s climate. 
This week I am meditating on some of the Bible’s best-loved verses, including Psalm 121 and John 3.  As with most things we treasure, these passages contain both face-value and a depth of richness and complexity that may be savored over time and be appreciated on many levels, from many perspectives.
Some of you have heard me remark before, about Psalm 121, that many people misunderstand it because of the antique phrasing and punctuation in the classic King James’ Version.  

                                             a photo of Psalm 121
                       the original 1611 printing of the King James Bible
 
I have known several people who loved Psalm 121 because  they  love mountains and hills.   That’s a nice thought, according to our present-day way of thinking, but it completely misses the psalmist’s point. 
Nowadays, living as we do in a beautiful valley rimmed by State and National Forested ridges, we tend to romanticize mountains for their wildness and natural beauty.  Reading the King James Version of verse 1, which the translators 400 years ago chose to end with a period not a question mark, feeling religious around mountains and hills might seem to be the point.
But during Old Testament times, hilltops in Palestine were sites of pagan shrines where idol-worshipers did vile things in the service of their man-made gods.  For a faithful Hebrew, to look at the hills was a challenge, quite uncomfortable.  Looking at the hills reminded Israelites that they were living in the midst of neighbors who did not share their faith in “the LORD Which made heaven and earth,” but who instead ran off to the high places to perform rituals for false gods of earth, sky, and water. 
So for the ancient Israelites, to agree with Psalm 121 meant to take a stand against putting one’s faith in the mountains and hills and the activities that took place there, a stand for the One Creator God who made all of Earth and sky.
John 3 is so deeply beloved by Christians for the doctrine of being “born again,” as well as for the favorite memory verse 16, “For God so loved the world....” 
An aspect of John 3 that I have come to treasure is Jesus’ notion of the Holy Wind.  In verse 8, the word pneuma may be translated both as Spirit and as Wind.  Think of pneumatic and pneumonia: it’s a power which is invisible to our earthly eyes but nonetheless real.  Jesus had just told the Pharisee Nicodemus that he and his fellow Jews must be “born again,” or translated an equally accurate way, “born from above.”  Nicodemus was naturally confused by these strange thoughts.  Then Jesus took the conversation to an even more mystical level, comparing people who are “born of the Wind” / “born of the Spirit” to the natural wind like we experience in the month of March, swirling and gusting and gently wafting in any direction, unpredictably and uncontrollably— that is, only to be comprehended or led by the One Which made sky and Earth.

Scriptures for Sunday, January 26, 2020 
Psalm 27:1-9
Isaiah 9:1-4
1 Corinthians 10:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, [Jesus] saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea— for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.      
                                            Matthew 4:18–22
 
In this account, Simon Peter and Andrew were the first two disciples Jesus invited to follow him; then, secondly, he called James and John.  Reading this led me to recall the rest of the story of these four disciples with Jesus.  Then I was reminded that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached about James and John in a famous sermon— a sermon which happens to be misquoted (in stone) at the King Memorial in Washington, D.C..  On February 4, 1968, two months before he was assassinated, Dr. King delivered this sermon at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta, entitled “The Drum Major Instinct.”  You can read the entire sermon at
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/drum-major-instinct-sermon-delivered-ebenezer-baptist-church
 
Dr. King began the sermon by reading the passage from Mark 10 where James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to [Jesus] and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you ?”
And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”                    (verses 35 – 37)
Here are two excerpts from the sermon that I would like us to consider now.
“Now very quickly, we would automatically condemn James and John, and we would say they were selfish.  Why would they make such a selfish request?  But before we condemn them too quickly, let us look calmly and honestly at ourselves, and we will discover that we too have those same basic desires for recognition, for importance.  That same desire for attention, that same desire to be first.  Of course, the other disciples got mad with James and John, and you could understand why, but we must understand that we have some of the same James and John qualities.  And there is deep down within all of us an instinct.  It's a kind of drum major instinct— a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first.  And it is something that runs the whole gamut of life.”

In the body of his sermon, Dr. King spoke about the many different ways that we humans desire to be Number One, during all phases of our lives.  Then he explained Jesus’ reply to James and John:

“... Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness.  If you want to be important— wonderful.  If you want to be recognized— wonderful. If you want to be great— wonderful.  But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  That's a new definition of greatness....”

“If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long.  And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say.  Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize— that isn’t important.  Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards— that’s not important.  Tell them not to mention where I went to school.
“I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.  I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.  I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.  I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.  And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.  I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.  I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
“Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice.  Say that I was a drum major for peace.  I was a drum major for righteousness.  And all of the other shallow things will not matter.  I won't have any money to leave behind.  I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind.  But I just want to leave a committed life behind.  And that's all I want to say.”

Scriptures for Sunday, December 8, 2019
Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19
Isaiah 11:1-10
Romans 15: 4-13
Matthew 3: 1–12
It’s beard-growing time again !  No, not so I can play Santa.  It’s for that mysterious wild-man John the Baptizer.  He’s back for another round, this Sunday and next.

Notice John’s left hand folded and pointing in the sign of the Holy Trinity.
Notice John’s staff, which displays a cross.
Notice the camels’ hairs in his garment and his leathern belt— reminiscent of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).
Notice the man nearest to John thumbing his nose, mocking the strangely- dressed character.
Notice the youngish- looking fellow in the foreground scratching his head:                                                             “Huh?”
Notice the guys with the little boxes (“phylacteries”) strapped on their foreheads in obedience to the law (in Deuteronomy 6:6 & 8).  They are Pharisees and Sadducees, city slickers who had no respect for the wilderness preacher.
You would love John’s sermon:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven draws near!”
“You brood of vipers!  
 Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  
 Bear fruit worthy of repentance.   
 Do not  presume  to  say  to  yourselves,
   ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’;
      for I tell you,
         God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  
Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees;
   every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit
       is cut down and thrown into the fire.  
I baptize you with water for repentance....”
                                        -Matthew 3:2, 7-11
Searching the New Testament for information about John the Baptizer yields some fascinating little hints as to how important he is in the story of God’s Good News coming to us humans.
For example, it is clear that John had his own disciples, several of whom stayed with him long after Jesus came to John to be baptized and set off on his own journey of ministry (Matthew 11:2, Luke 7:18).  Also, a number of people whom John baptized migrated to other parts of the Roman Empire, carrying John’s teachings as their faith (Acts 18:25 and 19:3).
Jesus affirmed John the Baptizer’s ministry by praising him to his own audience: “What then did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’  I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John....”                            (Matthew 11: 7-11)
But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it is very striking, in Matthew’s gospel, how Jesus began his own ministry by preaching the very same message as John:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven draws near!”     (Matthew 4:17)

God sent John the Baptizer ahead of Jesus into Palestine 2000 years ago, and John made quite a splash (!) there and then.

God is sending you and me (us who have repented and been baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) into our community now to prepare the way for Jesus to rule in people’s hearts.  It is important for us to take our script from John.  Instead of calling attention to ourselves, our assignment is to, like John, point to Jesus:
              “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
                                                Matthew 3:11
It’s all about Jesus.

Scriptures for Sunday, November 17, 2019
Isaiah 12
Isaiah 65:17-25
2 Thessalonians 3: 6-13
Luke 21: 5–19

Not only is A.D. 2019 quickly slipping away from us, the church year in which we explore the Gospel according to Luke is passing away, too.  As I pointed out during my sermon this past Sunday, Jesus spoke the words that Janice read to us during the week leading up to his crucifixion, in the city of Jerusalem where he would die.  The previous week’s gospel lesson, the well-loved story of that “wee little man” Zacchaeus, took place in the city of Jericho, when Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  Now, so to say, Jesus is there. 
Since we read the stories of Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Holy City on the Sunday before Easter each year, we won’t go through that again now.  But during this month before the Advent and Christmas season (and the start of the new church year), we read things that Jesus said during his final week in Jerusalem.  Luke reports: Every day [Jesus] was teaching in the temple.  The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.  (Luke 19:47-48)  There is something special about someone’s “last words” – and we have these records of Jesus’ last words before his sacrificial death on the cross.
From the time Jesus approached the city of Jerusalem, all of his stories and sayings began to focus on the end of the world as they knew it, and on God’s final judgment.  I think it’s important to note that when Jesus taught the people during his final week, he was not trying to bring them down:  he was still telling them “the good news” (Luke 20:1).  As we Christians read the Bible, we ought to notice that even ‘the end of the world’ is good news for us.
Thus says the LORD God: ...
I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
      the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
                                          -Isaiah 65: 13, 17

[John the Revelator writes,  ]
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
   for the first heaven and the first earth
   had passed away,  
   and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
   coming down out of heaven from God,
  prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
                                        -Revelation 21: 1 – 2
In our Sunday evening Bible study of the Book of Revelation, we keep coming upon scenes where wild and apparently horrible things are occurring, but careful reading reveals that God’s people are kept safe throughout, to the very end and beyond— even though they may be killed, martyred for their faithfulness.  God always judges in favor of His beloved people and brings them at last into the New Jerusalem.
In this week’s reading from Luke, Jesus tells his disciples and the crowd, “they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.  This will give you an opportunity to testify.”  (Luke 21:12-13)  I know what you must think about that:  ‘Oh, goody!’ – right ?
Around our little country church and our quiet little town of Elkton (“how still we see thee lie...”), I have not yet managed to get arrested or dragged before the authorities on account of my faith.  Have you?
But we might have been across the mountain in Charlottesville in the summer of 2017 to stand with the Christians against the Nazis and other haters, risking being harmed by them. 
Or we might have stood with the family of Botham Jean in a Dallas courtroom last month, when Mr. Jean’s brother Brandt said to the policewoman who had killed his brother, “I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want for you.”  “I love you as a person, and I don't wish anything bad on you.”  And to the judge: “Can I give her a hug, please?”
I am not saying that facing the haters in Charlottesville or making a Victim Impact Statement in a courtroom is, in itself, “good news.”  I don’t imagine that any of us would happily rush to stand in the shoes of the Christians in scenes like those.  But Jesus warned us that we might have to do and say similar things, if we remain faithful to him. 
More good news: Jesus also promised us that he would give us the words and wisdom we will need.

Scriptures for Sunday, November 10, 2019
Psalm 98
Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21
Haggai 1:15 - 2:9
2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-17
Luke 20: 27–38

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself
  and God our Father, Who loved us
    and through grace gave us eternal comfort
      and good hope,
        comfort your hearts and strengthen them
          in every good work and word.
                                  -2 Thessalonians 2: 16 – 17
 
Last Tuesday evening, I was privileged to join with some other chaplains to offer blessings to workers around our local hospital.  We walked with a cart which held a pitcher of water and a basin, some oil in a dish, and some pretty pebbles marked with words such as “peace,” “strength,” “rest,” and “hope.”  It was a night shift, and there was no way of knowing who we might meet, or who would want to take the time to meet with us.  In the course of two hours, we poured water on the hands of nurses, custodians, lab workers, and physicians as a symbol of cleansing and refreshing.  We also anointed their wrists with oil, representing grace, and let them take one of the pebbles.  And we gave them some words of blessing, to cheer and encourage them in their vocation as people of healing.  The workers responded to these blessings with words of gratitude, expressions of pleasant surprise, and in some cases tears of joy and release.
When we find ourselves in medical settings, it isn’t unusual for us to find workers with kind and caring attitudes, not to mention skills and knowledge for healing bodies.  In fact, we expect that such workers will be not only professionally competent but also good-natured, positive people.  But then when we are in our role as “consumers” of “medical services,” we may be tempted to exercise our critical impulses on the workers when we find the proverbial ‘fly in the ointment.’ 
Some of you are old enough to remember times when one or two local physicians were people’s main medical resource, and a trip to the hospital in Harrisonburg or Charlottesville was a pilgrimage to a temple of mysteries beyond the comprehension of lay-folk.
Now, we are told that we must watch each dollar of our health-care spending, checking in advance what each service and item and worker-hour is going to cost— knowing that severe financial penalties will hit us if we go ‘out of network’ or accept a prescription for a drug not covered by our policy.  The health-care industry would reduce us to crass consumers in a money machine.
Still, we expect those workers to be angels of mercy bearing miracles of healing for our failing flesh.
When someone puts themself in front of the public knowing that expectations will be high even when things get bad, it’s a “vocation,” a “calling.”  The idea is that God gives people gifts to use in His service and in the service of humanity, and God then calls us to use our gifts rightly, whether we are paid or appreciated or not. 
We expect nurses and doctors to feel a sense of their higher calling, not just the businesslike drive to make a dollar any old way they can.  Likewise with some other lines of work: florists and decorators, artists of many types, counselors, and teachers: if they’re only in it for the money, we feel there’s something missing.
And then there’s religion.
The old song said,
Well, the preacher he’s a dodger,
   yes, a well known dodger,
   well, the preacher he’s a dodger, yes,
   and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll preach you the gospel
   and tell you of your crimes,
   but Look out, boys! he’s a-dodgin’ for your dimes !
Well, we’re all dodgin,’  dodgin’ - dodgin’ - dodgin’
   on the way through the world.
Yes, you pay me.  And Yes, I believe God has called me to the work I do.  Both.  By the grace of God, it will come out right somehow.  At best, we will both know that it’s right.
I want to call you attention to your own holy vocation, your own sense of God’s call on your life.  Do you know what it is that God means for you to do in this world ? 
The classic answer of Christianity is found in last week’s lesson from
​2 Thessalonians 1:11-12:
Our God will make you worthy of His call and will fulfill by His power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s make God glad He called us.

Scriptures  for All Saints Day,
Friday, November 1, 2019
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Psalm 149
Ephesians 1:11-23
Luke 6:20-31

Scriptures for Sunday, November 3, 2019
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Psalm 149
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
Luke 19: 1–10

The Ancient One came;
   then judgment was given
      for the holy ones of the Most High,
         and the time arrived
            when the holy ones
               gained possession of the kingdom. ...
   ... their kingdom
          shall be an everlasting kingdom...
                                               -Daniel 7: 22, 27
This Friday will be November 1, All Saints Day.  Many of us Protestants observe All Saints Day, even though we don’t share all of the Catholic practices that go with declaring someone to be a “saint.”  We understand that certain people in this world live lives that are set apart to glorify God.  One doesn’t have to “judge” very deeply to notice when we’re in the presence of someone who is deeply committed to serving God, who is walking the way of Jesus. 
In both the Old Testament and the New, we read of “holy ones” among humankind: that is the meaning of the word translated “saints.”  The authors of the book of Daniel and of most New Testament books are not shy when it comes to calling some people “saints.”  So, while I don’t rush to label folks as “saints” myself, it seems silly to refuse to admit it when I find myself in the presence of a “holy one.” 
Besides that, wiser people than I have told me, get ready to be surprised at who we meet in heaven. 
This coming Sunday in worship, we will take a little time to say the names of people who have gone on before us.  I urge you to pray about this, and to thank God for the people God put in your life to show you examples of holy living. 
Did you know that “Halloween” gets its name from All Saints Day ? 
In earlier forms of our English language, All Saints Day was called All Hallows.  “Hallows” as in “Hallowed be Thy name,” part of the Lord’s Prayer.  The evening before All Hallows is thus All Hallow’s E’en, which got shortened to Halloween.  Each year, October 31 and November 1 stand at the center of the season of Autumn, halfway between the Autumnal Equinox (when dark and light are of equal length) and the Winter
Solstice (the shortest day of the year).  The other cross-quarter days are May Day, Midsummer Day, and Groundhog Day.

On Saturday, October 19, Nancy B and I attended the Fall Meeting of the Shenandoah Association, which was held at St. Michael’s UCC, south of Bridgewater.  About a dozen of our churches were represented.  We received reports from our Treasurer and from our Central Atlantic Conference, and we approved our Association budget for A.D. 2020.  Our budget is small, mostly funded by the annual “dues” of member-churches including Bethel.  Church dues are based on their number of members, so if Bethel claims 100 members, our contribution amounts to $700.
Our budget helps ministers-in-training, pays toward the salary of Angela Megna (the secretary in the Conference Office in Catonsville who looks after anything relating to our Shenandoah Association), and supports programs which show churches how to improve our practices and our understanding in order to thrive.
At this year’s Fall Meeting, we focused on Justice.  This program was led by Associate Conference Ministers Rev. Audrey Price and Rev. Marvin Silver, plus Rev. Katie Low (Chaplain and Professor at Mary Baldwin) and Rev. Mary Norville (newly ordained and installed pastor of Grace UCC, west of Mt. Jackson).  Rev. Silver is our Conference’s leader of the Justice and Witness Action Network, which educates and engages members in community organizing, grassroots advocacy, prophetic witness and action, and shaping public policy that advances our vision of securing a just and compassionate world for all. 
In our discussions of justice, we were challenged to stand up for anyone we see being discriminated against or oppressed.  This touches upon not only racial prejudice but also injustice toward anyone based on their national origin, poverty, gender, disability, body type, and more.  In the coming months, I hope to share more practical information with our congregation about working for justice.  Justice is the work of each and every one of God’s people.
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the LORD require of you
      but to do justice,
      and to love kindness,
      and to walk humbly with your God?
                                               -Micah  6:8