Musings for September 23

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Lectionary 25
Proper 20
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Joshua Brown

INTRODUCTION
Today we hear James warn against selfish ambition, while the disciples quarrel over which one of them is the greatest. Jesus tells them the way to be great is to serve. Then, to make it concrete, he puts in front of them an actual flesh-and-blood child. We are called to welcome the particular children God puts in front of us, to make room for them in daily interaction, and to give them a place of honor in the assembly.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O God, our teacher and guide, you draw us to yourself and welcome us as beloved children. Help us to lay aside all envy and selfish ambition, that we may walk in your ways of wisdom and understanding as servants of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Jeremiah 11:18–20

Today’s reading tells of the suffering of the prophet Jeremiah, who announced God’s word to Judah but was met with intense opposition and persecution. Jeremiah continues to trust in God in the midst of his suffering.

¹⁸It was the LORD who made it known to me, and I knew;
then you showed me their evil deeds.
¹⁹But I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
And I did not know it was against me
that they devised schemes, saying,
"Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will no longer be remembered!"
²⁰But you, O LORD of hosts, who judge righteously,
who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 54

God is my helper; it is the LORD who sustains my life. (Ps. 54:4)

¹Save me, O God, ^| by your name;

     in your might, de- ^| fend my cause.

²Hear my ^| prayer, O God;

     give ear to the words ^| of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen up against me,

and the ruthless have ^| sought my life,

     those who have no re- ^| gard for God.

⁴Behold, God ^| is my helper;

     it is the Lord who sus- ^| tains my life.   

⁵Render evil to those who ^| spy on me;

     in your faithful- ^| ness, destroy them.

⁶I will offer you a ^| freewill sacrifice

     and praise your name, O LORD, for ^| it is good.

⁷For you have rescued me from ^| every trouble,

     and my eye looks down ^| on my enemies.   

Second Reading

James 3:13—4:3; 4:7–8a

The wisdom God gives unites our hearts and minds. Instead of living to satisfy our own wants and desires, we manifest this wisdom in peace, gentleness, mercy, and impartiality toward others.

Chapter 3

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. ¹⁵Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. ¹⁶For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Chapter 4

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? ²You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Gospel

Mark 9:30–37

Jesus’ teaching and action in this text are directed to the church whenever it is seduced by the world’s definition of greatness: prestige, power, influence, and money. The antidote to such a concern for greatness is servanthood.

³⁰They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; ³¹for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." ³²But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
³³Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. ³⁵He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." ³⁶Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.

Reflection

(From the Message translation of James 3: “It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts.”

     When it comes to raising my children, too often I forget this fundamental morsel of wisdom from James’ letter to the scattered tribes of Christians. I will talk about raising an independent, persistent and resilient daughter but I often choose to do things for her when I know it will take her more time to do it herself, or I tell her to stop bugging me after the 20^th time she asked for something.  Often I feel as if I can talk a good game but my actions don’t reflect that talk. James also proclaims that God’s wisdom “is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced” (The Message Bible). This aptly describes my ideal approach to parenting though it also reminds me of the moments I have fallen far short of that ideal.

     While I wrestled with James’ text and tried to glean the wisdom it contains without fretting over the many ways I fall short of that wisdom, I took a moment to read the Gospel and found a moment of grace in the midst of my doubt. “He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.” (Mark 9: 36-37, The Message) When my children were born I embraced them and welcomed them into this world Then I brought them to the baptismal font to welcome them into God’s family and the loving embrace of Jesus Christ. Through this seemingly simple act I have embraced and welcomed God. I know I can never fully embody the full wisdom of God and I fall short of living according to the wisdom God has parsed out through prophets like James. Yet even I have embraced God and have been embraced by God. I can ignore the talk and simply live embracing others as God has first embraced me. Thanks be to God for the embrace and welcome of family. Thanks be to God for God’s embrace and welcome

We pray, O lord

            For those who grieve, particularly John Condemi as he mourns his sister’s death

and the Howe family as the mourn the death of Brian’s father Robert

            For peace in your world, for tolerance among all religions and that we may all treat one another with respect and dignity

            For the continual renewal of your earth, may we always seek ways to protect and replenish your marvelous creation

            For all that you have given to your people, O God, may we live in a spirit of thanksgiving the blessings you have     

            bestowed on us

Quote

Don't listen to their words, fix your attention on their deeds.

-          Albert Einstein

What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?

-          Jean-Jacques Rousseau,

Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.

-Henry Ward Beecher