Musings for Pentecost 14

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Deb Johnson

INTRODUCTION

James tells us to stop showing favoritism in the assembly, treating the rich visitor with more honor than the poor one. Jesus himself seems to show partiality in his first response to the Syrophoenician woman in today's gospel. Was he testing her faith in saying Gentiles don't deserve the goods meant for God's children? Or was he speaking out of his human worldview, but transcended those limits when she took him by surprise with her reply? Either way, the story tells us that God shows no partiality. Everyone who brings her or his need to Jesus is received with equal honor as a child and heir.

Prayer of the Day Gracious God, throughout the ages you transform sickness into health and death into life. Open us to the power of your presence, and make us a people ready to proclaim your promises to the whole world, through Jesus Christ, our healer and Lord.

Isaiah 35:4–7a

These verses are a word of hope to the exiles in Babylon. Chapter 34 portrays God’s vengeance on Edom, Israel’s age-old enemy, which makes the path from Babylon to Zion safe for the exiles’ return. The desert itself will flow with water to give drink to the returning exiles.

⁴Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

"Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

He will come and save you."

⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

⁶then the lame shall leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

⁷the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water.

Psalm 146

¹Hal- lelujah!

Praise the LORD, O my soul!

²I will praise the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³Put not your trust in rulers,

in mortals in whom there is no help.

⁴When they breathe their last, they return to earth,

and in that day their thoughts perish.

⁵Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help,

whose hope is in the LORD their God;

⁶who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;

who keeps promises forever;

⁷who gives justice to those who are oppressed,

and food to those who hunger.

The LORD sets the captive free.

⁸The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;

the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

the LORD loves the righteous.

⁹The LORD cares for the stranger;

the LORD sustains the orphan and widow,

but frustrates the way of the wicked.

¹⁰The LORD shall reign forever,

your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah!

James 2:1–10[11–13] 14–17

Faithful Christians do not show partiality to the rich and powerful of the world, especially at the expense of the poor and weak. Likewise, faith does not pay mere lip-service to God’s will. Instead, a living Christian faith expresses itself in acts of compassion and mercy for those in need.

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? ²For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," ⁴have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? ⁷Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

⁸You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ¹⁵If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 1⁶and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? ¹⁷So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Mark 7:24–37

In Mark’s gospel, encounters with women usually signify turning points in Jesus’ ministry. Here, a conversation with a Syrophoenician woman marks the beginning of his mission to the Gentiles.

²⁴From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, ²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." ²⁸But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." ²⁹Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go — the demon has left your daughter." ³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

³¹Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³²They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

Reflection

After having read this several times I am struck by the phrase “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” Then suddenly James talks about how we differentiate the rich from the poor and I wonder why we gravitate to the comfortable (are we afraid?). Finally Jesus is met by folks who come to him looking for healing. Surely these people had no fear of this man whom they had heard about. What are we afraid of? I think each of us can list the easy fears, fear of snakes, of heights, of bridges. I know a woman who drove and extra two hours once to not have to go over a bridge. I have seen people cross the street to avoid someone. But it is the fears that we hold hidden in our hearts that serve as a barrier to livingly and loving fully.

The psalmist says “Be strong, do not fear!” James reminds us that in our faith we are called to love and serve one another. It is the woman who lives her faith and has no fear (or perhaps walks through her fear) by approaching Jesus seeking health for her daughter.

What are your fears? Afraid of spiders? Losing your job? Being poor? Are you afraid of being alone? Afraid of failing? BE STRONG, DO NOT FEAR! HERE IS YOUR GOD.

Let Us Pray

For those who live in fear

For strength to face and walk through our fears

For those who put their lives on the line everyday when they go to work, our firefighters, police, soldiers and EMTs

For our children and educators as they begin a new school year

For those without water to replenish their bodies

From the thoughts of others:

When you walk through a storm

Keep your chin up high

And don't be afraid of the dark.

When you walk through a storm

Keep your chin up high

And don't be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm

Is a golden sky

And the sweet, silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart,

And you'll never walk alone,

You'll never walk alone.

Oscar Hammerstein

Musings for Pentecost 10

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Lectionary 19
Proper 14
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Midweek Musings
Reflection by Elizabeth Hanks-Ovando

INTRODUCTION
Jesus says that the bread he gives for the life of the world is his flesh, and whoever eats this bread has eternal life now and will be raised on the last day. In Ephesians Paul tells us what this life Jesus gives us looks like, this life we live as those marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit in baptism. We live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. The whole purpose of life is giving yourself for the other.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
Gracious God, your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Give us this bread always, that he may live in us and we in him, and that, strengthened by this food, we may live as his body in the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.


FIRST READING 1 Kings 19:4–8
First Kings chapter 18 describes the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. The contest proves that the Lord is God; and afterwards Elijah orders the killing of the Baal prophets. Angered by the deaths of her prophets, Queen Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah. This reading finds Elijah fleeing, fatigued, and in utter despair.

4But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." 6He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." 8He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.


PSALM 34:1–8
Taste and see that the LORD is good. (Ps. 34:8)
1I will bless the LORD at all times;
the praise of God shall ever be in my mouth.
2I will glory in the LORD;
let the lowly hear and rejoice.
3Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;
let us exalt God's name together.
4I sought the LORD, who answered me
and delivered me from all my terrors.
5Look upon the LORD and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6I called in my affliction, and the LORD heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear the LORD
and de- livers them.
8Taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are they who take ref- uge in God!


SECOND READING Ephesians 4:25—5:2
Christians are called to be imitators of God. This does not mean Christians are perfect. Rather, the Spirit is at work in our lives so that our actions and attitudes genuinely reflect the love and forgiveness we have received through Christ and his death.
Chapter 4
25So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. 26Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27and do not make room for the devil. 28Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. 29Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. 31Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Chapter 5
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.


GOSPEL John 6:35, 41–51
After feeding more than five thousand people in the wilderness, Jesus teaches them regarding the true significance of this remarkable sign.

35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

REFLECTION
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, between 2 and 5 million Americans have an eating disorder. We live one of the most prosperous countries in the world and according to the Surgeon General 2 out of 3 Americans are overweight or obese.

Geneen Roth writes in When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair, in a chapter entitled “and stop when you've had enough” that “It's about what you hear when you hear the word 'enough'. It's about taking more than enough of something you know you can get-food-because you believe it's impossible to get enough of what you really, really want.”

Ok, so what scripture is saying is not the literal hunger and thirst but it gives us cause to think about what we really, really want. Coming to Jesus, believing in Him can give us love, peace, simplicity, and joy. And that's what we all really crave anyway.

WE PRAY FOR:
• Those struggling with eating disorders
• Families struggling to feed themselves
• The unemployed and underemployed