Musings for Pentecost 3

Sunday, June 17, 2012
Lectionary 11
Proper 6
Third Sunday after Pentecost

MIDWEEK MUSINGS

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION
The mustard seed becomes a great shrub that shelters the birds, recalling ancient images of the tree of life. We'd expect a cedar or a sequoia, but Jesus finds the power of God better imaged in a tiny, no-account seed. It's not the way we expect divine activity to look. Yet the tree of life is here, in the cross around which we gather, the tree into which we are grafted through baptism, the true vine that nourishes us with its fruit in the cup we share. It may not appear all that impressive, but while nobody's looking it grows with a power beyond our understanding.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O God, you are the tree of life, offering shelter to all the world. Graft us into yourself and nurture our growth, that we may bear your truth and love to those in need, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Ezekiel 17:22–24

Tree imagery is used in a messianic prophecy to tell how the Lord will choose someone from Judah’s royal family (the cedar tree) to reign over all creation. This tree will be planted on Mount Zion, the location of the holy temple.

²²Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
²³On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.
²⁴All the trees of the field shall know
that I am the LORD.
I bring low the high tree,
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the LORD have spoken;
I will accomplish it.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 92:1–4, 12–15

The righteous shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon. (Ps. 92:12)

¹It is a good thing to give thanks ^| to the LORD,

to sing praise to your name, ^| O Most High;

²to herald your love ^| in the morning

and your faithful- ^| ness at night;

³on the psaltery, and ^| on the lyre,

and to the melody ^| of the harp.

⁴For you have made me glad by your ^| acts, O LORD;

and I shout for joy because of the works ^| of your hands.

¹²The righteous shall flourish ^| like a palm tree,

and shall spread abroad like a ce- ^| dar of Lebanon.

¹³Those who are planted in the house ^| of the LORD

shall flourish in the courts ^| of our God;

¹⁴they shall still bear fruit ^| in old age;

they shall be ^| green and succulent;

¹⁵that they may show how up- ^| right the LORD is,

my rock, in whom there is ^| no injustice.

Second Reading

2 Corinthians 5:6–10[11–13] 14–17

Paul encourages believers to live by faith and not by sight. We do not consider Jesus from a human perspective but through the eyes of faith, believing he died for all and was raised. All who are in Christ are now in God’s new creation.

⁶So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord — ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
¹¹Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. ¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. ¹³For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. ¹⁵And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
¹⁶From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. ¹⁷So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Gospel

Mark 4:26–34

Jesus frequently uses parables to teach ordinary people as they are able to hear and understand. Images of sowing and growing show the vitality of God’s kingdom.

²⁶He also said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come." ³⁰He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." ³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Reflection

One cannot read the majority of the lessons without hearing something in relation to growth. The first lesson talks of cedar trees, the Psalmist writes about a palm tree that will spread abroad like the cedars of Lebanon. The Gospel uses a bit smaller imagery more focused on farm crops and small bushes but all talk about growth, the kingdom of God and the power of God within that kingdom.

How’s it growing for you? Discipleship, that is. We have been scattered, planted, sown; whatever image works best for you, in this place and time. Through Word and Sacrament, personal prayer and Bible study and conversations with the Creator we are called to grow where we are planted. How’s it growing for you?

Some days are better than others for me. I sometimes lose sight of the goal, fail to be open to the nourishment offered or even forget that I am planted. In those moments the Spirit calls me back to center, encourages me to remember my baptism and to start growing again!

The truth of the matter is that we never stop growing into becoming God’s children, no matter how old we become. It’s a constant process as the One who called it all into being feeds and nourishes us in and through life, nurtures and prunes and encourages us to become the people we are meant to be. In this season of growth and the beginning of early harvests, it’s an apt image.

How are you growing these days?

Let Us Pray

• For the people of Syria in the midst of war, that we might find a way to end the bloodshed.
• That those seeking healing and hope may discover it in the unlikeliest of places
• To be open to the Spirit’s movement in our lives and community of faith
• That children may find shelter, safety and the love they seek
• For new growth in unexpected directions

Quote

May the Great Mystery make sunrise in your heart. Sioux Indian Prayer

Musings for Holy Trinity

Sunday, June 3, 2012
The Holy Trinity
First Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musing

Reflection by Ken Klassen

INTRODUCTION
When we say God is the triune God, we are saying something about who God is beyond, before, and after the universe: that there is community within God. Our experience of this is reflected in Paul's words today. When we pray to God as Jesus prayed to his Abba (an everyday, intimate parental address), the Spirit prays within us, creating between us and God the same relationship Jesus has with the one who sent him.

John XXIII, Bishop of Rome, died 1963
When elected pope, the former Angelo Roncalli was expected to be a short-term caretaker. He showed great spirit, though, and convened the Second Vatican Council which helped bring great changes to Roman Catholic and other churches.

The Martyrs of Uganda, died 1886
On June 3, 1886, thirty-two young men were burned to death for refusing to renounce Christianity. The confident manner in which these Christians went to their deaths contributed to a much stronger Christian presence in Uganda.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

Almighty Creator and ever-living God:we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One,
and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three. Keep us steadfast in this faith,
defend us in all adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

First Reading

Isaiah 6:1–8

This reading narrates Isaiah’s vision of the Lord surrounded by angels. They sing “Holy, holy, holy,” a song the church sings at the beginning of the great thanksgiving. This liturgical text invites the church and all creation to sing in praise of God’s glory. That glory is God’s mercy toward sinners.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. ²Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³And one called to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
⁴The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. ⁵And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
⁶Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. ⁷The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." ⁸Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 29

Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Ps. 29:2)

¹Ascribe to the ^| LORD, you gods,

     ascribe to the LORD glo- ^| ry and strength.

²Ascribe to the LORD the glory ^| due God's name;

     worship the LORD in the beau- ^| ty of holiness.

³The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of ^| glory thunders;

     the LORD is upon the ^| mighty waters.

⁴The voice of the LORD is a pow- ^| erful voice;

     the voice of the LORD is a ^| voice of splendor.   

⁵The voice of the LORD breaks the ^| cedar trees;

     the LORD breaks the ce- ^| dars of Lebanon;

⁶the LORD makes Lebanon skip ^| like a calf,

     and Mount Hermon like a ^| young wild ox.

⁷The voice ^| of the LORD

     bursts forth in ^| lightning flashes.

⁸The voice of the LORD ^| shakes the wilderness;

     the LORD shakes the wilder- ^| ness of Kadesh.   

⁹The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe

and strips the ^| forests bare.

     And in the temple of the LORD all are ^| crying, "Glory!"

¹⁰The LORD sits enthroned a- ^| bove the flood;

     the LORD sits enthroned as king for- ^| evermore.

¹¹O LORD, give strength ^| to your people;

     give them, O LORD, the bless- ^| ings of peace.   

Second Reading

Romans 8:12–17

In describing the new life of faith, Paul refers to all three persons of the Trinity: the Spirit leads us to recognize that we are children of God the Father and sisters and brothers with Christ the Son.

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — ¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Gospel

John 3:1–17

Jesus’ miracles prompt Nicodemus to visit him in secrecy. Jesus tells him about being born of the Spirit and about the Son who has been sent by God to save.

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ²He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." ³Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." ⁴Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" ⁵Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' ⁸The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." ⁹Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" ¹⁰Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
¹¹Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
¹⁷Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Reflection

John 3:16 is a very important scripture. It is probably one of the first scriptures I memorized in Sunday School. And how often have I been watching a golf game to see someone in the crowd holding a sign that reads simply, "JOHN 3:16"? Is someone reducing Christianity down to the size of a bumper sticker? But alas, I digress.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 

There are some logical consequences of these words:

1. The action starts with God loving the entire world. He does this without any qualifications, hesitations, exceptions, or prior demands. God's salvation is not a reward for belief and He does not withhold His forgiveness and salvation until we believe.
2. Then he sends his son.
3. Those who believe (scratch "believe" and substitute "trust and bond"). Those who trust and bond with the Son, become part of the Son's family (being born anew from above), and have equal sibling status becoming heirs to the family estate which includes heaven and eternal life.

This one scripture is the basis of our Christianity. 

Prayer

     Heavenly Father, we pray for wisdom and the patience to understand your scriptures. Help us to listen for your voice and obey. We ask that your protecting hand will be on all of those who serve our country and work for peace. Teach us compassion for the sick, the suffering, and those in need.