Digger Deeper - What I'm reading these days

 My friend, Rick and I have a book club of two. We meet every Thursday, most often in our virtual classroom, and share our highlights for the week's reading. We always close after an hour and a half, often with many things left unshared and unsaid, but always with an abundance of thankfulness for the things we have learned and the time spent together.

This is not reading for the faint of heart. Rick is a long-time leader of bible studies, often writng his own curriculum based on copious amounts of reading and study. We read a chapter a week of whatever book we are sharing. We dig deep into the text, look for the biblical imperitives it calls to mind, and seek examples in our own lives and in the comings and goings of the world around us. It is a sacred time.

We often choose our authors after we started listening to the podcast, "The Bible For Normal People," hosted by Peter Enns and Jared Byas, both with PhD's in biblical studies. It's taken us places we never would have gone on our own because these were people we had never heard of before. And it's amazing!

In May, I wrote a blog about our Easter reading - Surprized by Hope: Retrhinking the Resurrection, Heaven and the Mission of the Church (read it here). And I revived this blog earlier in the summer with a book about racism written by a descentant of Robert E. Lee. I'm hoping that if I keep track of our reading here, I can write more summary posts which will encourage you to dig a little deeper as you seek to broaden your faith perspective.

Future posts I hope to publish:

Grounded by Diana Butler Bass

God Can't by Thomas Jay Oord

Learning to Speak God from Scratch by Jonathan Merritt

The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby

Reading the Bible From the Margins by Miguel de la Torre

Coming Up:

Short Stories by Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine

Universal Christ by Richard Rohr

Peace, 

Deb

A Sin by Any Other Name by Robert W Lee

Rev Rob Lee  - an unlikely prophet in fast-changing times. When I see him on TV or read his words, whether in the Washington Post or on his Twitter feed, I am blown away with the wisdom that comes from this unassuming, young pastor.

His Book, A Sin By Any Other Name, is a deeply personal memoir of how being a descendant of Confederate General Robert E Lee has shaped his life, personally and professionally. I won't recap the book here because I want you to read it for yourself, but I did think I would share four lessons that I learned from reading the background on Rob's story, and a retelling of a remarkable year in the life of faithful young Christian leader.

Rob Lee spoke out against the pandemic of racism, confronting his personal story, and sharing a year of his journey. Here are some of the lessons I take away as I go on to read more about racism in our lives, our communities and in the church.

1. CONFESSION: Rob weaves in his own history as "one of those Lees" into this story. And his telling of the story made me realize that we often must work through our own confessions because we can begin to hear the difficult truths laid before us. I have several books by black authors on my reading list, but picking up this book first and seeing so much of my own journey in it, took me a long way toward getting my head on straight. Seeing Rob tell his story made me confront my story. And there were places in it where I took the easier path, where I played it safe. And in another kind of post I may talk about some of those revelations. But what I realized from this particular story is that first you have to took a wrong path... and then you have to name that... and then figure out how to not take the same bad choices again.

2. CHRISTIAN CONVERSATION: Rob's encounter with his own misunderstood past came through his relationship with his confirmation mentor, a black woman who thought enough of herself and him to not call a sin a sin. And his confession to her was simple: I thought about how you challenged me to think about life differently, and here's how I did that. I hope for each of us that we can have those kinds of friends and mentors in our lives... that we will cultivate friendships with the people who will tell us the truth and still love us, rather than just the people who we want to tell us what we want to here. Confession is the first step down a renewed life journey.

3. DE-MYTHOLOGIZING THE FABLE OF THE GOOD SLAVEHOLDER: It doesn't take up much of the book, but Rob tells a story of going to Arlington House as an adult and watching the park ranger have a pointed conversation with a woman who was intent on extolling the virtues of the kindly slaveholder, Robert E Lee. Whatever her example of how REL might have treated his slaves kindly, or done a lot of good for the community, or worked for the benefit of the Southern economy, the park ranger's response was, "but those people were still slaves." This reminded me of all the times I have wanted to excuse the bad behavior of others or myself with the reassuring phrase, "But he's a good person at heart." I may have done some good things in my life, but that doesn't erase the harm I have done, intentionally or passively. Good people do bad things. Being honest about them is imperative, and the first step to working to not making the same mistakes again.

4. THE GIFT OF PEOPLE WHO WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH: I originally called this one the gift of finding the right spouse, but I realized that was some kind of -ist for which I do not have a name... let's just say that these truth tellers don't have to be related to you in any way. Rob describes his wife as the one who helped him check his brain and heart to make sure that were on the right track. And she gave him courage to go hard places and say hard things. When he was asked to speak at the VMA's (his first big moment), his first thought was to turn the offer down, but his wife said, "No, we're going." And when he wondered if he needed to buy a new shirt and tie, she said, "You're wearing your clergy collar, but I need a new dress." It made me really thankful for all the ways that my spouse has supported me, and all the times he was willing to be my biggest advocate, even if that wasn't what the situation called for at the time... I've had to talk him off the ledge a couple of times, but I've always been grateful that he's in my court and also willing to say when he thinks I need to reign it in.

I think this is what a good book does... it connects with your own story and helps make it bigger, to celebrate the places where you got it right, and see how you can do it better next time. I am so thankful for this book. It is especially prophetic at this time in our lives. I am amazed by the gifts this talented pastor and preacher has to share... and realize that he is not the age I was when I decided to go to seminary... mind officially blown.

If you want to follow him on Twitter (Rev. Rob Lee), his handle is @roblee4.

Peace, Deb

24 Hours That Changed the World - Jesus, Barabbas and Pilate

"I'm washing my hands of this situation," When was the last time you heard someone say that?

This week we follow Jesus from the High Priest's house to the court of Pontius Pilate, governor of the
Roman province around Jerusalem. He had two responsibilities as governor - to collect taxes for Rome and to keep the peace. He had the authority to do these things in whatever ways he felt necessary. Jesus was certainly not the first person who had been brought before him for trial and sentencing. Many before and after were found guilty of disrupting the "peace" that Roman rule required. Many before and after were sentenced to swift punishment, including public flogging and embarrassment and death.

Jesus' silence: 
Jesus' encounter with Pilate is interesting, to the say the least, because we don't get the sense that Pilate doesn't really want to do Jesus any harm. He tries to convince the leaders gathered and the crowd  around the palace that Jesus could be let go. But when public opinion demanded the release of an insurgent criminal instead of Jesus, Pilate literally washed his hands of the situation, letting Barabbas go and sentencing Jesus to death. But that's getting ahead of the story.

When Jesus appeared before Pilate, he remained virtually silent, which was extremely frustrating to Pilate. Pilate knew that the chief priests were less concerned about whether Jesus had broken the law, accusing him out of envy, fear and hatred. We have to wonder why Jesus didn't defend himself. Have you ever had that experience, not speaking up when accused of violations, real or imagined. Would anything Jesus said have convinced Pilate to decide a different outcome? Or was this in inevitable path for what Jesus' declared would happen?

Understanding Atonement:
At-one-ment - that's what Jesus did for us - became one with us. Through his death, he took on our sins. It was a redemptive act. It had meaning, not just in the moment, but for all time. It seems simple, but is complicated. Theologians have long struggled with how to understand this concept. Atonement is about reconciliation with God. Atonement is about bringing the world in line with God's plan from creation. Atonement is about grace and new life and second (and third and fourth....) chances. It is inconceivable and unbelievable and the best gift we have ever received.

Which way do we choose?
When Pilate decided he didn't want to decide Jesus' fate, he enlist the crowd gathered to have them choose. Barabbas was another messianic leader, but one who preached of government overthrow and change of the world through power. Jesus preached an entirely different message - one of sacrificial love. Easy versus hard... which way would you choose? Which do we choose today?

Stations of the Cross

One of the things that people usually do when they visit the Holy Land is to retrace the steps of Jesus through this last week. It's been a tradition for centuries, especially during the the Lenten season. Here are several websites which will explain more about the stations. Two of them would be especially helpful for families with children.

Stations of the Cross - Devotional Guide
Stations of the Cross - Creighton University

Children and their Families Walk With Jesus
Children's Art and Faith

Peace, Deb

24 Hours That Changed the World - Condemned by the Righteous

Abandoned.  We think we know that this feels like.  I'm sure each one of us can think back to a time when we felt utterly alone. Settle into that feel too much and the physical symptoms return. Sweating, rapid heart beat, feeling flush or pale, a strange metallic taste in your mouth - each of these are signals from an ancient "fight or flight" mechanism deep within our brains. They are there to help ensure our survival so we can live to fight another day.

Abandoned. That's how Jesus felt, too, but multiplied by factors too high for us to count.
Abandoned as the guards walked him from the Garden through the Kidron Valley to the house of the Chief Priest under the cover of darkness.
Abandoned as the put him in the holding chamber/pit to await his (speedy) trail and sentence.
Abandoned as the disciples scattered like feathers in the wind.
Abandoned as he knew he was the one they had been praying for, but couldn't recognize because their own love of power and fear of change.

Fear is one of the biggest motivators in the world - not a healthy one, but used regularly by individuals and institutions, along with it's cousin, guilt.

Fear is powerful, so powerful that it can make us forget the lessons that history teaches us about how NOT to live. Fear can overtake love in a moment, and can grow exponentially when passed from one person to another.

Fear can be the thing which keeps us safe and sound, but we have to ask ourselves, is that what Jesus really taught? Is that how Jesus really lived? It is so easy to get swept up with the crowd when change is knocking at the door. Fear of change - fear of feeling foolish - fear of rejection - each of these keep us from speaking up when we should. Each of those hold us back and keep love from blossoming to its fullest potential. Adam uses an Edmund Burke quote to illustrate this point: "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Sins of omission are just as harmful as the ones we actually commit.

Would we speak up? Do we speak up? If not, what are we afraid of? If so, what is the cost?

"I AM" This was Jesus answer to the high priest's question, "Are you the Messiah?" Jesus did not reply, "I am he" as would be grammatically correct. No, he confessed with every fiber of his being. "I AM" ... just like God introduced himself to Moses in the burning bush. Every Jew in the building would have known what Jesus was doing, so it is no surprise that the High Priest went a little crazy. There, before God and everybody, Jesus sealed his own fate.

These Greek words, Ego eimi (I am) contain a powerful proclamation about who Jesus is. Imagine Jesus
speaking those words directly to you. What might he say to you in completing that thought: "I am ______." However you finish that sentence tells you a lot about how you see God and understand your relationship.

Peter's denial tells us something important about Jesus. He knew that Peter would deny that he knew Jesus, not once but twice. And Jesus loved him still. Part of what make's Peter's testimony after the resurrection so powerful is his witness that Jesus forgives even the sins we think are unforgivable. And he doesn't just forgive us, but continues to entrust to us the work that he started here on earth and continues in heaven.

It can be easy to accuse others of being like the Sanhedrin, but we have to remember that WE are THEM. Throughout our lives, Jesus will come in again and again to remind us that he is the Messiah - the beloved Son of God - the One who we have been waiting for. And when we deny knowing him, or loving him, or following him, he will forgive us, again and again, and send us back on the journey to building the kingdom he desires.

This time of Lenten reflection and devotion it is important to reflect on the events of Jesus' last 24 hours are in many ways the same events that happen over and over again today. It's easy to fault Peter and the disciples for their abandonment of Jesus', but we also I have to know that we have done the same. Part of our Lenten journey encourages us to long for the assurance of his forgiveness, and to receive it for the gift it is.

Peace, Deb

24 Hours That Changed the World - Garden of Gathsemene

Last week we saw Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper, sharing a Passover meal, and transforming it into a new place to understand who Jesus is. From the supper, Jesus goes with his most trusted disciples to pray and prepare for what was to come.

In the Garden, the disciples are not at their best. Jesus asks them to pray, instead they look after their own needs. He asks them to keep watch, instead they fall asleep. In the end, they do nothing to express their respect for Jesus and his teachings. When the soldiers come to arrest Jesus, they even get into a clash with them, injuring the servant of the High Priest in the process. True to his nature as a healer and man of peace, Jesus heals the servant before they take in for judgment, punishment and crucifixion.

I think there are four things this story teaches us.

1 - Just because we abandon Jesus, he never abandons us.

There are many times, large and small, when each of us deny and abandon Jesus. Like the disciples, we are afraid - of the pain we see in our future, of change, of the unknown. As Jesus is taken away, these followers scatter to places dark and unknown. Some of them peer from the shadows to see what is happening to Jesus, but many of them are not seen again until after he is dead and buried.

In the reading, Adam Hamilton writes this:

"The comfort I draw from the story is not simply that even those closest to Jesus failed him, but that Jesus knew this would happen. Following his prediction that they would fall away, Jesus looked beyond their betrayal and said, 'After I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee' (Mark 14:28). He anticipated their desertion, but he also foretold their restoration. He would take them back despite the fact that they would not forsake him; and he is did this for them, he will do this for you and me" (page 33).

When I think of the times when I have turned away from God because of my own "stuff," I can also see in retrospect that God was with me in the midst of my struggle, supporting me in ways that I did not recognize at the time. And eventually, I begin to anticipate that God's presence and power will be there, even if I forget it in the midst of the situation.

2 - Jesus' suffering makes me understand what it means for Jesus to be fully human and fully divine.

Some people are uncomfortable with the idea that Jesus suffered as he approached the time of his death. But for many, Jesus' despair - and it's ultimate resolution - reminds me that after the pain will come joy, even if it's not the joy I was looking for.

3 - Jesus was able to forgive in the midst of betrayal.

I am certainly not so good at this, but the story in the garden does end with Peter cutting off a servant's ear, and Jesus healing him before being taken into custody. The betrayals of our lives can turn us bitter, angry, and hard. But Jesus' heart was so filled with love that he never poured out his concern and pain on others. Each time I am challenged to love others in the midst of crisis, I try to come back around to Jesus' way, sooner rather than later.

4 - When Jesus' prayer of "Not what I want, but what you want" becomes my prayer, life looks very different.

Anxiety over the future is something we all live with, some more than others. New circumstances mean that we have to trust God again to know that we will be given opportunities to live and serve, no matter where we are or what we're doing. Maybe being both a military spouses and a United Methodist minister has prepared me more that many for the idea of change after change, but that doesn't mean that it's all easy. Living a life of faith means recommitting my life to Christ each and every day. John Wesley wrote a prayer for his Covenant Service (1870) that helps me put into words that which I believe Christ needs from me.

I am no longer my own, but thine. 

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. 

Put me to doing, put me to suffering. 

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, 

exalted for thee or brought low for thee. 

Let me be full, let me be empty. 

Let me have all things, let me have nothing. 

I freely and heartily yield all things 

to thy pleasure and disposal. 

And now, O glorious and blessed God, 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. 

And the covenant which I have made on earth, 

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen. 

Peace, Deb

24 Hours That Changed the World - The Last Supper

Over the next six weeks, we will be looking at the events in the last 24 hours of Jesus' life.  So here we find ourselves at the table with Jesus and his disciples.

Gathering at table is a part of our Christian identity. It's something that was handed down to us from our Jewish heritage. The Passover meal (Seder) is a one of the places where Jews remember and recite their history. Each food on the Passover plate represents a part of the story. Those seated at the table are not only there to eat. They also have parts in the retelling the story through questions and dialogue answers. Even children have a pivotal role in making sure that everyone there hears the story and understands its significance in the life of the Jewish people.

This is the meal that Jesus and his followers were sharing. It probably started out as any normal Seder. But during the meal, Jesus refocuses the story from the past to the future. He raised some remaining bread and said, "This is my body broken for you." He raised a ceremonial cup of wine - the cup of redemption - and said, "This is my blood of the new covenant shed for you."

In these actions, Jesus transformed the Seder meal into a new defining meal, which we call the Eucharist (thanksgiving) or Holy Communion. This would now be the meal that defined our worship together
, commemorating the life and sacrifice of Christ. At this table we come as sinners, receive forgiveness, and share a meal with all who share in our love of Christ.

I'm sure everyone gathered around the table was confused. And yet they carried on, hearing the teachings of Jesus, probably knowing that soon everything would change. Soon it becomes evident that there is a traitor among them. Others will deny and desert him. Strangers would be called to help carry the cross, and eventually Jesus would be totally abandoned as his trial progressed at the ends of those who hated him.

It's very easy for us to see others in the light of blame and shame. Put the shoe on the other foot and it's a totally different experience. How often are we willing to ask the question, "When we have been like Judas or Peter or the other disciples, denying, deserting and betraying Jesus in the ways we think, speak and act?" For some of the us the answer is, "Never." But for others, it's "All the time."  Who among us has not been clueless to an action or behavior to hurt others? Who among us has stayed away from church or Christian friendship because we don't believe we are worthy of the forgiveness that God and our sisters and brothers offer?

Jesus knew what Peter and the rest were going to do, and he loved them anyway. In the midst of the turmoil, he changed the way he talked about them, describing them no longer as servants but now acknowledging them as friends. And he does the same for us.

I have known many people who have stayed away from the communion meal because they felt unworthy to receive the meal... unworthy to be a part of the community of faith. And yet even in the midst of our doubts and sins and unfaithfulness, the table is the place where it all becomes right. The table is a place of healing. The table is a place for being filled. The table is a place for community and caring. Seated there together,we are one.

Think about these questions as you reflect on our reading this week:

1 - What are some of your best memories of gathering around the table to share a meal with others? What words would you use to describe how your feel or see yo
urself after these experiences?
2 - What role does Holy Communion play in your worship life?  Does this week's reading help you to think differently about it?

Please feel free to post comments or questions in the section below.

Peace, Deb

For next week: Read "2. The Garden of Gethsemane"

24 Hours That Changed the World - Lenten Study

Why observe Lent? 

I read this great article today, "Dreading Lent: An Alternative Proposal" and but I especially appreciated this quote:

In the end, Lent is not about a 40-day marathon of deprivation. It's about looking inside, finding the places where we feel disconnected to God, and taking up the challenge of going deeper. It's about walking with Jesus for forty days because we are so overwhelmed by his love for us. And, it's about preparing for what is next. Because the empty tomb is not the finish line. It's just the start of a long and wonderful journey. And Lent is a time to get ready.

Some people will be giving up things, while others will be taking on new experiences or disciplines. And many of us will be learning more about the life of Jesus and the life of faith to enhance our own journeys on the road with Christ.

Please feel free to join me in a reading of the book, 24 Hours That Changed The World by Adam Hamilton. In this book, we will reflect on the events in the last 24 hours of Jesus' life, from the Last Supper through the Crucifixion, and finish by looking forward to Easter Day.

I will post a brief reflection based on the reading and the class video, and then pose some questions for you to consider as you read along.  I love reading your comments and questions, so please feel free to share what you're thinking and learning through this experience.

I'll close with a link to another reflection I read today from one of my favorite preachers and teachers, Will Willimon. In his article, "Good News! You're a Sinner and Lent is Here!" he puts it all like this:

In our lamenting of our sins, there is also room for joy. In the gospel reading for Ash Wednesday, Matthew 6:16-17, Jesus instructs us (strangely) that when we fast, when we repent of our sin, we are not to show sad, remorseful faces and make a big deal of our mournful repentance. Jesus tells us that we are to prepare ourselves as if for a party. We are to rejoice that the God whom we presumed to be our enemy is really our best friend.

Give thanks that the God whom we presumed to be unwilling to do business with sinners such as us has embraced us, forgiven us, even died for us sinners, only sinners.

Peace in Christ,

Deb