Chapter, Verse, and Jesus

John 3:14-21

Let’s talk for a moment about chapter and verse. None of the books of the Bible were written with chapters and verses, neither the epistles (letters), the histories, the prophets, or the gospels. Each work was a scroll or set of papyri that flowed. Not only were there not chapters and verses, but neither biblical Hebrew nor biblical Greek have capital letters or punctuation. Better still, biblical Hebrew doesn’t have vowels. 

No capital letters, no punctuation, and sometimes no vowels. This means that when the Holy Spirit guided the first person who wrote down the stories that were circulating orally, they knew what they meant. And the people around them did as well, but after 2-3 generations translators, readers, and copiers are making their best educated guess. Line breaks were used after the scriptures were codified to make reading easier, but a line break was still a guide and an interpretation.

Chapter separations that we would recognize came into being in the very early 1200s, with the purposes being to set the passages to be read aloud to gatherings of monks and nuns (and others). This is why the informal gathering space (as opposed to the sanctuary) in many European cathedrals is called the chapter house. 

The Wycliffe Bible of 1382 used these chapter divisions and so did most Bible afterward. This means that the Bibles of Martin Luther’s childhood, in the late 1400s and early 1500s, most likely had chapter divisions. (These Bibles were, of course, still written in Latin.) 

In the mid-1400s, a rabbi named Nathan created verse divisions for the Hebrew Bible, or what we sometimes call the Old Testament. In the 1550s, a Swiss printer named Robert Estienne created a numbering system for the New Testament. In Estienne’s printed Bibles, both in Latin and in the local languages, the rabbi’s numbering system and his own were combined to produce scriptures with chapter and verse divisions. 

You all know that I like to give you a little history, but you would be entirely within your rights to be wondering why I’m telling you all this. Why does this matter? Why should you care? You ask such good questions. 

The reason this matters is because, if we consider Christianity to be almost two thousand years old, not only did it take a long time for the scriptures to be translated into common language, but chapters and verses happened even after that. This means that no one who we consider critical to the formation of the early church, or the spread of the gospel had any concept of John 3:16. While they were adept at quoting parts of scripture, they had a strong sense of that quote being part of a whole larger point, as opposed to one small point that stood on its own. Drawing a tiny scriptural point away from its context would not have made sense as a tool for evangelism, debate perhaps, but not as a way to draw people to the love and presence of God. 

Thus, for most of Christian history, what we consider one of the most famous verses in scripture didn’t stand alone. For God so loved the world that He gave the only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life was part of a whole story. This line comes in the middle of a conversation Jesus is having with a Pharisee. Nicodemus, the Jewish leader, comes to Jesus at night, under cover of the shadows, to ask questions about what Jesus is teaching. 

Jesus explains the concept of the Holy Spirit and of a spiritual rebirth. He speaks of how we see the movement of the wind and its work, even when we don’t see the wind itself. (This is a concept easily understood by people in Montana.) As Nicodemus continues to ask questions, Jesus draws Nicodemus’s attention away from his internal confusion and concern to a view beyond himself. He will never understand enough if he keeps looking inside, but must let his eyes be drawn to the One in front of him, the one who whose very life, and then resurrection and ascension, drew eyes toward God. 

Jesus reminds Nicodemus when people in the desert were being bitten by snakes. God instructed Moses to wrap a snake on a pole. When people were bitten, they were to look up from their wounds, their pain, and their confusion to this sign- sent from the One who had brought them into freedom and was leading them with promise. Looking up, with hope and trust, gave them healing. 

While chapters and verses are helpful for references, they come with the same dangers as the biting snakes and paralyzing doubts. (Not all doubts are paralyzing, just some.) Chapters and verses draw our attention down, to small points, taken out of context, with very little to no sense of the whole story. And the whole story matters because it is the story of God. The story of God and creation. The story of God and other spiritual beings. The story of God and people. The story of God in Jesus. The story of what God has done, is doing, and will do. The whole of the story matters. 

Part of the reason that John 3:16 is popular is because, for many people, it gives an essence of the whole story. I get that. You probably understand that. John 3:16 is meaningful to us because we already have a sense of the whole story, but for the person seeing a John 3:16 sign at a football game or on a billboard or a bumper sticker, if they don’t know what it means already, looking it up doesn’t actually give them any information. 

Almost all of you have been in church for years and yet I know most of you are hesitant to ask questions. And you’re for sure hesitant to answer questions because you don’t like to feel or appear like you don’t know the answer. How much more do you think that applies to someone who finally decides to look up John 3:16? 

For God so loved the world- who is this God? Where is this God from? What does this God’s love look like? What world? Just the people? Everything I can see? What about space? 

He sent his Son- Where did this Son come from? Is he like a comic book hero? What are the Son’s powers? 

That whoever believes in him- What does it mean to believe? What if I have more questions? What if I can’t believe? Does God wait until I believe to do the God-things? Is God’s love dependent on me believing? 

Shall not perish but have everlasting life- Does that mean “not die”? Doesn’t everyone die? What is everlasting life? Would I wander the planet getting older and older? 

Those are all the questions that only come from one verse, if you are a person who has truly never encountered the verse before. And let me be clear, there is not a flaw in a that verse. The flaw is in the idea of a single verse as an evangelism strategy. Even worse, the flaw is in the idea of a single verse, without context or relationship, as an evangelism strategy. 

Jesus doesn’t leave Nicodemus in the dark with a notecard with a verse citation. He talks with him. He listens to his questions. He uses references from the natural world and recalls stories that Nicodemus knows. An understanding of the saving love of God comes not from the specific words, but from the Living Word in the person of Jesus. 

This is exactly how we are called to share the love God has for the world, the love that is so great that it brought the Son into the world, not for condemnation, but so the world might be preserved, might have hope, might flourish through him. 

We don’t draw people from the ways of shadows, as described in this passage, by threats of hell. The Spirit draws them into the brightness of living in God through the light of God’s love shining within the people who are actively choosing daily trust in Christ. 

Perishing, in the context of John, isn’t about death the way we think of it. John’s most common phrase, used in 16/21 chapters, is “abide”- to remain or stay. Jesus, in John, is constantly inviting people into the brightness of God by asking them to abide with him, to stay with him, to remain with him- trusting his words, following his commandments, living according to his teaching. Perishing, then, is the opposite of abiding. It is the reality of feeling separated from the brightness of God, to feel a cloud between oneself and heavenly sunshine. 

The reality of this whole section of John is Jesus explaining to Nicodemus, and then John explaining to us, that perishing is not required. It does not have to be. If we are willing to look up, look to the One who is guiding us, who made us, who so loves the world- we will not perish. We will abide. Forever. 

Looking for that answer within ourselves, trying to make it happen for ourselves, will never work. Single verses and words give us an illusion of control- of the word and of God. The human desire for control makes us addicted to perishing, not because we love the idea of separation, but because we do not trust what we cannot see or prove. 

But you, like Nicodemus, can see what the wind can do. 

How much more can God, the source of all good things, the one who is revealed in the Son, the one who so loves the world, … How much more can God save us from perishing, providing with a place of abiding peace, consolation, and strength that we might be a part of the Divine will for healing the world? 

You know God will do it. You know God has done it. You know God is doing it. 

Psalm 107 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” 

(This is your chance to call out a hearty “Amen”.)

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. 

And how do we know we’re in that number? How do we know that God does indeed so love? How do we trust in such mercy, such grace, and such redemption. 

We trust it is so, beloved, because we’ve been told it. Again, and again. Chapter and verse and beyond. Amen.  

 

 

Inspired by the Breath of God

Dear Pastor-

At our next Bible study, could you say a little something about your understanding of "God-breathed" and the relationship of that phrase to scripture?

- Inquiring Minds Want to Know


Dear IMWTK-

Firstly, it's unlikely that I'll ever say a "little" something regarding anything related to the Bible, but I will try to contain myself.

When I look to the word theopneustos, I find the word and the concept awe-inspiring. Theo for God and pneustos for breathed means a vision of how God moves and exists that includes bringing creation into existence. Theopneustos makes me think of the Spirit, as the Breath of God, moving over the void at the beginning of all things. Out of disorder and emptiness, creation was birthed and shaped. God's whole self poured out in breath (Spirit) and then in Word ("Let there be..."). Thus, the reality of theopneustos has existed since before any human was present to interpret it.

That being said, what does it mean for Breath and Word to come to a prophet (or an apostle)? In Geraldine Brooks's The Secret Chord, the prophet Nathan experiences near blackout states when he is called upon to speak to David. His body and his speech are overtaken and his voice becomes not his own. In this depiction, his prophecies are clearly God-breathed. Given some of the things that Nathan is called upon to address with David, surely the strength and the words needed to come from outside himself. Did they always? I don't know.

In writing for preaching, I sometimes have a strong bodily awareness of what I meant to say. I describe it as a piercing of my heart. I have a sense of what is meant to be said and, in the best times, the words come in close connection to the piercing. Sometimes the idea comes, but I have to wait for the words. When I have to deliver a sermon that has come in this way, I tremble before delivery because I know the concept is not mine. I don't want to mess up or try to take credit for what God is trying to do or what I have perceived that God is trying to do.

In these two examples, Nathan and me (never heretofore mentioned in the same sentence), God is delivering a word. There is a revelation of what the Spirit wants to be communicated and it is in keeping with who Jesus is and God's on-going self-revelation. Nothing a prophet or preacher is called to say, if it is truly of God, will contradict the nature of God- even the most intense and life-changing revelation.

That being said, neither Nathan nor I can testify to something we are unable to perceive. So, it is true that God inspires and gives revelation, but said revelation and inspiration, in my opinion, is likely only half-steps ahead of where we are as people. Thus, it seems unlikely that Nathan would have received inspiration for where the capital of England should be or that I will receive inspiration for how to terraform Saturn. Those are not revelations that are meaningful or relevant to the situations to which we have been called.

When scribes were writing Judges or Paul was writing to the Philippians or Revelation was being written for the encouragement of the early church, it does seem likely that theopneustos was at work. God breathed words and guidance for the authors to offer to their audiences. While it is with God's nature to know how long Paul's letters would last, it was not within Paul's capabilities to write for the ages. So God gave him words that were true for the time being and would be useful, alongside the Holy Spirit, for generations to come.

Of course, when we think of scripture, we think of the editors, the redactors, the translators, the scribes, and the church fathers and mothers who prayed about what to keep in the canon and what to reject. While the Spirit certainly guided all this work, human fallibility is unavoidable. In the best of circumstances, small unintended mistakes were made. In the worst of circumstances, intentional errors were made or kept for the purposes of preserving this or that human understanding or institution.

Therefore, in its initial imprint, the scripture was breathed by God for teaching, admonition, correction, and training in righteousness all toward the end of instructing us toward understanding salvation and living lives which demonstrate that we belong to God (2 Timothy 3:16).

Since that initial writing or prophesying, however, many people have entered the process. Most people have had good intentions toward sharing the word of God, but others have been less pure in heart. It is true that God is still speaking. The Word has not retired nor has the Spirit stopped moving. We are led constantly into relationship with the written word for the purposes of teaching, admonition, etc. to the same ends as those who receive guidance from the author of 2 Timothy. We use the Bible as a tool to understand God, to know God's history, and to be pointed to where and how God is still at work in the world and leading the faithful to participation in that work.

In my opinion, when and where it is argued that the written word is infallible, such arguments attempt to steal the air out of theopneustos. The written word can be inspired, useful, important, and necessary, but it is not and never will be God. Furthermore, God is bigger than our translation mistakes, printing errors, and personal whims tied to time and place. God's desires for creation are truth and the truth will out. And it will set us free. Theopneustos cannot be contained.

Revelation Read-Along: Day 10

Reading: Revelation 9:1-12

Advent Theme: Long-suffering

There was a story about one of my professors in seminary. One day in chapel, he was scheduled to preach. The selected passage for the day was from Leviticus. He came to the front, read the passage to the assembly, closed the Bible, and said, “This is not the Word of the Lord for me.” Then he sat down.

I find myself doing the same thing in part of Revelation. John’s intense and purposefully chaotic metaphors about the locusts and the abyss, with a king called “Destroyer’, only confuse and frustrate me. There is nothing here that reveals Christ to me, stirs the joy of my salvation, or helps me in any of my vocations (wife, mother, sister, friend, daughter, pastor, neighbor, citizen,…). This is not the word of the Lord for me.

The books, movies, and other materials that seek to explain these parts of Revelation in detail exploit people’s fears and capitalize on the same. And when I say capitalize, I mean using fear to make capital, to get rich. This is precisely the kind of behavior that John warns the seven churches against. It is not a biblical interpretation that comes out of love and service; it is an interpretation that is borne out of a desire to get rich. This is not the path of the Lamb, the Way of Christ, the life of discipleship. 

To be clear, I am not saying that having money means that a person cannot be a Christian or even a good Christian. What I am saying is that there are several generations of alleged Christian apologists (explainers) who have expounded on the mysteries of Revelation to the great gain of their pocketbooks, but not to the end of actually making the world better by an outpouring of Christ-like behavior. This, to me, is like locusts- swarming on people, stirring up fear, not actually harming them- but making them quite miserable.

Potential Takeaway: When I speak as a Christian, it should be to make a situation better and for the benefit of all concerned. When I am the major beneficiary of what I say or do, I may not be imitating Christ quite as much as His love would compel me to do. And, sometimes, a particular part of the Bible may neither inspire devotion, historical understanding, or literary reflection. For a time it may not be the word the Lord is using in my life. And that’s okay. 

Dear God, Your Word is holy and good, but also mysterious. I struggle enough with what I do understand that I should not be anxious about the parts that are not yet clear to me. Guide me to a greater depth of faith and courage to live into what I do understand, following in the way of Jesus the Christ. Amen. 

Revelation Read-Along: Day 3

Reading: Revelation 2:12-29

Advent Theme: Fidelity

Even though it may not seem like it at first glance, the churches at Pergamum and Thyatira are struggling with the same issue. Like Ephesus, there are false teachers in their midst. The false prophets here represent an even greater danger to those who are following the Way of Christ because they (the lying leaders) are attempting to equate Christian discipleship with the worship of the emperor or being in league with Roman power.

How can you tell? The metaphor of fornication and/or adultery, when used in scripture, is often used to depict unfaithfulness in the relationship of people to God. And, let’s be clear, God is never the party that adulterates the relationship. Yes, there are many times in the Bible when adultery is meant to indicate unfaithfulness in human marital relationships and fornication is used to refer to illicit or inappropriate sexual activity. That being said, the mention of Balaam is meant to remind those who hear this letter of the prophet in Numbers 25 who did cause some in Israel to go astray from proper worship of the one true God. 

Additionally, the use of the name Jezebel here is meant to prod a recollection that fear of a power and persuasive leader (2 Kings) caused apostasy, or abandonment of the faith, among some who had been faithful. The terms “fornication” and “adultery” in these verses underscore the reality that spiritual unfaithfulness has consequences. While Paul wrote to the Corinthians regarding eating meat sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8) and the relative safety of such a practice, the situation in Pergamum and Thyatira is at least half a century later, a totally different emperor, and a Christianity that is under attack in a new way.

In western English, we sometimes use the phrase “in bed with” as a business or civic term. “Well, if we can get a good interest rate, I don’t mind getting in bed with XYZ firm for this project.” So, while we might not use the term adultery or fornication in the business or civic world, we are familiar with sexual metaphors to indicate a partnership go well or going poorly. The false teachers among these churches may have been telling Christians that it was okay “to get in bed with” Roman power for whatever reason.

Potential takeaway: We can only truly worship one God. Relationships with our money, our stuff, our homeland, other people, even our church life can adulterate what is meant to be our primary allegiance- our relationship with our Creator. Is the voice you hear most often coming out of your television, from across the dinner table, through a radio or a telephone? What can you change in your life, if you need or want, to be sure that the voice you are listening to and for most often is the One that truly has your best interests at heart and is always faithful? 

Holy God, You have kept your promises from generation to generation. Throughout time and across lands, You have sent true prophets who revealed Your will and Your word. Then You sent the Son to make clear what people could not understand from the prophets. Guide us into true faithfulness to You, forsaking all others, for as long as we shall live and then beyond. In Christ’s name, amen. 

Revelation Read-Along: Day 2

Reading: Revelation 2:1-11

Advent Theme: Faith

What’s a Nicolaitan? You ask good questions. From the text, we can reasonably assume that the Nicolaitans were teaching some version of the gospel or giving instruction in the faith that was contrary to 1) what John believed to be true or appropriate and 2) may also have been contrary to what the larger Christian community received and perceived to be true and appropriate.

How can one tell a false teacher or prophet? A false teacher tries to become the center of worship,

instead of focusing on God. A false prophet seeks his own gain, instead of working for the sake of community and the kingdom. The profit motive and inappropriate focus may not be clear at first, but the truth will always out.

The church in Ephesus is struggling to continue in faithful discipleship. They remain stalwart in testing false teachers, meaning they are oriented toward correct doctrine. BUT! It is not enough. In their focus on truthful teaching, they have fallen away from demonstrations of care and compassion. In short, they’ve started to be only hearers of the Word and neglected to be doers of the same. This is of great concern to John, who uses the metaphor of Christ walking among the lampstands to remind the church at Ephesus that Jesus is there with them.

The church in Smyrna is struggling with the forces that oppose God. These forces are recognizable by how they put up roadblocks to discipleship and faithful witness. The presence of suffering itself is not a signifier of these forces; however, persecution because of one’s good work in caring for others and God’s creation is a clear sign of potentially both the spiritual forces that oppose God and the powers and principalities of this world that can do the same. Smyrna is urged, as are we, to renounce these forces and to continue on with the work of care and compassion in community and of worshiping God in all times and places.

Potential take-away: In the season of Advent, many of the dichotomies of our present life are brought into sharp focus. We are surrounded by a “gimme” culture, which encouraged indebtedness and plays on insecurities around having the “right stuff”. At the same time, we are encouraged to give charitably, more than any other time of the year, even though need knows no season. What would it look like to step back from both of these things- to simplify both our giving and our getting? Would it feel like returning to “our first love”, God’s own love- which our Creator gives to us before we were even born?

Holy God, help me to pace myself in this season. More than anything, I ask for the gift of hearing Your voice and feeling Your presence. This may come through service, through worship, or in a still, small place where You reveal Yourself to me. Open my heart to perceive the Spirit of faith in this season. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen. 

Revelation Read-Along Day 1

Reading: Revelation 1 

Advent Theme: Promise

What’s happening here? Someone named John is writing to at least seven churches, with which he has a relationship and has been seen in the role of teacher or leader. He writes that he has been exiled to the island of Patmos and the implication is that the exile happened because of his teaching and Christian leadership.

This is probably not the John who is Jesus’ beloved apostle. John is a common name and the writing apocalyptic writing. While some of the gospel accounts have apocalyptic elements, only Daniel uses this style of writing in the same way. In both Daniel and Revelation, apocalyptic writing uses sharp metaphors, strong descriptions, and a future tense to describe present realities. By present realities, I mean the present of the writers, not necessarily the present of the modern reader.
in Revelation is different from either the Fourth Gospel or the Johannine epistles. This John, the writer of Revelation, chooses to use the style of apocalyptic writing. While some of the gospel accounts have apocalyptic elements, only Daniel uses this style of writing in the same way. In both Daniel and Revelation, apocalyptic writing uses sharp metaphors, strong descriptions, and a future tense to describe present realities. By present realities, I mean the present of the writers, not necessarily the present of the modern reader. 

For example, the bit about the stars and the angels and the lampstands can be broken down and understood as how John the Revelator is describing the churches to whom he is writing, in east Asia, to themselves. They are lampstands, meant to shine Christ’s light to the world (see Matthew 5:16). They have heavenly guardians- angels- who guard and guide their work. The work of the churches is known in heaven and known on earth.

Look again at the description of the “one like the Son of Man”. The description is meant to boggle the mind. How does a voice sound like many waters? John is humbled by the self-revelation of the heavenly messenger and recognizes the power of the messenger’s words. The words are described as being like a “sharp, two-edged sword”. These words with cut in two directions, piercing human power and knowledge to reveal that it is God’s power and knowledge, revealed in Christ, that truly stands.

What are a couple things to take away from this reading? First, martyrdom or harassment do not come about by the mere fact of being a Christian. They are the result of the forces that oppose God resenting and trying to stop the fruits of discipleship- equality, community, and generosity in service to the one true God. Secondly, dramatic images are not meant to be found by readers then or now in exact replica. They are meant to be arresting to our thoughts and deeds, causing us to re-orient ourselves to the truth.

Prayer: Dear God, when the written word is confusing or challenging, it feels easier to turn away than to be uncomfortable. Guide me in faithful listening to your words. Help me to be not afraid, but to trust that You indeed hold all things in Your everlasting arms. Where the sword of Your truth pierces my heart, heal me and strengthen my faith. Amen.

Revelation Read-Along

Dear Bible Adventurer-

The written word of God, what we call the Bible, is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the faithful in the ages of scrolls, of parchment, of the printing press, and of digital technology. The Bible is not our God, but it is a manger in which Christ is laid. When we come to this manger like a shepherd, with humble hearts, and at heavenly urging, we will find our hope and our salvation. 

Why Revelation during Advent (or ever)? Advent is an in-between season that often gets overlooked in both church and secular society. The themes of anticipation, hope, peace, restoration, letting go, quietude, and discipleship can easily get lost in either frenetic Christmas preparation or in fear of the more dystopian themes of our news cycle and the biblical readings assigned for this time of year.

When Revelation was written, either very late in the first-century A.D./C.E. or early in the second, the people who followed the Way of Jesus find themselves outside of their society. If they lived in Roman-occupied areas, as did most of the people who received this letter, they were confronted with an emperor who had declared himself the son of the gods. Furthermore, both Jews (Christian or religiously Jewish) and Gentiles (Christians who were not ethnically Jewish or Judean) were being persecuted for their faith practices that put them at odds with the Roman culture.

Those who chose to live in imitation of Christ disregarded some of the social “norms” of their time. They shared what they had with one another and with those who struggled. They understood equality among men and women, slave and free, young and old to be a hallmark of their community. They did not give worship or undue honor to the emperor, especially not as a god. Their refusal to participate in the guilds that honored Roman gods and goddesses interfered with the Roman marketplace and finances.

Apocalypse means “unveiling”. So this unveiling or revelation to John is a Spirit-led interpretation of what it means to follow Jesus under the oppression of Rome and Rome’s leaders. The back and forth between Roman power and heavenly power described in the book was meant to give encouragement to Christians to continue in worship, discipleship, and trust in God. John’s writing involves a lot of Roman imagery, especially the symbols of the emperor and Roman power. 

When we read Revelation, it is important to understand what metaphor and symbolism mean in the book and then how the Spirit may lead us to understand these things in our own time. There is not always a direct correlation between a metaphor of Roman power and a way that power may be used well or abused in our own time.

The overarching theme of the book is to remember that God is the beginning and end of all things. When we are afraid, rather than seeking to clarify the signs around us, we are compelled by Christ to our knees and to our community in worship of the one true God and then driven back out, by the Spirit, to serve our neighbor-  be they Roman, Lutheran, Montanan, or other. 

I encourage you to take (at least) 10 minutes a day for this study. Give yourself time to read the Bible passage in your preferred translation. If you can read it out loud, do it. I often find that it is easier for me to understand difficult passages if I read them out loud to myself. Then read the devotional and the prayer. Let the words of the scripture and the meditation roll through your mind like water in a river over rocks. Allow the power of the Spirit in that rolling to smooth out the jagged edges of fear and to bring to you the consolation of God’s power and majesty.

In peace,

Pastor Julia

December 1	Revelation 1
December 2	Revelation 2:1-11
December 3	Revelation 2:12-29
December 4	Revelation 3
December 5	Revelation 4
December 6	Revelation 5
December 7	Revelation 6
December 8	Revelation 7
December 9	Revelation 8
December 10	Revelation 9:1-12
December 11	Revelation 9:13-21
December 12	Revelation 10
December 13	Revelation 11:1-14
December 14	Revelation 11:15- 12:6
December 15	Revelation 12:7-18
December 16	Revelation 13
December 17	Revelation 14
December 18	Revelation 15-16
December 19	Revelation 17
December 20	Revelation 18
December 21	Revelation 19
December 22	Revelation 20
December 23	Revelation 21
December 24	Revelation 22
December 25	Luke 1-2

Generosity

Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get.  But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you may give to the poor in secret. God who sees what you do in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:1-4

            There are a lot of things happening in this passage. First, financial generosity is equated with religion. So, in some capacity, Jesus expected that the doing of faith would involve the giving of money, in addition to time and talent. 

           Second, one’s own giving should be generous enough that one might be tempted to tell others but instead must keep it secret. If you were ashamed of what you were giving, Jesus wouldn’t need to warn about secrecy since we don’t often shout about our embarrassing bits. 

           Thirdly, financial giving is for the sake of the poor. While Jesus says elsewhere that the “poor will always be with you”, his meaning is that giving to the poor is not a convenient reason to avoid other justice work. One can work to feed people and also work to convey dignity and opportunity on a larger scale. Whether or not people take advantage of that work is not our business. 

            Lastly, Jesus indicates that there is a reward for appropriate generosity. What kind of reward? Who can say, but it will come from God. This is both incentive and reminder. We cannot use our generosity in fiscal stewardship to manipulate God (if I give this, then You do this…). We are managing what has always (and still) belonged to God’s own self. 

            We are given the gift of caring for others and God’s whole creation through our baptism. Our financial stewardship is of a piece with that gift and call. Let us be diligent together, even in private, about our generosity with what God has given us. 

Review: CEB Women's Bible

A couple weeks ago, I was asking a group of [church-going] children what they knew about the Bible. Among other shared information, we tried to name some Bible characters. They quickly shouted out, "Jesus!... Moses!... Abraham!..." The oldest kid in the group is probably 8, so that was okay. I asked for the names of any women or girls in the Bible. Mary's name was speedily recalled and then there was a stall. My own son raised his hand and said, "I can't remember her name, but there was the girl in the garden who ate the apple." Great, our group could literally only name Mary and Eve. So, looks like my work is cut out for me. Good news: there's a Bible for that!

I recently received a copy of the CEB Women's Bible for free in exchange for a fair review. This Bible is in the Common English translation- hence, CEB. This is not my favorite translation. All translation is interpretation and all interpretation is political. So, accepting the CEB as a study bible was a stretch for me going in to this project. Not all pastors share this characteristic, many LOVE and endorse this translation of the Bible and find it to be as accurate and helpful as early translations.

It turns out that, translation notwithstanding, this is an excellent study Bible. Nearly all the chapters have summary introductions that could be used for the people who like a big picture view or as prayer prompts before or after devotions. The inserted commentaries on situations, circumstances, and people are very helpful. There is one on birth control near Genesis 38 and on one women and property at Joshua 17. There's celebration (Psalm 31), pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2), mercy (Romans 9), adolescence (1 Timothy 5)- plus ministry and widows (separately) in the same chapter.

These short explanations given insight not only to the time of the Bible's events or writing, but also for how the verses impact the life of the reader today. I enjoyed every one that I read and I think they are the best feature of this Bible.

My second favorite element of the CEB Women's Bible is that there is at least a sentence or two portrait of every single woman who appears in scripture. No matter whole small her role, how implied her presence, how unnamed she may have remained through the centuries- she or her group get recognition in this volume. Through recognition comes thankfulness and growth in understanding. I have been doing work in Daniel lately and, boom, there was the portrait in words on Belshazzar's mother (Dan. 5). She's actually critical in the story because she remembers Daniel and his skill, when others have forgotten him. Yet, she doesn't usually appear in the stories people tell off the top of their heads regarding the writing on the wall incident. Regular use of this Bible and encountering these portraits will help the reader become more familiar with all the women of scripture and, perhaps, more emboldened to speak up in times of trouble.

It is extremely exciting to flip through the front matter of the book and see how many women were involved in the creation of this volume. Lay women, professors, writers, and clergywomen all contributed their talents to the creation of this volume. I am of mixed emotions when I see this. I am so happy- nearly tearfully so- that these women were sought out and their vocations and talents used well for this book. At the same time, I hope that the work in and on this Bible will be noticed- especially in academic and professional religious circles. This amount of research, talent, and commitment deserves recognition beyond making a commercially viable devotional Bible (which is NOT nothing- far from it).

Despite my own reservations with the translation (which are NOT shared by all other pastors!!!), I believe that I will continue to use this Bible for personal devotional reading, along with others. I do say to people that the best kind of Bible to get is the kind you will actually read. This Bible is very readable and the portraits, summaries, maps, and drawings all serve the purpose of increasing knowledge and learning in faith. I recommend this Bible, particularly if you do not presently have a study Bible that you enjoy using. If you are the kind of person who is bothered by adjectives in the titles of Bibles, I still recommend this Bible and a roll of electrical or duct tape to cover the title (or use a Bible cover). Several people in my congregation do this and it seems to soothe their angst and help them to use the Bibles they find most accessible.

The stories of women in the Bible- known, forgotten, and unknown- deserve attention, scholarly time, and church/devotional study. This Bible accomplishes that task superbly. It does it so well in fact that I recommend considering one's own preferences or biases (translation, title, margin size) as adiaphora (or unimportant) relative to having a truly helpful and revolutionary study Bible that spotlights the work of women in history and the work of women today.



I received a free copy of the CEB Women's Bible from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

You can get a FREE sample of Ephesians from this edition of the Bible here. Try it!

Inspiration of the Living Word (Sermon)

2^nd Sunday in Christmas

Sirach 24:1-12; Wisdom 10:15-21; Ephesians 1:2-14; John 1:1-18

           

            Today we had readings from the books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon. Most of you probably don’t have those books in your Bible. (Yes/no?) These two books, along with Judith, Tobit, I and II Macabees, Baruch, and Esther, make up the seven extra books that appear in the bibles of the Roman Catholic Church, but not usually in Protestant bibles.

If they appear in your Bible, and you don’t have a “Catholic” bible, they will appear in a section called the “Apocrypha”.

            These seven books were written in a four-hundred year space that is otherwise unaccounted for through the history of the Hebrew Scriptures and the start of the New Testament books. They were originally written in Greek and not in Hebrew. At least one council of Jewish leaders rejected these books for the canon , or collection, of the Hebrew Scriptures.

            Some later Christian Councils debated keeping them in the canon- with some saying yes and some, no. For our purposes, Luther rejected them as since they were not written in Hebrew, noting they were useful reading, but weren’t at the same level as sacred scripture. When Luther set them aside in this manner, it raised a debate forever as to whether these texts should or should not be included in Bibles- collections of sacred texts.

            Furthermore, there is much heat as to whether these books can be considered “inspired” if they are not part of the sacred canon. Can God inspire words and work that are not part of the printed and bounded bible? (I should say so, otherwise Martin Luther’s whole career is somewhat questionable.)

            By reading from these texts, just like singing hymns or offering prayers written by ourselves or spoken extemporaneously, we are acknowledging God’s ongoing work in the world. We are saying that God is not done, that God is still speaking, that God’s work continues. When we look to poetry or painting, wood carving or theater, quilting or knitting, we see that God’s majesty and might did not have an expiration date. God’s revelatory power was not limited to one place, one language, or one group of people.

            We are still in the Christmas season, wherein the heart of the message is God’s self-revelation through flesh and blood, Jesus as Emmanuel- God with us. As a baby- a real, live, crying, eliminating, eating, baby- Jesus shows us God’s tendency to be revealed in the usual, the simple, the regular, the ordinary, the normal and thereby transform these things into new realities.

            The upshot of today’s sermon is not that we should include the seven deutero-canonical books in Protestant bibles. It is that the arguments that “because they are not in there, they do not count as ‘inspired’” are ridiculous. If we are to learn anything in this season of shepherds, young unmarried mothers, confused, but earnest fathers, magi, angels, and innkeepers, it has to be that there is not a limit to God’s ability to inspire, to use, to shape, and to create. The human failure to understand this is not a failure of orthodoxy, it is a failure of faithful imagination- rooted in the truth of grace and forgiveness.

            We live in a world that shames people who struggle with their identities, with self-understanding, with rejection, and with trusting in the reality of God’s expansiveness. Understanding God’s inspiration to be broader that we’ve ever imagined, broader than the Church has allowed, broader than we dare to hope- is the gift of Christmas that is for all people. It is the Christmas message that we are to carry.

            Both of today’s readings were about wisdom- as a part of God and as a gift of God. In more than one place in the Bible, including in Proverbs and Job, it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” What does the fear of the Lord look like? I believe it begins with an unwillingness to limit God, a refusal to box God in or nail him down.

            Thus we turn, like John the baptizer or the writer of Ephesians, and proclaim the lavishness of grace, the incredibility of the Word made flesh, and the glory of God we understand to have been revealed through Jesus. And then we swallow deeply- in grief or joy or worry or hope- and say, “And God is not done yet.”

Merry Christmas.

           

            

Unity in Silos

I've been slowly introducing the idea of the Narrative Lectionary (NL) to my congregation. The NL is a fairly quickly paced romp through the arc of Scripture from Abraham and Sarah to Acts (September to late May). Each Sunday, the congregation focuses on one scripture passage that reveals the work God has done. Through the lens of that story, in its Scriptural setting, we move to more fully comprehend the work God is doing now.

In order to use the NL, we will have to drop out of formal use of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for about nine months. It is my hope that during this time our congregation will labor together and come to a better understanding of the narrative thread of what we believe. How are the Hebrew Scriptures connected to our understanding of Jesus? How do we see ourselves as children of Abraham? What are the lessons of the Exile?

These are important themes and stories that don't quite make into the heart of the RCL. Arguably, they could be covered through Faith Formation activities, like Christian Education, Confirmation, Bible study... etc. However, I have to be realistic about the habits of my congregation. The majority of people are here on Sunday morning. Some can't, some don't and some won't come to other things during the week. So I have to take seriously the teaching portion of my call and bring the mountain to Mohammed, or something like that.

In this month's newsletter, I published the proposed schedule of the NL and asked for comments or questions. I received my first today from a clergy colleague in the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod. I consider this pastor a friend and an inspiration and I know he was somewhat teasing in his email, yet some portions of it really hit home. We discussed it on the phone, but I'd like to stir the pot a little with his comments.

He noted that by using the Narrative Lectionary, one could see the ELCA as moving either farther away from the Church catholic and, possibly, from its Lutheran roots.

Holy revelation, Batman!

Have we come so far that a desire to cover more Bible makes me less orthodox and, yea verily, less Lutheran? Say it isn't so.

First, the use of the Narrative Lectionary is a choice and is neither endorsed or encouraged by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. (It isn't discouraged either.) One might consider the Book of Faith initiative to be an encouragement into deeper Biblical work, but that's a different post/rant/exploration. Bringing broader and deeper biblical understanding to people in pews (and streets) is, last time I checked, at the heart of Lutheran self-understanding. It's right up there with Christ and him crucified. (It is, in part, how we know about Christ and him crucified.)

My pastor friend pointed out that the RCL or even a standard three-year rotation gives pastors of a variety of stripes some common ground to discuss our sermon preparation, to share ideas and from which to wade into deeper theological matters.

True enough, the RCL puts me on same pulpit plane, so to speak, with the majority of United Methodists, American Baptists, Episcopalians, LC-MS, WELS, Roman Catholics and many others on any given Sunday. Since our table fellowship and ordination practices are often dividers, the Common Lectionary can be a tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.

Ah, but there in lies my problem. I fail to see how a deeper understanding of Scripture is going to lead the congregation of Lutheran Church of Hope away from the Church catholic. I would think (!) it could only help. (Said the young ELCA pastor with optimism.)

Besides, I don't think it is my proposed nine months in the NL that is causing an ideological divide between some of my LC-MS brethren (and sistren), WELS, Romans Catholics and some Orthodox.

If we decide to explore the Narrative Lectionary, we will still:

Affirm our faith using the Apostle's Creed (except when we use the Nicene)
Baptize in the name of Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) 
Believe in Scripture as the inspired, written Word of God
Believe in the saints, alive and gone before as our cloud of witnesses
Trust in the Real Presence of Christ in Holy Communion
Understand God as having acted on behalf of creation, continuing to do so and planning to do so until the end of time

If we can't be united to the Church catholic through our faith in God's work of salvation in Jesus the Christ and through the things above, it doesn't matter how we study the Bible.

If we can't define ourselves, in the positive, by some unity in these things, then we are about as useful as the fig tree (Mark 11:12-14). Where is our fruit?

My hope in using the Narrative Lectionary (which has its own flaws) is to begin to deepen and build on the biblical foundation of the majority of my congregants. I hope that they will be energized by new hearing, new discussion and new understanding. In general, I think this is what all pastors work toward and pray for- across the Church catholic.