I shared with people at the Harry Potter study last night that the word Erised was desire spelled backwards. I wanted to let you know an additional piece of insight that my sister shared with me. According to the book, the words around the mirror are:
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on whohsi.
I always thought this was Latin or something, but I learned that if you read the words backwards (and ignore the spacing) it says:
I show you not your face but your hearts desire.
I think that the church (and maybe God's love) is often seen like this phrase. We see a bunch of strange words (justification, righteousness, grace, etc.) and think that God does not make sense. But then, when someone explains the words, we see them in a new light. We understand that the words of the church are not just foreign words we cannot decipher. Instead, they are words that help us understand what we are really seeing.
May God's love be made more clear to you this day, and always.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
This Sunday, we will be focusing on All Saints Day. Pastor Becky will be out of town, and Tim Good will be filling in. Here are some of his thoughts and questions for this Sunday...
What is a Saint? Are there still Saints? Why do we think a Saint is always someone else?
Our first reading will be from the Old Testament, Joshua 3:7-17. Ol’ Josh could have been intimidated by having to fill Moses’ giant shoes, but instead he stood on Moses’ giant shoulders. What does Moses have in common with other Saints? What does Joshua?
Our New Testament reading will be from the Gospel of Saint Matthew 5:1-12; part of the “beatitudes”. In the Catholic church, beatification is part of the process towards being canonized as a Saint. What is the relationship between Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and being a Saint?
What is a Saint? Are there still Saints? Why do we think a Saint is always someone else?
Our first reading will be from the Old Testament, Joshua 3:7-17. Ol’ Josh could have been intimidated by having to fill Moses’ giant shoes, but instead he stood on Moses’ giant shoulders. What does Moses have in common with other Saints? What does Joshua?
Our New Testament reading will be from the Gospel of Saint Matthew 5:1-12; part of the “beatitudes”. In the Catholic church, beatification is part of the process towards being canonized as a Saint. What is the relationship between Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and being a Saint?
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Moses' Legacy
This week is our final sermon on Moses! We followed his story from the moment he was born. This week's text is Deuteronomy 34:1-12. It tells the story of Moses' death. This passage is a nice little obituary chronicling all that Moses accomplished. It also gives a nice little "epitaph" for Moses. The one "whom the LORD knew face to face."
I think when observing someone's death, it is nice to look at all that he/she accomplished in life. And so, here's a record of the stories we've studied about Moses. I've also included that major "God verbs" or what God was doing during this time.
And now we are back to the death of Moses, "whom the Lord knew face to face."
Questions for reflection:
If you were giving a eulogy for Moses, what events/details/characteristics would you include?
What events are important to include in a eulogy, what should be left out?
How do you see God working through Moses' life?
How do you see God working through your own life? Would others be able to describe you as one whom the Lord knew face to face?
I think when observing someone's death, it is nice to look at all that he/she accomplished in life. And so, here's a record of the stories we've studied about Moses. I've also included that major "God verbs" or what God was doing during this time.
- Moses' Birth & rescue from the waters of the Nile: God works ahead and redeems that which was tossed into waters of chaos.
- Moses is called at the burning bush: God equips the called
- The first Passover: God protects the people, God demonstrates faithfulness to the people and God rescues us from the things that enslave us
- Parting of the Red Sea: God invites Moses and the Israelites (and us) to trust in impossible situations
- Sending of Bread from Heaven: God provides daily in the barren wilderness.
- Moses strikes the Rock and brings forth water: When we ask, "is the Lord among us or not?" we learn that the Lord is indeed among us.
- 10 Commandments: God provides us with help in learning to love God and love our neighbors. (Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, Moses urges the people to be faithful to God, as God has been very faithful to them.)
- Golden Calf: God listens to Moses and responds with forgiveness when the people are unfaithful.
- Seeing God's glory -- Moses gets to be a "shining" witness to God's presence in the people's midst: God helps the people have physical signs that God is with them.
And now we are back to the death of Moses, "whom the Lord knew face to face."
Questions for reflection:
If you were giving a eulogy for Moses, what events/details/characteristics would you include?
What events are important to include in a eulogy, what should be left out?
How do you see God working through Moses' life?
How do you see God working through your own life? Would others be able to describe you as one whom the Lord knew face to face?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Ministers of Christ's Righteousness
This Sunday is Laity Sunday. The sermon is going to center around a Prayer Litany that I found in the United Methodist Book of Worship.
From the begining, God entered into covenant with the human family;
with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah,
Moses, Hannah, Ruth and Jeremiah.
Through baptism, Jesus Christ calls us into the covenant
and makes us ministers of Christ's righteousness.
All Christian ministry is Christ's work of outreaching love.
It demonstrates a common life of gratitude and devotion,
witness and service, celebration and discipleship.
All Chrisitans are called to Christ's servanthood in the world,
to the glory of God and for human fulfillment.
The Church, as the communitiy of the new covenant,
participates in Christ's ministry of grace.
It stretches out to human needs
wherever service may convey God's love and ours.
In our ministry of servanthood is this ultimate concern:
that all may be renewed in the image of their Creator
and that all Chrisitans are called to minister
in deeds and words that heal and free. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
The beginning of the litany reminds us of God's story as it is woven through history. How does this list of people change/influence your opinion of what it means to be a Christian?
What is the life changing significance of the fact that God makes a covenant with us, in the same way that God made a covenant with them?
What does it mean to be ministers of Christ's righteousness?
The litany describes the essentials in Christian ministry as gratitude and devotion, witness and service, celebration and discipleship. Where are your strengths? Where are your weaknesses?
The litany ends by saing that our ultimate concern is that "all might be renewed in the image of our Creator." What does it look like to be "renewed in the image of our Creator"?
From the begining, God entered into covenant with the human family;
with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah,
Moses, Hannah, Ruth and Jeremiah.
Through baptism, Jesus Christ calls us into the covenant
and makes us ministers of Christ's righteousness.
All Christian ministry is Christ's work of outreaching love.
It demonstrates a common life of gratitude and devotion,
witness and service, celebration and discipleship.
All Chrisitans are called to Christ's servanthood in the world,
to the glory of God and for human fulfillment.
The Church, as the communitiy of the new covenant,
participates in Christ's ministry of grace.
It stretches out to human needs
wherever service may convey God's love and ours.
In our ministry of servanthood is this ultimate concern:
that all may be renewed in the image of their Creator
and that all Chrisitans are called to minister
in deeds and words that heal and free. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
The beginning of the litany reminds us of God's story as it is woven through history. How does this list of people change/influence your opinion of what it means to be a Christian?
What is the life changing significance of the fact that God makes a covenant with us, in the same way that God made a covenant with them?
What does it mean to be ministers of Christ's righteousness?
The litany describes the essentials in Christian ministry as gratitude and devotion, witness and service, celebration and discipleship. Where are your strengths? Where are your weaknesses?
The litany ends by saing that our ultimate concern is that "all might be renewed in the image of our Creator." What does it look like to be "renewed in the image of our Creator"?
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Who brought you out of Egypt?
The text for next week's sermon is Exodus 32:1-14. It is the story of how the Israelites made the Golden Calf.
Here's what I found interesting as I read the passage. No one seems to agree on how the Israelites got into the wilderness. Look at these verses:
v.1 "This Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
v.4 After Aaron made them the golden calf, the people said "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
v.7 "The LORD said to Moses, 'Go down at once your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt , have acted perversly.'"
v.11 "But Moses implord the Lord his God, and said, O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand.
v.14 "And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster he planned to bring on his people."
Moses? The Golden Calf? Yaweh? Moses? God? Who is responsible for bringing the people out of Egypt??
Being sophisticated modern readers who know the Bible, we know that God brought the people out of Egypt. We know that God will bring the people out of the Wilderness. We know that God will bring the people deliverance from their enemies. We know that God will bring them out of Exile.
But, in this passage the question hangs there, begging us to examine it closely. Who is responsible for bringing us out of "Egypt"?
Even though we live in a modern world, we all have an "Egypt" in our past. (Or, maybe you are in an "Egypt" now.) Egypt stands not just for the geographical location where they were enslaved, but it also represents that spiritual and emotional place where you feel trapped, stuck, and unable to move forward. We pray, and pray, and pray. And somehow we are freed from our "Egypt," but then weeks, months, or years later, we have trouble remembering who brought us up out of Egypt.
Questions to ponder this week:
(for personal reflection) Where were the "Egypt" moments in my life? How did I survive them? Have I given God enough thanks?
Why do the people continually forget all that God has done?
How can we work as the church to remind one another of what God has done?
Where have we substituted the reality of God for a symbol?
How can we free ourselves from worshiping idols, and move back to true worship of God?
These are tough, but important questions. I pray that God's grace might surround you as you seek the answers.
Here's what I found interesting as I read the passage. No one seems to agree on how the Israelites got into the wilderness. Look at these verses:
v.1 "This Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
v.4 After Aaron made them the golden calf, the people said "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
v.7 "The LORD said to Moses, 'Go down at once your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt , have acted perversly.'"
v.11 "But Moses implord the Lord his God, and said, O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand.
v.14 "And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster he planned to bring on his people."
Moses? The Golden Calf? Yaweh? Moses? God? Who is responsible for bringing the people out of Egypt??
Being sophisticated modern readers who know the Bible, we know that God brought the people out of Egypt. We know that God will bring the people out of the Wilderness. We know that God will bring the people deliverance from their enemies. We know that God will bring them out of Exile.
But, in this passage the question hangs there, begging us to examine it closely. Who is responsible for bringing us out of "Egypt"?
Even though we live in a modern world, we all have an "Egypt" in our past. (Or, maybe you are in an "Egypt" now.) Egypt stands not just for the geographical location where they were enslaved, but it also represents that spiritual and emotional place where you feel trapped, stuck, and unable to move forward. We pray, and pray, and pray. And somehow we are freed from our "Egypt," but then weeks, months, or years later, we have trouble remembering who brought us up out of Egypt.
Questions to ponder this week:
(for personal reflection) Where were the "Egypt" moments in my life? How did I survive them? Have I given God enough thanks?
Why do the people continually forget all that God has done?
How can we work as the church to remind one another of what God has done?
Where have we substituted the reality of God for a symbol?
How can we free ourselves from worshiping idols, and move back to true worship of God?
These are tough, but important questions. I pray that God's grace might surround you as you seek the answers.
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