Week 17: Christmas Recess

Present: SC, JK, BL, LL, JM, SR, SS, ST.

We met at my home, where we discussed Samuel, Paul, and Allen.  Because of traffic, we started late and didn't make it to a TR. [Photo: Luis, pictured, and Mia were excited to have visitors!]

Next time we meet, January 5, we'll all bring $5 for pizza.  Lynne will prepare worship; Susan will prepare the TR.

We are reading 1 and 2 Kings with two chapters in Collins 13,14;  Romans; and Allen's chapter 12.  There's some important overlap in the coverage of the meaning or effect of Jesus' sacrifice.

During this break, I've taken some time to write "Real Prophecy," a reflection on Howard Thurman's Jesus and the Disinherited.

Week 15-16: Thurman, Prayer, and Worship

Present: SC, JK, BL, LL, JM, SR, SS, ST.

Following dinner by Jeff and worship by Bill, there was long animated discussion of Thurman's conclusions and the essay on "Prayer and Worship" in the Reading and Reflection Guide.   Away at a students' concert, I arrived for the tail end of that discussion.

Our TR took off from "underprivileged," a word that Thurman used once instead of "disinherited".  We found a stronger resonance with the word "privilege" that brought us many references to Scripture and culture.  We summed up our insights in ...

Collect for the Privileged
God of power and glory, you emptied yourself to live and die as one of us, demonstrating the infinite value of your creatures.  Make us ever mindful how our privileged positions are gifts that come with a responsibility to focus attention on those who live with their "backs against the wall," unseen and undervalued.  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Poems by Howard Thurman: Bill's Closing Worship

I will light candles this Christmas.
Candles of joy, despite all sadness.
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch.
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days.
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all the year long.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.

Next Week:
We read the assignments for Week Seventeen.  Sarah will do worship; Susan will bring the TR.  I will host the meeting at my home, 2017 Hascall Ct. 30064.  Scharme is bringing ham; Sarah will bring brussels sprouts, Lynne will bring sweet potato casserole, and Susan, the dessert.  I'll have bread; Jeff and Jane will bring wine.  

Week 13-14: Divergent Paths in Acts, Thurman, and Yellow Woods

Starved Rock State Park, IL

Present: SC, JK, BL, LL, JM, SR, SS.

Following dinner by Jane, Susan led us in reading Psalm 11 and coming on board with experiences of God in the Thanksgiving week just past.

We all found resonance in our own experiences for Howard Thurman's first chapters of Jesus and the Disinherited.  We admitted failing to understand fully "fear" in the experience of our own nation's  "disinherited."  Thurman told how fear can pervade the life of someone who has never specifically been touched by the dominant group.

Thurman's clear delineation of Jews' few choices under Rome also gave us a clearer understanding of why Jesus' own people would want him silenced:  His preaching of a kingdom here, now, within, was a form of resistance that threatened both the authority and self-respect of compliant Herod and isolationist Pharisees. 

Thurman's distinction between a religion about Jesus and of Jesus also struck us, and related to Paul in Acts, and even more in his letters.

Our TR was a fresh look at the familiar poem by Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken.  By the time we'd finished our reflection, we'd seen that samples from our culture are full of regret for chances missed and what might have been, while the examples we saw in our tradition suggested that any choice can be redeemed, whether or not it's an easy path.

Collect for Travellers
O God, Lord of travellers from Abraham to Paul, you give us the power of choice in our own journeys.  Grant us wisdom and imagination so that, as we live into our choices, whatever path we take may lead to You.  Amen.

Next week.
We read the rest of Thurman and also the essay for Week 17 in our Reading and Reflection Guide.
Jeff volunteered to bring food; Bill will prepare worship and a question.  Our TR will be a "provocative word" reflection on the word "disinherited."