yr. D, Wk. 8-9: Exodus and Empire

Scharme was absent.  Susan provided salmon loaf for dinner.  Erica brought prayer, Psalm, and a lyric by Bob Dylan with the refrain, "Ah, but I was so much older then / I'm younger than that now." Our coming on board related to that refrain, and, in a roundabout way, so did our TR.

All agreed that the article about TRs was very helpful, and should be assigned Week One, Year One, every year.  About Exodus, Erica discovered that it's better when she can listen to it.  We discussed whether the specifications for building the temple, so monotonous for us to read, might be a "guy thing," as guys still get into the specs for cars, sports equipment, and electronics.  Scott observed that Homer does the same thing, devoting hundreds of lines to descriptions of ships and shields.

About third year, we were all interested in the observation that monasteries were, by their very existence, protests against the increasing reach and inclusivity of the church.  We discussed some of the minute differences among warring factions in the church, and whether those debates are reflected in our church's life today.

The TR, presented by Scott, was the "wide-angle lens" method, starting from a printout of the day's readings in the lectionary.  From the passages that struck us, we explored one. Our considerations of life experience, tradition, and cultural messages (especially a parenting book that warns us that the day comes when the parents must give up and mourn the image of the "ideal child" to work with the one they've got) took us far afield, and brought us to this collect:

Collect in a time of Creative Destruction
O God, You created us and gave us free will to create and destroy:  give us resolve when the time comes to break the boundaries of expectation by which we may limit ourselves and others, or to destroy the idols we've created for ourselves, that we and those we love may continue to grow as You would have us grow.  Amen.

Next week:  We read Week Ten.   Bill and Lynne will bring dinner; Scott will bring worship (for All Soul's Eve); and the mentors will bring the TR.

Yr. D, Wk. 7: Wrestling with Moses, Mark, and Roman Persecutions

Susan ordered pizza. Scharme led us through a series of prayers and meditations for worship, including an anecdote about actor David Suchet, title character of the Poirot program, whose conversion to Christianity came to color the whole series to its end. Her question to us for "coming on board" was, "How have we consciously or unconsciously brought our faith into public interactions this past week?" (See Scott's blog post on "What David Suchet Saw: Christ in Christie.")

We each drew discussion cards to bring out interesting aspects of the readings.  Lynne noted how persecution of the Church repeatedly brought about growth in the church.  Erica wrestled with the Lord's hardening of Pharoah's heart.  Scharme found ways to connect the other two years' readings with Mark's gospel.

Scott chose to begin the theological reflection with Sunday's Old Testament reading from Genesis 32.22-31, in which Jacob wrestles with "a man."  After consideration of context, different translations, different theories about the nature of Jacob's opponent, different purposes of the episode, we explored the reading through theological categories of creation, sin, judgement/repentance, and redemption.  We found numerous cultural versions of the story, though these mostly seemed to lack that element of atonement for past sins that Jacob's story has. We finished by composing a collect:

Collect for those in Transition
O God, who transformed Jacob to Israel through struggle and blessing: in our dark nights, make us mindful of Your providence and Your sharing of our struggle, so that we may cross the rivers before us to reach the home You have prepared us for.  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.  

Next week: We enter Unit Two: Theological Reflection as a Life Skill.  We'll read the essay in the RRG for Week Eight, and then do the readings for Week Nine.  Erica will provide worship; Susan will bring dinner; and Scott will bring a prompt that will elicit a "wide-angle" TR.  

Yr. D, Wk. 6: Genesis, Matthew, and "setting boundaries"

Lynne and Bill brought dinner.  Scott brought prayers for the start and end of Yom Kippur, the day of "closing the gate."  We shared "gates" that opened or closed for us recently.  (See Scott's reflection during a bike ride on Yom Kippur about those gates.)

Our discussion of the readings covered Genesis, Matthew, and MacCulloch's chapter 4.

Susan's TR about an accusation out of the blue brought to mind the metaphor of a confused actor wandering onto the stage of the wrong play.  The more we explored, the more we saw how often God makes use of people who feel unprepared for their roles.

We wrote this collect:

Collect for Improvisers
O God of Jonah, Moses, and Peter: You have always chosen actors unprepared for their roles. Grant us flexibility and endurance so that we may carry forward our dramas with others to finales satisfying and fair.  Amen.

Next week: We do readings for week 7 in the RRG.  Bring $5 cash for Susan to order out.  Bill will be absent.  Scharme will bring material for worship.  Scott will bring a text for the TR.

Yr. D, Wk. 5: Genesis, Church Beginnings, and first TR

Present:  Erica, Lynne, Bill, Susan, Scott.  Absent: Scharme

Lynne brought worship, a thoughtful set of prayers by Joyce Rupp that turn the "fruits of the spirit" into the "energies of the spirit," with emphasis on action. 

This time, we began with worship, and "came on board" with Lynne's question during the meal. 

Discussion ensued of the Priestly creation story in Genesis and MacCullough's chapters on Israel and Jesus. 

After a break, we did our first Theological Reflection (TR) from Scott's crisis of conscience relating to an incident in a parking lot.  All could relate.  Our metaphor could be a parable: the parent who breaks the kid's piggy bank to have change for the pizza delivery guy.

Collect for the Adult Who Should Have Known Better:
God, who sent Nathan to confront David and make possible his repentance, help us to face our errors and those we have wronged, so that we may ask their forgiveness, be forgiven, and restore trust and justice in our relationship.  In Jesus's name we pray.  Amen.  

For week six, Bill and Lynne will provide dinner. Susan will provide an anecdote of a "critical moment" for our TR.  Scott will provide worship.