Yr. A, Wks. 23+24: Prophets, Paul, and Practical Piety

Members:  Thomas, Gene, Mariel, first year;  Erica, second year; Scharme, third year; Bill and Lynne Lovelace, fourth year; Scott and Susan, mentors. Absent: Tom.

Scott brought Chinese dishes.  Phoenix and Dragon was best. Erica wondered if anyone else had given up dragon for Lent.

Lynne brought us worship from a Lenten devotion book, with the reading of Jesus separating the goats from the sheep, to whom he said, "I was poor .. naked... in prison... and you helped me...."  The reflection had to do with becoming "holy," not so intimidating as it sounds when we think of it as meaning "becoming more like Him."  We shared how we have felt ourselves becoming more "holy" this year.

Our discussion of two weeks' readings criss-crossed some common ground.  Mariel observed that Ezekiel's prophecy built in a coherent, literary way to a detailed vision of a utopia centered on temple worship.  Erica said that's echoed in the "realized theology" suggested by assurances in Ephesians and Colossians that the kingdom of God is now, not in the far future.  Scharme reported on the communities formed around "confessions" as the Lutheran Reformation, mixed with politics, spread among more radical community leaders.  Lynne and Bill reported on Timothy Sedgwick's deriving a vision of Christian ethics in the Anglican church, grounded from early times in the "practical piety" associated with the parish church. 

When Bill and Lynne spoke of "practical piety" in contrast to piety based on strict adherence to laws or dogma, they harked back to the discussion of "holiness" in our opening worship.  Students of other years picked up on the same theme.  Mariel observed that the prophets, preaching the holiness code, were nonetheless aiming for a change of heart -- Susan remembered the prophet's line "Rend your hearts, not your clothing."

Gene started a discussion of history with a  question about individual salvation compared to the more communal focus we were seeing in tonight's reading.  When Scharme had spoken to us of "humanism" in this week's reading about Erasmus and Luther, she was referring to the time in European history when the concept of the individual first developed -- through critical readings ancient authors that took individual perspectives into account. Susan traced that development through the Enlightenment.  Scott referred to Petrarca, who addressed a "letter" to ancient orator Cicero "from the banks of a river you knew, 14 centuries after the birth of a savior you never knew."

That image of looking across water to someone on a distant shore turned up again in our TR.  Scharme laid out artifacts from her family's life on  a purple Lenten cloth beside a cross.  As a group, we were most struck by a photo from 1912 of two choir boys at St. Phillips, labeled "Bill" and "Dad."  Aware of the distance between us and them, aware that World Wars, Depressions, families, old age and death lay ahead of the boys, Erika suggested the metaphor of travelers on the deck of a ship watching people on the shore as the distance between ship and shore increases.


Collect for the Journey:
Heavenly Father, as we see both past and more distant past when we look at the stars, we know that You see us both as we were in the womb, and as we will be:  let us never forget, as we sail onward, the great cloud of witnesses on the shore behind us, and our responsibilities to those whose lives lie on a distant shore ahead of us. Amen.

Next Week:  

• Reading: See RRG week 25.  
  
• Food:  Bill and Lynne.  (The week after: Gene)
• TR:  Susan.
• Worship:  Scott.