Yr. C, Wk. 9: A Jealous God

In the dimly lit centering prayer room, Scott led a service for All Hallow's Eve from the Prayer Book's supplement for Occasional Worship.  We took roles in a dramatic reading of the story of the witch of Endor.

Where the service calls for a homily,  we revisited a  TR on  "Halloween" (see November 1, 2017) which focused on  community and stranger. The question for dinner tonight was, "What experience have you had with a stranger in the past few weeks?" Answers involved a kind homeless man, an unfamiliar colleague's mistake, and helping strangers with directions and group photos.

Yr. C theme: Living as Spiritually Mature Christians Class: Matt, Pete, first year; Christine, second year; Mariel, Gene, third year; Erica, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Gene, Christine.

Pete had cooked up a tasty Low Country Boil We ate helping after helping before we settled down to the reading.


Pete began our discussion, struck by the phrase from Exodus, "a jealous God." We found in it God's fierce protectiveness, and also God's steadfastness when, so often, the Hebrews kicked back, as Mariel said, "like children who want to do things themselves." This theme returned during our theological reflection.

From there, we saw a "tug of war" in scripture and in the church's early development between the impulse to build up places of worship and hierarchies of authority, and the conviction that true faith relies on God alone.

Theological Reflection
Exploring Susan's anecdote about an apparent theft, we developed the metaphor of a person finding their home's front door open. Feelings of insecurity and disruption brought to mind the Hebrews in the wilderness, and also the gospel story of the apostle Thomas. Naturally, we found analogs as well in Star Trek, Star Wars, The Hobbit, and the classic John Wayne film The Searchers.

Collect in Time of Disruption Lord God, you jealously guarded your chosen people in the wilderness even as they craved the comforts of Egypt and the security of gods they could handle: stay with us when, numbed by routine, we balk at the risks of your call to be a light to the people around us. Amen.

Next Week: Brown bag dinner. Pete leads worship. Gene brings something for a TR.