Yr. A, Wk. 6: Morality, Boundaries, and Josiah's Finding the Law

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

Josiah, crowned at age eight.

Susan reported that Lauren has had to drop the class, with hopes of returning another year when her life has settled more.

Scharme started us with Compline.  Tom brought us a Mediterranean feast from Zoe's Kitchen.  While we ate, we reported on the past week.  A theme emerged about coming to terms with plans that fell through, something that came up later in our discussion.

Tom and Gene, reporting on the Patriarchs in Genesis, were torn between laughter and outrage at the immorality of these figures, who had seemed so heroic and noble in the childhood Bible Stories book.  Mariel countered that these tales reminded her both of the lawless, pre-union West of Mark Twain's youth, and of the trickster - hero Br'er Rabbit.  Those stories by Beatrix Potter were themselves adapted from African oral traditions, stories told by men and women enslaved in America.  We thought of Bugs Bunny and other powerless characters that we love and admire, despite their obnoxiousness and slyness, for triumphing over stronger adversaries by wit and chutzpah.  We also remembered that  God uses the flawed brothers and fathers in His own ultimate plan. As Joseph says, "What you intended for evil, God intended for good."

Tying into the discussion of morality, Bill and Lynne discussed the questions raised concerning worship and ethics by Ford in the 4th year's theology text.  Lynne admitted that she has always taken for granted the things that Ford probed.  Both were interested, and eager to get to later chapters that purport to find answers to the questions.

A side-question emerged, when Bill quoted a line about our desire for God:  "God first desires us."  Tom asked, "If He desires us, why did He wipe out humanity with the Flood?"  We came up with an answer that echoed our check-in answers:  God can have a plan without controlling our every move, and there may be zigs and zags in His progress, as there were in our plans.

Scharme segued to her chapter in the 3rd year book, "Setting Boundaries."  Lines of authority were established -- bishops, Rome supreme -- books were canonized, heresies of Aryanism and Marcionism suppressed, and creeds were codified.  She also laughed at the story of Origen, who alarmed his mother by his eagerness to proclaim his faith in public and join Jesus in martyrdom. She hid his clothes, so that he couldn't go out.

Theological Reflection
Susan had us read the day's assigned text from II Kings 22:1-13, concerning King Josiah's response when the priest Hilkiah introduces him to a long-lost book of the law, which commentators agree is the book we know as Deuteronomy. After listening to verses in different translations, we used commentaries and our imaginations to read between the lines:  Hilkiah's "discovery" is convenient for him and his class, and could be a "power play" to wipe out their rivals, the priests of Ba'al and fertility gods;  accounting on the "honor system" suggested to some a whiff of corruption; Josiah's delegating prayer and discernment to the priests struck us for its hierarchical division of labor.  

By the end of our discussion, we had related the scripture to events in our own lives, and to major events in history up to the recent times.  Many of us expressed surprise that this tale from a world so alien to us had so many contemporary analogs.   

Instead of a collect, this week we agreed on an action.  Each of us will report back on some talent or "law" that we've re-discovered and honored in the next week.  For example, Lynne reported how she sat down last week to play gospel songs on the piano, something she loves, but hasn't done in too long. 

Next week:  Mariel brings food; Susan brings worship; and Bill will surprise us with something to start a T.R.

Yr. A, Wk. 5: Parallels, Distinctions, and a Stray Dog

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

The Lovelaces served a dinner of sandwiches with cole slaw and potato salad.  Mariel's worship was a service for Evening Prayer for the day, from which she posed the question, "What has the phrase 'house of God' meant for you, and how has the meaning changed?"  Answers included our own hands ("Here is the church, here is the steeple..."), natural sites such as the forest where a wedding occurred, the nave of our church, Grandmother's house and the home of a middle school friend.

Discussion of the readings kicked off with an outpouring of ideas from 4th Year's reading. "Is God Real?  What do we mean by 'God?' What do we mean by 'real?'"   Commentary kept coming back to "relationship" and "trust."  The Trinity is essential to Christian understanding of the idea of "God."  Other faiths cannot be "lived" at the same time as one lives our Christian faith, but we can be "bilingual" with other faiths.

Scharme was struck by the notion that Paul preached to Gentiles who had adopted Jewish worship. She traced the end of "Israel" to the fall of Jerusalem and to the diaspora.  The "Pharisees" (who kept themselves apart from Rome and oppressive cultures) outlasted those who collaborated (Sadducees) and those who rebelled (Zealots). Jesus was closest to the Pharisees.

Erica commented that she got a strong sense of Matthew's "voice" by reading the Gospel in two sittings.  That voice is "difficult," she said.  He rearranged incidents around five sermons (corresponding to the five books of Torah) and played with numbers "as an accountant."

First year students honed in on "distinctions" between Judaism and the religions and philosophies of their day, as the books also showed God separating light from dark and earth from ocean ("chaos").

After a break, Susan explained the rationale behind Theological Reflections. 

Our reflection this week launched from the "action" source, as we identified a recurring theme from our several spiritual autobiographies and found an image for it:  the stray dog in search of a community.  We considered "judgement," those experiences that told the dog that he / she was lost, abandoned.  We back-filled "sin" and "creation," imagined "redemption," and then looked to the other sources for related stories/ images. 

After much discussion, in which we followed the steps in the "Wide Angle Lens" method (RRG, p. 275), Eugene pointed out that we had "two sides of the same coin," that the dog was saved, "but also, those who save the puppy experience God's grace."

Collect for the Lost and Misplaced

God of all creatures, great and small, Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to find the one who strays:  grant us grace and compassion so to recognize the lost among us, and to lead them to fellowship, so that they and we may grow to rejoice together.  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Next week

Engage with the readings and questions given in the Reading Reflection Guide for week 6.   Scharme leads worship;  Tom provides food; Scott and Susan will bring the source for another Theological Reflection (TR). 

Yr. A, wk. 4: History, Ancient and Personal

Members:  Lauren, Thomas, Eugene, Mariel, first year;  Erika, second year; Scharme, third year; Bill and Lynne Lovelace, fourth year; Scott and Susan, mentors. Absent:Lauren.

Sandpiper over water

Scott prepared chicken Caesar salad on-site.  Lynne led us through a Celtic prayer service, including "Expressions of Faith" such as

Lord, You have always given bread for the coming day; and though I am poor, today I believe.
Lord, You have always given strength for the coming day, and though I am weak, today I believe.
Lord, You have always givenpeace for the coming day; and though of anxious heart, today I believe....

Lynne's "on-board" question was, "Which expression of faith fits your recent experience?"  We had a wide range of answers, and we found some things we had in common.

Our discussion of the readings began with Erika's interest in the ancient approach to biography,  focused more on moral truth than in accuracy.  We thought of more recent examples of that same approach to history.  Erika offered a personal experience of the opposite when she heard someone at a conference re-cap their shared experience with accurate facts that missed all the meaning.

Scharme built on the "history" angle by giving us a broad overview of 1000 years of Judaism up to the century after Jesus, the ups and downs of the Northern Kingdom, Southern Kingdom, and later home rule under successive empires.  The group was especially interested to hear that "Hebrew" originally designated any dispossessed or wandering peoples.  

The first year students picked up on a theme that the others raised, of important articles of faith that emerged over time, as we see the development of the concept of "Satan" starting with the "crafty" serpent, and the development of the idea of an afterlife in the last prophets and exposures to Hellenistic ideas of a soul separate from the body.   Students enjoyed highlighting two "accounts" of creation in Genesis, which Mariel saw as two approaches to the same story rather than different stories.  (The first story is told in terms of "project management" on a schedule with "quality control": "It was good.")

Fourth year explored theology between two extremes of atheistic denial of faith and fundamentalist denial of anything outside the believer's creed.  The most important point, they said, was that theology should not be a purely academic exercise, but must apply to society.

Following our break, we heard four remaining spiritual autobiographies.  Without divulging personal details, we can remember the stories by their forms:

One told of discovering at St. James a second chance at living with family, work, and play "under new standards."  Another took a haiku about a sandpiper "conducting the waves" for an image to describe the ebb and flow of spirituality, connected with disengagement and re-engagement with church.  The story of another student developed between two texts, Psalm 121 ("I look up" -- to the hills, to the stars, to a new perspective on earth-bound life) and a hymn, "Draw nearer to God and He will draw nearer to you."  Another student focused on two anecdotes of being in the right place at the right time for grace -- receiving grace, and dispensing it.

Next week:  Readings for Week 5. Bill and Lynne will provide food, and Mariel will lead worship.  Scott and Susan will introduce Theological Reflection through the "Wide Angle Lens" method, applied to our stories.  See p. 275 in the RRG.

Yr. A, Wk. 3: Ancient Worlds and Texts

Members:  Lauren, Thomas, Eugene, Mariel, first year;  Erika, second year; Scharme, third year; Bill and Lynne Lovelace, fourth year; Scott and Susan, mentors. Absent: None.

Lauren provided our meal of "sliders."  This week's worship by Erika came to us from a reading on her phone, and her question about the intersection of faith with technology brought answers of surprising depth.  

Each year's readings seemed to center on the ancient Greek / Roman / Hebrew  world.  An interesting observation was that the Jewish world in the time of Jesus was very different from the Jewish world of the Hebrew Scriptures, texts already centuries old in his day.  

St. Nick punches Arius

A side conversation concerned St. Nicholas as the one who physically stood up for the Incarnation against a flavor of Gnosticism that would deny it.   (Link to my summary of Fr. Daron's sermon on St Nicholas.)

Our fourth year students picked up on what they'd heard others say.  Lynne applied something that struck her in the reading, that we need a sense of the past to make sense in a time of cultural flux.  Bill picked up on the words "tradition" and "ritual," which can be "dry and dead," but which also anchor faith -- so that we don't seek truth just anywhere.  (He cited recent sermons at St. James.)  He liked the idea in theology of "dialogue" among eras, and that we shouldn't automatically go to the middle, NOR to one side.

After the break, we heard four spiritual autobiographies, each in a different form. We heard a completely - written short story about a single afternoon of early childhood that contained in it lifelong spiritual principles; a development of a metaphor from gardening (turning up soil); an account of the way that spiritual practice has been a source of strength, just as sports practice can be; and a story that reminded the teller of the prophet Jonah, who tried to get away from God, but God kept drawing him back.     

Next week: Readings and questions for 4th week as listed in the RRG.  Food: Scott. Worship: Lynne.  Four remaining spiritual autobiographies.

Yr. A, Wk. 2: "Faithful Living is Contextual"

Members:  Lauren, Thomas, Eugene, Mariel, first year;  Erika, second year; Scharme, third year; Bill and Lynne Lovelace, fourth year; Scott and Susan, mentors.  Absent: Eugene.

Scharme brought pizza for dinner, and cookies for dessert.  Bill provided worship from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, "f" and "s" confufed all the the way through.  On this evening after a weekend of Hurricane Irma, he drew a question about "frailty" from the collect.  We related recent events regarding parents, physical pains, and vulnerability to the weather.

We used the "mutual invitation" method to draw everyone into discussion of the reading.  We asked, "Why is it 'your' world?... Can we listen without thinking of what we want to say? ... Do I already divide things too much -- is context just another division?  ...What ministry will I be called to?  ... Can I listen to (my son) (my daughter) and not merely "hear"?... What can I draw from the image of water shaped by its cup? ... It's common sense how the contexts of our lives shape our views, but who knows that? ... How can I use "listening" as a teacher? ... What are the implications of the observation (p. 23) that 'God works in different contexts?'

Scott drew particular attention to rules on p. 22 - not to repeat someone else's story, even within the group, even to someone who was absent.

After the dessert break, we moved to the other room for two mentors' ten-minute spiritual autobiographies.

Next week: Lauren provides food, Erika leads worship, and the autobiographies will be shared by Mariel, Scharme, Erika, and Lauren.Year One, add to your assignment the final chapter of Powell's book to your reading assignment -- EfM participants agree that the final chapter makes clear why we read the rest of the book!

Yr. A, Wk. 1: World of EfM

Members:  Lauren, Thomas, Eugene, Mariel, first year;  Erika, second year; Scharme, third year; Bill and Lynne Lovelace, fourth year; Scott and Susan, mentors.  Absent: None.

Susan brought arugala lasagna, bread, orange-radish salad, and cookies.  After introductions, mentors and years 2-4 all spoke to what EfM is for them, and what EfM is not (see the Reading and Reflection Guide, Week One).

We shared personal goals, hopes, and fears for this year of EfM, using "the invitational method." These are some of the ideas that emerged:

I look forward to a resolution of my questions about the history of our church... 
I need a better understanding of the Bible, a formal way in... 
I don't want to be the kind of person who quotes Scripture at people ... 
I hope to make theology more than an academic exercise -- something to help me see miracles in my life and those of others ... 
Can I move from academic theology to personal philosophy and growth? ... 
I have a goal of listening to what everyone else has to say, to keep an open mind... 
I hope that we can find commonality in this ... 
I hope we continue to make good connections between readings and our theological reflections... 
I want us to write good collects to pull our lessons / reflections together.

After a review of p. 319, we discussed norms for the group, and then explored the metaphor of "worlds."  What emerged?  

Faith itself is the center, drawing us, nourishing us, enlightening us ("faith is a way of seeing").  Other qualities of the sun might apply to our faith as well:  it's too vast to apprehend at one time, a provider of energy that is constantly in motion, exploding, not defined the way a solid would be, intangible yet felt.
When we come together, we should keep focused on that center, shutting out the peripheral issues of our own worlds. 
Thinking of another kind of orbit of electrons around a nucleus, we remember the Heisenberg principle, that the orbits may be anything but circular, very unlike each other, and yet still centered.
What happens in our universe stays in our universe.
The orbits are regular in time, synchronized with each other; our studies and schedule are likewise cyclical, and we must keep up.
Being planets in motion, we should expect our perspectives on our faith to change with time.  
Each world exerts influence on every other one: we must be aware of the effects we have on others, and avert collisions. 
When we visit another's world, we should breathe deep the atmosphere.

There are stars beyond our system: this is a start, not the end.
It's beautiful.

After a break, we repaired to the Pilgrimage room for worship from the BCP, "for close of day" with a reading from Forward Day by Day which focused on the "brokenness" of Peter when the cock crowed and he had denied Jesus three times.  Scott asked, "How have you been broken, and felt somehow stronger for it?"  We shared some answers from our recent experiences. 

Next week, we read "Week 2" in the RRG.  Scharme provides food, Bill leads worship (and brings a check - in question).  For these first few weeks, the theological reflection will build gradually via spiritual autobiographies.  Scott and Susan will model with their own versions:  The "Worlds" of their lives, focused on a five-year period, lasting around 10 minutes. 

"Be the Kingdom": Ideas for the "Action" Part of our Theological Reflections

Jesus tells his contemporaries to stop looking for signs of God's Kingdom to come: "For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you" (Luke 17.21).   Today's meditation on this gospel, printed in Forward Day by Day, suggests that we "meet a simple need for someone today," to "Be the kingdom."

I thought instantly of my buddies Kitty and her mate Terry. Before she retired to Florida to be a full-time grandmother, she was my colleague at school for some fifteen years; together, they hosted me for countless get-togethers at their home, meals out, and concerts.  But Kitty also set an example of meeting a simple need for someone every day.   When she knew that my play rehearsals were going late, she provided me with ready-made meals to take home with me.  She provided treats for my dogs.  Sometimes, she just gave me a note of support.   All around me, others received similar gifts.  "Make someone's day every day" is her motto.  Or, as FDxD suggests, "Be the kingdom."

Forward Day by Day lately has added a daily feature, "Moving Forward," suggesting action to go with each day's meditation. Some are actions for others, some for our own edification. Here are a few from the current and preceding issues that strike me as good ideas:

• Inspired by Psalm 108, "Write your own poem today and share" via social media.
• Inspired by three one-word prayers that comprise Anne Lamott's latest book Help! Thanks! Wow!, "keep a list of your 'Help! Thanks! Wow' moments to use during evening prayer time.
• Inspired by Mary's seeking support from her cousin Elizabeth, we're advised to send a note or give a call to the Elizabeths in our lives. (Kitty, are you reading this?)
• Inspired by Psalm 78, we're told simply to plan a dinner party for our favorite people.
• Inspired by the lines about fig trees, we're told, "Take a walk around your home today.  What needs to be pruned, cleaned up, or tidied to ensure a fruitful season ahead?"
• Offer concentrated time to someone you love, "no agenda or strings attached."
• Inspired by Deut. 7.6 ("God has chosen you...to be ...His treasured possession"), "set apart a treasure -- a material item, a story, or simply your time -- to share with someone you love today."
• Answer Jesus's question to his followers: "What are you looking for?"
• Inspired by what happened at Cana when they ran out of wine, think, "Do you feel like you are running out? Out of time? Money? Patience? faith? How does this passage speak to these moments of running out?"
• Inspired by John's saying, "He must increase, but I must decrease," contemplate if it's time "to take up less space in someone's life?
• Inspired by Abram's packing up and leaving home, we get the suggestion to "plan a tgrip today [to] visit a neighbor or old friend."
• As the cripple took up his mat to walk, think: "Think of one thing you can do today to take up your mat and walk, to begin to become unstuck."
• After Psalm 92.1, "Write at least five thank you notes today, or write a longer one to God.  Share" on social media.
• After Psalm 23, recall when you walked in the shadow of the valley of death.
• Responding to the institution of the Eucharist in John 6, we're told to "make a list of those who have fed and nourished you with their flesh and blood."