Yr. D, Wk.14: The Sabbath and Knowing When "It's Not Done Yet"

Marilyn led worship. She shared with us how an adjustment to her window opened up a new view that, for a moment, brought to mind past, present, and future for her (see photo). We shared recent experiences: sleeping in a twin bed took us back to childhood; an elderly loved one has become again like a little child in size or outlook; a return visit to a state park brought to mind all the growth since the last time.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Gene had to leave immediately.

After responses to The Sabbath printed in "comments" below, additional thoughts emerged from our discussion. Mariel sees a kind of "Martha and Mary" dynamic when she considers the introduction by Susannah Heschel to the book by her father Rabbi Abraham Joshus Heschel. We were struck by the "tenderness" of the sabbath day in the Heschel family. When we considered Nuno's question about whether the Sabbath can be celebrated on another day, we reached a consensus answer in the affirmative, especially since medical workers and others who serve us may not have the Sabbath day off. Nuno brought out the conversation that the St. James Bible Study group had about the difference between joining a live stream of communion versus seeing the recording later. Is worship "like watching a play?"

Theological ReflectionNuno shared a story that involved a bus tour and an interaction that was interrupted when the bus had to leave. We loved the story, and focused on Nuno's decision at that moment not to comply because he felt this isn't done yet.

We found a metaphor that many of us could buy into, the experience of an artist (painter, poet, cook) continuing their nearly-finished work.

• What is life like there? Totally engrossing… trouble making decisions, lots of possibilities… testing, trial and error… you have a vision of working towards something…it’s intuitive, but not certain… you have to trust your gut
• What is a distortion of goodness there? Failure to commit, failure to keep going, feeling like it has to be perfect gets in the way of continuing … you lose that total engrossment
• What crisis could cause people there to see the distortion? risk if you spoil the whole thing…
• How could there be reorientation towards wholeness, and bring the world closer to fulfillment of that wholeness? Accepting what’s already beautiful in it… faith that others will see the beauty in it…

When we looked into our tradition, we found a lot of resonance with the idea of a work of creation that isn't done yet. In fact, that seems to be the central story of God's relationship to us: Epiphany… Jesus waited 3 days to raise Lazarus (divine timing)… Israel’s wandering in the desert 40 years made them a people instead of just a collection of tribes… Moses being raised by Pharaoh gaining wisdom, culture … Jesus calls Matthew who is a tax collector, and seems like a bad choice… King David wants to build a temple and is dissuaded… Heschel says creation is unfolding and we can’t see where it’s going… Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane … Season of Advent.

We reached some insights, too: You may discover a beauty that is different from what you expected… If you don’t understand,put it on the shelf until you do.. You have to trust, keep going… Like a TR! This turned out to be a meta-TR.

Susan accepted the challenge to create this week's collect, as she has a lot of experience with drafting and re-drafting visual art. A picture of one of Susan's studies is included here.

Collect

God who lovingly made all from nothing, who at the end of each day paused to see its goodness, You allow your creation to unfold and flower in its own time and its many voices to speak in harmony. As we--creatures made in your own image-- act, let us remember to pause and hear the voices of all your creatures and the things of the world speak in their own time and pace. Amen

Yr. D, Wk.13: Frontiers and the Fullness of Time

Susan led worship with a collect and readings from Advent 3, including the Magnificat. In answer to her question, we shared holiday plans. Most of us are staying home; Nuno will see family. Mariel shrugged that "every day is Christmas," a celebration of life and rebirth. We recognized the retreat of our friend Pete, hoping he'll be able to rejoin us another year. We added Marilyn to our prayers, along with Nuno and Gene, both affected by the losses of loved ones in the past year.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Marilyn. Pete has resigned.

Scott proposed that this week's discussion of the readings might all stem from a single word taken from the title of 3rd Year's chapter, "frontier." Placing that word at the center of a grid, we piled on content from our chapters that related directly, then associated those new items with others, until we'd filled the squares:

Theological Reflection (TR) Scott asked the group to reflect this week on the Magnificat from our worship. When Scott reminded everyone of the context, Mariel was struck by the way Mary's song seems to be about past, present, and future all at once. Others showed interest, and that became our focus.

Nuno reminded us of what he said in an earlier week about time being represented in Spanish as a volume or quantity, not a length to measure. We explored the image of time as a space that we inhabit where past and present are all "present" together. Our exploration brought to mind the phrase "in the fullness of time" ("Dare I say, pregnancy?" Mariel asked), and these other pieces from our tradition:

Moses on top of the mountain – they couldn’t wait for him to come down! The God of Abraham and Isaac is a god of the living, not the dead, said Jesus. Alpha and Omega at the same time. Hymn: The Day Thou Gavest… The Day that never ends… Two different ideas of time – masculine (Psalm 90 – number our days) and feminine (Magnificat)

Coincidentally, Rabbi Heschel's book The Sabbath, assigned for our next meeting, explores this same idea, that time in Judaism is an "architecture" that we inhabit.

Gene volunteered to compose a collect to bring the threads of our conversation together:

Collect for Judging the Right TimeHeavenly Father, who in the fullness of time sent your son, born of Mary, to redeem us; we ask your guidance as we seek to understand and trust your will even when we cannot see beyond our own limits of time as we are brought into your eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Yr. D, Wk.12: Knowing and Noticing

Worship was led by Mariel. Then she asked us, "Since Advent signals the end of the calendar year and the beginning of the liturgical year, in what area of your life have you recently sensed the closing of one chapter and opening of a new chapter?" Some answers were cause for celebration tinged with trepidation: retirement, new career, new house. Other answers, regarding relationships, raised concerns for us to keep in our prayers.

From our discussions of the readings on line, Scott drew some questions for clarification regarding appropriate learning and distinctions between feminist and humanist. Mariel and Gene opened up Ford's image of "knowing" an apple, which he compares to the much more complex ways of knowing God. The conversation moved to the importance of what's not said in a text: little said about women behind the scenes in Israel's origin stories and in the early history of the "Latin rite church." Nuno said that the relationship with God matters more than academic analysis. Mariel and Gene were reminded of that apple: a scientific study of it is one way to know it.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Pete

Theological Reflection

We all bought into the anecdote that Gene brought for our TR, concerning a woman with children who begged for cash at the entrance to a store. Gene tried not to notice -- until Scripture from Matthew popped into his head. 

As we explored the situation, we were drawn this time to the struggle with conscience, the little lies and rationalizations. We agreed: the more we struggled, the deeper in guilt we sank. A metaphor emerged: paleolithic tar pits.

What is life like when you're a dinosaur in a land of tar pits? Free… inviting … pretty.. you know the pit's there, you're unconcerned most of the time (the way we rarely concern ourselves with poverty we know is grinding lives). The distortion or sin is carelessness… distractedness… fear of interacting with someone in the tarpit. The crisis or judgement comes when you fall in. The more you struggle the deeper in you get, the worse you feel. Reorientation or redemption? Ducky the little dinosaur (from the film Land Before Time) pulls you out; someone tells you to stop flailing; you grab a branch. You could die and become a monument and a wonder to later generations, which is redemptive in that it gives your life meaning.

We connected our little parable to other sources. From tradition, we thought how often Jonah "fell in" as he evaded God's call; Paul’s “I do the very thing I hate and cannot do the thing I want”; the redemptive deaths of the martyrs; Israel's repeated rejections of the prophets, and, from the other angle, God's seemingly futile trust in His people; Job. Several movies came to mind: Land Before Time, Groundhog Day, Scrooged, Never Ending Story.

We offered insights from stepping back to look at our entire reflection: This does happen a lot, in our personal lives, in our church history. There IS hope in these stories and images; there is paying attention and caring… the gift is in the giving… St. Francis: In giving we receive, and now the opposite, in not giving we suffer… Gene on five levels of sin – and the need for outside help to get you unstuck. Helper and Helpee both need to be flexible – the gifts may not come as we think they will… grace needed on both ends….

We saw these applications of our insights to our lives going forward:

• We can ask for the outside help (and that’s prayer, and / or others)
• We can strive to BE the outside help who offers someone the branch
• Nuno’s experience with wide range of needy people and results
• Openness to Scripture – know your scripture and listen to it when it comes to mind, as this passage did for Gene:
  Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you (Mt 5.42).

A few days later, Christine composed a collect:

Collect when StuckGracious father, As Jonah, who abandoned you and became stuck in the belly of a whale, rejoiced in your grace and guiding light. Give to us hope, light, and courage through our struggles when we falter or become stuck in the throws of our own concerns. Move us to turn to you and to your Word our living compass, so that we do not overlook our neighbors in need, and help us all rejoice in our gift as helper or helpee; through your son our Savior Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen

Yr. D, Wk. 11: Lenses & Maps, With or Without

Susan led us in a Litany of Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer. Her on-boarding question was, what did you eat on Thanksgiving? One had the traditional full meal, one had a frozen dinner, and the rest of us had a variety in between. Whatever we consumed, we felt thankful for the time we had with others, and alone.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: None.

The postings in the "Comments" section below covered the readings very well, but Nuno's comment that he was interested to read Deuteronomy through the "lens of centralizing authority" set a theme for the rest of our reading discussion. He found Deuteronomy to be a kind of Utopian vision, a community "without blemish." Marilyn liked the thought that Deuteronomy's "reinterpretation" of the Law and Moses was another step in a "journey" for God's people, a theme that also came up later in our TR and Marilyn's collect. Mariel and Peter enlarged on Mariel's comment that, in interpreting scripture, we are "wrestling with the past, chale=lenged by our own assumptions, being alert to deeper resonances." Pete was struck by the way Mark emphasizes the down-to-earth humanity of Jesus and the foolishness of the disciples. From reading about the birth of Islam, Christine made clear that Mohammed was reinterpreting Hebrew and Christian scripture to the problems of the chaotic society on the Arabian peninsula ca. 600 CE.

Scott, from reading comments that the textbooks devote a lot of print debating authorship, asked how important the question of authorship is to our understanding of scripture? Gene told about analysis of the Book of Mormon that undercut claims that Joseph Smith relayed text of ancient authorship. Nuno feels that the witness to Christ gives authority to the gospels, whoever the author may have been. Pete agreed, and opined that who wrote a text is less important than how the intended audience was supposed to take it.

Theological Reflection (TR) Christine related her story of undertaking a day's drive to Orlando many summers ago, without air-conditioning, cellphone, or map, only a promise that she couldn't miss her destination, a hotel with a giant swan on the roof. There were many points of interest in the story, but we gravitated to the initial situation, a journey undertaken without maps.

The more we explored that image, the more we saw that a "journey without maps" seems to be preferred in Scripture. Abraham leaves his ancestral home with no plan, just a promise; Hebrews wander 40 years; Jesus tells his disciples to take nothing with them, to be wise as serpents, innocent as doves; Paul's missions seem largely improvised. Of course, our culture offers the example to "Follow the yellow brick road," and lots of road movies. Nuno remembered encounters with homeless men who enjoyed the "hobo lifestyle" with its sense of adventure and trust in others.

We explored the categories of creation, sin, judgement, and redemption:

• What is life like there? Adventure… precarious… challenging… disconnected from home… new…
• What is a distortion of goodness there? Paralysis by doubt… fearful to go… directions unclear or wrong…
• What crisis could cause people there to see the distortion? Getting lost – not finding the landmark, not finding the people, sundown/darkness no place to go,
• How could there be reorientation towards wholeness, and bring the world closer to fulfillment of that wholeness? Ask for help… take a moment to just enjoy the view: the good stuff comes when you reorient yourself, when you see the good…

Some insights emerged: You have to be responsive to the others, and to the circumstances – good not to be too prescribed “Uncharted territory” economy, medical crisis, world-wide political crisis, and responsibilities to the world/nation/community – in teaching/business – a church that cannot meet, a world that can’t connect – is connected by the problems --

During the days that followed our meeting, Marilyn enjoyed the challenge of wrapping up our feelings and insights in a collect. The theme of "light in darkness" is so appropriate to this season of Advent! Here it is:

Collect for those who Travel without Maps Oh Glorious God, our Heavenly Father, your Word is a beacon to orient our feet, a bright light unto our path. In a most wonderful way it reveals our deep need for Your Unfailing Love, and at the most unexpectedly perfect moments, we are humbled by Your Gracious Guidance. May we walk daily with The Living Word, conducting our lives in faith and with gratitude, so that we may illumine the path for others. May the glow of Immortal Hope light up, not only our personal paths, but also our faces, to encourage others and to show that the Light of the World dwells within us. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yr. D, Wk.10: Re-Framing the Story

Nuno led us in a service from the prayer book of New Zealand's Anglican church. He drew our attention to the way Maori imagery makes familiar phrases new to our ears -- an example of a re-framing of content that became a theme of the evening.

After giving some thought to Nuno's emailed question, we named our favorite pies and gave the word "pecan" our favored pronunciation. We did not reach consensus.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: Gene.

Our thoughts about this week's readings were expressed eloquently in comments posted before the meeting (see below). Looking back over the discussion, I see the theme of re-framing there, too, as the different authors are providing certain frames for looking at our traditions. For example,

• Nuno writes that Collins looks at Leviticus and Deuteronomy through a narrow frame of scholarly questions and speculations about authorship; Nuno sees them through the frame of salvation theology.
• Marilyn's picture of the Hebrew Scriptures was opened up by one phrase, "perpetual priesthood."
• Pete, looking through the frame of his father's Marine values, is troubled by the vilification of authorities in Matthew.
• Christine credited a website with helping her to read the history as "an evolution in our understanding of God." She was interested in the layers of challenge attributable to differences in language, as, for instance, the subtle differences between "origin" and "nature" when the Church tried to define the doctrine of Trinity.
• Through Mariel we can see that Ford presents an array of frames for looking at salvation. It seems that we're not going to get just one answer from him.

Theological Reflection Mariel brought us material for a TR from the action source. Recently, her older brother added new information to a bit of family lore, an incident early in her childhood. Speculating about the brother's thoughts and feelings, we almost lost sight of Mariel's experience.

Christine brought us back on track with a metaphor borrowed from her own experience in art restoration. She told us how restoration of the frame, even removing the frame entirely, revealed new things in the picture.

The metaphor brought to mind important pieces of our tradition. Jesus reframes the law; the different Gospels each reframe Jesus in each book; re-discovery of the Law reframes Josiah's reign; Job's story changes when he says, "I had heard about You ...but never had seen You face to face." Jesus reframes Kingship, Baptism, fighting, leadership. Joseph reframes his own story when he reveals his identity to his brothers.

Insights: Forgiveness is a kind of reframing as we discard one frame to expose the fuller picture; thinking of the original story, we see validation that confession is good for the soul; we take care to recognize how memory can filter out details.

Pete volunteered to write a collect to pull together strands of our TR into something we can act on:

Collect for ReorientationOh, heavenly Father, with your wisdom and serenity, when we face turmoil and crises, especially when loved ones are at stake, please aid us in reorienting ourselves towards wholeness with your will and divine plan; please guide us to forgive others and repent for our own transgressions, so that we may become true servants to you; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and the Holy Spirit.

Yr. D, Wk. 9: Boxes Unopened

Christine led us in the Order for Worship at Evening from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Her question for on-boarding was about favorite TV shows or songs that we turn to for comfort. We variously named The Waltons, Star Trek, Ken Follett's historical Pillar novels, Dave Matthews' "Bar Tender," When Harry Met Sally, Joni Mitchell's album Blue, and E.T., re-discovered watching with one's child.

On a virtual tour of Nuno's new home, he showed us many boxes to unpack. Those boxes would turn up again at the end of the evening.

Our comments on the blog were a rich discussion of the materials that we had read in Exodus, Powell's overview of the Gospels, "The Imperial Church" chapter of the history book, and Ford's introduction to theologians' various ways of looking at Jesus.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent: None.

Theological Reflection

Scott told how, seeing photos of his parents and grandparents, he suddenly realized that he had no one to pass them down to. He had felt a sense that he was betraying their memories when he imagined mementoes trashed or packed in a box.

As we explored connections to the story, we focused on boxes that follow us from home to home, never opened. We imagined how the need to locate some particular item might make us confront those unopened boxes, and how wholeness could be restored: Unpack the box; put time and space aside for the effort; drag in someone close who has perspective; realize that it has meaning only for yourself, and ask if it’s a net positive or net negative; give the object as a gift, along with its story.

We offered relevant stories from our tradition: The gifts of the Magi… Sirach’s “let us now praise famous men" once celebrated, now forgotten … the rich young man who “had many possessions” … golden calf … Deuteronomy discovered in the temple basement during Josiah’s time… Prodigal son took his share and left, and realized that it wasn’t the wealth but coming back … other gospels and books discarded as the Church set the canon.

Looking through the culture's movies and books, we remembered the last image in Raiders of the Lost Ark

We reached these insights:

• It’s hard to see pictures of our elders in their youth when they’re gone now.
• Our artifacts are all in reach.
• Memories - you can lose them and find them again
• When we grieve for the loss of others, we grieve for ourselves
• Placing a value on things (tangibles, memories) requires a lot of self-analysis: You have to understand your own motivation. Is this a standard that would apply to other people? There’s a process of appraisal. What do I want to keep?
• This mirrors the process of the TR itself – to start with the personal and draw back to see the significance for others

We shared ideas for collecting all of our discussion into a collect that follows this familiar form:

1. There is an address to God and to his character or actions in the world on our behalf (relating to the situation at hand).
2. There is a request.
3. There is an invocation and doxology, to include the Trinity.
4. And there is The Amen.

When Scott had enough material to make a collect, we ended the meeting.

Collect for Unpacking BoxesPrecious Lord, Judge Eternal, while You urge detachment from earthly possessions, You celebrate the recovery of a single gold coin: give us strength to open unexamined boxes in our lives, discernment to elevate what is valuable, and the will to let go whatever detains us from entering Your kingdom; through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Yr. D, Wk.8: Faith in Jeopardy?

Gene led us in worship from New Zealand's prayer book. Prior to our meeting, Gene emailed us, "In honor of Alex Trebek, the answer to tonight's question is Something that made me see God's work in action or that renewed my faith this week." Our answers included rewarding engagements with people of different faith or different politics; good news and kindness from doctors, nurses, and a veterinarian; an emotional ah-ha moment with students; and a realization during a walk on a trail where "all the leaves are brown / and the sky is gray" that time -- even when waiting for something else -- is a gift.

Appropos of nature: Prior to the meeting, Marilyn sent Scott an acronym from an old religious book, God of Out Doors (G.O.D.), her answer to his question last week about Thomas a Kempis's admonition to look inwardly, not at the world outside.

Yr. D theme: Living into the Journey with God Class: Marilyn, Nuno, first year; Pete, second year; Christine, third year; Mariel, Gene, fourth year; Scott and Susan, co - mentors. Absent:

All four years read an essay in the Reading and Reflection Guide (RRG) that explains EfM's process of "theological reflection" in terms of this year's theme of "the journey." Members responded with interest and appreciation. More than once, we heard veterans of the program say that they appreciate the process better for having read this chapter.

For homework, we'd kept eyes open for stimulating examples and thoughts from the four sources, as outlined on p. 67. These, and other responses to the readings, are preserved in the comments below.

Prior to the meeting, Christine shared this link to Bishop Wright speaking with Dr. Judy Fentress-Williams, a scholar who contributed to the book of feminist / intersectional perspectives on the Hebrew Scriptures that Year One reads.

Next week, Scott will bring something from the "action" source for our first TR, and Christine will lead worship. Remember to add comments about readings for Week 9 to the blog post.