Yr. A, Wk. 11: Eyes Open

Worship and Check-in For worship, Scott adapted poetry by Mary Oliver, mostly from her collection Thirst. At Susan's suggestion, the whole piece is published here on our class blog. For Oliver, prayer is a "doorway into thanks." A major theme in her poems is how opening our eyes to God's natural creation can be a way of loving God.

Three weeks late (sorry, Pete!), we shared stories of our spiritual heroes. We used the words "hospitality" and "welcoming" in a lot of our descriptions of people who impacted us, and at least a couple of us stressed how our spiritual heroes had their spiritual influence without talking directly about religion. Susan expressed gratitude for the many who composed our prayer book and songs in our hymnal, stretching back centuries. Pete mentioned the priest who impressed him early on with a sense of purpose to life. In Nuno's early life, clergy were white men of a higher socio-economic status than their congregations, so he was impacted by his encounter with a dynamic young black preacher who didn't have those advantages.

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings We went into two breakout rooms, one for Year 2 and the other for discussion of Year 4. We came back to share what emerged from those discussions. Year 2 appreciated how Mark "humanizes" the disciples in their progression from clueless to the church pioneers they would become. God didn't choose them on their merits. The open-ended conclusion of the Gospel is striking, leaving us to be part of what happens next. Marilyn found personal resonance in Mark's passages about divorce.

Speaking about her reading in Ford, Christine loved the idea of "the company words keep" in a sentence, a chapter, a book, their time and their culture. Pete asked if it's all about practical applications of what you read; Christine answered that it had to do with layers of translation that should make a reader humble about thinking they have the only valid read on a text.

Theological Reflection

Christine shared this image by John August Swanson (1/11/38-9/23/21) for our theological reflection.

Our discussion narrowed down to our reactions to the eyes in the painting. We each identified with a different character in the image, with strong feelings for what their eyes and gestures said about them. After we had considered the world of the picture and related it to several pieces of Scripture and our own experiences, we listed these insights and applications:

• We lose our vision if the light isn’t coming into the eyes
• Eyes, insight, perspective
• Where you are changes what you see
• Pinhole camera – so much can come through that tiny opening, but only if you stand very still
• Eyes of Jesus fixed beyond the room, beyond the people, above their heads, (on eternity?)
• The way you see can change everything – not just what you see!
• Sight can be recovered.
• “My perspective can totally change my day – I need to balance my perspective – temper things” Distorted vision – like words and culture –
• Keep looking, look to God
• Seeing is not a power that we have, we depend on outside light for vision
• Internal light – my conscience; External light is public

Scott finished the collect with substantial help from St. Paul (2 Cor 4.6):

Collect for Open EyesCreator of the stars at night, your light entering our eyes can guide our paths, even in darkness, if we stand still and wait: enlarge our imaginations to see others' perspectives, and cause your light to shine within us to give the light of revelation -- the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Next Week We remember each other in our prayers, and let's give thanks for the great improvement in Nuno's father-in-law. Christine will bring us worship. Nuno will provide a source for our TR. We plan to take off the week of Thanksgiving.

Yr. A, Wk. 10: Barefoot on Holy Ground

Worship and Check-in For worship, Scott adapted prayers for All Soul's Day from the church in New Zealand. For a check in, Scott once again forgot to follow-up with Pete's question about spiritual heroes. We'll try again in Wk.11!

Discussion of the Readings We worked with the challenge from the RRG to reflect our readings through a single word or theme. Susan chose "family feud" as it describes the intense rivalry among Jews, Christians, and Moslems who all trace their faiths back to Abraham. Christine chose Ford's words "intensification" and "journey," as his chapter surveys the different ways that the Church has journeyed through the centuries using a range of metaphors to "intensify" our understanding of salvation. Pete chose Powell's word "invitation" because it reminds Pete that, whatever questions the Gospel of Matthew may raise about sources and historical accuracy, the book invites the reader to believe and follow. "I'm in deeper than before," Pete said, "understanding Jesus as a person." After reading the gospel all the way through, Nuno appreciated the "structure" in a new way, seeing levels of instruction that Jesus brought his disciples through.

Nuno put in a special plug for Powell's graph of features distinctive to Matthew.

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Marilyn came late; Susan disappeared when a system update hijacked her laptop.

Theological Reflection Our TR came from the RRG, the encounter with the burning bush that draws Moses into his life's work. We focused on the moment when Moses removed his sandals to stand on holy ground. We imagined some of the sensation of warm sand between the toes. We recalled moments of intimacy in the Gospel when the woman anointed Jesus's feet and when Jesus washed his disciples' feet. We came to see the removal of shoes as a sign of receptivity. We composed this collect, polished later by Scott: Collect for Encountering the Holy Holy and omnipresent God, our Lord said to stand aside in a private place to pray, and Moses took his sandals off to stand before the burning bush: remind us as we walk our daily rounds to set our shoes aside and make ourselves present to you so that your spirit can enter and make us burn with the light of the father’s love, through the grace of your son our savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Next Week Christine will bring a source for the TR. Scott will do worship AND Pete's check-in question about our spiritual heroes.

We are praying for each other, remembering especially Christine's sister, Nuno's father-in-law and daughter.

Yr. A, wk. 9: Happy Halloween

Here's a photo that Christine shared:

We did a TR on Halloween a few years ago (11/2017) and came up with these ideas and a good collect:

Scott presented the Celtic origin of "All Hallow's Eve" as background to a TR on "Halloween."  We used the wide-angle method, accumulating memories and associations with the holiday.  We were drawn to a theme of communities drawn together -- as we all had witnessed neighborhoods bonding for the occasion.  Looking back into tradition, we found several parallels to the Exodus event, including a grim one in the blood-strewn doorways and Death's going door-to-door.  We collected our thoughts in one prayer:

Collect for Halloween

Creator of all that is, seen and unseen, You sent Your Holy Spirit to enlighten and protect us: help us find community with our neighbors and the souls of ages past, that we may overcome fear and differences to extend ourselves to the strangers among us.  Amen.

Yr. A, Wk. 8 + 9: Jesus and the Vortex

Worship and Check-in Pete led worship. We'll use his check-in question next week (because Scott moved right on past it!).

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings Everyone contributed, and Scott kept score by initials:

N– Jesus maybe celibate for religious reasons? is that a poor assumption? “Who is the real Jesus?” Earthly and exalted – and four same yet different depictions of him in Gospels. Q would be an anthology of sayings of Jesus. I’m fascinated by the Q source. Would it change everything? Mt and Lk seem to be quoting a source that we don’t have. The Diatessaron – an ancient amalgamation of the gospels, is how we probably think of them now – but the distinctions are important.
M - Thinking of the INTENTIONS of the writers is a new idea. “Earthly and Eternal” - Does Jesus have more than one idea of “kingdom of God?”
C – hermeneutical gap – how can we today relate to a 1st century man? Bottom line: well, how can we relate to our neighbor? Different languages and societies find different ways of embracing Jesus in personal life – Ex. through artwork – compare the Chinese way of drawing him.
S – In final chapters of Exodus, we have a sort of prayer book with lots of official instructions. The artists who made the ark of the covenant are held up for admiration and skill in honoring God through their work – arts and faith idea.

Theological Reflection Scott shared the first story to feature the word d---head. When we'd all bought into the thoughts and feelings surrounding the event, we focused on the isolation of the person and the danger of going forward, backward, or even of staying where they are. Our metaphor was "the vortex," supposing a raft or ice floe and Arctic water.

Redemption, we thought, might be pushing through to get out of the vortex. Then Nuno had the striking idea of the Eternal Jesus at the moment that he is about to push into the world through human birth.

We used "chat" to write lines of prayer: Discerning when to stay in the center and when to step into the fray
Help us meet chaos and confrontation with love and trust.
Lord, help me be intentional in my actions..
Dear God, Please give me the strength to move when I need to and to be still in times of trouble, to help me see a clear and peaceful path.
Maybe sometimes like Daoism— acting without acting, acting like water

Christine, seeing our prayers, put together a collect that seems to touch on all our ideas:

Collect for a VortexHeavenly Father, as you guided Moses in the parting of the Red Sea amid chaos and fear, help us to remain steadfast in our faith in enduring hardship and confusion when we are pulled in several directions.

For Next Week We do the readings assigned in Wk 10. Our TR will be the one suggested at the end of that chapter. Worship is being provided by Scott. We will use Pete's question about your spiritual hero, since someone forgot to remind Scott not to skip over that part last week.

Yr. A, Wk. 7: We Chew Some Hard Words

Worship and Check-in Nuno led us in worship from St. Augustine's Prayer Book. His check-in question brought a lot of joyful responses: "What's your favorite hymn or spiritual song?" Our official EfM play list would include: "O Memorial wondrous" (Adore Te), "Be Thou My Vision," "I Sing a Song for the Saints of God," "Come Thou Font of Ev'ry Blessing,""Go Tell it on the Mountain,""This Little Light of Mine,""Amazing Grace," "Were You There?", "All That We Have and All that We offer...". (We need a recording of Marilyn singing that last one!)

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings To the usual alphabet of Amazed, Bothered, Confused, and Delighted, we added

E-What echoes in your life?
F-Does anything ring as a false teaching or false truth? What frustrated you?
G-Where did you see generosity or God in your reading or reflections?
H-What seems to be “heavy?

Our starting point was about how the words of scripture are to be "chewed and digested." We had trouble digesting the words exigesis and hermeneutics, settling on the idea that one is about digging into the origins of the text, and the other is about what the words were/are intended to mean. Scott enjoyed learning that "Bush" (as in "the burning...") is a pun on the name "Sinai," another place where Moses encountered "I am Who I am." We were also daunted by the sheer number of different critical approaches to ancient texts, though we appreciated how a combination of these can help us to get at different sides to a text: they are "different keys to different doors."

Nuno put in a good word for the Apocrypha, since Powell didn't. The variety of kinds of writers in the NT amazed us. The layers of meanings of the word "evil" kind of overwhelmed Ford's chapter on the subject. MacDonough's chapter on the empire was definitely overwhelming, even for someone familiar with it.

Scott also took this unattributed note: “Catholic and Apostolic” explanation down through the generations – love the connection through the network in time – Like dogs being under the same blanket and all hearing the same things in the earth and neighborhood!

Theological Reflection For the final installment of our spiritual autobiographies, we all shared a story of "grace." First, we had to separate the word "blessing" (a joyful gift) from the word "grace," a gift from God of insight, faith, power, or freedom (e.g., from guilt or fear).

Nuno's comment summarized what we heard: "Grace can redeem suffering."

For Next Week We read the first pages of chapter 8 in the RRG about the "why" of theological reflection, and then do the assigned readings for chapter 9.

Pete brings worship and a check-in question. Scott brings a source for theological reflection.

Yr. A, Wk. 6: "It's Complicated!"

Worship and Check-in Marilyn led us in worship, which included an original poem at the conclusion to celebrate her friend Suzanne's crossing over. We answered the question, "What's something new in your life?"

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings Christine spoke for us all when she said, "It's complicated!" We made several observations, including these: The Pax Romana looks like a good thing, but was experienced as oppression. Judah's behavior towards Tamar looked honorable to people of his time, but he confessed that she was in the right. "Cynicism" looks like a bad approach to the world, but the ancient Cynics held an appealing philosophy (and we won't mention Pythagoreas's beans). We do the best we can as Christians, as Americans, as parents perhaps, but we have to suit our choices to the environment we're in.

We also picked up on "the apocalyptic mentality" of "us versus them" in many of the readings, as with the Gnostics and their supposed secret knowledge regarding body, soul, and the reality of Jesus.

Theological Reflection We shared stories of experiencing God's presence from the chosen periods of our lives. For what has been; for what is; for what is to come -- Thanks be to God!

For Next Week We'll do readings for chapter 7. The final installment in this year's spiritual autobiography will be an experience of "grace." Nuno will lead worship.

Scott will poll everyone on four questions from EfM Central regarding preferences in the way EfM distributes the books. Would you prefer a lower enrollment fee and then buy the books yourselves? Would you prefer all books online? There are a couple of other related questions. Don't let me forget!

Yr. A, Wk. 5: Zeal for the Lord and Violence

Worship and Check-in Pete led worship from the Northumbrian community's materials. He asked us to tell about our "heart homes." Answers included the sumer home; no longer a place but wherever the family is together (a new realization!); old home in Minnesota despite big changes there. Several of us talked about scents: the pleasant salty scent of the sea, but also pleasant memories brought back by the unpleasant chemical scents of places we worked or lived. [IMAGE: Susan's unfinished watercolor depicting salt marshes.]

Discussion of the Readings "Love God with all your might; love your neighbors as yourselves" was our starting point. How can that be reconciled with so many places in the Bible where zeal for the Lord justifies horrific violence? We also found in scripture a third way, picked up from Jesus by Gandhi, Howard Thurman (see Scott's reflection from a previous EfM year) and Martin Luther King, Jr., to "turn the other cheek" and shame the aggressor, or wear him out. Collins told the story of a Jew's forgiveness for a Nazi: "hating, you become hate."

Another theme had to do with building community despite tensions, through shared experience. We share stories, actions, and active trust in the Spirit to guide our processes. Christine, responding to Ford's overview of theology, found resonance in her work with the elderly that experience can be shared in non-verbal ways through art and personal engagement.

Living Faithfully in Your World:
1st yr: Scott 2nd yr: Marilyn, Pete, Nuno; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Christine. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: None.

Theological Reflection We told how our faith was challenged during the periods of our lives that we've been remembering. These were very challenging stories that we will keep to ourselves in our hearts.

For Next Week

We'll read the RRG ch. 6, noting also the portion at the end addressed to "All Years." Look for ways that your assigned readings Amaze, Bother, Confuse, and / or Delight you. (Scott has 22 other letters, if you need some!) 

We will share a story of feeling the presence of God from the time period we've chosen.

Marilyn will prepare worship.