Yr. A, Wk. 9: Jesus at the Door

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

Both Lynne's worship and the focus of her check-in question were, "God's presence."  Worship took the form of reading scriptures from old and new testaments on the subject.  We told our stories while enjoyed beef fajitas that Erica provided for dinner.

Sitting at one table, we had a free-flowing discussion of the different years' assigned readings, each person opening with just one striking idea from the texts, others joining in with texts that resonated.

In this way, we found a complex of ideas relating to the historical nature of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Lynne reported on David F. Ford's exploration of how we can assess the testimony to Jesus, 98% written by people of faith.  Erica cited what Jesus said in his parable of Lazarus and the rich man, "Even if I raised from the dead, they would not believe me."  Mariel was struck in Exodus by the Hebrews' need for something tangible and beautiful to assure them of God's presence, and, showing us artist's conceptions of the tabernacle and priestly garments, she admitted that she understood that need.  Eugene added from his law school days how witnesses see what they're predisposed to see, and how such basic words as "law" and "justice" are slippery, telling of the professor who told his class, "Law is not about justice, but dispute resolution."

Our TR grew from a story in Lynne's family background that conjured for us the uncomfortable metaphor of coming home to find the lock has been changed to keep us out.  For once, we had chosen an image that focused on the moment of "judgement," leaving us to backfill creation and sin.  What kind of redemption could there be?  Moving on, rebuilding, communication, empathy -- some long process.

From the "Tradition" source, we came up with the parable of the wedding guest locked out of the party, the angel with fiery sword preventing re-entry to the Garden of Eden, and "Beyhold, I stand at the door and knock."  Writing about this now, I wonder what we would have discovered had we taken on the perspective of Jesus standing at a door that we have locked against him?

Collect for those standing at locked doors:
Father, You stand at the door and knock:  We too, stand at a door, unsure why it is locked against us:  Help us to remember, whether we are to wait in patience to gain re-entry, or strike a path to a new home, that we always reside in Your loving presence. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Next week:  We'll miss Erica, Mariel, and Scharme.  For dinner, we're "brown-bagging" it.  Lynne volunteered Bill to do worship; Scott will bring a TR.

Yr. A, Wk 7 + 8: Mark, Exodus, Evil, and Scoring the Wrong Goal

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

We shared the news of Tom's loss and Scharme's surgery, and Susan chose prayers for those absent and bereaved (BCP 830-1).  Her question picked up on last week's T.R., asking what in the past week we discovered by way of productivity or knowledge.  Mariel provided beef and vegetables with a unique cole slaw and rolls.  

Erica's sharing about Mark's Gospel highlighted the author's urgency in narration (how things happen "immediately") and the theory that the gospel, composed in the time of the destruction of the temple,  interpreted sayings of Jesus from decades before as prophesies of the temple's destruction.  Erica expressed relief at this, because it "makes more sense."

Responding to Exodus, 1 - 15, Mariel noticed that God presents Himself in Exodus as God of the Past, Present, and Future -- i.e., of the ancestors, of present liberation, of the pillar of fire that leads to promised land.  Eugene expressed sympathy with the Egyptian soldiers who died because God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and asked about God's not providing a name. Much discussion ensued!

Lynne and Bill spoke of evil, drawing everyone into discussion.  We were all struck by Ford's idea that it's people on the margins whose suffering exposes the idolatry (tantamount to evil) in any society.  Scott drew attention to the final pages of their chapter, where Ford lists meta-narratives by which Augustine, Iranaeus, Karl Marx, and postmodernists have tried to "explain" evil, before Ford reminds us that the Gospels present a story instead of explanation.  Jesus lived at the intersection of great goodness and terrible evil.   

After break, Scott read from Week 8 in the RRG, about approaching TRs as an artist approaches drawing: procedures, in order, matter (p. 49).  

For our TR, Bill offered an anecdote about a colleague who couldn't see in conflict with two co-workers who couldn't hear. His experience brought forth many counter-stories from our own lives, and an interesting metaphor:  It's like you're running with the ball down the field, unaware that you're heading the wrong way.  Looking for analogs in the tradition, we found that St. Peter exemplified this situation a lot.  

Jim Marshall runs the wrong way, 1964

Collect for Those Running the Wrong Way
God, guiding light in the wilderness, help us as You helped Peter to move from rash actions and foolish choices to patience, humility, and clarity, so that we may approach the fulfilling of Your goals. Amen. 

Next week:   We read Week 9's assignment, skipping the reading for Week 8, except as we may be curious about the theories behind TRs. Erica will bring food, Bill will bring worship, and Lynne will bring something for the TR.

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!