Yr. D, Wk. 11: Teach us to number our days

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Worship and Gathering
Some of us offered images of "our Father" that demonstrated different aspects of what "father" means. A father in one photo was "not demonstrative," hands away from the little girl on his lap, but he exuded power and stern masculinity, wearing a cap, sitting in his jeep in his orange grove. Another father with wife and two dogs demonstrated the role of "provider." Another showed a tender side of "fatherhood," the big man holding the little baby, both of them leaning into each other, eyes closed. Women in the group all imagined the smell of the scene -- from sweet to -- etc. When we prayed "Our Father, who art in heaven," these images were in our minds.

For a gathering question, Scott asked, "What do you do when you can't sleep?" Watch the Hallmark channel / camping shows on YouTube (but never reach the end)... take melatonin... turn over and try to turn off my brain... get up and do something routine (cleaning, reading, crossword puzzle...) in faint light.

Joyce combined both elements when she sent us this Shutter Stock image of fatherhood at 3am Tuesday.

See other images in slide show.

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 2 Theological Reflection: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Daniel (at his first Vestry meeting!).

Discussion of the Readings
Susan was "A" for "Amused": Mark – tradition that he’s an acolyte of Peter – but gospel that makes Peter look goofiest one of all. Joyce – Mark so hard on the disciples, only good thing they did was to leave their father to follow Jesus – But the Intro suggests this was written for people facing Nero and torture who gave in or kept heads down. Mark written to encourage them – comforting that the resurrected Jesus first goes to look for those who abandoned him -- Joyce wonders sometimes about herself… Mark skips a lot of the details we get in other books. Mark gives definitions of Jewish things his readers might not know. Joyce was able to read the whole thing in one sitting. Donfred found the book to be both a comfort and a challenge to the failures of the believers, and was struck by the suffering of the Christians. He was also amazed that a book from such a male-dominated society should give so much importance to the three ladies who go into the tomb. Susan says it was probably written post 70AD after destruction of the temple. She observed that Mark seems to have ended at the point where the apostles run away, "afraid." Joyce said, "Mark gives us the opportunity to finish the story ourselves." We are in the story!

Lanie, for Y1, observed that women are so unimportant and are treated unfairly in Deuteronomy. They had no say in their lives, even after the husband died. Comparing Deuteronomy to Exodus (as both cover the same ground): Dt is softer, "let the slaves and livestock rest...," reminds them they too were slaves. Lanie wonders, did Moses change his mind about the law? A conversation followed during the break and continued into the second half. Susan and Lanie worked through the idea that scholarship provides the context that enhances what we read (e.g., Joyce's response to Mark's context in the time of Nero).

Jessica struggled to relate all this to a chapter about the rise of Islam. Jessica was "A" for "amazed" that Pontius Pilate is revered in the Ethiopian church, based on a legend that he converted after the Crucifixion. In Ethiopia, secluded from other churches, Pontius Pilate rose to iconic status. A brief discussion of Jesus Christ Superstar ensued, with Scott saying he always identified with overeducated and indecisive Pontius.

Theological Reflection
The challenge this week was to find a focus from what we had discussed before the break. Lanie's questions about the time line of the Old Testament, as things that happened early may have been written down late, dominated our conversation. We settled on a line from Psalm 90, "Teach us to number our days."

Exploring the phrase, Donfred identified the sin as wasting the time we're given. When Scott asked about judgement, how you know something's wrong, Donfred recalled driving in a direction and suddenly realizing he was lost. We all could buy in to that scenario.

Connecting to the culture source, Scott brought up Macbeth, assassin - who had always pictured success as having children, grandchildren, and "troops of friends," but he realizes in old age, as most powerful man in Scotland, that he has none of these. The Wizard of Oz came up, of course, where the characters are literally lost, only to realize: "there's no place like home," AND the way home was there with them all the time. Other sources included the action source (experience): Lanie's experience at the Sistine Chapel... "You're home when you think you're home"...From Scripture, Wise Men following the star...

Susan pointed out that the phrase "Teach us to number our days" may not be about limiting our life spans, but about putting our days in order, planning them out.

Looking for Insights to arise from our reflection, we said:

• "There will be many who come in my name; do not let them lead you astray"
• Don't believe all you see on the internet
• "Gain a heart" of wisdom v. "apply your hearts to wisdom" (translations make a difference)
• Don't waste your time
• What appears to be wasted time can be fruitful, and times of busy-ness can be a waste (example: Scott's "wasted" four weeks drafting a poem -- then the poem popped out! See Expiration Date)

Our application this week was a list:

What can you do over the next week to respond to v. 12 of psalm 90?
• Think about what is and is not wasted time
• Help me to seek and live according to Your will.
• I will be more intentional about my devoted time to reading scripture
• Don't worry so much about resolutions, just be in the day.
• Try to get some sleep, but use any lost sleep time in the night doing something meaningful
• God help me to use your time wisely.

For Monday:
Do the readings assigned for week 12. Scott will again provide worship, because the person slated to do worhips next week was Jessica, but she stepped up to bring a source for next week's TR. She hopes to bring us something from the Action or "experience" source.

Year One, special note: You're reading the first essay in Yee's book. I invite you to read a note of mine that responded to some questions our participants have had over the years about the need for a "feminist" theology: Hear Yee, Hear Yee.

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Yr. D, Wk. 10: Committees and Lazarus

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Discussion of the Readings
We saved worship for later, when we might have Donfred and Susan with us.

Two questions of all years on p.74 of the RRG prompted our conversation. "How does your understanding of the nature of God intersect with the understanding you encounter in your study? What part did your personal experience or learning play in forming your understanding of God?" (Scott pointed out that EfM advises us, when a text disagrees with our sense of things, to examine the roots of our own reactions without rejecting the text.)

At first, Jessica found no personal connection to the chapter about the Council of Chalcedon (cal - SEE - don), but she did like the fact that a tale of Buddha, transformed into one about Balaam and Jehosephat by an admiring monk, helped to spread Christianity in Asia and Africa, taking the faith in the 5th and 6th centuries beyond where disciples had gone. Literature teacher note: an invented story can be a vehicle for truth.

Scott asked Jessica, "But can you relate to a council trying to come to a faith decision?" That really boosted energy in Jessica and others. She explained how this Council of Chalcedon separated churches from the Central Church, and she could readily identify from her own experience with dissension over Vestry decisions and lost members.

Lanie relates from her experience on a committee: 17 people with 13 different opinions, and trying to please everyone. She answered the original question about our understanding of God, saying, “I think I can feel God working in this committee. We get the feeling something isn’t quite right, and that seems to be guidance from the Holy Spirit.” So, insisting on consensus forces compromise and sharing – and that may be an opening for the Holy Spirit to act. That's how it works in Acts. See story of James of Jerusalem speaking up in a council meeting about Gentile Christians.

Lanie addressed that question about relating to the understanding of God in the readings to that of her personal experience. In Leviticus and Numbers, God seems very harsh, heavy on punishment. Relating to her Baptist tradition, Lanie had grown up with the same kind of harsh judgmental God. Later, she discovered the God of the Episcopal church to be more loving, forgiving, and so of the New Testament. "Maybe God got to the point of just saying I’ve tried everything – so I’ll send my son down."

Jessica offered that these rules or laws were maybe not about right and wrong, but about how to identify / define / unify a community in the same way we stick to the BCP. It’s not for their own sake, but for their effect on us as individuals and as a group. Daniel agreed. "This group of people leaving Egypt probably weren’t unified, and many carried Egyptian ways with them." He offered how he had felt as a Boy Scout, how his BSA uniform engendered identification with his pack.

Going back to the original question, Daniel really enjoys reading Old Testament… likes the image of distant figure on the throne. As a teacher of very young children who don’t understand rules, he needs for them to know the rules still matter. Also: as one who was always missing ritual in his life, Daniel likes seeing it in the Old Testament.

Joyce jumped onto Daniel’s ritual comment and told us how she loved the order – the ritual - Joyce got very excited telling about her introduction to the Episcopal Church, and also the Gospel of Matthew. Like Joyce, Matthew loves numbers!! 3 sets of 14, 7, 12 = Israel. Numerology. Scott commented that the Priestly source in the Hebrew Scriptures has a similar personality trait, being crazy about numbers and lists.

Somehow, this reminded Joyce of a comment about Jesus sending Legion into a herd of swine that plummeted to death on the rocks. "That was the first Deviled ham!" Fittingly, after the break, it was determined that Jessica had landed on the secret square, and she won a lifetime supply.

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 2 Theological Reflection as a Life Skill: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Susan, Donfred.

Worship and Gathering
For worship, Lanie chose prayers that emphasized the passage of day into night. Our answers to her gathering question told us a lot about each other: "What is your favorite time of day?" We answered sunset reminds me of twilight walks at the beach with my husband and son... Early morning 7am... We're early birds... late night, especially camping, hearing the many sounds of wilderness... at night, when you're listening to music, drinking a martini, and doing a crossword: the all-day voices of worry are silenced.

Theological Reflection
Scott imagined a good preacher who has a text to illuminate for the congregation. The people expect some new way of looking at the passage. What can the pastor do? They touch on the familiar ideas, what's commonly said about the scripture... get everyone to imagine what's going on in the passage... draw out God's intention in the passage, and what goes wrong, and what might redeem it... find connections to other scriptures... tell what we've probably been taught about situations like this... relate the passage to a familiar movie or book... bring in a personal experience...: these are what we do in a TR!

Before she left town, Susan had chosen for us to work on a selection from the Tradition source, the All Saints Day reading from John 11 that ends at verse 44: Jesus commands those present to unbind Lazarus and let him go free. That's where Jessica wanted to focus, and, after considering other aspects, we (like any good committee!) agreed. Scott urged the group to focus further on just one of the characters -- with the caveat that Jesus should be off-limits because, being also God, he opens discussion to lots of issues and speculation about how much the Incarnate God knows about himself, the universe, and the future. We chose to focus on Lazarus himself.

We explored the passage from Lazarus's point of view. What is he feeling when he hears the command to "come forth?" Ooo, what's that smell?... Confusion, disorientation...darkness...moving like the Mummy, stiff in tight bands of cloth, unable to see clearly... confronted by tearful loved ones, and tearful Jesus. Joyce imagined, Why're you bothering me? I was fine. Kind of like our answers to Lanie's gathering question about sunrise, we imagined the revival of Lazarus being something like being awakened from a deep sleep. He'd be sore. He might feel like we do when the alarm rings at 5am.

[Note from a former Drama teacher: Twice, exploring this story, we discovered new things when we thought like actors. Before we got deep into what Lazarus felt, Daniel was surprised to hear a sharp accusation of Jesus in his own tone when he acted out Mary's words, "If you'd been here, he wouldn't have died." Daniel went further to imagine how Mary, having sat adoringly at Jesus's feet in an earlier chapter, may feel betrayed.]

We further explored the passage by asking about theological perspective questions. What could cause brokenness in this scenario? Suppose Lazarus had refused to wake from his death and get up? Redemption comes when we respond to the call.

Connections: Joyce (I think) related this to the culture source when she remembered the movie Look Who's Talking, in which Bruce Willis, voicing an infant being pulled from the womb, yells "Noo - oo -- oo! Let me stay in!" (Joyce did a great impression of the kid.) Does this suggest that death may be yet another womb, another period of development, and the life after, a new birth and a life with its own challenges?

We wondered about the action source (experience). Jessica said we could all relate to being called, unsure, unsteady -- being made new, whether that's a good or bad thing (or: easy or painful thing).

Jessica related all of this to the tradition source in another reading on All Saints Day, Revelation, "See, I'm making all things new."

We transitioned into the insight and applications movement when Daniel said, "I've thought, Wouldn't it be nice if so-and-so were resurrected? Now I'm wondering, would that be fair to them?" He reached a conclusion that, even when resurrection is taken into account, death comes at a cost to those who die, and to those who are left behind.

To apply our thoughts, we looked at the form of a collect and used the "chat" function to contribute lines to a collect:

Dear Lord, even if I go to Sheol, you are there:
Almighty God, whose power can overcome death, You alone can bring us to new life in you. We pray that we may die to ourselves so that we may become afresh and anew in Your spirit. Amen
Like Lazarus, we may feel disoriented, even resistant, when we are called out of our safe and settled lives into change;
Dear God, You brought Lazarus back to his family and friends; help me to understand that my loved ones must be with you and no longer here with me; help me rejoice that there is no more pain and no more sorrow for them and that they are waiting for me to join them in your heavenly kingdom when it's my time to go. In your most precious name I pray, Amen.
Dear Lord, You are with us through it all and You enable us with your strength to worship You with all our heart.
Our Father who dwells among his children. You call the dead out of their tombs and into your presence. We pray that we may feel your tears, so that. We may know that you love those we mourn. Amen

For Monday:
We'll derive a TR from the first half of our meeting. We're back to the beginning in our "Wheel of Worship" with Scott bringing worship next week. (Over the following weeks, the "Wheel of Worship" will alight on Jessica, Donfred, Joyce, Susan, Daniel, and Lanie.) Next week, we won't have Daniel, as he'll be at his first Vestry meeting - we hope it's more fun than Chalcedon. We may not have Lanie. We'll be reading assignments for Week 11 - and don't forget to read what's in the RRG!

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Yr. D, Wk. 9: Water into wine; first TR concerns "first steps"

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Worship and Gathering
We took turns reciting collects for national unity and the elections. We shared what stood out for us in the All Saints observances of the previous week. Tearing up over the words "he shall wipe away every tear..."; the bit from Wisdom about spirits in the world "like sparks across stubble" and Jesus's command to "unbind Lazarus and let him go"; convergence of funerals and services. For Joyce, coping with both COVID and flu, "Last week is a blur."

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 2 Theological Reflection as a Life Skill: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Lanie returned to us after the break.

Discussion of the Readings
Participants discussed their readings in breakout rooms: Daniel, Jessica, and Donfred mixed all three years; Susan and Joyce traded observations about Y2 and Y3.

When we reconvened, people shared from their groups.

Joyce liked Powell's grouping of miracles in categories, one being nature miracles (walked water, controlled weather, multiplied food). Her favorite is water into wine – transformation from mundane life to abundant life. Then she dramatized the whole scene at the party, voicing Mary, Jesus, servants, and delighted guests.

Joyce also appreciated three pictures of Jesus with his mother that Powell placed in his chapter. Donfred too was struck by those, from diverse cultures. He also was struck by Mark's use of the phrase “kingdom of heaven” to emphasize that God's kingdom is ready to go, right here, right now!

Daniel can relate to the reaction of Moses to the golden calf. "So much like teaching! You think you’ve given kindergarteners everything they need, you turn your back, and it’s all fallen apart. Destroy the tablets!” Joyce concurs. Susan agreed – happens when you teach adults, too.

Jessica related Y3 to something Daniel said about "identity." Iconography began to develop – in Constantinople – beginning of the use of the Cross – it became an icon of glory not just the death. Interesting: development of hierarchy of leadership over much larger geographical areas. Daniel observed of the Hebrew tribes, groups have to have their norms and customs, to be a group. Observes differences among other Episcopal churches, too. Being marked as an outsider, like the people of Israel: you have to have those things that everyone does or doesn’t do.

Speaking of norms, we reviewed our own group norms from week 2. All agreed we were "doing pretty well." Scott took the opportunity to point out how much we had derived from the different images of "journey" that we had brought to the table that week. Images, metaphors, stories have impact beyond words -- and this is true with the words we use in our faith. [Hmm -- that sounds like an insight that goes with our TR, too.]

Theological Reflection
We followed the movements outlined on page 70 of the RRG.

1. At Donfred's suggestion, we focused on an idea that emerged from our personal experiences (the action source) : "It takes more than knowledge to move forward." Because we'd already done the hard work of distilling the stories in one focused image, we moved on to...
2. Explore the world of the image, using our senses and memories. We all bought into the idea from our own experiences.We explored some theological categories: When we have knowledge and we are taking the first steps, what is creation / wholeness? We spoke of the excitement and nerves, and we realized that humility and doubt are (or should be) part of the experience. What is sin / brokenness? Donfred suggested paralysis, being afraid to step out. What is judgment / wake-up call? "Failure hits you like a slap in the face." How can there be redemption / restoration of wholeness? Donfred said you take your first step, then step back, re-evaluate; take another step, and so on.
3. We connected our shared "stepping out" experience with the tradition source: how do Bible stories go with our idea? St. Thomas had the knowledge of Jesus and miracles, but had to experience the risen Lord to believe. Israelites had all those rules and instructions, but kept failing -- Moses was constantly revising as he moved them forward. Abraham moved without more than a promise: his steps WERE his learning. Disciples, ditto. We also connected to the culture source, recognizing that Dorothy's journey on the yellow brick road teaches her the value of home.
4. For insights, we observed that, in this situation, the longer you wait to take the first step, the worse it gets. Acts of faith are the way to faith. We may be aware of known unknowns, but should also be wary of unknown unknowns. We applied our reflection to our own lives by writing lines of a prayer (below).

Lord, I am about to take a first step.
I pray to have more faith to take that first step, and, putting the doubt aside, to have faith and confidence in the knowledge that I have, and the humility to know that the unknowns are coming regardless of how prepared I am or am not. I pray that I may give myself some grace and just keep moving. And Lord, calm my fears and shame when I step back to see how I have failed, and help me to move forward again. Grant me the serenity to change the things I can, accept the things I cannot change, and wisdom to know the difference.

For Monday:
Lanie will lead us in worship and start us off with a "gathering" question, to help us catch up with each other. Susan will bring a source for a TR. We do the readings for week 10. Let's not overlook the RRG chapter itself.

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Yr. D, Wk. 8: Halloween is SO Episcopalian!

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At least half of us were away or not healthy on Monday, so we did not meet.

Tonight is Halloween. I always knew it was short for "All Hallows Evening," somehow related to All Saints Day (when we remember those in the Christian Hall of Fame), but only this week I learned that our Anglican forebears held a vigil in church on the eve of that day followed by food, drink, and a nighttime visit to the graveyard to lay flowers where loved ones were buried.

For Monday of Next Week:
We do the readings assigned in the RRG for Week 9. Hey, remember to read the RRG itself. It has things for your own year, but also things "for all years." Their suggestions and thought-provoking questions can work well!

Scott will lead worship Monday. We will do our first theological reflection using the images and ideas we put forward after each chapter of our spiritual autobiographies. You can use the ← to review earlier posts.

We will also review the class norms from week 2.

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Yr. D, Wk. 7: Faith in a Second Language; No More Fear

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Worship and Gathering
For opening and closing prayers, we all had lines from collects on p. 833-834. Scott forgot to ask the gathering question until after the break: What picture did you take last week, or wish you had taken? We got a photo of a sassy dog... a photo op with one's oldest relative, not taken... too busy to take pictures, but beautiful... photo of flowers to be painted... cat is Dracula... with beloved sisters at Calloway Gardens in an orange cowboy hat with electric lights.

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 1 Spiritual Autobiography and Listening: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Lanie.

Discussion of the Readings
In separate breakout rooms, the boys and girls discussed their readings, asking each other what image or story struck them, and then, what else did they wonder at or about? Then we came together to discuss highlights.

Jessica started us off with an observation about language in the early church. Whether one spoke Greek or Latin was a dividing line. Those early Christians were seen by the civic authorities as uncooperative and exclusive, like some Hippie cult. Jessica wondered about a human tendency towards exclusivity. Donfred reported from Y2 that Hebrew children under the Roman Empire did not speak Hebrew – so their religion was in a foreign language. He himself spoke French in school and read French in the Bible, but in life spoke Creole. The language of faith for him has been a foreign language.

A related theme was what Joyce said about how letters by Paul and others were passed around to the early churches. Scott compared this to the way the Declaration of Independence was read aloud in army camps and town squares. Daniel was struck by that, and by how early Christians just listened. His own experience (and Susan agreed) is stronger when he listens without reading.

Daniel commented on Exodus up to chapter 15. Daniel sees the story as like a fish tale – every retelling new elements. Doesn’t matter if it’s all factual – but the truth is in the way if affected you. As Daniel said, after Collins, these stories unified a disparate group of hapiru (“wanderers” and also origin, maybe, of “Hebrew”) in the desert and in the Promised Land who joined together as a people of twelve “tribes.”

[Smoot has “crossed the Red Sea” on his bike tour, as well as visiting Jerusalem and the ancient ruins of Petra in Jordan. See photos and read how each location touches his life at The Red Sea, Pedaling through Petra, and Jerusalem on My Mind]

Joyce gave us a strong image: “Hands on.” Early Christians believed in the Hebrew scriptures and what God was doing in their lives through Jesus Christ. They felt the difference between touching a sacrificial animal to atone versus touching our hearts. New Testament at one time was called the new Covenant.

Scott on his bike tour reaches the Red Sea

Daniel by chance was again our winner. He got one of the world's most expensive leaf blowers. Have fun annoying your neighbors and disrupting butterfly reproduction cycles!

Theological Reflection
We heard Lanie's pre-recorded story, then shared our own stories of "conversion" with each other. While the content of these stories will be omitted here, we offered these images/ideas as common threads that came out in several stories:

• not afraid (i.e., to die, to fail)
• "wake up"
• more than knowledge: commitment
• generosity of spirit
• the tides metaphor: conversion is never settled, there's always ebb and flow

For Monday:
We are skipping over the reading for week 8 and going straight to week 9.
Scott will do worship once again (his special Halloween worship, adapted for Zoom!)
Daniel will be away, so let's remember to record the TR for him.

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Yr. D, Wk. 6: Jews, Romans, and Jacob

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Worship and Gathering
Daniel built the entire worship on Psalm 141 ("let not my heart incline to any evil thing") with Pope Benedict's meditation on the prayer, "Lead us not into temptation."

And what are we looking forward to in Fall's cool weather? Big comfy sweaters... pretty colors of leaves... paying less for air conditioning... sitting outside by the firepit... wearing 60s spy fashion (i.e., tight turtlenecks in dark colors).

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 1 Spiritual Autobiography and Listening: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Lanie, Donfred.

Discussion of the Readings
We tried something new this time: discussions were in breakout rooms, Jessica with Daniel, Susan with Joyce, 20 minutes to ask each other what stories or scenes struck them, and what they related to? Then we met as a group and shared highlights.

Jessica started us off: Gospels that aren’t in our Bible today (Mary M, Gospel of Thomas) and the Gnostics – how these books cover so many contradictions – Jessica used her term “evolution” to describe Paul. If we’d kept those other gospels, would we have the church we have today? Susan reports about those other writings that the church councils cut things that were not consistent with the overall picture of the Gospels. Daniel sees parallel to Y1 readings about all the various editors and writers of the writings. How those formed early beliefs and rites.

Daniel responded to two similar stories strongly - First, Jacob wrestling with God. Struck that it’s so not supernatural … made Daniel think about wrestling with his brother. Daniel could identify – there’s God, but there’s all these other human encounters. Second, he loved Sarah’s laughing – then denying it. Encounters with God that are also mundane, encountering God. He quotes Jessica: “It makes it easier to find parallels in our own lives.” Easier to connect to those kinds of stories than to some of the miraculous stories in New Testament.

(BTW - Scott wrote a poem about Jacob's ladder that foreshadows his inner struggle the night before he faced Esau again. If you're interested, see Angels Never Know.)

Joyce and Susan discussed philosophical ideas that filtered into the lands controlled by Romans. Gnostic tradition had some credibility that ran up against Jewish traditions. Resonated with 2nd 3rd 4th century Christians. Appealed as a sense of secret knowledge, and idea of material world as evil. Daniel compared to the Greek myths. Greeks with their philosophy had the stories, too. Joyce – differences between how rich and poor were treated in Roman world. Roman: A woman had to wait for a man to acknowledge her (think of Queen Esther). A man who didn’t pay his debts they took the man’s wife and children to pay the debts. But still there was tenderness and affection. That’s lacking today! Joyce identified: example of how she faced down a driver's road rage the other day!

Susan chose the secret square and won giant gates for her driveway, in honor of Yom Kippur, the closing of the gates to the temple and to the sins of the past year. There were only four squares, not shared on the screen. Speakers simply asked to "go with" another comment. Scott didn't know the winner until the break. This seemed to be a good way to get a lot more talking to each other, and everyone got to see each others' faces during the discussion -- more interesting than Scott's typing!

Theological Reflection
We heard Lanie's story, pre-recorded. Scott was so swept up in that story and the transition to Joyce's that he forgot to record the session until both Joyce and Daniel had finished.

Scott also forgot the question he has asked each time: what theme or image ties this week's stories together? Writing this blog post, he suggests a couple of patterns, at least. Experiences that were painful, scary, or just annoying prepared us to respond to needs of community. Being drawn into community had the effect of expanding our faith to encompass more people, more possibilities.

For Monday:
Scott does worship and a gathering question. This week we all read week 7. Heads up: the next week, we will skip the material for wk 9 and go straight to week 10. We prepare our fourth and final Spiritual Autobiography chapter, this time with religious conversion.

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Yr. D, Wk. 5: Genesis and Leaps of Faith

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Worship and Gathering
Susan brought us worship for the evening from the Northumbrian community, full of images from nighttime: angels, dreams, sleep, and spirit. The gathering question was, what's your super power? The EfM Universe includes Speed Reader! The Soothing Soprano! Cat Lady! (but she likes dogs, too), the Connector! Multiple Man! and The Aura!

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 1 Spiritual Autobiography and Listening: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings
Daniel was bothered by Collins’s comment that the talking serpent in Genesis 2 is a sure sign that we are in the world of a fable. Daniel read that as Collins condescending to all those who have read this story literally. Susan said that reading the Bible as an academic is different from reading it for spiritual edification.

Scott recalled a professor who was also a preacher: “Today, I’m using literary criticism to identify sources and make comparisons; but Sunday I’ll tell you how to live by it.” After the break, Scott gave an example how literary criticism can enhance our spiritual reading of Scripture. Contrasting two creation stories, very different in language, style, and content, too, we appreciate the cosmic theology of one, while the other emphasizes the human behavior and Scott's favorite detail: God makes them warm clothing from animal skins before he sends them out of Eden. (See image by Gustav Doré)

Both Susan and Scott feel it’s important to understand a difference between the popular meanings of “criticism,” “fable,” and “myth” and what scholars mean by those words. Literary criticism of passages isn’t finding flaws but only drawing distinctions between poems, historical record, and narratives intended to teach spiritual truths (as Lanie pointed out how the priests who wrote Genesis 1 emphasized that Creation is VERY GOOD and organized it in seven days to elevate the Sabbath. For scholars, “myth” isn’t a false story but one whose truth happens again and again. Here’s a link to the essay from an earlier EfM textbook that Susan and I found helpful during our own first year studies.

We had several Ah-HA moments:

• Jessica in reading “The Crucified Messiah” thought how unlikely that we are all sitting here 2000 years talking about Jesus Christ! If that humiliating death had been the end of the story… it would be obscure today. She also was amazed to learn about politics in the Roman Empire: the split of Jewish Christians from the Jewish faith because of attacks from the Roman Empire – (“Christian” was a political designation that exempted you from taxation!)
• Donfred noticed how Paul, popularly assumed to look down on women, actually thanks women for their leadership and material contributions to the growing church, as we see in some of his letters and in Acts.
• Lanie realized that she hadn’t really thought much about Genesis since she learned the stories in childhood. Now she wonders where Adam and Eve’s sons found their wives, for example, and what to take from all those genealogies. She wondered whom God was speaking to when he said “Let us create them in our own image.” Overall, she found chapters 1-11 in Genesis to be a series of disappointments for God that followed the VERY good Creation.
• Daniel, relating to what Lanie said, noted the shift of focus from God’s actions to what people are doing independent of God…. Then God floods the world and tries again.
• Joyce wondered about a passage that questions did Jesus WANT to die, or was he FORCED to? Joyce – asked to take human form because the Law couldn’t save us. If we still have injustice – then he’s looking to us as his hands and feet to take care. P. 168
• Susan's comment relates to Joyce's. Levine pokes holes in the oversimplified view that Judaism was legalistic before Jesus came along.

Daniel found the secret square. He won a trip to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium on the 8th (that's OCTO) of OCTO-ber to swim with an OCTO-pus. We hear they're friendly, intelligent, curious creatures. We look forward to hearing how that went.

Theological Reflection
The prompt this week was to tell of an intellectual conversion. While we won't put any chapters from our lives in this space, we did identify common themes: starting over, a leap of faith; and maybe a lesson, too, "think before you act." (In a few of the stories, great good came from NOT thinking, but deciding on impulse.)

For Monday
Daniel brings us worship and a gathering question. We're all reading what the RRG has for Week Six, and preparing the next chapter in our Spiritual Autobiographies, "Political" conversion (in the sense of "community," whether converting to one or away.)

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