Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17
First Lesson: Genesis 12:1-4a
Challenges:
Okay, I'll admit it, the John 3 text is going to get more attention today. Those of you looking for good stuff on Genesis 12: you can have a refund if you'd like. I use this challenge over and over again, but that's because it keeps popping up. How much time do you have to go into who Abram (Abraham) is and what this is all about? How much do people really want to know? It's a short lesson, but there's a lot to it.
Opportunities:
I read this text and it makes me think of what the Gospel of John is talking about when it mentions 'Eternal Life." Basically Abram (Abraham) is being blessed so that he can be a blessing. Abram is not only being blessed, he is also given a purpose. This gives him meaning and significance: something that we are all looking for. If "Eternal Life" in John isn't just about a long, long, long, long time, but about something more than that: I see it here in what Abram is being called to be.
The Good News:
There are many pieces of good news here: I believe that, like Abram, we are blessed to be a blessing as well. We are given a purpose, meaning and significance. This is life-giving. Also, here we see the beginning of God's plan to bless the entire world. My ancestors were not living in the Fertile Crescent at this time, they were off worshipping trees in northern Europe. But eventually they will be blessed by the God of Abraham through Jesus Christ. What's the longest street in your town/city? Basically you can say that this is the beginning of that street and that it will stretch through town all the way to the other end, where we are. It's a tremendous endeavor to bless the world and now we are a part of it. After all "Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham and I am one of them and so are you..."
Psalm: Psalm 121
Challenges:
What does 'help from the Lord' actually look like in our lives today? Miraculous intervention? Coincidence? Something else?
Opportunities:
This strikes me of a psalm about faith...about trust. The person saying this is using words of trust. What does trust look like?
The Good News:
I don't know the percentage of trust that the person who originally spoke these words had in God. Was it 70% trust, 30% doubt? Was it a 50/50 split? Ultimately, however, looking at it that way isn't helpful. I think these words can both reflect and name the trust we already have and they can also engender trust/faith in God that we didn't know what there. I truly believe faith and doubt isn't a clear percentage in us: they are all wrapped up into one.
Second Lesson: Romans 4;1-5, 13-17
Challenges:
Romans is an excellent book...no doubt about it. It is foundational for us as Christians. It's also rather dense and takes some careful consideration. If you have a person from the congregation reading this lesson are they familiar with the words? Did they practice reading it outloud a few times? Last week, when the lesson from Romans was even denser than this one, our lector called in sick and the person who took his place gave it her all but with only a few minutes of time to read it over, it was a real slog. This, of course, is a challenge and I don't have a ready answer.
Opportunities:
What IS faith? This is a great chance to talk about the many other meanings of the word other than just "belief." I often use "trust" as synomymous with faith. Abram trusted God and left his home and acted on the promise. It can also be said that Abram messed up tremendously and severely lacked in faith as his travels continued (the "that's not my wife that's my sister" incident in Egypt comes to mind). But what does it mean to have faith? I like to say, "Having faith in a bridge means trusting that it won't collapse while you walk on it."
The Good News:
I mentioned above that Abram/Abraham's faith wasn't perfect...not by any means...and that brings me comfort. You and I are the same way. When I strive for a righteousness that comes from me a few different things happen: 1) I fail...surprise, surprise 2) I decieve myself 3) I make myself miserable and my life looks harried and stressful. When I am able to step back and realize that righteousness doesn't come from me, but rather is a gift from God my life is changed....very much for the better. If this life is a gigantic potluck...God is the one bringing the righteousness to the table (I imagine that God's righteousness at a potluck would look a lot of like Oreo dirt pudding, but that's just me).
Gospel: John 3:1-17
Challenges:
So there's this Greek word, anothen and it can either be translated "again" or "from above." I could imagine that it can be something of a "fighting word" if we let it. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in the United States, the idea of "being born again" carries a tremendous amount of cultural weight (some would call it baggage). In many ways this could be a distraction. If you are a mainline pastor, it could be really tempting to turn this into a diatribe against "evangelical" churches that insist on translating this "born again" rather than "from above." To do this drastically misses the point. The commentary on this text at the Working Preacher website does a good job talking about how it really can be "both/and" not "either/or." You can read that here.
Now is not the time to get into denominational, theological, or cultural arguments that show why we are right and they are wrong: to do this would miss an amazing opportunity to talk about something important. Let's not be like the two competing news anchors in the Ron Burgundy movie who are eaching trying to get in the last word at the end of the broadcast: "You stay classy San Diego..." "And thanks for stopping by..." "But, mainly, stay classy..." "Thanks for stopping by..."
And another thing...anytime Jesus says something in the Gospel of John it can feel very abstract, other-worldly and...well...remote to me. That could just be me and people like me. Maybe you don't feel that way. But there will be people like me listening to your sermon!
Opportunities:
To say somemore about anothen: The People's New Testament Commentary says "The issue is not how many times one has been born (Nicodemus's misunderstanding) but the origin of one's life (Jesus' meaning). This kind of misunderstanding is a frequent Johannine literary and theological technique, with Jesus intending his statement at one leve, but being heard only at a different, mundane level." Maybe you could site another humorous example of this found in other gospels where Jesus says "Beware of the yeast of the pharisees" and the Disciples think "He's telling us this because we don't have any bread!" And Jesus basically has a "face-palm" moment. (the Disciples have a way of causing those kind of moments).
The Good News:
Verses 16 and 17 (especially 16 of course) get a great deal of play-time. If there is a verse that most people, Christian or not, know it's John 3:16. It's been parodied and mocked on many occasions. Maybe one way to see good news is to look at the Greek word for love that is used here: agape. This is "self-giving" love. Maybe this is a great chance to talk about what God's love really means. God gave of Godself in order to save the world. There was sacrifice (TREMENDOUS sacrifce) involved. An awareness of this warms the heart in a profound way.
And when it comes to talking about "eternal life" the guys from The People's New Testament Commentary have some more good things to say: "Eternal life does not mean just an endless extension of this-worldly life, but a new order of being, the life of the age to come, in John's theology already present in the life of Christian faith." I like to think of ETERNAL LIFE not just having "two dimensions" but being a "three-dimensional" thing: long and deep and broad and wide.
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