bloomingcactus

Mark 6 and John 6 "Not Just Bread" Proper 11B and 12 B for July 23 & July 30

I sat on the couch one night this week and turned on the television to relax and to watch the Mets play baseball. I realized that I had not watched any TV for almost a month and what I call my “commercial immune system” had grown weak. The first commercial followed some poor guy around at a wedding reception whose hair was starting to thin on top. He was all alone on this joyous occasion and only a fellow bald geek would talk to him about boring things. But there was hope for him thanks to the miracles of Rogaine that could replace his hair and restore him to the ranks of fully human. Now my hair isn’t really thinning, but someone mentioned a few weeks ago that they thought my hairline was starting to recede upwards on my forward. Of course that hadn’t seen me for 15 years. And people have been remarking that I’m getting more grey hair. I’m moving toward middle age. Perhaps its time that I think about cutting my hair a different way or evening coloring it so it doesn’t show the grey. 

 

While I briefly dwelt on these thoughts, the commercial switch to the Mountain Dew commercial where the biker runs down a cheetah to get his soda back. There ad campaign has targeting the bungee-jumping, sky boarding, snow boarding, thrill seeking crowd, adventurous 20-somethings. Never mind that drinking Mountain Dew will probably drastically shorten your life span, it’s the image that counts. Since I was already dwelling on sliding into middle age, I started thinking that I’ve grown too soft and comfortable. Maybe I should start weightlifting again or take up scuba diving. I don’t take enough risks. I need to do something that puts me more out on the cutting edge of life. And before I could finish these thoughts, a commercial for online stock trading came on. My thoughts quickly changed from an adventurous life to the reality that James will be in college before we know it, Social Security may be gone when I retire.

Mark 6:14-29 "Head on a Platter" for Pentecost 6

She wanted his head on a platter. Despots have extinguished the life-breath of their critics in numerous ways; severing heads at chopping blocks, adding drama with the fall of a guillotine, opting for the somber snap of the neck at the gallows or drowning out a voice by attaching heavy stones to their feet to let them “swim with the fishes.” If you just want someone dead, there are very efficient methods of killing them. A simple knife thrust or smothering leaves someone just as dead. The means of execution seem to be designed to send a specific kind of message.  The impure, such as witches, warlocks and heretics, are burned at the stake to cleanse by flame the contaminating evil. Social critics are robbed of their breath. You can’t speak without your head. The Romans were great engineers, so it makes sense that they would build crosses and nail people up on them.

After Edison vengeance was satisfied by zapping electrical currents through the body. And now, when health is regulated by shots and pills, we prescribe the ultimate penalty by lethal injection, hoping to cure the body politic like an influenza inoculation. As a measure of how much more humane our race has become, we’ve gone from brawny, hooded executioners to men in white lab coats. In the 22^nd century, perhaps we have nano-executioners to look forward to, or we will yearly launch the condemned by space probe into the eye of the sun.

John 12:20-33 "Learning to Die" Lent 5B

How much do you think about death? My first thought is that I hardly think about death at all. I’m relatively young at almost 42 years old, and mostly healthy. I plan to live a long time, working until I’m in my mid-70s and, like all my great-Grandparents, living well into my late 80s or early 90s. But as I ponder Jesus’ words here in John, death is often present in my thoughts, just below the surface, bouncing around in my unconscious.

Yesterday I was throwing a football with my son. After a few throws I felt my rotator cuff become sore and had to stretch and be careful not to throw too hard and injure myself. My thoughts began to wander towards my 42^nd birthday coming up next week.

Mark 8:27-38 "Who Do You Say That I Am?" Lent 2B

Lent is here and already I am behind. I simultaneous long for these seasons and the spiritual gifts that blossom from introspection, and I fear them for the very same reason. Several weeks ago I was very excited about this series on Viktor Frankl and the meaning of suffering, but as challenges mount in my life, I feel less inclined to think about suffering at all. There are days when I think, "Enough of suffering, enough of heartbreak, enough of the macro-suffering of violence, torture and corruption, enough of the micro-suffering from my own anger, judgmentalism and unwillingness to face the truth about myself. But Lent is here and the spiritual tasks of this season are clear. It is the season of reflection, repentance and facing the truth within. 

Most important spiritual journeys begin with a question and a search for an answer. The Gospel Lesson from Mark hits us with a profound question from Jesus, "Who do you say that I am?" This is a peak moment in Mark’s narrative about Jesus.  Before this chapter lies a series of miracles and triumphs.  Jesus feeds 5000 people, heals the sick, and wins theological arguments with the Pharisees.  He is definitely on the rise, his fame stretching throughout the small region of
Palestine. After this question is answered, he sets his face toward Jerusalem, where his challenge to the Temple priests and the status quo will be more direct. 

Isaiah 40:21-31 "Grasshopper Eyes and Eagles Wings" Epiphany 5B

Isaiah 40:31 was probably one of the first scriptures I memorized in my youth. It was a great hope to feel that God could lift me up on Eagle’s wings and it still is. I love the idea of soaring above it all, being the swift and strong eagle, with a bird’s eye view of all the grasshoppers below. But honestly, I need to back up to Isaiah 40:22 and remember that so much of my life is lived with the grasshoppers. In describing the greatness of our Creator, Isaiah starts off comparing us to the small leaf-hoppers who are more prey than predator. Isaiah had such a gift for metaphor, so I wonder if he carefully chose contrasting grasshoppers with eagles, or if any small insect or rodent would do for his literary purposes. This week I want to take some time to applaud the grasshopper as well as the eagle.

Mark 1:21-28 "What Will You Do With Us, Jesus?" Epiphany 4B

There is a powerful urgency here in Mark’s Gospel that is easily missed because of the way we read the Bible. We are most likely to read the Bible in small doses. We take a verse, or section or maybe a chapter of scripture and read it to gain insight for our daily living. Devotional reading is quite valuable to the soul, but we can see different aspects of scriptural truth when we look at the sweep of the story. Let’s look at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel more from a literary perspective to see what the author intends.

Jonah 3 & Mark 1:14-20 (Epiphany 3B) "Give Jonah a break"

The Lectionary blend gives us sharp contrasts in how people respond to God’s calling. Jonah was called by God to be a prophet to the city of Nineveh. Instead of going east to the city, he gets on a boat and goes west, as far away as he can from the call. His epic adventure worthy of the Odyssey includes being thrown overboard from a ship and swallowed by a whale and finally thrown up at the very point he started running from his mission. We could berate Jonah for his lack of faith or courage, but it is more helpful to identify with him for a moment. He was given a mission impossible. Nineveh was one of the greatest cities of its day. It was a city of conquerors, with a strong commercial base, superior technology and a powerful war machine. Jonah was from a strip of wilderness that the rest of the world passed thorough as a way station to somewhere else, kind of like I-95 running through New Jersey. Jonah had no credentials for such an act of international diplomacy. He would get even less respect than Ambassador of Palau would get in Washington,DC. (You get extra credit if you actually know where Palau is!) Imagine yourself suddenly being sent to the Sudan where the government is perpetuating a genocide of Christians in the southern area. God tells you to march through the hot desert and tell their leaders to repent, to stop the genocide, to hold democratic elections and respect everyone’s civil rights, use their wealth for the good of all the nation’s people. Do you think you would get their leadership to dress up in sack cloth and ashes? For that matter, imagine going to Washington,DC and demanding that elected officials stop the legalized bribery of our campaign finance system. Do you think you could bring both houses of Congress to sack cloth and ashes? See what I mean? Jonah had a mission impossible.

Luke 1:26-38, 47-55 Advent 4B

When you think of Mary the Mother of Jesus, what is the first word that comes to your mind? I’ll bet that many of you the word was “virgin.” Seldom do we say just Mary. More likely we say, the Virgin Mary or the Blessed Virgin or just the BVM for short. For some Christians, the perpetual virginity of Mary is an essential article of faith, proving that Christ is truly the Son of God. For others, it sounds absurd and archaic, or even a patriarchal plot to keep women subservient.

John 1:6-8, 19-28 Advent IIIB

There are so many evocative symbols surrounding John the Baptist in the four Gospels.  Each gospel emphasizes a different point of view about John the Baptist.  Mark and Matthew emphasize the prophetic nature of John, noting that he is out in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey.  They link John the Baptist’s message to Isaiah 40:1-11, that emphasizes him as the prophet preparing the way for Jesus, through making the highway straight in every heart. Luke emphasizes the concern for the poor and the ethical demands for justice.  In Luke we hear John the Baptist’s preaching, urging people to share their cloaks and food with the needy, demanding that tax collectors not line their pockets by taking more than is required from people and challenging soldiers to not use their force to extort and threaten people. 

Isaiah 40:1-11 "Straight Highways" Advent IIB

Highways connect people and cultures.  Before looking at Isaiah’s call for a highway in the desert, think about the importance of highways for Israel.  Highways shape Israel’s geopolitics more than almost any other factor, as wealth and power flowed through the ancient highways and trade routes.  The King’s Road, which connected Heliopolis (modern Cairo) to Damascus, literally put Israel on the map as spices, gold, textiles and olive oil flowed through the great caravans.  Unfortunately, armies traveled the highway as well, as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Rome all coveted the strategic dominance that came with subduing Palestine.  It was a perilous and wondrous journey that traversed the Sinai desert, wound through the ravines of Petra and across mountain ranges, fighting heat, thirst, stubborn camels and bandits along the way.  (Take the King’s Highway  journey via the internet.)