Some Sundays, the readings are a delight to explore, research, and wonder about. On others, the puzzle seems too hard, especially when the Gospel includes a parable, like today. The parable of the shrewd manager left me perplexed the first few times I read it, and there is little commentary in the many bible versions I use to research. So I will circle back to it in a bit, but for now, let’s enjoy the simplicity of Paul’s message to Timothy.

“First of all I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.”

Take a deep breath because today’s readings are far from quiet and peaceable. In fact, Jeremiah’s experience is anguish over the exile and suffering of his people: “My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.” His words resonated deeply with me as I read them again and again this week. With all the unrest and suffering in the world around us, my heart aches, and I am longing for a quiet and peaceable life. I want to close my doors and shut out the world and all its turmoil. And yet my awareness of this turmoil and my relationship with God means I cannot.

I could easily relate to Jeremiah, who was separated from his people and yet identified with their pain. He knows they have provoked God’s anger, and yet he weeps for them. Jeremiah lived with a deep awareness of God’s love and grieved for those who did not, regardless of their actions.

Jeremiah’s grief is a prophetic activity; his tears are the prelude to an openness to new possibilities.

A quiet, peaceable life is not the experience of our psalmist either, as angry complaints pour out

“Look at what they have done.

Pour out your wrath upon the heathen!

But, God remember not our past sins;

let your compassion be swift to meet us.”

The psalmist has a different outlook than Jeremiah. Heathens are heathens, the faithful are the faithful, and the differences between them are outlined clearly. Those who know God deserve God’s mercy, and those who do not know him deserve his wrath.

How did we come to this in a world where a loving God created everyone?

In our children’s Godly Play program this week, we told the second story of creation found in chapter 2 of Genesis. I wasn’t supposed to be the storyteller. Still, in my absent-minded calendar-keeping, a serendipitous moment occurred because the beauty of this creation story made today’s scriptures clearer to me.

God created everything in love, and it was good.

He placed the first person in the garden, who was Adam, which means “everyone.” Eve was with Adam and part of Adam; they were together like one person, Adam-Eve. Adam-Eve was together with the garden and with God.

There were two mysterious trees in the garden. One was the tree of knowledge. If you ate the fruit from this tree, you would begin to notice differences like the difference between good and evil and up and down. The other was the tree of life. If you ate the fruit from the tree of life, you would live forever.

God told Adam-Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge.

Of all the creatures in the garden, the serpent was the cleverest. The serpent convinced Adam-Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge and they did.

And everything fell apart. Adam-Eve became Adam and Eve.

And they began to notice the differences like the differences between close and far, Adam and Eve, high and low, people and God, good and evil, near and far.

God looked for them, and they hid.

They no longer knew how to be close to God or each other as they had been before.

They longed to return to the way things were, but they could not; they could only move forward. God placed a flaming sword and a fierce angel at the edge of the garden so they could not go back and eat from the tree of forever.

They came from dust and would return to dust. But God gave them a gift when things fell apart. They could now take the differences they saw and put them together in new ways. They could not make something from nothing like God, but they could sometimes make something good from what they now knew and what they remembered from the love in God’s garden. God was with them always, and he is always with us.

It is not likely that it was Adam-Eve’s intention to separate from each other and cause creation to fall apart when they chose this course of action.

But here we are in a world clearly full of differences, wondering how to move forward and how to create something new from what we see.

Can we return to a quiet, peaceful life that includes everyone?

As I revisit our parable in Luke. I return to trying to puzzle it out.

What is it trying to tell us? Is it good to be shrewd?

When the manager was let go from his position due to his behavior, he chose, in self-preservation, to cut a deal.

Mosaic law prohibits collecting interest from fellow Jews. It is speculated that the manager had originally been overcharging as a means of circumventing this law. And commentators suggest that to win the favor of those indebted to the master, he simply removed the interest.

This clever move ingratiated him with those in debt and also with his master, as he created a reputation of generosity for the master.

The shrewd manager took a financial mess and made something new.

Inadvertently, he made things better for everyone. Now, we cannot really commend him on this because it appears to be purely motivated by selfishness. But we cannot really make him the villain either.

The manager may have helped others for entirely selfish reasons, but he helped them nonetheless.

We cannot villainize the serpent for being in the garden, because God created the garden and everything in it, including the clever serpent.

We cannot decide that Adam and Eve are villains either, even though they made a decision that caused division and all of creation to fall apart.

We cannot villainize the master or the manager because of their role in life, any more than we can villainize Jesus’ friend Judas.

Judas, like Adam and Eve, teaches us about differences. The difference between leaning into love and pulling away from it.

We often think of the good as being first because in our story of the garden, it is.

But we don’t live in the garden, and what if shrewdness, self-serving, and survival came first and was all that was known to us until now?

What if this is the first time we can see the differences from the other side, and now we can choose something new?

The life we are born into and the life we live both affect our ability to see the beauty of holiness and feel the touch of love.

Our psalmist doesn’t sound like he is feeling the loving touch of God. He wants justice. He is pleading with God while still holding onto the differences. He is not ready for the healing that can come from creating something new.

Jeremiah, with his heart broken wide open, holds truth, without blame, grieves a societal disaster, and pleads for healing.

He would weep all day long, a fountain of tears, for those who have fallen apart.

I am still quite puzzled by the parable told today. The message will take some more sorting out for me. But that is the nature and beauty of the parable of Jesus.

And, I don’t need to understand it all at once.

I believe that though we may not be able to return to the quiet, peaceable life of innocence, we can move forward in godliness and dignity as we remember to pray.

Like Jeremiah, we can remember that God does not abandon us because of our mistakes, and we can choose not to abandon others because of theirs. We can let our hearts be torn open for all who are suffering and pray.

We can learn from the psalmist to give our anger over to God, and let go of our desire to hold onto differences and pray.

Pray for our leaders both in our country and the world.

Pray for our neighbors and friends who are exiled from their homes and separated from a quiet and peaceable life.

And when opportunity arises to ease the burden of others, we can be both shrewd and a child of the light.

May we find within us a quiet and peaceable life as we seek to bring peace to others in the midst of our differences.

And may we remember…

There is one God;

There is also one mediator between God and humankind,

Christ Jesus, himself human,

who gave himself a ransom for all.

Amen.

A moment for walking

“Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:8-12

Why were they so amazed? People get up and walk all the time.

Many years ago I was told by someone, “You don’t reward someone for doing what they are supposed to do.” When I heard this, I was at first taken aback, but then I somewhat bought into the idea. Recently this perspective has been brought to my attention again, and I realize how much my viewpoint has matured. I now know, there is no love, dignity, honor, or faith, in that statement.

We are not all equally capable of everything. We are each made up of strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes our weaknesses get the best of us, and we become convinced that that is all we are. Jesus, in this story of healing, first addressed the inner-weakness in the person brought to him by saying “Your sins are forgiven.” All the things that make you feel less than worthy, all the things you have done that make you feel ashamed, all the things you are that you are not proud of. They are gone, now get up and walk.

Letting go of our “sins” is difficult if not impossible on our own. We often need a formal release from the guilt or punishment we inflict on ourselves or others. We are not given an explanation of what this man’s sins were. Jesus does not list them and then check them off. He incontrovertibly says “the past is the past now go forward.” What a gift to have such release!

Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:3-5

For a person who is mentally paralyzed by sin, shame, depression or fear, healing is complicated. The person who needs healing must let down all the preconceived notions of self-sufficiency and allow others to lead them to the place where healing can begin. This act in weakness is also a moment of considerable strength. It is a moment of humility for the individual, and yet it takes courage to acknowledge the need for help and to receive it. Those with the strength to help must treat this person and this moment with love, dignity, honor, and faith. The barriers of judgment and pride must be removed, and openness to love and healing must take its place. In this story, Jesus saw not only the faith of the man but also the faith of his companions. A moment of unity in the desire to encounter Christ produced a perfect reward for everyone.

“they were all amazed and glorified God”

When was the last time you were amazed?

Take a moment today to celebrate the simple acts of others. It might be more difficult for them than you know.

A moment of piracy

white and black selling boat on bed of water during daytime

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened…, and all Jerusalem with him…; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. Matthew 2:1-4

Last week as I was reflecting on the Epiphany, I was intrigued by King Herod as the villain in the story. The wise men were given unlimited access to the Christ Child, and Herod was denied access.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. Matthew 2:12

King Herod was created by God just like everybody else in the story. So what went wrong? Most of us know King Herod is the ultimate biblical villain, a baby killer. However, there is more to the story.

Herod was born in Palestine. His father was a soldier who ousted the king and took the throne for himself. His father appointed Herod Governor of Galilee. When civil war broke out in Rome, Herod first sided with Mark Antony who made him a tetrarch (which is governor of a quadrant of Rome). When Octavian defeated Mark Antony, and Cleopatra Herod switched his loyalties. Herod was loyal to Rome and having proven this under Octavian-now Caesar Augustus-, he secured his position as King of the Jews. Being a distrustful, paranoid, jealous, and brutal man. He eliminated any opposition or threat to his place of power. This included killing his wife and two of his sons.

But Herod wasn’t all bad.

There was economic prosperity during his reign of 33 years. Herod presented himself as the protector of Judaism and hoped to win the favor of the Jews. He encouraged synagogue community development, and in difficult times he suspended taxes and supplied free grain to the people. He earned his title Herod the Great because of all the building he was responsible for including the rebuilding and beautification of the temple in Jerusalem.

But he was a fearful and paranoid man, and he made a choice to let his fears guide his decisions.

There have been times in my life when I too have made a choice to follow my fears and insecurities. Recently, as I was listening to a song in my car, a vivid recollection of such a time came flooding back. The song was “A Pirates look at 40” by Jimmy Buffett. A friend of mine, a Buffett fan, listened to his music often and so that time in my life is marked by his music.

It was a sad moment as I heard this song and remembered being 18 and how insecure and afraid I was. I didn’t trust the friendships I had because I didn’t believe I was worthy of such good people. As a result, I hurt those who were actually in my corner. By thinking that they had something I didn’t, and not understanding that I had an abundance of my own to offer the relationship, I tried to take what they had for myself.

As I listened to the song, I didn’t stay in the sad moment long. There has been a great deal of change for me as I grew in confidence and strength of character. And looking back I am grateful for the time and the memory that had such an impact on my life. Losing the friendships of those I hurt was a valuable consequence. In the future, I made better choices. I began looking at people of strong character and instead of attempting to take what they had I sought to emulate their integrity and fortitude. In time my desire to read scripture grew. I studied and learned about love and the genuine character of Christ. He might have been a threat to Herod, but he also could have healed him.

In the song, Buffett claims to be a victim of fate, but I believe we make choices daily that impact the present and the future as well as how we will remember the past.

Will you recognize the value of past choices as moments of growth?

Will you recognize your value and that you are right now exactly where you should be?

Will you offer that to this day?

A moment in the mirror

mirror

But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. James 1:22-24

As I was putting on my makeup this morning, I remembered that as a child our bathroom had a three-way mirror. With the end mirrors spread wide you could see only the surface, however, if you pulled the end mirrors together, you could see infinite images of yourself. Spiritual reflection can be a bit like looking into that mirror. Looking only at the surface, you might focus on the perceived imperfections and be critical. Pull in the sides, and you will see deeply, so deeply you may lose focus on what is real and true. There is, however, that perfect angle, the angle where the end mirrors are pulled into just the right place, and you can see all sides of yourself. Without distortion, you can see a clear reflection of who you are. Even if only for a moment hold onto that clarity, it is a gift.

For me, scripture is the guide I use to set the angles. Scripture gives me the guidance to go deep into my spiritual search while keeping the image of myself from getting too deep and distorted. The words in James remind me to look, see, reflect and then go back out and live. Live with and into that perfect clear image of myself. Perfect does not mean flawless, but perfect as I am created in the image of God, who knows me from all angles and loves me deeply.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now, we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:11-13

Take a moment today to look into the mirror at as many angles as your mirror will allow. Look into the flaws and the flawless parts of who you are and know that God loves you from every angle.

Peace,

Alana