The Bible Challenge: Week 27

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Seven members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, July 8th: Day 183 – Job 10-12, Psalm 149, II Corinthians 8
Tuesday, July 9th: Day 184 – Job 13-15, Psalm 150, II Corinthians 9
Wednesday, July 10th: Day 185 – Job 16-18, Psalm 1, II Corinthians 10
Thursday, July 11th: Day 186 – Job 19-21, Psalm 2, II Corinthians 11
Friday, July 12th: Day 187 – Job 22-24, Psalm 3, II Corinthians 12
Saturday, July 13th: Day 188 – Job 25-27, Psalm 4, II Corinthians 13
Sunday, July 14th: Day 189– Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church


On Monday, June 17th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

The Bible Challenge: Week 23

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Seven members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, June 10th: Day 155 – II Chronicles 13-15, Psalm 125, Romans 16
Tuesday, June 11th: Day 156 – II Chronicles 16-19, Psalm 125, Romans 16
Wednesday, June 12th: Day 157 – II Chronicles 20-22, Psalm 127, I Corinthians 2
Thursday, June 13th: Day 158 – II Chronicles 23-25, Psalm 128, I Corinthians 3
Friday, June 14th: Day 159 – II Chronicles 26-28, Psalm 129, I Corinthians 4
Saturday, June 15th: Day 160 – II Chronicles 29-31, Psalm 130, I Corinthians 5
Sunday, June 16th: Day 161 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church


On Monday, June 17th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

The Bible Challenge: Week 16

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Four members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, April 22nd: Day 106 – I Samuel 25-27, Psalm 88, Acts 2
Tuesday, April 23rd: Day 107 – I Samuel 28-30, Psalm 89:1-18, Acts 3
Wednesday, April 24th: Day 108 – I Samuel 31, Psalm 89:19-52, Acts 4
Thursday, April 25th: Day 109 – II Samuel 1-3, Psalm 90, Acts 5
Friday, April 26th: Day 110 – II Samuel 4-6, Psalm 91, Acts 6
Saturday, April 27th: Day 111 – II Samuel 7-9, Psalm 92, Acts 7
Sunday, April 28th: Day 112 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

On Monday, April 29th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for April 21, 2013: "What Our Sisters and Brothers Have Done"

Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“What Our Sisters and Brothers Have Done”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

April 21, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Fourth Sunday of Easter: Good Shepherd Sunday

As a child, my friends and I played “cops and robbers” or similar games. Usually played outside, to avoid the wrath of one’s parents toward indoor rough-housing, these games involved a good deal of running around and burning up energy. Preparing for the game also involved some negotiation. I recall that everyone wanted to play a cop and no one wanted to play a robber, because the robbers are supposed to lose. I know very few people who like to intentionally choose the losing side, but of course for this game to work some of the players had to choose to lose.

This childhood aversion to losing also has to do wanting to belong to the good side. The robbers lose in the game, because they are bad or evil. The cops win, because they’re the good guys. Perhaps in the real word, evil some times seems to win. This week, despite great evil, good won out in many ways. Good occurred in the resolution of the search for those responsible for Monday’s bombing in Boston, even though one of the suspects died in the attempt to apprehend the Tsarnaev brothers and others died or were harmed as a result of their actions.

In this real life struggle between the good guys and the bad guys, of course no sane person wants to in any way identify with the Tsarnaev brothers and their actions. In fact, I find myself wanting to distance myself from these men in any way possible. One way I notice that I do this is by identifying the ways that I am different from them. Since they immigrated to this country from elsewhere, though younger brother Dzokhar became a citizen, and I was born here as a citizen, I can say I am different from them because they are immigrants and I am not. One could do the same around issues of religion, gender, race, and so on. Any place where they and I differ becomes a means of making them something other than I am, of distancing myself from them and from their evil.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus says to those listening to him, “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:25-27) The Fourth Sunday after Easter gets called “Good Shepherd Sunday,” because every year the gospel reading has to do with Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Today’s reading features Jesus making a distinction between those who come from his flock and those who do not. Since the gospel identifies those listening to Jesus as “Jews,” one might suspect that the categories of those whom Jesus accepts as part of his flock have to do with something like a person’s religious group or ethnic background. However, Jesus gives only one criterion for those who belong to his flock: My sheep hear my voice.

How does this apply to the human tendency to distance oneself from those who commit evil acts? Those who commit great evil clearly ignore Jesus’ voice. I think that Jesus cried out to the Tsarnaev brothers, “Don’t do this. You are about to harm your sisters and brothers.” The witness to the heavenly vision in today’s reading from the Revelation to St. John reveals, “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9). The distinctions of tribe, people, language, and the like do not matter in terms of who comes before the Lamb, who is also Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. Therefore, as followers of Jesus Christ, those distinctions must not matter to us in terms of who belongs to the flock.

Christians must understand the Tsarnaevs and those like them as our sisters and brothers before God. These brothers’ evil acts have marred that relationship, to be sure, and the living brother deserves to face the lawful consequences. God judges what will happen to both of them after death, as God judges each of us. However, they remain our brothers. I do not think this in any way diminishes the evil of their actions, because it means that they ignored the voice of righteousness crying out to them and took action against their own sisters and brothers. Any evil done by one of us, however great or small, is an evil perpetrated against sisters and brothers.

Now, the reverse of this situation also holds true. Any good done by one of us, any good performed because one of us listens to the voice of the Good Shepherd, is good done to a sister or brother. Those who rushed toward the site of the explosions, a story heard over and over again this week, did so out of a response to hearing that Good Shepherd’s voice. Oh, I’m sure some were acting out of instinct or in the line of duty. Some may not even have a concept of God, or Jesus Christ, or the Good Shepherd, or what that voice sounds like. Today’s reading from Acts suggests that doesn’t matter in the least. Although this story occurs in the context of a larger text that has quite a bit to say about Jesus, he is not mentioned once in the passage we have here. Instead, Peter does something very Jesus-like when he enters the room where Tabitha lies dead, prays, and says, “Tabitha, get up” (Acts 9:39-40). Tabitha, who had died due to illness, rises to life again. Jesus performed such miracles, as when he raised the widow’s son at Nain in Luke 7:11-17, but he did that of his own power. Peter does not raise the dead of his own power, but through the power the Good Shepherd whom he follows: Peter prays, and Tabitha lives. Yet, the text gives only an implied sense of Jesus’ activity through Peter. Likewise, some respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd with no clear sense of who calls, yet these too belong to the Good Shepherd’s flock.

The heroes of this past week, and those like them, represent the kind of people that I suspect each one of us wants to emulate. We can take comfort, then, that they are our sisters and brothers. We need not let how they differ from us in matters of ethnicity, religion, race, gender, or any other qualification give us despair that we cannot be like them. May this understanding provide some consolation that those who do evil, including each of us in whatever evils we might commit, are also sisters and brothers. May each one of us seek to hear the Good Shepherd in the acts of those doing good in the world, and, in following them, tune our ears to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow where he leads. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 11

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Seven members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, March 18th: Day 71 – Deuteronomy 19-21, Psalm 59, Luke 17
Tuesday, March 19th: Day 72 – Deuteronomy 22-24, Psalm 60, Luke 18
Wednesday, March 20th: Day 73 – Deuteronomy 25-27, Psalm 61, Luke 19
Thursday, March 21st: Day 74 – Deuteronomy 28-30, Psalm 62, Luke 20
Friday, March 22nd: Day 75 – Deuteronomy 31-33, Psalm 63, Luke 21
Saturday, March 23rd: Day 76 – Deuteronomy 34, Psalm 64, Luke 22Sunday, March 24th: Day 77 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church
On Monday, March 25th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for March 17th, 2013: "Previews of Coming Attractions"

Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14
John 12:1-8

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“Previews of Coming Attractions”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

March 17, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Anyone who goes to a movie knows about the previews that come before the feature film. For years, the number of previews has grown. We now see previews for movies that will appear in theaters more than a year from now, not just movies coming in the next few months. Some enjoy seeing what’s to come, and some people find these previews an inconvenience.

Today’s gospel reading from John includes foreshadowing that gives us a preview of coming attractions. We learn that Judas Iscariot is about to betray Jesus. When Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with costly ointment and wipes the feet with her hair, Jesus responds to Judas’ complaint by saying she had purchased this ointment to prepare him for burial. This hints at Jesus’ death and burial, to come later in the gospel.

The beginning of today’s passage makes reference to Lazarus, Mary and Martha’s brother whom Jesus had raised from the dead. In John 11, Mary and Martha send a message to Jesus to tell him Lazarus is ill. Jesus does not come to Bethany in time to cure Lazarus, and he dies. When Jesus arrives, Lazarus has already been dead four days. He has been dead long enough for the stench of decomposition to emerge from his tomb. Still, Jesus tells the people to take away the stone covering the grave. He shouts, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man emerges, not as zombie or a shambling mummy, but whole and alive.

Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead provides a preview of Jesus’ own Resurrection. In John 20, Jesus appears to his disciples after he rises from the grave. Thomas is not there, and he does not believe his friends when they tell him that Jesus is alive. Perhaps he would have found believing possible if he thought about how Jesus had already demonstrated power over life and death by raising Lazarus from the grave.

These stories of new life provide a preview of coming attractions for God’s plan for each of us and for the world. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, each one of us will not disappear after the end of our mortal life. God has more planned for us than oblivion or non-existence. God will draw each of us into new, deeper life with God. Some suggest that God will not simply provide us with new life, but that God will also bring about a new creation for the entire world. This will conform the world more closely with what God intended in the first place.

Resurrection does not only occur at the end, though. Previews of coming attractions appear for communities and people as life progresses. The Roman Catholic Church elected a new Pope this week. For Roman Catholics, this represents a time of new life for their church. I have seen the same in The Episcopal Church when a new bishop gets consecrated, new people join a parish, or a new priest gets called to lead a congregation.

Resurrection can occur for us as we live our individual lives, too. Perhaps this will look different for each person, but Resurrection can provide new life in the places that seem most dead or most dark in our lives. One way to approach this involves looking at the places that seem most dead or dark and us and believing that something new can emerge from their, that God promises to transform what is dead into some kind of new life. This kind of hope connects us with what God intends, but of course some hopes do not match what God wants to do. I could hope that each one of us will receive one billion dollars after we leave church today, and if it is God’s will may that happen, but more likely God has some other way in mind for us to address financial difficulties. Perhaps this means taking better care with the resources we already possess, or perhaps it means seeking other ways to produce income.

Likewise, a person facing sickness might hope for a cure. If no cure comes, despite fervent prayer and the work of medical science, Resurrection can still happen. New life might emerge as a person learns to live with a chronic condition or illness and experience the fullest life possible under those circumstances.

We can also gain hope for new life in our lives by looking at the world around us. In the northern hemisphere, natural occurrences match with the anticipation of Resurrection in this season of the church year. The flowers emerge from the ground, birdsongs remind us that birds have returned after a time away, and other animals that have been absent become more active.

We might also see signs of new life in people who change their habits so that they live a more humane lifestyle. Sometimes this change brings these people to live a more content and hopeful life. When someone shows us this kind of change, part of us might react with envy or hatred that things go well for them. If that temptation comes, one might pay attention to an alternative way of feeling: We might see these changes in others’ lives as reasons to celebrate with them and as previews of coming attractions for change and Resurrection that can occur in our lives.

God gives us preview of coming attractions for God’s plan for the world and for us. Resurrection awaits us at the end of our mortal lives, but we see previews even now in the world, in the Church, in our communities, and in one another. One can greet these previews as inconveniences along the way toward final Resurrection, or one can greet them with hope and joy. May God grant us the grace to watch and experiences these previews with growing hope for the main feature yet to come. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 10

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Eight members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, March 11th: Day 64 – Deuteronomy 1-3, Psalm 53, Luke 11
Tuesday, March 12th: Day 65 – Deuteronomy 4-6, Psalm 54, Luke 12
Wednesday, March 13th: Day 66 – Deuteronomy 7-9, Psalm 55, Luke 13
Thursday, March 14th: Day 67 – Deuteronomy 10-12, Psalm 56, Luke 14
Friday, March 15th: Day 68 – Deuteronomy 13-15, Psalm 57, Luke 15
Saturday, March 16th: Day 69 – Deuteronomy 16-18, Psalm 58, Luke 16
Sunday, March 17th: Day 70 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church
 
On Monday, March 18th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for March 10, 2013: "The Father's Example"

Joshua 5:9-12Psalm 322 Corinthians 5:16-21Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“The Father’s Example”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

March 10, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Fourth Sunday in Lent

People spend significant resources to avoid pain. Sometimes this happens in healthy ways. People exercise, play music, or engage in other hobbies that take their minds off of suffering. At appropriate times, people might use over-the-counter or prescription medications to handle pain. When one has painful invasive surgery, one receives anesthesia. Of course, sometimes people misuse legal or illegal substances because they cannot handle pain.

Today’s Old Testament reading marks a way the lectionary tries to avoid some pain. Staring with verse 9 of Joshua’s fifth chapter, we hear the good news that God has “rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” Starting with verse 2 of Joshua 5, though, gives a more complete picture:

2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites a second time." 3 So Joshua made flint knives, and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the warriors, had died during the journey through the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Although all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people born on the journey through the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the Israelites traveled forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the warriors who came out of Egypt, perished, not having listened to the voice of the Lord. To them the Lord swore that he would not let them see the land that he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 When the circumcising of all the nation was done, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt." And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua 5:2-9, NRSV)

This passage describes how God has rolled away the disgrace from the Israelites: by the Israelites keeping of God’s covenant, which includes keeping the rites of circumcision. Some commentators suggest that this painful surgery, applying only to males, had to involve flint knives due to tradition, even though the Israelites may have had access to metal knives. In any case, this represents a clear example of how sometimes doing what God wants us to do can hurt.

Today’s reading from Luke represents a case of some severe hurt in people’s lives, although the story here involves emotional hurt. The parable of the Prodigal Son, with “prodigal” meaning “wasteful,” involves the hurts of a dysfunctional family. The first hurt comes when the younger son asks his father to divide the property, so that the son can have his share of the inheritance. The inheritance should have only come after the father’s death. In effect, the son says, “Dad, I wish you were dead and I had your money.” No matter how hurtful this must have been, the father gives his son his share of the inheritance.

The prodigal son goes away, wastes the money in partying, and finds himself in a foreign country during a famine without any means to survive. He goes to work tending to pigs, and he realizes how much he hurts. The son thinks that he would feel much better returning to his father’s house, even as a slave, than he would living amongst the pigs. The son decides to admit his guilt to the father, saying, “I have sinned before heaven and against you.” He heads home, only to discover that his father comes running to embrace him before he can reach the house. His father welcomes him not as a slave, but as a son. He cleans him, gives him the best robe in the house, has the servants prepare a valuable calf for a feast, and throws a party.

Despite the reconciliation, more hurt follows. The older son, who remained home to dutifully tend to the family fields, comes to the house after his labor. He hears the sounds of music and dancing and wonders what’s happening. When he learns that his brother has returned to this kind of welcome from their father, he won’t even enter the house. The father comes out, and the older brother won’t even acknowledge his younger brother in conversation with their father, referring to him as “this son of yours.” This older son may very well wonder if, after wasting half of the family wealth, the younger brother will now get half again. In other words, the younger brother will have had seventy-five percent of the wealth while the older brother gets only twenty-five percent! In this, the older brother reveals how much like his younger brother he is. He is only thinking of the father’s wealth, too, even if he hasn’t specifically asked for it!

In this parable, the only character seems truly happy throughout: the father. He does not let the behavior of either son get to him. He forgives both sons for their failings and sins, the younger for his wastefulness, the older for his judgmental anger, and both for their greed. In Jesus’ parables, a father character usually represents God. We can be grateful that God forgives each of us, even as this father forgives each of his sons. At the same time, the father serves as an example for us to follow. When I look at my life, I can find many times when I have behaved like either son, but too few when I have behaved like their father. I’m not suggesting that the father wasn’t hurt, but rather that he looked beyond his hurt to find forgiveness for each of his sons.

When others sin against us and come with a desire to reconcile, let us follow the father’s example. Let us also thank God for meeting us with open arms when we confess our sins, and be thankful he’s not holding a flint knife. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 9

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Six members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, March 4th: Day 57 – Numbers 21-23, Psalm 47, Luke 5
Tuesday, March 5th: Day 58 – Numbers 24-26, Psalm 48, Luke 6
Wednesday, March 6th: Day 59 – Numbers 27-29, Psalm 49, Luke 7
Thursday, March 7th: Day 60 – Numbers 30-32, Psalm 50, Luke 8
Friday, March 8th: Day 61 – Numbers 33-35, Psalm 51, Luke 9
Saturday, March 9th: Day 62 – Numbers 36, Psalm 52, Luke 10
Sunday, March 10th: Day 63 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church
On Monday, March 11th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for March 3, 2013: "Worth the Wait"

Exodus 3:1-15Psalm 63:1-81 Corinthians 10:1-13Luke 13:1-9

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“Worth the Wait”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

March 3, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Third Sunday in Lent

Many of us have heard the cliche, "Money doesn't grow on trees." Perhaps a parent told this to us as a child, when we begged for something outside of the family budget or that wasn't an appropriate use of resources. Perhaps some of us have said this to our own children.

In today's gospel reading, figs don't grow on trees, at least not when they're supposed to grow. Jesus tells a parable, a story using symbols to get a point across, about a man who owned some land and had planted a fig tree in his vineyard. The landowner complains to his gardener that the fig tree has not produced any fruit in three years. He wants to gardener to cut down the tree, so that the good soil can be used for better purposes.

The gardener pleads with the landowner to give him another year to dig around the roots and fertilize the soil. If the tree bears fruit then, that's great. If not, then the gardener will cut down the tree. This fig tree story contrasts with passage involving a similar tree in Matthew and Mark (Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11:12-24). In these passages, Jesus actually encounters a fig tree instead of telling a story about one. He goes up to the fig tree looking for something to eat, but finds only leaves. Both Matthew and Mark clearly state that this is because it's not the right season for figs. In each case, Jesus curses the fig tree and says, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." In Matthew's version, the fig tree withers immediately. In Mark's telling, Jesus and his disciples return the next day to find the fig tree withered over night.

In each case, there's probably something more than figs of importance here. Jesus tells his disciples in each case that whatever they ask and believe they will receive will come to pass. If that were the case, and he really wanted figs, he could have asked for the fig tree to produce some fruit. Instead, Jesus uses the fig tree as a lesson. Perhaps he intends to make a comment on the state of the temple, from which he drives out people buying and selling around the time of his incident with the fig tree. The temple should produce spiritual fruit all the time. There's no season for that. Yet, Jesus asserts that the temple has become corrupt. If a fig tree withers even when it's not supposed to bear fruit, what will happen to the temple that doesn't produce fruit when it should?

The fig tree story in Luke takes a reverse point of view from the stories in Matthew and Mark. Here, the gardener appeals for the fig tree to be spared. We don't get the landowner's response and, if the gardener gets his year with the tree, we don't hear what happens a year later. Nevertheless, the parable implies that the fig tree may be worth saving. There's hope.

Some suggest that the landowner doesn't represent God in this story, but that the gardener represents God instead. In this case, God has hope for those of us not yet bearing fruit. God has hope to transform the challenges and difficulties in our lives. Sometimes, God causes instantaneous miracles that change things, but God may also work miracles overtime. Just because no fruit has appeared now, it doesn't mean God won't cause some to appear later. May God give us patience to wait for this fruit, for it will be sweet indeed. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 8

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Nine members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, February 25th: Day 50 – Numbers 4-5, Psalm 41, Mark 15
Tuesday, Febraury 26th: Day 51 – Numbers 6-8, Psalm 42, Mark 16
Wednesday, February 27th: Day 52 – Numbers 9-11, Psalm 43, Luke 1
Thursday, Feburary, 28th: Day 53 – Numbers 12-14, Psalm 44, Luke 2
Friday, March 1st: Day 54 – Numbers 15-17, Psalm 45, Luke 3
Saturday, March 2nd: Day 55 – Numbers 18-20, Psalm 46, Luke 4
Sunday, March 3rd: Day 56 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church


On Monday, March 4th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for February 24th, 2013: "The Heart's Desire"

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35 

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“The Heart’s Desire”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

February 24, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Second Sunday in Lent

Take a moment to ponder the greatest desires of your heart. I imagine that I could ask each person here and get a range of desires. Some might desire a life companion, some security for their family and loved ones, some peace and quiet. If we were to catalog the desires of our nation as a whole, the list might include prosperity, security, and social justice.

Today’s readings deal with the desires of people’s hearts. In the reading from Genesis, Abram tells God that he and his wife Sarai desire a child of their own. They have no biological offspring, and Abram has willed his possessions to one of his slaves. While many people today adopt children and treat them as their own, Abram and others of his time viewed the situation differently. You see, during Abram’s time people did not have a clear sense of the afterlife. They weren’t sure about any concept of heaven or eternal life. When a person died, she or he was dead. That’s it. No more. The way one achieved some sort of immortality or eternal life was through one’s offspring, descendents who would remember the names of their ancestors and keep their memory alive. Part of Abram’s desire for a child comes from a need to be remembered.

God does better than just promising Abram a child. God promises that Abram will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. Remember, this was before light pollution, so that would have been a lot of stars for Abram to count! To seal this promise, God asks Abram to sacrifice a heifer, a female goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and a pigeon. The mammals, at least, are valuable animals that could increase Abram’s prosperity by providing him with more livestock. Abram sacrifices some current wealth to show God that he trusts God’s promises for the future.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus also talks about the desires of his heart. However, he starts by talking about Herod. Herod ruled Galilee in Jesus’ time, but Herod did not truly have a king’s status. Herod had been put in place by the Roman Empire. He lived in a palace, ate well, and partied while the Romans oppressed his people. Jesus calls Herod a fox, because Herod is like an animal that hides in the shadows while larger predators feast on prey. When he sees his chance, he runs out and grabs a bite while can only to cower back in the shadows again. The kings of the Jews were known as lions, and the Lion of Judah is one of Jesus’ nicknames. This may be one reason why C.S. Lewis chose Aslan the Lion as an image for Christ in The Chronicles of Narnia. Jesus insults Herod by calling him a lion and not a fox.

Jesus does not refer to himself as a lion in this story, though. Instead, he compares himself to a hen. I’m no farm boy, but one of my aunts lived in Alabama and had chickens once, and there were some hens on that farm I would not have wanted to mess with. Jesus talks about wanting to gather the people of Jerusalem as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. This represents one of the few times Jesus, or God, has a feminine designation in the Bible. Jesus calls himself a hen, not a rooster, and it’s a wonderful image of the feminine side of God. Jesus says he desires to gather the people to him, but they were not willing. The desires of their hearts have not yet been tuned to the desires of God’s heart.

There is a comic strip on the internet called Coffee with Jesus. Each strip features Jesus, dressed in a business suit according to today’s fashion, having coffee with equally well-dressed friends. A recent strip featured a friend asking Jesus, “Why does it take so long for you to answer my prayers? I’m tired of waiting.” Jesus responds, “The answer will come sooner once you stop assuming it will be yes.” One can have faith in God answering prayers, but one also needs to prepare one’s heart to receive God’s answer.

This Lent, each one of us can practice tuning our hearts to God’s desires. Perhaps this might come in the morning, when we wake up, or drink the morning coffee, or brush our teeth. A simple prayer asking God to turn the desires of our hearts to the desires of God’s heart does the trick. The practice of one day becomes the practice of a week, and then the practice of a week becomes the practice of a month, until the practice of a month becomes the practice of a year, and the practice of a year becomes the practice of a lifetime. God desires us to tune our hearts to God’s heart, but God has patience. May we accept that patience and draw near to the one who seeks to gather us under the wing. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 7

***General questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Six members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, February 18th: Day 43 – Leviticus 16-18, Psalm 36, Mark 9
Tuesday, February 19th: Day 44 – Leviticus 19-21, Psalm 37:1-18, Mark 10
Wednesday, Februay 20th: Day 45 – Leviticus 22-24, Psalm 37:19-42, Mark 11
Thursday, February 21st: Day 46 – Leviticus 25-27, Psalm 38, Mark 12
Friday, February 22nd: Day 47 – There is no Old Testament reading assigned for this day. Please reread a favorite passage from the first three books of the Old Testament,
Psalm 39, Mark 13
Saturday, February 23rd: Day 48 – Numbers 1-3, Psalm 40, Mark 14
Sunday, February 24th: Day 49 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church.
On Monday, February 25th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for February 17th, 2013: "The Living Word"

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“The Living Word”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

February 17, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

First Sunday in Lent

If I said to one of you, “Give me a word” or “What’s the good word,” you would probably know that I wasn’t asking for just one unit of language. I’m asking for a message or for news. In some churches, people might ask the preacher, “Give us a word from the pulpit.” Again, they’re probably not expecting just one word but a sermon. Depending on the church, that sermon might go on for half an hour or more, which is of course not the case here.

When we talk about the “word” in the Church, we might make reference to some theological meanings. There’s the Word of God found in the Bible, for instance, but there is also an understanding that Jesus is the Word of God. The first chapter of John’s gospel makes strong use of this terminology. It begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1) and later continues, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14a). Jesus Christ, the Word of God, came amongst us to share the Word of God in his message.

Today’s reading from Luke features Jesus making use of God’s word to confront the devil’s temptations. After Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness, he longs for food. The devil tells him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answers, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” The devil then takes Jesus up to where he can see all the kingdoms of the world, and the devil promises to make Jesus their ruler if he will worship the devil. Jesus replies, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

Then, the devil decides to use Jesus’ own tactics. He takes Jesus to the top of the temple in Jerusalem and tells him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” These words should sound familiar, because they come from Psalm 91. We read parts of that psalm today, and it words inspire the song “On Eagles’ Wings.” Those who follow NFL football may remember that Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens wore a shirt referencing this psalm underneath his uniform during one of this year’s playoff games. I’m not trying to join the ranks of those bashing Ray Lewis or to say he’s the devil, but perhaps someone should have told Mr. Lewis that very psalm was used by the devil to tempt Jesus.

The point here is that one must be careful about using scripture. Jesus suggests this in his response to the devil, because he changes his tactics in response to this last temptation. He replies, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Instead of responding, “It is written,” Jesus responds, “It is said.” Jesus suggests that the Word of God is not just text on a page to be quoted, but must be lived. The Word did not just get written long ago, but should live on our lips and in our lives now.

During Lent, many people pay deeper attention to scripture. Some at Christ Church do this already. Some of us have begun reading the Bible as part of the Bible Challenge, an attempt to read the entire Bible in the year 2013. Even if some don’t finish, at least they will have read more than they would have otherwise. A few people in the group have already commented at the astonishment of friends and relatives that they are actually reading the Bible. Others like to use the Forward Day by Day devotionals found by the door of the church. Still others might read scripture as part of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in the prayer book. Regardless of how one approaches the Bible, the idea is that one seeks to move beyond the printed text to bring the Word of God to life in our lives.

Jesus came as the Word made flesh amongst us. He invites each of us to let the Word of God live in us, not just as text on a page written down long ago, but alive on our lips and in our actions. Let us not treat the Word as written alone, but said and living in our words and deeds. Amen.

Sermon for Ash Wednesday 2013: "Fasting Together"

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Psalm 103:8-14
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“Fasting Together”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

February 13, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Ash Wednesday

A few days ago, someone commented to me that popular culture understands Ash Wednesday as a religious observance differently from the common understanding of other Christian holidays. One could celebrate secular forms of Christmas and Easter without acknowledging their religious significance. Some households without religious affiliation still put up Christmas trees, for instance, or have candies and the Easter Bunny at Easter.

At the start of Lent, though, many know to ask their Christian neighbors, “What are you giving up for Lent?” There is some common understanding that on this day, the day we smear our foreheads with ash, Christians begin a period of fasting from something for religious purposes. Perhaps more savvy friends might know that some Christians choose to take on something during Lent instead of a giving up: spiritual reading, Bible, or works of service to others.

This understanding, within the Church and outside of it, usually views one’s Lenten practice as and individual choice. This time of the church year calls each of us to look at our relationship with God. Each of us might then choose to go without something that usually obstructs a better relationship with God or take on some activity that helps us deepen our relationship with God. Today’s reading from Matthew reinforces this idea, for Jesus calls his hearers to perform their religious activities in secret. He wants them to pray, give, serve, and fast for the sake of their relationship with God and not for human approval.

Of course, Jesus’ message would seem to prohibit what we’re about to do: placing ashes on our forehead as a sign of the beginning of Lent. This public and obvious alteration of our faces seems to blatantly reject Jesus’ teaching, unless this act really does call us to a deeper relationship with God. For one person to wear ash on his or her forehead would represent a cry for attention. Yet, a community of people wearing ash offers a different sort of message. When we look at each other with these ashes on our foreheads, we remind one another of our need for fasting, for repentance of our sins, for forgiveness, and for continually working on our relationships with God and one another. These ashes do not represent some attempt to show the world our piety, but rather to show one another our spiritual deficiencies and to remind one another that we need God in our lives.

After leaving church today, one may decide to get rid of the ash as soon as possible or to wear the mark for the rest of the day. Whatever one decides, only one thing matters: our relationship with God. May that be our focus this Lent, and always. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 6

***Those at tonight's meeting suggested the following questions to keep in mind while reading:
1. What did this passage mean for those for whom it was first written?
2. How does this passage apply to my life today?

Seven members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, February 11th: Day 36 – Exodus 40, Psalm 30, Mark 3
Tuesday, February 12th: Day 37 – Leviticus 1-3, Psalm 31, Mark 4
Wednesday, February 13th: Day 38 – Leviticus 4-6, Psalm 32, Mark 5
Thursday, February 14th: Day 39 – Leviticus 7-9, Psalm 33, Mark 6
Friday, February 15th: Day 40 – Leviticus 10-12, Psalm 34, Mark 7
Saturday, February 16th: Day 41 – Leviticus 13-15, Psalm 35, Mark 8
Sunday, February 17th: Day 42 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church


On Monday, February 18th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for February 10th, 2013: "Set Apart"

Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Luke 9:28-36

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“Set Apart”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

February 10, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

The Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Forty percent of households in the United States of America do not keep a budget. I heard this statistic quoted at a financial planning conference last weekend. Forty percent of households have no system whereby they take account of what resources they have earned and received and figure out how to set them apart for the needs of today, the needs of the future, and anyone with whom they wish to share their wealth.  While the discipline of keeping a budget may belong to the mundane world of daily life, budgeting is a holy discipline by nature. The word “holy” means “set apart.” Any activity in which one discerns what to “set apart” may take on an aspect of the holy.

Today’s scripture readings involve concepts of being set apart, of holiness. In the reading from Exodus, Moses comes down from the mountain with his face shining, because Moses had been on the mountain talking with God and receiving God’s commandments for Israel. Moses’ time with God made him different, and he set himself further apart from the people by wearing a veil to keep from blinding them like a car coming down a dark road with high beams turned on. Earlier in Exodus, before Moses went up the mountain, the people of Israel received a warning not to approach the mountain at all God said to Moses, “You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful not to go up the mountain or touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows; whether animal or human being, they shall not live” (Exodus 19:12-13b). While this might seem like extreme punishment to us, this part of the story highlights the degree to which God had set apart the mountain on which he and Moses would meet.

Likewise, in Luke, Jesus goes up a mountain with only three of his twelve disciples for a time of prayer. Just as some of us might need time apart from others in order to connect with God, time spent alone or with a few others who help us focus, Jesus took a small group with him for this time of holy prayer. This group, Peter and John and James, were the only disciples to see Jesus transfigured and glowing white. Only they saw Moses and Elijah, who had been dead for centuries, standing on that mountain top with Jesus. They had an experience that set them apart from the other disciples. Today’s gospel story concludes with an indication that these disciples did not tell the others about this experience until much later, perhaps after Jesus rose from the dead (Luke 9:36). Peter, John, and James, had an experience of being set apart from the rest of the disciples.

Today’s reading from Second Corinthians includes a reminder from St. Paul to the church in Corinth about how they are set apart. He uses the image of Moses wearing the veil to suggest that Jews who have not become Christians remain blinded to the truth. This may sound needlessly exclusivist, especially to those of us who know Jews or people of other religions who have deep relationships with God, live morally, and have great spirituality. One must remember that Paul wrote when the Church, consisting mostly of Jews who had become Christians, struggled to figure out how they differed from Jews who did not follow Jesus. Paul had experienced a removal of the veil from his eyes and kind of setting apart when he, a Jew on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christians there, saw a blinding vision of Jesus (Acts 9:1-19).

Today, we baptize Mary Agnes. This sets her apart as belonging to the Body of Christ, the Church. We acknowledge that she belongs to God, that she is a child of God as much as each of us is a child of God. A danger lies here, in that sometimes setting things apart blinds us to the reality that all things belong to God in the first place. A veil, like the one Moses wore, may allow the person who wears the veil to see out more effectively than others can see the person behind the veil. However, the veil can still obstruct the sight of the one set apart behind the cloth.

During the season of Lent, when we present our offerings we will sing “All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.”  This comes from an archaic translation of 1 Chronicles 29:14. These words remind us that all things belong to God. Even the money that each of us earns through labor we acquire because God has given us energy to use and talents to apply, because we have learned skills from people God has brought into our lives. We take what God has given to us and return these gifts by using them for God’s purposes in the world.

God calls us to set apart what each of us has received for God’s purposes. When planning a budget, God calls us to discern what to set apart to meet our needs now, what to set apart to meet future needs, what to set apart to give to others, and even what to set apart so that each of us might have some enjoyment in life. When each of us plans a schedule on our calendar, God calls us to do the same with our time. Some time gets set apart for work, some time gets set apart for family and friends, some time gets set apart for ourselves, and so on. The same holds true for how each of us uses our energy, our property, or whatever we have.

May God give us the grace to pull aside the veils on each of our faces, so that we may take what God has given us and return these gifts for God’s purposes in the world. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 5

Five members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, February 4th: Day 29 – Exodus 22-24, Psalm 24, Matthew 25
Tuesday, February, 5th: Day 30 – Exodus 25-27, Psalm 25, Matthew 26
Wednesday, February 6th: Day 31 – Exodus 28-30, Psalm 26, Matthew 27
Thursday, February 7th: Day 32 – Exodus 31-33, Psalm 27, Matthew 28
Friday, February 8th: Day 33 – Exodus 34-36, Psalm 28, Mark 1
Saturday, February 9th: Day 34 – Exodus 37-39, Psalm 29, Mark 2
Sunday, February 10th: Day 35 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

On Monday, February 11th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for February 3rd, 2013: "Something for Everyone"

Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 4:21-30

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

***Once a month, usually the first Sunday of the month, the sermon I preach is a “children’s sermon” that is more extemporaneous in style. This is the case for today. The text here is at best an approximation of the sermon.

“Something for Everyone”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

February 3, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

I have here a scroll, made by my friend Emma in last week’s Sunday School class. The scroll says “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” It’s the beginning of the scripture that we heard Jesus share in last Sunday’s gospel lesson:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Isaiah 61:1-3)

This is what Jesus had just read before we pick up with today’s gospel reading. It is good news. At first, the people listening to Jesus feel excited about this good news. After all, they’re from Jesus’ home town. They must feel special. In fact, they might even feel like the good news is just for them, because they come from where Jesus grew up and he’s theirs.

To let the people know they are mistaken, Jesus tells two stories from the Old Testament. First, he reminds the people of a time when there was not much food. There was a widow in a town called Zarephath. Her husband had died, and her son was too young to work. She had to take care of him, and finally she realized they did not have much food left. A prophet named Elijah came and asked her for some food, and she took the little bit she had and made bread. Sure enough, as long as Elijah stayed with the widow and her son they had enough food to eat. Jesus reminded the people that this widow was not a Jew, like they were, but that she came from the Philistine town of Sidon.

Jesus also reminded the people about a man named Naaman. He was a leper, which met that he had a disease that gave him sores all over his skin. Naaman was a soldier and a powerful general, and he wanted to get better. When he went to the prophet Elisha for healing, Elisha told him to wash seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman did that and got better! Jesus reminded the people that Naaman was not a Jew. He came from Syria.

By telling these stories, Jesus reminded the people listening to him that the good news was not just for them. God wants everyone to hear the good news of God’s love. The people weren’t happy to hear Jesus say that. In fact, they were so angry with him that they picked him up to through him off of a cliff near their town.

Jesus reminds us that the good news is not just for us. It’s for everyone. We shouldn’t just keep it to ourselves. If the good news is for everyone, then it’s for us, too, and no one can tell us that we don’t deserve to hear it. Amen.

The Bible Challenge: Week 4

Eight members of Christ Episcopal Church gathered tonight to continue The Bible Challenge (http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/what-is-the-bible-challenge/). If you are joining us, here are the readings for this week. Remember, you can choose Track 1 (All The Readings), Track 2 (Just the New Testament), Track 3 (The Psalms), or any combination thereof:

Monday, January 28th: Day 22 – Exodus 4-6; Psalm 18:21-50; Matthew 19
Tuesday, January 29th: Day 23 – Exodus 7-9; Psalm 19; Matthew 20
Wednesday, January 30th: Day 24 – Exodus 10-12; Psalm 20; Matthew 21
Thursday, January 31st: Day 25 – Exodus 13-15; Psalm 21; Matthew 22
Friday,  February 1st: Day 26 – Exodus 16-18; Psalm 22; Matthew 23
Saturday, February 2nd: Day 27 – Exodus 19-21; Psalm 23; Matthew 24
Sunday, February 3rd: Day 28 – Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church
On Monday, February 4th, the group will meet in the Sunday School building at 7:30 p.m. to discuss what we've read this week. In the mean time, or if you cannot join us this week, feel free to comment on this post with questions, thoughts, or whatever strikes you from this week's readings. If you comment, please remember to include your name in your comment.

Peace,

Nick Szobota +

Sermon for January 27th, 2013: "Fulfilling the Words"

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Luke 4:14-21

All quotations from scripture come from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, with the exception of the Psalms, which come from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. Not all scripture passages from the lectionary may be quoted or referenced in a given Sunday's sermon. For more information on the lectionary used in The Episcopal Church, please visit http://www.lectionarypage.net/.

“Fulfilling the Words”

The Rev. Nicholas S. Szobota

January 27, 2013
Christ Church, West River, Maryland

Third Sunday after the Epiphany

The years and centuries following the age of exploration brought Christian missionaries from Europe to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. As Empires expanded, the European churches sent people to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the native populations of these other parts of the world. Of course, one can look back and realize that negativity and harm went hand in hand with imperial expansion and missionary efforts. At the same time, the missionaries’ own perspective would no doubt have been that they had a call from God to do some good for others. They endured hunger, long journeys, poverty, and separation from loved ones in order to share the news of God’s love with people who deserved to hear that message.

The impulse to share God’s message comes to Christianity from its Jewish roots. While Judaism does not actively seek conversion of outsiders, the prophets of the Hebrew Bible shared God’s message with their own people. Such an occasion occurs in today’s reading from Nehemiah. Ezra the priest, assisted by Nehemiah the governor and religious functionaries called Levites, reads the law of God to the Jewish people gathered in Jerusalem. These people had just been restored to the Promised Land by the Persians, who had conquered the Babylonians in the late 6^th century B.C. The Babylonians had sacked Judah and Jerusalem in 586 B.C., forcing most of the Jews into exile throughout the Babylonian Empire. With the restoration of the Jews to their land by the Persians, Ezra reads the law to the people as a sort of parallel to Moses and Joshua proclaiming God’s law when the Jews first entered the Promised Land after escaping Egypt and wandering in the wilderness.

The people needed to hear the law again, because they had been living in exile away from the land for which that law was meant. While various scribes and other leaders provided the exiled Jews with ways to keep the law in their exile, many of the commandments involved sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. Without the temple and sacrifices, the Jews could not follow these laws as they had before their exile. This kind of interpretation forms the basis of the rabbinic Judaism that has marked Jewish religion from then until today. Note also that hearing the law has a communal element: Ezra and Nehemiah tell the people to provide food and drink for those who lack means, so that all the people will have some way to celebrate this renewal ceremony (Nehemiah 8:10). Upon hearing God’s law, the people act to support their neighbors in need.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus gives a similar reading of Hebrew scripture that provides people with a sense of God’s call to them and their need to respond with action. In the synagogue in Nazareth, he reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah:

            The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

This passage comes from Isaiah 61:1-3. The bulk of Isaiah comes from the 8^th century B.C., but the portion quoted here most likely represents some material added later. This text probably comes from the late 6^th century B.C., not long after the events described in today’s reading from Nehemiah (Anderson, Bernhard W. Understanding the Old Testament. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1998. p. 449).  Those who heard Jesus in the synagogue would have understood that God uses this kind of language to talk about restoring God’s people to the land that God promised them. The proclamation of good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed would speak to them of possible freedom from the Roman Empire, who was dominating Israel in their time.

Jesus’ hearers may have been excited to hear him say, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 14:21). Perhaps they believed that God would work through him to throw off the oppressive Roman Empire. In any event, they and we might question God about the fulfillment of the words from Isaiah. Today, two thousand years later, the world still grapples with problems of poverty, oppression, physical and spiritual blindness, and so on. How, if at all, have these scriptures been fulfilled?

I ponder how they have been fulfilled in my life. When I think about how God has touched my life, I recall the ways in which God has touched me through Christian people in the church. I’ve had the benefit of being a part of a church sense I was a toddler. The first people to teach me the stories of God’s love were my parents, who told me about Jesus and Mary and Noah even as I heard children’s stories about the three little pigs or Goldilocks and the three bears. At church, Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, and other mentors reinforced what I had started to learn at home. When I went to college, I was welcomed with open arms by the Episcopal Church located just off campus. I have found God’s promises fulfilled for me by the way God works through other people.

Each person here today might have a similar story. Who has been the fulfillment of God’s promises in your life? Once you think about that, think about how you might be that fulfillment for someone else: a neighbor or stranger in need, a member of your family, a friend. How might you proclaim God’s love for others? Often, that kind of thinking becomes just about how we might get more people into the pews. They are certainly welcome if they want to be a part of this church, but the proclamation of God’s love means more than just filling this church. The proclamation of God’s love means making a difference in people’s lives, and if people find the fulfillment of God’s promises in their lives that may very well lead them here.

Any piece of scripture, whether the laws read by Ezra or the prophecy of Isaiah read by Jesus, remains just words on a page without people to hear and respond. With no one to hear the laws of God’s love read by Ezra, the scriptures are just a text on a shelf. With no one to respond to the words of Isaiah, with no one to bring the word to fulfillment, it’s just a scroll. May God make us the fulfillment of these promises, as others have been for us. Amen.