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.