Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017, Pentecost 23 (full size gallery)
We had 38 in the service on a much colder Sunday after the front came in Friday. Today’s weather was generally cloudy with some sunlight slipping in though at one time the sun came out briefly illuminating the altar.
We began Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol and the Bible" with 5 in attendance. We studied Dickens’ background as well as the Stave 1 (Chapter 1) in relationship to the Bible. It was apparent that much of his life is reflected in the book. We found numerous references to the Bible and passages that reflected his rearing in the Church of England and influence of Unitarianism, popular in the early 19th century.
We recognized 7 Veterans with the Book of Common Prayer – "Heroic Service"
"O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Birthdays celebrated this week included Kimberly, Susan, and Jim.
We have received 5 Samaritans purse shoe boxes. Next Sunday, Nov. 19 is the final collection of that and also the men’s donations for three Thanksgiving families.
The Sermon was about the Gospel. (The readings are here. The emphasis was being prepared for the second coming using a battery illustration. We have to recognized that some things we do for good may not be what God wants from us. "Sometimes, even the good things in our lives that we choose to do keep us from doing the most important thing that we as Christians are called to do in this world—to light the way of God so that people can see God at work in this world, even when God seems to be missing in action."
"God wants us to say YES to the things that God has always required of God’s people—that the Old Testament prophets demand—to do justice so that it rolls down like powerful cleansing water into the injustices of this day, to love kindness in the face of evil, to walk humbly with God and to live in right relationship with God and with one another. We Christians can do that by respecting the dignity of every human being for starters. To fully say YES to what is important to God, so that God can ultimately say YES to us, the word NO then becomes a necessity in our lives."
"Some NOs are obvious—we hope we would say NO to those things we face that clearly separate us from God and from one another; Focus on our own material success can distract us from doing God’s work if we forget about justice for others as we seek riches only for ourselves, often at the at the expense of others that we choose to know nothing about. Other NOs we need to say are harder to say—because we may have to say NO to a lesser good in order to accomplish the greater good that God has called us to do as God’s children of light in this world. Am I paying more attention to my own pleasures and entertainments than to God’s desire for me to work for God’s justice and righteousness in the world? "
"God does not want us to be distracted by these other things that constantly threaten to take our time and to leave us unprepared to receive the good things that God longs to give to all of us. Along with Holy Scripture, The Book of Common Prayer contains centuries of wisdom in its pages. This book is like my father-in-law’s handy battery drawer, always full, accessible, and containing the batteries we need for the light to find and show God’s way in this world."
Commentary this week is by David Lose on Matthew 25:1-13 – "Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids". This is the first Sunday of 3 on the subject of judgment as we approach the end of Year A on Nov. 26.
Tom Petty’s song "The Waiting" rings true here- “The waiting is the hardest part. Every day you see one more card. You take it on faith, You take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part.”
"In her commentary on Working Preacher, Dr. Susan Hylen offers what I found to be a really helpful insight:
‘the point of the parable is not constant readiness. “Keep awake” does not imply that the disciples should never sleep, standing vigil through the ages for Christ’s imminent return. In fact, all of the bridesmaids, wise and foolish, are asleep when the shout announces the groom’s approach.
What is distinctive about this parable is its focus on the delayed return of the expected one. The passage does not simply call for right action in the groom’s absence. It calls for recognition that he may be delayed.’
"By the time Matthew wrote this parable, the discipleship community may have been waiting for Jesus’ return for fifty years or more. Most of the eye-witnesses were likely dead. The church had spread, but it had also been oppressed. The Temple revered by both the Jews who confessed Jesus and those who did not had been destroyed, wreaking havoc on Jewish and Christian communities (sometimes worshiping together) alike. Where was Jesus? Yes, the waiting is the hardest part.
"Given the anxiety experienced by the Thessalonians (which Paul tries to address in the appointed epistle reading) thirty years earlier, it’s understandable that Matthew would offer a series of parables underscoring both the need for preparedness and the difficulty of waiting. Now extend that challenge two millennia forward to our communities and you can appreciate how little sense it will make to twenty-first century communities to speak about waiting or preparing for Christ’s return, the delay of which already perplexed and vexed first-century communities. The apocalyptic imagination of the earliest Christians (including Paul), even if tempered by a half-century of delay (Matthew’s situation), has dissipated significantly in the two thousand years since.
"And yet the difficulty of waiting is still present. Perhaps more than ever, as we live in a culture where delayed gratification is nearly intolerable and any waiting is often seen as a waste of time.
"I have suggested before that the theme of “waiting” may be a helpful approach to this challenging parable, and will do so again, highlighting this time that not all waiting is the same. Waiting for something good – the birth of a healthy child, the closing on the house of your dreams, the promotion in a job or acceptance from college – is a lot different than waiting for something that is hard – waiting to see if this time you will be able to get pregnant, or for the foreclosure of your home because you couldn’t make the payment, or the doctor’s report confirming that the cancer has returned. And whether you are waiting for something good or bad, when the anticipated arrival is delayed, it’s almost always anxiety-provoking: why haven’t I heard from the college admissions office? Have they arrived safely? When will we hear from the doctor? The waiting, indeed, is the hardest part.
"Perhaps, then, two responses. When the waiting is for something positive, can we slow down to see in the moments of preparation and anticipation blessing. Once it’s here – the baby, the job, the acceptance, life will take on its own new and likely hectic timing. Can waiting at times be seen as gift rather than obstacle? Perhaps practice in waiting for those things we look forward to can help us to increase our patience and perseverance in other areas.
"When waiting is not for something positive, or when it is made harder by delay, can we assure people that they will not wait alone? The obvious tragedy in the parable is that five of the bridesmaids took no oil at all. They didn’t run out. They just didn’t bring any, making no plans, anticipating no delay. Surely there is something to learn here. But the less obvious, but also poignant, tragedy is that the five who had brought “flasks of oil” would not share. Why do they assume there will not be enough for all? The announcement of the groom’s imminent arrival had already been sounded, after all. Can we also learn from the wise but ungenerous bridesmaids and not force people to wait alone, so that no one in our communities has the isolating experience of being locked out?
"We often wonder what we can do as communities of faith to make what we offer more attractive to a culture increasingly disinterested with organized religion. Might we offer ourselves as a community that…. Wait, maybe that’s enough! Can we offer ourselves as a genuine community in a world where more and more people feel isolated? A community that celebrates together. That slows down to prepare together. And that waits together, making sure when the waiting is the hardest part that no one – not one person – has to wait alone? The waiting is the hardest part. We can’t change that reality, but we can change the experience by waiting together, in Christian solidarity, community, and fellowship."