Most Highly Favored Lady

It's my Friday hibernation day when I try to pull together thoughts that will somehow create a sermon for the saints of Seneca Presbyterian Church - for good or ill. This week I've been pondering the Annunciation - that wonderful story when Gabriel visits Mary to tell her that she is to be - or ask her if she would be (the distinction is significant) -  mother to the Christ child, to the one we know as Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, the very presence of God in human flesh and blood.

As Protestants we come to Mary with a very different perspective than our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. Certainly she is a remarkable human being. Certainly it is a mystery why God chose her of all women to be the mother of the Messiah. Certainly the story and the theological truths behind the story are fascinating and rich.

But as I begin this day of pulling together my thoughts, I am fascinated by the word "favored." I'm also intrigued that when the angels announce the Good News to the shepherds, our modern translations say "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those whom he favors."  Just what does it mean? Have you ever felt "favored"? Does God "play favorites"? How does God intend for us to understand what it means to be favored?

So tell me - what do you think it means to be "favored" by God? 

Lessons and Carols

Coming this Sunday to Seneca Presbyterian: a service of Lessons and Carols! It has been our tradition in the past several years to include this service on the third Sunday of Advent. Once again, we highlight the ministry of music in worship, and once again we owe a great thank you to all our musicians in the chancel choir and the hand bell choir. We especially thank their leaders: Emmalyn Frye, choir director, Stan Hinton, organist, and Martha Holleman, director of the hand bell choir.

So... what do you know about the tradition of Lessons and Carols? Here are some facts:

• The tradition comes to us from Kings College in Cambridge, England.
• It began in 1918 as a way to add new vitality to Anglican (The Church of England) worship.The tradition has continued ever since. If you have access to a NPR station around 10:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve, you should be able to listen in to a live broadcast (traditionally beginning at 3:00 p.m. England time). 
• The service tells the story of our faith through the reading of nine biblical lessons, beginning with the fall of humanity in Genesis, continuing through the promise of the Messiah in Isaiah, and culminating in the birth of Jesus. Each lesson is followed by an carol by the choir or a hymn sung by the congregation - or both.
• The service traditionally begins with the singing of "Once in Royal David's City." The first verse is always sung as a solo by a member of the boys choir and for many has the effect of announcing the advent of that holy night. In order to avoid undue anxiety, the selected chorister isn't told until just before the service begins. Can you imagine what it must be like to get that last minute "nod"?

The Anglican worship tradition is "high on liturgy." Our Presbyterian/Reformed worship tradition is high on preaching. Too often, we think of that choice as either/or rather than both/and. Because John Calvin was such a educator, we Presbyterians have always placed great importance and emphasis on the sermon. Sometimes that leads to thinking that liturgy is just a bunch of dead words in a dusty book. Yet for me, traditions and words that have been spoken across the ages by thousands upon thousands of faithful worshipers have great power to lead us into the presence of God.

What do YOU think? 

"The Grass Withers..."

Sunday takes us to the second Sunday of Advent where the typical focus is on John the Baptist. But let's look instead to the magnificent words of Isaiah 40 - words that the Gospel writers echo when they refer to John as the herald who prepares the way. The Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah has been called the "fifth Gospel." Its words especially sing throughout the Advent season. Who can read "comfort ye my people" without hearing Handel's music singing along?

As I prepare to share this text with you on Sunday, you can help me. In verse 6 a frustrated prophet declares: "All people are grass... The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it." What do you think?

• When have you felt like grass? 
• When have you felt withered and trampled upon? 
• What does it feel like to be abandoned by God? 
• Where did you find life and hope? 

I welcome your responses; they can truly help me in my preaching - and if you'd rather not share them with everyone, just let me know. My preferences are set up to review all  comments before they are posted.

The Gift of the Church Year

It's Christ the King Sunday - almost. This Sunday marks the climax of the church year before we begin all over again on the first Sunday of Advent. Growing up as a Baptist, the church year was a foreign concept to me. Perhaps that's one small reason why it's so fascinating now. When incarnation becomes real, when we realize that we worship a God who is still active in our world, the church year isn't just a collection of lovely rituals. It is living history. The past is present and the future is now!

What we think of as a fixed calendar actually evolved over time - from three separate festivals - Easter, Pentecost, and Epiphany - to two complete cycles:
The Paschal/Easter Cycle - telling the story of death and resurrection with Lent as a time of preparation and the great Fifty Days as a season of celebration culminating with Pentecost.
The Incarnational Cycle - telling not just the story of the birth of the Messiah, but those amazing moments when that divinity shines through humanity - the adoration of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. Ironically, in the history of evolution of the church year, the season we celebrate first was the last to be added - Advent.

If you need a reminder of the basics, here they are:
Advent: four weeks before Christmas
Christmas: 12 days of celebration between December 25 and January 5
Epiphany: January 6 and the season after leading up to Lent
Lent: 40 days of preparation for Easter - not counting the Sundays
Easter: the high holy days of Christian faith including the great Three Days - the Triduum - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday PLUS the Great Fifty Days that follow.
Pentecost: fifty days after Easter marking the coming of the Holy Spirit of power upon those first Christians and the season after leading us back to Advent

We are going to sing through the church year on Sunday - along with celebrating the gift of music. So - let me know: which season delights you best? What traditions have you known that drew you into the mystery and wonder of any of these seasons and celebrations in the gift of the church year?

Numbers in the Joseph Story

You've been patient with me during a very busy week at Seneca Presbyterian Church. My apologies for not posting this week. But - as we finished up with the Joseph story this morning, I posed the following number questions from the Joseph story. Check and see if you knew the right answers.
What is the number of:

• Jacob's sons - 12
• Joseph the dreamer (age) - 17
• Joseph, second only to Pharaoh (age) - 30
• Joseph forgotten by Pharaoh's butler (years ) - 2
• Years of abundance - 7
• Years of famine - 7
• Number of dreams - 6 
• Number of sons who travel to Egypt from Canaan - 10
• Number of portions for Benjamin at Joseph's feast - 5
• The span of Joseph's life (years) - 110 

Thank you for your gracious attention to this series. The stories of Joseph the dreamer are fascinating - and open to a variety of interpretations. Feel free to post YOUR reflections on "the end of the story." 

The Kid Makes Good

Happy Thursday morning! We are back in the Joseph story for this Sunday at Seneca Presbyterian Church - and dreams figure prominently once again. This time they carry an ominous meaning. If not heeded Egypt - and the world around - will experience a famine that would be a threat to life including the lives of God's family and Joseph's. But with  wisdom supplied by God, Joseph is able to interpret the dreams and avert disaster. Read Genesis 41 for the details. Then ponder these questions - and share your reflections, please.

• Who is responsible for averting disaster - Joseph or God? In other words, how do divine revelation and faithful human action combine? 
• How does God reveal God's divine will to those in seats of power and authority, in Joseph's day and in our own? 
• What moral responsibility do those in power have for those they rule - according to the biblical standard? 
• Should we be suspicious of "Pharaohs"? Who are the pharaohs of our world? 
• The seventeen-year-old Joseph has grown and matured. What evidence to you see of that and what experiences do you think had the greatest impact? 
• We have skipped over chapter 40, but you might like to read it through. It provides a scene that sets up Joseph's rise to power. Apparently ancient Israel was fascinated by life in Pharaoh's court.Chapter 40 introduces us to two men with vastly different opinions of life around the seat of power. 

I wonder...

• what Pharaoh thought of Joseph's God? 
• why Pharaoh was willing to share so much power with Joseph? 
• how Joseph's faith was impacted when he married the daughter of an Egyptian priest?
• how God can preserve life in our world by relying on human faithfulness? 

The ancients set great store on the power of dreams to communicate divine will. Have you ever experienced a dream that you believed to be a direct revelation from God? 

What the Dying Teach the Living

It has been a very busy week around Seneca Presbyterian Church - full of good meetings with great people who care about this church and God's kingdom. But this pastor has been distracted, so this post for Sunday is coming very late in the week. This Sunday we will be diverting just a bit from Joseph in order to celebrate All Saints Sunday. I will be reflecting on the experience of dying and what it teaches us, especially as we approach death from the perspective of our Christian faith. So even on Friday, you can help me by reflecting with me. Here are some questions to spur your thinking.

• Have you ever experienced a "good dying"? If so, what made it so?
• What have you learned about how to face death that supports the one who is dying and strengthens friends and family for the long journey of grief ahead of them?
• What lessons for your own life do you take from the privilege of walking with another person in the journey of death?
• How has experiencing death deepened your faith?

I thank you for reflecting with me.

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord.Those who believe in me,

even though they die, shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me

shall never die.

The Saintly One

This Sunday, October 23, when we gather for worship at Seneca Presbyterian Church, we will find Joseph facing a moral challenge. Potiphar, the captain of the guard, has made Joseph overseer of his household. It is a position of authority and responsibility. Read Genesis chapter 39 to get the entire story, then consider these questions:

• Has the "self-centered brat" we met in chapter 37 changed? If so, why and how?
• The rabbis call Joseph "the saintly one." Do you agree? Why or why not?
• Why do you think Joseph refuses "Mrs. Potiphar"? Are you surprised that he does?
• God's presence seems to imply success and blessing. We read in verse 3: "The Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands." How does that formula fare when applied to your life and the lives of those you know? How do you discern and even measure signs of God's presence in your life, even in the ordinary days of your life?

I am reading Richard Rohr  Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life in conjunction with this sermon series. Rohr is a Franciscan priest who has written and spoken extensively on spirituality. This is his latest book and it traces the development of our spiritual lives through both the tasks of the first half of our lives, our transition to the second half - often through shadows, darkness, and stumbling - and into the fullness of the second half of life. It's interesting read! Some questions that it prompts for me:

• What are the challenges that deepen faith? 
• Does it take a challenge so deep that it could destroy faith in order to strengthen it?  

Rohr thinks so: He writes: 'There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be at least one situation in our lives that we cannot fix, control, explain, change, or even understand." What do you think?
 
Let me hear from you! 

Joseph: Day One

Today the saints of Seneca Pres started a journey with Joseph. I was impressed with the knowledge base of my congregation - for I heard many correct answers to these basic questions about Joseph and the book of Genesis. The questions, with answers, are:

1) The history of the Hebrew people is told through the lives of the Patriarchs whose stories are found in Genesis. Name them. 

• Abraham
• Isaac
• Jacob

2) All the following happens in the book of Genesis except:  
Abram leaves home. yes (Abram and Sari leave both Ur and Haran.) 
The Hebrews leave Egypt: no (That happens in Exodus);
Twins are born: yes (Jacob and Esau);
A firstborn son is sent away from home: yes (Abraham's firstborn son Ishmael and along with his mother Hagar)

3) Name 12 persons from the book of Genesis, including at least four women.
The possibilities are numerous, but here are some of the most intriguing ones:
Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah (and his wife), Shem, Ham, and Japheth (and their wives), Abraham and Sarah (also known as Abram and Sarai), Lot, Melchizedek, Hagar and Ishmael, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah, Laban, the twelve sons of Jacob (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin), Dinah, Tamar, Potiphar (and his wife), and Pharaoh.

4) Name at least one dastardly deed done by Jacob.
For starters, he tricked his brother into selling his birthright, deceived his father, and stole his brother's blessing. 


5) Joseph is the son of Jacob and Rachel. His only full brother was Benjamin.

6) Joseph is famous for two reasons. He knew how to interpret dreams, and his father gave him a coat of many colors.