Living with the Promise

Our narrative lectionary study group at Seneca Pres met for the first time Wednesday night- and it was marvelous! We started talking about the amazing Abraham, and the questions, comments, wonderings, and praise just kept flowing. We were amazed by his faith, wisdom, and courage. We were encouraged by his humanity. Trying to pass Sarah off as his sister -not once but twice - give me a break! (We also decided it was quite remarkable for Sarah to be considered "drop dead gorgeous" in her 70s.) We wondered about Ishmael and Hagar. Just what was Abraham's relationship to his first son? Then we realized how very differently we read this story after sharing conversation with Muslim brothers and sisters. We decided that without faith, nothing in the story would have been possible. We were grateful for a God who can take ordinary people and do extraordinary things with their lives.

So what is your take on Abraham? He was the first of the great patriarchs - and being first at anything isn't easy. Even though he was known for some impressive military victories as he rescued his nephew Lot, some high-level diplomatic debating as he tried to convince God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, and some shrewd business maneuvers as he came away from his encounters with other kings a wealthy man - throughout the ages what distinguishes him is his faith. It was a faith that trusted in an unseen promise and a faith that trusted even more in an unseen God - a God whose promise - if only for a moment - was more important to him than his own son.

As we gather for worship at Seneca Presbyterian Church this Sunday, would you ponder with me:

• How did Abraham know to trust the voice he thought was God? 
• How lonely was the journey? 
• How often did he doubt? 
• What is the essence of faith for you and how do you hold to it as best you can? 
• If God can be partners with a man like Abraham, what might God have planned for you? 

The Big, Big Story

Could you state the heart of the Christian Gospel in only seven words? That was the challenge editors of the Christian Century put to a plethora of Christian leaders, preachers, and theologians. The point was simple: in a time of tweets and sound bites, Christians should be able to articulate the heart of faith in a simple and straightforward statement that is understood by all. Simple - not simplistic. And perhaps that's where the challenge lurks. Let me share just a couple of the entries. Writers were allowed to elaborate on their statements - in a few sentences. If you are curious, you can find all the efforts at www.christiancentury.org/7words - including the explanations.

• God gets the last word. (Martin Copenhaver) 
• We are who God says we are. (Nadia Bolz-Weber)
• God was born. We can be reborn. (Carol Howard Merritt) 
• In Christ, God's Yes defeats our No. (Beverly Roberts Gaventa)
• God refuses to be God without us. (Will Willimon)
• Israel's God's bodied love continues world-making. (Walter Brueggemann)

This Sunday at Seneca Presbyterian Church, as we begin our journey with the narrative lectionary, we will look at the heart of Hebrew and Christian faith. Two scripture texts will guide the discussion: Deuteronomy 26: 5-10 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. These two passages contain what Walter Brueggeman calls the "primal narrative" - the heart of faith, the foundation from which we begin. As we do, I pose these questions to you:

• If you had the challenge of teaching the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation to someone who had never heard any of it, and were limited to only five stories, which ones would they be? 
•  As a Christian, what story from the Hebrew scriptures is most important to you? 
•  What would your "Gospel in seven words" be? 

A New Season for Study Together

First off, I want to thank the people of Seneca Presbyterian Church for allowing me a week away for study. I realize it can be confusing to folk when the preacher is away but is not on vacation. Yet I am glad our Presbyterian traditions allow such things. It truly is a blessing!

 A major portion of my time this week has been spent with sermon planning for the remainder of the year. I had already decided to use a new tool in my preaching, and this week was a good time to get to know that tool better.  It's called the Narrative Lectionary. Weekly preaching is hard enough, but having the added burden of selecting a text for preaching can double up on the challenge. That's why so many preachers use THE Lectionary- namely the Revised Common Lectionary -  as their guide for preaching. A wealth of wonderful resources have been created that support preaching from those texts. They are so rich and deep that deviating from that lectionary is a bit dangerous. Yet it is a direction I've decided to take - at least for the coming year. Why?

Because the narrative lectionary is designed to see the big picture of the biblical story each year. It begins with the Old Testament in the fall, moves to focus on a Gospel between Christmas and Easter, and finishes up with texts from the early Church (Acts and the epistles) in the spring. It made perfect sense to me when I first saw it because that is precisely what I tried to do when I was an editor of children's curriculum. We all need a sense of the biblical story in sequence. We need to see just what God is up to in the world, and how that plan and purpose have been active since the moment of creation. If we can see that past, we can affirm the future - that God is not finished with us just yet. The God we have seen is the God we will continue to see, and the plan we have known is the plan we will continue to experience, until that moment when "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ."

The Narrative Lectionary also has excellent resources for beginning the study of its texts each week. We plan to use them at Seneca Presbyterian. Each Wednesday evening, a group will gather to study the text for the following Sunday. They can prepare by listening to the weekly podcast and reading the weekly posting - both found at www.narrativelectionary.org. Then we'll study the text together - something of what I had hoped this blog would do, only this way will be face-to-face.

It's an experiment - but I hope it will nurture dialogue in preaching - not just monologue. Actually maybe it's trialogue - or even more. The text, the preacher, those who study with me - and the Spirit. You can see our unique schedule of study by clicking on the Narrative Lectionary page on this blog.

You can also read much more about the narrative lectionary on its web site. Click on the link in the right column in front of you. This resource comes from Luther Seminary and is part of the web site called Working Preacher.org. Thank you Lutherans for providing this terrific resource for the Church.