Monday, July 27, 2015

God in the Mountains and Valleys

Isaiah 55:10-13 Luke 3:3-6

A Season of Creation is our theme for August. And what a wonderful place to live to celebrate the Creation of our Lord.  The flatirons just south and west of us are breathtaking every day. And the patches of snow that remain on our Rocky Mountain peaks remind us that the seasons are ever changing and that even though we are sweating in 90 degree heat now, we will be driving on winter roads before we know it.  And driving down any of our interstates or back roads will take you into magnificent canyons, plains and valleys.

So when we read the words of Isaiah 55, it's easy for us to see the world of which the prophet speaks. "For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there until they have watered the earth...so shall my word be...For you shall go out in joy... the mountains and the hills before you shall burs into song..."  We have all seen days when the mountains look as though they are singing.

And of course, that's not only the case here, it is the case all over God's world.  I grew looking at the mountains and valleys of East Tennessee, gazing into the distance at the Smoky Mountains.  Many of you have come from mountain and valley vistas far and wide as well, so you have our own visions of mountains shouting with joy, even as we all carry together our Rocky Mountain peaks in our minds.

It is important to stop and notice the amazing wonders that God has brought to us.  Genesis reminds us that all of creation is to be cared for by humankind, so we have a special responsibility to be careful and loving with the birds, the animals, the trees, the fish, the plants, all of life. That is one part of what we want to remember this Sunday and this month as we celebrate creation.

But another part of what we focus on as Christians is what we are called to do in the world.  Luke 3 reminds us in the words of John the Baptist that one is coming who will change everything. The mountains will be made low and the valley will be filled.  Nothing will be impossible and everything will have an equal voice.  Jesus, whom we are called to follow, changes our lives in ways that even creation tunes in to hear.  Jesus will come to give those who only reach up out of the valleys in despair an opportunity to stand on a mountaintop with him.

 Mark 16 says that we are to go into the world and proclaim the good news EVERYWHERE. Jesus is giving this as his final instructions before the ascension.  Suggesting that we are called to share our abundance everywhere. We are called to be kind to the earth everywhere. We are called to love our neighbor everywhere. We are called not to remain in our building, but to go into the world.

 As we know from the story of Jesus' earthly walk, this is not easy. It is extremely difficult. Jesus went to the cross because of the radical message he shared that the love of God is for all people, those in the valleys and on the mountaintops. Jesus told the rulers of his day that all people were significant and worthy of God's love.  Such a radical message, one that the world will not want to hear. It's easier keep people separated into camps of disgust and hate, rather than seeing that the world is designed to move from mountain to valley in one smooth landscape. And that we are designed to stay connected one to another.

Such is life, right?  We have mountain top highs where we know that God is right beside us and then we step out into a valley that is so low we reach up and pray God will see us and rescue us.  And the two do not seem to be connected at all, but rather very distinct and distant from one another.

How have you experienced mountains and valleys in your life?  Share a story of your own celebrations of nature. Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.  I would also welcome any .jpg photos sent to my email for a slide show of mountains and valleys on Sunday.

************

Two weeks from now, at 5:30 in the evening, we will gather near the mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park for an evening vespers service,   We will be up close and in person with God in our creation.  Make plans to be with us. Sign up at the church if you want to join a carpool or contact the church office at office@niwotumc.org

Monday, July 13, 2015

Rahab and the Battle of Jericho




Rahab is not a biblical villain. Not even close. She is so revered among bible characters that she ends up in the lineage of Jesus.  But, Rahab is certainly complicated. Because she isn't your typical person to get put into the lineage of Jesus. Usually those scribes and priests who are writing down biblical texts on papyrus would want the lineage of Jesus to be as pure and messiah-like as possible.  But, they put Rahab in it.  Rahab, who in this account of Joshaua, is called a harlot, a prositute.

Now those are not always the sorts of characters you want to associate with your King, your Messiah. So why Rahab?  Her story, first of all, is a story of a Savior. She saves some Israelite spies who have come to town to see how big the army is in Jericho.  She is a Canaanite, but saves these foreign spies.
In that same scene, she asks for them, in return, to save her family when the Israelites invade the city. So she saves foreign spies and she saves her family from the massacre that the foreign invasion will bring.

Secondly, she is strong and brave.  Some historians believe she is an innkeeper rather than a prostitute, because the scripture indicates the men came there to stay, which indicates that the place she lives and works is perhaps is a bar with rooms to stay.  There's probably room in this theory to assume she was both.  An innkeeper, the barkeep who also rents out rooms with or without a 'lady of the evening' for hire as well.  But she is strong and brave enough to think that she can not only hide these men successfully from the authorities, but also bargain with them to save her own skin and her family.  Not many women in that day and time would have been strong enough to take such risks.

So, even though her occupation is looked upon with eyebrows raised, she is a beloved figure in Jesus' lineage.  Someone to look up to and admire. Someone who took a set of circumstances that might have brought her only reproach and turned them into assets that bring her honor.

She also was willing to embrace the other. And she immediately, even if it is just to protect her family, calls out for protection from the one God of Israel, rather than any Canaanite god.  Maybe it is just a savvy way of being saved, but she assimilates well. The Israelites who came to overtake, she later is able to assimilate with, and even marry. She is listed in the Jesus lineage as being the wife of Salmon, who was believed to be one of the soldier spies she protected. This ends up making her the mother of Boaz, who marries that faithful woman of the bible, Ruth... which leads eventually to David. So she ends up in a royal lineage in the end.

Rahab is a complicated savior. Someone you would not have considered as a candidate for such as this. What sorts of unlikely saviors do we have around us today? Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org  or comment below.

Monday, July 6, 2015

"Judas and Betrayal: He's Not Alone"


Also, for additional reading, here is  a link to the translation of the document found that is believed to be The Gospel of Judas  made available online by the National Geographic Society.

One night at a Wednesday evening Bible study at another church about a decade ago, the group was discussing the disciple Peter, or maybe they were discussing the disciple Judas... I really can't remember, but the conversation led me to have a thought that I knew might be radical for the group I was in.

I raised my hand, anyway. I was in seminary; I had other thoughts than the direction this conversation was going! When called upon I said, "I really don't see that much difference in Peter and Judas.  I mean, they were both disciples and they both betrayed Jesus at the end."  There was a bit of awkward silence.  Then, the conversation redirected back to it's original space.

But I must tell you, I still don't see much difference.  I mean, Peter repented, yes.  But Judas doesn't even get a chance to repent in the Gospel of Mark. He betrays and is never seen again.  In Matthew 27 he actually does repent, tries to give back the money, and hangs himself in remorse.  And In Acts 1 he falls in the middle of a field that he has supposedly purchased with the money and his intestines explode. 

So, why do we vilify Judas?  In the end,  EVERY SINGLE DISCIPLE leaves Jesus alone to be arrested, whipped, crucified.. They all run away.  Some accounts suggest that there were women there who were likely considered disciples, too, but the beloved 12 are gone.

And, according to a recently discovered ancient manuscript some believe to be a lost non-canonical gospel, The Gospel of Judas, he is the most faithful disciple because he actually DOES get what Jesus means when he says he will be sacrificed and he, Judas, is the one who helps him make that happen.  He betrays him because Jesus wants him to and asks him to.  

So what do we make of the villain we have created out of Judas?  And how does his betrayal line up with the other disciples who also betrayed by sleeping, fleeing, and hiding?  

In what ways do we create Judases of our faith now? Who do we vilify in our current day because they seem to be betraying our faith?

Let's spend the week thinking about Judas.  Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below if you have thoughts. I would really enjoy hearing from you.