Patience

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Lectionary Reading: Matthew 18:15-20 (NRSV)

As I assigned various Fruit of the Holy Spirit to the lectionary passages, I decided that this particular scripture was a good one to talk about patience.  You can look at it from both sides.  It would be difficult to be patient with someone who was obstinate in their wrong beliefs or behaviors.  Likewise, it would be difficult to be patient if you thought you were in the right and a group of people from the church were trying to correct you!  I'm not sure which would be more annoying!

Dictionary.com defines patience as "the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like."  While I'm old school and don't like it when you use the root word to explain the meaning, I thought they recovered pretty well!  I think we can be taught to bear provocation.  I think we can also be influenced to be too sensitive to irritants.  I believe stress has something to do with our ability to show patience with a person or situation.  In other words, when I'm stressed out or afraid, I have much less patience with people.

As Christians, our example should be Jesus Christ.  I believe his response to his own suffering and crucifixion showed an immense amount of patience as per the above definition.  The phrase, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" from Luke 23:34 reminds us of the composure Jesus showed on the cross.  How many of us when confronted unjustly in this manner from our enemies (you can picture them) would rather respond, "Father, get them; they're killing me!"

When this is the case, we are setting our minds on human things rather than divine things.

Sometimes rubbing a rock with the word on it
can actually be a good reminder for us!

So how can we show more patience with one another?  I think it is crucial during this time with everything that is occurring.  Since patience is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit, we must immerse ourselves in the Holy Spirit to show the world we are connected with God.  How do we do this?  I think that each person may do this differently.  All of us connect with God in a unique way.  But I also think that today's reading gives us a hint when Jesus says, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."  

When we gather together, we are going to disagree on some things.  It should be expected.  But we also recognize that if we begin to focus on disagreement, we will soon be standing alone.  It is better to focus on that with which we recognize and agree.  The love of Jesus Christ as our witness to the world becomes our focus.  If this was not true, it is much easier to send an offender packing than seeking to work with them in love.

We'll continue to explore this on Sunday - join us online or in person!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by M Cheung via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rest for your Souls

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Lectionary Reading: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (NRSV)

Many people may empathize with this feeling
even when we haven't done anything strenuous.

Sunday's reading of Matthew is much more popular than other passages.  Two weeks ago, the lectionary has Jesus uttering gem:

"whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me."                                                                  Matthew 10:38 (NRSV)

In contrast, Jesus tells us this week,

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.                                       Matthew 11:28 (NRSV)

Same person.  Even the same Gospel writer.  When held next to one another, which would you choose? 

Of course, context is important.  People that hold scripture up side-by-side without it, often miss the larger, wider point.  In today's reading, we see Jesus speaking to his disciples.  He's frustrated by the fact that many people may come to "ooh and aah" over his miracles but fail to take repentance seriously (check out verses 20-24 that are left out of the lectionary reading for some reason).  We can see this frustration in the first part of the reading.

Jesus must be wondering, "Why are people so obtuse?"  to somewhat quote Shawshank Redemption.  It's as if Jesus gives us an easy way to go but people stubbornly choose the hard way.  It may be how we are wired.

In his book on teenage boys, He's Not Lazy, Adam Price tells the following anecdote about one of his patients telling him the following:

"Whenever I have a paper to do, I tell myself, 'I'll let future Colin worry about it.  You can trust him.'  Then, the night before the paper is due I say, 'That past Colin is such a jerk.'"

We can smile at this story because we've all got a little Colin in us.  How do we willingly choose the easy path of Jesus?  What does this path even look like?  We know that discipleship is not easy.  It requires a lot of reading, praying and then acting upon what we've read and prayed about.  So how do we engage?  Especially when:

We are weary. 

We are heavy laden. 

We would like some rest that is untroubled.

I hope to explore this idea through our worship service on Sunday.  If you are joining us in person at Edmond, we would invite you to register ahead of time.  If you are joining us online, we would invite you to check-in your presence in some way by making a comment for others to see.  My hope for this sermon is not to just trot out some simple answer that may seem trite like, "Just pray more" which really translates as "Be more faithful."  We'll see what I come up with.  I'll try not to leave the sermon writing up to "Future Sam" even though we can all trust him!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Dennis Tai via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Reactions against the System

Scripture Reading: John 13:1-5 (NRSV)

I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, just months after the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy within the United States.  Although Minnesota had less diversity than it does today, there was still racial tension that touched our family.  This is to say that the current crisis was not born overnight.

I preached on May 17th a sermon detailing some of the history of racial injustice in our country.  As we find ourselves embroiled with protests surrounding the treatment of African-Americans in our nation, there are many people who don't know what to think.  Certainly, the murder of George Floyd on May 25th was horrific.  And it comes after other recent well-documented racist crimes in our country.

As I mentioned in the sermon, I believe that the tension of the coronavirus keeps us from observing our normal boundaries.  When human beings are under anxiety, they are often not on their best behavior.  If a person has racist tendencies, these may not come into play during a normal day.  But if there is undo stress in their lives, a racist act may be perpetrated.  This doesn't excuse or validate any act of racial injustice or violence.  It simply helps us understand why we may have been seeing these more frequently.

It is the same reason you are more likely to see signs of domestic abuse during times of stress.

As we look at family systems theory, we remember that all systems seek balance or homeostasis.  This balance can be healthy or unhealthy.  As we look at racial disparity in our country, we can see that it didn't just crop up overnight.  We have seen a slow arc toward equality for African-Americans in the United States.  The laws we have passed have helped to remind us of the equality needed.  But unfortunately, laws can have little teeth if they are not embraced by the majority in specific locations.

So it should be no surprise that we have a ways to go with regards to racial justice.  Many in the white community acknowledge that our country has a problem with racism but find the rioting, vandalism and looting that may accompany protesting dulls their appetite for justice regarding race.  It may be important to see these more troublesome aspects as a consequence of injustice.  Think of a boiling pot untended.

And just as a person under stress may act upon racist tendencies where they would normally observe boundaries, we can see the same anxiety move a person pushed to the edge to lash out.  If a person feels that there is no hope, they may want to burn it all down.  Then they feel that we are now on the same playing field.

As Christians, how do we respond?  

Within John's Gospel referenced above, we remember Jesus washing the feet of his disciples who would not be seen in his day as his equals.  He then invites us to keep this mentality regarding the rest of the world.  Jesus specifically gives us the new commandment,    

"Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."  (John 13:34b)

This doesn't mean that we allow violence to take place indiscriminately in response to the hopelessness and rage of the situation.  Rather, it means that we take the stance that we prevent the inequalities from happening and continuing in the first place.  We seek understanding and follow it with compassion seeking to bring lasting change for the better.

In this Christians seek God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We haven't always followed through with this if we are to be honest with ourselves.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" wrote in 1963, 

"I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

White leadership is often quick to quote Dr. King, acknowledging him as someone they respect and admire.  I read these words and they sting my pride because I have also remained silent perhaps too many times when an injustice didn't interfere with my own comfort.  I hope to never utilize Dr. King's words or movement to keep intact the status quo if the norm that I want to maintain is unjust.

I don't think keeping some people disadvantaged economically or maintaining different access to the rights guaranteed by our Constitution is the way to serve our neighbors.  It is not American and it is certainly not Christian.  

But we are a resurrection people.  This allows us to find and offer forgiveness to one another.  This allows us to move beyond repentance and on to reconciliation.  May it be so for us this day and every day.

Let us pray:

O Holy God, open unto me light for my darkness, courage for my fear, hope for my despair.

O loving God, open unto me wisdom for my confusion, forgiveness for my sins, love for my hate.

O God of peace, open unto me peace for my turmoil, joy for my sorrow, strength for my weakness.

O generous God, open my heart to receive all your gifts.  Amen.

Prayer by Howard Thurman, Civil Rights leader, 20th Century

Photo by David Geitgey Sierralupe via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Walking with God

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Reading: Psalm 23

Within Oklahoma, Governor Stitt has outlined a plan for houses of worship to reopen on Sunday.  At the same time, Bishop Nunn, who oversees the Oklahoma Conference, has determined that United Methodist churches in Oklahoma won't be reopening this early.  We will have further evaluation after May 17.  My guess is that we are looking more toward June for reopening the Edmond and Guthrie sanctuaries provided that coronavirus cases don't spike again.

We will do our best to communicate in advance when we will reopen as soon as a decision is made.

Even when we do our best, we often
break the six foot guideline in public.

I recognize that this is frustrating.  As the weather warms and we see more people getting outside, the urge to return to business as usual increases, especially in populations that are not statistically vulnerable to COVID-19.  A part of the reason for continued social distancing is to do no harm to those who may be vulnerable.  You may not wear the mask or keep six feet apart for yourself as much as for those you are trying not to infect.  As United Methodists, this is the first of John Wesley's General Rules: Do no harm.  The Center for Disease Control's guidelines for Social Distancing still instruct people to avoid mass gatherings and so we comply for the good of the whole.

We must be clear that even though the disease may wane in Oklahoma, it is still possible for people to catch it.  As we reopen businesses and see more mingling, we want to make sure that there is not a new surge of cases.  Even as we consider opening our church doors again, it is likely that guidelines will still be in place to leave every other pew open.  Our church nursery will not be available until we get the okay.  We won't be offering children's church until the nursery is available.  We won't be passing the peace with one another during worship and coffee and donuts won't be served before and after worship.  Offering plates won't be passed but rather people will deposit their offering as they exit the sanctuary.  The staff is still trying to figure out how we will offer Holy Communion while keeping everyone safe.

Some may look at this list and say, "Why bother?"  It is a part of the frustration we all feel in trying to get back to normal.  As Oklahomans, our economy is also impacted by the unbelievably low price of oil.  Even as the United States gained energy independence, our energy sector was driven by a certain amount of oil consumption.  With the pandemic, the demand for oil has dropped dramatically as people are not commuting to work, not traveling in airplanes or taking vacations on cruise ships.  This further complicates things for state economies that are enmeshed with the oil industry.

For many, this may be the last straw to set off frayed nerves.  It certainly can feel like the "Valley of the shadow of death" as per the King James version of Psalm 23.  So even though we are not able to meet in person, we are doing our best to offer the ability to worship as individuals or families as you shelter at home.  For those who don't have internet capability, we are happy to mail you a DVD of Sunday's service at no cost.  If you know of someone who doesn't have a DVD player, we have a limited number that were donated to help with our isolation.  Please leave a message on the church office phone at 405.341.0107 if you want to be added to the list.     

We are going to great lengths to provide worship because we recognize that our faith is vital to sustaining our spirits during this time.  On Sunday, we'll explore the most beloved of the Psalms.  As the Lord is our shepherd, it tests our faith to declare, "I shall not want" in a time when our desires are so evident.

I continue to pray for you as we seek to do what is right while at the same time looking to the safety of as many as possible.  If you're on Facebook, I would invite you to follow the Edmond and Guthrie church pages to easily find our online worship Sunday mornings at 11 am.  If you're not, I would invite you to subscribe to our Edmond YouTube page.  You can find Sunday's worship here.  If you watched on Facebook Sunday, you may have missed a surprise at the end of the service that you can see on YouTube!  Blessings to you as we move through this together!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Joey Bird via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 21

Scripture Reading: Acts 14:1-28 (NRSV)

Change is so hard.  Paul and Barnabas are putting forth changes that are difficult for the Jewish communities where they are preaching.  If we think about that setting, it is understandable.  They are still in the Galatian region where Jews would be a minority that suffered all of the things that would be standard for a religious minority in the first century.  

There can be a lot of emotion in a crowd.
Sometimes it can become dangerous.

The push against your religion from outside forces would be constant.  You would have Gentiles either making fun of you, ignoring you or outright persecuting you.  What's fascinating (if you can distance yourself to the pain the apostles were facing) is that Jews and Gentiles were stirred up against them.  Is this the case that some Gentiles felt like, "We're the only ones that can mess with the Jews" or were they God-fearers who had already adopted the Jewish faith?

Whatever the case, this didn't stop Paul and Barnabas from preaching the life-altering story of Jesus.

Later in Lystra, Paul heals a man crippled from birth.  Ironically, Paul who was Saul was named after the first king of Israel.  The original Saul had a grandson, Mephibosheth, who was crippled in his feet since he was five.  He was shown mercy by King David who might have seen Mephibosheth as a political threat (he would have had his own claim to the throne).

Following this miraculous healing, Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for the Greek gods, Hermes and Zeus.  This would not be surprising for a Gentile crowd since they would relate miracles to their own faith experience.  How else would we make sense of something supernatural than to relate it to what we know?

Paul and Barnabas have the appropriate apprehension to this misnaming.  Earlier in Acts when Herod Agrippa is mistaken for a god, he lets people assume what they want and we see a different outcome:

On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them.  The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!”  And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.                                                                            Acts 12:21-23 (NRSV)

We see the fickleness of the crowd as people like a good stoning as much as adoration.  Paul miraculously lives through people throwing rocks at him with the intent to kill after the crowd assumed him dead.

It is out of persecution that the church actually grows.  The apostles are beginning to appoint elders in each church to oversee the local work there.   If you were putting together a marketing plan to attract leadership, I would not put "likelihood of getting strung up" as a selling point.

When we see something true that moves us beyond ourselves, we are willing to die for it.  This is a part of the spirituality of humanity.  We are called to connect beyond ourselves.  To do so when we can see it provides deeper meaning for people's lives is worth the risk.  We say, "Sign me up."

Where do you encounter deeper meaning in your life?  What would an effective witness to this meaning from you look like in the world today?  Who might be opposed to it?

Prayer for the day:

O Lord, who seest that all hearts
are empty except Thou fill them,
and all desires balked except they crave after Thee;
give us light and grace to seek and find Thee,
that we may be Thine and Thou mayest be ours forever.  Amen.

Prayer by Christina G. Rossetti, England, 19th Century

Photo by Mike Lowe via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 18

Scripture Reading: Acts 12:1-25 (NRSV)

We see another Herod on the throne.  This passage refers to Herod Agrippa who came to power in A.D. 41.  He was the grandson of Herod the Great who Matthew describes orchestrating the massacre of the infants in Bethlehem.

We can see the family penchant to violence as Agrippa has James, the son of Zebedee killed.  We also see Peter arrested for the third time.  He is miraculously freed and this is the second time he has had an angel intervene in his incarceration.

The safe house where he finds himself may be the house of the writer of the Gospel of Mark.  When he shows up, and Rhoda reports that he was outside, they don't believe her.  Luke has shown this kind of doubt among believers before as women tried to attest to the resurrection in Luke 24:10-11:

Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

You would think they wouldn't be so surprised after they had already taken part in this kind of escape.

Peter decides to be prudent this time and moves to Caesarea which is on the coast.  Not a bad place to end up - I'm sure they need to hear the word just as much where there's an ocean view.

While Peter escapes to greener pastures, we see the ultimate demise of Herod Agrippa as he lets his ego get the best of him.  Josephus records this same story in Book 19 of his Antiquities of the Jews.  It is found in section two of chapter eight.

Sometimes beauty refuses to be caged.

Here we see Luke transition back to Saul with Barnabus and John Mark who was the son of the owner of the safe house where Peter stayed.

As this chapter unfolds, we see death but also miraculous release.  We see evil suffer its own consequences.  We see the witness to the world continue to expand in spite of opposition.

Today, the opposition may look different.  As a pastor, it feels very strange to close the church - even temporarily.  I especially find this a difficult proposition for worship.  Fortunately, in a digital age, we can continue to worship together online.  The opposition may be our inability to adjust.  There are parts of corporate worship that we'll miss.  If we deem online worship a little too strange, we won't bother to engage.  It won't capture 100% of our normal participants.  But it will also capture those who normally wouldn't show up in person.

What kind of miracle could come from all this?  Where will life be shared that otherwise may not have heard?  How can you participate in your faith in new ways that are helpful to you and to others?

Prayer for the day:

God, help us in our trust of your presence.
We are like the apostles in that when presented with a miracle, we scoff.
Could it be that while we are convincing ourselves that this couldn't possibly be happening, another may be transformed?
Open us to where you are still working in our lives - even today, amidst all the fear and frustrations.
And when we find opposition to our faith, may we have to look outside ourselves to find the source.
Amen.

Photo by Hendrik Wieduwilt via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 16

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:24-48 (NRSV)

Peter meets up with Cornelius in today's reading and I find it interesting that he begins to worship Peter.  If he really thought he was divine, it seems a bit presumptuous to have those under you to fetch him to you rather than go to him.  This makes me re-evaluate how I treat God on a daily basis.

It may be surprising to see how Jews really thought of Gentiles.  The sense of separation that they were supposed to have was from one school of thought within Judaism.  That was the sense that they were set aside as a holy people.  To interact with Gentiles would profane them and thus their ability to be God's covenant people.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6 lines this out quite clearly with lines that stand out when interacting with outside tribes like, "you must utterly destroy them", "show them no mercy", and "do not intermarry with them".  Of course, this reads differently if you are a minority, persecuted people.

Another school of thought was the idea that God's people were to be a light to the nations.  This occurs within the Suffering Servant passages in Isaiah that many Christians reinterpret to represent Jesus.  So it is no surprise that Christianity tends to fall more along the lines of this philosophy.  We see it as we are to witness to the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 42:6-7 reads:

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
    I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
    a light to the nations,
       to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
    from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Of course, this sounds like the ministry of Jesus.  Would it be that much of a stretch to see the Gentiles as a people imprisoned "who sit in darkness"?

So when you have two schools of thought that sometimes clash, something has to give.  For Peter, it is their separation from Gentiles.  When he states that "God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" in verses 34-35 of chapter 10 of Acts, we see him putting the controversy over God-fearers to bed.  There must have been some who would have questioned whether God would even hear the prayers of a Gentile in that day.  There always seems to be this limiting of God as we have had prominent Christian pastors question whether God receives the prayers of Jews today.

This understanding that God is universal is a part of the theology of prevenient or preceding grace.  It is a generosity of spirit and allows for God to be present in places that may be foreign to you. 

Jesus reminds us, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold."

So when Peter asks the question, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" it reminds us of the similarly loaded question that the Ethiopian eunuch asked of Philip.  Luke includes these questions in Acts because they are still being worked out practically in the churches of that day.  Some people would say "No, of course not" but others would undoubtedly say, "Yes, they are heathens and undeserving of baptism."

This would have us ponder the entire idea of grace.  Who does deserve baptism?

I do like the wonderful reminder as a United Methodist within our doctrinal document, By Water and the Spirit, which states, "There are no conditions of human life that exclude persons from the sacrament of baptism." 

While this may be aspirational for us today, I do think it is good to lift up what we're striving for and see that it comes from our very beginnings as a church.

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, 
it is through the Sacrament of Baptism
that you initiate us into Christ's holy Church.
We are incorporated into your mighty acts of salvation
and given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is your gift, offered to us without price.
May we reaffirm our faith and renew the covenant declared at our baptism,
acknowledging what you are doing for us,
and affirming our commitment to Christ's holy Church.
Amen.

Prayer adapted from The United Methodist Church's Introduction to the Baptismal Service.

Photo by Jeff Ashton via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 14

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:23-43 (NRSV)

We see the tables turned for Saul.  Where he was once the hunter, now he becomes the hunted.  It doesn't take long for us to see the words of Jesus to Ananias come to fruition: "I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

Paul's own words from his second letter to the Corinthians verify Luke's account of his escape:

In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.

We see that Saul's introduction to the apostles in Jerusalem is not a smooth one.  Evidently, they didn't have the same vision from Jesus that Ananias did.  Barnabas makes his second entrance in Luke's account of the church as a character witness for Saul.  He was introduced in chapter 4 as a Levite from Cyprus and who donated the money from the sale of a field to the work of the church.  He will later partner with Saul/Paul in their efforts to witness to the world.

I'm not sure that the apostles knew what to do with Paul and so they send him back to his home of Tarsus.  Whether this was for his safety or theirs, Luke doesn't say!

We'll get back to Paul but right now our focus shifts to Peter.  His witness to the resurrection is punctuated by resurrection.  While Peter's redemption might not be as contrasting as Paul's, we do remember in Luke's Gospel that Peter declared to Jesus, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

Now Peter is beginning to perform miracles just as Jesus did.  He heals a man paralyzed and then raises Tabitha from the dead.  The command for her to get up reminds us of when Jesus raises the daughter of Jairus from the dead:

And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!”  Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. 

Restoration to society is a key part of the Christian witness.

We also remember within that story that Jesus had just come from an encounter with a woman who was bleeding for twelve years.  She touches him and this should make him ritually unclean.  However, she is healed and Jesus then goes on to restore a girl to life.  It seems that contact with Jesus makes one clean rather than the opposite.

We see that with Peter as he provides healing.  The last thing we hear is that he was staying with another man named Simon but rather than a fisherman, this Simon was a tanner.  Tanners were considered unclean due to their profession of stripping the hides from animal corpses.  Leviticus 11:35, 39-40 emphasize this officially:

Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you.  If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.  Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening; and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.

This would make it difficult for this profession to ever be considered clean.  And this is where Peter chooses to stay?  It seems that Christianity is about restoring the outcast into society.  How does the church continue to provide restoration today?  What kind of resurrection can we provide for a society that seems to be moving ever more toward isolation?

Prayer for the day:

O God, you have ordered this wonderful world
and know all things in earth and in heaven.
Give us such faith that by day and by night,
at all times and in all places,
we may without fear commit ourselves
and those dear to us
to your never-failing love,
in this life and in the life to come.  Amen.


Prayer from the United Methodist Service of Committal

Photo by Αναστασία Slow for the Summer via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.