"The journey to the census wasn’t just about Jesus or his blood relatives. What if it was the body of Christ being counted? What if it was everyone who goes unseen and unaccounted for? What if every at-risk invisible child or homeless wanderer or anyone living out of reach of the community goes with Jesus into that census? "
See Megan MacKenna’s book Not Counting Women and Children for more reading on this biblical miracle. To read the full Bible study on Numbers and the persistent sisters, take a look at the ECLA study HERE.
“Some people love the butterfly to describe the Christian life. I do too. But the dragonfly…somehow the shock and revulsion of their change from their nymph bodies to their winged selves is a bit more like how it really is for us.
“Our character, our hope is seeded in suffering. So when Paul says to focus on the things of the Spirit, it’s not about avoiding our pain. Sometimes we make that mistake. But rather it’s about focusing on life eternal within the pain. ”
And so Paul figures that if sin is this powerful… that we can know what is good, we can know how to be unified, we can know how to pursue the voice of God instead of our idol worship, we can know we need to sacrifice for love of the enemy… if sin is so powerful that we can know all this and still not choose the righteous path nor even yearn for the righteous path, then we are going to need something stronger than sin, stronger than the human will in order to overcome its power, and that something is actually a someone…Who will rescue us from this body of death? Paul cries And the only answer he has is the crucified and risen Christ.
There are so many great resources out there that have informed this sermon. I rely heavily on our Bible study class for my Romans insights as well as the following scholarship: NT Wright’s commentary, the Jewish New Testatment, Luke Timonthy Johnson’s tome , The Writings of the New Testament. New research in neuroscience informs my understanding of fear and bias. Here’s a great interview on this relative to the pandemic with Jonathan Capehart and Jonathan Metzl. Keep in mind, this podcast has a center-left bend. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take away from the sociological insights. And Robin Diangelo presents some helpful ideas about knee-jerk reactions to racism conversations in her book White Fragility. None of these resources were not read uncritically with unquestioning acceptance of every idea or chapter. And I am happy to have conversation on them any time.
Your staff thanks you for the needed rest this weekend. You are so generous with us. We hope you feel empowered and nurtured by the Spirit through worship with our sister congregations throughout our Southwest California region. Blessings on this Father’s Day and thank you to everyone who made this regional digital experience possible.
“It is so very hard right now, but this will not last forever. It will end. I know you believe this too. Or if you do not, it’s okay because enough of us will believe for you.”
Place-Finders
Readings 22:00
Message: 31:32
Prayers: 41:44
Sermon Notes
Thank you, Rabbi David Wolpe, for you consistent inspiration during these trying times.
“Knowing you are worth something is everything. And we as a church are entrusted with that message – by Jesus we are called to bear the message that the most vulnerable are worth something, that the persecuted and punished, the broken and the beaten and the discarded are precious and foundational to the universe. ”
Place-Finders
Sermon 23:16
Prayers 38:09 Comm Time 44:01
Sermon Notes
The insight about abusive relationships and being black in America comes from this book — which I have yet to read but others recommend: James Cone — The Cross and the Lynching Tree.
Today is not just about reform or becoming more inclusive or becoming relevant or tweaking the worship to keep us all happy. Instead, it’s about the wholesale breakdown of every assumption of what it means to be church.
Sermon Notes
Thank you, Rev. Matt Keadle, for your ironical observations about our current Pentecost.
The story I quote today comes Rabbi David Wolpe and his minute long daily inspiration videos. To watch the whole clip, visit his project at Mt. Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.
