A Sabbath Healing

To play the audio, just click the play button above at left.  To download, click the "On the Road" title in yellow in the box above, which will take you to a site where you can download it as an mp3 file.  If you see no image above or the audio will not play, click here for the audio.    

We're discussing the texts for August 25, 2013 - particularly Luke 13:10-17 and Isaiah 58:9b-14.

We've been "On the Road" following Jesus through the gospel of Luke all summer.  Here in chapter 13, the passage we're looking at, Jesus is teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath.  It would've been easy enough for us to go to the local synagogue or our own sanctuary, but as we have all summer, we tried to think of a place in our community that tied in to the themes of the text and the people Jesus meets. 

So we found ourselves at the hospital, RMH - not to visit parishioners, but to reflect on these texts in the context of healing and Sabbath.  Do you or someone in your family work on Sundays?  For people at RMH, this is a necessity, as in many fields, and for others who simply do not have the luxury of having Sundays off. 

What does Sabbath mean to you?  Tell us, here in the comments, on facebook, or in person...  Is it always Sunday?  Is it holy?  I find it interesting that this program I am typing in automatically capitalizes Sabbath, though nothing else I can think of - not god, lord, sunday, etc. . .  Maybe it says something about what I think of Sabbath that I wouldn't capitalize it! 

The other major theme in these readings is healing.  Many of the same questions emerge as with other healing texts of Jesus.  Is this a two-part healing - her sins and then her physical ailment?  Why is she healed and not my loved one?  What does it mean to be healed?  The woman's reaction and nothing more about her is noted - what is the rest of her story?  Or is nothing else noted about her because the real ones needing healing are the synagogue leaders?

Always blessed to hear your thoughts - this is just the start of a conversation!  Share with your family or a friend - ask them what they think about healing - or Sabbath . . . A

"I came to bring fire to the earth"

To play the audio, just click the play button above at left.  To download, click the "On the Road" title in yellow in the box above, which will take you to a site where you can download it as an mp3 file.  If you see no image above or the audio will not play, click here for the audio.    

We're looking ahead to the bible texts for this Sunday, August 18.  The texts are Luke 12:49-55, Jeremiah 23:23-29, and Hebrews 11:29-12:2.

Did you read those verses in Luke?  What images does all this talk of fire and division bring up for you?  How does it make you feel?

We tend to think of Jesus as a fairly placid figure - peaceful, calm even in conflict.  But in this passage, we are reminded of Jesus' humanity, and here he says "what stress I am under!" 

Division is a part of the human condition, and conflict can be a healthy part of renewal and taking a stand for what is right.  We find it a powerful witness that Muhlenberg is a place where we may be divided on many things but we are united in Christ around one Lord, one baptism, one table... 

Come, Holy Spirit. 

Sell your possessions?

To play the audio, just click the play button above at left.  To download, click the "On the Road" title in yellow in the box above, which will take you to a site where you can download it as an mp3 file.  If you see no image above or the audio will not play, click here for the audio.    

We're looking ahead to the bible texts for this Sunday, August 11: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-15 & Luke 12:32-40.

Jesus says - "Do not be afraid, little flock - for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions . . ." 

How do you hear these verses together?  Is the second statement about selling your possessions jarring or comforting?

This week we broadcasted from outside Pawn Emporium - it's a place where people sell their possessions, but unfortunately usually out of need and thus pawn shops are ready to take advantage of that.  If Jesus were alive today, would send his disciples here to simplify their lives?  Or would he use Ebay?  Pawn shops, perhaps except for their recent popularity through reality television, have a certain connotation, even shamefulness associated . . . but who can judge?  This one in downtown Harrisonburg has an imposing fence around it - making us think of the way some people interpret the instruction to be prepared - being well-guarded.

We could not have prepared for the distractions and surprises as we recorded which re-emphasized these themes in the text - be prepared - God is breaking in the kingdom!  How fitting in a way that we were interrupted by what turned out to be funeral bells tolling from nearby Blessed Sacrament - a reminder that God is our sure promise, in proclaiming life that comes from death...  These bells were a reminder to me to be prepared and ready - to interpret things we see and hear as God's action in the world.

What if living as Christians, well prepared as Jesus describes in Luke, doesn't look like stockpiling or fearing the future, but opening your eyes looking for what God is doing?  What is God doing this week in your life, preparing you for abundant life in God's kingdom?  Read these verses from Hebrews and Luke - they contain some very familiar images of comfort and pure promise.  Take them to heart.  Then know, whatever God is preparing for you (assured as it is the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom) be ready to catch it!