It's a snow day here in New Jersey. We've cancelled church and I'm missing my congregation who would be gathering this morning. I saw a post for devotions to do at home and thought - let me put something together really quick to get us thinking this morning. I was going to preach from Psalm 19. You can read it by clicking here. And then here is a video that speaks to the themes of Psalm 19. Take a look. The lyrics are below. Creation Calls by Brian Doerksen I have felt the wind blow, Whispering your name I have seen your tears fall, When I watch the rain. How could I say there is no God? When all around creation calls!! A singing bird, a mighty tree, The vast expanse of open sea Gazing at a bird in flight, Soaring through the air. Lying down beneath the stars, I feel your presence there. I love to stand at ocean shore And feel the thundering breakers roar, To walk through golden fields of grain With endless bloom horizons fray. Listening to a river run, Watering the Earth. Fragrance of a rose in bloom, A newborns cry at birth. For more meditation, Go to The Timeless Psalm by Joan Stott
And finally, here is a prayer from Rev-0-Lution Architect of Creation, create in us new hearts that grow room to love those who are different from us. Draw up plans for our future that include us reaching out to those who are different from us. Remind us that You have built a foundation for us to stand on that will never fail. Call us to trust in Your design for our lives to love and serve one another, especially those who are different from us. Keep us in Your vision, as You continue to build something new in our world and in our lives. In the name of Christ, who has shown us Your blueprints and continues to build the kingdom among us, we pray. Amen.
There are only five weeks in between Epiphany and Lent this year. For us pastor-types, this feels like we're running through the stories in the Bible. If Jesus were a toddler when the Magi met him, then it's almost like he grew one year each day from now until Ash Wednesday.
Our church sponsors a preschool. One of my favorite moments each year is when we switch gears from teaching about the Christmas story to teaching about Jesus' teaching and healing ministry. Inevitably, one of the preschool students always asks, "how did he grow up so fast?!" I shrug and say, "we're pretending." We were joking about how fast this season of ordinary time is between Epiphany and Lent when one of my friends said, "someone should do a blog each day for each year of Jesus' life between now and Ash Wednesday." What a great idea! Of course there are almost three decades of "quiet years." This is what has been called "the white fire" of the scriptural texts. "An old Jewish commentary speaks of the Bible as having been composed in black and white fire. The black fire is seen in the form of the printed or handwritten words on the page or scroll. The white fire is found in the spaces between and around the black.
I learned this technique of interpretation in a series of Bibliodrama classes. A group of us gathered and "played" around with scripture together, using our imagination to experience more of the text than what the written words had to say.
And speaking of written words, we don't have too many written words about Jesus' childhood or young adulthood. There are many 'infancy gospels" that didn't make the final cut for the canon of scripture. Check out these. By using some of these infancy gospels and engaging with the white fire, many have written really wonderful works of fiction about Jesus' life. Here are some of my favorites:
Because an important part of my theological education comes from an imaginative New Testament scholar, Virginia Wiles, let me also give you a link to her website. She has recently published for purchase a series of "playdates with scripture." These easy, fun exercises help you to use your own imagination with scripture. Enjoy! And one more thing... if you think I'm crazy or that playing with scripture is irreverent or sinful. If you believe we need to be serious only in our interpretation, check out this article I found the other day about "Why children need Biblical Melodrama." |
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April 2022
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