3rd Quarter 2009
from Revs. Janet and Jerry Duggins
From "Two Stories of Healing" based on Mark 7:24-37 - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ September 27, 2009
These stories, like all the gospel stories, have more than one layer of meaning
for us:
But they also tell us about the
The
Given all that, Mark makes deliberate choices about which
Jesus stories he tells.
From "Who is the Greatest?" based on Mark 8:27-38 and Mark 9:30-37 - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ September 20, 2009
Mark sure paints an unflattering picture of Jesus’ disciples, doesn’t he? We roll our eyes and shake our heads at their cluelessness throughout this gospel. Every time you think, ‘oh yes, now they’re starting to get it,’ they turn around and do or say something even more dumb. Haven’t they been paying attention to what Jesus has been saying? Hasn’t anything he’s done made any impact?
This argument about which of them is the greatest is the worst yet, I think – downright cringe-worthy. What were they thinking? Jesus has been talking about really serious stuff – sacrifice and commitment and dying; he’s been healing people and confronting the power of evil to warp and destroy lives; he’s been on the mountaintop with Moses and Elijah in the presence of God … and his friends are having a childish argument about which of them is the greatest. It’s pretty embarrassing really, and it’s obvious in the story that they know it is: They don’t want to tell Jesus anything about it. But of course, as Mark makes perfectly clear, Jesus understands exactly what’s going on.
From "A Sea of Trouble" based on Mark 4:35-41 and Mark 6:45-51 - Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ September 13, 2009
Did Jesus really have power over the wind and the sea? Did he really walk on water? Attempts to explain away the miracle or stubbornly maintain them as facts of history really miss the point. These questions reflect an attempt to contrast faith with doubt. But doubt is not the problem here. Fear is the issue. Fear is faith’s opposite.
You want to be a skeptic? Fine,
Jesus had skeptics on staff. Don’t believe in miracles. Don’t believe in the
impossible. Mark is fine with this attitude. He challenge us to give up fear.
Don’t be afraid, even in the face of the impossible. Don’t be afraid even at
the time of crisis… because the
From Bible 101, part 11: "Dear Friends..." - The New Testament Letters based on Romans 1:1-12, 16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ September 6, 2009
The letters provide the earliest glimpses we have of the Christian movement and are the oldest written-down examples of Christian teaching. All of Paul’s letters and most of the other letters were written before the Gospels were written.
During this time, the church was in transition from a faith community rooted in Judaism to a broader community including Gentiles of diverse backgrounds. There was quite a struggle over how Christians – especially Gentile Christians - should be expected relate to the scriptures and practices of Judaism, and this is reflected many of the letters.
The letters reflect a Christian movement that was still in the formative stages, still growing, still trying to define its beliefs and resolve questions and organize itself. That may partly explain why we can discern so many different perspectives within the New Testament, sometimes even in the works of same writer. It may also be why the letters don’t concern themselves much with stories of Jesus’ life – presumably many of the early Christians knew those stories and could share them verbally with each other. But for the leaders of the early church, there were pressing questions to be addressed, and these letters show us how they tried to address some of those questions.
The letters are different but they are all, in some way or other, about THE CHURCH. They are interested in the church’s mission to spread the message of Jesus. They are interested in the church’s faithfulness to Christ, in its unity and in the way its members relate to one another. They are interested in encouraging Christians to develop a more mature and knowledgeable faith and to live godly lives.
"Bible 101, Part 10: GOSPEL" based on Luke 7:18-23 and John 21:20-35 - Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ August 30, 2009
Despite the probability that Matthew and Luke were working off a copy of Mark, their gospels have a very different feel. They tell many of the same stories, mostly in the same order, but they change words here and there, insert a teaching or other story; and suddenly the most important thing about Jesus isn’t that he suffers. He dies still, but the death means something else.
Matthew adds large sections of teaching. The quintessential moment may be the sermon on the mount where Jesus reinterprets the law of Moses. He uses the formula, “You have heard that it was said… but I say to you….” A law against adultery becomes a command against lust. The law against murder becomes an injunction against hatred. Love of neighbor gets reframed as love of enemy.
For Matthew, Jesus becomes the new Moses who commands a more radical obedience. But he doesn’t leave us alone to accomplish this on our own. Somehow, his death becomes the invitation or the means by which we can enter this new covenant, a covenant defined by a whole new layer of teaching. Thus the life of Jesus becomes a paradigm for a new ethic.
From "Bible 101, part 9: Endings and New Beginnings - Biblical Apocalyptic" based on Daniel 7:15-28 and Revelation 12:7-12; 22:8-17 - Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ August 23, 2009
We have at last arrived at that portion of the Bible that no one wants to read, but everyone is very curious about. Perhaps no other section of scripture has suffered as much abuse from its so-called interpreters. It is admittedly mysterious, its imagery fantastic and bizarre. In the literature on Revelation, you can hear the debate between pre-millenialists and post-millenialists. You can read various viewpoints on the rapture. You can become engaged in the effort to decode Revelation as you look for clues to the date of the “end.” If you’ve taken an interest in LaHaye’s Left Behind series, I certainly hope that you are enjoying them, but don’t imagine they have anything to do with the meaning of the Revelation of John.
Thirty-five years ago, when I
first began to take an interest in the Bible, people like Hal Lindsey were
writing books that claimed they could identify the year when the world would
come to an end. They were suggesting that the Soviet Union was Gog or Magog,
that the re-establishment of
From "Bible 101, part 8: When God Is Far Away - Lament in the Bible" based on selected verses from Lamentations - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ August 16, 2009
There is something about not having your pain acknowledged that seems to make it more painful. It’s isolating, and often increases depression. Pressure to put on a happy cheerful face when weighed down by sadness can make a heavy burden seem heavier. Denial of everything that’s not strong and positive feels false, even as there is a sense that it’s expected. But the longing for a place and a way to express those difficult and painful feelings doesn’t go away.
I don’t think we understand this really very well in our society, where we value strength and optimism and a can-do attitude so much. But the Bible does understand this need for honest expression of suffering, and offers numerous examples of it. In fact, a whole genre of Biblical literature known as the lament is all about speaking the truth of our pain. Laments take deeply felt pain, sorrow, disappointment, anger, doubt, and despair… and put it into words, in the presence of God and the community.
From "Bible 101, part 7: Songs and Poetry of the Bible" based on Psalm 8 and Ruth 1:16-22 - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ July 19, 2009
Just in the Psalms alone we discover that along with songs which celebrate creation, God’s law and wisdom, God’s faithfulness and blessing and so forth, there are also songs focused on penitence, personal pain, shared tragedies, and experiences of God’s anger or absence. The range of emotion expressed runs from joy, awe, gratitude… to doubt, sorrow, anger and even hate. Someone has described what’s going on in the Psalms as a “dialogue of trust and questions.” It’s honest and heartfelt.
That, I think, is the nature of poetry – to speak on a heart level, and not so much to the head. We have to read it with that awareness, with an openness to that level of communication, to understand its intentions… and to remember what it is not.
"Bible 101, part 6: Biblical Wisdom" based on Proverbs 3:19-35 and Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 - Rev. Jerry Duggins ~ July 12, 2009
The most important thing to remember about wisdom is that it seeks to understand experience. The Hebrew word, hokmah, is broad in scope. Michael Machado suggests five senses in which the word is used in Proverbs. He writes about a “pragmatic” sense in which wisdom describes an unusual skill or ability. It’s a keen perception in the “right way to make or do things.” Secondly, he discusses the “experiential” sense, a general skill in living. Wisdom, he says, is the ability of “getting on in life.” Thirdly, wisdom has a moral sense. It’s the ability to discern and to do what is right. Fourthly, wisdom has a philosophical character. This is about finding “meaning” in things. And finally, wisdom is spiritual. It is able to discern God’s intentions for life. This last one comes only as a gift from God.
From "Bible 101, part 5: The Prophetic Voice" based on Amos 1:1, 2:4-7 and Isaiah 54:7-10, 56:1-8 - Rev. Janet Duggins ~ July 5, 2009
By and large, the prophets aren’t the kind of folks you want to invite over for the backyard barbeque. While everybody else might be talking about the stock market, or the Tigers, or summer vacation plans, or last Sunday’s sermon… the prophet wants to know how it affects the poor. He suggests that our enthusiasms for things other than God may be idolatrous, asks if we understand that God doesn’t like our priorities, and wonders whether our religion is just for show. Not the kind of guest the other guests are gonna want you to invite back!
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