{"id":19203,"date":"2010-11-14T23:17:06","date_gmt":"2010-11-15T06:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=19203"},"modified":"2010-11-14T23:17:06","modified_gmt":"2010-11-15T06:17:06","slug":"spiritual-maunderings-for-the-sunday-closest-to-november-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/11\/14\/spiritual-maunderings-for-the-sunday-closest-to-november-16.html","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Maunderings for the Sunday closest to November 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>Yet another series of personal impressions from todays Episcopal readings from the Revised Common Lectionary,\u00a0Proper 28,\u00a0Year C<\/a>, NRSV translation.<\/p>\n

Old Testament: Isaiah 65:17-25<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isaiah waxes lyrical over the paradise to come.<\/p>\n

I will rejoice in Jerusalem,\u00a0and delight in my people;\u00a0no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,\u00a0or the cry of distress.\u00a0No more shall there be in it\u00a0an infant that lives but a few days,\u00a0or an old person who does not live out a lifetime …\u00a0They shall build houses and inhabit them;\u00a0they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.\u00a0They shall not build and another inhabit;\u00a0they shall not plant and another eat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For a people who have dealt with invasion and defeat and exile, this promise of the future is both concrete and compelling. \u00a0God’s promised land on Earth will be free from sorrow, infant mortality, early death, or injustice. I think most people would like something like that. Makes you wonder how folks reconcile “tax cuts for the rich” and “welfare is for lazy poor people” \u00a0with the Bible.<\/p>\n

Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the surface at least, a fine indictment of what one would consider stereotypical televangelist and religious pundit behavior.<\/p>\n

Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. … For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even for those who manage to interpret this passage as an indictment against welfare recipients (“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat”) should consider what work is available and how we bridge the gap between labor, pay, and survival.<\/p>\n

Gospel: Luke 21:5-19<\/strong><\/p>\n

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nobody loves lovely church architecture more than I. But while I think it is of value, as an inspiration, it is surely of perishable nature, and should not be made an idol. The folks at the Crystal Cathedral<\/a> should certainly be considering that.<\/p>\n

Jesus then goes into a lengthy tale of the end times.<\/p>\n

And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and, `The time is near!’ Do not go after them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think of this every time I hear of someone proclaiming that these are the end times.<\/p>\n

“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These words have been identified with every era since they were recorded as Jesus’ prophecy. There are always wars, natural disasters, and exceptional “portents” and “signs.” \u00a0But, as Jesus notes elsewhere, “No man shall know the day or hour.” Claiming we are in the end times (thus, keep your financial support coming) is the work of frauds and swindlers. End time or not, the commandment to love God and one’s neighbor reigns supreme.<\/p>\n

“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One wonders about those who spend so much time railing over persecution of Christians — most of which (in a US context) amounts to “They said we were doo-doo heads!” accusations. Someone who is truly following Jesus’ teaching, encountering what they saw as persecution, would not only turn the other cheek and forgive, but rejoice as it is a sign of God’s favor and, ultimately, the triumph of the Word.<\/p>\n

Though, to be fair, if what you’re \u00a0most concerned about is political power and dominion over society, people calling you “doo-doo heads” would be most disconcerting, regardless of what Jesus said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yet another series of personal impressions from todays Episcopal readings from the Revised Common Lectionary,\u00a0Proper 28,\u00a0Year C, NRSV translation. Old Testament: Isaiah 65:17-25 Isaiah waxes lyrical over the paradise to come. I will rejoice in Jerusalem,\u00a0and delight in my people;\u00a0no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,\u00a0or the cry of distress.\u00a0No more … Continue reading “Spiritual Maunderings for the Sunday closest to November 16”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scriptural-maunderings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19530,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/12\/12\/scriptural-maunderings-for-the-3rd-sunday-of-advent.html","url_meta":{"origin":19203,"position":0},"title":"Scriptural Maunderings for the 3rd Sunday of Advent","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 12-Dec-10 11:24pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Another Sunday of readings, another Sunday of considerations ... This is a series of posts (look, ma, I have a category now!) about my reactions to the week's reading's in church. I attend an Episcopalian church, and the readings are from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, NRSV translation. Old\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Scriptural Maunderings"","block_context":{"text":"Scriptural Maunderings","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/religion\/scriptural-maunderings"},"img":{"alt_text":"A fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/dead-sea-scroll-fragment-300x261.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19450,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/12\/05\/scriptural-maunderings-for-the-2nd-sunday-of-advent.html","url_meta":{"origin":19203,"position":1},"title":"Scriptural Maunderings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 5-Dec-10 9:55pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Yet another installment looking at my own reaction to the readings we had in church (Episcopal) today. \u00a0The Lectionary is the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, and the translation is the NRSV ... Old Testament - Isaiah 11:1-10 We're in Advent, which means Much Ado about Prophecy. \u00a0In this case,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Scriptural Maunderings"","block_context":{"text":"Scriptural Maunderings","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/religion\/scriptural-maunderings"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/michael-york-john-baptist.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/michael-york-john-baptist.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/michael-york-john-baptist.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20277,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/20\/scriptural-maunderings-for-the-seventh-sunday-after-epiphany.html","url_meta":{"origin":19203,"position":2},"title":"Scriptural Maunderings for the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 20-Feb-11 11:07pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Been a while, but here's the latest in my musings about the weekly Sunday Scripture. \u00a0I attend an Episcopalian church, and the\u00a0readings are from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, NRSV translation. This week is, on the surface, a \"feel good\" week of Scripture. In reality, it's one of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics & Law"","block_context":{"text":"Politics & Law","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law"},"img":{"alt_text":"A fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/dead-sea-scroll-fragment-300x261.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19138,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/11\/08\/scriptural-maunderings-for-all-saints-day.html","url_meta":{"origin":19203,"position":3},"title":"Scriptural Maunderings for All Saints’ Day","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 8-Nov-10 9:47am","format":false,"excerpt":"This past Sunday we celebrated All Saints' Day (officially 1 November, but celebrated the Sunday following by us Episcopalians). \u00a0\u00a0 Some thoughts on the Scripture appointed (Revised Common Lectionary, Cycle C, NRSV translation). Old Testament: Daniel 7:1-3,15-18 Daniel has a prophetic dream about four beasts, which gets interpreted for him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Scriptural Maunderings"","block_context":{"text":"Scriptural Maunderings","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/religion\/scriptural-maunderings"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20574,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/03\/27\/spiritual-maunderings-for-the-third-sunday-in-lent.html","url_meta":{"origin":19203,"position":4},"title":"Spiritual Maunderings for the Third Sunday in Lent","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 27-Mar-11 3:11pm","format":false,"excerpt":"An occasional delving into the Sunday Scripture at my church. I attend an Episcopalian parish, and the\u00a0readings are from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, NRSV translation. The theme this week is \"waters\" and God providing.\u00a0 Well, sort of. Old Testament: Exodus 17:1-7 This is the typical \"Israelites grumbling in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime & Punishment"","block_context":{"text":"Crime & Punishment","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/crime-punishment"},"img":{"alt_text":"A fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/dead-sea-scroll-fragment-300x261.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14532,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/04\/14\/tech-support-maunderings.html","url_meta":{"origin":19203,"position":5},"title":"Tech support maunderings","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 14-Apr-09 9:09am","format":false,"excerpt":"Being reliant on IE6 as one's sole gateway to the Internet, rather than Firefox 3 and a panoply of Net-enabled applications, is like borrowing your deadbeat cousin's old junker while your car is in the shop -- it's slow, noisy, and there's a distinct odor of cat urine wafting up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "My Computer"","block_context":{"text":"My Computer","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/my-computer"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19203\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}