Ezek22 Lectionary Reflections

Today’s Readings (text):

• 1st Kings 19:4-8
• Ps 34:2-9
• Ephesians 4:30 – 5:2
• John 6:41-51

Today’s readings are about our journey of faith in Christ. We first hear that Elijah was ready to give up: “Take my life,” he said to God. But instead, God provided him with food, nourishment for his body, which allowed him to make his famous walk through the desert to God’s mountain.

In the gospel, we also hear Jesus preaching about food, specifically bread: “Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die,” Jesus proclaimed, speaking of himself here as the “bread of life.” These “I AM” sayings of Jesus, found mainly in John’s gospel, are characteristic speech of Roman gods. John’s followers as he evangelized would have recognized this language as the form spoken by a god.

It’s doubtful Jesus actually spoke this. He hardly ever spoke directly of himself, except in John’s gospel (see also 8:12, light of the world; 8:58, existed before there was an Abraham; 10:11, the good shepherd; 11:25, the resurrection and the life; 14:6, the way, the truth, and the life; 15:1, the authentic vine).

We also see in this gospel passage the failure of the Jews to recognize Jesus for who he truly was, seeing him as a simple tradesman. How could he possibly be the Christ? Just look at him!

Today, we are guilty of similar sins of judging by appearances. Many people called our current president, Barack Obama, a Muslim and a nonnative citizen of the United States. They were basing this on appearances, specifically a photo with his father, and a certification of live birth issued by the government of Hawaii. These judgments have been proven untrue, but charges persist.

He is the president. The discussion has led to several constitutional questions, such as, How would we impeach a president who wasn’t legally qualified to be the president? But the questions all seem moot at this point.

The same sort of thing happened under apartheid in South Africa. Blacks were judged, on sight, to be unintelligent and criminal in nature. They were kept separate from whites until apartheid was abolished. The current movie District 9 deals with this issue, and it is recommended viewing for anyone with an interest in talking about how we can seek greater understanding with those who are different from us without compromising our own integrity at all.

And finally, we hear in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that compassion is a necessary ingredient for our journey. You see, Christ has died and reigns in heaven. But what has he left behind? Compassion, love, self-sacrifice.

When we imitate Christ by sacrificing ourselves for helping others, for loving others, we truly die. In this world, it is impossible to have it both ways, though. We cannot truly give our lives to Christ and expect our lives to stay intact. When your personal relationships, family ties, and so on, start to really fall apart, that is when you know you have given your life to Christ.

Persevere in the journey, with compassion and love toward all, regardless of appearances, just like Elijah did in the desert. “When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard, And from all his distress he saved him,” our psalmist proclaims. The afflictions in this world are nothing, compared to the taste of joy that comes from the Lord. His words, and his alone, give us everlasting life.

Do not be afraid of anything that may come in this world. Instead, live your life in service, as he did, for your friends, in fear and trembling of the world yet to come.

Today’s Readings (text):

• Numbers 13:1-2, 25–14:1, 26a-29a, 34-35
• Ps 106:6-7, 13-14, 21-23
• Matthew 15:21-28

In huge headlines, news agencies around the globe are relaying news of a special pardon granted Tuesday to two American TV journalists who were sentenced to 12 years hard labor in North Korea following their bogus convictions for entering the country illegally. God be praised.

In today’s reading from the Old Testament, we hear the Lord speak:

You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes.

And in the gospel passage, the Prince of princes, the King of kings, our Lord, says to a woman who came to plea for her daughter’s recovery:

But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”

He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”

She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”

Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that the American journalists were pardoned within hours of the arrival of one of America’s princes, Bill Clinton. They did not use those words, but everyone knows what I mean.

Our Lord made even quicker work of the woman’s daughter, but I want to focus on what she said to Jesus that brought about the miracle: “Even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” In other words, the dogs are … there. If they were anywhere else, they would not be able to eat the scraps.

What was so special about Bill Clinton’s success in North Korea was that he was the highest-profile American diplomat to visit the country since Madeleine Albright in 2000. Just showing up is, most of the time, most of the battle. The woman persisted with Jesus, and Mr. Clinton persisted with the North Koreans.

This is a happy day indeed — a day for celebrating. North Korea is still under UN sanctions for nuclear activity and for dropping out of international talks that included the US, Russia, China, Japan, and both Koreas. But with guidance from our Creator in heaven, it is possible that, following sanctions like those imposed on the people in today’s Old Testament lesson, all parties can come to peaceful terms.

North Korea’s news agency was quoted as saying the special pardon granted by President Kim Jong-il was a sign of the nation’s “humanitarian and peace-loving policy.” Let’s see.

And in your personal life, take an example from scripture and from Bill Clinton. If you haven’t spent quality time with your loved ones lately, just go and spend some quality time with them. If you have chickened out of calling a special someone to tell them how you feel, just do it. Go. Pray, of course. But, just go.

Today’s Readings (text):

• Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
• Ps 78:3-4, 23-25, 54
• Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
• John 6:24-35

In a big headline, the New York Times declares that “Some X Games Bad Boys Turn to the Bible.” Oh, they still compete and act all tough for the ESPN cameras, but they also request credentials for their pastors to be on the set with them.

Other competitors are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and so on, making it unlikely that there will be much public display of Jesus, but one rider has a tattoo of Jesus on one arm and stops to pray before each run. He has won a lot of medals, and the prayers of holy people are known to be effective (see James 5, I think).

Today’s epistle reading shows Paul writing to the Ephesians:

as truth is in Jesus … put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

In flowery words, as Paul was inclined to use, we hear about renewal. I read the above sort of like a kid walking into a candy store, where we are supposed to explore the many treasures. We are no longer hungry, and it is because God has given us all we need to eat.

But what do the “spirit of our minds,” “the holiness of truth,” and these abstract ideas mean on a skateboard? How do we understand their relevance to our down-to-earth lives today?

A recent Judd Apatow movie, “Funny People,” starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen is about this same sort of conversion, only without the Christianity. In the movie, a movie star learns that he will probably die of cancer. Realizing that his life has been empty, he decides to fill it up by reconnecting with all the folks who were important but have since drifted away because of his neglect.

He has used his fame as an excuse to pursue less noble objectives like turning women into objects of sexual conquest, but he tries to turn over a new leaf. He goes on a mission to take some of the bread God has given us from heaven and fill the “spirit of his mind” once again.

The movie isn’t really that good, and so it fails to explore this theme fully, but this is the kind of thing Paul was talking about in his letter to the Ephesians in the passage read today, and it’s what these bad boys of the X Games are talking about when they say, “There wasn’t another option back in my day. It was either you were hard core against it all (government, religion, and the establishment), or you’re not cool and you’re out.”

Today, the man who said that serves as an associate pastor, having turned over a new leaf in life.

I think more of us need to turn over a new leaf. Success is nice, and most of us do important work. However, what God has put into our lives, the bread he gave us, is what we need: our families, our friends, those we love, and those who love us. Our lives may be filled with disappointments for them, but moving forward, Christ and his gospel of love will nourish us well beyond our needs in this world.