Theology Before Breakfast: Forward Day by Day, Feb-Apr 2019

Coffee brewing, I feed the dog, birds, and squirrels, and then set out the Prayer Book, Bible, and the latest issue of Forward Day by Day for a morning service of prayer and readings. Forward lists the daily scripture readings and a short meditation on a line from the scriptures. Pages that strike me as fresh ideas or timely reminders go into this blog. [See what struck me in years of FDxD on my Episcopalian page.]

February's meditations were penned by Jon Jordan; Mary W. Cox supplied meditations for March; and April's meditations came from Glenise Robinson - Como. Because I'd been reading books and articles in 2018 that refer to "conversations" among authors of Biblical writings, I was struck by ways that the winter issue, and the Scripture readings themselves, demonstrated that idea.

FebruaryJon Jordan points out a "conversation" within a single passage, Galatians 6:2,5. Paul tells Christians to "bear one another's burdens," but then admonishes them, "all must carry their loads." "Which is it?" asks Jordan, speculating that we must take good care of our own burdens in order to help others with theirs.

Psalm 80 asks a question, "How long will You be angry, O Lord?" One answer comes in the assigned reading from Isaiah 58.1-12: When "you share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house... then you shall call and the Lord shall answer." Subsequent readings resonated with Isaiah: from Dt. 10.18-19, the command to deliver "justice" for widows, orphans, sojourners (i.e., refugees, immigrants), specifically by feeding and clothing them. Galatians 6.18 admonishes Christians to "do good to all, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Then, there's Jesus telling the rich young man to sell everything and give it away to the poor (Mark 10.21). Jordan points out that, in the eyes of most people in most places of this planet, he and all Americans are that rich young man.

Jordan shares insights about the power of what we say to others, and even to ourselves. Opposing the familiar adage about sticks, stones, and names, he cites Psalm 69.22, "Reproach has broken my heart." Reproach, he writes, can last a lifetime. Jordan recommends reading and praying the Psalms regularly, as they reflect the experience of trying to live faithfully in a broken world. Reading Luke 6.36, "Be merciful as your Father is merciful," Jordan is reminded how his childhood was shaped in part by his own father's offhand remark that no one in his family was ever good at sports. Jordan's half - hearted efforts reflected his father's doubts. Similarly, if we believe that God is out to get us, Jordan writes, then we will reflect that belief to others; but if we believe in the mercy of our heavenly Father, we'll give a break to others, and to ourselves.

MarchThere's a dialogue set up between Mary W. Cox's meditation for March 1 and Jordan's final meditation the previous day. Cox admits that her "heart sinks" when she reads, "Be perfect...as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5.48). "Perfect?" she writes." Me?" The previous day, Jordan responds to the harsh saying about cutting off a limb that causes one to sin (Mt 5.30). These harsh sayings are in dialogue with the Epistle for February 28, 2 Cor. 3.18, about the "veil" that Moses wore to cover the glow he got from meeting God face to face: "we all, with unveiled face... are being changed into [Christ's] likeness from one degree of glory to another...." Cox finds a different translation of the verse in the New English Bible: "There must be no limit to your goodness, as your heavenly Father's goodness knows no bounds."

Still on March 1, Cox writes about a line in the day's gospel, Matthew 5.44, "Love your enemies." It's in dialogue with the psalm appointed for the day, 140, an angry imprecation of God's vengeance on enemies: Cox reminds us that "to be perfect" means more than not breaking rules. She says that Jesus makes clear here, and in the Beatitudes, that the Ten Commandments were "just a starting point."

Responding to John 4.38, "I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor," Cox observes, "Life is a group project." Family, friends, and mentors have moved us forward; and we have done the same for others. This is a simple thought, and self - evident to me; but our political rhetoric in America often tells us that only the weak and indolent need collective support. Responding to Psalm 95.7, "We are the sheep of His hand," Cox suggests that none of us are so self - reliant as "our culture promotes."

AprilGlenise Robinson - Como explores Jeremiah's metaphor of the potter and his clay (Jer. 18.6): "We are all works in progress." She draws a similar lesson from Jer. 31.33, about God's revising us, over - writing our hearts as pages. But to accept that we are works in progress is not an excuse for failing to get on with necessary changes.

For the rest of the month, what struck me most were her challenges to us, called "Moving Forward."

Moving ForwardAs co - mentor for the class Education for Ministry (see our class blog), I'm often looking for questions that evoke action or reflection. We use these as ways to "check in" with each other at the start of a session, and sometimes as a call to action after we reflect theologically on something in our lives. These FDxD writings pose challenges at the end of each meditation under the name, "Moving Forward." Here are a few that struck me:

• Responding to Mt. 5.30, Jordan asks, "Are there any 'right hands' you need to examine in your life today?"
• Jesus asks the crippled man if he wants to be made well (John 5.6), and Cox wonders if the man had grown comfortable with weakness and self-pity. She asks us, "What would being made well look like in your life? Do you want to be made well?"
  
• Responding to Psalm 136, a history of God's goodness to Israel, Cox challenges us to try writing a personal psalm - history of God's goodness in our own lives. Our EfM group did this, each of us writing a thanksgiving for something early, middle, and recent in our lives.
  
• Observing how Jesus withdraws to mountains to be by himself (John 6.15), writer Glenise Robinson - Como asks, "How do you follow Jesus's example of rest and retreat?"
  
• If we are all works in progress, like the clay to the potter in Jeremiah 18.6, how is God re-working you right now?
  
• We "groan inwardly" with Creation; Robinson - Como asks, "What's a pet peeve of yours, and what does it teach you about your own faith?"
  
• Responding to 1 Cor. 1.27, "God chose what is foolish in the world...," Robinson - Como asks, "What weakness in you has God used for good?"
  
• Responding to Ps. 116.1, "I love the Lord.... because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him," Robinson - Comor challenges all introverts, "Offer a friend or family member thirty minutes of your undivided attention today."
• Challenge: Commit to memory Romans 8.38-39, "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers...will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."