Looking into the lectionary - It has happened again, God

September 22, 2024 Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost  Proverbs 31:10-31, Psalm 1, James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a, Mark 9:30-37 Psalm 1 depicts two paths, and what’s striking about the path of the wicked is that we are never told what makes them “wicked.” Did they lie, steal or cheat? We don’t know. Instead, we are told they are like “chaff that the wind drives away” (v. 4). Chaff is a light, dry substance that, when caught by the wind, carries through the air in a flurry of aimless, spinning activity. In a time when many find themselves frequently overwhelmed and exhausted – endlessly carried by the winds of political favor (or disfavor), markets, and marketing – this image feels particularly resonant. And humbling. Because wickedness is not simply characterized by the big, bad obvious sins. It can be as simple as busy rootlessness, aimlessness and emptiness. We are invited, of course, to embrace the other option. That of the “blessed” in Psalm 1 — a grounded state of life that is deeply satiated, unburdened and at peace, regardless of the prevailing winds. We read that the blessed meditate upon God’s law, a verb far more active than it might first suggest. I was reminded of this many years ago when I visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and I saw dozens of Jewish men meditating in the biblical sense. With Scripture in hand, they stood at the wall and read in a low murmur as their bodies swayed back and forth. Their very manner of reading made clear that faithfulness to God’s word is about full, active and living embodiment. Today’s lectionary Scriptures bring forth two unlikely people from the ancient world to help us see what embodied faithfulness can look like; the first is a woman, and the second is a child. The woman (the Hebrew word for woman and wife is the same – isshah) in Proverbs 31 gives us a powerful picture of embodied faithfulness. She procures food and clothing for her family, does real estate, runs her business, actively cares for the poor, and teaches with wisdom and kindness. However, despite the incredible amount of activity, she is not compared to chaff blowing in the wind but to both “jewels” and “the ships of merchants,” images suggestive of great strength, substance and value. Indeed, she is declared chayil in verses 10 and 29. Scholar Wil Gafney notes that this description ranges in meaning from “military might/power” to “physical strength.” To be sure, many have noted that this woman seems too good to be true. ... Thanks to this week's writer Rev. Dr. Bobby Hulme-Lippert. Read the rest of the commentary on the website. Order of worship for September 22, 2024, by Bobby Hulme-Lippert It has happened again, God by W. Mark Koenig Josiah celebrates Passover (September 22, 2024) by Julia Boyce The greatest of all — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale Want the worship resources for September 15, 2024? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... It’s time to ditch standing committees What if we structured congregations on members’ time and talents instead of organizational needs, asks Philip Blackburn?  Magic Enuff "The arc of Magic Enuff bends toward hope, however, offering readers a benediction in a slim volume of poetry that reveals deeper truths upon each re-reading." — Amy Pagliarella Pittsburgh Theological Seminary launches Certificate in Migrant Ministries program Online course is designed to equip church leaders to support and advocate for migrants in their communities. — PTS Want a better life? Spend more time thinking about sin, says Elizabeth Oldfield. In her book ‘Fully Alive,’ the podcaster and author argues that admitting we aren’t as great as we think we are opens the door to a better life. — Bob Smietana Reparation as a primary task of the 21st century American church Chris Dela Cruz, a pastor in Oregon, shares how and why the Presbytery of the Cascades gave land to a local Native coalition. Creating a Culture of Repair: Taking Action on the Road to Reparations “(T)hose who dismiss the idea of reparations will appreciate [Robert Turner's] heartfelt and forward-facing approach that does not point fingers ... He does, however, hold everyone accountable.” — Antonia R. Coleman The case for Black racial repair in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) There is no redemption without restoration, no deliverance without atonement, writes William Yoo. We cannot ‘policy’ our way into relationships Wordsmithed policy, if celebrated as an end in and of itself, is not a step on the journey toward a new way of being, says Larissa Kwong Abazia.