I once preached a sermon for Palm Sunday where I used the analogy of street theater to describe what happened as Jesus entered Jerusalem. It makes perfect sense to me with all the shouting and waving of palms. I wondered before stepping into the pulpit if some would view this as sacrilege. While I have a high view of actors, traditionally in the Church they have been lumped in with liars and thieves.

I was fortunate enough to attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as I stage managed a show appearing in that festival one year. For an entire month each year, the city of Edinburgh is home to actors, directors, and performers from all across the world. For the most part, the locals leave town and give it over to the likes of men painted blue and fire wielding witches on stilts. Every space that is large enough for a few chairs becomes a theater. There are hundreds of shows each week and each company wants to be seen by the thousands of people attending the festival. For that to happen, they have to get some attention. In order to get attention, on every corner of the city at any given moment in the day, a tourist can witness all kinds of street theater, little glimpses of what the companies have to offer. They don't perform the entire show, of course. The whole purpose of the street theater is to grab the attention of potential audience members, to get them to come see the real show.

Jesus and his band of actors paraded into Jerusalem as the crowds were gathering for the Passover. And, he performed this amazing bit of theater. There was comedy as he rode in on a donkey instead of a stallion, there was suspense as the people cried out, "Save us!," and there was drama when leaders tried to shut down the performance. But, the whole purpose of this performance was to grab their attention and to invite them to come to the real show.

If your congregation does not hold services during Holy Week, be sure to find ways to allow them to see the real show. There are three acts and you don't want them to miss any of it. Palm Sunday is just the preview. Maundy Thursday is Act I. Good Friday is Act II. And, Easter Sunday is the final Act. And, like any great play, skipping to the end just won't allow us to appreciate the entire story in the same way.

I get frustrated with the Twelve sometimes because they seem like such idiots. I mean from my perspective Jesus tells them over and over again who he is and what must happen and they continue to remain clueless. But, when I read verses like the one in the gospel lesson for this week that says, "Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life," I think it may be a miracle that anyone ever understood Jesus at all! He is like The Riddler from the old Batman series, speaking in a sort of code language that is hard to decipher.

The Prophet Jeremiah. 1508-1512. Fresco. Sistine Chapel, Vatican

Having over 2000 years of interpretation added on top of the words of the Christ makes us think we understand. I think for most of us, we sit in church (or stand preaching in the pulpit) and think we grasp pretty well what the words mean. But, if we were to tell the truth, we may grasp pretty well what some commentator had to say about the words, but the words themselves would be pretty shocking and confusing to us if we only took them for what they are.

I can't help but wonder if Jeremiah wept a lot because of what God had him preaching in the streets. How would we respond to some guy claiming to be a prophet telling us that all hell is about to break loose and it is all our fault? I'd want to throw him into a well too! But, in this pericope, God is sharing the hope we find in the new covenant. Sins will be remembered no longer, the law is not only available to everyone, but actually written on our hearts, and all will have the opportunity to know God up close and in person. Of course, the prophet doesn't get to say it quite that clearly.

So, to participate in this new covenant, we can't rely on ourselves, we can't depend on the worldly ways of life to carry us through. We must listen to the Rabbi's riddle and give up our life so that we can have life abundantly. We are being prepared during this season of Lent to accept the truth of life as a disciple of Jesus the Christ - we are ignorant and we desperately need a Savior. We are being prepared to fully accept our part of the covenant and follow the Resurrected Lord into eternal life turning our backs on all the sins of this world that keep us separated from God. We are being prepared to follow our high priest who learned obedience through what he suffered.

That is just not something that I can fully understand. My comprehension skills are not that good. The good news for us and for our congregations is that it doesn't matter if we understand it or not. Jesus was obedient to God and because of that, we are awarded eternal life. Riddle me this - what could be better than that?

This Week's Lectionary Texts

Numbers 21:4-9

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

Ephesians 2:1-10

John 3:14-21

 

This Week's Reflection

A while back I read the gospel lesson for this week which made me look back at the reference it made to Moses and the serpent. I've been extremely fascinated by this story ever since. There are a couple of specific reasons why. I'm not even going to try to touch the whole issue of God sending serpents to kill the Israelites. I can't make sense of that part of the scripture. I mean I can think of ways to interpret it that make me feel better, but truly making sense of it is beyond my capabilities. 

However, here is what stands out. When the people ask for help. They are given help. In fact, when they ask for help - "Please Moses, get God to do something about our loved ones dying of snake bites!" - Moses is told to create a sculpture of a serpent. 

If you are a regular reader of this blog, I hope by now you realize that I believe art is a gift from God. I believe to be created in the image of God is, in fact, to be made to be creative people. So, God speaks through art in ways that is not likely in other ways. This is true for all sorts of artwork - music, visual arts, theatre, poetry, etc.

So, back to this snake on a stick - God tells Moses to sculpt a piece of art which is the image of the serpent. Those who have been bitten are to look at it, to view the piece of art, and they will be saved. In other words, art saves lives.

There is one other thing that is most fascinating to me about this passage. The work of art which is created in order to save lives is created in the very image of the thing that the people feared the most. This is incredible to me. The snakes are biting the folks, they are terrified, people are dying, and the thing that is going to save them is to face that very thing in the form of a sculpture. 

How often do we use works of art to face our fears? In what way is the Christ at work here? What kinds of art can we introduce to congregations in order to help them see Christ's light more clearly?

The story of Elisha following Elijah around even though Elijah keeps trying to get rid of him is one of those scriptures that always make me chuckle. In my imagination, I can see it so clearly. Elijah is old and tired and probably just wants some peace and quiet for a change. I have a nine year old, intelligent, and extremely articulate son. Every day feels like this to me! He literally follows his father and I through the house, or a parking lot going into a store, or through the aisles of a store, or wherever we happen to be. And, he talks. He talks and he talks and he talks. And, sometimes what he is saying is truly brilliant, but honestly, it gets lost in the fact that my ears feel so very tired from listening.

I'm imagining a lot, I know. All I know is that in the scripture, Elijah tries three different times to get Elisha to stay behind. I'm sure I should be writing about Elisha's dedication, but all I can think is that Elijah must have been worn out by this guy who would not leave him alone!

But, we also know that he was privy to important information. Everywhere they went, a group of people would pull Elisha aside to say, "Hey, are you sure you want to be with this guy. He ain't long for this world." And, Elisha would say, "Yes, I know what I'm doing, now be quiet."

We know that in the end, Elisha asked for a double portion of the abilities that Elijah had and that it is clear that this is not Elijah's to give, but only God's. So, Elijah says that if God wills it, then Elisha will witness something amazing and know it is so.

Was Elijah a reluctant mentor to the young man? It makes me wonder how many people have come and gone in my life that God was calling me to mentor and instead, I just said, "Hey, I'm going on now. You just stay here okay. I really need my quiet time." And, what does any of that have to do with the transfiguration of Jesus which is the gospel lesson this week?

Of course, we tie the connection between the other-worldly exit of Elijah with what happened on that mountain with Peter, James, and John. Jesus, their mentor, appears changed, not to mention the presence of Moses and Elijah. Understanding what occurred on that mountain is difficult. Peter didn't get it and I'll be honest, I don't get it either. I've never really known what to preach on Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday. Not only is the whole thing pretty weird, but then Jesus tells his boys to keep it a secret.

In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes about "seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" while reminding those reading his letter that it is hard for "those who are perishing" to see this.

Elisha was given an opportunity to see something truly amazing which gave him strength to carry out the mission that his mentor had begun. Peter, James, and John had a similar experience in witnessing their own mentor in a new light, so to speak. And, Paul reminds us that if we are truly disciples of Christ, then we will be given this opportunity as well. Furthermore, I believe that we will also be given the opportunity to provide that experience to those with whom we minister. 

Who are you mentoring these days? Are you reluctant about it or do you invite them to the mountaintop with you? May God give each of us strength to shine the light of Christ with young disciples every chance we get.

It has been a few weeks since I posted a reflection here. I apologize to any "regulars" who have wondered where Miriam's Tambourine had gone. We are back and exploring this third Sunday after Epiphany in which 1 Corinthians tells us, "whatever you think you know, forget it." It seems to me that the writer of this letter is warning the folks in Corinth about getting too comfortable with what they have and the lives they live. "The present form of this world is passing away." Things are not as they appear to be and we better find a way to see beyond.

I'm sure it is a stretch, but I find the gospel having a similar message. Things are not as they appear. This passage begins by referring to John's arrest and immediately moves toward the "good news" that Jesus was preaching. In fact, it is the same sentence. "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.'" 

If I read the scripture as if I had never heard this before, I would more than likely expect something more along the lines of "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee and kicked butt" or at least, "Now after John was arrested, Jesus met with the disciples and they all wept together wondering what they could do to help." Arrests and good news don't seem like they should fit together like this.

But with Jesus, it seems, nothing is ever what it appears to be. For example, these disciples to whom he is calling in Mark 1:14-20 are the last ones expected to be chosen by a rabbi for anything. Young, dirty, bottom of the social and economic ladder, fishermen were not likely to be "the chosen few." And, yet things are not as they seem and Jesus could see in those young men what most of us would find impossible to believe.

Jonah thought he understood all too well what was to happen in Ninevah. First, he ran because he didn't want anything to do with those people, then when he saw he had no choice, he obeyed God and sat back waiting for God's wrath to rain down on the people. But, God, especially, is not easily defined and is never what seems to be. God changes God's mind and shows mercy to the people instead. Jonah never saw that coming!

We too often sit comfortably in our churches with our human-made religion and believe we see things absolutely clearly; however, Holy Scripture reminds us again and again that this is not the case. As if in answer to the other three readings, the Psalmist cries out, " For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken."

Things are not as they seem. Thank God! For God is our hope, our rock, our salvation. Because of this indefinable God, we shall not be shaken.