Week 1
I’ve struggled with how to format these posts, so I just haven’t been posting them. However, after listening to “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown, and spurred by a portfolio submission deadline, I figure I just have to put the words out there. Remember, this is part journal and reflection and part sharing of resources. I don’t plan to share the slides from the class unless they are really pertinent.
Thoughts from class
This week Professor Mary shared the song “Though the Earth Shall Change” in her opening remarks. I was struck by the beauty and truthfulness of the song and shocked I hadn’t heard it yet on campus.
Parker Palmer’s “Community of truth”
The more diverse the knowers the more robust the knowing
A subject has active agency, so the very act of perceiving something changes that which is perceived.
The Circle Poem from Mercy Amba Oduyoye
Justice is:
· not personal, it is how we live out our lives in public.
· Embodied
Response to Scripture
This scriptures for this week were: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4, Psalm 37:1-9 (5), 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10. Here’s what stood out.
Habakkuk: “How long, Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen?” (NIV) How many times did I make this own cry? Why do we have to see the violence, destruction, and evil around us. Perhaps so that we know it is real, to ground us in reality. “Justice is a joke” (Message) How often do we think victims or their families say this? How often do people decline to press charges because they don’t see justice as a possibility? When people choose to take alternate routes (riots and protests) because they don’t see the established ones as providing results. “And then God answered: “Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run.” (Message) “But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive.” (Message) What does it mean to be “fully alive, really alive”?
Psalm: “Trust in the Lord and do good…” (NIV) vs “Get insurance with God and do a good deed.” (Message). “Be still before the Lord/Quiet down before God be prayerful before him…” (NIV/Message) God is a place of comfort and welcome, find rest in that space.
2 Timothy: the love Paul has for Timothy, the maternal lineage of faith (common in Jewish practice). “He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.” (NIV) no works righteousness here, save by God’s grace. The reason Paul is imprisoned is because of his faith and his calling/actions, being a Christian does not mean taking the “easy way.”
Luke: faith the size of a mustard seed, “when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (NIV).
Resources
(1) A song or hymn connected (2) a media piece - art, film, music, cartoon, meme, blog post, etc. (3) an action someone could take - prayer, legislative action, meditation, petition to sign etc. Each resources is related or connected either the lectionary text or the focus area of expansive language.
Song/Hymn
Lord Whose Love Through Humble Service - I especially liked this version I found on YouTube.
Pop Culture Reference or Media Piece
I want to start with one of my favorite, recent children’s books What is God Like by the late Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner. Without this book, I might not have even come to this point in my spiritual journey. Rachel and Matthew use a range of pronouns for God (she/he/they) throughout the book and include fabulous images drawn from the Bible and from imagination.
Images included in this book are: eagle, stars, dancers, rainbow, artist, and more.
“Whenever you aren’t sure what God is like, think about what makes you feel safe, what makes you feel brave, and what makes you feel loved. That’s what God is like.”
Action - Prayer
God of justice and righteousness,
During these times where the wrongdoings of those around us can serve as a distraction from what we’re sent to do, remind us that it is your will, not ours that will be done. We recognize that as much as you are a God of justice, you are a God of safety and comfort. We find stillness before you as we come to you in prayer.
Amen