Bible Reflections for January, 2006
Text for: Sunday, January 1
Read: John 1:1-18
Consider:
This passage is John's version of the Christmas story -- no manger, inn, shepherds, or wise men, but a testimony of "the Word made flesh" set in the context of creation ("In the beginning..." - sounds like Genesis, doesn't it?). The verses are packed with important themes, but we can identify three things John is underscoring: 1) that Christ was active in God's redemptive work before the birth of Jesus; 2) that John the Baptist was not the Messiah (in contrast to the views of many at the time) but was to testify to one greater than he; 3) that while no one has ever seen God, in Jesus Christ God's glory is revealed as in no other. There is also an emphasis that the coming of Christ is the realization of God's grace beyond the Mosaic law: "From his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (1:16-17).
Reflect:
+ What does it mean to live on "a visited planet"
+ Why was it necessary for God to become incarnate to effect his purpose of redeeming humankind? Why not from afar? What are the implications for our redemptive work on God's behalf in the world?
+ Why was Christ not recognized when he "came to his own" What does that fact seem to indicate about God's self-revelation?
+ What is the difference between "grace" and "law" What aspects of your life feel more like "law" and which feel more like "grace" Do you think of yourself more as a "law person or a "grace person"
Text for: Sunday , January 8
Read: Mark 1:4-11
Consider:
John the Baptist is baptizing those who are repentant and seeking forgiveness; he also speaks of another coming after him who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Jesus comes to be baptized by John, though Jesus had nothing to repent of. As he comes out of the water, only Jesus hears the voice and sees the dove that indicate "You are my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." The church has come to associate baptism not only with repentance and a fresh beginning, but with our call to be part of Christ's ministry. We are baptized into the church of Christ, given a name (an identity), and commissioned for service as a disciple of Jesus Christ. In our baptism we identify with Jesus as he began his service on the Father's behalf. The water signifies the "cleansing" power of God's Spirit, the initiation into God's family, and the sense of being buried with Christ in the waters of baptism and rising with him out of the waters to new life.
Reflect:
+ Why do you think Jesus believed it important for him to be baptized?
+ Can you remember your baptism as an adult or stories about your baptism as an infant?
+ Why might many churches not use an infant's last name when baptizing a child?
+ Do you know the date of your baptism? Some consider it as important as a birth date.
+ Try to visualize Jesus being baptized by John. Now try to visualize your own baptism, if you have been baptized. Imagine God's voice proclaiming you as beloved of God.
Text for Sunday, January 15
Read: 1 Samuel 3: 1-10
Consider:
Hannah has prayed to God for a child and promised to devote her offspring to the service of God. Her prayer is answered and she names her son Samuel, which probably means "name of God." She gave him over to the charge of Eli, chief priest at the temple at Shiloh. In the passage, the boy Samuel hears a voice calling his name three times. Thinking it to be Eli, he runs three times to the old priest, who perceives at last that it is God's voice calling the boy to service as a prophet. Eli tells the boy to respond: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." The passage points us to the discernment of God's call in life; it is difficult for most of us to discern what God is calling us to do. God's voice does not seem to come as clearly to us as it did to some in the Bible; but was it really so clear back then in every instance? Sometimes we may mistake the call of God for the voice of another.
Reflect:
+ This story is prefaced with the words: "The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread." To what extent does that characterize our age...or not?
+ How do you believe you have heard God's call in the past? Was it clear or ambiguous?
+ How can we discern the voice of God from among all the many voices that call to us? What would convince you that it is God calling, and not another spirit from our culture?
+ "Speak for your servant is listening." Are you a good listener? Is some of the reason we fail to hear God's word to us because we don't listen well? How could we become better listeners in our praying?
Text for: Sunday, January 22
Read: Mark 1:14-20
Consider:
Jesus is passing by the Sea of Galilee and calls two sets of brothers to follow him in discipleship. Simon and Andrew, James and John. In all cases they "immediately" drop their work, leave their family, and follow Jesus (Mark uses the word "immediately" many times in his Gospel). This simple story raises issues about "call" and "response." The brothers' responses seem to be impulsive, without regard to taking care of unfinished business at work or with family. Perhaps the story is "telescoped," but there is still the sense of, in Luther's words, "let[ting] goods and kindred go..." in a radical life change.
Reflect:
+ Do you tend to react in a more immediate, spontaneous way to the opportunities of life -- or in a more planned and carefully deliberated way?
+ Are there times when the one way (spontaneous) or the other (considered) might be more appropriate?
+ What things do we need to leave behind in order to follow Jesus on the way of discipleship?
+ What does this story suggest about the place of family? the place of work?
+ These first disciples didn't realize at the time what they were getting themselves into. Are we willing to respond to what we think is God's call, even when we don't have all the roadmaps provided? Can we walk by faith without knowing all that is ahead?
Text for Sunday, January 29
Read: Mark 1:21-28
Consider:
This passage depicts Jesus the teacher and exorcist. The people experienced in him something new: not just a recital of the authority of tradition, but an authority within his person. Perhaps we have had the powerful experience of being taught by someone who brings such fresh and helpful insight -- much more than what that person learned from a book -- that the teaching and the person seemed interwoven. The first to recognize and acknowledge who Jesus is is an unclean spirit in a man: "I know who you are, the Holy One of God." The spirit departs the man at Jesus command, but not without convulsing and loud wailing. Jesus enacts his intent to set captives free; here, one held captive, or "possessed" by an unclean spirit. His will for all is that we be free to be the one God has created us to be. Today we may use terms such as
mental illness or epileptic seizure to describe what in those was called
possession; perhaps the primary point is that some kinds of illness are
visited upon us from beyond ourselves, over which we have no control. Only "a higher power" can release us.
Reflect:
+ What are some of the kinds of "possession" that hold people captive today?
+ Are we able to be "exorcists" on God's behalf?
+ Are you comfortable with the notion of "possession" in speaking of
emotional or physical illness? Why or why not?
+ What are some possible implications for today of the recognition of Jesus as God's Messiah by the unclean spirit before anyone else?
+ Whom do you regard as the authoritative voices in your life...and why??
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