Bible Reflections for March, 2006
Bible Reflections - March 2006
(Generally, the scripture texts correspond to the sermon texts for the Sundays of March)
Sunday, March 5
Read: Genesis 9:8-17
Consider: The well-known story of Noah, the Ark, and the Flood follows a chapter in Genesis that tells of the extreme wickedness of humanity; it is even greater than God can bear. God decides that creation was a mistake that must be erased, and the flood is the instrument of his destruction. But God is gracious as well as destructive, for he decides not to obliterate humanity but, through one family, to start afresh. Nor will God destroy the animal kingdom. After the Flood, however, God realizes that humans are not basically changed, that sin is still present. What to do? A complete annihilation? God decides the way of violence and destruction is not the way of God, but that God will live with humans in a covenant relationship, seeking to change them through grace, love, and mercy rather than brute power. God places a bow in the sky as a sign of this new way...as though the Warrior God had hung up his weapon and would no longer shoot the arrows of destruction at the children of
the earth.
Reflect:
+ Why was it necessary for some innocent people and animals to die in the Flood because the many were evil and perverse? How can the God who does this be the God of Love?
+ What do you think of when you hear the word "covenant"? In what context is it most used today?
+ Why are rainbows such fascinating and inspiring things to see? What makes people stop their cars and get out to marvel at rainbows?
+ If destruction is not God's choice in dealing with sin, how would you describe God's new, post-Flood strategy for dealing with it?
Sunday, March 12
Read: Mark 8:31-38
Consider: Peter has just confessed Jesus to be "the Messiah," taking the bold leap of courage to declare his faith. But what is the role of the Messiah? Jesus begins to teach them that his messianic mission is one of suffering and death, not power and glory, and it is obvious that such a notion is not what the disciples had in mind, especially Peter, who had just confessed. Peter is bold again in rebuking Jesus for speaking of rejection and suffering, but this is no declaration of faith. Jesus turns and rebukes him as hindering the cause of discipleship by thinking in conventional human terms, not in God's terms. Jesus speaks of the true power of those who "take up their cross," and follow him in the way of the Cross. Those overly obsessed with "saving their life" will actually lose it, while those willing to lose their life in this greater purpose will discover their true life.
Reflect:
+ Do you blame Peter for having a conventional view of what the Messiah would be and do? What conventional ideas that you have held at one time been changed or stretched into new understandings?
+ What might be some ways that we, like Peter, hinder Jesus because we try to deny the way of the cross in favor of the way of acceptance?
+ What do you think it means to "take up [one's] cross"?
+ Do you think Jesus is saying that to follow his way is to actively seek out suffering? Wouldn't this be what has been called a "martyr complex"?
+ What are some of the ways we in our time and society try so hard to "save our lives"?
+ Can you think of particular people who have in some way "lost" their life (maybe literally) to discover a life deeper and richer?
Sunday, March 19
Read: John 2:13-22
Consider:
In this passage, Jesus finds a holy place -- the temple -- profaned by commercialism. The buying and selling served a necessary purpose: so that pilgrims to Jerusalem for Passover could buy the sacrifices required by Jewish law (Leviticus 1 and 3). And there is no indication in John's story that there was dishonesty or extortion by the sellers in the transactions. Nonetheless, the bringing of the marketplace into the holy place elicits a "holy anger" in Jesus and aggressive action. Jesus is challenging the very temple system of sacrifices which entails commerce within God's house, which
should be a place of prayer. The required sacrifices of doves, sheep, and cattle will be replaced by the one final sacrifice necessary for God's people. Then Jesus speaks of that sacrifice as he compares the temple to his body -- destroyed and raised in three days, a sign of resurrection.
Reflect:
+ How does the marketplace intrude upon the spiritual places of worship today?
+ Is fund-raising by selling goods in the church justifiable if the funds support worthy mission causes?
+ When have you felt "holy anger" or "righteous indignation" What energizes you to act to set things right?
+ When is anger useful and when does it become a spiritual liability?
+ The temple represented "institutionalized religion." Must religion be institutionalized to survive over the generations? What are its assets? Its liabilities? How can religious institutions such as the church or synagogue become idols that blind us to God's truth? How do we keep them faithful to their purpose? What do you think would be Jesus' critique of the religious institution of which you are a part?
Sunday, March 26
Read: John 3:14-21
Consider:
This passage contains one of the most memorized passages in the Bible: John 3:16 (also seen at sports events throughout the land). Jesus speaks about himself being "lifted up": this can refer to the cross, to his ascension, or to both. God's purpose in sending Jesus is not to condemn but to save; God
has no neurotic need to punish disobedient people, but sends the light into the world to allow us to see the truth...to chase away the darkness and shadow of deception. But those who still prefer darkness have "condemned themselves," because they have something to hide which would be seen in the light. God's judgment, then, is not so much the "thunderbolt from on high" as it is our choosing darkness when light is available. We "self-select" ourselves as judged
Reflect:
+ What is the difference between "eternal life" (3:16) and "everlasting life?
+ Take a spiritual self-inventory: what "hidden things" would you do well to acknowledge before the God of love and forgiveness in order to move toward spiritual health?
+ What does it mean to say that God is both a God of judgment and a God of grace?
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