Bible Reflections for June, 2006
Sunday, June 4
Read: Acts 2:1-21
Consider: This is the story of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' early followers (you might check "The Pastor's Message for May" for some reflections on Pentecost). Pentecost was a Jewish festival that has come to mark for Christians the birthday of the church. The giving of the Holy Spirit completes the triune movement of God in human life: Father (Creator), Son (Redeemer), Holy Spirit (Sustainer). It was an experience of ecstatic speech (speaking in tongues), but unlike most expressions of tongue speaking today, it was a time of understanding one another, not a sound of babble (Babel). Pentecost seems to mark the restoration of unity to those who had been "scattered" and separated by language barriers (marked in the story of the Tower of Babel, Genesis 11). In other words, God's Spirit reunites, restores, and builds community--a divisive spirit cannot be the Holy Spirit. The Spirit also energizes, empowering people to see more than they had seen before and to do more than they ever could have dreamed.
Reflect:
+ When in life have you felt most "spirited" What were you
doing or how were you developing at the time?
+ What energizes you to action? Could it be an expression of
the Holy Spirit?
+ How are we able to distinguish the presence of the Holy Spirit
from all the other spirits that excite people? (Group spirit, team spirit, spirit of accomplishment, spirit of family togetherness,\ party spirit--as in politics, party spirit--as in people having a good time together?)
+ When have you felt reunited to someone from whom you had become alienated? What did it feel like to have the relationship restored?
What enabled the movement from estrangement to reunion?
Sunday, June 11
Read: Isaiah 6:1-8
Consider: The young Isaiah has a vision of heavenly worship: God is on the throne attended by winged creatures singing praise to the Almighty. But such awesome holiness reminds Isaiah of his own unworthiness and his painful shortcomings. He cries out his anguish and confesses his uncleanness, and then is spiritually cleansed by a burning coal from the altar brought by an angel. Being declared forgiven, he hears the call for one to be sent as a spokesperson for God and replies enthusiastically, "Here am I...send me." This experience of Isaiah forms a pattern for Christians in their worship of God: Praise and adoration of the Holy One, standing in awe before Gods glory. Confession of our brokenness and sin in light of Gods perfection. Pardon by God's great mercy. The hearing of God's call to us through God's Word (the Bible). And then our response to that call, which takes us out of the sanctuary and into arenas of service and mission. Worship doesn't end when we leave church...it continues in the response of our life in the world.
Reflect:
+ Isaiah's God is an awesome God. Is your God too small? Too much conceived in your image rather than "wholly other"
+ Do feelings of unworthiness plague you at times? How do you deal with them? Are you able to really hear God's word of forgiveness...or do you carry around the unnecessary burden of unforgiven guilt?
+ Have you ever felt that God was calling you to a specific place
or task? To play a particular role in some situation of life?
+ What opportunities are available for you to respond to God's love through service to others? What are some ways you believe God has gifted you? Who might need your gift?
Sunday, June 18
Read: Mark 4:26-34
Consider: Jesus tells two parables from the world of agriculture to point to what God's kingdom is like. It is a reality that is at work in the world in a mysterious and secret way, like seeds that are sown one day and sprout the next, the farmer knows not how, but trusts the unseen working of nature. So with God's realm: we can plant seeds but it is God who gives the growth.
There are things in life we cannot accomplish--can only entrust to God, whose ways are often hidden until the "harvest" appears. That mysterious growth of God's purpose often begins small and barely noticeable--like a mustard seed--but develops into something of great significance--the greatest of shrubs. So don't underestimate the power of the "little things" of life that
can come to mean much in God's way of working.
Reflect:
+ What are some of the "small gifts" of life that have grown to mean much for you?
+ Do you find it difficult to trust the deep, unseen workings of life--or does your faith in the goodness of God and the inevitability of God's purpose lessen your "control needs" in life?
+ What "seeds of the kingdom" are we able to sow that God may grow?
+ How are these parables signs of hope for you?
Sunday, June 25
Read: Mark 4: 35-41
Consider: Jesus and his disciples are crossing the large lake in a boat when
suddenly a violent storm begins to blow, the waves almost swamping the boat.
Jesus is sleeping in the stern. In fear and frustration, his disciples awaken
him with the words, "Don't you care that we're about to drown?" Jesus awakens
and rebukes the wind and calms the sea. The disciples are awe struck at
Jesus' power over nature; Jesus is astounded at their lack of faith.
Reflect:
+ Have you at times felt, amid some "storm" of your life, that God didn't care about you? In your fear and frustration, did it seem as though God were asleep and inattentive to your need? How did you feel?
+ Does this story tell us that while God does not prevent the storms of life from coming upon us, God helps us to face them with trust and find an inner peace amid the powers that threaten us?
+ Have you ever felt that God was using you to speak that word of peace to another, or be a comforting presence to one beset by a stormy life crisis?
Sunday, July 2
Read: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Consider: This passage is about generosity in giving. Paul is writing to the Corinthians to ask their help for the support of the church in Jerusalem through a relief fund to assist with brothers and sisters in need. He sees this contribution as a vital sign of the unity of Christ's church, across national and ethnic lines. He points to Jesus Christ as the inspiration for generosity, the one who, though rich in his relationship with God, gave up himself and became poor so that all might be spiritually rich. Christ's example of self-giving should motivate the Corinthians to continue and complete the good work of generous support which they had begun. But there should be some balance: one need not give to the point of impoverishment; there is abundance to go around so that all have their need supplied. Some day, he says, you may be the needy ones and those you presently help may be the ones to provide for you. We are ultimately interdependent.
Reflect:
+ Who are the generous people who have come into your life? What do you think inspired their generosity?
+ It has been said that "Only that which we can give away can be called our possessions--everything else possesses us." Do you agree? Why or why not?
+ In what ways do you experience God's abundance apart from monetary or material blessings?
See all posts on Bible Study