Look Ma, No Hands!

Hebrews 9:1-12
     Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was constructed, the first one, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence; this is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a tent called the Holy of Holies. In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which there were a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat. Of these things we cannot speak now in detail.

     Such preparations having been made, the priests go continually into the first tent to carry out their ritual duties; but only the high priest goes into the second, and he but once a year, and not without taking the blood that he offers for himself and for the sins committed unintentionally by the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been disclosed as long as the first tent is still standing. This is a symbol of the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshipper, but deal only with food and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time comes to set things right.

     But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

Reflections:

     I have continued to enjoy the surprising relevance of a daily lectionary (already chosen Bible text) for whatever is going on in my life. Earlier this week the Women's Bible study had some questions for me about the temple Ezekiel was envisioning and its connection the future temple visions of other parts of the Bible, namely the Revelation to John. I pointed to the reality of the newest temple being Jesus' body. This text seemed to say, yes, and don't forget about this angle!

     So, being "not made with hands" struck me as a powerful addition to the new covenant reality of God in Jesus. So very much in this modern world is human made. We might have thought of plants and animals, but it also specifies "not of this creation." This is not a proud moment of riding a bicycle without hands ("Look Ma, no hands!") or anything like that. This is totally with human effort. Jesus abides with us and is the

perfect celebrant of all that might come before God's mercy seat. We don't make a building, temple, or tent for Jesus. We don't contribute anything for Jesus to be able, willing, and ready to issue a return to oneness with God.

Prayer

Dear Jesus,

I thank you for going before me and being ready for me even when I am not. Thank you for waiting while I was protesting or confused. You are always before me and already loving me and caring for all of us. I lift up into your care all those who are in need... I pray also for all the things that I have messed up with my human hands... I am also thinking of the big mess of human-caused climate change. Lord, help us. Please lead and be with those who govern and rule gathering in the summits so that all your people will come together to slow our consumptive pollution and give love and care back to your beautiful Creation. In the Name of the great High Priest of all, I pray. Amen.

More Cowbell and Emojis!!

     It's hard as a modern to read the Bible sometimes. I became fully aware of this issue yesterday as I was preparing to write this devotional. I typed in a search for texts for the day and came across an online set: Jeremiah 38:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:26-40; and Matthew 10:34-42. Maybe I should have just closed the browser window! Instead, I feel like I fell into a rabbit hole of Bible studying. [Since I know that some of you don't have time for this, I will put extended notes and links below the prayer.]

     I was particularly struck by the difference between the Gospel and the Pauline reading. I was also confronted by one of "those" texts that annoys and causes divisions. This portion of Paul's letter seems out of place with his typical sense of "world-turned-upside-down" by the reality of the Jesus (i.e. Gal. 3:28 - There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.) After my study, though, I walked away feeling like Paul

needed to use more emojis to get his emotions across clearly. I also chuckled and thought it would be nice if any sarcastic statements had cowbells ringing in the background.

Here are the texts:

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is a God not of disorder but of peace. (As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?) Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord.

Matthew 10:34-42

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

Reflection:

     Jesus says that he has not come to bring peace. I am pretty sure that one of the advent materials I just looked at described you, Jesus, as the absolute Prince of Peace! Yet, this also makes sense because we see what happens in the world when the truth is spoken. Those who love themselves more than God or others use all of their wealth to squelch, cover up or paint with lies labelled as an "alternate truth." So, self is lifted up over the Creator and families can become conflicted or divided.

     Some conflicts can come from using the Bible as a paddle or a whip to beat others into submission. "The Bible says..." Both of these texts, sadly, have been taken out of context to push and punish others. Among others, the 1 Corinthians text has been used to deny women of their voice. Too many have twisted the English translations of what Paul says to their own gain. Yet, at first glance this reading seems pretty clear. A few things are always important to remember. Punctuation, paragraph breaks and verse numberings are all not original. There are also small instances where scribes and editors made small editions or changes to the text. It felt to me like this section was possibly not authentic. So, I dropped into the text research and found that this section is not an addition, but as we read it, is a mistranslation. Paul is writing about a conflict in the Corinth congregation around a disorderly worship that was full of all kinds of problems that could leave an outsider confused or downright put off. Paul

was writing to them and they knew what issue he was specifically pointing to. He was likely quoting their leadership (again, remember, the punctuation marks were not available in Bible Greek), "As in all the churches of the saints..." Cowbells should be sounding here. Worship had a small amount of solidarity, but certainly not universality. The quote of the upset faction likely went to verse 36 where the cowbells turn off and Paul first gives a refutation response, "Or did the word of God originate with you men?" 😡 "Or are you men the only ones it has reached?" {Big angry cowbell of sarcasm.}🔔 Yep, that would help to get the point across. It is pretty frustrating that a situation Paul was teaching against has been perceived as the opposite. Women were well known to prophecy and to teach and preach, until the church tried to become more socially acceptable to the patriarchal world. The teachings of radical Jesus, we know, are not acceptable to all. They are, however, open to all and for all.

God of all peoples, we find it all to easy to bicker and fight, push and punish. Guide us to see your Way of Love. Enable us to see the missteps and mistakes that we make in understanding your Word. Let the love of Jesus reign in our hearts so that we appreciate the differences and diversity of your awesome Creation. Build us up to treat one another with the deepest respect. In your Name we pray. Amen.

Notes:

A number of links from this ELCA page: https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Publicly-Engaged-Church/Justice-for-Women/Leadership

Here is a deep dive into the details of the 1 Corinthians 14:33-38 translation issues into English:

https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/priscilla-papers-academic-journal/1-corinthians-1433b-38-pauline-quotation

It really isn't that hard!

     For those of you that have heard me preach, I am warning you ahead of time, you might know that
this is a bit of a frustration for me. But, seriously, it isn't that hard. I just don't understand. Why do we keep doing it. Next is the reading for today. I am going to put the rest of my rant, I mean response, below it.

Matthew 9:1-8 -New English Translation

After getting into a boat he crossed to the other side and came to his own town.  Just then some people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.”  Then some of the experts in the law said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”  When Jesus perceived their thoughts he said, “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.”  So he stood up and went home.  When the crowd saw this, they were afraid and honored God who had given such authority to men.

     An advertisement for the New English Translation describes itself as the newest English translation of the Bible. It is now in its second revision and is dated 2003 (which by internet standards is not new, but by Bible standards is quite new). The Bible.org translation team does describe itself as "Evangelical." That is probably part of the problem. Their gender bias is showing. It is, however, supposed to be a different translation based upon the best research directly from the Greek and Hebrew. This isn't the only Bible translation that gets its wrong. As far as I can tell, they all do! It really isn't that hard! Even the Common English Bible (dated newer at 2011), which tries to address this issue, somehow swings and misses with "The Human One." This misses the relationship aspect ("Son") and that Jesus was a specific person with a gender. 

     Yes, Jesus gives himself an unusual title, but it is made stranger and more opaque by a poor English translation. He describes himself with words that connect with Daniel and Ezekiel--"The Son of Humanity." It should not read "The Son of Man" in any current, new or modern Bible. The word in Greek means a human with no gender specificity. Yes, I know there was some goofy English convention to use generic statements about humans by saying any general male term. The problem is that it leaves a broad set of people out of a title that is supposed to be a universal title! This is the title that Jesus uses for self description. It matters. It also means that we miss our part because the section ends with the same bad translation pointing to authority with a certain subset. The universal title also means that ALL of us are responsible for bearing the healing and helping Way of Christ.

     Well, if you ever feel like people don't get you or can't seem to hear the way you prefer to be addressed, Jesus is with you there too! If you are frustrated by others missing the point of what you are doing, Jesus certainly can relate with you. If you feel like others aren't working as hard as you,... Yes, you got it. Jesus is there with you. 

Jesus, we pray that you teach us to listen. We are not very good at it most of the time. Guide us to truly understand your titles, mission, and purpose. Help us also to see how you accompany us in our daily lives. We adore you and praise you for your presence and peace. In your Name, we pray. Amen.