facing judgment; facing ourselves and welcoming others

Good evening friends,
One of the joys of living in Rochester is the fascinating, often beautiful and always interesting weather. Tonight is a great example of that. In our passage this evening Paul continues his discussion on how we should welcome each other without judging. The truth is that God is in charge. We will all have to give an account for our lives and choices one day to God, who is the only judge. When we judge others we try to put ourselves in God's place. We also distract ourselves from looking at the behavior of the only person we have any control over, ourself. So approach everyone with love and welcome; maybe your love is what they need to come closer to God.

As we think of our Muslim neighbors observing the Ramadan this month, a verse from the Qur'an comes to mind. It can be translated "The Quaking" and it gives a poetic image of God's judgment at the end of time. The haunting image is not that we will be sent to hell, but rather that we will come face to face with what we have done, even the things that seem minor. Truly, we do not need to waste any energy judging anyone else. Here's Michael Steel's interpretation of the verse; his book, Approaching the Qur'an also includes wonderful audio recordings of this surra.

In the Name of God, the Compassionate the Caring
When the earth is shaken, quaking
When the earth bears forth her burdens
And someone says "What is with her?"
At that time she will tell her news
As her lord revealed her
At that time people will straggle forth
       to be shown what they have done
Whoever does a mote's weight good will see it
Whoever does a mote's weight wrong will see it

Blessings on your weekend,
Sam

Romans 14:7-12

7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. ⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹For it is written,
‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
   and every tongue shall give praise to God.’
¹²So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Ramadan

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today our Muslim brothers and sisters begin the holy month of Ramadan, a time dedicated to fasting, charity, prayer and reading the Qu'ran. As you may know, my brother and sister in law have long been passionate about peace and justice in Yemen. During Ramadan the Yemen Peace Project, an organization they helped start, encourages people who are fasting to donate the money they would have spent on food to people in need in Yemen. For those of us who are not fasting, we can also participate by skipping a meal each week and donating the proceeds. There's more information about the program here; fasting of any kind can be helpful in reminding us of God's blessings and of the struggles many people around the world face.

Our passage for today is a strange one that illustrates the near chaos Israel faced at the end of the time of the Judges. It also reminds us that for many people in early Israel there may not have been a clear division between God and idols. The same can be true today: our spiritual ancestor John Calvin wrote that the human mind is a factory for idols. An idol is anything that threatens to take God's place. Sometimes even things like the Bible or a church building can become idols if they become our focus rather than a way to connect with God.

Blessings on your day,
Sam

Judges 17:1-6

There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. ²He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and even spoke it in my hearing, —that silver is in my possession; I took it; but now I will return it to you.” And his mother said, “May my son be blessed by the Lord!” 

³Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, “I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal.” ⁴So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah. ⁵This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.

discipleship

Good morning friends,
Today Ramadan begins. During Ramadan Muslims fast from dawn to dusk to refocus their lives on God. Reflection, prayer and serving the poor are important components of Ramadan. This Ramadan, the Yemen Peace Project, an organization my brother helped found, is encouraging people to skip a meal per week during Ramadan and donate what we would have spent on food to humanitarian relief in Yemen. There's more information here, and I'm happy to answer any questions I can. I hope you'll join me in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Yemen.

Today's reading begins an important section in Romans. The first 8 chapters have discussed God's grace in Christ at length. Chapters 9-11 deal with a question close to Paul's heart, why have most Jewish people not accepted Christ and what does that mean? In this first section Paul talks about how being part of God isn't just about your family line or community. That's an important word for us too. Being a member of a church isn't what faith is about. We are called to live our faith and nurture our connection to God through active discipleship. Soren Kierkegaard puts it well: "Sitting in church doesn't make one a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes one a car." Let's use this Ramadan to recommit ourselves to faith and justice.

God bless,
Sam

Romans 9:1-13

1I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit — 2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

6It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel, 7and not all of Abraham’s children are his true descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9For this is what the promise said, “About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” 10Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. 11Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, 12not by works but by his call) she was told, “The elder shall serve the younger.” 13As it is written, “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.”