tradition and change

Good morning friends,
In our reading for today Paul finally makes it to Jerusalem. When he meets with James and the other leaders of the church there they discuss the rumor among Jewish Christians that Paul rejects the law. Paul does often talk about how the law isn't the source of salvation, but he doesn't reject the law for Jews, only for gentile Christians. So the leaders plan to have Paul publicly observe a Jewish vow of piety to show that he hasn't turned away from the law. We'll see how the plan plays out.

In the church today we have some similar challenges. We need to be open to change to engage the world in new ways. At the same time we need to respect the traditions of the church and those who have been faithful to God through the church in the past.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 21:17-26

17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. ¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. ¹⁹After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰When they heard it, they praised God.

Then they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. ²¹They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. ²²What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. ²⁴Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law. ²⁵But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgement that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.’

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself, he entered the temple with them, making public the completion of the days of purification when the sacrifice would be made for each of them.

firstborn sons

Good morning sisters and brothers,
On Sunday we'll welcome our new music director, Soo Yeon Kim to Laurelton. Soo Yeon brings wonderful musical and educational gifts, and I'm excited for how she will strengthen our music ministry. Please help make her feel at home.

God and Moses both recognize that education is critical in forming faith generation after generation. That's a big part of the reason for the religious observances God commands. There's special attention to telling the story to the next generation, the folks who didn't see God's amazing action in Egypt and might not have as clear a sense for God's power. This passage encourages us to think about how we tell the story of God to our kids. When your kids or friends ask why you go to church or why you celebrate a holiday or event, what do you tell them? How do you connect God's love to your daily world and help others do the same?

God bless,
Sam

Exodus 13:11-16

11“When the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you, 12you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s. 13But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem.



14When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

first Passover

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today as we reflect on labor we're grateful for the labor movement that has furthered the cause of equality for workers. We also remember, especially now, that we have a long way to go. We remember those who want to work but can't and those who work so much that they can't rest.

Moses tells the Israelites how to mark their homes so God's destroying angel won't kill their first born sons along with the Egyptians. It's interesting too that even in the midst of this moment of trial and liberation God has Moses set the Passover up as a permanent tradition rather than a one time thing. The role of tradition is to keep reminding us of how God has saved us in the past to keep us humble and grateful. May we always remember God's love for us.

God bless,
Sam

Exodus 12:21-28

21Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. 22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. 23For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down.



24You shall observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. 25When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. 26And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this observance?’ 27you shall say, ‘It is the passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.’“ And the people bowed down and worshiped. 28The Israelites went and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

tradition and calling

Good morning friends,
Jesus makes a distinction here between religious traditions developed by people and doctrines given by God. He makes this point in response to criticism from the Pharisees about his disciples failing to perform traditional hand washing before eating. Jesus argues that the Pharisees make up traditions that interfere with God's guidance to people. The example he uses is gifts to God. Jesus claims that by emphasizing gifts to God in the wrong way the Pharisees end up discouraging people from taking care of their parents in their old age. In this way human traditions get in the way of God's command to honor our parents. This passage is a great reminder that, while tradition can help us come closer to God it can also be a barrier to vibrant faith.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 15:1-9
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” 3He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 5But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. 6So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said: 8‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 9in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’”

lord of the Sabbath

Good morning friends,
In our time it's easy to misunderstand the Pharisees' concern about the Sabbath. While many of us remember a time when Sunday was set apart, we've mostly gotten used to the fact that stores are open and things happen every day of the week. Many of us enjoy an after-church brunch or movie. Even those of us who look back fondly at a day when almost everything was closed are a long way from a culture like Jesus' where one was literally forbidden to work on the Sabbath.

Scripture commanded that the Sabbath be set apart for rest. This wasn't a suggestion; it was a commandment and the penalty for not observing the Sabbath was death. Sabbath in many ways defined the Jewish community, especially as that identity became more important to define under Roman occupation. Jesus isn't just offending a few rigid stick-in-the-mud types; he was really stepping out of the bounds of tradition with his action. Jesus wasn't afraid to step on people's toes with his ministry, but always for the sake of God's kingdom.

Blessings,
Sam


Luke 6:1-11

One sabbath while Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. 2But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 3Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?” 5Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

6On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. 8Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” He got up and stood there. 9Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” 10After looking around at all of them, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. 11But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.