What’s that?
Well, it is one of those obscure, but important teachings of the faith. So important it made the creed which many Christians recite in church every week.
Between his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus entered hell and released those who were captive there, emptying hell.
This is one of the church’s most powerful words of liberation, release, and healing. We will claim it for our own this week, how God sees us through the darkness into new light.
This is the first Sunday of Lent and many of those around you are making commitments to observe certain Christian disciplines for the next 40 days. We believe that regularly spending time in prayer, worship, self-examination and service will help us learn to live the sort of passionate life Jesus lived.
Generosity is a Christian discipline that many people struggle with the most. Particularly in times of economic stress our tendency is to circle the wagons and keep what we have for ourselves. The media feeds that fear with 24-hour news reports every day. It’s difficult to trust God against that much negativity.
But, for those who have the courage to trust – our God is a God of hope, joy and abundance:
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:10
As you begin your Lenten journey, take a courageous step. Try tithing 10% of your income for the next 6 weeks. This step takes spiritual courage – but, the God of hope, joy and abundance promises so much blessing you won’t have room for it.
II Kings 2:1-12; Mark 9:2-9
by the Rev. Dr. E. Scott Jones
Cathedral of Hope – Oklahoma City
22 February 2009
Writing in The Christian Century, James Howell, pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina:
This chariot defies explanation—as the author no doubt intended. Too much of our preaching is confident, because we foolishly think our task is to make the mysterious clear. Elisha could do nothing to explicate the things of God except point to the mystery, shrug and thereby usher people into the presence of the holy and living God.
Maybe when it comes to stories like today’s, the preacher is humbled. This is not a task for words, beyond those of the original authors. Maybe poets can add to the text, but surely these stories are for the artist, the composer, the dancer. I love the piece of digital art I found for our cover this week. Its abstract images and bold colors excite the imagination.
As Elijah is carried into heaven, Elisha has a vision of the armies of God. It is an image of fire and light that awes him. I link this story to those like Isaiah’s vision of God’s throne room or Ezekiel’s vision of the wheel-within-a-wheel; stories which remind us of the awesome majesty of God. It is this power and glory which are made available to us as we draw closer to God. What a wonderful story!
If you can’t tell, I am captivated by the Bible and its stories. My childhood awe has fortunately never left me. The more I study, the deeper the mystery becomes. And the more convinced I am that the greatest spiritual tool is our sense of wonder.
This Sunday ends the season of Epiphany, the time when we should be lost in wonder, catching the dazzling glimpses of the divine.
In my study this week, I encountered a sermon by Brett Younger who was my ministerial friend and colleague when he was at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and we were in the same camping group. He is now at McAffee? School of Theology in Atlanta.
Bret’s sermon delighted in the “gift of wonder” – that we must open our eyes to God’s presence in surprising moments in our lives. A theme I have repeated often this Epiphany season. He went so far as to say that “the goal of the spiritual life is to live with wonder.” I couldn’t agree more.
You know that sometimes when I’m stuck on a sermon, I go walking along the creek in Edgemere Park. When I hike in our state parks, I am often contemplating theological and spiritual themes. I’m a voracious reader not simply because of curiosity, but because I delight in words and concepts and stories.
So I thrilled to passages in his sermon like these:
Laziness keeps us from seeing the flashes of brightness.
It’s a disaster if we pass through our one and only earthly life and miss its glories. We need to see the depths of beauty.
The people around us, even the ones we’ve gotten used to, shine like the sun.
That last line made me think of Michael, and I was filled with a mood of warm affection.
I also delighted in this line from Brett’s sermon:
We can exercise our imagination as much as our reason. We can understand that there is no object (and certainly no person) unworthy of wonder.
And that is when my epiphany occurred. It was brought on by that parenthetical insertion, “And certainly no person.”
And you know who I immediately thought of. Sally Kern.
You see, it is easy to love Michael Cich. It is easy for me to delight in him, to be filled with wonder and awe when I am around him. But I do not have any emotions close to that for Rep. Kern.
We have set her up as our foil, our nemesis. And our enemy she rightly is. Her views represent dangerous distortions of the Christian faith and American democracy. Her views should be challenged in the public sphere in peaceful and constructive ways.
But I am afraid that we are in danger of demonizing her. Of objectifying her. Of doing to her what she has done to us.
So, as I prepared my sermon this week, it became quite clear to me what spiritual challenge God had for me as this epiphany season comes to a close. I must use my imagination to remind myself, and also encourage all of you to use yours, that Sally Kern is worthy of wonder. That she is a child of God. That God loves her and delights in her. Just as God loves you and delights in you. We may not understand that. We may not even be able to see it. It may be impossible for us to imagine what is good, beautiful, and delightful about our enemies, but that is one of the steps in journey of spiritual maturity.
And I don’t just mean Rep. Kern. Who is it difficult for you to imagine as a worthy of wonder? Who challenges your compassion and goodness?
These stories of Elijah and the fiery chariot and the Transfiguration fill us with a sense of wonder, awe, and mystery. They remind us that we must cultivate our sense of wonder if we are to draw closer to God and be more like Christ. The spiritual challenge is to see that beauty and wonder in all of creation, even the places where it is difficult for us.
It is Transfiguration Sunday. The light of God breaks into our lives revealing the power and glory of God which is available to us. Scott will be preaching on the story of Elijah and the Fiery Chariot. Don’t miss radiant worship this Sunday.
Join the discussion of this week’s sermon theme over at the Discussion Forum. One thread is on Elijah and the Fiery Chariot. Another is how the music Scott was listening to while writing the sermon, including George Michael’s Faith, added to his reflections on the topic.
Our pastor has been invited to participate in a new project involving his personal blog and hopefully you, the readers and commentors. It is called Transforming Theology.
Tranforming Theology is an effort begun at Claremont School of Theology with the aim of creating a widespread, on-line discussion of theology:
Through podcast interviews, brief position papers, and blogs, we want to involve you in the new ideas, partnerships, and initiatives. We offer up this project to all who share the vision of a transformed and transformative Christian theology, a powerful voice for the church and society. It is our hope and prayer that the results will travel far and wide, through the internet and by word of mouth, taking on different forms and bearing fruit in other areas far beyond our own horizons. We do not control nor have any proprietary rights to this vision. We share it with involved, committed, and progressive Christians everywhere. And we encourage you through your emails and blogs to keep us informed of your own work, efforts, and ideas.
Here is how they describe “transforming theology”:
“Transforming Theology” has two different meanings, and we mean the phrase in both senses. We seek to contribute to the transforming of theology, so that it remains vibrant and relevant to today’s world. And we believe that vibrant theologies have transformative impacts — on oneself, on the church, on society, and on the world as a whole.
You can find the Transforming Theology blog here.
Scott has been invited to read and discuss a Romans commentary by John Cobb and David Lull published Chalice Press in the Chalice Commentaries for Today series. He just received the book this weekend and began reading and will begin blogging about it soon here.
On Feb 11, 2009 Dr. Rev. Scott Jones served as pastor of the day for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Here is his invocation.
Let me begin by once again thanking the House of Representatives for the opportunity to be present on Wednesday as the Chaplain for the Day. Overall, I felt honored to be there and enjoyed the experience. Many members of both political parties went out of their way to welcome me and express words of appreciation for my prayer. The Speaker and the Speaker Pro-Tem extended hospitality and exhibited grace.
It was not my desire to politicize a prayer. I live and work in Rep. McAffrey’s district and consider him to be a good friend. He invited me the same as he would invite other clergypersons in his district. He encouraged me to invite my congregation, family, and friends. We were fully aware of the historic nature of the event.
I took my pastoral and ceremonial duties responsibly and abided by the guidelines sent to me by the House of Representatives. Wednesday morning I arrived early. Rep. McAffrey took me to the chamber, where he and the ushers walked me through the proper protocol.
Rep. McAffrey had informed me that it was standard practice to acknowledge guests, but that I must first ask permission of the Speaker. When I was called upon to deliver the prayer, I followed the protocol, by stepping to the rostrum, turning to shake the Speaker’s hand and asking his permission to acknowledge guests from my congregation and family who were in the gallery. The Speaker gave me permission. I then proceeded with my written remarks.
After my prayer I remained throughout the day’s session. It was hours later when Rep. McAffrey made what I understood to be a routine motion asking for the prayer to become part of the record, when one member of the legislature objected. I had momentarily stepped out of the chamber in order to visit the water closet. When I re-entered the chamber, I was informed that they were voting on my prayer.
It is unfortunate that some members felt the need to politicize a routine, ceremonial function. It is unfortunate that they chose to politicize a heartfelt and sincere prayer from someone who was born, raised, baptized, educated, and ordained in the state of Oklahoma.
I hope that my prayer for peace and unity will be heard.
Finally, thank you the United Church of Christ for their demonstration of support today.
It was very exciting saying the prayer, and I was nervous, which is not usual for me when public speaking.
I stayed throughout the rest of the session, sitting next to Rep. McAffrey. Various legislators, Republican and Democrat, came by to thank me and say nice things about the prayer.
The session was interesting and it was fun to be sitting next to Richard Morrisette, who led most of the Democratic debate during the afternoon.
At the end of the session, Rep. McAffrey made the rather routine motion of having my prayer entered into the record. It was objected to by one of the Republicans and was then taken to a recorded vote. 20 legislators voted against entering my remarks into the record, though over 60 voted for it, including Republicans. You can find the official record on-line, http://www.okhouse.gov/Legislation/ShowVotes.aspx.
