\nSpitzer talked about the roots of modern Rabbinic Judaism as emerging
\nin the period after the destruction of the 2nd<\/sup>
\nTemple (70-200 CE). \u00a0This is the same period as the formation of most
\nof the Christian texts. \u00a0Jesus lived earlier, of course, but most
\nscholars date the earliest Gospel, the Gospel of Mark, to 70 CE
\nbecause it mentions the destruction of the Temple.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/4aabdf486e173b4576e7d4bcf4e9f074\/616b29256d05e85f-0c\/s540x810\/41493b2fa34c7341e8d4c253bb56cc8b0405877c.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nThat
\nis, both Modern Judaism and Christianity-As-We-Know-It (as a separate
\nfaith tradition) emerged after, and in the response to Rome’s
\ndestruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. \u00a0It was in making sense of
\nthis horrific disaster that new expressions of God’s ways in the
\nworld emerged.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nThis
\nis particularly interesting to me because the Hebrew Bible was
\nwritten down in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and the
\nFirst Temple in 587-586 BCE, when the Jewish leaders and scholars
\nwere sent into exile. \u00a0The stories, of course, were much older, but
\nthey were written down then, and that means that they were written
\ndown with the question \u201cwhy did this happen to us?\u201d at the
\nforefront.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nThat
\nis, the Hebrew Bible gets written down and tries to make sense of
\ndeath, destruction, and disaster. \u00a0The majority of the \u201cNew
\nTestament\u201d gets written down and tries to make sense of death,
\ndestruction, and disaster, AND concurrently the Jewish Mishnah gets
\nwritten down and tries to make sense of death, destruction, and
\ndisaster. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nIt
\nseems to indicate our faith traditions are deeply rooted in trying to
\nmake sense of death, destruction, and disaster, or that God is up to
\nnew things when prior systems are destroyed, or that in trying to
\npreserve what used to be we end up making new things possible, or
\nthat God can bring good even out of bad, or maybe all of the above.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nIn
\nany case, I think it is interesting, and worth continuing to ponder.
\nEspecially now, when we have experienced death, destruction, and
\ndisaster, and are wondering what we and God will be up to next.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nOur
\nHebrew Bible Lesson today from Jeremiah speaks lovingly of the \u201cnew
\ncovenant\u201d between God and the people. \u00a0This is such a foundational
\nidea in Christianity that we may not know that this passage is the
\nONLY time such an idea emerges in the Hebrew Bible. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cFoundational,\u201d
\nyou say, \u201cwhy?\u201d \u00a0Think of the words \u201cold testament\u201d and \u201cnew
\ntestament\u201d and remember that testament is a synonymous with
\ncovenant here. \u00a0This is how some people made sense of the whole
\nChristian tradition. \u00a0That said, there are far too many who take
\nthese words to mean that the Hebrew Bible is old, or outdated, or
\nreplaced, and that is problematic. \u00a0We intentionally use the words
\n\u201cHebrew Bible\u201d to recognize our shared biblical tradition.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nAnyway,
\nback to Jeremiah. \u00a0Jeremiah is a prophet of the exile, and \u00a0for much
\nof the book Jeremiah warns of the dangers of the impending exile.
\nHowever, once the exile happens, Jeremiah’s tone changes, and he
\nturns to comfort and hope. \u00a0This passage is part of that, promising a
\nreturn to God’s promises and relationships. \u00a0The promise is
\nparticularly full, as it speaks to both the northern and southern
\nkingdoms, the wholeness of Ancient Israel. \u00a0It is also full in that
\nthe new covenant will not be dependent on the people’s faithfulness.
\nGod will take care of it.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI
\nwill put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and
\nI will be their God, and they shall be my people. \u00a0No longer shall
\nthey teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,”
\nfor they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,
\nsays the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their
\nsin no more.\u201d (Jeremiah 31:33b-34, NRSV)<\/p>\n
\nIt
\nis a lovely vision, in some ways the ultimate comfort: a relationship
\nwith God one can’t mess up.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nThe
\nChristian church has claimed this covenant as their own. \u00a0Take these
\nwords from our communion liturgy, \u201cBy the baptism of his suffering,
\ndeath, and resurrection you gave birth to your church, delivered us
\nfrom slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by
\nwater and the Spirit.\u201d (UM Hymnal, page 9). \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nI
\nhave some deeply mixed feelings about this claim. \u00a0On the one hand,
\nit fits with my assumption that our status as beloveds of God is
\nbased on the nature of God (grace) and not on our performance. \u00a0On
\nthe other hand, it seems rather profoundly to miss out on the idea
\nthat God wants us to take care of each other, and that our actions
\nmatter in the building of the kindom.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nOr
\nmaybe I’m exaggerating. \u00a0After all, Jeremiah’s idea isn’t that the
\npeople ignore God’s wishes. \u00a0Rather it is that they know God and
\nGod’s grace so well that it is inherent in them and they live it out
\nnaturally. \u00a0(I have mixed feelings about this too \u2013 in that it is
\nlovely, but simply not true of Christians I know.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In
\n1 Corinthians we read the first historical record of communion. \u00a0Paul
\nhad planted the church in Corinth but had been away for a few years.
\nIn the first century CE the communion meal was a full common meal
\n(think potluck) during which the last supper was remembered.
\nApparently in the time after Paul left things had gone off kilter a
\nbit. \u00a0According to Marcus Borg:<\/p>\n
\nthe \n<\/p>\n Borg <\/p>\n How <\/p>\n It <\/p>\n And <\/p>\n The <\/p>\n That <\/p>\n I’m <\/p>\n 1<\/a>Marcus 2<\/a>Ibid.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rev. Sara E. Baron <\/p>\n March 21, 20201<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nwealthy (who didn’t have to work) would gather early for the meal.
\nBy the time the people who worked (most of the community) got to the
\nmeal, the wealthy had already eaten and some were tipsy. \u00a0They may
\nalso have served the best food and the best wine to themselves before
\nthe others arrived. \u00a0Such was common among the wealthy of the world.
\nFor Paul this violated the ‘one body’ understanding of the body of
\nChrist. \u00a0It meant bringing hierarchical distinctions of ‘this world’
\ninto the body of Christ.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\ngoes on to explain the later threat to those who eat and drink and an
\n\u201cunworthy manner\u201d. \u00a0\u201cIn this context, eating and drinking the
\nbread and wine ‘in an unworthy manner’ refers to the behavior of the
\nwealthy in perpetuating the divisions of ‘this world.’ In Christian
\ncommunities, these divisions were abolished.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\nquickly the early church struggled with the equality and equity of
\nGod’s kindom! \u00a0How hard it is to let go of hierarchy and let love for
\nall be the way decisions are made. \u00a0How familiar that is. \u00a0Those of
\nus who are white have been trained in mostly subconscious ways that
\nwe are at the top of a hierarchy, and when left to our own devices we
\nwill re-create systems that put our needs at the top while telling
\nourselves it is OK. \u00a0Like the wealthy Corinthians might have said,
\n\u201cWe told them it started at 4, but they don’t make it until 5:20.
\nWhy should we have to wait when we TOLD THEM what time it started?\u201d
\n Or when a white person takes their own shame, guilt, anger, or
\naggression as a reason to violate, harm, or kill \u00a0people of color.
\nOr even in the tiny little micro-aggressions of every day, related to
\nwho gets heard, who gets believed, who is expected to be soothing,
\nwho is expected to sooth, and whose pain matters.<\/p>\n
\ntook Paul saying, \u201cdon’t violate God’s table like that\u201d for it to
\nbe heard. \u00a0But I’m guessing that the reason he knew it was happening
\nwas because the impoverished members of the community had been saying
\nso for quite some time, and finally tried a new way of getting their
\nneeds heard. \u00a0I am hearing from Asian and Asian American friends and
\ncolleagues that violence against Asians and Asian Americans has been
\na regular part of their lives in the United States all along, and has
\nbeen FAR worse for the past year +. \u00a0I am also hearing exhaustion and
\nhorror that a white man used his own shame as motivation for mass
\nmurder, mostly of Asian women. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nlet me say, because it MUST BE SAID, that a person doing sex work
\ndoes not IN ANY WAY change their human value, nor make it permissible
\nto harm that person. \u00a0Indeed, most people who support themselves with
\nsex work are people who exist in the most vulnerable positions of our
\nsociety, and as such are worthy of the most care and support to
\ncounterbalance the harm they’ve lived.<\/p>\n
\nChildren and Youth of the Church have been working this Lent to
\nsupport a Lenten project to respond to hunger. They have invited us
\nto collect one canned good or \u00a0nonperishables a week to donate to the
\nSICM food pantry. \u00a0We are invited to bring those gifts this coming
\nSaturday (March 27 for those watching this NOT on Sunday) at the
\nflower sale. \u00a0Those tangible gifts serve as a reminder of other
\npeople’s tangible needs. \u00a0It is also possible to make a donation to
\nSICM through our website or by check, knowing that SICM can buy food
\nat the Regional Food Bank at a very discounted rate.<\/p>\n
\nis to say, that as we prepare God’s Communion Table for ourselves
\ntoday, given Paul’s admonitions, it might be a good time to be sure
\nthat as we receive God’s gifts of grace, life, and hope, we extend
\nthe table as we are able. \u00a0Or, perhaps this is \u00a0time for gifts to
\nPatty’s place. \u00a0Patty’s Place is an outreach-based service for women
\nat-risk, exploited, or involved in sex work. They provide immediate
\nresources and long-term referrals.<\/p>\n
\nless than sure we’re embodying Jeremiah’s new covenant, but I am
\nentirely sure that the part that says that God is with us, in our
\nhearts, and claiming us as beloveds is true. \u00a0And I’m sure that we
\nhave wonderful ways to respond to God’s love \u2013 with love, even,
\nESPECIALLY in the midst of disaster. \u00a0Let’s do it! \u00a0Amen\n<\/p>\n
\n\tJ Borg, \u00a059 Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order
\n\tthe Books Were Written<\/i> (United
\n\tStates of America: HarperOne, 2012), 59.<\/p>\n
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n