{"id":920,"date":"2019-12-08T19:49:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T19:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2019\/12\/08\/hope-for-new-life-based-on-isaiah-111-10-and\/"},"modified":"2020-02-11T21:43:15","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T21:43:15","slug":"hope-for-new-life-based-on-isaiah-111-10-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2019\/12\/08\/hope-for-new-life-based-on-isaiah-111-10-and\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHope for New Life\u201d\tbased on Isaiah 11:1-10 and Luke 1:39-56"},"content":{"rendered":"

It
\nis common to call the writer of the Gospel of Luke… Luke, which
\nmakes plenty of sense. It isn’t likely to be historically accurate,
\nbut it is pretty simple to remember. Whatever the writer’s real name
\nwas, the person who wrote the Gospel of Luke and its 2nd<\/sup>
\nvolume
\nthe book of Acts, is said to be the best writer in the New Testament.
\nFrom my perspective I can tell that Luke does great work with
\nforeshadowing, telling stories within stories to enrich both stories,
\nsymbolism, and themes. However, the really good stuff, I’m told is in
\nhis Greek vocabulary and syntax which are simply just outstanding.
\n\u201cLuke\u201d was a VERY well educated person, and a master of the craft
\nof writing. Given how small the percentage of literate people were at
\nthat time, being so well versed as a writer indicates not only
\nbrilliance and skill but also power and privilege. One simply would
\nnot become that great of a writer without a lot of access to unusual
\nlevels of resources.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nLuke
\nis probably my favorite Gospel writer, and I love Luke for his
\nemphasis on people who are poor, \u00a0marginalized, and vulnerable, and
\nbecause they fit those categories, the women. Luke tells the story of
\nmy faith, presenting Jesus as an ally to those most in need of
\nrescue, and as an organizer able to help people rescue themselves.
\nThis has a bit of cognitive dissonance to it. Based on WHAT he
\nwrites, Luke is a writer of the people. He is empowering, noticing
\nthose society disregards, and telling the stories that the powerful
\ndon’t want told. Yet, based on HOW he writes, Luke is one of
\nsociety’s elites.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nWhich
\nsounds to me like Luke being a living example of the power of Jesus \u2013
\nto convince people to work together to build the kindom no matter
\nwhere they begin life, to be FOR ALL the people as they grow.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nIsaiah
\nwas a prophet, and from what I can tell, a prophet is a speaker for
\nthe people. The Torah set up a society that treated people justly,
\nand prevented an upper class from ruling over a lower class. Yet,
\npeople being people, power, money, and influence tended to coalesce
\nat a top and become a burden to the many. God’s prophets spoke out
\nagainst it, and called people back to God’s vision of a just, equal,
\nand equitable lifestyle.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nWhich
\nis a long-winded way of saying that we have two passages today that
\nare \u201cof the people\u201d and yearning for justice. They do so in ways
\nthat can be a little bit uncomfortable. There are not simply passages
\nthat suggest \u201ca rising tide lifts all boats\u201d but rather ones that
\ntalk about REDISTRIBUTION of wealth1<\/sup><\/a>.
\nThese are passages that are good news for the poor, the lowly, and
\nthe meek … but not for the rich, the proud, and the powerful. I
\nfind the \u201crising tide lifts all boats\u201d sort of justice easier to
\nswallow. This stuff is … harder.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nAnd
\nyet, my activist friends assure me that we aren’t going to get to
\njustice only by being nice. So, let’s examine these texts for wisdom.
\nThis shoot that come from Jesse in Isaiah, have you noticed that it
\ncomes AFTER the tree has been cut down. This is a sign of hope after
\ndestruction and hopelessness. The passage as a whole feels like a
\ncousin of last week’s passage. In this case, the new offspring of
\nJesse (which is to say the new Davidic king) is going to be so
\nperfectly imbued with the Spirit of God that the new King will rule
\nas perfectly as God’s own self would.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nThe
\nimpact of life as ruled as God would have it ruled is shockingly
\ndifferent. When God’s spirit is in leadership, and when the people
\nare following in God’s ways, there will be peace even among animals
\nwho are in each other’s food chains \ud83d\ude09 Safety becomes the center
\npoint of this \u2013 the lamb, the kid-goat, the calf, and the human
\nchild are all safe in the presence of those most apt to harm them.
\nThis is another way of talking about not needing to be afraid,
\nbecause there is no motivation to do harm. In this case, it is clear
\nthat there are no people oppressing other people, no one is \u201ceating
\nup\u201d the resources of the weaker people to make themselves stronger.
\nSecurity, hope, and peace are the result of God’s Spirit. That’s the
\nkindom.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nMary’s
\nsong hits the same notes. Mary is continuing to process that she, who
\nis lowly by the standards of the world, is now \u201cblessed.\u201d She
\nattributes this change to God, and notices that this is how God
\nworks. She says it is God’s nature to do great things, to show mercy,
\nto be strong…. to bring justice. And she names how justice comes.
\nIt is by scattering the proud and bringing down the powerful \u2013
\nwhile lifting up the lowly. It is by feeding the hungry but NOT
\ngiving more to those who already have too much. Mary’s song is,
\nitself, strong and justice seeking. She identifies with the lowly,
\nwho God lifts up. And it is even more interesting to hear that
\nknowing that the writer of the Gospel probably identifies with the
\nrich, and wrote her song this way anyway.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nWhile
\nwe know absolutely nothing about Jesus’s mother with any certainty,
\nwe do know Jesus had a mother. \u00a0The name Mary was associated with her
\na few generations after his death, which isn’t a great reason to
\nassume it is true, but sort of like \u201cLuke\u201d we can go with it. I
\nsuspect Mary got associated with the name of the mother of Jesus
\nbecause Mary is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Miriam. Miriam,
\nthe sister of Moses, has the oldest words in the Bible attributed to
\nher, and saved her brother so he could save the nation Israel.
\nAssociating Mary with Miriam is A-Ok with me.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nOther
\nconjectures we can make about Mary include: she was Jewish, she was
\nfrom Galilee \u2013 most likely Nazareth, she was poor, and it is likely
\nshe was young. She may have been a very faithful Jew, as Judean
\nsettlers were intentionally reclaiming Galilee for Judaism around
\nthat time, and the ones who went were often the ones who were
\ncommitted to the cause. She also might have been influenced by either
\nthe Roman Empire’s violent destruction of the nearby city of
\nSepphoras in her childhood or by the radical Jewish teachers in the
\nGalilee who taught that the God of liberation was going to liberate
\nagain. In any case, while the leaders of the Temple during her
\nlifetime were appointed by Rome and the \u201cofficial\u201d religion had
\nbeen compromised, it is possible (probable?) that Mary knew a faith
\nthat was untainted by the influence of power.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nWhich
\nis to say, that while Luke wrote the words we hear today, and put
\nthem into Mary’s mouth for our story \u2013 they MAY well reflect her
\nfaith itself. At the very least, Mary’s song words as an incredible
\nforeshadowing of the power of God that people saw in Jesus, and I
\nbelieve Jesus’s faith was likely formed by his mother’s.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nIn
\nMark, Jesus is referred to as Mary’s son which is unusual in that he
\nwas not referred to as his FATHER’S son. With the presence of a
\npunishing military force nearby, before Jesus’s birth, there are some
\nparticularly awful possibilities about his father. What we know is
\nthat at some point Mary was pregnant, expecting a child, and likely
\npretty scared. I say that because maternal mortality rates were high,
\ninfant mortality rates were high, and resources in Nazareth were
\nscarce. It is very likely that Mary herself was hungry, including
\nduring her pregnancy and while she was breastfeeding Jesus. She had
\nseen extreme violence from the Empire, and had reason to believe it
\ncould come back at any time. She MAY have been facing the possibility
\nof being ostracized from her community. Thus, I think it is fair to
\nassume she was scared.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nEven
\nstripping away most of that, scared seems right. For years, Kevin and
\nI have struggled with some big questions: is it OK for us to choose
\nto bring a child into this world knowing the dangers of Global
\nClimate Change? Is it ok for us to choose to bring a child into this
\nworld when there are other children who need to be parented? How much
\ncapacity do we have to offer care and support for a child given our
\nother commitments?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nAfter
\nlong talks, prayer, and good counsel, we decided that our ideal
\nfamily would include a child born to us and a child adopted by us. So
\nwe started trying to have a child and…. well, nothing happened.
\nEventually we made an appointment with an adoption lawyer, and
\ndecided to try private infant adoption. We filled out paperwork, got
\nbackground checked, had a home study, and were ready to sign a court
\npetition requesting that we be approved to be able to become adoptive
\nparents when we learned that I was, in biblical phrasing, \u201cwith
\nchild.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now,
\nI live in the 21st
\ncentury,
\nwith pretty great access to resources. While our country is weaker
\nthan it should be, particularly in the care of women of color,
\ncompared with ancient Galilee we have low maternal mortality rates,
\nlow infant mortality rates, plenty of food, and low threat of
\nviolence. Yet as an expectant mother, I’m scared. While I find it
\nexcessive to overly identify with \u201cMother Mary,\u201d preparing to
\nparent has certainly helped me see why she’s so popular. Also, why
\nshe has every right to be scared. We have been wondering how on earth
\nwill we prepare a child to be kind, compassionate, and moral in this
\ncrazy world? How will we teach them of God in ways that feel relevant
\nwhile the world shifts under our feet?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nLet
\nme assure you that we did NOT sign that paperwork and adoption is
\nofficially on hold. Let me also admit to you that being the pregnant
\npastor of this church for the past two months hasn’t been the easiest
\nthing I’ve ever done. I haven’t been puking (WIN) but I have been
\nconstantly nauseated, and instructed to eat every hour. I’ve been
\nexhausted and my emotional resources have been down. At the same
\ntime, I have experienced significant collateral friendly fire as this
\nchurch has worked together on the reality of our budget deficit.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nBetween
\nthe friendly fire and being less resilient than usual, I have spent
\ntime considering if pastoring this church – or even being a pastor at
\nall \u2013 continues to be the right path for me. Some of this is simply
\nabout parenting: I’m nervous about being away from home 4 nights a
\nweek like I usually am now. Some of this is about ministry\u2019s
\ndemands: what will it mean to have to establish the sort of
\nboundaries my child will need, and what will I do when the needs of
\nthe church are in conflict, and what will happen when someone feels
\nthat their expectations aren\u2019t being met? Some of it is about our
\nchild and this church. On one hand I can’t imagine any church but
\nthis one being part of raising our child. I love the way children are
\ncared for during worship. I love our Sunday School and its teachers.
\nI love the way children are treated here, and I love the ways God is
\nunderstood and taught here. However, on the other hand, my stress
\nlevel has been sky high, and recently I’ve seen a lot of behavior I
\nwouldn’t want a child to learn about much less associate with this
\nchurch. So I’ve been wondering, is this a safe and secure place for a
\nchild \u2013 our child \u2013 to learn about God? Will this place fulfill
\nIsaiah’s vision of a child being able to put their hand in a snake’s
\nden safely?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In
\nslow, careful deliberation, with conversation, and consultation, and
\nprayer, and a LOT of obsessing and worrying, I’ve decided not to give
\nup on ministry just yet. Then, even more slowly, I realized that \u2013
\nfor now \u2013 this church is worth the pain. I simply love you all.
\nFurthermore, I don’t believe that this church IS its worst behaviors.
\nDear ones, I believe that this faith community is an expression of
\nthe kindom of God. I believe it is a little bit of Isaiah’s vision,
\nand has the capacity to build the world into one of peace and
\njustice. I’m well aware that we have lots of hard times ahead (and I
\nam terrified<\/b>
\nof
\nthe boundaries I’m going to have to have as a parent, please be
\ngentle with me) but I believe you are worth it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So,
\nanyway, I see why a prospective parent would be scared. And I am
\ngaining a new appreciation for the ways in which a new generation
\nprovides new opportunities: 1) for regeneration, 2) for making right
\nthe things we haven\u2019t gotten right yet, and 3) hope for the future.
\nWe are hoping to raise a child to know God’s love, follow Jesus, and
\nspeak with and for the people. \u00a0And I find myself reflecting on how I
\nhope this community will continue to exist and teach and raise up
\nfuture generations to do the same. Given all this, I see why a
\nprospective parent would choose to stick with the God of Liberation,
\nof Hope, and of Peace. \u00a0And I see why Mary was amazed at her luck in
\ngetting the chance to do so. \u00a0Being a part of the work of God is a
\nblessing and a great opportunity. \u00a0 Thanks be to God. Amen<\/p>\n

1<\/a> Someone
\n\tpointed out after worship that a rising tide may lift all boats, but
\n\tit doesn’t help people who don’t have boats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is common to call the writer of the Gospel of Luke… Luke, which makes plenty of sense. It isn’t … Continue reading \u201cHope for New Life\u201d\tbased on Isaiah 11:1-10 and Luke 1:39-56<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,94,92,93,71,95,64],"class_list":["post-920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-luke","tag-magnificat","tag-mother-mary","tag-my-boyfriend-isaiah","tag-rising-tide","tag-sorry-about-the-umc-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1121,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920\/revisions\/1121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}