Weekly Lectionary Webinar

1. WeeklyLectionaryWebinar Readings for Sunday, March 11, 2012 Presented by staff and friends of Sunshine Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church affiliated with the Center for Progressive Christianity Ft Lauderdale, Florida, USA

2. Contributors Rev. Dr. Robert Griffin Sunshine Cathedral Chief Programming Minister Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins Senior Pastor Sunshine Cathedral Rev. Dr. Mona West Director, Office of Formation and Leadership Development Metropolitan Community Churches Rev. BK Hipsher Virtual Chaplain Sunshine Cathedral Director of Sunshine Cathedral in Second Life Rev. Tania Guzman Minister of Congregational Life

3. Sunday in Lent

4. Spiritual Heroes March 14: Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977)—Prophet of freedom. Raised in a family of sharecroppers in rural Mississippi, Hamer rose up as a prophet to challenge the oppression of segregation and poverty. At the age of 45 she attended a civil rights rally and committed herself to the freedom movement. On several occasions she was arrested and beaten, but despite the dogs, fire hoses, clubs, and bombs she drew on her deep faith and vision of justice to challenge the powers of oppression. She died of breast cancer.

5. Spiritual Heroes March 14: Nona Brooks (1861 – 1945) – a major figure in the New Thought movement and one of the founders of the Divine Science Church.

6. Spiritual Heroes March 17: St. Patrick (389-461)—Bishop and missionary of Ireland. This day is mostly known as a celebration of Irish pride and culture, rather than a remembrance of the historic Patrick. He was born into a Christian family in late Roman Britain. At 16 he was captured by Irish raiders and taken into slavery, where his only consolation was his Christian faith. Years later he escaped and returned to England, where he eventually became a Bishop. He felt called back to Ireland, and there was able to spread the Christian faith by working through the tribal leaders.

7. First Reading Psalm 19.1-4, 14 (NRSV) 1The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. 2Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. 14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

8. Second Reading 1 Corinthians 1.27-29 (NRSV) 27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29so that no one might boast in the presence of God.

9. Gospel Reading John 2.13-21 (NRSV) 13The Passover…was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making [this holy place] a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18The [religious authorities] then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The [religious leaders] then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking of the temple of his body.

10. Reflections Rev. BK Hipsher ~ Ponderings The heavens are telling… Hearing but not hearing… My words and my thoughts… A shaming God? Things are not what they seem.

11. Reflections Rev. BK Hipsher ~ Ponderings Moneychangers in the Temple Commentary on sacrifice rather than on money. Rebuilding the temple

12. Reflections Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins ~ Biblical Reflection Psalm: The psalm’s imagery of day and night, sky and space, shows divine Life being made manifest as creation, or Nature. This is more, I believe, than just an appreciation for the mystery of life, the beauty of nature, or the interconnectedness of all life (though such an appreciation is certainly laudable). This psalm is a suggestion that Truth can be found beyond our canons, traditions, or creeds. Spiritual wisdom can be found in the arts, nature, philosophy, science, the world’s many spiritual traditions, etc. The psalm describes the omnipresence that God is, that is to say, “there’s not a spot where God is not.” We can’t be lost from God’s presence because there isn’t any place outside of God’s presence (“Where can I go from your presence? Where can I flee from your spirit?” Ps. 139.7).

13. Reflections Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins ~ Biblical Reflection Gospel: John has this event taking place earlier than the other gospels, and obviously what enrages Jesus is that the Temple authorities are allowing people who are coming to the Temple for a pilgrimage to be cheated. Roman coins with “graven images” of Caesar obviously can’t be used in the Temple, so the money must be changed. Then, with the non-idolatrous currency, people who traveled too far to bring their own sacrificial livestock can purchase animals for sacrifice. But if the money changers are charging for their service, then the new currency is used to purchase an animal, then the animal is given to the Temple, that is triple dipping! And such unfair exploitation of the faithful would violate Jesus’ sense of justice. If this event took place later in his ministry (as the synoptics suggest), then this is probably THE event that caused Jesus to be targeted as a seditious trouble maker. This action, more than any other, may have led to his arrest, trial, conviction, and execution.

14. Reflections Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins ~ Biblical Reflection Of course, John is being written between 90 and 100 CE. Jesus is killed around 29 CE. The Temple is destroyed in 70 CE. John is writing decades after both events. Jesus is depicted as having said the Temple would be destroyed (easy prediction to make after the fact) and raised again; of course, the Temple then is an allegory (showing that much of the bible is intended to be viewed as allegorical) for Jesus somehow remaining present in his followers’ lives beyond his execution. This Resurrection/Death-is-not-the-end-of-the-story symbolism then shares the point the Psalmist made, which is the divine Presence is not contained by nor limited to our sacred buildings, canons, traditions, etc. We (and our world) are God’s temple.

15. Reflections Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins ~ Biblical Reflection Epistle: Divine strength “…God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 1.27 Opponents of equality paint women as being weak, incapable of even making their own moral decisions about their procreative health. Opponents of equality also paint same-gender loving people as weak, incapable (or unworthy) of entering into legally binding contracts of shared joy, responsibility, and commitment (“marriage”). Opponents of equality even seem to consider the poor to be too weak to stand up for their rights as more and more benefits are given to the wealthiest 1% in our country while programs meant to help those who struggle are threatened. But the weak, according to St. Paul, have a strength that systems of oppression just don’t understand. The strength that comes from hope, courage, and integrity is much more enduring that what the world often calls “strong.” Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 Spirit & Truth

16. Reflections Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins ~ Biblical Reflection The Pauline text also shows (like the other two) that God, being everywhere, is where we forget to look. The stories of Jesus being born in a barn, of an exiled Moses finding God in a burning bush, of a crazy guy named Amos popping up out of nowhere to offer a prophetic word, of Jonah being called to minister to his enemies the Assyrians (Ninevites), of Jesus confronting his own prejudice against Canaanites, of him eating with Prostitutes, advocating for children, and affirming Samaritans all are stories of God being exactly where we thought (or hoped) God would not be! Rome (an empire, a system that rewards and punishes, that recognizes power and privilege while also denying power and privilege to most people) is the system that targeted and executed Jesus. But that is NOT the way of the kin-dom (the blessed community, the anti-empire) of God. Those who insisted that Jesus was Messiah or Lord (both an affront to the emperor) were making a crazy claim. Lords have power; they don’t get crucified like a common slave. Lords associate with nobles, senators, and generals, not with hookers, tax collectors, and lepers. For people to find a divine anointing on Jesus’ life flies in the face of worldly, common, imperial wisdom and strength. But as much as we want the church to be Rome with us being privileged instead of victimized, that just isn’t the divine way. We still want Jesus to be a powerful, ass-kicking monarch; but that is Caesar’s job description; not the truth of Jesus’ prophetic, liberating ministry.

17. Reflections Rev. Dr. Mona West ~ Going Deeper • +Psalm 19 and the reading from Paul in Corinthians in this season of Lent invite us to trust God's work in us and in all of creation at a level beyond what is 'sensible' or 'reasonable' by the world's standards. We are called to enter into and to trust a 'story without words.‘ • +In the wilderness of Lent we are called to look for God in unlikely places, the places that seem foolish, the places that seem contradictory, the places that are 'mystery beyond our naming.'

18. Reflections Rev. Dr. Mona West ~ Going Deeper • +Part of the discipline of Lent is to let go of our certainties about how God should act or where God should be found. • +In the gospel lesson for this Sunday I had always thought Jesus used the whip to drive out the money changers but upon reading it again for today I noticed that the whip is for driving out the sheep and the cattle. Jesus herds them out of the temple, then pours out the coins of the money changers and turns over their tables. Still, a pretty vivid image of Jesus!

19. Reflections Rev. Dr. Mona West ~ Going Deeper • +In thinking about ourselves as the 'temple of the Holy Spirit' I will share this quote from Etty Hillesum: And I promise you, yes I promise you, my God, that I shall try to find a "home" and a roof for you in as many houses as possible. There are so many empty houses, where I will bring you in as guest of honor. • -Etty Hillesum 1914-1943

20. Lectionary Discussion~Open Discussion Note: All images used in this presentation are from google on the internet.