Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 27 (B), November 7, 2021—Hebrews 9:24–28; Mark 12:38–44 and Ruth 3:1–5; 4:13–17

Hebrews 9:24–28

Rembrandt: Boaz and Ruth

Pen and brush, ca.1637-40, Berlin

 

Christ Carol

 

Perhaps the people who await the Lord’s return—

To deal with sheep and goats, and think he’d sinners spurn—

Should take a look at such a text as this and note,

Salvation comes to those who wait! The antidote

To fear and sin is Christ who saves, who does not hate,

Who is, for all of us, the certain advocate!

So put off fear of what’s to come in death—and life—

And put away the worry that provokes the strife

That some create o’er immigrants, or even Jews;

Because in Christ we have the sure and certain news

That no one is outside what Christ for all has done,

So, say with Tiny Tim: God bless us, every one.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

 

+  +  + 

 

Mark 12:38–44 and Ruth 3:1–5; 4:13–17

 

Not Ruthless!

 

Beware of those who like the part,

who like the way they look in robes,

perfecting every day their art.

This is the same all o'er the globe.

 

If I forget, pull out this text;

remind me of the widow, poor,

who gave—not knowing what came next—

from trust that, on her, love still poured.

 

An earlier widow used her wits

to snag a man for Ruth (and her!)

while knowing all along, grace is

the gift of what could be, conferred.

 

Thus, Obed, David's grandpa, born

to one who served Naomi dear,

was named for service, like that sworn

by One who, in his line, appeared.

 

If Boaz didn't bite, the Christ

we know might never have been born;

This widow's trust in God sufficed;

Not ruthless, we're by love adorned!

 

(The name "Obed" can mean "worker" or "servant.")

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

 

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

 

+ + +

 

As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

 

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

 

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 26 (B), October 31, 2021—Ruth 1:1–18; Mark 12:28–34

 Ruth 1:1–18

        William Blake: Naomi Entreating Ruth and Orpah to Return to the Land of Moab

 

 

Ruthful

 

Three times it’s “daughters” that Naomi calls them,

And urges they turn back, and not proceed;

But step-mothers, such daughters still might turn from,

And for a family of their own be freed.

 

Bloods thicker, say, than water, but I wonder:

By care for this, her in-law, Ruth did feed,

And let not lack of blood tear them asunder,

But showed a greater love, more true, indeed.

 

The love she didn’t have to give, she rendered,

Perhaps to all her offspring down the line;

And Joseph, generations later tendered

This quality his son’s life would define.

 

(Dedicated to Naomi Ruth Cassidy)

 

Scott L. Barton

 

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

 

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had considered his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.” Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

 

So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said,

 

“Do not press me to leave you

or to turn back from following you!

Where you go, I will go;

Where you lodge, I will lodge;

your people shall be my people,

and your God my God.

Where you die, I will die—

there will I be buried.

May the Lord do thus and so to me,

and more as well,

if even death parts me from you!”

 

When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

 

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 12:28-34

A Saint of a Different Color

 

We like to paint the Pharisees and scribes

With one broad brush, as if they're all one tribe,

And think alike!—'til such a text reminds

Us even Jesus would not have us blind

To God's salvation in some faithful soul

Who, by our standards, doesn't fit the role.

Thus, those who follow Jesus dare to see

One never knows who's in the family tree.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 25 (B), October 24, 2021—Job 42:1–6, 10–17; Mark 10:46–52

Job 42:1–6, 10–17

 

William Blake: Job and His Daughters (1800, Butts set)

 

 

Job’s Non-Hollywood Ending

 

First, Job is told to say his prayers

for his annoying friends;

It must be prayer's required for

the Lord to make amends.

Next, sympathy and gifts turn out

to be Job's grieving need,

Since kindness, not explaining,

all our hurting spirits feeds.

And now we know Job's daughters' names!

And they were given land!

Who knew that such catastrophe,

such progress could command?

These things we need to see, to keep

the blindness from our eyes,

About old Job's disaster which

resulted in surprise;

Not just that all was well again,

but life was fully new;

Thus, grace which always looks ahead

is what will see us through.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Then Job answered the Lord: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

 

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his children’s children, four generations. And Job died, old and full of days.

 

+ + +

 

Mark 10:46–52

 

                       El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos): Christ Healing the Blind

                           ca. 1570  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

 

No Scarcity

 

I see just why they tried to hush him up,

To make Blind Bart pipe down, and make no noise;

A guy like that is apt to take away

Attention one might otherwise enjoy.

 

But Bart, who did not see the way I do,

Knew Jesus was the answer to his prayers;

That is, he knew he had the right to love—

Which no impediment can e’er impair.

 

And so, he bravely called out, “Help me, too!”

And, sight regained, then joined with leaps and bounds

The movement pledged to show, that with good things,

There’s always plenty more to go around.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

 

 

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 24 (B), October 17, 2021—Hebrews 5:1–10; Mark 10:35–45 and Job 38:1–7 (34–41)

Preference Requested for James and John

in Martin Luther:

Biblia, die Ganze Heilige Schrift Alten und Neuen Testaments, / 

verteutschet durch Doctor Martin Luther . . .

 

 

Hebrews 5:1–10

 

Obedience to Whom?

 

Obedience is not a word

We’re apt to throw around with praise,

Unless some Christian, misinformed,

Thinks women still should spend their days

In service to their married man.

They use, as Christian “evidence,”

A view in scripture that proclaims,

To God, our Lord’s obedience.

 

Good grief! This text says he obeyed,

But thus, we’re called to do the same—

Obey the one who gave his all,

And follow he whom we proclaim!

Obedience to love’s the rule,

Not to authority, or man;

This is the news that pastors ought

To preach as gospel—and God’s plan.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. 

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 10:35–45 and Job 38:1–7 (34–41)

 

 

Perception Turned Right on Its Head

 

They thought, perhaps, that they might sit,

One on the left, one on the right,

Which would the best positions be

To serve him, in that long, good night.

But he reminded them he lived

To serve—as well, when he was dead,

Which made them scratch their heads, while their

Perception turned right on its head!

 

It wasn't his to grant, which meant

He couldn't even start to say

Just what some life beyond could be,

That he, to them, might then portray.

It's like our cat, who looks to me

And must think that I know it all;

He doesn't have a clue about

The things by which I am in thrall.

 

Thus Job, when daring to complain,

Out from the whirlwind heard the voice

Of one who understood it all,

And, in the end, made Job rejoice:

The point's to know that you are loved,

It doesn’t matter one bit how,

Or what might happen up ahead;

Just shout for joy. For love. Right now.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
 

* * *
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
“Who is this that darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

 

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time/ Proper 23 (B), October 10, 2021—Hebrews 4:12–16 and Mark 10:17–31

Hebrews 4:12–16 

 

Hold Fast (A Lesson for the Pastor)

 

One cannot find a better line

Before the church confession time:

“Since, then, we have a great high priest . . .”

[And read to] “. . . help in time of need.”

 

Fear not to use the scriptures more,

Not just in “lessons;” but restore

The sense, that more than that day’s crowd,

We worship with a witness cloud.

 

Your creativity that day

Cannot compare to the array

Of ways, time-tested, that express

How words, so old, still richly bless.

 

Remember that the gathering

Needs less pastoral blathering,

And more the church’s history

For bringing folk to Mystery.

 

And if this sounds curmudgeony,

Since I’m retired and fancy-free,

Perhaps I wish I could do o’er

The times I fear I must have bored.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

 

Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

 

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 10:17–31

 

Present Tense, or Eternal Now

 

The man ran up, and then knelt down

before the Lord could next leave town;

He asked with some anxiety,

while demonstrating piety,

just what he had to do to get

the big brass ring, through legal writ.

How would the LORD grant such a thing

to this child, so aspiring?

To which the son, who knew the ways

His father worked, then next amazed

the man, who walked away in grief

since offered grace gave no relief.

 

Why grace, you ask, since such a thing

proposed by Jesus seemed to sting?

Just this: That we might realize

eternal life is not some prize

which Jesus by and by suggests

should be his followers' big quest.

The more you have, more you perceive

you have to do, and not receive.

Not camel nor the rich go through,

but love is what threads through to you;

Thus, be not tense, or worry how,

but trust, and live eternally, now.

 

Scott L. Barton 

 

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 

 

Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

 

Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

 

 

A Picture I Can't See

(A poem inspired by a conversation with the Rev. Sarah Buteux, as we were discussing, after a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in 2015, the idea espoused by some in Roseburg, Oregon, that more people need to carry concealed weapons.)

 

I do not think they understand

Propensities the good guys have

To carry evil in our hearts

So sometimes, even we can't save.

If good guys carried guns, they say,

The bad guys couldn't kill as much;

But don't we think we all are good?

And sometimes, can't we all be touched

By what could crawl up from the depths

And do us in—and others, too?

No one is good, but God alone,

Said Jesus then, to me, to you.

 

Or put it this way: if the good

Alone be armed, then that leaves One;

The One who is all good in love

Who'd be the One to hold the gun!

Is that what God is all about?

Would this God kill for you or me?

Pull out his gun from cloak, concealed . . .

 

This is a picture I can't see.

 

Instead of taking life into

God's hands, God goes and lays down laws

Whose purpose is to help us through,

When we, from what is right, withdraw;

A country's laws, as well, seek to

Prevent the harm some might commit

(Including us, none "Good!") that thus

Society and lives not split.

 

Meanwhile, God goes and lays down life,

A giving that we can't control,

So we might follow in his way,

And value each and every soul.

 

Scott L. Barton

  

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone . . . ."