Word of the Week - Mealtime

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. "Bring them to me," he said. Matthew 14

• As many of you know, the picture above is from the diner of Seinfeld. Countless scenes of the hit show were filmed at this very table. As Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine gathered they would share their great victories and great defeats. We were entertained by their extreme depictions of anger, contentment, joy, and despair. Sometimes they supported each other and other times they made fun of each other. They always ate together regardless of the way that they felt about one another at that moment.
• Jesus was constantly eating with other people. At times he ate only with the disciples. He used that time for intense instruction. Other times he ate with the people that society rejected (sick, tax collectors, those of different cultures). He used that opportunity to let those "societal rejects" know that they mattered most in the new order. Finally, he ate with the masses. In those cases, large crowds were influenced by simply being included in the meal.
• In the scripture passage above, the disciples believed under the circumstances, there was no way that a meal could take place. There were too many people, going in too many directions, without enough time, and without the resources. Their fatigue and desire to send everyone home was countered by Jesus' unquenchable desire to eat with those that needed it most.
• You might ask, who can I support this week by sitting down to eat?

Word of the Week - Charity

In only two days the eight-day Festival of Passover would begin. The high priests and the religion scholars were looking for a way they could seize Jesus by stealth and kill him...Jesus was at Bethany...a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perform. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. (Mark 14)

Jesus had a number of reasons to be anxious at the time of this scripture reading. The majority of the lessons he tried to convey were misunderstood by his followers and enemies alike. The religious scholars he so often disobeyed were trying to kill him. His own disciples were trying to determine some sort of 1-12 ranking system. No one was listening.

We can all identify with the scene around the table that night. People around the room had different responses as they tried to process the events of the day. I'm sure they gave Jesus their own opinions. I'm sure they were wispering about what should happen, and what they would have done if they were the leader. If they were like us, they were not listening or offering a sense of comfort.

One person did. She took a very expensive bottle of perfume and placed on him to show her love, support, and empathy. She knew Jesus was in a diffucult place. She did not bombard him with advice, or suggest that he should have taken a different path. She simply reached out in a charitable fashion.

Based on this scripture, the discipline for the week is charity. This week, be intentionally charitable with your gifts. Plan to be charitable, but be spontaneous and offer charity in public places, in the workplace, and in your home. Take time this week to lighten some one's load, either figuratively or literally. Simply listen and offer a loving hand.

Word of the Week -- Amends

He is to lay both hands on the head of he live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites--all their sins--and put them on the goat's head. he shall send the goat away into the desert...the goat will carry on itself all the sins to a solitary place. Leviticus 16

• Have you ever wondered where the term "scapegoat" originated? The above scripture reading is at least one reason we use that phrase. The need for such a practice arose because of the rebellious nature of the people. We should read Leviticus more often, because humans have passed down that rebelliousness through many generations to this very day.
  
• We could learn from this ritual, because we like to place all of our sins on a human being. For example: "The entire economy is (fill in the blank with a president)'s fault."---"My brother pushed me, so I hit him back"---"This coach needs to be fired" When we blame everything on one person, we spare our brain from working so hard. It takes time to consider the entire scope of a situation, and if we look too closely we might find that we are culpable as well.
  
• This Sunday, we will explore the ways that we can comfort rather than blame one another. We will explore how the Israelite community handled the sin of the entire community, and how that influences our path to forgiveness.