Lectionary Planning February 2009

Feb 8

"Zelig and Zeitgeist"

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

"Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!" - Paul (The Message)

Feb 15

"Living an Infinite Life in Finite World"

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

One of my all-time favorite books is a little book called "Finite and Infinite Games."  It is written by James P. Carse and in it he makes the argument that there are two approaches to our actions in life.  He sees everything as a "game" - some are finite and some are infinite.  In other words, some have an defined ending and some continue on without end.  The strength of the book, in part, is his theory of how these two perspectives change our approach to life.  As Christians we sometimes get caught up in the finite perspectives of this world and forget to live life in a way that claims assurance of a life everlasting. 

Feb 22

"I Will Never Be The Same Again"

Mark 9:2-9

Today's story is the story of Transfiguration.  I have always said it's the story that reminds us that God can make your whites whiter and your brights brighter - half jokingly of course, but there is a deeper meaning.  Several years ago I was diagnosed as being situationally depressed.  I was put on meds and into therapy.  I was surprised to find that when they all started kicking in, the world was literally a little bit brighter.  It is like I had been looking at it through a thin veil of fog.  It made me think of the first time I put on glasses.  I didn't know the way I was seeing the world should or could be any better, then all of a sudden I had a new...well, clarity about what I saw.  The story of Transfiguration reminds us, among other things, that having a sincere relationship with God, walking with Christ, necessarily means change, change for the better.  It means once we enter into that relationship, we will never be the same again.