Author: SusannahDB

Book Review-Eating and Drinking

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Eating and Drinking Elizabeth T. Groppe

Emotional Response-3

Scholarly Response-4

This book is a part of a series by Fortress Press called Compass: Christian Explorations of Daily Life. This book is divided into three sections. Section 1 is a look at eating and drinking in 21st Century America. Section 2 is a “Christian theological vision of eating and drinking” (4). And section 3 helps us make sense of the first two sections by reflecting on how we as Christians can eat and drink in ways that are more in tune with our faith.

In section one, she eats like a “typical American” for a day. She has coffee, serves her son a sugary breakfast cereal, a banana for a mid-morning snack, a fast food lunch, chocolate as an afternoon snack, and a dinner of frozen French fries and chicken nuggets. As she eats this foods, she describes the history of each food and how it comes to be in our grocery stores and homes today. I appreciated how she combined history and current farming practice to give us a full picture of how the food we eat is produced.

In section two, she utilizes the work of theologians and our sacred text to contemplate our relationship to food. She begins by exploring the two creation stories and then moves on to Adam and Eve in the garden. I found this thought about their sin to be thought provoking, “We transgress not because we desire things that are evil, but because our desire for lesser goods eclipses our desires for God” (49). What is it we value too much? How might we value God more? Did Adam and Eve’s fruit eating mark the moment when humans first became consumers? (49-50). We continue our journey through the Bible with the stories of Noah, Abraham and Sarah, and surviving in the wilderness. She reminds us of the biblical mandates to care for those who are hungry and to live in harmony with creation and with the plants and animals who also call creation home. Using miraculous stories of feeding and the story of the last supper, we are reminded that eating was important to Jesus.

Section three opens with my favorite Scripture, Luke 24, where the risen Christ is recognized at table in the familiar act of breaking bread. She takes this story and pushes it back at us asking if the disciples would recognize Jesus today in the meals we eat? In this section, she opens our eyes to ways that our ancestors in the faith have been faithful in eating. She discusses fasting as a way to be more connected with so many who lack food and a way to think about eating more spiritually. She reminds us to offer a blessing before eating food and to ponder if we can ask God for a blessing on our food if the food was not grown and harvested in a way that is compassionate for the animals, soil, or workers? She asks us to start or continue to share the bread we have with others who are hungry. We can have more involvement in our own food by working to turn our national swords into plowshares. In a few pages entitled “Feasting”, she shares the story of how she made new friends by sitting down and eating a meal with them. Her book ends with a reminder to give thanks to the Creator who gave us life. “To give thanks is to receive without grasping, to eat without consuming, to taste without transgressing, and to live in the awareness that both the bread on our tables and the food and drink on the altar are unmerited gifts of the God who is love” (112).

I apologize for not posting an image of this book. I read it in the Virginia Theological Seminary Library and forgot to snap a picture before I left the library. Augsburg Press has more information and a picture too!

Worship Words-Call to Worship (God of Abundance)

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One-Here we worship the God of Abundance.

All-Here we hear of God’s goodness and love.

One-Here we are challenged to love and live as God’s children.

All-Here we put our faith in action.

One-Here we hear God’s word.

All-Here we share our time and talents.

One-Here we see each other as God’s children.

All-Here we eat at Christ’s table.

One-Here we splash in the waters of baptism.

All-Here we sing praises and laments to our God.

One-Here we know we are loved.

All-Here we know we are loved.

This call to worship was inspired by Sunday’s Gospel text, John 6: 1-21.

 

Racial Justice…Same as It Ever Was?

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Sometimes I don’t know what to do or say in response to a situation. I listen to the news and pray for the people around the world whose stories draw media attention. I read stories and comments posted by my facebook friends and colleagues. The story that caught my attention this week was the arrest and death of Sandra Bland. I did not know her. I do not know all the facts of this story. What I do know is that too many people are dying needlessly and senselessly in this country. Last week my facebook feed featured stories of black churches burning and black clergywomen receiving death threats. And this morning I heard this song, Same as It Ever Was by Michael Franti and Spearhead. I felt like I could not remain silent about the black lives matter movement any longer. I firmly believe that we are all created in the image of God and we are all God’s beloved children. Saying black lives matter at this time in history does not diminish God’s love for all of us, instead it is a reminder that because we are called to care for each other we must speak out on behalf of those whose voices are being silenced.

I have so many questions. I want answers. I want to fix things. I want everyone in this country to have opportunities, to feel safe, to be loved, and to have enough.

I’m writing this to figure out what to say while recognizing there are no right words and knowing what needs to be said right now is that something needs to be done! So what am I doing? I’m writing this post in the hope it will encourage conversation and raise awareness. I’m participating in a new book group to study the history and current status of racism and using what I learn to change myself and to influence change in others. I’m learning from others and seeking out great resources like Showing Up for Racial Justice. And I’m wondering what you are doing? How can we partner to change things?

And, I’ll continue to pray. Join me in praying for our country.

Tea Samples

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You will not be surprised to read that I love visiting tea shops. I love talking with the people who work at the shops and hearing their recommendations of new teas to try. And I love the free samples. Recently I visited  Capital Teas. They had two teas available for sampling. One of these teas I will never forget. I sampled their Sailor’s Delight. It was served cold and was so tasty. It is a blend of green and black tea with strawberry and papaya too. Delicious! I highly recommend it.

As I said I sampled this tea and enjoyed it. And then, I noticed that my tongue was tingling. Pretty soon my tongue started to swell a bit. As I was walking to the store to get some Benadryl, I began to cough. The good news is that I now know that I am allergic to papaya. I had been searching for years to find out what fruit I was allergic to after a reaction years ago. Also, good news is that after some medicine, lots of liquids, and a good night of sleep, I feel just like myself again. The bad news is that I won’t be able to drink Sailor’s Delight again. I do highly recommend it to everyone else!

Worship Words-10 Commandments Sermon

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Scriptures-Exodus 20:1-17 and Mark 10:17-27

As we ponder the ten commandments today, what do you think about them? What do they mean for you as a person of faith? Are they one more list of things to add to your already full to do list or are they life giving models for how God dreams we can live? Possibly they fall somewhere in between for you or maybe you rarely think about the 10 commandments.

Thomas Long said this in an article on the commandments, “In popular religious consciousness, the 10 commandments have somehow become burdens, weights, and heavy obligations. For many the commandments are encumbrances placed on personal behavior. Most people cannot name all ten, but they are persuaded that at the center of each one is a finger-wagging “thou shalt not.”¹ For others, the commandments are heavy yokes to be publically placed on the necks of rebellious society.”

Viewing the 10 commandments in this way as a burden or restraints around our necks, rules that must be followed or else, holds us back from living our lives in the way God intended. God gave us the gift of life, so not living our lives the best way possible is in fact, a sin. We sin when we live in fear of failure because we are not using the gifts God has graciously given us. If we spend all our time thinking about what we aren’t supposed to do, there is no time left to do anything. God wants us to live our lives, to see the beauty in creation, to build strong relationships, to help others live. We were created to do good and that is what the 10 commandments help us to do.

Let me briefly sketch the story that surrounds the commandments. As the book of Exodus begins, there arises in Egypt a king who didn’t know Joseph. Remember, Joseph had found favor with the Pharaoh when through Joseph God interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. The Egyptians were saved from starving in years of drought and for this Joseph became the Pharaoh’s right hand man. When the book of Exodus starts, Joseph has been dead long enough that those in power no longer remember him or his technocolor dreamcoat. This leaves the Hebrew people vulnerable.

This new king noticed that the Israelite people outnumbered the Egyptians. With their great numbers will they soon become more  powerful than the King and his people? He decides to exercise his power in a decisive way. And so the Hebrew people were forced to work for the Egyptians. The work became more and more difficult until the Hebrew people were slaves in the land of Egypt.

God calls Moses to lead the people to freedom. God says to Moses, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

And God does just that. This is why today’s scripture began with these words, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.” God begins this life-affirming set of instructions with a reminder to the people of where they have been, where they are now and how they got here. Even though they haven’t yet arrived in the Promised Land, they are no longer slaves and their new land, the land God promised, is coming soon.

The story is as simple as this. God sees our suffering. First, God frees us to new life and then God offers a new way to live. A life rooted in freedom with ways to live that will allow us to stay free. God gave us these commandments as a way to live in God’s promise of life for everyone. In my previous church, the chidren learned our faith stories by using Young Children in Worship by Sonja Stewart and Jerome Berryman.  This book calls the 10 commandments, The Ten Best Ways to Live. What if we stopped calling them the 10 commandments? Instead, we could call these life-giving, relationship-strengthening, community-building verses The Ten Best Ways to Live.

Would they sound easier, if they were worded in this way, “Because the Lord is your God, you are free not to need any other gods. You are free to rest on the seventh day; free to love your elders and keep them safe now as they protected you when you were young; free from the tyranny of lifeless idols and empty words; free from murder, stealing and covetousness as ways to establish yourself in the land.”¹

By the time God gives the 10 Best Ways to Live to Moses, God has been in relationship with humans long enough to know a lot about the way we operate. That is why these guidelines, instructions, commandments were not handed to the people as soon as they left Egypt. God knew the people had been forced to do things, told what to do for so long that they might just rebel if they were told what to do again even if God was offering something better. So after the people escaped there was a time of celebration – dancing and singing. As the people began their journey, God provides water and manna from heaven.

God was with them as they met up with people who lived in the land they were traveling through and as people had disputes with each other that Moses mediated. And finally, God knows the people are ready for some instructions, some guidance for their lives. And so God give them a better way to live, freedom. Not a to-do list or a list of laws or requirements to be a good person. God gives these best ways to live to those God loves, the people with whom God is in a relationship.

And our gospel reaffirms that these are the 10 Best Ways to Live. Jesus encourages a man who questions him to live the commandments. I’ve always struggled a bit with this man’s response, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Wow. We know the 10 Best Ways to Live are life enriching and we know they aren’t easy. I’m not sure anyone here today would say sure I’ve been faithfully following all 10 for years. And yet, even with this man’s faithfulness, Jesus says there is more to do and the man is unable to do that one last thing. Do not be discouraged when we cannot do one more thing for God or for each other because this week’s gospel passage ends with these words of hope “for God all things are possible.”

The 10 Best Ways to Live and Jesus’ call to follow him are offers of relationship. We are those with whom God wishes to be in relationship. How is your relationship with God? What, if anything, is holding us back from strengthening this relationship? It could be any number of things in these days of busyness and hurrying. So many things filled our lives that God gets pushed to the side. And sometimes the relationship is strained because of events in our lives-we wonder why this happened and where is God? Or your relationship with God may be great right now which still doesn’t mean you can stop thinking about it. Are you neglecting your relationship with God? If so, what can you do about it?

Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, An Altar in the World is filled with ordinary practices you can do with thoughtfulness while looking for God in our midst. In the introduction she says, “If you are tired of arguing about religion, tired of reading about spirituality, tired of talk-talk-talking about things that matter without doing a single thing that matters yourself, then the pages that follow are dedicated to you…My hope is that reading will help you recognize some altars in this world—ordinary-looking places where humans being have met and continue to meet up with….God.” (xvii)

Her fifth chapter or practice is about getting lost. She talks about how we get into routines and fail to pay attention. We drive to work and can’t remember the route we took or anything we saw along the way. We go about our daily lives without ever paying any attention. We get from point A to point B as fast as possible because we have much to do. In the midst of this chapter she talks about all the people who got lost in the Bible and how while they were lost they found God. Our ancestors in the faith who received the 10 Best Ways to Live, “needed forty years in the wilderness to learn the holy art of being lost…(because) by the time they arrived in the land of milk and honey, they knew how to say thank you and mean it” (74-75).

I hope you have a great getting lost story…where your best laid plans flew out the window as the route you planned to take was no longer available or the place you planned to stop was not open. When we have to move from our carefully constructed plans to plan b, c, or d, we are changed…hopefully for the better.

Where do we need to get lost to be more attentive to our relationship with God? Toward the end of the chapter, Barbara says, “If you are not able to set priorities any other way, then getting lost may be the kick in the pants you have been waiting for” (85). I hope today you feel the Holy Spirit moving in your life inviting you into a stronger relationship with our God.

Are these commandments rules from long ago that should be etched in stone, in our courthouses, for symbolic reasons perhaps more than practical ones, or are they etched deeply into our hearts, where we long for the wholeness and newness that God offers us? Are they holding you back or giving you new life in God? If they are holding you back, may you find some time today or this week to get lost and see God in your ordinary, everyday life. Amen.

This sermon was originally preached on October 14, 2012 at St. Giles Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. It has been edited for this blog post.

¹Thomas G. Long, “Dancing the Decalogue.” Christian Century 123, no. 5 (March 7, 2006), 17.

Book Review-Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs

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Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs Tomie dePaola

In this true story from the author’s childhood, he shares his memories of his great grandmother and his grandparents. When he is still young Nana Upstairs (his great grandma) dies. The book deals with death of a loved one in a faithful and realistic way for a young child. While the book doesn’t address life after death, it does talk about how Nana Upstairs will not be physically here although she will live on in his memories.

The topics of death and grief are hard for us to discuss at any age. Despite the difficulty and range of emotions surrounding death and grief, these are topics we must be thinking and talking about throughout our whole life. I recommend this book for a child whose loved one has died or a child grieving loss. I recommend this book as a way to begin or continue a conversation about death, grief, and loss. Because this book is a loving tribute to his elders, I recommend this book for people of any age who have fond memories of their grandparents.

This is my 100th post. Thanks for reading through my first 100 and looking forward to continuing the conversation with you for many 100s more!

Worship Words-Go in Peace!

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The benediction is a favorite part of worship for me. Before rushing off to the million things on my to do list, I am invited or inviting other to stop, take a deep breath, reflect on what we have just experienced together, and remember I am a beloved child of God. If I am receiving the benediction, I like to close my eyes and bow my head. This posture prepares me to receive a blessing. If I offering the benediction, I like to look out over the congregation to see the people I love and God loves for one more minute before they hurry back to their lives. Next time you receive a benediction or as you read this one to yourself, I encourage you to take a deep breath and feel the Spirit of God present with you.

As you go out into God’s world, know that God goes with you. You feel and share the love of God when you open your hearts and your homes to people you love and those you do not yet love. You feel and share the peace of Christ when you look another in the eye and listen. You feel and share the compassion of the Holy Spirit when you share what you have with someone who needs it more. Go now in peace. Amen.

Book Review-Beyond the Passion

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Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus Stephen J. Patterson

Emotional Response-5

Scholarly Response-6

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years. I purchased this book from my seminary bookstore because it was written by my New Testament Professor. I loved his class. I learned so much from his book, The God of Jesus. I still reference it regularly when teaching and preaching. Finally I dug into this book, and I was not disappointed. Let me describe Steve as I knew him. He is a scholar and a man of faith. He pushes and challenges your assumptions and ideas of Jesus in ways that are sometimes painful. And if you stick with it, you will learn and grow. Steve writes in a manner that makes difficult topics easy to read. I was shocked by some of what I read and so fascinated that I had to read on.

In this book, we read about Jesus as victim, martyr, and sacrifice using these three concepts as they were understood by Jesus’ contemporaries and contemporaries of the writers of the New Testament. And I recognize that this review is much longer than most reviews I write. Because this topic hits so close to our hearts, I wanted to include as much information as I could about this book. I’d love for you to read the book, and I know that may not happen. So here is my review.

[Read more…]

Sun Tea

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sun tea

Growing up my family drank tea. Not the delicious hot tea I enjoy today, they usually drank Lipton iced tea. In the summer, it was most often made as sun tea. We’d place our sun tea jar on the picnic table or steps to let the sun do the hard work of turning tap water into tea. Now there is evidence that this method does not get the water hot enough to kill all the potential bacteria. I do not remember anyone getting sick from sun tea when I was young. My point here is not to debate the merits of sun tea. I wanted to share memories of seeing my family enjoy drinking tea together on hot summer days. My parents got rid of our sun tea jar a few moves ago, and yet I still remember it.

I’d encourage you to reflect for awhile on summer memories. Feel free to share with others or in the comments section. Of course, I’ll give bonus points if your summer memories include a cup of tea.

Happy Summer! Happy Reminiscing!

Worship Words-A Prayer for Our Country

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Gracious God, This is a time when we celebrate our country. And we are thankful for all the goodness in this place we call home. So much has happened in our country recently. Everyone has an opinion to share on the recent events in the USA. And many, many people have been sharing their words-some of these are joyful, some angry, some heartbroken, and some defensive. We often try to put words into your mouth, Holy One. Help us to stop and think before speaking for you. Encourage us to turn to your Word before claiming to speak for you. Remind us that you are the Creator of Love who calls us to love each other. You are the Compassionate One who calls us to live out compassion. You are the Great Listener who urges us to stop talking and start listening. Holy God, our country is divided, confused, overjoyed, and saddened. You call us to hold all these emotions together and live each one. You ask us to cry with all who mourn. You ask us to cheer with all who are rejoicing. You ask us to sit with all who need more time to understand and seek out your will. Because we have so much to see, hear, and do, be with us in this time of silent prayer as we listen for your voice and sit quietly with you. (time of silent prayer)

Eternal God, As we celebrate Independence Day, let us be thankful for the progress that has been made toward equality for all and strengthen us for the work that still needs to be done so all your children may be free. Amen.

 

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This photo was taken by Sara Slade of Sara Slade Photography. I’d like to thank Sara for regularly sending me pictures of two very American foods that I do not prefer-hot dogs and orange soda.