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At the Service of All

September 19, 2021

The end of something, the death of something or even the death of someone else, happens and most of the time there is nothing we can do to stop it. Times change, people change, technology changes. (Don’t you hate that when you’ve finally got your phone figured out and then it’s like, oh I’m sorry that technology isn’t supported anymore, you need a new one.) So much change, metaphorical death of things, we usually can’t do anything about it. It just happens. We have no control over it. But what we do have control over, is how we resurrect from that death. Resurrection is harder because it requires action. We’ve got to do something. If we do not do anything, which is also a choice, we remain dead.

Follow in My Footsteps

Why did Jesus make such a big deal at the beginning of this scripture about the disciples understanding who he is? If we do not understand who Jesus is, how can we claim to follow him? Obviously, there were several different ideas or understandings of the people about who Jesus was. John the Baptizer; Elijah; one of the prophets. And it was important to Jesus that his disciples understand who he truly is. Here is the thing. They did answer correctly with the Messiah. But when Jesus began to tell them what the Messiah had to do: to suffer much, be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and religious scholars, be put to death, and rise again three days later, that was rejected by Peter, so much, that he confronted Jesus about it.

Confrontation involves recognizing, acknowledging, and addressing conflict. Those conflicts may be internal or external, physical or spiritual, temporal or everlasting. Confrontation often arises from and leads to feelings of discomfort, disconnection, and acrimony. Yet, when handled well and with care, confrontation opens the possibility of resolution, restoration, and repair.

The life of Jesus Christ demonstrates embodied confrontation. Hope confronting despair, love confronting indifference and disdain, and life confronting death radiate through the incarnational story. Yet, confrontation is not limited to the gospel text, the biblical narrative simmers with confrontation.

This series attends to the confrontation found within the lectionary texts with the focus scripture often in conversation with the other texts. The first part of the series looks at our identity in and through the lens of Christ using the Markan narrative. The second part centers on the story of Job and Job’s wife as a truly human response to adversity. Finally, the third part of the series sets our gaze forward as the narratives help us consider the future, individually and cosmically.

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