Five Minute Friday :: Part

• Five Minute Friday :: Part Linkup

When we (you, me, anyone) uses a word that has multiple meanings, it's important to place it unambiguously in context.

There's part the noun; part the verb; partly the adverb.

Knowing in part, partly finished, part of a laundry or moving load (as in the picture Kate provided); parting a barrier such as the red sea or a midwestern storm to help you get through; parting or separating from a person and leaving them behind; ending a commitment and parting from a job or a relationship. Parting the good part of a fruit or veggie from the part you can't use.

Our host Kate concluded her testimony about God parting the waters for her by asking:

Where have you seen God's goodness and provision this week?


Five Minute Friday :: Part

• God is good. All the time.
• All the time. God is good.

⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come,
then that which is in part shall be done away.
¹² For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1 Corinthians 13

Where have I seen God's goodness and provision this past week?

"Help me, Jesus. I'm shaking like a leaf.
You've been my king of glory;
won't you be my prince of peace?"

Rich Mullins, Hold Me, Jesus


Last Sunday I had another guest preaching gig. Typically I have some anticipatory excitement beforehand— just enough positive anxiety to make my presentation sing and ring. Last weekend was different. It was the type of anxious that interferes with breathing, thinking, and walking. Some of it was my feeling I hadn't been able to figure out a smooth transition between the scripture text and a possible application.

But as soon as I stood up and looked out at the assembly, I knew it would be fine because God is good, all the time. My high anxiety had simmered down to excitement. And I had prepared! From the feedback I got, I know everything went well, after all. All the time; God is good!

Related to your last Sunday morning or to mine, to the days ahead, to the road each of us will walk, knowing we can't see everything and have little clue – let alone solid knowledge – about where all the moving parts of our life and world are headed is a big comfort. In his famous letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul was both philosophical and practical in his observations about our finite perspective.

The God who parts the waters, the Savior who stills storms with a word wants to quiet our anxieties! Whether you're driving through bad weather, wondering about the job interview or school application or everyday finances and logistics; concerned about your littles, teens, or grands; getting ready to teach or preach God's Word with the responsibility that entails, Jesus wants to be your Prince of Peace. Let him be. God is good—not part of the time. God is good all the time!! Amen? Amen!

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Skirball Cultural Center

For my May 2nd Tuesday day off I visted the Skirball Cultural Center for the first time since Before Covid.

Last Tuesday was election day in California; of course I voted blue. I'll include pics in my month end rundown.

"Guided by Jewish tradition and inspired by American democratic ideals, the Skirball welcomes people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society."

To my distress I missed Inventing America: The Comic Book Revolution, but it's on view through 28 February 2027 so I'll catch it when a new exhibit opens. I'll also be sure to have $$ for Noah's Ark.

The late Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel referred to Shabbat as a Palace in Time. The room was filled with paintings by Robert Russell and Lisa Edelstein that at first looked like photographs.

Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels + Weirdos celebrates everything about punk.

The book store and gift shop, of course!

Welcome signs on the 405

Pentecost 2A

My sermon from yesterday.

Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, "Follow me." And Matthew got up and followed Jesus.

And as Jesus sat at dinner in the house – Matthew's house – many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

But when Jesus heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy; not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners."

Here in the global North, we're one week into the halcyon days of summer, with sunny days, star-spangled nights, picnics, barbecues, music on the half shell, and feeling all of our dreams may come true, after all.

At the same time, the church's year of grace has opened wide the six month long season when we count Sundays after the Feast of Pentecost, a time of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost when the Church really comes into its own as we discern God's call and claim on our lives, and what ministries God may be calling us to respond to. Green is the liturgical color for these months, as we act in ways that help the world around us bloom and flourish.

This is the year of Matthew's gospel; today's gospel reading is Jesus' call to Matthew and Matthew's response. Although none of the earliest gospel manuscripts indicate an author, a community gathered around this disciple Matthew probably wrote this gospel.

As we just heard, Jesus notices Matthew at his workplace. Matthew collected taxes, tariffs, and tolls in the employ of the occupying Roman government. People generally hated tax collectors because – among other abuses – they added on their own charges to the amount required to return to Rome.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all contain this story. And, Mark and Luke tell us this tax collector's name was Levi, which means he was from the priestly tribe of Levites that ministered at the Jerusalem Temple. In other words, his life had fallen off the rails and he was in a profession opposed to his origins.

Today's reading from Matthew's gospel only mentions a house, but Luke and Mark tell us it was Matthew's house where Matthew/Levi made an extravagant banquet. Although we don't know the elapsed time between Jesus' invitation and Matthew's response, Matthew doubtless already knew a lot about Jesus. As part of his response to Jesus' invitation to follow him, Matthew offered an amazing feast to all comers, as if he already knew plentiful food was one of the signs of the presence of God's reign on earth.

Luke tells us everyone reclined at table. In that culture, reclining for a meal was a sign of shalom, of having "enough," no longer needing to scratch for life or be beholden to empire. Reclining at table meant everyone was an equal among equals.

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You know about the ultra-religious pharisees with their self-righteous attitudes, and how they separated themselves from everyone else to avoid contamination. Jesus references "sacrifice" of the ceremonial law that did nothing to connect anyone to God, nothing to benefit anyone anywhere. Jesus reminds us he wants mercy.

Long ago in a previous life I knew a young woman I'll call Cheryl, because her name was Cheryl. Life dumped a lot on her from outside, and she made some decisions that had negative outcomes. It felt as if everyone was giving her unhelpful suggestions. When a new dog came into Cheryl's life and she decided to adopt him, she told me she asked herself what trait or characteristic did people need most? Her answer was mercy, so she named her new canine companion Mercy.

Is God able to name and call each of us Mercy and Merciful?

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Originally for this start of the season of Pentecost when we discern and engage ministries that help the world bloom and flourish, I considered asking all of us to divide our lives into our immediate home, workplace, neighborhood; this parish and any other church communities where you're involved; and the larger, greater world out there. I thought I'd ask each of us what God is calling us to do in each of those arenas—smaller, manageable acts of service. That still feels like a good idea, but it's clear to me that the past couple of months, last Sunday's guest from Global Refuge, the needs of the city and county of Los Angeles and beyond, and today's immigration focused retreat after worship all point us to a continued emphasis on immigration and immigrants.

Last week Karla from Global Refuge placed immigration in the context of the Pentecost of our baptism! Scripture tells us we all are strangers and sojourners everywhere we go, and God travels with us.

I don't have an answer or a suggestion for ways to engage and minister around immigration during the next few months. We know it takes prayer, thought, listening, time, and conversations to discern where God is leading us and the nature of our responses.

* * *
Again today Jesus invites everyone to the table of grace for a foretaste of the feast to come when…

…many will come come from the east and the west, the north and the south, and recline at table in the Kingdom of Heaven. Luke 13:29

Amen? Amen!

Our song of the day is "We Come to the Hungry Feast"

Five Minute Friday :: Criticize

• Five Minute Friday :: Criticize Linkup

To criticize or to be critical originally meant to be discerning. Or to judge. Both criticize and judge are examples of words with a connotation gone off the rails in popular perception. Another? On the phone I said to a call center worker, "I appreciate your argument, but I'm not interested." She replied, "I'm not arguing with you!" I countered, "You're giving me your opinion. That is an argument."

Maybe I've spent too much time in too many academic venues. Ya think so? Oh, who knows.

In any case, you might show me a scripture commentary and I might remark, "That's the form critical one." Or "That commentary is redaction critical." There's nothing negative about ventures into higher scriptural criticism—just the opposite, as they dig into origins, contexts, editions, glosses, omissions, additions, interpretations, so we can better understand God's communication with humanity, comprehend more fully God's presence and actions in history.

Nuances aside, "criticize" generally isn't a positive word for us, probably because we have too much experience with opinions of others that rip apart our ventures, look for flaws and mistakes, sometimes attempt to denigrate our best attempts and in the process make us feel less worthy.

Some individuals work as professional critics. Professional means they get paid to write and publish opinions and reviews of books, music, visual arts, theatre, food, etc.. Many of us enjoy critiquing those topics; some have gained followings on their blog, substack, or other social media.

How about you?

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