UNIFORM LESSON FOR March 24, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Luke 19:1-10 For the second week in a row, we are given a text on discipleship which is more about home and who’s welcomed there, than leaving and following. Maybe we are being reminded that discipleship can entail journeys that require no travel and that discipleship can demand changes in matters other than location or venue. Luke 19:1-4 — A foolish search Rich people seldom set out to act like fools. Those who have much tend to want to hold onto much, including the deference and respect that their monetary power demands. But what if you are “short in stature” (13:3)? And what if your means of livelihood has bought you deference, but little respect or purpose or community? Then you may find yourself uninvited to the platform, and not seated with the dignitaries as a person of interest gets ready to pass through your town. Now you are somewhat desperately pushing your way through the crowd. You start … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR March 17, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Luke 15:11-24 Once again, this seems to be a peculiar choice for a series on discipleship. Rather than a story about calling and following, this is a story about one son who leaves home only to come back, and another son who stays home yet remains outside. Even more, this is a story about a parent who welcomes them both. Luke 15:11-13 — Leaving versus following Neither of these sons chose his family. This choosing precedes this story, as it precedes ours. However, on a continual basis, we are confronted with a decision: whether to remain a part of this home and family, or seek something better. This story begins with one of the sons turning away and journeying to a distant country, carrying with him his portion of the property. This sounds like almost the “anti-call” story — like a child of blessing who tries to escape to the Midian wilderness (Exodus 2), or a designated prophet who heads west rather than … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR March 10, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Mark 1:16-20 This week we seem to be back on more traditional ground, especially for a unit on discipleship. Jesus passes along the Sea of Galilee, spies some “simple, fisher folk” and calls them to follow him. Immediately, they do. And so, we too are called to be fishers of people. We can make some fish car decals and be on our way. But not so fast. Let’s ask some basic questions of this text, which may help us ask some basic questions about our own discipleship today. Mark 1:16-17 — What was Jesus thinking? As Chris Currie makes clear in a recent sermon on this passage published in “In the Meantime: Sermons for this Time Between the Times,” Jesus does not need any disciples to save the cosmos. Jesus “can redeem humanity without doing that. He can bring the kingdom of God up close without doing that. He can live a faithful life without doing that.” What was Jesus thinking? Currie continues: “We are … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR March 3, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Luke 14:7-14 It seems strange to begin a series on discipleship with two parables about table manners. Why not tell some stories about courage under duress or discipline under persecution? Instead, we have one story about strategies for seating, and another about whom to include on one’s guest list. This sounds more like Emily Post than heavenly hosts, and certainly seems a long way from the revolutionary language of Mary’s Magnificat: “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly” (Luke 1:52). And yet, when we understand table arrangements as metaphors for the kingdom, and the repayment of hospitality as the inbreaking of a new economy, the stakes rise considerably. Luke 14:7-11 — God-initiated mobility What sounds like a coy strategy for gaining recognition works only for those already on top. If you are somewhat distinguished, and those around you know that you are deserving … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR February 3, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Philippians 3:7-14 Paul empties himself of any claims he might have to confidence in the flesh (3:4) in order to lift up his hope toward attaining “the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:14). Paul is willing to “go low” in terms of any righteousness he might claim for himself, in order to be “lifted high” through his unity with Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:7-9 — Emptying the trash As Jesus was willing to empty himself of any claims to equality with God (2:6-7), so Paul is willing to toss out like rubbish any gains he might have made in pursuing his own obedience to the law. Paul had far more than perfect attendance pins. The most zealous clerk of session could not surpass him in service to God’s people! Not only had he been to the best seminary, but he had persistently followed the best practices in ministry all the way up to his encounter with Christ. With regard to righteousness under … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR January 27, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Philippians 2:1-11 If Paul was singing in the jail referenced in Philippians, one of the songs might be at the heart of our lesson for this week. You can tell by the way our text is formatted that we are dealing with poetry. Most likely, these are stanzas from an early Christian hymn. But this is no children’s song or Vacation Bible School ditty. This is a song for mature disciples. It has to do with the shape of the mind of Christ, and the way that mind and that life should shape the minds and lives of his followers. We will begin with the music, then see how this music might seed and shape the thoughts and lives of its singers. Philippians 2:5-11 — The song The shape of this song is parabolic. It begins in heaven and returns to heaven, having traveled to all places between. At its core is a verb translated “emptied” (2:7), and this is the central chord that makes the whole song work (the word in Greek … [Read more...]