UNIFORM LESSON FOR July 14, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Matthew 5:21-32 Now we really get down to the core of this heartfelt covenant. Let’s remember that we’re not just talking about a shift in our emotions, but a shift in our actions and their motivations. Jesus, the New Moses, wants us to know that we can commit murder and adultery not just in hijackings and hotels, but in our hearts. Thus, this new covenant requires changes not only in the practice of our congregations and courts and not only with the way we use our eyes and our hands, but it requires a cutting/breaking or a removal/replacement of our hearts (see the language of the prophets in Jeremiah 4:4 and Ezekiel 36:26). Matthew 5:21-26 — Murder in our hearts There are places in the 10 Commandments where most of us can feel a little smug. Jesus leads off his application of the Beatitudes with one of the more likely candidates on the list: You shall not murder (which means to kill outside the many boundaries … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR July 7, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Matthew 5:13-20 From the beginning, God’s people understand that they have been blessed in order to be a blessing (Genesis 12:2). The way by which the blessings of this small, powerless and persecuted community spreads out and transforms the world around it is described in two metaphors and one teaching regarding prior traditions. This covenant community is like salt in food and light in darkness. It guides its way not by abolishing the law or the prophets, but by fulfilling both. Matthew 5:13 — Salt in food Anyone who has ever had the top fall off of a saltshaker knows that a little salt goes a long way. This is good news to the early Christian community and to us. Everyone who has delivered a sermon to a tiny congregation, raised up an anthem on a day when everyone’s on vacation or tried to help one refugee as thousands stream across the border knows the feeling of being small. This is a community of the … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR June 30, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Matthew 5:1-12 The sturdy and scary and sacrificial language of the passion narratives threatens to go soft and sentimental. Too often we hear our fellow disciples say things like “God doesn’t care as much about what we do as whether our hearts are in the right place!” Really? Does this sound like the Bible story to you? It doesn’t help that some have updated the Beatitudes as the “be happy attitudes.” While I enjoyed Bobby McFerrin’s song as much as anybody, I do not think the motto, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” constitutes a faithful summary of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. To hear the next few lessons accurately, we have some preliminary work to do. Matthew 5:1-2 — Heart-talk From the beginning, it is clear that Matthew wants us to see and hear Jesus as the New Moses. He goes up a mountain. He sits down to teach. His lesson rolls out as a series of laws or rules of the kingdom. Throughout the following lessons, … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR June 23, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Colossians 2:1-15 Whatever we say about the cross in relation to the covenant, we must recognize that the cross is finally more about life than death! Some theories of the atonement seem to teach that the covenant is fulfilled in Jesus’ death in a way that requires no resurrection. However, the covenant of baptism is both a burial and a raising: “In [the water of baptism] we are buried with Christ in his death; from it we are raised to share in his resurrection,” says the Book of Common Worship. We began this study by talking about God’s covenant as a living covenant. Paul, writing to the church in Colossae, now makes that point clear. Colossians 2:1-6 — The struggle of faith Death is not solely something we face at the end of life. We can die to the faith while we are still alive. The writer of Colossians knows something about this struggle (2:1). You don’t talk about being encouraged (2:2), unless someone … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR June 16, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Hebrews 9:11-22 Hebrews can be read as an argument for “one-up-man-(or woman!)-ship.” Better to read Hebrews as an example of God’s ever-broadening graciousness with regard to God’s loving sacrifices toward us and our loving sacrifices toward one another. Hebrews 9:11-14 — Jesus as high priest The Day of Atonement was a high and holy day in the Jewish festival calendar. This was the only day of the year when a priest went inside the curtain to offer fire and smoke before the altar of the Lord (Leviticus 16:12). This was an awesome and dangerous task, which required careful preparation (“He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and shall have the linen undergarments next to his body, fasten the linen sash, and wear the linen turban,” Leviticus 16:4), a series of sacrifices (“Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house,” Leviticus 16:11) and a … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR June 9, 2019 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Mark 15:6-15, 25, 26, 33-39 The fact that this is a living covenant – initiated by God and faultless from the perspective of God’s participation – becomes painfully clear in this week’s lesson. Jesus Christ, as God incarnate, keeps covenant with us “to the point of death – even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). There is no such thing as cheap grace. Nor is there any cheap way to make a covenant fulfilled. Mark 15:6-15 —We crucified thee Last week we made the point that if the covenant between God and humanity is faulty, the fault lies with us. This week’s lesson drives home that indictment in a horrendous fashion. At the heart of this passage’s dramatic tension is Pilate’s attempt to avoid Jesus’ crucifixion. There was a custom, apparently, of releasing a prisoner during the festival of the Passover. Pilate had in custody a man named Barabbas who was guilty of murder during a recent insurrection. Surely … [Read more...]