UNIFORM LESSON FOR December 30, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Matthew 25:31-46 The birth of Jesus begins a revolution that will turn everything in our hearts and lives upside-down. This week, we hear of another coming of this Son of man, this time in glory, accompanied by all the angels to sit on the throne in judgment (25:31). Once more, this is a story of surprises, in which thoughts previously hidden are revealed in actions or inactions, and our response toward those who have been brought low becomes the test of whether peoples rise or fall. This story can be read in at least three different ways. Matthew 25:31-36 — A story about kindness Most of the time I hear this passage quoted, it is in connection with individual acts of kindness and compassion. “Why,” somebody asks, “do you spend so much of your time visiting the sick, working in the clothes closet, and taking food to the shut-ins?” The person replies, “Because Jesus said, ‘Whenever we do this for the … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR December 23, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Luke 1:26-31; 2:22,25-35 As is customary, the Uniform Lesson Series “pauses” the Sunday before Christmas, and moves to a passage more appropriate for the season. While we might hear this passage as continuing the theme of “God commands our love, respect and obedience,” it does so only through the figure of Mary, with a “before” and “after” portrait of her “annunciation.” If any figure in the Bible, other than Jesus, embodies the command to love God with all our heart and soul and strength (and womb!), it must be Mary. However, from the beginning, Mary’s chosen-ness is a decidedly “mixed blessing.” Luke 1:26-31 — Favored one In the “before” scene, Mary is minding her own business when she is confronted by the angel Gabriel with this strange greeting: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” While Mary may have recently heard of a similar “favor” bestowed by Gabriel on her kinswoman, Elizabeth (see … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR December 16, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Psalm 103:1-17a, 21, 22 Sharing or giving one’s personal testimony or history of salvation has long roots in the church. The psalmist of Psalm 103 too argues that memory – especially of God’s salvific actions – is deeply connected to blessing and praise. Indeed, according to Psalm 103, memory is an essential part of worship. Psalm 103:1-5 — A call to bless the Lord As a thanksgiving psalm, the psalmist begins by calling on the nefesh, usually translated as “soul,” to bless God — a command that is repeated in the next verse (103:1-2). Despite this precise translation, the word nefesh has a range of meanings. It is used to refer to something animate or living (whether human or animal) as well as the self. It can also denote that which is inside a person, such as the heart or the mind. The call for one’s nefesh, the animate aspect of a person, to bless God is fitting considering that psalmist thanks … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR December 9, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Joshua 24:1-3, 13-15, 21-24  It is unlikely that most of us will get a chance to conclude our lives with a long speech detailing our last thoughts and counsel. However, Joshua gets to do precisely this in Joshua 23-24 when he says farewell to the Israelites with a series of concluding remarks and advice. Detailing the long history between God and Israel, Joshua repeatedly asks the people to affirm and reaffirm their commitment to God. When the Israelites agree, he marks the recommitment with a final covenant ceremony. Joshua 24:1-3 — Israel’s idolatrous past Joshua begins his speech with a reminder of Israel’s less-than-pristine heritage. The history of God and Israel, according to Joshua, goes back to their ancestor, Abraham, and Abraham’s father, Terah. Terah, according to Joshua, worshipped other gods. However, polytheism was likely the norm in his culture. The purpose of this information is not to … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR December 2, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 This week we begin a series that will take us throughout the Bible. God’s people are poised on the east bank of the Jordan. Moses is delivering a hortatory sermon before we cross into the Promised Land. This part of the sermon serves as the “white hot center” for Jewish faith — and thanks to Jesus’ teaching, for Christians as well (Mark 12:29-30). Much is at stake — not only for us, but for our children and our children’s children. Let us hear and obey. Deuteronomy 6:1-3 — Hear, observe, love Even in English, it’s clear that the primary mode of address in this passage is the imperative. These are not suggestions or possibilities; they are commands, beginning with the most fundamental command “to hear” (from which comes the name of this passage in Hebrew, The Shema). As God spoke a new world into being in Genesis 1, so Moses, as God’s servant, is speaking a new nation into being in … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR November 25, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Genesis 30:22-32, 43 Maybe, if I were choosing the lessons, we would end with Genesis 33, and the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau on the banks of the Jabbok. It seems to bring the story full circle and fulfills God’s promise to bring Jacob back to the land from which he has fled (Genesis 28:15). But even this scene ends with the two brothers going their separate ways (Genesis 33:12ff), as does our story about Jacob and Laban — including that perhaps misplaced Sunday school blessing known as the Mizpah benediction: “May the Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from the other” (Genesis 31:49). Maybe it is best that this series on God’s Creation ends with “unfinished business.” As the title for this final unit puts it: “God blesses and re-creates regardless.” Genesis 30:22-28 — A strange federation If we don’t have some fun with this passage, we’re not paying attention. A rascal on … [Read more...]