{"id":5615,"date":"2015-12-06T14:49:11","date_gmt":"2015-12-06T19:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=5615"},"modified":"2016-01-07T14:53:35","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T19:53:35","slug":"december-6-2015-good-news-in-the-wilderness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/december-6-2015-good-news-in-the-wilderness\/","title":{"rendered":"December 6, 2015, Good News in the Wilderness?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dave Delaney, Salem, VA<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Warm-up Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Many people use landmark events or big experiences as a way of dividing life into chapters or as points of reference to remember when other smaller things happened.\u00a0 When you are remembering something and trying to fix when it happened, what points of reference to you use?\u00a0 (\u201cOh yeah \u2013 that was in 9th grade,\u201d or \u201cthat was before we moved,\u201d or \u201cthat was before Trump was running for president\u201d etc.).\u00a0 Do you remember that it was before or after some other large experience?\u00a0 Do you remember what your relationships were at the time or who else was there?\u00a0 Do you rely on location?\u00a0\u00a0 Do you think in terms of big news events or holidays?\u00a0 Or do you just use the calendar?<\/li>\n<li>If you wanted to identify an event or events in our own historical time the way Luke sets the stage for John the Baptist, what things would you mention?\u00a0\u00a0 Just the month, day, and year?\u00a0 Would it be a list of current world leaders?\u00a0 Would you list the distinctive social conditions that would help your story make sense (like the mood of the nation or the highlights of the campaign season or the tension in the world regarding Syria)?<\/li>\n<li>In this age of social media, when all 500 of your online friends can know what you had for breakfast, do you still wish that you could get someone to notice something small that you consider important \u2013 a cause or an event or an idea?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Good News in the Wilderness?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Arts Council of Bakersfield, a city in central California, sponsors an event every month called First Fridays in a section of downtown that has wide sidewalks where local artists obtain permits to set up displays of their work.\u00a0 The event fits in beautifully with the complexion of that part of the city, which is dotted with small art galleries, theatres, cafes, organic food shops, a doggie day spa and other specialty businesses designed to appeal to people with a bit of disposable income.\u00a0 The artists reportedly enjoy very respectable sales on these days.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/01\/shutterstock_75279457edit.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5616\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5616\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/01\/shutterstock_75279457edit.jpg\" alt=\"shutterstock_75279457edit\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/01\/shutterstock_75279457edit.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/01\/shutterstock_75279457edit-250x167.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For most of 2015, however, visitors to First Fridays have had an additional experience while browsing at the corner of 19th and Eye Streets in the form of a 23-year old street preacher named Nathaniel Runels.\u00a0 His preaching consists of standing on top of a small crate painted with the words \u201cJesus Saves\u201d and preaching against the evils of moral sin.\u00a0 He tends to center his attacks on traditional forms of sexual immorality and he delivers his messages at the top of his lungs as people pass, so they are forced to hear him whether they want to or not.\u00a0 He is apparently acting within the confines of the law;\u00a0 even though people have generally found him to be more annoying than inspiring, the police have not arrested him or even told him he can\u2019t be that publicly disruptive.<\/p>\n<p>Starting in early November, however, large crowds have gathered at the corner and attempted to shout down the self-described \u201copen-air preacher.\u201d Runels reports that he\u2019s been spit on, had his clothes painted, and had water poured on his shoes, all in an attempt to get him to stop.\u00a0 David Gordon, head of the Arts Council, is beyond frustrated. He\u2019s heard complaints from vendors who say the preaching scares away customers and draws a mob at the corner that impedes traffic on the sidewalk and, at times, the street.\u00a0 He says he\u2019s tried working with Runels, suggesting the young man arrive to preach at 9 p.m., when First Friday ends, or move to a less busy corner \u2014 all to no avail.<\/p>\n<p>Some have suggested that he be required to purchase a permit like other vendors since, even though they dislike his message, his sermons could be considered a kind of \u201cperformance art,\u201d and \u201cshouldn\u2019t art challenge the thinking of those who interact with it?\u201d\u00a0 Others have said, \u201cI guess he didn&#8217;t read the Bible where it admonishes people to pray in private, not on the street-corner for people to see.\u201d Still others, including David Gordon, think he\u2019s just doing it for the attention.\u00a0 Gordon doesn\u2019t want anyone getting hurt, he wants to avoid traffic jams at that corner and for his art vendors and First Friday guests to have a good experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The news stories do not say whether anyone has been inspired to faith or repentance as a result of Runels\u2019 preaching.\u00a0 Do you think you would be?<\/li>\n<li>What is your reaction to this way of preaching?\u00a0 Do you think it is right that someone should be preaching out in public for everyone to hear whether they like it or not or do you think that preaching should be confined to churches and other spaces where people choose to listen?<\/li>\n<li>What if the content of Runels\u2019 preaching were different and he were emphasizing God\u2019s love and forgiveness or reassuring people that God really does have a steady hand on this seemingly chaotic world?\u00a0 Do you think people would be more receptive to his preaching<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Second Sunday of Advent<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=315379155\">Malachi 3:1-4<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=315379203\">Philippians 1:3-11<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=315379244\">Luke 3:1-6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Text links are to <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/\">Oremus Bible Browser<\/a>. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elca.org\/Our-Work\/Congregations-and-Synods\/Worship\/Lectionary\/YearB\">Lectionary Readings<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.agnusday.org\/\">Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gospel Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Luke is very concerned in this section of the gospel to locate John the Baptist in a very specific historical context.\u00a0 It is not just a vague \u201conce upon a time\u201d story, but a story that is fully immersed in the events and circumstances of its day, as the gospel should be.\u00a0 John being out in \u201cthe wilderness\u201d does not suggest that he is removed from the great movements of governments and armies that dominate the lives of the people.\u00a0 Luke\u00a0 wants to use the large-scale markers of time to draw attention to this seemingly small event.\u00a0 He will do something similar \u2013 but with history rather than the current political landscape \u2013 at the end of chapter 3 when he situates Jesus in a long lineage of ancestors that stretches all the way back to Adam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe wilderness\u201d in Luke\u2019s gospel where John the Baptist is preaching is not just a miscellaneous spot in the middle of nowhere.\u00a0\u00a0 Luke tells us that John was preaching in \u201call the region around the Jordan.\u201d\u00a0 This area is filled with symbolic importance.\u00a0 It is the place where, 13 centuries earlier, the Israelites crossed the Jordan river into the freedom of their promised land, so it represents a kind of starting-over place for people who want to move from bondage and slavery to sin into the freedom of God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n<p>Hence John\u2019s baptism is a \u201cbaptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.\u201d Unlike our American \u201cwilderness\u201d that is full of wild vegetation, the biblical \u201cwilderness\u201d is very dry and barren, so it is also thought of as a place of death, but not only death \u2013 it is also where life can begin again if it is watered.\u00a0\u00a0 It is also the place from where people believed the Messiah \u2013 Israel\u2019s savior \u2013 would arrive to establish God\u2019s rule once again in the land.\u00a0 The theme of God\u2019s chosen one entering the land from the east to bring peace and redemption was such a powerful idea that Isaiah envisioned even the land itself getting involved.<\/p>\n<p>An internet search for aerial photos of \u201cthe Judean wilderness\u201d reveals how barren and dry it is, but also how steep the climb is from the Jordan river to Jerusalem where the Israelite temple was.\u00a0 The terrain is also very hilly between the Jordan river and Jerusalem at the top of the ridge.\u00a0 Imagine all of that being flattened out and turned into a huge ramp for the Messiah to enter.\u00a0 That is the image that Isaiah projects with the promise that hills will be brought low and the valleys will be lifted up.<\/p>\n<p>That language about the hills and valleys also carries a symbolic meaning.\u00a0 One of the great themes of Luke is that under the Messiah\u2019s reign the lowly will be raised up and those who are high and lofty will be brought down.\u00a0 This has already been shown with Mary, Jesus\u2019 mother, in Luke 1.<\/p>\n<p>When Luke says that John was administering a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins, we might have trouble visualizing that.\u00a0 We should probably think of people walking through the Jordan river from its east bank to its west bank (reminiscent of the first Israelite crossing to freedom), stopping in the middle to have John pour water over them as a sign of God\u2019s grace and a pledge that they will seek to live a life of constantly turning to God for all things rather than falling back into greed and despair.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What do you know about John the Baptist\u2019s background?\u00a0 If you can\u2019t remember the story of his birth, go back and read Luke chapter 2.<\/li>\n<li>One of the important things to remember about biblical prophecy is that it typically does not refer to just one event or point in history, but keeps on being meaningful at other points in history long beyond the original meaning.\u00a0 How does Isaiah\u2019s prophecy strike you today?\u00a0 Where in the church, in your life, in your community, in your school, or in the whole world does it need to be proclaimed that people should prepare the way of the Lord by setting out a clear path, evening out the lows and highs in human experience, straightening out things that are crooked, or smoothing things that are rough.\u00a0\u00a0 What kind of work would it take for \u201call flesh [to] see the salvation of God\u201d?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Activity Suggestions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you have math and geometry enthusiasts in your group, you can figure out the angle at which someone has to travel to go roughly 18 miles from the southern Jordan river at 1500 feet below sea level to the top of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem at 2700 feet above sea level.<\/li>\n<li>If you found yourself suddenly standing on a soapbox in the middle of the monthly art fair in Bakersfield or at the busiest intersection in your town and you were expected to preach, what would you say?\u00a0 Would you preach that people should repent?\u00a0 Would you announce that God has big plans for the world?\u00a0 Would you talk about your own faith in Jesus?\u00a0\u00a0 Brainstorm or write down some of those thoughts.<\/li>\n<li>Most of our ordinary \u201cpreaching\u201d opportunities do not come in the form of public soapbox speeches \u2013 they happen when we show love, care, comfort, and understanding to someone in need, or we give someone a meal in Jesus\u2019 name, or we offer to pray with someone who is troubled about something, or we have just a few seconds to answer a question about what the cross around our neck or the slogan on our t-shirt means.\u00a0 Take some time to put together an \u201celevator speech.\u201d\u00a0 This is a summary of what is true and important to you about the Christian faith \u2013 something that could be shared with someone in the amount of time it takes to go up 4 or 5 stories in an elevator.<\/li>\n<li>Do you have complete information about your own baptism?\u00a0\u00a0 When and where were you baptized?\u00a0 If you don\u2019t know, check with parents or even the congregation where you were baptized to get that information, then be sure to remember and celebrate that date each year!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Closing Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>God of salvation, we pray that just as you have revealed yourself in all times and all places, always bringing up the lowly and rescuing the lofty from their futile heights, reveal yourself to us again today in this world.\u00a0 Bring all people to wilderness places, where they will see you and be claimed by your love in repentance and forgiveness of sins.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name we pray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dave Delaney, Salem, VA &nbsp; Warm-up Questions Many people use landmark events or big experiences as a way of dividing life into chapters or as points of reference to remember when other smaller things happened.\u00a0 When you are remembering something and trying to fix when it happened, what points of reference to you use?\u00a0 (\u201cOh [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - 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