New Joy Lutheran Church & Preschool https://newjoy.org/ Welcome. Grace. Faith. Promise. Wed, 20 Nov 2024 14:26:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Sermon in Progress: my Second Take https://newjoy.org/2024/11/20/sermon-in-progress-my-second-take/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sermon-in-progress-my-second-take Wed, 20 Nov 2024 14:26:27 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=11943 Earlier this week at my clergy text study and New Joy’s Wednesday Bible Study I had my First Look at Sunday’s Scripture. After some study, prayer, reflection and conversation, here’s my Second Take.   Our readings for Sunday are: Daniel 12:1-3 The deliverance of God’s people at the end Psalm 16 My heart is glad and my […]

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Sermon in Progress: my Second Take

Earlier this week at my clergy text study and New Joy’s Wednesday Bible Study I had my First Look at Sunday’s Scripture. After some study, prayer, reflection and conversation, here’s my Second Take.

 

Our readings for Sunday are:

Daniel 12:1-3

The deliverance of God’s people at the end

Psalm 16

My heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body shall rest in hope. (Ps. 16:9)

Hebrews 10:11-14 [15-18] 19-25

The way to God opened through Christ’s death

Mark 13:1-13

The end and the coming of the Son

 

Toward the end of the church year every November, and at the beginning of a new church year each Advent, we read Scripture that looks ahead through difficult times toward God’s renewal of all things - an event variously described as the “second coming” of Christ, the “Day of Judgment,” or the establishment of a “new heaven and a new earth.”

 

Some parts of Christianity, particularly some sects of American protestant Christianity since the 19th century, have clung enthusiastically to these “apocalyptic” verses. They try to parse and interpret them so as to determine with confidence when the “end times” are coming, to anticipate the cosmic conflict between God and the forces of evil, and sometimes even to provoke such end times through their own violent deeds.

 

Christianity is a forward-looking, hope-filled faith that seeks God’s reign of justice for all humanity. We do not eagerly anticipate some sort of annihilating doomsday that will destroy the many only to save the few. Such is the unfortunate religious fantasy some Christians have broadcast into our culture.

 

These “end times” readings - such as those we have assigned to us this week - are words of hope written amidst times of great sorrow and struggle for God’s people. From the prophet Daniel this week we read of “a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence.” Jesus, speaking with his disciples in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, tells his disciples that “Not one stone [of the grand temple buildings] will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” War, conflict, violence is coming.

 

These Scripture passages do not relish the conflicts they anticipate. They do not cheer for violence, as if widespread human suffering would initiate God’s heroic intervention. Nor do they look ahead with any specificity to the year 2024 foretelling from ancient Babylon and Judah what would be happening today in North America. No. That’s not how Biblical prophecy works.

 

These passages describe real conflicts that real people faced in the times and places these Scripture were written. In Daniel’s time the people were returning to Jerusalem after 40 years in exile, only to face continued conquest and war from larger nations. In Jesus’ time Roman-occupied Judah was a tinderbox of political and social tension, ready to spark and ignite in flames at any moment. That’s exactly what would happen in the year 70 when the Romans sacked Jerusalem and burned the Jewish temple to the ground.

 

And in the midst of such tension, conflict, and anticipated warfare, God’s message is clear: God will deliver his people. War and suffering are not the end of the story. God is with us amidst our trials and tribulations. God will lead us through.

 

So have hope, beloved of Christ. In whatever challenges you face in this season of life, whatever worries you have about the world or your own household, you are not alone. The hardships of the world do not define us. The sorrows we see are not all that there is.

 

Instead, Sunday’s Scripture are full of hope and promise:

  • Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit aids and comforts his followers
  • Daniel tells us that “those who lead the many to righteousness [will shine] like the stars forever and ever”
  • The letter to the Hebrews encourages us to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful”
  • Psalm 16 praises God, singing, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy”

 

Beloved, let us face the sorrows of the world with a sober mind and a heart of hope, trusting in God’s promises. Come, Holy Spirit!

Pastor Chris Duckworth

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]]> The Gospels and their Authority https://newjoy.org/2024/06/04/the-gospels-and-their-authority/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-gospels-and-their-authority Tue, 04 Jun 2024 19:33:37 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=11727 The Gospels and their Authority In Sunday’s sermon I said a few provocative things – more than usual, it seems. I don’t think what I said was provocative because it stood outside the teachings of our church, or that I was being insanely controversial. No. But some of what I said clearly provoked questions among many of you following […]

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The Gospels and their Authority

In Sunday’s sermon I said a few provocative things – more than usual, it seems. I don’t think what I said was provocative because it stood outside the teachings of our church, or that I was being insanely controversial. No. But some of what I said clearly provoked questions among many of you following worship, particularly about how we interpret Scripture. Thanks for asking! Here’s a follow-up to some of those questions and comments.

Early in my sermon I got into issues of Scriptural authority. “The gospels are authoritative in what they tell us about Jesus. Full stop.” What we learn of Jesus’ character, his compassion, his commitment to the poor and vulnerable, his wisdom and truth that turn our understanding upside down, his power and promise … all of this is reliable and authoritative. The gospels were written precisely for this – to tell us who Jesus is so that we may believe in him and live according to his way.

Then I made the claim that we are NOT to have the same level of confidence in the verses of the gospels that describe Jesus’ adversaries. Yes, some parts of the gospels we hold onto tightly. Others, parts we hold loosely, such as when the gospels describe “the Jews,” or what they say about important but secondary or tertiary characters such as particular Roman rulers.

Why would we not take these other details as seriously as we take the parts about Jesus?

For one, those other details are not as important. The gospel writers did not sit down to write a story about first century Jews or Roman rulers. No. They sat down to write a story about Jesus, the Word made flesh, so that we might have faith. If we want to learn about Jesus, we should read the gospels as our primary source. If we want to learn about first century Jews, we should consult other materials as primary sources.

Additionally, our faith is in Jesus, not in the secondary details of the Gospels’ narratives. When we read Scripture, we look for Jesus and for the Good News of God’s justice and mercy that Jesus articulates and enacts. This is our priority in how we read Scripture – we read Scripture looking for Jesus and his Good News.

"We read Scripture looking for Jesus and his Good News."

 

In his Preface to the Old Testament, Martin Luther describes the Bible as the manger in which the Christ child is laid. “Here [in Scripture] you will find the swaddling cloths and the manger in which Christ lies, and to which the angel points the shepherds. Simple and lowly are these swaddling cloths, but dear is the treasure, Christ, who lies in them.” (from Martin Luther’s Preface to the Old Testament, 1523, Luther’s Works, Vol. 35, pg 236).

Sticking with Luther’s manger analogy, we know that the shepherds worshiped neither the manger nor the straw. They worshiped Jesus, the Holy One laying in the manger’s straw.

So too for us. When looking at the Bible as if it were the manger of Bethlehem, we look past the manger’s legs and wooden frame, because are not looking for a manger. We look past the warm bed of straw, because we are not looking for a warm bed of straw. We look for Jesus, the Holy One laying in the manger. Jesus is our rubric for reading Scripture. Jesus is our interpretive lens.

There are over 30,000 verses in the Bible, and they are not all the same. It is not only faithful, but common sense that we would rank and prioritize some parts of Scripture over others.

  • Do we anchor certain ethics in Saint Paul’s preference for celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:8-9), or do we take inspiration from Jesus’ broad promise of abundant life (John 10:10)? [Psst – the answer is Jesus’ broad promise of abundant life.]
  • Do we place the only reference in the Bible to “baptism for the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:29) on the same plain as the beautiful poetry about baptism’s marvelous power and promise (Romans 6:3-11) that resonates with other teachings throughout Scripture? [Answer: No, we do not.]
  • When it comes to understanding the call to generosity, do we cling to the story about Ananias and Sapphira – who were struck dead upon being confronted about their failure to share their wealth with the church (Acts 5:1-11) – or do we cling to the proverb that the Lord loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7)? [Let’s be cheerful.]

"Even the Devil can quote Scripture."

If the concept of prioritizing some parts of Scripture over others seems iffy, remember that even the Devil can quote Scripture (see Matthew 4). Not all citation of Scripture is faithful. Just throwing Bible verses around doesn’t get us anywhere.

Jesus is Lord over Scripture and over our interpretations of Scripture. When given a choice in how we interpret Scripture or which Scripture verses we’re going to emphasize, we choose Christ’s grace and mercy every single time.

Here’s what it looks like when we don’t choose grace and mercy, but instead lean into the worst possible ways of interpreting Scripture.

In Sunday’s sermon I talked about the dangers of giving too much credence to certain secondary matter – the anti-Jewish language – in the gospels. As stated above, such material is not central to the grace and mercy of Christ, and thus does not carry the same weight. To use Martin Luther’s analogy, this ant-Jewish language is straw, not baby Jesus. Since it is straw, we can notice it but then move on until our eyes gaze upon the Christ child.

Nonetheless, over the centuries Christians have latched onto this material and used it to inspire all kinds of evil against the Jewish people. When Christians read this material in the four gospels and glean from them that “the Pharisees” and “the Jews” cared more about religious law than about life, they come away with the impression that the Jews were heartless. When Christians read that “the Jews” chanted “crucify him” and were plodding against all the good things Jesus was doing, they are led to believe that such people were blood thirsty animals.

And if these people – “the Jews,” according to how we read our holy texts – were heartless animals, do they even deserve to live today? Many of our forebears in the church, mixing blasphemous spiritual authority with the power of the sword, decided that answer was “no, they don’t.” Pogroms, Inquisitions, and Holocausts flow from erroneous readings of Scripture coupled with unchecked lust for power.

Our forefather in the faith, Martin Luther, wrote a hateful diatribe called On the Jews and their Lies. In this treatise Luther called for violence against Jews. Centuries later Martin Luther’s own words were quoted by Nazis to support their terror campaign against Jews in Europe. (I've written about this before, here.)

"The Bible is rich and diverse and complicated and beautiful, and it deserve a serious and faithful method of interpretation. Let the grace and mercy of Christ be our method."

This is why we need to be explicit about how we read Scripture. We must be honest that there is a clear priority to what we read in Scripture and how we interpret it. The Bible is rich and diverse and complicated and beautiful, and it deserve a serious and faithful method of interpretation. Let the grace and mercy of Christ be our method, our lens, our filter for reading Scripture. Anything else risks an inversion of priorities, resulting in calling evil good and good evil (see Isaiah 5:20).

There’s so much more to say about how we interpret the gospels and their authority. In future posts perhaps I’ll talk about how the gospels came to be written in the first place, and how their composition history and process influences how we interpret them. We can talk about language – the gospels are written in Greek, but Jesus and his disciples likely spoke Aramaic or Hebrew. We can talk about the differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – and why those differences matter, but why those differences aren’t deal-breakers, either.

Thank you for reading this far, for investing a few minutes in reflecting with me on Scripture and its interpretation. Look for Christ, friends, in your reading of Scripture and in all things. For Christ is with us, blessing this world with grace and mercy, and showing us a more perfect way of living.

Peace be with you.

Pastor Chris

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]]> Worshipping with our Bodies https://newjoy.org/2024/02/16/worshipping-with-our-bodies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=worshipping-with-our-bodies Fri, 16 Feb 2024 13:06:36 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=11551 Worshipping with our Bodies Among Western Christians there can be a tendency to disassociate faith from our bodies and from the material world in which we live. Popular Christianity envisions souls shooting up into heaven (or down into hell), and ancient Grecco-Roman pagan beliefs persist in widespread cultural notions that our bodies and souls are […]

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Worshipping with our Bodies

Among Western Christians there can be a tendency to disassociate faith from our bodies and from the material world in which we live. Popular Christianity envisions souls shooting up into heaven (or down into hell), and ancient Grecco-Roman pagan beliefs persist in widespread cultural notions that our bodies and souls are altogether different natures.

Similarly, so much of our faith in God and understanding of Christian living resides in our heads, in our commitments, in our ideas. Indeed, for centuries the church was much more concerned with orthodoxy – that is, right teaching – than with orthopraxy – that is, right living. The stuff of living was easily relegated to the back burner.

Worshipping with our BodiesIn time, we’ve come to condescend religious traditions and patterns that embrace full-bodiedness. Much of “proper” religion has no time for the humble prayer postures of Islam, the careful dietary laws of Judaism, or the exuberant bodily ecstasy of Pentecostal and other Christian traditions.

Furthermore, if what’s really important is having the right beliefs, the right ideas, then maybe our bodies and the world around us isn’t that important. Litter? Air pollution? Water contamination? Meh. My ultimate home is in heaven, after all. Who cares about this earth?

Hogwash.

Here’s the Biblical truth: we are created beings in a created world. God makes us from the dust of the earth and from the breath of heaven. We are not just dust, and neither are we just spirit. No. We are fully integrated, both/and, at the same time. This is why Jesus comes to us not as a ghost or a spirit or as some sort of angelic being. No. Jesus comes among us as flesh and blood, fully human and fully divine, an integrated Savior for his beloved people.

And whatever we can say about eternal life and our heavenly dwelling place between death and new life, God’s ultimate promise for us is not a disembodied spiritual world but a whole new creation. God prepares for us a New Heaven and a New Earth joined as one, where the dead are raised and the created world is restored according to God’s glorious intent.

Consider the wholeness of your being. Become aware of your body – a beautiful, wonderful, complex body with nerves sending signals, a heart pumping blood, glands ready to secrete, and skin that can be smooth or rough, wrinkled or tender. Dwell on your head, your heart, your thoughts, your feelings. It’s all one – not just in your brain, but in your gut, in your legs, in the fullness of your created self. It’s all part of the human being God made you to be.

Worshipping with our BodiesAnd so, when we worship we don’t just worship with our mouths or our brains – though these, as part of our createdness, are blessed and wonderful. We bring the fullness of our created selves – our bodies and all they can do – to our acts of worship. This is why we sit and stand and walk during worship. This is why we arrange the chairs in a semicircular formation so that we can see each other in our bodily goodness during our prayers and praise. This is why we eat bread and drink from a cup for Holy Communion, and splash water for Holy Baptism. This is why we sing, letting our bodies become instruments of praise. This is why we use scented oil to anoint the sick, and wave palm branches on Palm Sunday, and smear ashes on our heads at the start of Lent. Our faith takes on flesh and grasps tangible handholds. Bread, water, cup, oil, ash and more.

Next week I’ll write a blogpost exploring traditional postures for worship. For now, I invite you to be aware of your bodily goodness during times of prayer and worship. I invite you to consider how your whole being is, or can be, involved in worship. I invite you to bring your fully integrated self into worship, for you are made in God’s image, beautiful and beloved by God, in all that you are.

I’ll see you at church.

 

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]]> From Love to Love: God’s Passion for All People https://newjoy.org/2024/02/05/from-love-to-love/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=from-love-to-love Mon, 05 Feb 2024 21:38:34 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=11507 From Love to Love: God's Passion for all People Lent, the church’s 40-day season of spiritual discipline and repentance, begins on Ash Wednesday. During this season we will read stories of Jesus’ journey to the cross, the cost of discipleship, and how our Lord was simultaneously embraced and betrayed by those he loved. Ash Wednesday […]

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From Love to Love:
God's Passion for all People

Lent, the church’s 40-day season of spiritual discipline and repentance, begins on Ash Wednesday. During this season we will read stories of Jesus’ journey to the cross, the cost of discipleship, and how our Lord was simultaneously embraced and betrayed by those he loved.

Ash Wednesday falls on February 14th this year – Valentines Day. It’s a day of romance and of love, of sweet candies and flowers, hearts and Cupids. Ash Wednesday is marked by the imposition of ashes on our foreheads – a traditional sign of repentance and a reminder of our mortality.

It’s a serendipitous co-celebration. Our season of Lent begins with the love of Valentines Day, and it ends with love of the Cross and the Empty Grave. From Love to Love: God’s Passion for All People will allow us to see and receive anew God’s love for the whole world.

The word "passion" is used in the Christian tradition to refer to the time of Jesus' suffering and death. In Latin the word passio means "suffering, submission” Thus, the Passion of Jesus is his suffering on the cross. Yet, in contemporary English, "passion" refers to a powerful feeling of love. This season we encounter two very different meanings for the same word.

A traditional Lenten Discipline is to “give up” something for Lent – such as sweets, coffee, or some other indulgence. The 40 days of Lent do NOT include the Sundays. They are breaks from the Lenten fast. So, if you give up chocolate for Lent, remember to give yourself permission to enjoy a few candies on Sundays after church.

A limited number of Lenten devotionals are available for pick-up in the church entranceway.

Christians have long understood Jesus' suffering on the cross as an act of non-violent love for all people. Jesus takes on the violence of the cross in order to overcome the power of sin and death, to show us "a better way" of living now (see 1 Corinthians 12:31, and 1 Corinthians 13) and hope for a renewed world to come.

Thus, from Ash Wednesday through to the cross of Good Friday, we are bound by love. From Love to Love: God’s Passion for All People is our theme this Lent. Please join us for worship on Sundays at 9:30am and Wednesdays at 7pm.

SCHEDULE

Ash Wednesday, February 14

  • Drop-In Imposition of Ashes & Prayer: 6:30 am-9:00 am
  • Prayer & Ashes (at the start of Midweek Bible Study), 1 pm
  • Ash Wednesday Service of Holy Communion, 7 pm

Sundays in Lent, 9:30 am

  • February 18, 25, March 3, 10, 17

Wednesdays in Lent, 7 pm

  • Sung Evening Prayer services with reflections on God’s love by members of New Joy
  • February 21, 28, March 6, 13, 20

Palm Sunday, March 24, 9:30 am

  • Festive Service marking Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem
  • Solemn Reading of the Passion According to Saint Mark

Good Friday, March 29, 7 pm

  • Service of Word and Prayer at the Foot of the Cross

Vigil of Easter, Saturday, March 30, 8 pm

  • Service of Light around campfire (weather permitting!)
  • Reading the History of Salvation through select passages from the Hebrew Bible
  • Announce the Resurrection & Celebrate the first Easter Eucharist

Easter Sunday, March 31, 9:30 am

  • Festive service celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord

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]]> Job Opening: Parish Administrator https://newjoy.org/2024/01/17/job-opening-parish-administrator/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=job-opening-parish-administrator Wed, 17 Jan 2024 14:52:28 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=11477 Job Opening at New Joy Lutheran The New Joy Personnel Team is actively looking for a person to fill the role of Parish Administrator.  Please consider sharing this opportunity within your networks, or consider your own call to serve the church in this way. All interested applicants: Please submit a resume and letter/email stating interest […]

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Job Opening at New Joy Lutheran

The New Joy Personnel Team is actively looking for a person to fill the role of Parish Administrator. 

Please consider sharing this opportunity within your networks, or consider your own call to serve the church in this way.

All interested applicants: Please submit a resume and letter/email stating interest in the Parish Administrator position. All inquiries should be sent to Pastor Chris Duckworth, pastor@newjoy.org, or sent to the address at the top of the job description.

 

Download the Job Description

 

Parish Administrator
Job Description

New Joy is a spirited community, called by God to extend a radical welcome, share a generous grace, nurture a transforming faith, and live God’s promise

 

CORE ABILITIES

The person in this position must be able, on a daily basis, to follow and be part of New Joy’s mission.

Strong technological proficiency (MS Office, Google, Desktop Publishing, current church database) is required.

Maintains confidentiality around financial, church management, and pastoral care situations - must be maintained between the Parish Administrator, Pastor and those directly involved in any such sensitive matters.

Demonstrates the initiative to notice things that need to be done and independently gets them done

RESPONSIBILITIES

Office tasks

  • Answer phones and greet people coming into the building
  • Order and maintain supplies necessary for the general operation of the church
  • Manage vendor relations on contracted services, e.g., copier maintenance
  • Maintain information in the church database program (Tithe.ly, ICON, or other)
  • Create and submit church records as required by the synod
  • Manage church-related legal and governmental applications and renewals
  • In cooperation with the church treasurer, church finance committee, accountants and bank regularly update church financial information.
  • Send out mailed and electronic congregational communication
  • Congressional Annual Report - coordinate with ministry leaders and compile the report
  • Prepare weekly worship bulletins, Proclaim (Livestream) to coincide with the weekly bulletin, and worship leader notes in cooperation with the pastor and minister of music
  • Assist with the development of special projects
  • Monitor the general appearance of the building
  • Set up for worship and special events
  • Manage access to the church building
  • Collaborate with committees on community events on our property.
  • Together with Property Team, schedule and coordinate building access for maintenance and contractors
  • Oversee building cleaning crew
  • Manage garbage and recycling pickup (currently, WM comes to the fenced area to pick up and return both garbage and recycling containers)

POSITION DETAILS

  • Relevant experience necessary
  • Confidentiality - will be honored
  • Congregational Celebrations - (more time may be needed)
  • Hours - 9:00AM - 1:30PM
  • Compensation - starting salary approximately $18.45/hr
  • Review - Performance, compensation, and position description will be reviewed at six months by Pastor, and VP of Ministry Board. An annual review will be performed on-going.
  • Vacation
    • PTO (paid time off) will accrue at one day for each month served and available to use after the initial six months in the position.
    • Up to five unused PTO days can be rolled into the following year
    • After five years, up to 18 PTO days per year will be available, accrued at 1.5 days per month.
  • Support/Continuing Education
  • Paid Holidays
    • New Year’s Day
    • Martin Luther King Jr. Day
    • Easter Monday
    • Memorial Day
    • Juneteenth
    • 4th of July
    • Labor Day
    • Thanksgiving - Thursday and Friday
    • Christmas Day

 Background Check

Office Manager will undergo a child abuse background check (at church’s request)

Safety Training

At next available safety training (CPR, defibrillator, etc.) Parish Administrator will be trained in all appropriate safety practices

 

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]]> Welcoming LGBTQ+ People BECAUSE of Jesus, not IN SPITE of Jesus https://newjoy.org/2023/03/06/welcoming-lgbtq/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=welcoming-lgbtq Mon, 06 Mar 2023 19:09:28 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10900 SESSION 4 LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible. The fourth and final session explores why explicit welcome of LGBTQ+ people is faithful to the Gospel.

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SESSION 4
LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible

Welcoming LGBTQ+ People BECAUSE of Jesus,
not IN SPITE of Jesus

On Sunday, February 12, we began a four-week Bible Study series on LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible. The fourth and final session – held on Sunday, March 5 – explored why explicit welcome of LGBTQ+ people is faithful to the Gospel. Each week we will publish Pastor Chris’ notes from these Bible Studies. These notes are edited and updated following the class. Still, these notes are not fully fleshed out essays, and they are certainly not everything that can be said about these important topics.

 

Jesus never says, “Welcome LGBTQ+ people into your lives.”
Jesus always says, “Welcome LGBTQ+ people into your lives.”

You will not find those words in the Bible.
Yet, you will find this imperative in everything Jesus says and does.

Over the centuries the church has done great harm to members of the LGBTQ+ community, pushing these beloved children away from the church, its ministry, and the Gospel it strives to proclaim. In its error-riddled hubris, the church has failed to bear witness to the Gospel of love, mercy, and grace to LGBTQ+ people. The church has forced LGBTQ+ people to the margins.

It is with boundaries, margins, and borders in mind that we approach today’s study. Each of the following stories and vignettes, in some way, give us insight into how Christians are called to engage the boundaries of our faith communities. Boundaries of faith communities are liminal spaces, bearing qualities of both the “inside” and the “outside,” populated by believers, seekers, pilgrims, curious onlookers, and adherents to other faiths. How are we to manage, live, engage, and be the people of God in these places?

Let’s take a look.

 

The Futility of Gatekeeping

Mark 9:38-41, 10:13-16

Disciples have an impulse to control the movement Jesus is leading

In Mark 9, there’s someone who is casting out demons in the name of Jesus, but he “is not following us.” Because he is not one of them, the disciples want to stop him from his holy, healing work. The disciples believe that their fellowship, their movement is the only act in town.

In Mark 10, there are parents who bring children to be blessed by Jesus. The disciples want to stop them, since Jesus shouldn’t be bothered with children. Jesus responds, “Let the little children come to me.” The disciples are not to impede anyone who comes to Jesus.

The disciples’ impulse to gate-keep is not in keeping with the way of Jesus

Furthermore, Jesus lifts up the faith and affect of a child as exemplary. Children do not know hate, division, discrimination, or bigotry. Neither should we.

 

 

How We Treat Others is How We Treat Jesus

Matthew 25:31-46

Let’s return to this passage, often called “The Judgment of the Nations” (we spent some time here during Session 2, on Welcome)

In one of his final teachings before his execution, Jesus describes what Judgment Day will look like. Yikes. Many Christians find Judgment Day to be a difficult topic – which makes sense! Jesus himself warns us of the danger of judging others (Matthew 7:1). We should approach this topic with great care and humility.

  Jesus describes Judgment Day as that time when the King will separate people into two groups – one group he welcomes into his kingdom, and one group who is rejected. Those who are welcomed into the kingdom all share one trait – they treated others with mercy, love, and care. Those who are rejected from the kingdom also share one trait – they treated others with neglect, scorn, and disregard.

  Love is the primary ethic of Christian living. Nothing else comes close.

Note what key Christian trait is not named in this passage – faith. The importance of faith in God is lifted up throughout the Bible, of course. Faith in Christ and in his promises is the lifeblood of Christian living and the wellspring of Christian hope. Yet, many stories – including this story of the Judgment Day – also speak of God’s blessings and promise coming to those who act righteously without any reference to faith.

  Note also that the acts of love described by the King are done for people who dwell at the margins of society: the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, imprisoned. We are called to act in love toward our neighbor, particularly toward our neighbors who are suffering in some way.

 Jesus identifies with the marginalized and the suffering of this world. Jesus welcomes into his kingdom those who act in love toward those who suffer.

  The margins of the Christian community are governed not by creed, but by love.

 

Who do we Love?

Luke 10:25-37

 A religious leader asks Jesus what must be done to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks him what the law of Moses says. He responds with this summary: Love God, Love Neighbor. Jesus accepts this summary of the law, and encourages him to keep it.

  But the religious leader pushes Jesus on the definition of neighbor. “And who is my neighbor?”

  Jesus tells a story of one person’s righteous, loving act toward another who is suffering and left for dead on the side of the road. The person who responds with love and care is an outsider to Jewish society, a Samaritan – a group which was looked down upon by the Jewish majority of his day. Jesus makes the reviled outsider the example of righteousness, the paradigmatic neighbor.

  We are to “show mercy” to our neighbors. Love is not dependent upon creed or ethnicity or status. Love is an action, not an emotion.

  Again, Jesus heralds an outsider, someone at/beyond the margins of the established faith community, as a true example of righteousness.

Breaking Conventions, Honoring the Outsider

John 4:1-42

Jesus talks with a woman, a Samaritan woman – all against the norms

What is her marital status? Jesus says she has had five husbands. Is “husband” a euphemism for lover here? Has she had really bad luck with husbands who keep dying on her (assuming the word “husband” is used literally here)? The church has traditionally understood women such as her as being of ill-repute – a prostitute, for example. We do not need to speculate. We do not need to condemn. We do not need to perpetuate the trope of the scandalously promiscuous woman. What we know is that she is alone, at the hottest part of the day, drawing water (not when most people would choose to draw water). She is a vulnerable woman in a marginalized community.

Against all the norms of the day, Jesus welcomes her theological questions, her faithful inquiry, and her testimony. She demonstrates her faith, and comes to believe Jesus is the Messiah. In fact, she leaves Jesus to go tell others and bring them to Jesus. She is among the first evangelists in the Gospels – an outsider, marginalized, Samaritan woman.

Jesus chooses to stay in Samaria for two days, blessing the people and proclaiming the Good News.

Jesus chooses to break the norms, honor an outsider, and expand the boundaries of his community.

 

Large Crowds Gather without Distinction

 

We did not get to these passages in our lesson, but they were in my notes. I’m struck by the large crowds that gather around the preaching, teaching, and wonder-working of John the Baptist and Jesus. These are crowds that gather without distinction. Jews and Greeks. Pharisees and common Jews. Men, women, and children. Neither John nor Jesus engage in gate-keeping, limiting who can come to hear them teach and preach. The words and works of God are for all people.

  Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20 – John the Baptist gathers “All of Judea” to repentance

  Matthew 14:13-21 – Feeding the Five Thousand

  Matthew 4:23-5:2 – Crowds gather around Jesus’ words and deeds

  Jesus is not creating a movement based on purity or some sort of uniformity, but based on invitation, grace, and hope.

 

The church is called to have an incredibly porous, permeable boundary. It is not in keeping with the Gospel to reject members of the LGBTQ+ community, or anyone one else, based on who they are as people made in the image of God. The church is called to bless and honor and welcome all of God’s people.

Does this mean that “All are Welcome”? No. Not everyone is welcome. A Nazi, for example, is not welcome in our church – unless they seek to repent of their sins. Then, yes, by all means, let us walk to the cross together in prayer and repentance. People who are committed to ideologies that demean, dehumanize, or revile people based on their race, ethnicity, gender, or religion are not welcome. Such behavior, such ideologies, are an affront to the Gospel and have no place in the church of Jesus Christ.

Love God. Love neighbor. That’s the rule.

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]]> The Clobber Verses https://newjoy.org/2023/03/01/the-clobber-verses/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-clobber-verses Wed, 01 Mar 2023 13:30:45 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10864 SESSION 3 LBGTQ+ and the Bible. Today we are looking at the “clobber verses” – the small handful of Bible passages that are frequently used to reject, shame, and condemn homosexuality and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

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SESSION 3
LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible

The Clobber Verses

But the Bible Says ...!

On Sunday, February 12, we began a four-week Bible Study series on LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible. The third session – held on Sunday, February 26 – examined what are commonly called “The Clobber Verses.” Each week we will publish Pastor Chris’ notes from these Bible Studies. These notes are edited and updated following the class. Still, these notes are not fully fleshed out essays, and they are certainly not everything that can be said about these important topics.

 

Today we are looking at the “clobber verses” – the small handful of Bible passages that are frequently used to reject, shame, and condemn homosexuality and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned that there are plenty of norms and practices that we have in today’s society which are not found in the Bible – norms that we find good, and holy, and life-giving. Norms such as consent, dating, marrying for love, etc.

We also have certain understandings and knowledge that the Biblical generations did not have – gender equality in church and society; the possibility and beauty of mutual, loving same sex relationships; biological/scientific insights into human sexuality; and more.

Importantly for this discussion, the Biblical generations did not conceive of the possibility and beauty of mutual, loving, same sex relationships. As such, the few Bible verses that seem to address same sex intimacy need to be examined to understand if the activity they are referring to is comparable to today’s mutual, loving, same sex relationships.

Finally – and this is important –when we seek Biblical guidance on matters of ethics we look for threads that weave and themes that repeat throughout Scripture. We do not base our ethics or theologies on a small handful of disjointed bible verses or isolated ideas. That’s now how Christian ethics works. That’s not how good theology works. We look for patterns that repeat throughout Scripture.

We will take a look at some of the most common “clobber verses,” and ask, “Is this this verse or passage sufficient to condemn mutual, loving same sex relationships?” In each instance, the answer to that question is “no.” Read on to see why that’s the case.

 

Dive into Scripture

Genesis 19

 Sodom and Gomorrah

We spent some time looking at this passage two weeks ago, in our overview lesson of Christianity and Human Sexuality. Check out those notes for more information.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is fundamentally about the failure to extend hospitality.

The same-sex sexual activity referred to in this passage is violent gang rape.

Violent gang rape is not the same as mutual, loving same sex relationships.

Is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah a condemnation of mutual, loving same sex relationships? No.

 

It is unlawful for a man to lay with a man

Discussion Stater: First, open to any chapter of the book of Leviticus, and quickly scan through it. What are you reading? What kind of world are you imagining these rules are intended to govern? How similar or different does this world feel from ours?

Leviticus is a book of laws – of laws about worship, ritual, and sacrifices, and laws about family, economics, sexuality, and community. This book reveals that ancient Jewish society was highly ordered and highly regulated, intended to set Jews apart from neighboring tribes and peoples.

There’s a a general prohibition on “mixing” – Leviticus 19:19, for example, cites prohibitions on breeding animals of different kinds, on mixing two kinds of seeds to plant in a field, and of sewing two different fabrics into a garment to be worn. This is part of the call to keep separate and distinctive as God’s chosen people.

Leviticus reflects an ancient worldview, parts of which modern Christians (and Jews!) no longer accept as normative (for example, we would go to a dermatologist for a skin disease, not necessary visit a priest for examination; and, neither Christians nor Jews practice animal or grain offerings, despite Leviticus providing several chapters on the topic). Yet, we don’t remove such rules or books from the Bible. Instead, we seek to understand these passages in their contexts.

 

Scan chapters 18 and 20; what’s going on these chapters?

A concern for a certain kind of sexual purity; limits on sexual practices

Seems odd that some of these rules even needed to be said!

These chapters are part of a larger section in Leviticus often referred to as the Holiness Codes, Leviticus 17-26. The Holiness Codes include a variety of laws intended to guide the people to “be holy as the LORD your God is holy.” It is a call to live as people set apart from neighboring nations by distinctive economic, social, sexual, and family practices.

 

What about these two verses and their prohibition on male same sex intimacy?

The ancients believed that semen contained everything, or most, of what is needed for life -thus “wasting” semen was understood as a grave offense against God (on wasting semen, see Genesis 38:1-10). In this way, two men engaged in sex was understood as offensive to God as it could not result in pregnancy.

Also, the ancient concern about mixing (not to mix two kinds of seed in a field or wear clothing made of two different kinds of fabric, etc.) comes into play here. Perhaps the concern with male same sexual intimacy has to do with “mixing” men with men against the norm of male-female sexual intimacy.

Male same sex intimacy can place a man in a receptive position, otherwise seen as the role of a woman in sexual intimacy. This would be another kind of “mixing” (in this case, of gender roles) that would generally be prohibited in ancient Israel and seen as shameful.

Yet, Leviticus is not concerned with sexual intimacy between two women. Perhaps the experience of women was simply overlooked – as was common in patriarchal societies. Likely, the prohibition on male same sex intimacy has to do with non-procreative seminal emissions and/or with the concerns about “mixing.”

These verses do not address love or mutuality, but simply address some of the “mechanics” of same sex intimate acts, based on perspectives most modern Christians (and most modern Jews) no longer hold.

Furthermore, Christianity has long held onto Leviticus loosely, recognizing that its laws were written for a very different time and place. Laws about sacrifices, rituals, bodily emissions, food, skin health, and more are generally not followed by Christians.

Instead, the laws that most clearly speak to Christians today from Leviticus are those that echo the prophets, Jesus, and New Testament writings on love of neighbor (Leviticus 19:18), care for the poor (Leviticus 19:11-13; 25:35-55), and hospitality to the outsider (Leviticus 19:33-34; 23:22).

 

Do Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 condemn mutual, loving same sex relationships? No.

Unnatural intercourse

Discussion Stater: Scan Romans 1:18-2:1

1:18-20, God can be observed in nature

1:21-23, people rejected what they could know of God

1:24-25, God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts

1:26-27, they engaged in “unnatural” sex

1:28-32, they engaged in all kinds of sinful activities

2:1, we all engage in sinful activities

 

There were two common, public examples of same-sex intimacy known in the ancient world:

pederasty, the abuse of boys by esteemed men

temple cults related to Greek and other pagan gods sometimes included temple prostitutes and same-sex cultic sex acts

Sexual norms held at the time held that women took passive roles in sexual intimacy, and men took more active roles. Thus, same sex male intimacy required at least one of the male partners to be passive/receptive, and same sex female intimacy required at least one of the partners to be active – roles that were seen as shameful in that time period and culture.

Sexual sins are just one of the long list of “things that should not be done” (Romans 1:28). That list includes murder, gossip, and rebelliousness toward parents.

Does Romans 1:26-28 condemn mutual, loving same sex relationships? No.

 

Men who engage in illicit sex are condemned

The word ἀρσενοκοῖται (arsenokoites) is sometimes translated as “homosexual” or “sodomite.” It is a word that appears only twice in the entire Bible – in these two lists of “wrongdoers who will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9).

It’s a word that isn’t in common use in contemporaneous Greek literature, and at least one newer translation of the Bible puts footnote for this word which reads, “meaning of Greek uncertain” (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition).

The precise meaning of this word is uncertain, but likely refers to some sort of male same sex intimacy. Again, most of the known same sex activity at that time was violent, abusive, or otherwise idolatrous – nothing like what we know today of mutual, loving same sex relationships.

The other types of wrongdoers named in 1 Corinthians 6 include thieves, robbers, and the greedy. The list in 1 Timothy 1 includes murderers, slave traders, and “whatever else is contrary to sound teaching.”

Both passages speak condemningly of a certain class of people. If you keep reading – and we should always keep reading – both passages quickly move into a section on redemption.

 In 1 Corinthians Paul continues: “And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

 In 1 Timothy, Paul follows up his list of outlaws with his owns story of redemption. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Peter 1:13-14).

Do 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10 condemn mutual, loving same sex relationships? No.

 

These verses do not address what we know of today as mutual, loving, same sex relationships. Any prohibitions on same sex intimacy, to the extent that we can even call them such, are rooted in norms and understandings regarding sexuality and biology that we no longer embrace. Our world is not the ancient world, thankfully. As 21st century Christians, we need to apply what we know of the Christian faith’s central themes (see final segment of the first lesson in this series) and apply those themes to our most intimate and personal relationships.

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]]> Hospitality in the Bible and at New Joy https://newjoy.org/2023/02/28/hospitality-at-new-joy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hospitality-at-new-joy Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:27:31 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10818 SESSION 2 LGBTQ+ and the Bible. The second session of this series looks at hospitality in both the Bible and also in New Joy’s history.

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SESSION 2
LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible

Hospitality in the Bible and at New Joy

On Sunday, February 12, we began a four-week Bible Study series on LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible. The second session of this series looked hospitality in both the Bible and also in New Joy’s history.

Each week we will publish Pastor Chris’ notes from these Bible Studies. These notes are edited and updated following the class. Still, these notes are not fully fleshed out essays, and they are certainly not everything that can be said about these important topics.

 

Kick-off questions
For discussion in groups of 2 or 3:

Describe a time you were welcomed into a new setting: a new family, a new church, a new workplace, a new community.

 What are the qualities of welcome that you have experienced and appreciated?

The group shared several examples of being welcomed into new communities:

 A family living off base, overseas and being welcomed by the Army chaplains on the nearby US Army base. The chaplains and the base chapel community offered important emotional, spiritual, and practical support for this young family.

 Someone being welcomed into a large family after getting married. Another “outlaw” – someone else who had married into this large family – showed him the ropes and made him feel especially included into his new family.

 One person shared how being offered a new job is a great kind of welcome – being included and welcomed because of the skill and knowledge they have.

 Several people shared about being welcomed at New Joy by people with warm greetings, invitations to fellowship groups, and simply by remembering their names week-to-week.

 

Hospitality is a key value in the Hebrew Bible. Leviticus 19:33-34, among others, calls God’s people to welcome and care for outsiders in their midst. Several Bible stories also demonstrate this commitment to hospitality.

Dive into Scripture

Divide the group into three to read through these stories.

Genesis 18:1-15

Luke 24:13-35

Matthew 25:31-46

Questions for discussion
In groups of 2 or 3

 Read each story and identify qualities or characteristics of Biblical hospitality

 What happens as a result of extending hospitality?

Genesis 18:1-15  Abraham and Sarah welcome visitors

Here Abraham and Sarah welcome three visitors into their tent. Notice how Abraham hastens to these three men, offers them food, rest, water. He bows toward them. He uses a title of dignity (“my lord”).

He prepares “choice” flour for bread, had a “good” calf prepared for them, and more.

It is not clear that Abraham knows these men represent the Lord. Hebrews 13:2 suggests that he did not (“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for in so doing some have entertained angels unaware.”).

In extended hospitality to strangers, Abraham and Sarah welcome God into their midst.

 

Luke 24:13-35  The Road to Emmaus

Two men leaving Jerusalem after the crucifixion of Jesus begin talking with a man on the road. Walking and talking with an unknown person along a long walk is a form of hospitality – they welcome him into their conversation. They tell this man about the events of the past weekend – the crucifixion of Jesus, his burial, and rumors of his resurrection. The man, then, begins to tell them about Scripture, teaching about the Bible in light of the events of the weekend.

At the end of the day the men welcome Jesus into their home. They share a meal together. When the man broke bread with them, their eyes were opened and hearts burned. They realized that they were walking with Jesus the entire time.

In welcoming this man among them, they welcomed Jesus.

 

Matthew 25:31-46  The Judgment of the Nations

In his final teaching prior to his passion, Jesus describes the Day of Judgment. In this telling, Jesus describes all nations gathered before the king. The king will separate the people from each other, “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” And as the king welcomes some of the people into the kingdom, he explains why: “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me … just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

However we treat anyone, especially “the least of these,” is how we treat Jesus. This is a promise Jesus makes always to be with and among “the least of these.” Thus, however we treat – however we welcome – the poor and outcast, is how we treat and welcome Jesus.

Hospitality is an act of welcoming not just another person into our home, congregation, or community, but of welcoming God into our midst.

Welcoming since 2002

The class also discussed New Joy’s Welcome statement from 2002, as found on our “mission wheel.” Several years before both our denomination and the US Supreme Court acted in ways to affirm LGBTQ+ people, New Joy proclaimed a radical welcome:

God does not discriminate and neither do we.
New Joy happily welcomes all, without regard to race, income, or sexual orientation.

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]]> Overview of Christianity and Human Sexuality https://newjoy.org/2023/02/13/lgbtq-welcome-and-the-bible/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lgbtq-welcome-and-the-bible Mon, 13 Feb 2023 19:22:44 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10675 SESSION 1 LBGTQ+ and the Bible. The first session offered an initial overview of Christianity and human sexuality.

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SESSION 1
LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible

Overview of Christianity and Human Sexuality

We're Talking About THAT?

On Sunday, February 12, we began a four-week Bible Study series on LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible, as part of New Joy's Exploring our Radical Welcome initiative. The first session offered an initial overview of Christianity and human sexuality. Each week we will publish Pastor Chris’ notes from these Bible Studies. These notes are not fully fleshed out essays, and they are certainly not everything that can be said about these important topics.

 

POETRY

The Bible opens with beautiful poetry about the creation of the world and the creation of people.

 

The Flight of Lot and His family from Sodom, Jacob Jordaens

LBGTQ+ Welcome & the Bible: A Study

QUESTION

What kinds of truth or realities can poetry express that prose or scientific observations cannot?

Genesis 1

6 days of creation; 1 day of rest

Genesis 1:26-28 People are made in the image of God (at times the Bible imagines a kind of divine council. Here the Lord may be addressing other divine beings when initiating the creation of humanity. “Let us make humankind in our image”). Man and woman are both made in the image and likeness of God.

Humanity is made on the sixth day, on the same day as all other land animals.

From the beginning God gives a command to humanity (Genesis 1:28): “be fruitful and multiply” - an implied command to have sexual relations and to procreate

 

Genesis 2

Another creation story - there are two creation stories in Genesis - man is made from the earth, woman is made from the man. They’re of the same matter and nature, and woven into the fabric of creation.

Genesis describes the creation of men and women, and offers some insight into their purpose.

 

QUESTIONS

What kinds of truth or realities can poetry express that prose or scientific observations cannot?

Lutherans tend not to view these stories as history in a modern sense of precisely recounting and interpreting the past, but instead as faithful stories filled with religious power and promise. What do you think is the purpose of these creation stories?

 

 

WILDLY DIFFERENT SOCIAL NORMS

Once we start reading the Bible’s stories, we soon realize that ancient communities had different cultural realities and social norms than we do. And the answer isn’t necessarily to restore the realities and norms of these ancient communities.

 

SODOM AND GOMORRAH What’s going on here? Many of us have heard about “sodomy” and of the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Over the centuries many Christians have misinterpreted this story to be a condemnation of homosexuality. Yet what is on display in Sodom is not consensual relations, but a desire for violent gang rape.

Whereas Lot extends gracious and generous hospitality to the two men, the town does the exact opposite. Hospitality is a holy calling in the Bible (Leviticus 19:33-34). Sodom fails to extend the requisite, commanded hospitality.

Scripture also interprets Scripture. The Prophet Ezekiel comments on the sin of Sodom. “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.” Ezekiel 16:49-50. The sin of Sodom was its greed and pride.

Extramarital Sex to Produce an Heir

When Abram and Sarai are unable to conceive, Abram has sex with Sarai’s servant Hagar in order to produce an heir. (see Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, child Ishmael, Genesis 16). If any of us are childless today, we would not seek to produce an heir through extramarital sex.

Offering Daughters to a Violent Mob

When Lot welcomes two angels into his house, a violent mob approaches his door with a violent desire to rape the men. Lot refuses their demands, but instead offers his daughters to the violent mob (Genesis 19). In a similar situation we would not offer family members to be abused by a violent mob.

Polygamy

Polygamy is found throughout the Old Testament. Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon (among others) practiced polygamy.

Polygamy seems also to have been practiced in the New Testament. Paul wrote that ministers should be “husbands of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6 – could Christian men who were not ministers have more than one wife?). Apparently, some early Christians, and potential converts to the faith, practiced polygamy. We do not practice polygamy.

Vulnerability of Single Women

Marriage was the way to secure a vulnerable woman. Sometimes this meant a married man took a widow as his second wife (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). We do not believe that marriage is the only means by which to protect a vulnerable person, or that a woman must be married to be financially or socially secure

Gender Roles

Paul also wrote that women should not speak in church or have authority over men (1 Corinthians 14:34-36; 1 Timothy 2:8-15). We believe that God’s Spirit calls all people into ministry without distinction.

Marriage? Meh

Paul wrote that it is better for believers not to get married. Marriage was acceptable, of course, if you couldn’t control your libido. Much of his ambivalence about marriage stems from his expectation of Christ’s imminent return. (1 Corinthians 7). We have a different perspective both on marriage and the timing of Christ’s return.

 I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All People, Marianne Gonzales

I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All People, Marianne Gonzales

These examples highlight that we do not live in the societies from and for which the Scriptures were first written. In fact, understanding the context of these Scriptures helps us to understand why these rules/teachings were established in the first place, even if we acknowledge their literal applicability today is untenable.

QUESTIONS

Obviously many of these rules do not make sense in our contemporary contexts, but they existed for a reason. We do not merely dismiss them as archaic. Considering the cultural context of these teachings, what is the purpose of some of these practices? Pick one or more of these teachings and try to understand its wisdom.

Have you experienced a change of perspective on a “big” issue or major personal commitment? Have you seen others change their perspective, or rules, about something? What do you think brings about such changes?

The best of our contemporary values around marriage and sexuality - marrying for love, consent in matters of sexual relations, dating - are not really found in the Bible. Does that make these things “unbiblical”? In a technical way, perhaps, but that’s the wrong question to ask. The internet, the English language, baseball, and space travel aren’t in the Bible, either.

 

Christian, Not Biblicist

Many beautiful, wonderful, holy, faithful, and life-giving aspects of our world are not found in the Bible. Many of our core social norms are not found in the Bible. And that’s ok. We are not Biblicists – we are Christians. Our faith and our daily lives are not limited by the printed words of the Bible, but instead are gracious gifts opened up for us by the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns not just in the past, but yet today and in the promised future.

When we look to Scripture for specific rules on gender roles, marriage, and sexuality, we tend to encounter norms that are shaped by extremely different cultural and social norms than what we have today. As 21st century Christians living today in the United States, we inhabit a significantly distinct society from those we read of in Scripture. Everything from life expectancy to legal codes, technology to how we think of the self, is radically different. The ways we live out our faith, then, are also necessarily different.

 

CORE CHRISTIAN COMMITMENTS

Given the radically different historical, social, and gender norms of the societies from which the Bible was written, norms that shaped the Bible’s explicit teachings about gender and sexuality, we need a different approach to Scripture on these matters. When looking to Scripture for guidance today on gender roles, marriage, relationships, and sexuality, we should look to the central teachings of our faith, the core commitments of Christian belief and ethics, and apply those faithfully to our most intimate and personal relationships.

 

LOVE GOD, LOVE NEIGHBOR (Matthew 22:36-40; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18). This is the primary teaching of Jesus – love. Not like. Not affection. Love that deeply regards the humanity, dignity, and honor of all people, neighbors, friends, and enemies alike.

LOOK TO THE GOOD OF OTHERS, NOT SELF (Philippians 2:3-4). Fundamentally, Christianity is other-centric, focused on honoring and improving the welfare of those around us.

NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN PEOPLE (Galatians 3:28) At the conclusion of an argument about how the promise of the Gospel works, Paul writes that there is no distinction between male and female, Jew and Greek, slave and free. Gentiles are grafted into the promise through faith in Christ, not through works of the law. The previously important distinctions (ethnicity, social status, gender) break down in faith.

NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN PEOPLE, PART II (Joel 2:28-29) The Prophet Joel, speaking the word of God, announces that the movement of God’s spirit does not favor certain people because of social distinctions. Note that in this passage when Joel proclaims that God’s spirit would be poured out also on slaves, that is both a status and an ethnic distinction, as only foreigners, non-Jews, would have been held as slaves.

IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD (Genesis 1:26-27) If humanity is made in the image and likeness of God, this means all people. All people are made in the image and likeness of God. When I gaze upon my neighbor, I see God’s beloved handiwork, image, and child.

QUESTIONS

How does placing love at the center of our interpersonal ethics change, if at all, how we view people who in previous time periods would have been shunned, or worse?

Let’s take that question and push it into today. What groups of people tend to be marginalized and rejected today? How is Christian love for them expressed?

How does placing love at the center of our interpersonal ethics change, if at all, the types and kinds of human relationships we engage in and bless, especially those that would have been forbidden in other eras?

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]]> Radical Welcome Next Steps https://newjoy.org/2023/01/24/radical-welcome-steps/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=radical-welcome-steps Tue, 24 Jan 2023 21:56:20 +0000 https://newjoy.org/?p=10546 New Joy is planning a four-week Bible Study and a few experiences to learn from members of the LGBTQ+ community and from members of LGBTQ+ affirming congregations.

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Radical Welcome Next Steps

Last Fall New Joy hosted two conversations with local LGBTQ+ advocates and educators (GLSEN of Central Indiana and Indiana Youth Group), providing members of our congregation with important opportunities to learn. This Spring we are planning a four-week Bible Study and a few experiences to learn from members of the LGBTQ+ community and from members of LGBTQ+ affirming congregations.

This is all part of our Exploring our Radical Welcome initiative.

 

Sunday Morning Bible Study:

LGBTQ+ Welcome and the Bible

All Sessions are following worship at approximately 10:45 am

February 12, SESSION 1
We’re Talking About THAT?
Overview of Christianity and Human Sexuality. 
Setting Terms of our Discussion - safety, honor, humility, love for neighbor
Gathering Questions

 

February 19, SESSION 2
What it means to welcome “All People”
Review New Joy’s 2002 Mission Wheel and 2015 Mission Statement. 
Read Scripture around Welcome & Hospitality. 
Do we need to get specific, or does “all” truly cover everybody? 
Topics from Session 1’s “Gathering Questions”

 

February 26, SESSION 3
But the Bible Says …
Understanding certain Bible passages that (may?) address same-sex sexual activity
Examine certain social norms in Biblical and contemporary contexts
Topics from Session 1’s “Gathering Questions”

 

March 5, SESSION 4
Affirming Because of - Not in Spite of - Jesus
Jesus’ call to fully affirm and honor LGBTQ+ people
What it may look like for New Joy
Topics from Session 1’s “Gathering Questions”

 

Questions? Attend the classes, contact Pastor Chris at pastor@newjoy.org, or call the church office at 317 896-1402. Thank you.

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