Third Sunday after Epiphany
January 24, 2021
Look before you leap
Similar advice comes in the form, “Look both ways before you cross the street.” Aesop tells two fables that speak of the wisdom of attention before action. The Two Frogs and The Fox and The Goat. In the first, the two frogs come across a well when it was hot out and, although they first thought they should hop in for the cool water, they reconsidered when they realized they would have no way out. They looked before they leapt and, in doing so, spared their lives. In The Fox and the Goat we again have a well of cool water in a time of scarcity. In this story, however, the fox is trapped in the well and invites the goat down to join him. Once the goat jumps in, the fox climbs on top of the goat and is able to jump out of the well by jumping off the goat's horns, leaving the goat behind. The goat did not look before leaping. A common phrase I heard from inmates was, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time” and while that could have occurred randomly, in most instances looking before leaping might have prevented it.
Mark 1:17-18
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Depending upon the translation you are using, Mark uses the word “immediately” 41 times. This is more than half the uses in the entire Greek and Hebrew bibles! He likes the word and sees the experience of Jesus as being overwhelming, overwhelming enough to cause people to react immediately. In ways we would never dream of doing. Later, Jesus himself needs to slow people down and ask his followers, often, to assess the demands of discipleship. But Simon and Andrew, and followed by James and John (sons of Zebedee) in the very next verse choose very much to leap before they look. Different situations call for different responses. There is no one size fits all approach.
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
January 31, 2021
Fear is the beginning of wisdom
This adage simply takes God out of the verse in Psalm 111 quoted below. A common theme in my discussions with inmates is the theme of fear. Many claim that the criminal life has caused them to be devoid of fear. Some long for the days when they felt fear and speak of being numb to it and recognize the incredibly foolish risks that such a state leads to. Yet others have become terrorized by fear of repeated events and live lives that avoid almost everything through isolation and substance abuse. And still others speak of the painful experience of being seen by others as a crazed animal that can only be feared. While fear operates in us all it appears to take on a heightened importance in the lives of the marginalized, particularly those who live in violence and the threat of violence, for whatever reasons. I have often directed people towards the 1997 book, The Gift of Fear, by Gavin de Becker. The book is aptly titled as he details how we are to listen to our fear, knowing it speaks to us, giving us the wisdom to know when we are threatened. He provides strategies to ensure that we are attentive to this sometimes still, small voice, when it speaks.
Psalm 111:10a
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
This biblical teaching is echoed in Proverbs 1:7, 9:10 and other places. A mechanism may be at work. Fear leads to humility for fear is based on the recognition that we neither know nor can control our fate. Fear is based on recognizing our own shortcomings and inability to fend for ourselves. Fear is indeed the antechamber to prayer, the bringer of wisdom. One could draw a sharp distinction between fear of the Lord and fear of circumstances. However, one could also conclude that God is more apt to give us the strength and insight to respond to fear rather than granting us a life where any reasons for fear were absent.
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 7, 2021
You can't be all things to all people
These commonly used words, of undetermined origin, seem too obvious. It doesn’t hold up to basic logic. How can you be a rich person to one and a poor person to other? How can you be fluent in everyone else's language? How can you be endlessly generous to everyone you meet? The phrase exists because we often try to accomplish the impossible and stretch ourselves too thin. We compromise our integrity and wear ourselves ragged in the process. In the most measured use, it is a simple call to moderation and attention to limits and boundaries. At the other end of the spectrum, it can be used to defend putting out any effort at all. I can’t be all things to all people; I will just be myself and let others deal with that.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all,
so that I might win more of them.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews.
To those under the law I became as one under the law
(though I myself am not under the law)
so that I might win those under the law.
To those outside the law I became as one outside the law
(though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law)
so that I might win those outside the law.
To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak.
I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.
I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Paul not only says it is possible to be all things to all people, but points to his own life as living proof. Perhaps this is where the power of the phrase comes. We aren't all Paul. He can, but we can't. Or maybe it is better understood as creative use of hyperbole or exaggeration. Then again, we are told that nothing is impossible with God. (Matthew 19:26) It would take fancier footwork than I can muster to make the claim that scripture does not contradict this proverb. We all appreciate when others try to “meet us where we are” or at least “in the middle” perhaps a step in the right direction would be to do that on a regular basis, and then reassess if we can follow the example Paul lays out for us.
Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Trinity Sunday to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to Reign of Christ
For more on Glenn Morison and his book that led to this page, check out The Things We Say.
All this material is copyleft. Feel free to use it however you see fit, with or without attribution.
If you wish to value this page, please make a donation to the Winnipeg Quaker Meeting.
January 24, 2021
Look before you leap
Similar advice comes in the form, “Look both ways before you cross the street.” Aesop tells two fables that speak of the wisdom of attention before action. The Two Frogs and The Fox and The Goat. In the first, the two frogs come across a well when it was hot out and, although they first thought they should hop in for the cool water, they reconsidered when they realized they would have no way out. They looked before they leapt and, in doing so, spared their lives. In The Fox and the Goat we again have a well of cool water in a time of scarcity. In this story, however, the fox is trapped in the well and invites the goat down to join him. Once the goat jumps in, the fox climbs on top of the goat and is able to jump out of the well by jumping off the goat's horns, leaving the goat behind. The goat did not look before leaping. A common phrase I heard from inmates was, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time” and while that could have occurred randomly, in most instances looking before leaping might have prevented it.
Mark 1:17-18
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Depending upon the translation you are using, Mark uses the word “immediately” 41 times. This is more than half the uses in the entire Greek and Hebrew bibles! He likes the word and sees the experience of Jesus as being overwhelming, overwhelming enough to cause people to react immediately. In ways we would never dream of doing. Later, Jesus himself needs to slow people down and ask his followers, often, to assess the demands of discipleship. But Simon and Andrew, and followed by James and John (sons of Zebedee) in the very next verse choose very much to leap before they look. Different situations call for different responses. There is no one size fits all approach.
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
January 31, 2021
Fear is the beginning of wisdom
This adage simply takes God out of the verse in Psalm 111 quoted below. A common theme in my discussions with inmates is the theme of fear. Many claim that the criminal life has caused them to be devoid of fear. Some long for the days when they felt fear and speak of being numb to it and recognize the incredibly foolish risks that such a state leads to. Yet others have become terrorized by fear of repeated events and live lives that avoid almost everything through isolation and substance abuse. And still others speak of the painful experience of being seen by others as a crazed animal that can only be feared. While fear operates in us all it appears to take on a heightened importance in the lives of the marginalized, particularly those who live in violence and the threat of violence, for whatever reasons. I have often directed people towards the 1997 book, The Gift of Fear, by Gavin de Becker. The book is aptly titled as he details how we are to listen to our fear, knowing it speaks to us, giving us the wisdom to know when we are threatened. He provides strategies to ensure that we are attentive to this sometimes still, small voice, when it speaks.
Psalm 111:10a
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
This biblical teaching is echoed in Proverbs 1:7, 9:10 and other places. A mechanism may be at work. Fear leads to humility for fear is based on the recognition that we neither know nor can control our fate. Fear is based on recognizing our own shortcomings and inability to fend for ourselves. Fear is indeed the antechamber to prayer, the bringer of wisdom. One could draw a sharp distinction between fear of the Lord and fear of circumstances. However, one could also conclude that God is more apt to give us the strength and insight to respond to fear rather than granting us a life where any reasons for fear were absent.
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 7, 2021
You can't be all things to all people
These commonly used words, of undetermined origin, seem too obvious. It doesn’t hold up to basic logic. How can you be a rich person to one and a poor person to other? How can you be fluent in everyone else's language? How can you be endlessly generous to everyone you meet? The phrase exists because we often try to accomplish the impossible and stretch ourselves too thin. We compromise our integrity and wear ourselves ragged in the process. In the most measured use, it is a simple call to moderation and attention to limits and boundaries. At the other end of the spectrum, it can be used to defend putting out any effort at all. I can’t be all things to all people; I will just be myself and let others deal with that.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all,
so that I might win more of them.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews.
To those under the law I became as one under the law
(though I myself am not under the law)
so that I might win those under the law.
To those outside the law I became as one outside the law
(though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law)
so that I might win those outside the law.
To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak.
I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.
I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Paul not only says it is possible to be all things to all people, but points to his own life as living proof. Perhaps this is where the power of the phrase comes. We aren't all Paul. He can, but we can't. Or maybe it is better understood as creative use of hyperbole or exaggeration. Then again, we are told that nothing is impossible with God. (Matthew 19:26) It would take fancier footwork than I can muster to make the claim that scripture does not contradict this proverb. We all appreciate when others try to “meet us where we are” or at least “in the middle” perhaps a step in the right direction would be to do that on a regular basis, and then reassess if we can follow the example Paul lays out for us.
Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Trinity Sunday to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to Reign of Christ
For more on Glenn Morison and his book that led to this page, check out The Things We Say.
All this material is copyleft. Feel free to use it however you see fit, with or without attribution.
If you wish to value this page, please make a donation to the Winnipeg Quaker Meeting.