Here are some items from this morning’s church activities and also Wednesday’s adult Bible study.
A. Wednesday’s adult Bible study and the pastor’s sermon this morning
revolved around the story and prayer of Simeon in Luke 2:21-35. The
pastor likened Simeon’s blessing of Jesus in the Temple with the
Eucharist. God came to the Temple in Luke 2:21-35, and God comes to the
Eucharist in, with, and under the bread and the wine. This is a Lutheran
church.
B. The pastor’s youth message and sermon this morning used Simeon’s
statement about Jesus being a light to the Gentiles to talk about light.
Light shines on the masks that we wear, casting shadows. It confronts
our notion that we are doing all right in terms of the Christian life,
but it also fills the hole in our hearts terms of our desires for
meaning and ritual. The pastor talked about Groundhog’s Day and how
people get up early in the morning to seek guidance from a scared
groundhog. He lamented that parents do not take their children to church
in the name of letting the children decide for themselves what to
believe, but the result is the kids are not exposed to Christianity, and
the world pushes them into its values. They may still have a desire for
ritual and meaning, but they seek it in Groundhog’s Day.
C. The Sunday School class that I am attending is using John Ortberg’s Soul Keeping.
Ortberg told the story about how he was becoming renowned, successful,
and respected in his church life, but he felt that his internal life was
lagging behind. He corresponded with Dallas Willard and hoped that
Willard’s prominence would boost his own prominence. Upon meeting
Willard, Ortberg was surprised at how Willard was fully present to him,
listening to him even when the phone was ringing. He learned from
Willard about the soul. According to Ortberg, the soul is not merely
consciousness but is what provides coherence to the various facets of
us—-thoughts, feeling, body, appetites—-making me me and you you. The
soul can be healthy and balanced or unhealthy and out of balance. A
significant stumblingblock to the soul is hurry, which flows from worry.
When we slow down, we can connect with God, become more at ease, and be
more present to others. Another problem is that society has moved from a focus on family and society to a focus on the self, and the self cannot bear the weight people place on it, resulting in depression.
D. The pastor on Wednesday addressed the apparent contradictions
between Luke and Matthew. Luke wants to feature the highlights of
Jesus’s life and growth and thus talks about his circumcision as a baby:
the point here is that Jesus kept the law on our behalf and thus was
our Savior. Matthew’s point is that Jesus fulfilled Israel’s history, so
he presents Jesus coming out of Egypt, as Israel did.