Atonement vs. Reconciliation

Today's Daily Lectionary reading from the Old Testament is Leviticus 16:20-34 in which instructions continue for how Aaron, as the priest of the Israelites, will deal with the sins of the people. This is where the practice of the "scape goat" is established. I've been using the newly published Common English Bible for my daily scripture reading/prayer time, and I am often pleasantly surprised by the choices made by the translators. For example, verse 30 reads, "On that day reconciliation will be made for you in order to cleanse you. You will be clean before the Lord from all your sins." In the NRSV, the word is atonement, not reconciliation. As the passage continues, Aaron continues to make reconciliation instead of atonement.

To my knowledge, this translation is the result of the input of many scholars from varied traditions, and they claim to be making an effort at an accurate, readable translation. When they vary from the Greek or Hebrew, they note that (unlike the NIV which just changes it). While some Hebrew scholars might take issue with reconciliation as a substitute word for atonement, I think it's a wonderful move. It implies the healing of an ongoing relationship rather than the payment of some debt owed. I wonder how different discussions of salvation and the removal of sins might be if we rooted ourselves in the word reconciliation instead of atonement.

For additional reading, check out Tony Jones blog series on rethinking atonement: Tony Jones Atonement

Sow it on the Mountain

I'm currently reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

As a side note, I was able to download it for free to the Kindle app from my public library for three weeks. Technology can be so cool.

As McDougall meanders through stories of ultramarathoners and other long distance running junkies, he circles, time and again, through the notion that the great runners simply love running and find joy in its simplicity. So far, the people highlighted seem less concerned with all the physical/technical aspects of running. They simply love running and find it to be a great adventure. They also tend to be adverse to promoting themselves, and often go out of their way to lift up other runners.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a joint middle school and senior high choir concert. The middle schoolers sang Sow It On the Mountain with the following lyrics:

Chorus
Sow it on the mountain, gonna reap it in the valley
Sow it on the mountain, gonna reap it in the valley
Sow it on the mountain, gonna reap it in the valley
You’re gonna reap just what you sow.

Verse One
If you’re feeling lonely,
Won’t you be a friend to someone? (3x)
You’re gonna reap just what you sow!

Verse Two
If you’re feeling hungry,
Won’t you share your bread with someone? (3x)
You’re gonna reap just what you sow!

Verse Three
If you’re feeling weary,
Won’t you lend a hand to someone? (3x)
You’re gonna reap just what you sow!

Somehow, those lyrics find their way into my consciousness as I'm reading Born to Run. Many of the stories so far take place in the mountains, so that has something to do with it, but it's more than that. These runners are sowing seeds of peace and joy as they run, and then then reap those seeds in other areas of their lives.

Many times, I find running serves a similar function in my life. When I feel particularly stressed or bound up about something, I like to lace 'em up and head out for an hour of simply putting one foot in front of the other. I typically spend the first mile or two mulling over the pressing issues, but as time goes by, the wide open sky forces my mind to let go of whatever issue/situation is pressing in on me, and as time goes on, I find myself having big thoughts and exploring lofty dreams. I feel myself loosen up physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is often the peace I experience on a 5-miler that carries through to my day to day engagement with the world.

Reading Presbyterians Today

I'm finally catching up on reading the last few issues of Presbyterians Today, which sounds like a daily paper, but isn't. The July/August issue cover touted stories about High Tech High Touch Finding the Balance. Amidst well-written articles by Kathy Wolf Reed about the use of technology in our congregations and Cary Estes about how to reflect creation care in our church facilities, I found an article entitled "Virtual World Congregation." This article takes a look at 1st Presbyterian Church of Second Life (1PCSL), an online worshipping community. I was intrigued by the various comments offered by those who participate in this community. It made me wonder if this kind of virtual worshipping community might be a forecast of things to come, and if it is, I wonder how those of us in professional ministry might adjust our thinking and practice when it comes to leading congregations.

At a recent meeting of the Committee on Theological Education (COTE), we discussed many issues facing theological education both in seminaries and in the church at large, and while distance learning came up, I don't recall anyone talking about virtual community. It seems that we might need to encourage seminaries to take a serious look at how our traditional models of theological education come to bear on the non-geographical, non-physical, probably non-denominational world of Second Life and similar online communities.

For now, I think I'll make an attempt to explore this online worshipping community and find out how it might feed my own need for spiritual nourishment.

A ridiculous Jesus Is My Boyfriend song

I was cruising along with the windows down on this beautiful fall day here in Middle Tennessee, scanning the radio for fun music, when I came across a peppy little tune I knew I had heard before. As the girl with Colbie Callet type voice began singing, I remembered that the song is entitled "Hold Me" and the girl singing was Jamie Grace. I think this song wins the prize for the most blatant "Jesus Is My Boyfriend/I wrote a peppy romantic song and decided to make it about Jesus to make a profit off the Christian market" song I've ever heard. Some sample lyrics:

I’ve had a long day, I just wanna relax
Don’t have time for my friends, no time to chit-chat
Problems at my job, wonderin’ what to do
I know I should be working but I’m thinking of You and
Just when I feel this crazy world is gonna bring me down
That’s when Your smile comes around

Oh, I love the way You hold me, by my side You’ll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love the way You hold me, in Your arms I’ll always be
You take each and every day, make it special in some way
I love You more than the words in my brain can express
I can’t imagine even loving You less
Lord, I love the way You hold me

And the sappy love song, oops, I mean praise, no wait, sappy love song goes on and on. I don't really have time to get into a long tirade about why I dislike using contemporary romantic imagery to discuss one's relationship with God, but I'd like to go on the record as saying this song is utterly and completely ridiculous.

Efficiency in the church

"We take a task that we could simply pay someone to do, and we divide it into fifteen parts so that everyone has a job. Is it efficient? No. Not if all you care about is getting the job done. But in the church we should care less about getting the job done and more about the people doing it. We are not in the efficiency business. We are in the business of making disciples."
--Page 116 in This Odd and Wondrous Calling by Lillian Daniel and Martin B. Copenhaver

I came across these words during my weekly restorative reading time yesterday. Thanks to Lillian Daniel for offering such wonderful insight. I remember, as a youth, serving on the National Presbyterian Youth Ministry Committee (yes, the name was too long) and wondering if the process of bringing together a youth and adult from every Synod in our denomination for an annual meeting for four days was the most efficient/helpful/productive way of "doing youth ministry" for the PCUSA. I've had similar thoughts while sitting in planning team meetings for the Montreat Youth Conferences. Over time, I've come to understand that efficiency wasn't the only priority. The leaders of those groups also prioritized leadership training, spirit-led group process, hearing many voices, and bringing people together who might otherwise never meet, just to name a few.

In my current context as a pastor in a local parish, I sometimes wonder if we might be more efficient if we got a handful of like-minded, passionate, hard-working folks together and made all the decisions. We might be, but we would miss out on the voices of those with whom we disagree or who simply has the church-life-transforming idea bubbling up inside of them.

As I reflect on the biblical witness, it doesn't appear as if God always chose the most efficient people or methods:

• Was building an ark and gather animals all that efficient?
• Moses had a speech impediment
• 40 years wandering in the wilderness. I mean, come on!
• King David was kind of a runt and "ruddy faced"
• On the heels of Lent and Good Friday, I wonder how "efficient" the passion narrative and cross of Jesus were.

So, maybe we can let go of efficiency the next time we walk into a church meeting and reflect more on making disciples.

Invisible Realities

"Our worship is often centered on the expectation that our words will change things. Our liturgies remind us of invisible realities that may not be clear in our ordinary lives but become apparent when we gather together." Carol Howard Merritt, Reframing Hope

These are beautiful words about the power of the language we use in worship. To be reminded of those invisible realities of grace, mercy, compassion, etc. each week is powerful.

I wonder why some of those invisible realities are only made apparent when we gather together.
I wonder why we walk out the door, get into a conversation about where to have lunch, and quickly forget about all that was present in the liturgy.
I wonder why our refrigerators aren't more full of bulletin clippings
I wonder how much more extra-ordinary our lives would be if we made those invisible realities more front and center in our minds each day.

Finally, I wonder if anybody even notices the extra-ordinary language of liturgy.

Thoughts on Rob Bell

It's been at least two weeks since I went to hear Rob Bell speak at Belmont, but I just finished his book, Love Wins, last week, so his words are still rattling around in my brain. Here are some thoughts from the night I heard him speak:

Kung Fu Commentary: While talking about the discussions that often ensue among pastors and in some Sunday school classes, Rob used the term "Kung Fu Commentary." I sometimes catch myself in the midst of an explanation realizing that I've dissected somebody's question in a hundred different ways, and then I wonder if I've been helpful at all. I also wonder if so many sermons in mainline churches sound like Kung Fu Commentary? I'd also like to see a move with that title.

"For it to be real, you have to own it. For it to be authentic, you may have to wrestle with it." While I don't remember what "it" Rob was talking about, I like these words. There are plenty of platitudes that we "Christian" folks like to throw around, but I wonder how many of us actually take the time to wrestle with our theological platitudes so that they become authentic to who we are and how we see the world.

"The thoughts come in a certain rhythm." When asked about the format of his books, particularly all the white space, Rob said that he formats the book to match the rhythm that his thoughts take. It makes me wonder about how I write. Instead of simply hitting the space bar twice after each thought, maybe I ought to be hitting the hard return.