March 10, 2024
Lent 4 – Year B – George Yandell
I like the word ‘oxymoron’. It means expressing two contradictory things at the same time. The word itself is an oxymoron – it’s a compound made up of two Greek words meaning “sharp” and “dull.” So oxymoron = sharp/dull. Some good examples are: bittersweet, original copy, jumbo shrimp, and a true Southernism—“pretty ugly”. I have often thought that having a firm handle on the concept of an oxymoron is vital to understanding the Christian faith. Is God oxymoronic? Does the Bible express truths about God that are mutually contradictory?
Dom Crossan has said: You can read the Bible all through and find evidence for two quite different, conflicting ways God acts. [How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, Harper One, 2015, p.17] In one way – God is harsh, judgmental, strict; a god of law and punishment, of revenge and retribution, even violence; a god who keeps a careful tally of our sins and metes out appropriate penalties. In the other way – God is gentle, loving, forgiving, and indulgent; a god who condemns violence and loves us with a prodigal, spendthrift love. [Adapted from a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Delmer L. Chilton on The Lectionary Lab, March 15, 2015]
How do we hear and respond to the dialogue of Jesus with Nicodemus in today’s gospel? In shaping our responses, key words in today’s gospel demand some decoding and recasting.
March 3, 2024
Lent 3 Year B – George Yandell
When Jesus went onto the temple courtyard, he erupted in violent anger when he saw the Court of the Gentiles desecrated by the traders who set up shop there. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and threw them out. Why? Because they filled their pockets by ripping off the poor. He screamed at the vendors of sheep and cattle and doves. Anger coursed through him, he was outraged. What was Jesus really doing? Jesus might have waked up one morning, walked out of his house, seen the poverty and the hunger of all those around him and said, “This Stinks!” He was enraged at those perverting the true worship God intended.
What was the worship God intended? Jesus seemed to be channeling the great prophets’ teachings: Amos 5:21 ff., speaking God’s word to the people of Israel 750 years before Jesus: “I hate, I despise your festivals…. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them… Take away the noise of your songs, I will not listen to the melody of your harps… But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” Isaiah 1:17 “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” Hosea 6:6 “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Micah 6:8 “[God] has told you….what is good;
February 25, 2024
Lent 2B – George Yandell
Paul writes in Romans about the passage from Genesis: the covenant with Abraham is evidence of Abe’s exemplary faith. The covenant depended on ‘the righteousness of faith’ rather than obedience to rules, since God’s promises rely upon grace. “Hoping against hope (vs. 4:18), Abraham became the father of many nations, despite his advanced age and Sarah’s barrenness. Abraham is therefore the father of all who come to trust in God. So sure was he of the fulfillment of God’s promises that he did not waver, but “grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God. (vs. 20). This same righteousness is also granted to the followers of Jesus, who believe in God as the one who raised Jesus from the dead.”
What is most important here is not the faith of Abraham himself, but God’s faithfulness. What truly matters is what God has done in Christ Jesus. He suffered death for our sins and was “raised for our justification.” (vs. 25) This is the ultimate example for the mysterious and faithful ways God’s promises are kept. [Adapted from Synthesis, March 4, 2012]
In the gospel passage Jesus calls his disciples to radical faith as he prepares them for his passion and death. What an extraordinary example Jesus gives as he accepts obediently the cross to which his father sends him. In the gospel Jesus teaches that he must undergo great sufferings and be killed.
February 18, 2024
Lent 1B – George Yandell
In a mystical drama between the powers of good and evil, Jesus is led by God’s spirit to be tempted by Satan. In Luke’s gospel, elaborating on Mark, the intimate, seductive offers that Satan makes cut to the core of human identity as created beings- Satan suggests that if Jesus is created as God’s own child, Jesus can make the very stones of the earth transform into bread to soothe his intense hunger after fasting 40 days. Satan urged Jesus to test the saving power of God by attempting suicide. And Satan offers to give Jesus ruler-ship over all the world if he will only worship the fallen angel. Jesus responds to these tests each time by quoting the Hebrew scriptures and saying, “Keeping faith in God, serving God alone, provides all things necessary for life, and saves us.”
Who is telling the story? The gospel writer, in the 3rd person. More intriguing, who is the source for the story? Who could it be? Well, it certainly wasn’t Satan- it would never choose to display a failure on its part. So the source must have been Jesus. What was his point in recounting this dream-like episode from the beginning of his ministry?
In each temptation Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy where Moses is described as receiving the Law from Yahweh on Mt. Sinai. The temptation story is thus a retelling of that ancient story but substituting Jesus for Moses. Just as Moses and Israel were tempted during their 40 years in the wilderness,