Mountains and Valleys

It's been a long time since I updated this blog. I can assure you, the sporadic and inconsistent readers, that I have many good reasons for this. I feel bad about it nonetheless. I no longer plan to use this blog to relate to lectionary studies or analysis unless I get to a point in the future where I may wish to do so. I'm sure I'll get to the point where I am able to do what I intended with exploring different biblical/spiritual themes, but at this point there remain more pressing matters. I will still try to update more often as I have. No promises.

This post will definitely be more transparent as I will try to fill you all in on the busyness (and sometimes lack thereof) in my life. I am juggling quite a few things at the moment, although my burden has been eased a tad lately, and the first is that I am a candidate for ministry in the United Methodist Church. For those of you who aren't aware of what that means, my plan is to eventually become a local pastor (simply put). I have been a candidate for over a year, but for many reasons have not made much progress. The process where it stands has been a process of continual soul searching and self analysis as well as a struggle at times.
My family and I just changed churches, and while that aspect of our lives has improved, many other things have caused much stress.
The second thing I've been juggling is my former employer and the unemployment that I'd been collecting for around a year. I won't go into too much detail here, but my former employer challenged my unemployment and I recently lost the case and have been ordered to pay it all back. My advocate has appealed to the State Board on my behalf but this situation has caused my family and me much stress.
Thirdly, a friend introduced me to the possibility of selling life and health insurance through a network. I have been studying for the last three weeks or so. I failed the licensing exam the first time I took it but just passed the exam last Thursday. I'm hoping this will provide my family with good income and provide some stability for us.
Now you know why I haven't been posting so much. I have a tendency to get down even though I believe a positive attitude is a key factor in dealing with adversity. I can honestly say that that is a principle easier said than practiced. I have struggled with follow through my whole life. I am getting better at it though and passing my licensing exam was a huge relief. I actually started to re-prioritize my life not too long ago following an e-mail my Grandma sent me which focused on not getting down and maintaining a positive outlook.

I promise this blog won't always be about me, but I just wanted to let those that may have been reading a reason why there's been a dry spell. I'll try not to go that long without posting again.

God bless,

Jason

Lectionary: Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Passages

Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30

For whomever may check in to see what the weekly passages are, I'm sorry I didn't get them up sooner. I have been distracted with life's happenings. I got a second shift job last week in a warehouse that manufactures nutrition bars. I have been training (and doing) on weighing different liquids which get poured into a mixer that basically mixes nutrition bar dough. The job is physically demanding, but it is an example of God answering to our needs and not necessarily the way we want our needs to be met (at least in my case).
On top of that, there have been other "distractions." My wife is pregnant with our second child and I've been dealing with my former employer challenging my unemployment benefits. I won't go into much detail, but I appreciate any thoughts or prayers from anyone who may read this. I am doing my best to keep my spirits up in trying times. Sometimes I succeed at this but sometimes I can't help but feel a bit down.
Ultimately I have hope for the future and hope that I can achieve what God has set before me. So in case anyone was wondering why the updates have been sporadic, I hope you now have a better understanding of why it has been that way.

God bless,

Jason

Magazine Review- U.S. News & World Report: Secrets of Christianity

I don't know how often I will review external material on this site, but around the time I was beginning this blog, I came across this magazine in a supermarket. It caught my eye, and given the title of my blog I considered it my duty to read the material and relay my general impressions.
The magazine has four themes (Who Was Jesus?, Unearthing The Gospels, Martyrs Heretics And History, and Miracles Faith And Science) in which there are 3-4 articles per theme with discussions about various aspects of the Christian faith. While the magazine definitely takes the "conspiracy theory" route in advertising, I found that it was well rounded in portraying the different perspectives on each issue covered.
In the first section (Who Was Jesus?) the articles delve into the legitimacy of the narrative of Jesus as portrayed in the Bible. This section reinforced for me that we all seem to invent our own truths at some point in reference to periods of time that we are detached from. For example, James Tabor (author of The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity) seems to pick and choose what he deems valid in the Biblical narrative to justify what he's found out about Jesus in his external research. My problem with this is his rejection of certain parts of the same texts which, in my opinion, have always been a vital part of Christian practice.
Don't get me wrong, we all use the Bible at some point to justify our own world views and experiences. It would be wrong for me to belittle Tabor's point of view without admitting to probably doing something similar. I just think Tabor goes too far out of his way to justify his own point of view and I disagree with him on many core points.
The other three topics have similar articles with people who take differing points of view on topics like the Gnostic Gospels, the Crusades, Hitler's view of the church, miracles and the apocalypse. I won't review each section extensively, but I will say that I find this magazine fascinating and well researched (in some places more than others).
I guess the one redeeming thing I got from this book is that it seems at multiple points in history people have done their best to debunk Jesus as the Christ and Christianity as a whole. One of the main points they have made is that the faith seems to change its "rules" with the times (usually citing the Catholic church), but also questioning Christ's very existence. As modern science has confirmed Biblical settings and the characters in the Bible have been shown to exist indeed, the very argument of those who refute Christianity seems to change as much as the Christian faith itself.
That's not to say that the conversation and search for truth shouldn't evolve. While I obviously come to different conclusions than those that don't recognize Christ, I think the path to those conclusions often intersect and often may seem eerily similar. After all, isn't faith somewhat rooted in a process involving skepticism? And doesn't even the most severe critic need some level of faith to justify that skepticism?
This piece definitely does prove that Jesus is still relevant in today's world no matter what you think of him. I would definitely pick this up and read through it if you are interested in Christian history and theology.

God bless,

Jason

Lectionary: Third Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Passages

Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19

Here are this weeks passages. I have had a lot going on in my personal life that has inhibited what I hoped to have accomplished at this point. Bear with me and I will try to have a piece on sin and holiness up soon.

Lectionary: Second Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Passages

Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 150
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31

Hey folks, sorry I'm late getting these up and I apologize for not having the Easter day scriptures posted. Life has simply gotten in the way. It has been a trying time for my family to say the least, but in spite of my own struggles I have found myself continuing to grow by God's grace. I found myself in a unique situation yesterday that unfolded into a real life story of how we can serve others while being in a tough situation ourselves.
A couple weeks ago I heard a sermon on the story of "The Good Samaritan." I won't rehash the whole sermon, but the story was about a person in desperate need being helped by someone who he would least expect, and probably a person who he may not want help from. There was also an anecdotal story within the sermon about a group of college students who ended up being tested on their real life application of the story and they all ended up ignoring an actor portraying someone in need as they were asked to hurry to another part of campus (I apologize for not remembering all the details).
The point of it all was not that we should demonize others for not recognizing those in need within their immediate vicinity or to demonize ourselves, but I took it as a call to be more aware and active in our response to those needs.
So yesterday afternoon I had agreed to drop a friend off at work as well as pick up my sister in-law from work around 5:45-6ish. As I was heading home I found myself stuck behind a car that was stalled in the middle of the road (two lanes both ways with a left turn lane; the car was in the left lane). I started to switch lanes and my immediate response was that I was a bit agitated. I wasn't upset with the people in the parked car, but at the inconvenience of having to work around the car through traffic to get home.
As I pulled past the car many things came to my mind in a short amount of time. The sermon I'd heard a couple weeks prior came to mind. An opportunity to put my conviction of putting my faith in practice came to mind. Lastly, I felt a bit shamed and embarrassed at my initial reaction given my approach and response intellectually to the gospel.
I pulled into a Meijer (a department store) that was at the corner of where the car was stalled and ventured out into the middle of a busy street to see how I could offer any assistance, if any. To make a long story short, I ran to a gas station and bought gas for the family of five in the car. When that didn't work I was able to call a tow and help drive the family members where they needed to be in two separate trips.
As soon as I finished this task I got a call from my friend and picked him up from work as well as brought him to pick up his car from the person who had fixed it. I didn't get home until 10.
I'm not writing this to make anyone think I am a saintly person, or to instill guilt in anyone. I am the most selfish person I know and in all likelihood I've missed out on exponentially more opportunities to help people than I've been able to take advantage of a situation like yesterdays. It seems to me that we are so focused on what we are doing and where we are going that we miss out on what God is putting right in our paths.
My only intention in sharing this with my few readers (or would be readers) is that I hope it prompts a deliberate intention to open ourselves up to these kinds of "inconveniences." I found that in my service of others yesterday that I was truly the one served.

God bless,

Jason

Holy Week Scriptures

Lectionary Passages for Holy Week

Monday- Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 36:5-11, Hebrews 9:11-15, John 12:1-11

Tuesday- Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 71:1-14, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, John 12:20-36

Wednesday- Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 70, Hebrews 12:1-3, John 13:21-32

Holy Thursday- Exodus 12:1-14, Psalm 116:1-4 12-19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26,
John 13:1-17 31b-35

Good Friday- Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22, Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:42

In an effort to increase the quality of this blog for the long run, I will be scaling back the content on the site. I will no longer do analysis on every lectionary text. I will post the text still for those who want to study the scripture each Monday. Holy week has texts for each day, and I apologize for having this week's text up late.
Each month will have a topic on which I will put together a post and I have also invited guests to post on the topic on my site. April's topic is sin and holiness, so keep an eye out for different pieces and please feel free to interact.

God bless,

Jason

Randomness

Hey all,

I am new to the blog thing and as you can see, I've added different gadgets on the right side of my blog page. My wife is Haitian and so obviously helping out Haiti happens to be something that affects my family as well as the families in Haiti. Don't hesitate to help through the Red Cross or by donating a tree for reforestation. I want my blog to be a portal for my readers to be able to access a way to do mission and not just hear me ramble. I would also appreciate any ideas for making the blog better.

Rant over,

Jason