Mitch Lewis

Lectionary - Lent 3C - Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." (Luke 13:1-5)

I don't think that Jesus' teaching in Luke 13:1-5 is about when bad things happen to good people or about the unpredictability of life or the about the inevitability of death. I think Jesus is speaking more like an Old Testament prophet at this point. Pilate murdered Galilean insurgents while they were worshiping in the temple? You think that's bad. You ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait. Unless you turn this nation around, God's judgment is coming. A few dead Galileans will be chump change. The Romans are coming and you are all going to die.

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Acts 1:1-11 - Ascension Sunday

He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. (The Apostles' Creed)

After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven."? (Acts 1:9-11)

In a 1966 episode of The Beverly Hillbillies, cousin Jethro Bodine dreams of becoming an astronaut. To fulfill his dream, he straps large fireworks to his back and walks off to launch himself into space. The camera never shows Jethro again, but instead focuses on Jed and Granny as they stand in front of their Beverly Hills mansion watching Jethro ascend into the heavens. The humor in the scene comes from imagining what we don?t see. In unison, two heads bend skyward as if following Jethro?s rocket-propelled flight into the air. Then, as they stare into the sky, the Clampetts together exclaim ?Oooo, aaah" just like I have so many times when I watched the sky light up on the fourth of July. I think I literally rolled on the floor laughing once when I watched this. (Yes, I have quite a sophisticated sense of humor.)

I think about this episode every time I read Luke?s words in Acts 1:11, ?Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven?? As Luke tells us the story of Jesus? ascension, apparently he intends for us to have a somewhat deeper reaction than ?Oooo, aaah.? Jesus? ascension is more than a cool rocket ride into space or a really awesome invisible elevator ride into heaven.

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Jesus said to his disciples: I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts away every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit. But he trims clean every branch that does produce fruit, so that it will produce even more fruit. John 15:1-2 CEV

John 15:1-8 - Lectionary for Easter 5B
See also Abide in Me: Spiritual Life in the Midst of Trauma

We don't live in Jesus' agricultural world, but we instinctively grasp the central element in his metaphor of the vine. To live, one must stay connected to the source of life. Jesus is the source of life for the community of believers.

The 1st century inhabitants of Jerusalem would have had an even deeper understanding of Jesus' figure of speech. The vineyard was the lifeblood of Judean agriculture; wine is mentioned 521 times in the Bible (well, at least by one count). More importantly, the vineyard was an important symbol in Israel's self-understanding.

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I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me. John 15:5 CEV

John 15:1-8 - Lectionary for Easter 5B
See also The True Vine

Life in the Connection

Spring in Korea is absolutely beautiful. The mountains turn to green. Gardens erupt in a sea of pinks and yellows and purples and whites. Week after week brings a new display of color.

We have a volunteer in our chapel that produces the most amazing floral displays every week throughout the year. She incorporates an astonishing variety of seasonal flowers and her creations always seem to fit the liturgical theme. Her arrangements are astounding in both their natural beauty and their human ingenuity. I've never seen anything like them in nearly 30 years of ministry. She produces these works of art as a labor of love and fills our sanctuary with God's beauty throughout the year.

Still, the beauty of a cut flower always fades. My wife cut some irises from our garden last week and put them in a vase. Their beautiful purple flowers turned to brown, their green stems turned to mush and their aroma turned to stench. Within a week of being cut they were good for nothing but the trashcan or compost heap.

My street, on the other hand, is lined with birch trees that were severely pruned in the fall two years ago. When the trimming was complete, they looked like nothing but tall stumps. What was left of the branches ended abruptly where the chainsaws had done their work. The trees were barren, gnarled and ugly. I was sure they were dead. Even when spring rolled around, the trees showed no sign of life for weeks. By midsummer, however, new life had emerged. Even then, a few trees that stood outside the chapel appeared to be completely dead, with areas of obvious decay near the truncated limbs. They went through a complete growing season last year without sprouting a single green leaf. This morning, however, I was surprised to discover some new green shoots sprouting from the truncated limbs of even the most damaged trees.

What is the difference between beautiful flowers that turn ugly and rot and ugly stumps that blossoms in new life? New life emerges where the branch remains connected to its life giving root.

Jesus compared himself to a vitis vinifera - a common wine-grape vine found throughout Europe and the middle east. As the grapevine grows vertically from the ground, it eventually reaches the height of the trellis or frame, to which the gardener ties its outstretched branches. A single grape vine looks something like a cross, with its horizontal members spread to either side. Was this visual image one aspect of Jesus' intent?

Grape vines can live very long lives and they are not much to look at. Over the years they become twisted and knotty. Old branches are pruned away. Even new branches are trimmed to maximize grape production. Old vines bear the scars of generations of growth and pruning, but they still live on. Old vines, it seems, produce fewer grapes, but the fruit they do produce is more flavorful and intense. That sounds hopeful to an old guy like me.

Jesus compares himself to a grapevine. Vine branches only bear fruit, Jesus says, as they remain connected to the vine. That is demonstrably true for grape vines and tomato plants and all sorts of living things. Is it also true for people?

Resiliency after Trauma

I recently returned from a retreat with other chaplains and chaplain assistants at which we talked about resiliency in the experience of trauma. We were talking about the trauma of war, but we could have talked about death, disease, divorce, physical or sexual assault, job loss, or any other of a host of traumas. Trauma has a way of beating you up. We like to think that we will express our faith in profound ways and have a meaningful spiritual experience in the middle of trauma, but the fact is that trauma just pretty much kicks you in the teeth.

We learned a lot this week about how trauma affects the brain. When the brain senses a threat, higher brain functions get left out of the loop. In the midst of trauma, the brain is not capable of either reason or what we would normally identify as meaningful spiritual experience. The brain is overwhelmed by the threat of danger or pain. Very basic survival reactions take control when life is threatened. The ability to think religious thoughts or have religious feelings is severely limited.

How, then, do you mentally and emotionally and spiritually survive trauma? Theologically, for me, that question means, "How do I stay connected to the spiritual source of life even when life is kicking me in the teeth?"

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Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.' And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained.' John 20:19-23

While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' But they were startled and terrified, thinking they saw a ghost. Then he said to them, 'Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; it's me! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still could not believe it (because of their joy) and were amazed, he said to them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?' So they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in front of them. Luke 24:36-48

Both Luke and John agree that the risen Jesus greeted his disciples with blessing, 'Peace be with you.' 'Shalom' is the Hebrew word for 'peace.' It was - and is - a customary greeting among Hebrew speaking Jews. Its Arabic cousin 'salaam' is used in the same manner. The phrase is present here, however, as something more than a courteous formality. Jesus surely greeted people with the word 'peace' on countless occasions in his life. Why is the risen Jesus' greeting of peace so significant that both Luke and John feel the need to remember it?

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Part Three of The Holy Spirit in John

Jesus is the bearer and bestower of the Holy Spirit. He is the one on whom the Spirit comes and abides, and he is the source of the Spirit for all who believe.

And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' (John 1:32-33)

John baptizes in water, but Jesus baptizes in the Holy Spirit. John 7:37-39 makes a related association between water and the Spirit. Here, the evangelist describes the coming of the Spirit as a stream of living water coming from the abdomen of Jesus, satisfying thirst of all who come to him. The Good News Translation captures, I think, John's intent correctly:

On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, "Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, 'Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.' " Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory. (John 7:37-39 GNT)

Although most translations seem to imply that the streams of life-giving water flow from within the heart of the believer, the one from whose "belly" flows (ek tes koilias autou) a river of living water in the fourth gospel is most naturally taken to be Jesus. John is the evangelist for whom it is very significant that blood and water came from Jesus' side at his death (John 19:34).

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