This Week at UPC

Hope Against All Hope There are disappointing moments in life, times when it seems as though there may be no hope. And then there are those times when we are, literally, beyond hope—times when it would appear that, no matter what, there is no going back. Our story this week reminds us that with God the impossible is, at best, a slight inconvenience. As Paul points out in Romans 8:11, “if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, [this same Spirit] will give life to your human bodies also…” John 11:1–45 The story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead can stretch the limits of our believing. But getting hung up on whether or not the story took place as written can distract us from the great point of the story. We know that John presents us with stories that are not in the synoptic gospels, and which (such as turning massive amounts of water into wine at Cana) seem questionable. But John’s points are not confined by fact; they are about something much more...

Seeing with Heart It can be astonishing the lengths to which we will go to discredit others. When we don’t understand someone or something, we can try with great gusto to put others down, or to deride their stories. Such is the case in today’s gospel reading, where, instead of rejoicing in a healing, the Pharisees delve into minute details, and the story is ripped apart. How different things are when we see from our heart. John 9:1–41   Blindness and other ailments were often viewed in ancient times as punishment for sin. The disciples of Jesus and the leaders who oppose him assume this. Biblical scholar Richard Rohrbaugh speaks of an ancient custom of spitting in the presence of the blind in order to protect oneself from the “evil eye.” Jesus transforms that act of disdain into one of healing. Sabbath keeping was the most visible mark of practicing Judaism. Its weekly ritual of renewal reflected—even as it worshipped—the God who “rested” (translating the Hebrew shabath ) o...

Finding Refreshment Some psychologists believe that our natural attraction to “bling”—to jewelry and other shiny objects—comes from our primal search for sources of water. In a broad landscape, they appear to be small, shimmering and shining sites, not unlike the shimmering of a piece of jewelry. Water is necessary for human life; within the faith community we readily make the connection—as did Jesus—that our God is a similar necessity in our daily living. Today’s readings call us to remember that. John 4:5–42 Samaria was a region south of Galilee and north of Judah. The hatred between Samaritans and Jews went back to when the northern kingdom of Israel was overrun by Assyria. The Assyrians resettled Samaria with foreigners loyal to them, along with Israelites not taken captive. While Samaritans continued some Jewish practices and beliefs, they were viewed as outsiders to Judaism. This separation grew over the centuries. By the time of Jesus, the enmity between Jews and Samaritan...

Glimpses of Grace A man in Hawaii was lost at sea, alone, in a boat. When he made it back to shore after several days afloat, he exclaimed that he found his way back by watching at night—the sky was filled with stars, but the pure darkness ahead he knew was land, and he moved towards it. Too often we reject the dark as a place where life can be revealed and yet, for Nicodemus, it is a meeting with Jesus at night that offers him the chance of transformation. John 3:1–17 Nicodemus, a learned scholar, a man who studied and thought he knew the Jewish law, goes under cover of night to visit Jesus. “We know you are a teacher who has come from God,” Nicodemus declares. Yet the fact that he has visited at night can suggest he is unsure. Jesus challenges him with several new images: one must be born again (or anew, or from above—the Greek is enticingly ambiguous). Does this mean only once? The text does not imply that, and so we are left wondering if Jesus rather means we can start over...

And So It Begins Life is full of movement – sometimes toward something new, sometimes away from something bad, but always an adventure. The readings for this week could be seen as inviting us into an adventure that will last throughout the Season of Lent. Each of the weekly focus passages – primarily from the gospel of John – may be familiar to us, but they contain a sense of surprise and adventure for those in the stories themselves, as they find certainty in the midst of uncertainty. Matthew 4:1–11 This week’s reading from the gospel of Matthew tells a story of the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is led by God’s spirit into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. Wilderness is a place of seeking, journeying, and struggling with the possibilities. It is a powerful image in the Hebrew Scriptures: the people of Israel and the prophets Elijah and Elisha all had wilderness experiences that forced them into choices and decisions. It is as if Jesus is faced with the same tests as t...