This Week at UPC

Stand Firm: This week’s scriptures set up a strange tension. On the one hand, rock is used in a positive way: God is referred to as a rock and a fortress in Psalm 31:3. In 1 Peter 2:1–10 we are told Jesus is a living stone, and that we ourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. And yet, in the reading from Acts we read the story of Stephen the deacon being stoned to death because he stands firm in faith and witness to Jesus. Like fire which we will celebrate in a few weeks at Pentecost, rocks are both good and bad. Acts 7:55–60 When we last read about the early Christian community, they enjoyed the “goodwill of all” (Acts 2:47). This regard was short-lived. In Acts 4 we learn that Jewish leaders came to Peter and John, “annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 4:2). The leaders ordered Peter and John to cease their witness. They did not, and the number of Jews believing...

Glad and Generous Hearts: The image of Jesus as Good Shepherd is the most common one to be found in the catacombs. In days when Christianity was not yet legal, this symbol clearly evoked Jesus to those within the community, but was just another image for those outside. One source for this image is the parable of the shepherd who hunts for a lost sheep; another is the 10th chapter of John in which Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd. Yet there are other images, too, such as descriptions of things the early church did that were “shepherd-like” in caring for others. How we emulate the shepherd we follow is a key part of being Christian. Acts 2:42–47 As noted in verse 42, the rituals and practices of teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer define the early Christians. Their life together sets the stage for the Spirit’s continuing work of empowering witnesses to proclaim, in word and deed, God’s saving love that comes through Christ. This community of Jesus’ fol...

Followers of the Way: Renowned Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan made a profound statement about this week’s gospel reading. “Emmaus never happened,” Crossan wrote. “Emmaus always happens.” What we are invited to grapple with in that statement is the truth that the factual (historical) significance of the resurrection stories is secondary to a more profound truth: the risen Christ is with us. Now. Here. That is what the early church began to learn, and it is what enabled them to move on. Luke 24:13–35 The exact location of Emmaus is not known. Perhaps this uncertainty forms a commentary on the focus scripture. Emmaus may be anywhere. Hearts burning and eyes opening do not take place in only one place, either geographical or spiritual. Emmaus comes into sight wherever a path leads us toward communion with God and whenever we recognize the risen Christ among us. On the day of Jesus’ resurrection, two disciples walk along the road to Emmaus with Jesus, informing this “strange...

Yes! In 2016, major churches worldwide met to discuss a common date for Easter. Rather than it moving each year based on the cycles of the moon, they were proposing it always be the 2nd or 3rd Sunday of April. Does it matter? This moment—this awareness that Christ is risen—can come any time. Indeed, it must. This is what it is to be a Christian: to know somehow that Christ is risen. The “how” does not matter, nor the specific “when.” It is simply grasping the basic truth of this day: that God, not death, has the final word, and God’s word is a resounding “Yes!” John 20:1–18 The Easter account in John differs somewhat from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Mary goes alone to the tomb in John. In the others, she goes with one or more other women. John says Peter and the beloved disciple go to the tomb after Mary’s witness. In the other gospels none of the male disciples venture into the tomb. Mary Magdalene plays an extraordinary role in John’s Easter story. She alone goes to the tomb and...

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...