THE DREAM

Preparing for a Bible study on the Book of Revelation showed just how little I knew about the last book of our Bible. Revelation (or Apocalypse) is a book about a dream, a rather disjointed vision that needs to be visualized rather than just reading it. The need for pictures as well as words challenged my limited technical skills, but the necessary exposure to text and lots of images showed how much of my limited knowledge was wrong and even misguided.

There are many references in our culture to the Book of Revelation as well as a lot of misinformation. For example, there is no “Anti-Christ” in this dream recorded by John of Patmos, a follower of Christ who had apparently been exiled to the island of Patmos, off what is now Turkey. He apparently suffered greatly under the Roman Empire’s persecution of those who refused to adhere to the empire’s religious practices. His work describes many monsters or fantastical “beasts” as well as multiple plagues and punishments administered by God’s angels before Jesus and his angels come to clean up the mess, warring with the evil ones and establishing a “New Jerusalem that will not pass away.”

It would be easy to interpret Revelation as a prediction about the end of the world as we know it, and this has been done repeatedly over many centuries. I think it is much better to read Revelation on its own terms: as the despairing vision of a sincere believer who is so discouraged that he thinks the only way even God can restore His creation is to destroy it and start over again.

Lyn Pickhover, Still Learning

Our Daily Bread

PEEPHOLE INTO THE BIBLE

“Our Daily Bread”

Last week, our Bible study group focused on the Lord’s Prayer. Admitting that we were privileged and comfortable far beyond the experience of Jesus’ followers, we tried to imagine a world in which “Give us this day our daily bread” was a real plea for life’s basic necessities: working todaymeant eating tomorrow. The closest we could come was the past year’s struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic: empty shelves, social distancing, masks, quarantine, disputes over closures and lock-downs. Our church building has been closed, most activities and programs changed to virtual, with some even suspended, and contact with our sisters and brothers has been limited and somewhat risky. We worry helplessly about those whose distress is greater than ours. The difference is that prospects for relief were few in the first century, and things were likely to get worse rather than better. Today we have hope that our situation is temporary, that vaccines and government programs will restore our comforts. Our church building will reopen. We will again rejoice in contact with friends and family and enthusiastically share our abundance with the world. Jesus taught us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Perhaps we should pray instead: “Thank you for our daily bread.” Lyn Pickhover, Pray-er

New Wine

Most emails from our interim pastor include the Bible passage from Jeremiah 29:11: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” This is so applicable as Rev. Marlayna leads us in a Visioning process to prepare for calling a new settled pastor.

I am also reminded of Jesus’ caution: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins and the wine is lost, and so are the skins, but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:21-22. (See also Matthew 9:16 and Luke 5:37-38.) To put it in modern terms: Trying to shove new ideas into old forms spoils both the new and the old.

The Covid pandemic has done us a favor in that we have been forced to find new ways of being a church while adhering to life-saving social restrictions. We need to build on these hard learned lessons as we envision of a new future for the FFC. We must identify important elements we want to keep and as well as some we regretfully have to leave behind to make room for bold new ideas and actions. Then we have to find ways to maintain the authenticity of our traditions without limiting the scope of new concepts and programs for the 21st Century.

This is a daunting, exciting task. I believe we are up to it.

Lyn Pickhover, Confident

An Early Creed

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus;

for as many of you who have been baptized have put on Christ;

there is no Jew or Greek;

there is no slave or free;

there is no male and female;

for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 3:36-38.

We think of this passage as the source of our Communion hymn, “One Bread, One Body,” but many Biblical scholars see it as an early – possibly the first – creed of early Jesus followers. Paul, who wrote in the mid-First Century (10-30 years after Jesus’ death), was not the author; it does not fit his writing style. Paul probably took this beautiful idea from an even earlier baptismal ritual.

Notice that this creed addresses three main sources of division: Jew or Greek (race/ethnicity), slave or free (status), male and female (gender.) Sound familiar? We are still dealing with those divisions today. Paul uses this very early creed to maintain that those traditional social divisions do not exist among Jesus’ followers who are all recognized as God’s children.

To take this one step further; if this is a baptismal creed, then baptisms, including our own, are rituals of adoption into God’s family, making Jesus our brother, and all other baptized Christians our brothers and sisters. Singing “One Bread, One Body” is a reaffirmation of this relationship.

I like it that the FFC considers itself a “creed-less church,” but if we needed a creed, I would choose this one.

Lyn Pickhover, Adoptee

DR. JESUS

An initial explosion of indignation at the effrontery of Joseph Epstein advising Jill Biden, Ed.D. (Doctor of Education) to stop calling herself “Doctor,” gave way to the realization that his statement was silly, probablystemming from jealousy that he could not claim the title himself. High School Latin One taught that the verb “to lead” was doceo, docçre, doci, doctus, so a “doctor” was a leader or teacher. Looking at my “bragwall” centered by the diploma naming me a “Juris Doctor” (J.D.), Itook Epstein’s disrespect personally. I was also angry on behalf of my “Doctor” daughter (Ph.D. or Doctor of Philosophy,) my grandson in the process of earning the French equivalent of a D.M.D. (Doctor of Dental Medicine), any “Rev. Dr.” who has earned a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) for advanced study in theology as well as the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) required for ordination in our denominations, and all the countless other “doctors” who over the centuries have devoted time, energy and plain hard work to study their subjects in depth. What right does this N.D. (No advanced Degree) have to denigrate their accomplishments, even “jokingly”? Obviously, I also take issue with CNN which admits sharing Epstein’s bias against anyone not an M.D. (Doctor of Medicine.) I do not disparage medical doctors that their practice is a johnny-come-lately to the learned arts because its efficacy depends on fairly recent scientific advancements. However, there were “doctors” of other disciplines long before healers earned the title. So what does this all have to do with Jesus, a Galilean peasant who did not have a degree from an accredited university (before there were accredited universities)? I’m going to presumptuously suggest his teaching qualifications came from God, and there was no higher educating authority. Therefore, he could have claimed the somewhat anachronistic title “Doctor” if he wanted to. Jesus was also a healer, a practitioner of what medicine there was at his time. Remember how he healed the deaf-mute by sticking his fingers in his ears, spitting, and touching his tongue while saying “Be opened” (Mark 7:33-35) and the blind man by spitting in his eyes – twice (Mark 8:22-25.) He healed a deranged man by exorcism (Luke 8:27-33.) Miracles, yes, but Jesus was as close as one got to a medical doctor in his day (even though we have no indication he ever delivered a baby, then the purview of lowly midwives – women.) Jesus was a “doctor” in the many senses of the word. Other “doctors” should be recognized, too.

Lyn Pickhover, Still Sputtering

"Patchwork Quilt"

Jesus asked Simon Peter if he loved him and told Peter: “Tend my sheep.” (John 21:15-19) Ordinarily I don’t want to classified as a sheep, a follower to be herded around, but sometimes it’s comforting to be taken care of, just for a little while. I was reminded of this at a recent Second Saturday event when Marianne Borg, a retired Episcopal priest, talked about “the morning Marc died.” referring to her late husband, the well-known theologian and author Marcus Borg.

I met Marianne Borg for the first time at Westar about six weeks after my husband Brian died. I had decided I would rather be with people who cared about Brian and me than sit home and wish I were in Santa Rosa. At the hotel restaurant for breakfast on my first morning alone in California, I saw an acquaintance at a table with one extra seat, so I asked if I could join them and found myself across the table from a face familiar only from photos and videos. Upon learning of Brian’s death, Marianne Borg slipped into what I call “pastoral mode,” and made me feel cared for then and every time our paths crossed over the next five days. While I treasured talking with friends who had known Brian, it felt special that someone who had not known him was focusing on me and not half of the lost us.

On the second Saturday in November, 2020, the topic was “soft theology” as defined by philosopher/theologian John Caputo, another scholar I would have seen in March, but for the pandemic. To oversimplify, Jack Caputo posits that “hard theology” sees God as power while “soft theology” sees God as love, and, further, that this love appears bit-by-bit in a series of “events.” Our host commented that this view can actuallyopen our eyes to seeing God in a different, transformative way. She described several small, serendipitous “events” that comforted her on the day Marc died, including a patchwork quilt that brought to mind his comments that God appears in small things we can put together like a patchwork quilt. I found myself comparing my experience of such events, even daytime rainbows observed on cold winter days two years and 3000 miles apart.

I once again felt the comfort I experienced three years ago in on the other side of the continent and saw the true meaning of “agape,” the love by which we Christians want to be known.

Lyn Pickhover, Sheep for a Little While

“The doors are open wide” if you are interested in joining the free Second Saturday Conversations which are currently conducted via Zoom. You can google “Marcus J. Borg Foundation” to RSVP to the invitation,

“Do You Love Me?” John 21:15-17

This is one of my favorite Bible passages. I love Jesus' basic message: “Feed my sheep and my lambs.” But another point in Greek is entirely lost in translation. Jesus asks Peter: “Do you love me?” using a form of the Greek word "agape" which we might see as benevolence, Christian love, or selfless love for all creation. Peter replies with the Greek word “philia” which is quite personal. In English, both words are translated “love,” so we totally miss the interplay of Jesus trying to make a point that Peter's love for him should spread out to the whole world, while Peter tries to make it all about his personal relationship with Jesus. Their frustration comes through, but you need the Greek words to really understand the point. When they had eaten, Jesus asks Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agape) me more than they do?” “Of course, Master; you know I love (philia) you." he replies. "Then feed my lambs," Jesus tells him. Jesus asks him again, for the second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agape) me?” “Yes, Master; you know I love (philia) you,” he replies. “Tend my sheep.” Jesus says to him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (philia) me?’ Peter was hurt that he had asked him for the third time, "Do you love me?" and he says to him, “Master, you know everything; you know I love (philia) you. Jesus says to him, “Feed my sheep.”

Lyn Pickhover, Translator

What Would Jesus Do?

I hear all the noise, and wonder what will happen when the shouting is over and the outcome of this hyper-partisan election is known and (hopefully) accepted. How are we going to function as fellow citizens after all the hurtful insults and divisive rhetoric? I find myself asking: “What would Jesus do?” I believe Jesus would have found a way to bring people together. Remember, our custom of open Communion harks back to Jesus’ example of eating with good people and not-so-good people. I suspect the stories of feeding 4000 and 5000 people were made possible by Jesus’ prompting his listeners to share what little they had with friends, enemies, and strangers. (That actually would have been a bigger miracle than a supernatural expansion of five loaves and two fish.)
The story of the Good Samaritan is a another example of Jesus’ teaching to build bridges with those we might regard as enemies.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus instructs that before making an offering in the Temple, one should be reconciled with a friend. My Westar friends think Jesus probably said something similar to this: “You should come to terms quickly with your opponent while you are both on the way (to court).” The passage goes on to threaten that failure to reconcile creates the risk of being jailed until a judgment is paid. (MT 5:25) Whether Jesus was talking about being practical in a local court or protecting your soul in the Heavenly Court, he saw reconciliation as the best approach.
The Matthean gospel writer has Jesus set out the steps for settling disputes: “And if some companion does wrong, go have it out between the two of you privately. If that person listens to you, you have won your companion over. And if he (or she) doesn’t listen, take one or two people with you so that ‘every fact may be supported by two or three witnesses.’ Then if he (or she) refuses to listen to them, report it to the congregation. If he (or she)refuses to listen even to the congregation, treat that companion like you would a pagan or tax collector.” (MT 18:15-17) (N.B. Jesus hung around with sinners and tax collectors a lot.) The Westar scholars did not think Jesus said this, probably because the extreme result would be shunning the offender and possibly tearing apart the congregation. (I was not part of that discussion, so I can only guess.) Nevertheless, this basic method of confronting a dispute is a good one, and this type of dispute resolution is commonly used in our family courts where the best result is that there are no losers. Not long ago, our UCC Central Association formalized a process of restorative justice based on this method of dispute resolution.
Whether as a negotiator or a conciliator, I always find the best approach is to listen and learn what each side most wants and to craft an agreement that gives each side as much as possible of what really matters to him, her, or them. I’m still surprised at how often this works!

In our public and our private lives, may we always strive for amicable reconciliation so that there are no losers, but only winners who have graciously taken less than the whole pot.

Lyn Pickhover, Conciliator

Who was Judas?

One year my daughter attended a Christmas Eve service with me.  She was studying Holocaust literature at the time and refused to take part in Communion because the standard liturgy began: "On the night he was betrayed, Jesus..." She saw this phrase as part of Christianity's vilification of the Jews over almost two millennia, which had led to discrimination, pogroms and eventually to Adolph Hitler's attempt to eradicate the people whose history gave us the Old Testament and the source of our faith, Jesus.  So I looked a little harder, and this is what I found. 

Using my Greek-English New Testament, Strong's Concordance, and my trusty Greek dictionary, I found that al of the "betray" words are variations of the Greek word "paradidomi" which means to "hand over" something.  It was a neutral word that could be used for anything:  a gift, a sale or deed, or a prisoner.  "Betray" would be a derivative meaning conveying disapproval. 

Retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong hypothesized that Judas was a character made up sometime between 60 and 70 CE ("Common Era"; you might prefer the old term "A.D.") to represent all of the "Judaioi" at the time when Jesus' followers were trying to shift the blame for the crucifixion from the Romans to the Jews.  Bishop Spong noted that the letters of Paul, the earliest writings we have about Jesus, say nothing about this Judas.  He also noted that the authorities did not need someone to identify Jesus who had been walking around causing uproar all week. [Matthew 26:55]  Also, he saw indications in Matthew's and Luke's gospels [MT 19:28 and LK 22:30] that there were twelve disciples present after Jesus was executed.  (I disagree with this conclusion). 

More recently, we have the publication of the Gospel of Judas, now available online in English translation.  This incomplete "gospel" makes Judas the hero who was doing what Jesus told him to do.  The Gospel of John hints at this when Jesus says to Judas: "Do quickly what you are going to do." [John 12:27] This can be interpreted that Jesus wanted Judas to bring on the Romans. 

I agree with Bishop Spong that Judas-the-betrayer has been used to represent the Jews as "Christ-killers," a designation that the Catholic Church repudiated only in the late 20th century.  I do think Judas -- the brother of James (Jesus' brother or one of his first disciples?) -- existed and was a trusted disciple, perhaps even in charge of this common purse [John 13:29].  His act was necessary for the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.   I don't think Jesus was wrong about his friend, and I think Judas got a bad rap. 

Lyn Pickhover, Unconvinced 

Around the Campfire: One Story – or Two or Three?

Some Bible stories just don’t get told in Sunday School or in Sundaymorning worship! This is a tale that appears not once, but three times in the Book of Genesis. My guess is that is was an old story told in the evenings around the campfire. Father Abraham was born “Abram.” His wife Sarai (Sarah) was so beautiful that Abram feared Pharaoh would kill him in order to take Sarai away from him. He told Pharaoh she was his sister and allowed Pharaoh to take her into his harem. In other words: he prostituted his wife. God sent great plagues on Pharaoh who then sent Abram away – with gifts. Abram went with Sarai and all his possessions into the Negeb. (Genesis 12:11-21) Next in Genesis come the name change to Abraham, the prediction of Isaac’s birth, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Then the story returns to Abraham in the Negeb where he told Abimelech, king of Gere, that Sarah was his sister. This time, God made Abimelech’s wife and slaves barren and told Abimelech that he is about to die because he had taken Sarah who was a married woman. Abimelech gave sheep and oxen as well as Sarah to Abraham and sent them away. God healed Abimelech and his family, and, as God had promised, Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac, in their old age. (Genesis 20:1-18 and Genesis 21:1-2) In the next generation, Isaac went to Gere where he told King Abimelech that Rebekah, his beautiful wife, was his sister. Later Abimelech saw Isaac fondling Rebekah and chastised him for lying that she was his sister, which created the possibility that another man would sin by taking her, unaware that she was a married woman. Abimelech sent Isaac and Rebekah away, but the two men later made a covenant of peace between them. (Genesis 26:6-11, 26-31) I don’t like this story. Things were different then. Wives were property to be used to gain wealth or protection. Was this the same story told three times with different characters, or did Abraham fool two rulers, or did Abimelech fall for the same scheme twice. Maybe these were just stories told around the campfire. These are stories in the Bible that we prefer to ignore. I wonder why they were important enough to be included in the Bible at all. What point are we missing? By Lyn Pickhover, Perplexed

Feuding Families

“Blessed are you when people insult you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil lies about you because of me.” Matthew 5:11. The Westar scholars decided that while Jesus probably said something like this, the form is most likely from a later period when groups of Jesus people actuallywere vilified – by other groups who claimed their way of following Jesus was the only correct way. For example, in the First Letter to Timothy (not a letter by Paul, but from a leader of a more organized church a generation or two later,) the writer states: “But the spirit distinctly says that in later times there will be some who renounce the faith and devote their attention to deceitful spirits, and to the teachings of demons, who will make use of the hypocrisy of lying teachers. These people’s conscience is seared, and they forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from certain kinds of food which God created to be received with thanksgiving . . .” 1 Timothy 4:1-3a. A message of Christian love? These were words of a vicious feud among different groups of Christ followers, and it continued unto the Fourth Century until the Emperor Constantine forced the bishops to settle on one version of Jesus’ story. Anyone who disagreed was ostracized, marginalized, or worse. I wish these words were not in our Bible! Today the rhetoric between political groups and even between religious groups reminds me of the vituperation of those early church leaders. I pray that our generations can find common ground before the damage is so great that it cannot be healed.

Lyn Pickhover, Peace Lover

“Weapons of the Spirit”

Our Old Testament records God’s frequent exhortations to care for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger, the three groups most vulnerable groups who had no male head of household to protect them. Jesus frequently echoed this theme (“Who is my neighbor” and “Feed my Sheep,’ to name just a couple of examples.) Today it is easy to shrug one’s shoulder, toss a few bills or a check in the collection plate, and think that we have no connection to danger and destitution. Such selflessness would not have been easy for Jesus’ poorer listeners and could have gotten them in trouble with the occupying Roman forces. Such dangerous times have occurred throughout history. Thirty years ago, a Bill Moyers documentary described courageous actions of the inhabitants of the small French village of Le Chambon sur Lignon during World War II. They intentionally sheltered and saved 5000 men, women, and children in the face of Hitler’s efforts to eradicate European Jews. Hiding Jews was punishable by death, but this community banded together to follow Jesus’ teachings instead of orders from Germany’s Third Reich and Marshall Petain’s collaborating Vichy government. The film raises the question: If faced with a similar situation, would we have the courage to follow Jesus or would we “go along to get along”? If you want to watch it, I have the DVD, and the remastered film will be available for streaming on and after September 13, 2020

Lyn Pickhover, Pondering

A Fishing Boat from Galilee

The 'Ancient Galilee Boat' housed in the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar

Most of Jesus' ministry occurred around the Sea of Galilee.  The BIble tells us that the first four disciples he called were two sets of brothers who were fishermen: Simon and Andrew, James, and John.  We are told they left their boats and nets to become "fishers of men." Many of the stories about Jesus are set on or by the Sea of Galilee, often featuring Jesus, his friends, and a boat. 

In 1986, a drought lowered the level of this fresh-water lake, exposing the remains of an old boat buried in the mud near the shore. Based on radiocarbon dating of the wood, the pottery pot and lamp and nails in the boat and known construction techniques of the time, archaeologists were able to date the boat as being in use between 50 BCE and 50 CE, the exact time Jesus would have walked on the shores and ridden in boats on the waters of the lake. 

The boat was 27 feet long, and 7.5 feet wide and had a shallow draft and flat bottom which allowed it to come close to the shore. It had places for four rowers and a mast for sailing. It was constructed mostly of cedar, but it has been repaired repeatedly with scraps and patches of whatever wood was handy. Altogether, twelve different woods were used to keep this small boat afloat.  

This artifact from the 1st Century helps us visualize the stories of Jesus on the water.  It also serves as a metaphor for the ways Jesus and his early followers brought together all sorts of people to establish and preserve a movement that has endured for almost 2000 years. 

By Lyn Pickhover, Follower of Jesus 

Was Jesus married?

The Book Group is reading The Book of Longings, a historical fiction novel about Ana, the wife of Jesus of Nazareth. This prompts the question: “Was Jesus married?” You may have read a book like Holy Blood, Holy Grail or The DaVinci Code which portrayed Mary Magdalene as Jesus’ wife, or you may even have listened to a tape of Bishop John Shelby Spong’s more Biblical analysis that concluded Jesus was married.

Sometimes what is not said is important. I was nineteen when I first decided Jesus had been married. This was more a romantic teenager’s gut reaction against the idea of illegitimacy than any real knowledge of Jesus’ time. My argument then was that nothing in the bible indicated he was not married. Little did I see this logic as my first glimmering of Biblical historical criticism which has since become a passion. The principle involved is simple: if Jesus had not been married, it is more likely than not that someone – a gospel writer, the Apostle Paul or one of his imitators, a noncanonical writer, or one of the Early Church Fathers – would have mentioned this important fact. The more I read, the more convinced I am that no one who knew Jesus or knew someone who knew Jesus ever recorded that he defied the strong custom that a good Jewish boy should be married by his late teens. Jesus’ early followers did not remark that he was a bachelor or that he modeled celibacy. So, without arguing a host of details, I maintain – with many others more learned than I – that Jesus was married. Who his wife might have been and what might have happened to her are questions for another day.

From Lyn Pickhover, Searcher

Deacons

Deacons in our tradition are charged with tending to “the spiritual life of the church.” Today I googled “Deacon” and came across this definition by Martin B. Copenhaver , pastor of the Village Church UCC in Wellesley, quoted here because I could not say it better. He wrote that a deacon complained about washing dishes after communion and delivering food to the homebound. “How could they tend to important spiritual matters when they were occupied with such mundane tasks? ‘I feel like a glorified butler,’ one of the Deacons complained. So we looked together at the book of Acts, where the word ‘deacon’ first appears, and discovered that the apostles commissioned the first deacons so there would be someone to take food to the widows (it was a time when to be a widow was synonymous with being poor.) The word ‘deacon’ means, literally, waiter or servant. So those who are deacons are, indeed, butlers, charged with the mundane task of delivering food. They are also glorified because that simple act of taking food to the widows is an important expression of love. . . . In God’s realm, everything is turned upside down, and many of our assumptions begin to shake loose. To lead is to be a servant, as Jesus was a servant, and the greatest honor is not when we are given a gold watch, but rather when we are given a dish towel.” from Lyn Pickhover, Servant

Gentiles

The New Testament makes many references to “Gentiles.” Let's stop a moment and examine that what that word meant to the early followers of Jesus. One of the few Hebrew words I learned to read was “goy,” plural “goyim,” which referred to anyone not a Jew. Greek Bibles used the word "ethnikoi" which meant exactly what it sounds like: ethnic groups that were not Jewish. The Latin equivalent was "gentile," from the word "gens" which my Latin teacher taught me to translate as: “tribe” or “nation.” (As in the hymn “We’ve a Story to tell to the Nations.”) Gentiles were specifically not Jews, and when Jesus’ followers divided their world into “us” and “them,” we, as Gentiles, would have been “them.” Eventually, there were more Gentiles than Jews in the movement, and “the Jews” became the reviled “other.” May we think in terms of “us” rather than “us” and “them.”