Proper 28 (November 16, 2008)
Common Lectionary Texts:
Zeph. 1:7, 12-18; Ps. 90:1-12; I Thess. 5:1-11; Matt. 25:14-30

This week we visited with a TourMagination group from Canada and the United States, who have been “following the steps of Moses” in Egypt and Jordan.

We also finalized job descriptions for next year’s SALT placements, began screening candidates to send to the Summer Peacebuilding Institute at EMU and prepared the fall progress reports for the beloved MCC database.

In the region this week, violence spiked in Iraq as multiple suicide bombings ripped through Baghdad.

On Sunday, we hope to get into Gaza to visit several MCC partners, but it looks doubtful given the current Israeli blockade that prevents journalists and UN supplies from entering the small coastal strip of land that is home to 1.5 million Palestinians. The situation in Gaza is bleak.

BBC Map of the Gaza Strip, home to 1.5 million Palestinians

In preparing progress reports for MCC’s database, were especially touched by the stories of persons in Gaza who recently received emergency food aid through MCC partner such as Amera. One woman said: “I am the mother of 8 children and one of them is disabled. My husband is unemployed due to the lack of job opportunities. Amera’s social worker visited us and found us eating lentil soup without any bread due to lack of flour. My kids are shouting from hunger and I have nothing to feed them. In a few days, Amera visited us again and gave us a bag of flour and a food kit. My happiness was beyond imagination when I received the kit. Thank God for this grace.”

The Common Lectionary readings this week paint sobering pictures of God’s wrath and judgment.

The prophet Zephaniah describes the great day of the Lord as a day of wrath, distress, anguish, ruin, devastation, darkness, and gloom (Zeph. 1:15) – a “terrible end” for “all the inhabitants of the earth” (v.18). What human offenses have generated this judgment? Worshiping false gods (v.5), violence and fraud (v.9), materialism (v.11), complacency (v.12a) and the arrogance to say that God is irrelevant -- “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm”-- (v.12b).

The psalmist laments that humans are consumed by God’s anger and overwhelmed by God’s wrath because of their iniquities and secret sins (Ps. 90:7-8). “All our days pass away under your wrath,” the psalmist sighs (v.9). This powerful psalm draws a sharp distinction between God and humans. God is “our dwelling place in all generations” (v.1), “formed the earth and the world (v.2a), is “from everlasting to everlasting” (v.2b), and knows no constraints of time (v.4). By contrast, humans turn back to dust (v.3), are swept away like dreams (v.5a), fade and wither like grass (v.5b) and live a troubled span of 70 or 80 years (v.10).

But in the Epistle reading, Paul offers hope. “God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”(v.9). For this reason, we are to live as “children of light” (v.5), to “keep awake and be sober” (v.6), to put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation” (v.8) and “to encourage one another and build up each other” (v.11).

In the Gospel Jesus tells a story about three servants who are entrusted with their master’s money (Matt. 25:14-30. Two of servants make wise trades and investments, doubling the value of their master’s goods. They receive the praise of their master and are entrusted with more of his goods. Out of fear, the third servant buries the sum that was entrusted to him. Rather than seeing himself as steward, this servant acts arrogantly as if he is not accountable for his master’s resources. The master is furious with him and takes away the money that was entrusted to him.

What are we to make of these uncomfortable references to God’s judgment and wrath? Thankfully, these readings also contain references to God’s mercy and grace as well. God is our dwelling place (Ps. 90:1). We are not destined for God’s wrath (I Thess. 5:9). Two of the servants are commended for their wise stewardship.

Indeed, the overwhelming emphasis of Scripture is God’s love, grace and mercy. Yet one cannot discount the significant references to God’s judgment and wrath. They are sobering reminders that as humans we are to worship but one God; we are called to treat others justly; we are finite and fragile creatures not the eternal Creator; and we stewards not owners.

May these realities challenge us to live as “children of light” – humbly, gently, justly, compassionately and gratefully.

Proper 27 (November 9, 2008)
Common Lectionary Texts:
Amos 5:18-24; Ps. 70; I Thess. 4:13-18; Matt. 25:1-13

We began the week in Istanbul, participating in a strategic visioning and planning process with MCC partners and staff from across Europe and the Middle East.

“New Wine, New Wineskins” – as the MCC process is know – uses Appreciative Inquiry, a method that builds on an organization’s strengths, rather than starting with problems to be solved. As part of the process, Cindy interviewed an MCC partner-pastor from Moscow and Daryl interviewed a partner from Sarajevo. We were responsible to carry their voices and stories throughout the planning process. And they carried our voices.

George Salib, MCC Egypt staffer, and Arli Klassen, MCC Executive Director, hold conversation during New Wine, New Wineskins event

While the meetings were engaging and excellent, it feels good to be “home” in Amman. We returned just in time to watch the U.S. election results. The outcome was celebrated across our region. Many MCC partners and friends called or stopped by the office to express congratulations that the United States has voted for change. They have been frustrated by the current U.S. administration, and see President-elect Obama as offering a better way for the United States to relate to the rest of the world.

The Common Lectionary readings are about waiting.

In the Old Testament reading, God’s people eagerly wait for “the day of the Lord” – a day they believe that God will vindicate them and judge enemy nations. But the prophet Amos warns that the day of the Lord will bring judgment for God’s people as well. It will be darkness not light (Amos 5:18, 20). While God’s people hold lively worship festivals and publicly display their offerings, they have failed to “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (v.24).

The psalmist waits for God’s deliverance and help from those who desire to hurt him and who seek his life (Ps. 70:2). “I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!” David pleads (v.5).

In the Epistle reading, Paul writes of waiting for the Lord’s return and for the resurrection of the dead. Because of these future realities, we need “not grieve as others do who have no hope” (I Thess. 4:13), but can encourage one another during losses and difficult times (v.18).

In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells the parable of ten bridesmaids who are waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. None of the bridesmaids do a perfect job of waiting. When the bridegroom is slow in coming, all of them fall asleep. But when he finally arrives, five of the bridesmaids have oil for their lamps and are ready to join the celebration. Five do not and miss the celebration. Jesus uses this as an illustration that we should always be ready for his return – because we “know neither the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13).

Jordan's King Abdullah welcomes Sen. Barack Obama, July 2008, in Amman (Jordan Times photo)

In the United States and around the world, many are waiting with eager expectation for Barack Obama to take office in January 2009. We hope and pray that this will bring positive changes. The expectations are impossibly high. In time, President Obama’s star will fade – for he is only human. In the end it is not up to one person to bring change. All of us must work for justice to roll down like waters.

Even with the excitement of this historical election, may our greater expectation be in preparing for the arrival of God’s kingdom, even now, and for the eventual return of the Christ.

November 2, 2008

This week we traveled to Istanbul to participate in a regional gathering called, “New Wine, New Wineskins” – a process to gather feedback from constituents and global partners as MCC thinks about future directions for its work. It was a delightful time of meeting and listening to MCC partners from across Europe and Middle East.

Iris deLeon Hartshorn, Daryl Byler and Linda Herr in a brainstorming exercise at MCC's "New Wine, New Wineskins" process

Daryl shared the following devotional reflection on the second morning of the “Wineskins” process.

“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And 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

I grew up just outside Harrisonburg, Virginia, which was a small conservative southern town at the time. My religious understandings were shaped by my upbringing in the Mennonite community.

As a child, I understood that “good Christians” – which was a code phrase for “Mennonites” – did not go to war, did not dance, did not smoke and did not drink alcohol. One could get in equal trouble for participation in any of these forbidden activities.

Mennonites in Harrisonburg were not unique. In villages and cities around the globe, religious traditions and understandings define what is good and what is evil. They set the boundaries of who is inside and who is outside the community.

At their best, our religious understandings guide and direct our lives. They help us live justly and peaceably in the human family.

At worst, our religious understandings are the source of conflict – even violent conflict. They are used to judge those who are less than human and, therefore, not worthy of being treated with dignity and respect.

Sometimes this judging happens within a particular faith tradition – among conservative and progressive Christians, for example. Sometimes this judging happens between faith traditions. The Crusades and the Holocaust are examples of religious judging which has gone awry between faith traditions.

About a year ago, Christiane Ammanpour did a three-part series for CNN in which she explored religious extremists in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions. In all three faiths, she found those who were ready to kill in the name of defending or promoting their particular religion.

At about the same time that Christiane Ammanpour was airing her documentary, 8 Muslim, 8 Christian and 6 Jewish scholars were gathering in Stony Point, New York, to explore how their respective faiths “could lay the groundwork for nonviolent alternatives to resolving conflict and addressing injustice” in the world.

The report of their meeting was published this month by the U.S. Institute of Peace. It is called, Abrahamic Alternatives to War: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Just Peacemaking.

Before this group of scholars could discuss the common themes from their own traditions, which could serve as the basis for just peacemaking, they had to acknowledge that each of their religious traditions has sometimes been co-opted to support the use of violence against the other. In summary, the scholars acknowledged three things:

First, that “Jewish, Muslim, and Christian sacred texts all contain sections that support violence and justify warfare as a means to achieve certain goals. In particular historical circumstances, these texts have served as the basis to legitimate violent campaigns, oftentimes against other faith communities.” So, for example:

• Jewish scholars reflected on Hebrew texts about the wars against Amalek and the seven Canaanite nations – texts which some use today as justification for the Israeli occupation of Palestine and oppression of Palestinian people.
• Muslim scholars reflected on the Qur’anic call to jihad and “a Qur’anic exortation that calls on Muslims to kill infidels ‘wherever they are found’ (9:5).”
• Christian scholars reflected on biblical texts that have been used to support Christian holy war, and “just war” and Christian Zionism.

Mosque of Sulieman the Magnificent (Istanbul, Turkey)

Second, the scholars acknowledged that “Many of the passages from sacred texts in all three religious traditions that are misused in contemporary situations to support violence and war are taken out of context, interpreted in historically inaccurate ways, or can be better translated. Finally, all these passages need to be understood within (and contained by) the primary spiritual aims of the individual faith.”

Third, the scholars acknowledged that “There are also a great many teachings and ethical imperatives within Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptures that promote peace and present the means to achieve it. These include mandates to strive for political, social, and economic justice; tolerant intercommunal coexistence; and nonviolent conflict resolution.” For example:

• Jewish scholars said that predominant themes in Hebrew Scriptures include human rights, the moral imperative to actively seek good for others and a special concern for the poor.
• Muslim scholars noted that “peace is the central preoccupation in Islam: ‘Islam is a religion that preaches and obligates its believers to seek peace in all life domains. The ultimate purpose is to live in a peaceful as well as just social reality.’”
• Christian scholars pointed to the fact that “the Christian scriptures overwhelmingly argue for pacifism in the face of war and violence” and that “principled pacifism calls one to go beyond the condemnation of war to promote constructive steps toward creating a just and peaceful world.”

Reading the summary of this gathering of scholars gives one a sense of hope that, far from being the reason for war, religious faith can be the bridge for justice and peace in the human community.

The process we are engaged in these days is called “New Wine, New Wineskins.”
Religions are a bit like wineskins. They are containers for our understandings about God and about what is good and right and true.

Wineskins have their place. Without them, the wine would spill onto the ground and be lost. But wineskins also have their limitations:

No one enjoys drinking wineskins. Wineskins are only the containers. It is what is inside the wineskins – the wine – that gives life and joy.

• Whenever our religious traditions are reduced to rigid rules rather than helping us to better love and walk humbly with God, we have become too focused on the wineskins and too little focused on the wine.
• Whenever our religious traditions separate us from one another rather than help us to live justly and peaceably with our neighbors, we have become too focused on the wineskins and too little focused on the wine.
• Whenever our religious traditions become ends in themselves, we have become too focused on preserving the wineskins and too little focused on preserving the wine.

Wineskins don’t last forever. God is always doing new things in the world – healing, restoring and reconciling. God is always fermenting new wine. And new wine requires fresh and flexible wineskins. Over time, wineskins become old and brittle. They become incapable of containing God’s new wine. Unless we are always in the process of becoming fresh wineskins, we will be poor containers for the new things God is doing. No organization; no denomination; no religious tradition can stay the same if it hopes to be an effective container of God’s good news.

We do well to be humble about our role. The biblical images are clear. We are wineskins, not wine. We are jars of clay, not the treasures they contain (II Cor. 4:7).

My hope is that the “New Wine, New Wineskins” process in which MCC is engaged with its partners around the world will help us all become better containers for the new things that God is doing.

Together, may we have the humility and grace to become these new wineskins.

Proper 25 (October 26, 2008)
Common Lectionary Texts:
Lev. 19:1-2, 15-18; Ps. 1; I Thess. 2:1-8; Matt. 22:34-46

This week we worked on job descriptions for new positions in Iraq, visited partners in northern Jordan and hosted Ann and Jim Hershberger from Linville, Virginia. What a delightful opportunity to share stories with former MCC reps from another part of the world!

An MCC partner in northern Jordan grows thyme as an income-generating project (photo by Melissa Engle)

In the region this week, the Iraqi government announced that Mosul has stabilized, after a spate of violence led to half of Mosul’s Christian community fleeing to surrounding areas. Also, U.S. and Iraqi officials have yet to reach an agreement on the terms for U.S. forces to stay in Iraq past December 2008.

The Common Lectionary readings this week describe the interplay between loving God and loving neighbor.

The Old Testament reading admonishes us not to hate or harm our neighbors, but to love them as ourselves (v.18). These instructions are not optional. Each command is followed by the phrase, “for I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:2,16,18).

The psalmist calls us to delight and meditate on God’s laws (Ps. 1:2) and to shun the advice of the wicked (v.1). Loving neighbor does not mean that we follow them when they make bad choices.

In the Epistle reading, Paul says that he lives “not to please mortals but to please God who tests our hearts” (I Thess. 2:4). But pleasing God is not an abstract or other-worldly past time. It means sharing our lives with others and treating them with gentleness (vv. 7-8).

In the Gospel reading, religious leaders ask Jesus “Which commandment is the greatest?” Without hesitation, Jesus responds, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-39). Jesus builds an unbreakable bridge between loving God and loving neighbor.

These succinct words of Jesus still ring true 2000 years later. What a different world it would be if everyone learned to love God completely, and as an expression of that reality, learn to love neighbor as self! How might this change the way the United States makes decision about its relations with Iraq or Iran? How might it change the way people of different faiths relate to one another? The way Israelis and Palestinians relate? On a more personal level, how would it affect the way we invest our time and resources?

This coming week we travel to Turkey to listen to partners as part of MCC’s “New Wine, New Wineskins” process, which is designed to reshape MCC for the 21st century. We look forward to hearing the counsel of partners from across the Europe and Middle East region. We hope that, together, we will learn how to better love neighbor as self.

Proper 24 (October 19, 2008)
Common Lectionary Texts:
Is. 45:1-7; Ps. 96:1-9; I Thess. 1:1-10; Matt. 22:15-22

This was a week for planning, reflecting and celebrating. We worked on nearly 20 “concept papers” for new or expanded projects in Palestine/Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Iran, which we hope will receive above-budget funding next year. In the end, we commit these plans to God and trust that they can be used to bless and encourage our partners and all whom they serve.

Bassem Thabet and Daryl, just before Bassem's wedding on the Mt. of Olives

We also were privileged to meet with MCC’s Jordan Advisory Committee. MCC is creating local advisory groups in each country where it works. These groups provide feedback and counsel regarding MCC’s in-country priorities. This was the second meeting of the Jordan Advisory Committee. They asked many questions and offered suggestions for our work. It was humbling to see how much trust MCC has engendered across the years. While acknowledging that MCC is a small organization, local leaders have high expectations about what MCC can accomplish.

A highlight of the week was attending a Palestinian wedding, Saturday evening, on the Mount of Olives -- followed by a lively and delightful reception in Bethlehem. While Palestinians have lived under extremely difficult circumstances for some 60 years, they have not forgotten how to celebrate! We have much to learn.

Bassem and Nora Thabet enter reception in Bethlehem

The Common Lectionary readings this week are about false gods and the one true God.

The prophet Isaiah writes that God anointed, called and used King Cyrus of Persia for God’s purposes, even though he didn’t know God (Is. 45:4-5). As sovereign creator, God is able to bend the actions of rulers to serve God’s plan and purpose. “I am the Lord, and there is no other;” God declares, “beside me there is no god” (v.5).

The psalmist draws this distinction: “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens” (Ps. 96:5). False gods have no creative power of their own – only the power that we give them.

In the Epistle reading, Paul commends the church at Thessalonica because they “turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God” (I Thess. 1:9) – and because of their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3).

In the Gospel reading, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question about ultimate loyalties: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” (Matt. 22:17). Rather than giving a yes or no answer, Jesus puts their question into perspective: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v.22).

With all of the political and economic uncertainties in today’s world, it is far too easy to place our trust in false gods like financial well-being, military might and best laid plans. But the recent, rapid decline of global financial markets and the poor “results” from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan remind us that such “gods” are not worthy of our loyalty and trust.

It is reassuring to remember that God alone holds the power to create that which is truly good. God alone is able to turn powerful kings into unwitting instruments to serve God’s purposes. When our allegiance is given to God alone, our lives, too, will reflect works of faith, labors of love and steadfastness of hope.