Fifth Sunday after Epiphany (February 7, 2010)
Common Lectionary Readings:
Is. 6:1-8; Ps. 138; I Cor. 15:1-11; Lk. 5:1-11

This week we welcomed visitors from the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) and a group of 30 students from Eastern Mennonite University.

JRS is working with Iraqi refugees in Amman, helping them prepare to return to Iraq or resettle in third countries. They operate an after school center in Amman that helps Iraqis connect with one another, while learning French, English and computer skills.

The EMU students are spending a semester in the Middle East – traveling through Egypt, Jordan and Palestine-Israel. They asked excellent questions about MCC’s work in the region and enjoyed exploring Petra, Wadi Rum and other sites in Jordan.

Doug Hostetter, MCC UN Office director, shares photos with young adult volunteers at Al Najd Developmental Forum in Gaza City

A highlight of the week was being invited to a Jordanian home for mansef – the national dish, made with rice, meat, yogurt sauce and pine nuts. The hospitality was nothing short of amazing. We sat on the floor and ate with our hands from a common platter piled high with food. It was a wonderful and intimate cultural experience. Later, over many cups of tea and Arabic coffee, we listened as family members shared stories about politics, religion and daily life in Jordan.

Daryl and Cindy with baby Chris, son of MCC local staff Bassem Thabet and wife Nora

In the region this week, Israeli jets bombed the tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border. The story caught our attention, as we had just driven this strip of land the previous week. In Iraq, Shia Muslims were targeted as they made a religious pilgrimage to their holy city of Karbala. At least 40 persons were killed.

The juxtaposition of hospitality and hostility is a sobering reminder that the human community holds the potential for both.

The Common Lectionary readings this week highlight our human sense of inadequacy, but also remind us that, in spite of our failings, God graciously calls us and uses us in significant ways.

In the Old Testament reading, Isaiah – surrounded by God’s holy presence – exclaims: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips . . . yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Is. 6:5). A heavenly being touches Isaiah’s mouth with a hot coal and declares that Isaiah’s guilt has departed and his sin is blotted out (v.7). The Lord asks, “Whom shall I send” to do my work? Isaiah responds, “Here am I; send me!” (v.8).

The psalmist is also aware of his trouble and need for God’s deliverance (Ps. 138:7). And yet, with confidence, the psalmist exclaims: “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever” (v.8).

In the Epistle reading, Paul writes that he is the “least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (I Cor. 15:9). Still, by God’s grace, Paul now proclaims God’s good news, working harder than any of the other apostles (v.10).

In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells Simon Peter to let down his fishing nets into deep water (Lk. 5:4). Even though Peter has fished all night and caught nothing, he obeys Jesus. Immediately, Peter and his partners catch so many fish that their nets begin to break and their boats begin to sink (v.6-7). Recognizing Jesus’ divine power, Peter falls at the knees of Jesus and declares, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (v.8). Jesus responds, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (v.10). Peter, James and John leave everything and follow Jesus (v.11).

With Isaiah, Paul and Peter, we easily identify with feelings of being inadequate, sinful, not up to the task. And yet God continues to extend grace. May we, like they, respond in obedience to all that God calls us to be and do.

Third Sunday after Epiphany (January 24, 2010)
Common Lectionary Readings:
Neh. 8:1-10; Ps. 19; I Cor. 12:12-31a; Lk. 4:14-21

During the past two weeks we traveled to northern Iraq and then to Gaza and the West Bank, along with the directors of MCC’s three advocacy offices.

In northern Iraq, we heard stories from families who have been uprooted by war.

Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach (MCC Washington Office) with Hakari Amin (Al Mesalla) and Cindy Byler

“Before, we were a family; now we are no longer a family,” wept one Iraqi Christian who lost his mother and aunt in violence last year.

“We suffered under Saddam and now the U.S. has added to what we suffer here,” lamented an Iraqi Christian woman.

“We are a tired nation,” said one Muslim man who was kidnapped several years ago and now lives in a different part of Iraq.

And yet in the midst of this suffering, we experienced gracious hospitality. And while Iraq struggles to form a well-functioning government, civil society organizations are blossoming everywhere.

A caged corridor more than a kilometer long connects the Gaza Strip with Israel

Next we traveled to the Gaza Strip -- a small rectangle of land along the Mediterranean Sea, some 25 miles long and 5-7 miles wide.

Our trip to Gaza came one year after the war in which 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Again, we were welcomed with warm hospitality.

While some of the rubble from the 20,000 buildings that were destroyed or damage in the war has been cleaned up, there has been little rebuilding. Israel will not allow cement and other construction materials into the Strip. In some cases, families have fashioned homes out of bricks made with mud and straw.

Many homes have not been repaired due to lack of construction materials

Gaza is being squeezed ever more tightly. Israel controls the borders to the north, east and west of Gaza. Egypt controls Gaza’s southern border. Since 2006 when Hamas came to power, Israel has tightly controlled the flow of goods in and out of Gaza.

To survive, Gazans have dug more than 3,000 tunnels on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. Now, Egypt – with U.S. support – is building a steel wall 30 meters (100 feet) underground to block these tunnels.

More than 3,000 tunnels from Egypt serve as life lines for supplies to Gaza (each tent covers the opening on one tunnel)

“The more the closure is tightened, the more the people suffer and the more the leaders prosper,” claimed one civil society leader. Many worried that those with extremist views are growing in strength due to the ever worsening conditions.

“We have experienced more than 60 years of war and occupation,” reflected a Palestinian man whose home was destroyed by an Israeli missile in early 2009. “We want to have life now.”

“What is happening here is against all rules of God and international law,” said one Christian leader. “We are living in a big prison here.” An estimated 2,500 – 3,000 Christians live in Gaza.

Gazans told us that they don’t want the aid from international organizations if it is not coupled with advocacy aimed at ending the economic siege.

“We are all the chosen people of God,” reflected the Palestinian leader of a Christian agency in Gaza City. “We are not animals. We do not have a different God.”

Two girls from Khan Younis, in the southern portion of the Gaza Strip

Commenting on the fact that many Western Christians refuse to criticize the Israeli government’s policies due to a theological understanding that God views the modern state of Israel with special favor, one Christian in Gaza stated bluntly, “The theologians should do something about this.”

During our travel, we read again and again the Common Lectionary readings for the week.

In the Epistle reading Paul writes, “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free…” (I Cor. 12:13). Paul continues, “If one member (of the body) suffers, all suffer together with it” (v.26).

In the Gospel reading, Jesus announces the mission that God has sent him to fulfill:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk. 4:18-19).

Never have these words seemed so poignant. Or so necessary.

Second Sunday after Epiphany (January 17, 2010)
Common Lectionary Readings:
Is. 62:1-5; Ps. 36:5-10; I Cor. 12:1-11; John 2:1-11

This week we visited with a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation headed to Iraq and made preparation for our own travel to Iraq next week with the directors of MCC’s three advocacy offices.

A plane loaded with humanitarian aid headed for Haiti (Jordan Times photo by Nader Daoud)

Jordan responded quickly to Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti, sending medics and six tons of food, clothing and medical supplies. A second planeload of aid is being prepared.

For the most part, though, violence grabbed the regional headlines this week.

An Iranian scientist was killed by a bomb blast while riding his motorcycle to work. The Iranian government accused Israel and the United States of being responsible for the killing.

In Jordan, a bomb exploded near a convoy carrying Israeli diplomats between Amman and Jerusalem. No one was injured, but the blast highlights the tense feelings between Jordan and Israel.

An Iraqi court sentenced 11 men to death by hanging for their involvement in a series of car bombings in August 2009 that left more than 100 people dead.
By contrast, the Common Lectionary readings this week are about grace – God’s unexpected gifts to us.

In the Old Testament reading, God’s people have been in exile and their land is desolate. They feel forsaken. In spite of their waywardness, God expresses delight in them and promises to vindicate them. (Is. 62:1-5)

The psalmist extols God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness and judgments (Ps. 36:5-6) and the fact that all people may take refuge in the shadow of God’s wings. (v.7) “For with you is the fountain of life;” declares the psalmist, “In your light we see light.” (v.9)

In the Epistle reading, Paul describes the variety of gifts that God activates in the human family – wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues (I Cor. 12:8-10). God’s Spirit gives each person a gift to be used for the common good. (v.7)

In the Gospel reading, Jesus attends a wedding with his mother and disciples (John 2:1-2). When the wine runs out, Jesus tells the servants to fill six large jars with water. When they do so, the water miraculously turns to fine wine. The steward tells the bridegroom, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (v.10)

We humans live our lives trying to do what is right. Disasters like the earthquake in Haiti often bring out the best instincts in the human family – compassion and generosity.

But too often, we fail miserably and our relationships are marred by selfishness, conflict and violence. It is good news that God does not give up on us. Instead, God patiently continues to restore us, offer us refuge and new life, and to give us the necessary gifts for the human community to flourish.

First Sunday after Epiphany (January 10, 2010)
Common Lectionary Readings:
Is. 43:1-7; Ps. 29; Acts 8:14-17; Lk. 3:15-17, 21-22

This week we returned to the MCC office in Amman. We welcomed visitors from California, New York, Jordan and Iraq. Next week we plan to host the directors of MCC’s three advocacy offices (Ottawa, U.N. and Washington).

A snow blizzard, Dec. 19, added adventure to our son Holden's marriage to Heidi Bowman (photo by Steven Johnson)

In the region this week, a humanitarian aid convey Viva Palestina, led by George Galloway, British member of parliament, reached the Gaza Strip nearly a month after it left the United Kingdom. Egyptian authorities finally granted permission for more than 100 vehicles carrying food and medical supplies to enter at the Rafah Crossing. A year after the January 2009 war, Gaza remains under economic siege, with its borders tightly controlled by Israel and Egypt.

A deep crater in Gaza following Israeli air strikes (AP photo for BBC)

In response to mortars fired from Gaza into Israel, the Israeli military launched air strikes against Gaza, Friday, killing three persons and wounding several others.

The Common Lectionary readings for this first Sunday after Epiphany focus on God’s love for the whole human family.

In the Old Testament reading, Isaiah writes that the God who created us, formed us, redeemed us and called us by name, promises to be with us when we pass through deep waters and fiery trials because we are precious in God’s sight (Is. 43:1-2, 4).

The psalmist stands in awe of God’s voice that thunders over the waters (Ps. 29:3); is powerful and majestic (v.4); breaks the cedars (v.5a); flashes forth flames of fire (v.7); shakes the wilderness (v.8); and causes oaks to whirl and strips the forest bare (v.9). And yet this powerful God is not distant, gives strength to his people and blesses them with peace (v.11).

The reading from Acts reminds us that God’s love is not limited to one group, but extends to both Jews and Gentiles (8:14-17).

The Gospel reading describes the baptism of Jesus, where a voice from heaven proclaims, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22).

In our own lives and in the world around us, we see compelling evidence that humans have failed to love others as God has loved us. In his book, Home Tonight, Henri Nouwen writes that “the opposite of love is not hate but fear.” These fears cause us to build walls to protect ourselves and to lash out at those who threaten our sense of well-being.

In our personal relationships, as well as in the affairs of nations, God calls us to love the whole human family. We pray that God will grant courage to overcome our fears so we are free to treat even our enemies with compassion, dignity and justice.

A Homily for the 2nd Sunday after Christmas (Jan. 3, 2010)
Anglican Church of the Redeemer - Amman, Jordan
Lectionary Readings:
Jer. 31:7-14; Eph.1:3-19; Matt. 2:13-23; Ps. 84

On New Year’s Eve we returned from the United States, where we recently attended our son’s wedding in Virginia. It was a wonderful time of celebration. Holden and Heidi were married during a major snow storm that blanketed the northeastern United States. Many of the wedding guests came in 4-wheel drive vehicles. Some walked. Others arrived on skis!

Holden and Heidi on their wedding day

Virginia is where I grew up, so this trip felt like coming home. Over the Christmas holidays I had many opportunities to visit with friends from my high school and college days. It was amazing to see how much and how little have changed in 30 years!

Up to 20 inches of snow blanketed the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

The Lectionary readings for this second week after Christmas are about coming home. They highlight several important things about physical and spiritual homecomings. Let me briefly reflect on three.

1. All of us long for home. Most of us carry an image in our heart and mind of a place we call home. For many, it is the place where we feel safe; the place where we feel loved; the place where we feel a sense of belonging; the place where we are free to be ourselves; the place where we find familiar foods and smells and sounds and traditions. While some of us also associate painful memories with the place we call home, all of us still long for an ideal home.

Home is both a physical place and a spiritual space. In the Old Testament reading, the prophet Jeremiah describes the upcoming exile of God’s people to Babylon. There they will long for the familiar sights and sounds of Jerusalem, where they can worship in the temple and live in safety. But their exile is about much more than being physically absent from Jerusalem. It also represents that they have grown distant from God.

The psalmist also longs to be at home with God. “My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord,” says the psalmist (Ps. 80:2). “Blessed are those who dwell in your house” (v.4), the psalmist continues, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. . . . I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness”(v.10).

All of us long for home – for physical places that are friendly and familiar, and for that spiritual space where we feel close to and loved by God.

2. While we long for home, we spend much of our life away from home. Sometimes we are away from home because of our bad choices. This is the story of the Old Testament reading. Many years before the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah foretold that God’s people would be taken into captivity for 70 years because of their sin. Because they have worshiped false gods and treated one another unjustly, Jeremiah warns that God will remove their hedge of protection and give them a long time out. But God will not forget his people. The upcoming exile is intended to prepare their hearts for returning home.

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul reminds his readers of their transgressions that separate them from God; and of their need to be forgiven and redeemed so that they can again be at home with God (Eph. 1:7).

Of course this is our story as well. We stray in many ways. In his book, Home Tonight, Henri Nouwen reflects on the story of the prodigal son who took his inheritance and left home where he squandered his wealth in wild living. Ironically, like the prodigal son, we often don’t appreciate home until we leave it.

Much of our wandering is because we want to be in charge. We want to be independent and not to have others tell us what to do. We want to do things our way. We want to prove to others that we are important.

Nouwen writes that it is easy for us to see how the younger son strayed from home. But he goes on to note that, while the older son physically stayed at home, his heart was distant and resentful. His relationship with his father was based on trying to earn acceptance rather than simply accepting his father’s love.

While being far from home is often a result of our bad choices, the readings this week also remind us that sometimes we are away from home for our own safety or in order to accomplish God’s purposes. In the Gospel reading, an angel tells Joseph to flee to Egypt where Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus also live in exile. But this is not because they have done something wrong. It is for their safety and protection. The wise men from the East had come to pay homage to the new king born in Bethlehem. In a fit of fury and jealousy, King Herod issued an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem under the age of two. The exile in Egypt was not because Joseph and Mary needed to repent, but so that they could faithfully fulfill their responsibility to raise Jesus.

In a similar way, many refugees today are far from home because of war, persecution, oppression or economic hardship – not due to some fault of their own. In these safer spaces, God is preparing them to return home or to resettle elsewhere.

While we long for home, for one reason or another, we spend much of our life away from home. Sometimes we wander on our own. Sometimes God removes his hedge of protection and allows us to go into exile. Sometimes God leads us to a new place for our safety or to fulfill a particular ministry.

Time away from home is not necessarily wasted. God uses it as fertile ground to teach us lessons and to prepare us to return home.

3. God is in the business of bringing us home. No matter how far away we have wandered, God is in the business of bringing us home.

In his book about the prodigal son, Nouwen writes: “While the young man in the story seemingly left his home and lost everything, one possession remained. He was still a member of his family.” This is true for us as well. We never cease to be God’s children.

The prophet Jeremiah repeats God’s promises again and again:
-I will bring them from the north country (v.8a);
-I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth (v.8b);
-I will lead them back (v.9b);
-I will make them walk by brooks of water (v.9c).

Jeremiah specifically mentions that the most vulnerable – the blind, the lame and pregnant women -- will be among those who God leads home (v 8).

And what a homecoming it will be! God will shepherd the people (v.10d), their life will be like a watered garden and they will languish no more (v.12). God will turn their mourning into joy (v.13c) and give them gladness for sorrow (v.13d).

In the Epistle reading, Paul promises that, in Christ, “We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (v.7a). Though we have strayed and become like homeless orphans, God adopts us as his children and offers us a rich inheritance. Like the father who prepared a feast for his prodigal son, God lavishes us with the riches of his grace (v.7b). More than that, God is uniting all things in Christ. Wherever there are divisions between peoples and nations God is working to unite all things (v.10).

In the Gospel reading, Herod eventually dies. Again an angel appears to Joseph and tells him that it is time to go home, “for those who sought the child’s life are dead” (v.20).

God promises to bring us home. The psalmist reminds us that, “even the sparrow finds a home” (v.3). No detail is too small for God.

Closing reflection
Nouwen writes: “The whole course of the spiritual life is falling off, and returning, slipping away from the truth and turning back to it, leaving and returning. So in our leaving, as much as in our returning, we must try to remember that we are blessed, loved, cherished, and waited for by the One whose love doesn’t change.”

One of my most memorable visits over the holidays was with a friend from college days who I had not seen in 30 years. Mike (not his real name) grew up in a troubled home. His life has been hard. He has a gruff exterior. He went through a divorce and has struggled in his second marriage. He has had major health problems and has attempted suicide. But what I found most remarkable is that, while he continues to struggle, Mike is now actively involved in a church community and is growing as a Christian.

Indeed, God is constantly in the process of bringing us home -- gathering, redeeming, restoring, uniting all things in Christ.

It is not always as quickly as we would like. God’s people were exiled in Babylon for 70 years. But God gathered them back and satisfied them with goodness.

It is not always the way we would like. Joseph and Mary had to journey by way of Egypt before they could return to Nazareth.

Often there is pain in the process and tears along the journey. The Bible tells us that all of us have fallen short of God’s glory. But, in Christ, God offers us redemption. God offers us adoption as beloved children.

How in your life do you feel far from home? Perhaps you feel physically far away from what seems safe and familiar to you. Perhaps spiritually you feel distant from God. Being far from home may be due to no fault of your own.

Whatever the reason for our displacement, hear this promise of Scripture: God is always at work to bring us home – or to a new home. Thanks be to God.