Jack Plans Tuesday BS Group

From 12:30 to 2 PM, every Tuesday, beginning Sept. 7 (except Oct. 5), Interim Pastor Jack Lohr invites you to share in his "BS Group." (That's Bible Study.) Bring a sandwich, and the group will arrange coffee/tea and dessert. We will focus on the Bible lessons for the upcoming Sunday service. It will deepen your enjoyment of the worship on Sunday, and give Jack the benefit of a community of interpretation with whom he can test his homiletical inklings.

Most often, we'll be using the Biblical background resource from our Church School's "Whole People of God" curriculum. Here's a preview of the material for our first meeting:

"Community under Construction" Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 & 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Today's readings are powerful and disturbing ones. They remind us that we are a community under construction—a community in which what we do matters. Faith and faithlessness have consequences for our lives. Running through all the readings is the theme that God is with us, calling us to build and strengthen our faith and our relationships with one another.

Today's reading from JEREMIAH pronounces God's judgement on the people of Judah. What a dreadful vision of destruction at the beginning of a new year! It must have been almost as difficult for Jeremiah to proclaim the first time, as it is for us to read now. No one ever wants to hear about the devastation of the earth and the ruin of once proud cities. Interpreting these events as the wrath of God is even more terrifying.

When Jeremiah originally spoke this prophecy he was describing something that might happen in the future if the people did not change their ways. He was not describing something that had happened already. His was a reminder of the awe-inspiring power of God, and of the forces with which we contend if we choose to live in evil and self-centered ways. It was a call to repentance too: how we live has cosmic significance.

Although Jeremiah was not popular early in his ministry, by the time the Babylonians had in fact laid waste to Jerusalem and carried off the community's leaders into captivity, his words had a very different appeal. They were saved and passed down to us by those exiles because they helped them make sense of what had happened. Remembering Jeremiah's warnings, the Israelites could look back and realize that God had been with them throughout everything. They came to see their captivity as a way in which God could teach them something, rather than as a time when God had been defeated or powerless. They came to see God as one who opposed evil and injustice, and yet does not abandon the people in spite of their faithlessness. "The Lord has said that the whole earth will become a wasteland, but God will not completely destroy it." (v. 27).

Although today's reading from TIMOTHY was probably written by one of Paul's followers long after the apostle's death, this passage uses the story of Paul's own personal transformation to make its point. The author reminds the readers that although we know Paul as a powerful and insightful church leader, he once persecuted the church and was one of its worst enemies. What God wants for the world is the kind of transformation that Paul went through; the kind of transformation that the Israelites went through because of their exile in Babylon. God wants our lives to be characterized by faith and love, so that no one can say in their heart that there is no God. This is no unrealistic, unrealizable goal. It is precisely what happened to Paul, says the writer, and since it could happen with him, it can happen in our own communities.

Today's readings remind us that we are part of a faith community that changes and grows as it confronts new challenges—a community that has always been under construction. God cares about how we meet these challenges and how we live our lives. Even when we make mistakes, God does not abandon us.

Please let me know if you plan to come, so we can prepare. And call me at 201-406-8991 if you have any questions.

--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor