February 18

The Gospel reading for this Sunday: John 1:43-51

1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."

1:44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about

whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph

from Nazareth."

1:46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

1:47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!"

1:48 Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you."

1:49 Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

1:50 Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these."

1:51 And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

~~~

Quaker pastor Philip Gulley superbly summarizes how we must rebuild spirituality from the bottom up in his book, If the Church Were

Christian. Here are Rev. Bruce Sweet's own words to restate his message, which offers a rather excellent description of Emerging Christianity:

1. Jesus is a model for living more than an object of worship.

2. Affirming people’s potential is more important than reminding them of their brokenness.

3. The work of reconciliation should be valued over making judgments.

4. Gracious behavior is more important than right belief.

5. Inviting questions is more valuable than supplying answers.

6. Encouraging the personal search is more important than group uniformity.

7. Meeting actual needs is more important than maintaining institutions.

8. Peacemaking is more important than power.

9. We should care more about love and less about sex.

10 Life in this world is more important than the afterlife (eternity is God’s

work anyway).

~~~

Psalm 122

I rejoiced when I heard them announce,

“The time of warfare is past.

No more will brother hate brother or violence have its way.

No more will they drown out God’s silence

and shut their hearts to his song.”

Pray for peace in the cities and harmony among the races.

May peace come to live on our streets and justice within our walls.

With all my heart I will pray that peace comes to live among us. For the sake of all earth’s people,

I will do my utmost for peace.

(The Psalms, trans. by Stephen Mitchell)

~~~

And a poem:

Primary Wonder

Days pass when I forget the mystery.

Problems insoluble and problems offering their own ignored solutions

jostle for my attention, they crowd its antechamber along with a host of diversions, my courtiers, wearing their colored clothes; caps and bells.