Rev. Jean's Bible Study

Jonah 1:1-3   Becoming an Activist Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash In a conversation about the state of the world, a friend expressed that perhaps it was time that he and others become activists.   He wondered if there was any point to becoming an activist around an issue if there was no guarantee that your activism would be successful.   We assured him that success couldn’t be the motivating factor.   Yes, you hoped to make the world better but you did the right thing just because it was the right thing to do.   That better world that you helped to create might not come to reality in your lifetime.   Jonah knew that the task God set for him, to chastise the people of Nineveh for their wickedness, would not likely be successful, however one chose to define that success.   It would likely mean ridicule, harassment, maybe even physical danger for Jonah.   He decided the risk wasn’t worth it and ran in the other direction.   ...

Week 1 To Hell and Back Again  Jonah The story of Jonah is an Easter story.   Like Jesus, Jonah went to hell and back again in three days.   It is a story of grace, repentance, forgiveness, of dissatisfaction, of judgement and evil, of resisting and answering God ’s call, of prayer in desperation, of God’s mercy and humanity’s desire for and capacity for punishment.   Let’s begin this week with the story.   It is all of two pages and will take less than 10 minutes to read.    Photo by  Rémi Boudousquié  on  Unsplash

Paul speaks in Galatians about the Fruit of the Spirit .  I recall reading that his list of positive character traits was not unique but echoed other similar lists found in Greek culture at that time.  His list is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As we enter Holy Week, we could all do worse than to put an effort into practicing these characteristics.  This list put me in mind of another list, the Seven Teachings of the Grandfathers from our native cultures. Most lists I have seen are: wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, and truth (some replace bravery with generosity).   Isn’t it interesting that love is the one consistent word?   During this time of reflection and confession, it occurs to me that I can see how our Christian list could reinforce attitudes of patriarchy, paternalism and colonialism.   Respect and humility are sorely lacking in our culture.  What would you...

  Gluttony and Lust/Abstinence and Chastity Proverbs23:1-8 Photo by mche lee on unsplash I am not sure I agree with these traditional responses to gluttony and lust.   I don’t think abstinence and chastity are going to get us far in our culture.   I think restraint is a better virtue.   Knowing when to say no, not now.   Our desires can motivate us to excellence in our work, in our relationships and in our healthy living.   Food, drink and sex are not the only things we can get obsessive about.   Exercise, health foods, social media, even meditation can become gluttonous in our culture.   In our desire to find a sense of peace and security and comfort in our lives, we turn to anything that offers a quick fix.   Restraint, discipline, and hard work for long term rewards are not things our culture values. We are enjoying a comfortable retirement now because we practiced some restraint over the past forty-five years of our marriage. ...