A friend recently quoted the first sentence of James McClendon’s three volume work of systematic theology: “Theology means struggle.”  It’s a fitting phrase for this month of exploring difficult passages in the Bible.  It’s a good reminder that our faith is not just about comfort and refuge, but about venturing out from our comfortable places and walking into an expansiveness that we can never fully comprehend or tame. Along with Genesis 32:22-32 (Jacob wrestling with God) and Genesis 18:22-33 (Abraham haggling with God), another valuable text of struggle is the book of Job.  The outline of the story is fairly simple: Job is a wealthy and righteous man who is tested by The Accuser (which translates as The Satan), first by losing all his possessions and children, then by losing his own health.  He is visited by three friends who stay by him on his sickbed. There is a powerful

It’s “Difficult Passages” month and the midweek blog is an opportunity to talk not about those difficult biblical passages themselves, but about other passages that help us think about the difficult passages.  Last week: Jacob wrestling with God.  This week: Abraham haggling with God. Genesis 18:22-33 occurs right after Abraham and Sarah have extended hospitality to three travelers, and right before the infamous destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.  After refreshing themselves and eating their fill, two of the travelers continue on to toward Sodom.  The other, who turns out to be Yahweh, stays behind with Abraham.  What follows next is a good old fashion haggling contest between this elderly man and the Lord of the Universe. Knowing that the entire city of Sodom is in danger of being destroyed by divine wrath, Abraham opens by challenging the Lord: “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  Suppose there

Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.  Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”  So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”  Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” — Genesis 32:24-28 Although this was not one of the scriptures anyone selected as one of their “Difficult Passages,” it is one of the first that comes to mind when I think about how we relate with difficult passages of the Bible.  Jacob is the

(This is my first foray into the world of mid-week blogging, so I apologize for turning it into a late-to-mid-week blog instead.  If you’re anything like me, the weekend still feels far enough away that it might as well still be midweek. I welcome your comments.)   A couple weeks ago in Sunday School, I was caught off guard by some of the youth in the class I am co-teaching.  We typically structure our time together to begin with snack and getting-to-know you activities then move toward digging into the scripture lesson for the day.  On this particular Sunday, when we started to transition to the time for the lesson, there was a sudden outpouring of moaning and complaining.  One young person mustered all of the pre-teen attitude that he could and asked, “Why do we always have to read the Bible?”  In that moment, I was caught off guard,

“To you who wakens all who sleep and stirs all those who slumber, who gives speech to those who cannot speak, who frees the captive and upholds the falling, who makes upright those bent down – to you alone we offer thanks.” This morning there are songs and chants of praise in our sanctuary.  Little Minyan is a Reconstructionist Jewish community that uses our building to celebrate their high holy days, today observing Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish year.  A minyan refers to the quorum of Jewish worshipers needed to carry out certain religious obligations.  Reconstructionist Jews are theologically and socially progressive while valuing traditional liturgy.  The above prayer is one of those recited today from “Prayerbook for the Days of Awe.” I was able to experience the opening half hour of the service.  The cantor began with a brief meditation on the prophet Balaam who had been