The Luminous Podcast

Third Sunday of Advent: Psalm 126 | The Rev. Chad E. JarnaginPsalm 126 A Song of Ascents.1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,we were like those who dream.2 *Then our mouth was filled with laughter,and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations,“The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us,and we rejoiced.4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,like the watercourses in the Negeb (or Negev). 5 May those who sow in tearsreap with shouts of joy.6 Those who go out weeping,bearing the seed for sowing,shall come home with shouts of joy,carrying their sheaves.On the day that we light the candle of Joy, this is an amazing Psalm. As it begins with an important framing...The phrase, “we were like those who dream,”... In terms of theological context, “those who dream” are prophets – those who receive visions from God (see Joel 2:28-29). The means of restoration is the re-opening of communication between God and people. In terms of the emotional context, “those who receive visions” often experience and express ecstatic joy, like David dancing before the Lord. The picture in the Psalm is a spontaneous and uncontainable joy: “our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy.” This is beyond a mood, it is a deep sense of joy.The first portion of this Psalm contains a surprising testimony concerning God’s graciousness that is visible in more of the Old Testament than we normally give credit. The very nations (like Zion, here) witnessed the restoration of the people to their land and to their God... and they said, “The Lord has done great things...” Thinking ahead to the New Testament, we are reminded of the non-Israelite magi coming to worship the one who was born “King of the Jews,” or the Roman centurion who announced, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Even more surprising, the nations’ testimony to God’s deeds inspires Israel to respond with its own testimony, repeating the words of the nations verbatim: “The Lord has done great things for us” (v. 3). There is a overwhelming sense of gratitude that is at the beginning of their joy. The second portion develops and rephrases them in the form of renewed appeals for restoration (this is similar to the structure of Psalm 85) - The people ask God to restore them, in hope to rejoice again.These images may reflect a prayer for rescue from drought, but they may also simply be metaphors for people in need of God’s renewal. Renewal of anything. Financial renewal, health, spiritual, mental renewal... relational renewal.Remember that the world waited 400 years for the coming of the Messiah after the prophecies. There is no limit to the waiting we may have to endure... but that waiting doesn’t have to limit our capacity of joy. Gratitude can be the beginning of joy.

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The Reign of Christ / Christ the KingFr. Chad E. JarnaginPsalm 1001 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness;come into his presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord is God.It is he that made us, and we are his;we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,and his courts with praise.Give thanks to him, bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good;his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Today is the final Sunday in the year of the Church... the Reign of Christ / Christ the King. In today’s gospel, Jesus’ final teaching in this section of Matthew is an examen. His instruction is so important that he separates people “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:32). Essentially, the separation depends on how people in need were treated.Though the Psalm today is short, it is instruction as well. Some think that this is a Psalm of David, others say it is Moses. It is an ancient text, 10th century B.C..Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. The earth is already making a joyful noise... the trees, the oceans... the way the wind blows... the birds, the sunset, and sunrise. Seeing God in all things and all things in God... the presence of God is everywhere... at all times. We are the ones who are not present. The deep spaces where we learn and gain a bigger perspective is when we can abide with God in the middle of difficulties, suffering, and pain. If God is God of the summits of life, God is the God of the valley of darkness.Verse 3 helps us to remember whose we are. We are God’s... made in our Maker’s image. The sheep of God’s pasture... there is another connection to the gospel today.Verse 4 and 5... 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks, bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good (this isn’t just good as we know it... it means holy as well); his steadfast love endures forever, and faithfulness to all generations. We give thanks FOR the Lord is good (again, good in the light times and heavy times)... faithful to all generations. God through time and space... past, present, and future.If we trace the meaning of Good, it leads us to Good News... an understanding of a reality that is beyond good as we know it. Holy news... the news that Jesus is found in the darkest days, deepest pain, and even confusion... this is where we find and connect with Christ more than anywhere... and if the Lord is good... and God’s love endures forever, through time and space, we then come to realize that the reality of Jesus is because of this goodness.John 8: 52-58 The Jews said yet you say, ’Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”This is what the reign of Christ looks like: Remember this from Brennan Manning: Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of our journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever.We are daughters and sons of our Beloved. Furthermore, our Beloved is ours. May our lives, hands, feet, and mouths go and tell somebody. Thanks be to God.

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The Liturgical Year with Fr. Chad E. JarnaginHow to start a new year rhythmLiturgical times raises our sights above the dailiness of life to the essence of life. — ChittisterOur habits are formative and that repetition is formative. When we practice healthy rhythms and practices, this holistic approach to living enables thriving sustainable spiritual growth. Sometimes we need to add to rhythms, and sometimes it means removal.The Liturgical Year helps to know when to take deep breaths along the way... like regulating our breathing, the Liturgical Year helps to slow our breath into a mindful pace.We are immersed in rhythms. Repeated and regulated patterns, consistent tempo metering out our existence. They aren't just around us – they are within us. Our hearts beat and our lungs breathe. Our veins expand and contract as life flows through them. It is even by rhythms that we mark time. Hours, days, years, are all lived in the ebb and flow of work, sleep, and meals. All are rhythms – within and without. We are created to be rhythmic beings.Think of the Liturgical Year as circular instead of linear if that is helpful... like we go around the sun. The Liturgical Year is also about the great cloud of witnesses who have lived life before us.Throughout Scripture, God provides us with rhythms to order our lives. In the Old Testament, we see that God gave the people of Israel Sabbaths and feasts to help them remember God’s work as Creator and Savior. In the Gospels we read that, on the night before Jesus died, he instituted the Sacrament of Communion. When we receive the bread and wine, we remember his suffering and death. Over the past 2,000 years, the Church has instituted feasts, holy days and seasons in order that we might orient our lives around the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. All these patterns and practices are given as means of grace by which we are reminded who God is and who he's called us to be.It is possible that there is no formation without repetition. That is to say that over time, our rhythms and practices help us to find healthy ways to live holistic spiritual lives as disciples of Christ. It is what we do routinely, not what we do rarely, that delineates our character. (Chittister).Lectionary Calendar & Daily OfficeYearly pattern of the seasons of the Church. Each season intentionally guides us through the importance of the first Advent of Christ all the way through an season of growth, blessing, and sending called Ordinary Time (or Season After Pentecost).The Daily Office is the Scripture reading / prayer guide on a three year cycle (Year A, B, & C). This culminates each Sunday as we worship together. Each season and holy day has a specific color so to assist us with its identity and intention. Weekly WorshipWe gather on Sundays to celebrate, lament, and commune with God and one another within these sacred rhythms of the Lectionary and Daily Office.

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The Rev. Chad E. JarnaginPsalm 78:1-71 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable;I will utter dark sayings from of old,3 things that we have heard and known,that our ancestors have told us.4 We will not hide them from their children;we will tell to the coming generationthe glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,and the wonders that he has done. 5 He established a decree in Jacob,and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestorsto teach to their children;6 that the next generation might know them,the children yet unborn,and rise up and tell them to their children, 7 so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God,but keep his commandments;When we look at the Psalms, we are engaging in a text that is before Christ... this is 10th century B.C. This one is an instruction of Asaph... a parable setting about ancient praise to the Creator of all things.This praise is to God, past, present, and future. For all God has done, is doing, and will do. The future tense even hints at the goodness and hope of the gospel. The prophesy of the Christ coming for all humankind.I will open my mouth in a parable;I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.This is what we are doing right now... and do every Sunday. We know we have a temptation to disconnect from our past, especially when it doesn’t hint of hope and beauty... We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.We share it with our children so they can hear and know of the realities of our faith... and at some point, they will decide what they do with it.Verse 5: He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel,which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children;He made it a law of the land that these testimonies should be preserved and faithfully transmitted to future times. See Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 6:7; Deuteronomy 11:19. They were not given for themselves only, but for the benefit of distant generations also.Verse 7: says that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God... but keep his commandments.You only keep commandments out of trust, belief, and connection... really. Just to keep them out of fear (not even holy fear, just fear)... that doesn’t work over time. But, to set hope in God remembering God’s work... activity... through connection / communion is an entirely deeper way of living.This passage is a continuing thought of All Saints’ Day. Ancestors / believers through time and space giving endless praise to God... past, present, future.In their song “Walk On”, U2’s lyric mentions "a place that has to be believed to be seen...” this can apply to Jesus as well...we view a Psalm like this... Jesus forms the lens in which we can see deeper in this text. It brings to light things that are unseen...Jesus is the greatest of the wonders of God. We can see through time and space. The hope and Great Light of the world.

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The Rev. Chad E. JarnaginEverything Else (is God’s)The gospel reading today says ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’... but perhaps the hinge of this passage is understated... “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Maybe Jesus is saying, everything else is God’s? This is a portion of what we mean when we say God in all things... and all things in God.The term Jesus is Lord, was and is a political statement. In the context of Matthew, it was meant to say, Caesar wasn’t their Lord, but governor... Christians during this time were violently persecuted. They didn’t simply have inconveniences as a people... they had to navigate true persecution.Eventually, when the leaders of the Jews shouted ‘We have no King but Caesar!’, they reveal a radical division in their own minds between the hopes they place in God and their recourse to political power. In response, Caesar (in the person of Pilate) orders a sign to be put above the dying Jesus. It reads ‘King of the Jews’. The imperial power of Caesar ruled the ancient world. It counts for nothing now. At the time of his execution Jesus was virtually unknown. Yet the Resurrection revealed him to be the Incarnation of God. As the real Christ, long awaited by Israel, he counts for everything now.Against this background, the instruction, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’ warns us about getting our priorities wrong... or misplaced. Even sincere Christians with the best of intentions, it seems, can be drawn to its false allure... and it is fleeting...Psalm 991 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion;he is exalted over all the peoples.3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.Holy is he!Be reminded where our hope is: Do not misplace hope, influence, and power.5 Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!Be reminded that you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God first and foremost.7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees,and the statutes that he gave them.8 O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.9 Extol the Lord our God,and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.Anything less than the Creator is simply less... smaller. God grant us the perspective of all things you have created, and we among them. We are yours and you are holy. AMEN.

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Feast of Peace | The Rev. Chad E. JarnaginMatthew 22:1-1422 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants[a] to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants,‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”We all follow patterns. Patterns for getting up & going to bed. Traffic patterns... flight patterns... Social patterns... receiving an invitation and then going to an event. Even the Church follows patterns. We are a community of fasting and feasting. In the gospels, we see the patterns of provision for our souls.In parables, Jesus means them to create awareness of a bigger picture so that everyone can understand... Here, this King had a banquet thrown for his son, when he invited the first group of people, they were probably highly esteemed, popular within this community... but they declined the invitation. Then when the King asked for his troops to go invite anyone to the banquet, many turned up. They had a unique chance to go to a feast, a celebration party. Perhaps by fear... or maybe for the invitation itself.They knew who it was for and they dressed up. Basically, they understood what needed to happen in order to go to this wedding banquet; except for this one guy. We don’t know his story but we know he accepted the invitation. He knew he would be fed and would probably have a great time... but was unprepared.This parable seems to be revealing the first group of people to be indifferent or apathetic to the invitation... or maybe they didn’t respect the king and family? Regardless, apathy leaves us on the outside of opportunity... and indifference can leave us lifeless when beauty and adventure are to be experienced.God loves us for who we are, wherever we are. However unprepared we are. When we live devoted lives where God’s goodness is reflected, that is not simply consuming the things of God... A sacramental way of life. God in all things and all things in God.Just as we can have a peace that passes all understanding, God wants us to share 'joys that pass our understanding'. This is good / great news.Indifference, willfulness, and carelessness have a unique power on us to misplace our joy... our peace. May we be mindful and aware of the opportunities around us to engage in the otherness of life. Maybe saying yes to a simple feast leads to something bigger... or an awareness that life is a feast itself.My parting thought: Prayer as resistance. Pray and release apathy and indifference... open to patterns of joy and opportunity. Perhaps pray for a heightened awareness of good news around us... sharing the feast of peace with everyone we meet.

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Belief > Judgment | The Rev. Chad E. JarnaginMatthew 21:23-32 (NRSV)23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.Pharisaism isn’t a term we use very often, but it is a thing. It means to make a value judgment on someone else based on one’s own assumed “secure” position.We are constantly doing this today. We signal our virtues and values... we judge one another doing the signaling... and in doing so signal our own... it is just exhausting. Here in this text of Matthew, Jesus is being judged again by religious leaders - This time on who’s authority he speaks, who’s authority is he doing these miracles... he’s making the religious leaders incredibly uneasy... and in return, beginning to make the empire uneasy. He is speaking implications of revolution... which could prompt a revolt against the leadership.Jesus eventually gets to the point of saying: “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.Jesus isn’t judging their value... he is however, stating that the belief of these prostitutes and tax collectors was enough to include them into his Kingdom... ahead of these religious leaders of the day.The hinge here is belief. Judgement and belief. Two different ways of living.To have bold position on the Way of Jesus is to have humility... and in that humility, have belief and awareness that our value is solely in Christ alone.

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The Rev. Chad E. Jarnagin | Who Do You Say I Am?Matthew 16:13-20 (NRSV)13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.This portion of the Gospel was Matthew was written shortly after a failed Jewish revolt against Rome, in the wake of the destruction of the Temple and devastation of Jerusalem. This is the context in which the meaning of Jesus as Messiah was being worked out.These people weren’t all that different from us today. We’re in an identity crisis… trying desperately to figure out who to believe , how to believe. Like many from this text, we’re looking in the wrong places, looking to the wrong people for our identity. Jesus asks “who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Jesus eventually asks, “who do you say I am?” He’s saying, yeah… I’ve heard who everyone else says… what do you believe?A few weeks back in the lectionary, when the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, and Peter said, “if it is you, Lord, call to me… and Jesus said, ‘come’… after sinking, Jesus helps him back in the boat and Peter says “surely you are the Son of God”. Peter confesses “You are the Christ”. It is in our process & experience, where we sometimes have less & less faith only to find more and more faith. When we confess “You are the Christ!”, putting life back to order - asking for true shalom (everything in its place flourishing as God intends). Regardless of who the world tries to say that Jesus (or God) is, by confessing each week, we are confessing like Peter, “You are the Son of God”… our communion raises our awareness of who Christ is. The less familiar we are, the more distorted our view of Jesus. No wonder why most culture doesn’t know who Jesus is… We must remember that Christianity is not American. Our identity is in who we believe Jesus to be… and embody that Way.The subversiveness of the Kingdom, again with “20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” In the tension of the day, Christ didn’t want this heat, yet. It wasn’t time… Today, who do we say he is?
Whatever that is for us, it isn’t a hijacked narrative. When all seems lost, hidden, confused, or chaotic… Maybe we start with “God with us.” Abiding in this will lead us to our answer of “who we say he is”.

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Breaking of Bread | Fr. Chad E. JarnaginLuke 24:13-35 (ESV)On the Road to Emmaus13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.They do not recognize Jesus straight away… but it wasn’t b/c he was wearing a mask or cloak… they walk with him along the road for quite some time, assuming he is just another traveler. Their moment of recognition only comes when they suddenly see the way he breaks the bread for their meal. We may be like the disciples on the road to Emmaus who don't recognize Jesus... until he breaks the bread at the meal.Did our hearts not burn when he was speaking with us? But, then KNEW when he broke the bread - then, they could see him. At the Eucharist, this celebration of Thanksgiving… this embodiment of communion is no accident or a simple religious act of historical relevance… it’s because he is known in the breaking of the bread. The Road to Emmaus alerts us to the possibility that the presence of Christ in the world can also be experienced in ordinary life… even in isolation - suddenly, and surprisingly, as He is revealed to us and events of the everyday - a meal. Often this will be in unexpected places, or even, as Mother Theresa memorably said, in ‘his most distressing disguise’. 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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