The Wheatland Mission

This past Saturday, Karen Bartlett preached an excellent sermon on Jeremiah 1:11-14 and the question “What do you see?”

After giving the historical context of the prophet Jeremiah, she connected God’s question to Jeremiah to our lives and relationships. What do we see in our relationships and how can we repair any rupture we find?

Give it a listen!

Last Saturday, Wheatland held a service dedicating the former Sunnyside Baptist Building to God’s work in the1 Wheatland Mission. We are grateful for the property, and pray to steward it well. Continue praying for Wheatland as we make the space our own and extend hospitality to other ministries like Ebenezer.

In place of the normal sermon audio, here are some links that range from the profane to the sublime. Enjoy!

A little article highlighting the phenomenon of closing churches. What might this mean for the future of faith in the USA? - A Tsunami of Church Closings

These words by T.F. Torrance highlight an important face about about how God reveals himself in Jesus of Nazareth. — There Is No Authority Behind the Back of Jesus

One fruitful response to the advance of AI may come to us from people who wrote using inkwells and candlelight. — What Scholasticism Can Teach Us About AI Consciousness

A fun and insightful statistical analysis of Bible translations and their distributions. — Why Do You Have SO MANY BIBLES?

I don’t know if I am supposed to recommend a book I have not finished reading, but Vulnerable God is wonderful, so far. :) Here is a conversation with the author and theologian Chris Green. – Jesus Is The Sweetest Name I Know

Many of us know people who have taken the trail to Canterbury, Constantinople, or Rome. (Anglicanism, Orthodoxy, or Roman Catholicism) And some of us have felt the draw too. Here is one author who found encouragement from an Orthodox saint to remain right where he was. — This Orthodox Ascetic Made Me More Evangelical

It’s easy to make fun of country music. But if you’ve never paid attention to Outlaw Country, you’re missing out. Funny, depressing, and surprisingly spiritual. It’s worth a listen, and this new book explores the theology of Outlaw Country. I can’t wait! — Review: Too Sick To Pray

A few favorites (old and new) - West Texas In My Eye (the Panhandlers), Desperadoes Waiting on a Train (Guy Clark), Shades of Gray (Robert Earl Keen), and Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt)2.

Karl Barth’s main work is the3 Church Dogmatics, and it is over 12,000 pages long. This article demonstrates that he could be brief and that he didn’t stay in the ivory towers of academia. — “Another Faith, Another Spirit, Another God”

After 20 years, I still don’t know if we should capitalize the “the.”

Arguably, the most outlaw of outlaw country, unironically about two outlaws.

There it is again. Can I get an official ruling?

This is the longest title in this sermon series so far. Nathan Hansen, pastor of Hilltop Urban Church, brings the latest episode in our series, “Questions NOT Questions.”

Drawing on Matthew 15:1-20, Nathan reminds us that God has come to us in Christ and asks us why we let our religion get in the way of our relationship with him. Nathan leaves us with a question that reminds us Jesus is alive: Is Christ capable of surprising you? If so, where has Christ surprised you recently?

Even when Israel’s greatest prophet runs for his life, filled with fear and self-consciousness, the LORD does not throw him back on himself. Instead, God asks Elijah the same question twice and, between the asking, holds Elijah in a silence that heals.

God’s questions are invitations to fellowship and the joy of growing slowly, deeply, and thoroughly.

… our task is not to throw people back on themselves with exhortations and instructions as to what to do and how to do it, but to direct people to the Gospel of grace, to Jesus Christ, that they might look to him to lead them, open their hearts in faith and prayer, and draw them by his Spirit into his eternal life of communion with the Father. - James Torrance, Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace

After an especially disappointing day of preaching, Jesus watches both detractors and disciples leave. One group is scandalized by what he said, and the other is underwhelmed by who Jesus is.

John 6 tells us that Jesus turned to his inner circle of disciples and asked,

“Are you gonna leave too?”

No doubt, Jesus wanted to invite his disciples to deeper faithfulness. He asked for their benefit, but that same question carries the strain of seeing people he loves hear his message, only to give up. Jesus’ question to his disciples is framed with the very human feelings of rejection and loss.

Peter always gets the best lines, and he doesn’t disappoint.

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

I wonder if Jesus wasn’t heartened by Peter’s words? I assume he was encouraged to hear Peter speak with a sober confidence through his “non”-question. In fact, that question is a humble proclamation: You are the one. There is no other. No truth, no hope, no way forward but you. Count us in!

And now, 2000 years on, we can pray Peter’s words, ask Peter’s question, with the same resolve. Our prayer begins as a question but ends in proclamation. Thanks be to God!

(You can see this passage from John 6 woven into the Morning Prayer service of the Northumbria Community, the people behind Celtic Daily Prayer.)

John 6 is one of the most theologically rich passages in the Bible. Shortly after feeding the 5000 and walking on water, Jesus speaks about how he is the bread that “comes down from heaven.” His life is the manna given “for the life of the world.” On that day, many who followed him quit. And some rejected his message not because of its content, but because the teacher was so ordinary, so well known, and so insufferably human.

Jesus’ question to the Twelve: “Do you want to go away too?” gives his disciples the freedom to stay followers while thinking seriously about the cost of following a human Messiah. John 6 makes clear: Jesus is not ashamed of his humanity even as he redeems ours.

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.” - Gen 22:27-28

The latest installment in the Questions NOT Questions series covers the encounter that Jacob has with a mysterious “man” by the river Jabbok. After a night-long wrestling match, the “man” wounds Jacob and blesses him. He answers Jacob’s question with another question and gives him a new name. In addition to Jacob’s comments at the end of the story, these hints suggest that Jacob is dealing with God himself.

God doesn’t get to ask the first question in the Bible, but he does ask the best. One of his questions comes from Genesis 3:11: Who told you that you were naked? God’s response to the man after Adam is caught hiding reveals a little something about how God wants to work with us. Jesus is the tone of voice behind each of God’s questions.

God asks lots of questions throughout Scripture. Some questions are answered, but most hang in the air, begging for a response. His first question, “Where are you?” sets the tone for all of the ones that follow.

God doesn’t ask “Where are you?” because he has misplaced the man and the woman. More than gathering information, he is offering an invitation. God’s questions invite relationship.

FTLOL is a compendium of internet goodness that stretches from the profane to the sublime. However, this week’s is entirely sublime. RIP, Wendell.

This world lost some cultural heavyweights recently: Dolly Parton, Gloria Steinem, and Wendell Berry. The first two are household names, the third should be.

Wendell Berry was a farmer, but we know him because of what he has written. He wrote poetry, novels, and essays. His novels were often set in an imaginary place called Port William. Even though imaginary, Port William comes off real in the deepest sense. He wrote poetry that was beautiful but deceptively simple. And his essays range from ecology and farming, to business and religion, to the economy and how to care for sheep. Key to each was his understanding that we are all tied together through the land as we encounter our fellow humans.

A nice personal reflection that includes WB’s poem, “The Wild Farmer Liberation Front.”

This is my favorite WB poem. — from Sabbaths 2000

This is not my favorite but it has been burned into my brain since my first reading. — the Vacation

One Substacker rightly pointed out the irony of so many people reading about Wendell Berry’s passing via social-media. I wonder what he thought of the fact that many came to know him because of the internet. Here is an old essay where he explains his reasons for rejecting ubiquitous technology. It is old, but never more timely. — Why I am not going to computer

Theologian Ben Myers talks about that one time . . . in Maryland. — On Almost Meeting Wendell Berry

A true culture warrior, WB inspires those of us who call Jesus Lord, to live what we believe. From Karen Swallow-Prior. – Wendell Berry’s Radical Lesson for Christians

Fidelity, a collection of Wendell Berry’s short stories, includes “Pray Without Ceasing.” James McMurtry has put that short story into song and it’s almost as good. (Nota bene: James McMurtry is the son of the great novelist Larry McMurtry, famous for Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show, among others.)

Wendell Berry is from Kentucky and

Malcolm Guite is from Great Britain. You’ve not heard Kentucky poetry till you’ve heard it in an English accent. Guite reads some of Berry’s “Sabbath Poems.” — Sabbath Poems as they were meant to be heard

This is a very partial list of his work, but I enthusiastically recommend them all. Share your favorites in the comments!

Jayber Crow - Is he a barber, a pastor, a prophet, a husband?

Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community - essays from the 90s that are just as prescient today. In my favorite quote from the book, WB says sarcastically , “Anything that cannot be weighed, counted, or measured does not exist.” (From “The Joy of Sales Resistance”)

Fidelity - Short stories about murder, driving old pickups, and burying a friend the way he would want.

Entries - Wendell Berry is a poet for people who love poetry and those who don’t. Entries includes “The Vacation,” as well as poetry about marriage, life in the country, and home.

The Hidden Wound - A white man from Kentucky tries, imperfectly, to address the painful reality of racism.