Lenten Drama IV

Dear siblings in Christ,
Once again, I wish we could be together in Endter Hall this evening for our Lenten service as we did the first two weeks of Lent, but I hope the materials in this email will help you find a few moments of reflection and conversation with God.
 
Scene
The splendid Our Redeemer acting troupe has graciously recorded their performance of this week’s scene for us. This is Act IV of Sparks around the Fire.* In each scene, some of Jesus’ disciples sit around the fire as they are traveling toward Jerusalem and the cross. They argue, analyze, and interpret one of Jesus’ parables or teachings in each scene.
 
Recap: Previous Scenes
The first week, they discussed the Prodigal Son parable in Luke 15:11-32. They came to the conclusion that the remarkable thing about this parable is not the son’s prodigal nature, but the father’s prodigal, abundant love for his son. This tells us about our abundantly loving God, a Prodigal God.
 
The second week, a Samaritan woman joins the conversation about Jesus’ parable The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Even though we read in Genesis that all humans are made in the image of God, she feels “least in the image of God,” because of the way the world treats her. But in this parable, she discovered God’s love in the care the Samaritan gave the injured Jewish man. So this caring, Samaritan God shows love—dare we say prodigal love?—regardless of the boundaries we put around ourselves and the categories we put others in.
 
The third week, the disciples try to understand Jesus’ teachings about separating sheep from goats and caring for the “least of these” (Matthew 25:31-40). The sheep and the goats can be a scary text, seemingly full of “who’s in and who’s out,” but Jesus’ disciples in this scene come to the conclusion that Jesus does not want us to worry about Judgment Day, but about how we treat other people today. The point is more about the compassion we have for each other as equals made in the image of God.
 
This Week’s Scene
This week, Peter’s teenage brother Jacob voices skepticism about Jesus’ “turn the other cheek” teaching (Matthew 5:38-41). I recommend that you take a minute now and read the text (use a Bible or click on the link), then watch the video of the scene.
 
This scene presents a different interpretation of this teaching than you may have heard before. The disciples explain to Jacob how Jesus’ teachings are actually strategies to nonviolently draw attention to the violent, unjust ways of this world. This is, of course, only one interpretation, but I think it is a compelling way to see Jesus as exposing truth instead of just recommending his followers become “doormats.”
 
Reflection
What do you think of this scene’s interpretation of Jesus’ teachings? How can being nonviolent be different from being passive or a “doormat”? How have you seen people act in nonviolent ways that draw attention to ways people are being mistreated?
 
Prayer
Gracious, Prodigal, Samaritan, Truth-revealing God, please let us to see the world through the eyes of your kingdom. Help us to live in ways that are just and pleasing to you. Show us ways to resist evil and be compassionate to our neighbors. In your name we pray, Amen.
 

 
Peace to you, dear friends. I’m praying for health, peace of mind, love, and connection for each of you this week.
 
Pastor Jennifer


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