Weekly Bulletin

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Winchester Friends Church           765-584-8276
124 E. Washington St.      Winchester, IN  47394
www.winchesterfriendschurch.org
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I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy….  I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.        Leviticus 11:44, 45

 

The Lord said to Moses, “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.  Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord.  Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God.”      Leviticus 23:26-28

 

Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people…. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!  For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.       Hebrews 2:17;  9:13-15

 

As obedient children [of God], do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;  for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.      I Peter 1:14-16

 

 

Friends who had lunch at the parsonage last Sunday were treated to one of Pam’s unwritten traditions – a meal featuring modern versions of dishes usually served at Hebrew gatherings to observe their High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).   On our Gregorian calendar, October 3 was listed as Rosh Hashanah to welcome the new year 5785, and October 12 was Yom Kippur.  I looked but did not find a biblical menu for meals on those occasions.  Pam told me she consults a “25 Favorite Yom Kippur Dishes” article to decide what to fix. 

 

Last Sunday, she served an apple and spinach salad, beef brisket, potato latkes (pancakes) topped with sour cream and applesauce, boiled carrots, sourdough bread, an apple cake, and apple cider (a substitute for wine).  Many of the foods consumed on these and other Hebrew holidays have been assigned symbolic spiritual meaning.  My under-informed musing is that the beef represents the costly Yom Kippur sacrifices of livestock the high priest was instructed to make (Leviticus 16).  He did that on behalf of himself and the people to atone for their sins, and to warn them of sin’s deadly impact on their relationship with God.  The bitter leaves are also to remind us of sin’s costs, and the fruit is to remind us of the sweetness of forgiveness.  The special bread symbolizes the manna God provided to sustain the Israelites on their wilderness journey to Canaan.  I read somewhere that carrots symbolize the hope of God’s preparation “beneath the surface” of future blessings for those who remain in the journey.

 

When you read about Yom Kippur, it is nearly always called “the most solemn,” or “most sacred,” or “holiest” of the Hebrew holidays.  To me, that describes a heightened awareness of the Lord’s nearness and reminds me of our Friend Richard Foster’s statement in Celebration of Discipline that “to be in the presence of God is to change.”  I couldn’t help thinking last weekend of the tragic irony of the Hebrews’ observance of the High Holy Days without any noticeable change in the relentless firing of deadly missiles, bombs, and bullets between Israel and its enemies in Gaza and Lebanon.  When we take time off from work to celebrate a “holy” day — to gather as faith communities and families, to worship and fellowship, to recreate, and to eat foods that remind us of why the day is “holy” – but then nothing about our attitudes or behavior changes, was it truly a “holy day,” or just another holiday? 

 

Christian Holidays, Too     That same question must be asked about our upcoming holiday season.  When All Saints Day got started, it was a day to remember and thank the Lord for the dedicated lives and ministries of deceased followers of Jesus.  That gets little mention anymore in the flood of Halloween paraphernalia and fearful superstition that has been in stores since August.  Thanksgiving got started as a day to thank God for life and survival of harsh conditions, and for nurturing peace with neighbors.  These days, it often seems to be a long weekend planned around travel, sports, shopping, and a big meal or two.  Christmas still gets far more spiritual attention than the season’s other “holy days,” but it too has been so commercialized and secularized that many people around us have little idea of what or Who is actually being celebrated.  January 1 could be a day of gratitude for time, of hope and opportunity for new beginnings.  For those of us of Gentile heritage, Epiphany on January 6 could be a day of renewed gratitude and joy that God sent the Messiah to redeem, teach, and befriend all of earth’s people, not just the descendants of Abraham.   I’m fairly certain that sincerely observing those holidays in the spirit and purpose for which they were established would heighten our own awareness of the Lord’s nearness, and thus would facilitate some changes in our attitudes and behavior that would please him.

 

New Covenant Lessons from Old Covenant Practices      Winchester Friends is not immune from the culture’s push to prepare earlier and earlier to honor longstanding traditions for the year-end holiday season.  We today will begin inviting Friends to decorate the sanctuary during Advent with poinsettias placed in memory of loved ones who have died.  The church’s choirs have begun rehearsing music to be shared during services around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The Ministry & Oversight again this year invites Friends during December to tell their personal Advent story of Christ’s initial or ongoing arrival into their lives.  We received materials in the past week to invite our participation in the local Community Christmas Baskets and Angel Tree benevolence projects.  If you’re guessing that the Fergusons already have begun discussing baking bread during December for participants in our Meeting, you’d be correct.  The important issue is not if we’ll do those things, but how to do them as “holy day” ministries rather than as mere holiday traditions.  The instructions God gave Moses for observing the Day of Atonement can help us with that.

 

Act in Poverty of Spirit, in humble acknowledgment of our constant need for God.  In Leviticus 16, 17, and 23, the priests were instructed to slaughter a bull for their own sins and a goat for the sins of the Israelites.  They then followed rather complicated instructions for burning parts of the sacrifices on the altar and for disposing of the remains.  That sprang from the belief that a creature’s life is in its blood (17:11,12), and that as a sign of sorrow for sin, God required the animals’ spilled blood as a substitute for the sinners’.  It was a vivid illustration of the deadly impact of sin on a person’s relationship with God, and their need (and ours) for his merciful forgiveness. 
             In more recent times since animal sacrifices have been stopped, worshipers on Yom Kippur have instead been required to do ceremonial washings, wear ceremonial garments, and for 25 hours fast from all food and drink, and avoid any work, distractions, or selfish pleasures.  As a sign of repentance at the start of the fast, some sects remove red clothing and put on white to claim Isaiah 1:18’s promise of being cleansed “as white as snow.”  Also before the fast begins at sunset, worshipers usually eat a large meal that includes fish.  In the middle of their fast the next day, they gather for prayers and the reading of the Book of Jonah.  The reference where I saw that said it is read to assure the listeners of God’s willingness to forgive all who truly repent, even the evil Assyrians.  I couldn’t help wondering if they eat fish the night before the fast in an attempt to get even with the giant fish which swallowed Jonah.

 

Believe God’s Atoning Acceptance of Repentance      The life of discipleship, of living every day as a “holy day,” is based on our willingness to believe in the depths of our soul that Hebrews 9:13-15 is true.  We must believe that God has accepted our faith in the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, the Lamb of God, as the price of our forgiveness and redemption.  God must see that our faith in Jesus’ resurrection is the reason for our own resurrection from the spiritual death of separation from God to the new life of living friendship with him.  If we’re living in his Spirit in that manner, then each day can’t help but be holy.

 

Live His Life Together      Leviticus 23:27 instructs the Israelites to “hold a sacred assembly” on the Day of Atonement to experience God’s forgiving love together as a community, not just as individuals.  If we are living every day as a holy day, that means we should hold those sacred assemblies fairly frequently.  The life of committed discipleship can be costly and challenging.  We all need one another’s consistent help, encouragement, and accountability if we are to live it effectively.  Under the New Covenant, we don’t wait around for a credentialed priest to lead a holiday service.  All who walk with Christ are considered priests, so we’re all assigned these responsibilities for ministry to one another daily. 

 

Allow God’s Presence to Change You      The scriptures are filled with accounts of men and women who experienced the living Lord’s presence and were changed by the encounter.  In I Samuel 10:6-11, the prophet Samuel anointed Saul to be Israel’s first king and told him that when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he would be a changed man – and he was, at least temporarily.  Mark 16:9 states that Jesus cast seven evil spirits out of Mary Magdalene, and afterward she became one of his most devoted followers.  Saul of Tarsus was out rounding up Christians for persecution when he was accosted by Christ as a blinding light from heaven.  The experience completely transformed him and led to his becoming the Early Church’s most prolific ambassador.  The disciple Peter was an impulsive and sometimes-fearful follower of Jesus, but after the Holy Spirit filled him on Pentecost, he spoke boldly about Jesus and ultimately was martyred for his fearless witness.   In Acts 4:13, the disciples as a group astonished the religious officials in Jerusalem because of the spiritual wisdom and courage the Spirit had given to formally-uneducated laborers.  Paul assures every one of us in II Corinthians 5:17ff that God wants and is willing to do the very same for us, if we’ll just let him.

 

Pursue Holy Days, Not Holidays      The message of Yom Kippur is that no other priority in life is as great as our need to be in right relationship with our Creator.  Our need for Christ’s atoning mercy and grace is both moment-by-moment and eternal, not occasional.  Our need for his Spirit’s indwelling – his abiding presence to guide us, to empower us for obedient ministry, and to help us not to conform to former selfish patterns — is daily, not annual.  Seeking to make all our days holy days by welcoming Christ’s presence and lordship makes it possible for us to live with appreciation for his servants who have died, not with fear of evil spirits.  His presence will keep us aware of and grateful every day for all his gracious gifts to us.  His daily presence will prepare us once again to welcome his arrival into the world and into our lives with the freshness and wonder of the very first Advent, and to tell others how he has changed us.  Happy holy days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

1)  What is it about the story of Jonah that is so important to the understanding of atonement?

2)  Why is it important to experience Christ’s atonement and other “holy days” in community rather than alone?

3)  What might it mean when someone claims a spiritual experience, but nothing about their living really changes?

4)  What is it about being in God’s presence that must change us, as Richard Foster teaches?

 

 

 

 

                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                       Reflection for Sunday October 6 and 13(below), 2024 Worship Sharing

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.        Psalm 37:7

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart….         Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles….  Isaiah 40:31 (NASB)
 
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.   Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.      I Corinthians 13:4-8

 

 

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.        II Peter 3:9

 

 

In August 1974, I was working for the summer at a pipeline company before starting my junior year in college.  Pam and I had been on our first date that May on the last day of my sophomore year before she returned home to Idaho.  We then spent that summer writing and phoning each other several times each week.  By August, we were anxious to see each other again, and I was anxious for my family to get acquainted with her.  We devised a plan for her to fly back to Kansas and spend a week at our home before we returned to campus for the fall semester.  I worked it out to end my summer job on the day she flew to Wichita.  I hurried home after work that day to get cleaned up, then headed off for the one-hour drive to the airport with little time to spare. 

 

The trip took me through a small suburb several miles from the airport.  I wasn’t speeding, but I was committed to being on time to meet Pam’s plane.  Just as I crested a hill on the two-lane road at 45 mph, I suddenly was confronted with an intersection and a car in my lane waiting for oncoming traffic to clear before making a left turn.  Unsure I could get stopped in time, I made the split-second decision to go around that car on its right.  A police car in the line of oncoming traffic did a quick U-turn and pulled me over.  The officer explained to me that passing on the right at an intersection is always a traffic violation, and doing so on a road built for only two lanes of traffic also is, even if it has a wide shoulder.  After hearing about Pam’s impending arrival at the airport, he gave me only a warning ticket and sent me on my way.  (He didn’t know Pam, but from my description he could tell she was special.)  Despite the unplanned stop, I made it to the airport in time, and the rest is history…..

 

I have tried ever since to heed that patrolman’s instruction about passing on the right.  When we came to live in Winchester 24 years later, I was somewhat astonished to have drivers passing me on the right quite frequently, whether on city streets, county roads, or open highways.  Thinking Indiana’s traffic law must be different, I looked it up, but it reads very much like the patrolman in Kansas explained it to me.  I have concluded that police here have decided not to enforce that regulation unless it results in a collision.  As Pam and I drive around to do our work and visit Friends, it is a rare day when we don’t get passed on the right while waiting to make a left turn, or while stopped behind another car waiting to do so.  It would be easy to assume that a lot of our neighbors are perpetually late for work or other commitments, or that they’re constantly experiencing emergencies.  Or maybe we’ve all just grown accustomed to living too fast and trying to do more than the human body and mind were created to do?

 

About one week ago, we witnessed one of those near-misses at the intersection in front of the meetinghouse here.  A westbound driver on the main road through town was stopped for several oncoming cars to pass by before turning left onto the city street.  A car at the stop sign to his right started to make a right turn towards downtown, just as another westbound car came up behind the one waiting to turn left.  It never slowed down but swerved around the right side of the car that was waiting to turn left.  If the driver starting to turn west onto the main road hadn’t crammed on his brakes at the last second, he would have gotten broadsided by the passer-on-the-right. 

 

Impatience is Not a New Problem       21st century machines and technologies enable us to accomplish and experience far more, in less time, than ever has been possible before — but they also can cause us harm.  For example, they can raise expectations and stress levels beyond wise limits, and unequal access to them can exacerbate the already-wide gulf between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” 
             Modern inventions cannot, however, be blamed for creating human impatience.  It has been around as long as people have been.  The scriptures relate numerous accounts of people who thought God was taking too long to rescue or deliver them, or to answer their requests or fulfill his promises, so they took matters into their own hands and made things even worse.  A classic example is the story in I Samuel 8-13 of the Israelites’ insistence upon being a monarchy instead of the theocracy God intended them to be.   The judge/prophet Samuel told them of the costs they would bear by being ruled by a human king rather than by Yahweh, but they impatiently demanded to be like the surrounding nations (only better) who had kings.  God relented, told Samuel to anoint Saul to be their king, and then let Israel and Saul learn the hard way the folly of choosing not to wait upon the Lord. 
             Samuel anointed Saul and publicly told the people he was now their king (I Samuel 10).  He instructed Saul to travel to the place of worship at Gilgal where they would lead the Israelites in sacrifices and a renewal of their covenant with God.  Samuel explicitly told Saul (10:8) to wait for seven days there until he arrived to convey God’s further instructions to him.  On the way there, Saul and his soldiers got into a battle with Philistine troops that caused the Israelites to flee and hide (13:4-7).  Saul and his fearful squad made it to Gilgal, but some of his men were sneaking away by the seventh day.  In fear and superstition, the king (a Benjamite, not a priestly Levite) chose to make the ceremonial burnt and fellowship sacrifices himself rather than await Samuel’s arrival later that day.  His impatient disobedience earned him the prophet’s harsh rebuke, God’s rejection of his kingship, and an Israelite future filled with tumult and divisiveness. 

 

Patience as an Aspect of Christlikeness     Life (and people) can be awfully frustrating, so doesn’t impatience just happen?  Why does patience matter so much?  The disciple John tells us that God’s very essence is agape, sacrificial love (I John 4:16), and Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:4 that agape is patient.  Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper that he had left them an example of loving servanthood (John 13:15), and they were to follow it.  In I Peter 2:21, Peter wrote to Christians that their calling is “to follow in his (Jesus’) steps,” to be like him.  And in contrasting the outcomes of worldly living with the results of life led by Christ (Galatians 5:19-23), Paul wrote that “the fruit” of the Spirit’s presence includes patience.  If Christ’s living friendship deepens and matures in his disciples, so will their capacity for godly patience.  I’m fairly sure that we must accept that the opposite of that observation also is true.

 

Patience with Others is the kind in which most of us can readily admit we too often are deficient.  It is the kind lacking when a driver passes dangerously on the right, implying that his schedule is more important than others’ safety.  It is the patience which leads us to help someone who is struggling in a checkout line or with some other task or problem, rather than berate them, whether verbally or mentally.  The spiritual quality of patience keeps us from imposing our timelines and our expectations of ourselves onto others, while also doing everything we can to help them learn to know Christ as their Present Teacher to guide their living.

 

Patience with Self     A lot of people seem to give up on following Christ after they find themselves feeling defeated and slipping back into patterns and behaviors they hoped they had left behind.  Even the apostle Paul felt such things at times (Romans 7:15ff), but he disciplined himself to remember the costly grace shown by Christ for all who truly desire to live as he created them to live.  The Lord knows we are human and cannot learn every detail about discipleship all at once.  It is a lifelong journey, not just a destination.  What matters most is not where we are in that journey, but in which direction we’re moving.  So long as we keep striving to learn and grow spiritually and to live faithfully for him, he is forgiving and patient with us because he wants above all for us to live in eternal friendship with him (II Peter 3:9).  If God is willing to be that patient with us, surely we can let him teach us to be patient with ourselves, too.

 

Patience with God     Far too often, people ask God for things in prayer with an unexpressed expectation of when and how he should deliver his answer.  When they don’t receive what they requested by the time they wanted it, they seem to assume that God isn’t real, wasn’t listening, or didn’t care about their problem.  A much more effective way to pray is first to acknowledge God’s unlimited sovereignty, knowledge, wisdom, love, and resources.  Then, in the meekness of Jesus’ third Beatitude (Matthew 5:5), express the need without specifics for how or when it gets met, but with humble trust that God will respond in a way better than we could have imagined.  Jesus told his disciples that the Father knows their need before they ever ask.  Trusting his provision and timing will help us learn holy patience.

 

Impatience is a Form of Selfishness      No matter with whom I am impatient, it usually is an expression that my needs and desires are more important than theirs, or that I know what should happen better than they do.  Focusing our best attention on saying with Jesus, “not my will, but yours be done,” and accepting his invitation to deny self, take up his cross daily, and follow him is probably the best discipline for learning to trust God’s provision and timing.

 

There indeed are times when safety or circumstances require immediate decisions with no time for contemplation or waiting patiently upon the Lord.  Jesus himself experienced times like that.  It is my conviction and experience that if we like him spent more time waiting patiently for the Spirit to teach us by listening prayer when no crisis is looming — simply deepening our devotion and knowledge of God’s heart — our souls and minds would be prepared to face whatever life throws at us.  In such times, we would experience his love and find our needs met before we even ask.  Let’s get un-busy.

 

 

 

1)  Why and how does “waiting upon God” in quiet contemplation teach us to exercise spiritual patience?

2)  Describe a time when you saw impatience cause harm and trouble.  Why is patience so difficult nowadays?

3)  Describe a time when you saw godly patience benefit a situation and the people involved in it.

4)  Do you think we live “too fast” nowadays?  What are the impacts of that on people’s spiritual lives?