Transmission

a twentysomething’s love/hate relationship with the bible April 16, 2008

In 1818, an 18-year-old named Mary Shelley wrote a novel called Frankenstein. I have never read it, but have picked up the basic plot from movies and such. A brilliant doctor decides that he will create the perfect man, using pieces of dead people. The man he creates will be of surpassing good-looks, and the doctor will teach him kindness, compassion, love – all that’s best in humanity will be embodied in this perfect person. But once the creature is brought to life, the doctor becomes frightened and runs away. His creation follows him across Europe, demanding “you created me to be the best that humanity has to offer. You built me from scraps of the past, and promised to fill me with compassion and love, to bring about a better future. You have not kept your promise.” We’re all familiar with the story – the creature keeps following him, and hurting the people he loves. The creature that was meant to be beautiful, wise, caring, intelligent…is feared and dreaded, chased away, and becomes a murderer. A monster.

This novel was probably written to caution people entering the industrial age – be careful what you design to aid in human life, there will be consequences. But when I think of this story, I see another parallel, that I do not believe the author intended. Some of us may be aware of a book…called The Bible. Written over the course of more than a thousand years, assembled in its final form some seventeen hundred years ago. Built from scraps of the past, to represent all that’s best about humanity. Designed to bring a message of hope and compassion for the future. And it keeps on asking us, “when are you going to fulfill the promises made on these pages?” And in fear and dread we run from it. And it follows us. And sometimes it hurts us, and the ones we love.

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RICH AND POOR: Two Worlds or One Family? by J.Snodgrass April 7, 2008

RICH AND POOR: TWO WORLDS OR ONE FAMILY

Presentation given by J.Snodgrass for the Marble Collegiate Church Young Adults 20s/30s

Every year, the gap between rich and poor gets wider. The title I was given for this presentation - “Rich and poor, two worlds…” reminded me that in economic terms we actually have three worlds on this Earth – the first world, capitalism, the second world, communism, and the third world, “other,” which has become synonymous with whole nations of people living in abject poverty. The recent disaster in New Orleans was yet another reminder that, although America is a first-world country, there’s a third world in here, too, a small nation’s worth of people that our own government left behind and forgot once the first-class citizens had been rescued.

Every year the chasm gets wider, and every year I’m reminded of a story Jesus told in the Gospel according to Luke chapter sixteen, about an un-breach-able chasm.

Luke 16:19-26

“There was a rich man…dressed in purple and fine linen who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.

In Hell, where he was being tormented, [the rich man] looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’

But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus [got nothing]; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’

So here we’ve got this rich man, dead, suffering, and what does he say to Abraham? ‘Send that boy down here, that poor boy that used to lie outside my gates, tell him to fetch me some water.’ Even dead, burning in Hell, this rich man has not learned his lesson. But the chasm cannot be traveled, even if Lazarus had wanted to. This rich man could have spared himself all that suffering, if he had bridged the chasm in life, but never had he reached out to invite this poor man to his table. The story continues…

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BRING PEACE TO A WARRING WORLD, PART II by j.Snodgrass March 20, 2008

PRESENTATION – BRING PEACE TO A WARRING WORLD, PART II
By j. Snodgrass

James 1:19-27

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into…the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act– they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God…is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Unstained, undefiled by the world. It reminds me of a sleep-away-camp skit I saw once saw. A little girl held a clean, white sheet of paper. And someone stomped onto the stage, grabbed her piece of paper away and crumpled it. She picked it up and held it. Someone else walked across, took the sheet of paper, threw it to the ground and stomped on it. She smoothed it out and held it again, but it looked so different from what we’d seen at first. Finally, a third person stomped across the stage, grabbed the paper and ripped it, throwing both pieces to the ground. This time the girl did not pick it up. She just looked at us. A fourth person walked on, picked up the two pieces, smoothed them out, held the pieces together and handed it back to the girl.

Anybody ever wake up with a sheet of paper like that? Anybody ever look in the mirror and say ‘Jesus called me the light of the world, and today I’m gonna let it shine’? Anybody ever bring a sheet of paper like that onto the subway at rush-hour? When I was growing up, we moved around a lot. And I remember the first day of school in New Jersey, first day of school in Ohio, first day of school in Western New York…me and my clean sheet of paper. And then a few days later in the principal’s office, waiting for my parents to show up, because I’d been fighting again. But look what they did, I always tried to say. Look what they did to my clean sheet of paper.

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FACING OUR FEARS (Or… Naked, But Not Afraid) by j.Snodgrass March 9, 2008

FACING OUR FEARS (Or… Naked, But Not Afraid)
By j. Snodgrass

Proverbs 3:5-24 (Wildly Abbreviated)

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. … 13 Happy are those who find wisdom… 15 She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. … 21 My child, do not let these escape from your sight: keep sound wisdom and prudence, … 23 Then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble. 24 If you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 1:7 tells us that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Ironically, as we find in Genesis 3:10, knowledge was the beginning of fear. Once Adam and Eve have eaten of the tree of knowledge, their first act is to hide from God. Because for the first time they are aware that they are naked.

Fascinating to find that fear of the Lord did not prevent them from breaking the one rule in the Garden…not to eat of the tree of knowledge, not to break the first covenant with God – that the Lord would take provide for them. Their fear begins as they come to realize that they have insulted the Lord by seeking the knowledge to provide for themselves.

Adam and Eve, expelled from the Garden, made clothing for themselves, but they were still naked. They learned to provide food for themselves through toil and hardship, but they were still afraid.

Thousands of years later, we work to buy clothing and food for ourselves, but we are still naked and afraid. Henry David Thoreau described modern life with the expression “quiet desperation.” No matter how well we provide for ourselves, one wrong step on the high-wire and we lose everything, with no Garden of Eden to go back to.

From Genesis three onward, fear is a constant theme in Biblical texts. The words “Be not Afraid” appear eighty-five times in the Bible, twelve times on the lips of Jesus. Maybe because he knew that Adam and Eve ran naked from the Lord, and we’ve been running naked ever since, frightened that God and Man alike will see how exposed we really are.

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HOLIDAY BLUES (Apocryphal longing for a savior) December 22, 2007

by j. Snodgrass

Every year, we spend the three weeks of the advent season preparing for the birth of Jesus. For many of us, it’s three weeks in which all our demons – loneliness, alienation, depression, financial hardship – are amplified, felt all the more keenly, because many of them will follow us into the next year. The days get shorter, colder, and then… December 25th, Jesus is born, just in time. We know the baby’s coming, bringing hope and joy, which makes the season more bearable. We also know that where all the hustle and bustle, terrible holiday music and pressure to buy gifts is concerned… Well, as Jesus said, “This too shall pass.”

Today, I’d like to talk about some pre-Jesus depression, from when they didn’t know he was coming at all. Looking back, it’s easy to say that the signs were all there in what’s become the Old Testament, the stump and Jesse and whatnot, but it’s important to remember that the ’shoot from the stump of Jesse’ in Isaiah 11 who would rule with righteousness had already been fulfilled in the kings Josiah and Hezekiah. Simply put, twas the time before Christians - no savior in sight.

Then came Jesus, more specifically Jesus Ben Sirach, who lived about two hundred years before Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus was a popular name, since the name ‘Yehoshua’ meant Joshua, the famous warlord who conquered twenty-one kingdoms – this name would have risen in popularity as the Israelites themselves were conquered several times, and kept hoping that one of their offspring would rise up and start kicking some butt). Jesus Ben Sirach wrote the following passage about his blues:

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Bible Study on “Some Dude”, Thurs Nov 29 November 28, 2007

Tomorrow, Thursday, November 29th, we’ll be meeting at Mi Floridita’s for Bible Study.  Dinner and social time begins at 7 pm and Bowie will lead Bible Study from 8-9.  

We’ll be discussing the gospel reading for this coming Sunday (Advent 1), Matthew 24:36-44, in conversation with Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob wrestling with the Angel. 

For good laughs and context for our conversation, check out jSnodgrass’ recent blog post below on ”Some Dude” (Expect the Unexpected)

Mi Floridita’s is at 3219 Broadway
Take the 1 train to 125th, cross to the NW corner, walk N to the end of that block

See you tomorrow!  Bowie

“Some Dude” (Expect the Unexpected) November 25, 2007

by j. Snodgrass

Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

The Lord, breaking into your house at night. Expect the unexpected.

My wife is in medical-school, and has learned that in Emergency rooms across the country, legends abound to tell the exploits of that mythological character known only as “Some Dude.” “Yeah, I was just minding my own business, and some Dude shows up with a baseball bat and starts whaling on me.” “Yeah, this lady asked me to hold her purse for her, and I was, and then some Dude came up out of nowhere and beat me down, and gave the purse back to the lady…who had asked me to hold it.” “Yeah, I was just having a smoke outside my building and some Dude shot me five times.”

Oddly enough, if Emergency Rooms had existed in the times of the book of Genesis, Jacob would probably have showed up with the following story: “Yeah, I was just crossing the river with my two wives, two girlfriends, eleven sons and all my stuff, when some Dude jumped me! And he beat on me all night, and pulled my hip out of its socket. I never saw his face, ’cause it was dark. As the sun came up he said ‘alright, I’ve gotta go,’ but I said ‘Dude, you’re going nowhere till you’ve blessed me.’ And the dude said, ‘Alright, from now on your name is Israel.’ And then he was gone.”

True story, paraphrased from Genesis 32. The name he was given by this mysterious Dude was “Israel,” meaning “Struggled with God.”

God jumped Jacob. Expect the unexpected.

Earlier in the book, Genesis 19, a man named Lot was living with his wife and two daughters in the city of Sodom… And looking out his doorway one day he sees these two guys walking around and invites them into his house. But the Sodomites see the guys go in, and a great mob gathers - they start banging on Lot’s door, demanding the opportunity to give these visitors a proper Sodomite welcome. Lot says everything he can think of to make the mob go away, but it’s no use.

Genesis 19:9-11 They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

It turns out these two Dudes happened to be angels of the Lord. I can just see the scene in the Sodom Hospital Emergency Room - “Yeah, we just wanted to give these dudes some presents and they blinded us!” Of course, the Sodom Emergency Room would have had bigger concerns, what with the entire city being destroyed later that evening.

Expect the unexpected. Is this going to unexpectedly tie in with the theme of Advent?

I don’t know what kind of prenatal care they had in Bethlehem around the time of Jesus’ birth…I know he was eventually born in a barn. But it must have been a fascinating scene when Mary told her fiancé Joseph she was pregnant with the son of the Most High God. “Yeah, I was just minding my own business when some Dude showed up, told me I’d be getting pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” Somehow I doubt that Joseph was so impressed with this - in fact, according to the Gospel of Matthew, old Joe started hatching plans to let her go. Couldn’t call that unexpected. But a few days later, Joseph came to Mary and said “Hey, everything’s cool. We can still get hitched and then we need to leave and hide out in Egypt for a while, because the powers that be are gonna be looking for this kid.”

That was unexpected. Joseph? The Biblical character best known for what he didn’t do? And just how did Joseph come across this information?

Yup. Some Dude told him so.

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Written for the Marble Collegiate Church, Marble Connection (Young Adults in Their 20s & 30), Sunday Conversation, November 25, 2007

Thanksgiving & Holy-days November 18, 2007

As the holy-days draw near again, here’s our calendar for the next five weeks. Advent, the season of expectation leading up to Christmas, is one of our favorite liturgical times of year. We’d love to see you at any or all events. Blessings, Bowie

THIS WEEK - from Katherine Lee -

Hi there,

So I’m thinking of doing a ritual Wednesday based around the themes of gratitude and thankfulness, but instead of being thankful for exterior things, which are all very well and good (e.g. family, friends), I’m coming up with a ritual that will hopefully turn our gratitude inwards. It’s not often that we give thanks for our own gifts, and I think taking stock in what we are good at in the context of serving others can be a transformative experience.

Let’s say 7:30-ish at my place? Please email me for directions (kcl232@gmail.com), and I’ll make a main dish. BYOB or sides/dessert welcome.

K

UPCOMING CALENDAR

Thurs, Nov 29th - Bible Study at Floridita’s, 3219 Broadway at 125th Street

Wed, Dec 5th - Advent Transmission, theme and location TBA

Thurs, Dec 13th - Bible Study in Union Square, led by Renata

Wed, Dec 19th - Advent Transmission, theme and location TBA

Bible Study: Why ‘THE’ and not ‘A’ Good Samaritan? November 12, 2007

…And who ARE/WERE these Samaritans anyway that even Jesus would only concede that ONE of them was any good?  In this week’s Transmission Bible Study, we’ll be polling the prophets (Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah, Etc.) enlisting the Histories (1 & 2 Kings) and hassling the Nazorean to shed some light on the Bible’s view of Samaritans, only one of whom was supposedly good …at least in theory.

This meeting will take place at John, Elizabeth & Jackson’s apartment at Union Theological Seminary (Broadway @ 121st).  This Thursday evening at 8:15. We’ll go dutch on chinese take-out.  Please RSVP by 4PM Thursday to magyardomo@gmail.com and John will send you instructions on how to get in.

Past Always Changing, Creation in Proverbs - 10/25 October 22, 2007

THE FUTURE IS CERTAIN - IT’S THE PAST THAT’S ALWAYS CHANGING
Another view of Creation in Proverbs 8:22-36

• Gather for dinner & social time 7pm @ Floridita’s, 3219 Broadway (1 train to 125th, cross 125th St, Floridita’s is at end of block)
• Due to Mr. Snodgrass’s academic schedule, the Bible-study will begin at 8:15

Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. - George Orwell.

Scholarly studies have demonstrated that Genesis 1 is not the oldest creation narrative in the Bible. At least half a century before the Torah took its final shape, the book of Proverbs showed our familiar patriarch assembling the Earth - with the help of a feminine partner. This Thursday’s Bible Study will focus on the Bible’s first creation story (Proverbs 8:22-36), with an eye toward how it shaped the Genesis creation, the creation in John 1, and our understandings of the patriarchal “way of the world.”

TRICK OR TREAT - TWO CHANCES to participate in EXORCISMS & INVOCATIONS ritual

• Bowie is working on a Halloween Ritual for Wed October 31st exploring the power of language to impact reality! More info to follow.
• SATURDAY, Oct 27th from 11am-1pm, she’ll be doing this ritual with City Lights, another emerging church community in NYC, and would LOVE to have a couple other Transmissioners come along! If you’re available on Saturday and would like to help out with the planning for our Halloween ritual, please email
  
  bowiesnodgrass@gmail.com. Thanks!