Author Archives: Jenn Cavanaugh

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About Jenn Cavanaugh

B.A. Russian Language and Literature, Willamette University; M.A. Theology and the Arts, Fuller Seminary

Advent Again – Day 1

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“Making Peace” by Denise Levertov

 

swords-to-ploughshares-evgeniy

“Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares” by Evgeniy Vuchetich, in reference to today’s lectionary reading: Isaiah 2:1-5

 

 

A voice from the dark called out,

‘The poets must give us

imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar

imagination of disaster. Peace, not only

the absence of war.’

      But peace, like a poem,

is not there ahead of itself,

can’t be imagined before it is made,

can’t be known except

in the words of its making,

grammar of justice,

syntax of mutual aid.

   A feeling towards it,

dimly sensing a rhythm, is all we have

until we begin to utter its metaphors,

learning them as we speak.

  A line of peace might appear

if we restructured the sentence our lives are making,

revoked its reaffirmation of profit and power,

questioned our needs, allowed

long pauses . . .

  A cadence of peace might balance its weight

on that different fulcrum; peace, a presence,

an energy field more intense than war,

might pulse then,

stanza by stanza into the world,

each act of living

one of its words, each word

a vibration of light—facets

of the forming crystal.

Link

What a week. Every day another story of violence around the globe and close to home. And Sunday’s coming. How to respond in worship when we are feeling gutted, threatened, horrified, ravaged by the world, pushed beyond any rational response in measured tones? Remember our “rage belongs before God–not in the reflectively managed and manicured form of a confession, but as a pre-reflective outburst from the depths of the soul. This is no mere cathartic discharge of pent up aggression before the Almighty who ought to care. Much more significantly, by placing unattended rage before God we place both our unjust enemy and our own vengeful self face to face with a God who loves and does justice.” – Miroslav Volf. Click above for more from W. David O. Taylor’s blog, including a Prayer of Penitence excerpted from a Liturgy of Reconciliation and Restoration, produced by the Church of England.

It’s a lovely prayer, but much further down the spectrum toward a “reflectively managed and manicured… confession” than most people will walk in ready for. In fact, I think many of us are disoriented and overwhelmed. The world persists in being worse than we were prepared for. We need an opportunity to place that “unattended rage [despair, fear, etc.]before God.” Even if it’s something as simple as giving people a few quiet minutes of access to pen and paper to pour out their guts. What phrases keep running through your head? What images? What do you want to yell from the rafters? What do you want to spray paint on a wall? What do you need God to hear? What are you afraid God will know you are thinking? Get it down. Get it out. Have it out. Tack it face-down to a temporary wailing wall. This bit is between you and God. No one else will look at these, so don’t censor yourself. We can know that those pages will be all over the map and still bring them together before God to transition into corporate lament.

And what might that kind of corporate lament sound like this week? Click below for a powerful example which ends “We need new songs whispered into our ears, new rhythms to pound in our chests, so that we may join in the chorus of new life. God of love–you open our eyes to the suffering all around us. AND WE WILL SEE God of justice–you open our ears to those who cry out in pain. AND WE WILL HEAR God of healing–you open our hearts to expose our own pain and the pain of the world. AND WE WILL BEAR IT TOGETHER” – Ian Simkins.

After the lament we are prepared to recognize and repent of our own parts in the disorder of the world with that reflective prayer of confession. Let the music reflect this progression as well. Dwell on the stages of lament and avoid the temptation to rush to that “but it’s all good with Jesus” tune you like to end on. We can end declaring we have a hope and a future, but this service isn’t about cheering ourselves up.

Also this week, the sending is key. We cannot simply leave comforted or emotionally spent and numbed, content with our own individual consolation or private commitments to choose love over hate in the abstract, having made our peace with the world as it is. We hope to leave renewed, more sensitive than ever, with resolve, and charged to do the work of making peace with one another. In the words of Erin Wathen, “When hate gets this loud and violent, we are called beyond love. We are called to active compassion; prophetic speech; deep listening; transformative engagement”

 

Questions for Galatians, chapter 6

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Click here to start with chapter 1

Click here for chapter 5

First reading: Read Galatians 6. What word, phrase, or verse stands out to you? Does it bring up a question? Speak to a question you’ve been having? Just resonate somehow? Is it confusing? Disturbing? Comforting? Make a note of it.

 

Keeping in mind the context of chapter 5 and of the book as a whole, what kind of transgressions do you think Paul might have been referring to in verse 1?

 

 

What individual and corporate responsibilities does Paul expect of those “who have received the Spirit?”

 

 

How do you reconcile “bear one another’s burdens” with “all must carry their own load?”

 

 

How can you “test your own work?” Are there any “tests” or “proofs” or “evidences” Paul offers in Galatians that would be helpful in this?

 

 

Can you think of any real life examples of reaping what you’ve sown?

 

 

What seems to be Paul’s overarching desire for the Galatians in the instructions he gives in verses 1-10?

 

 

What dichotomies does Paul establish and repeat in this chapter?

 

 

What roles do pride, boasting, work, and the flesh play in this chapter?

 

 

Have you ever felt someone pressuring you to do something to make him or her look good?

 

 

What do the cross and crucifixion seem to mean to Paul?

 

 

What rule is Paul referring to in verse 16?

 

 

What does he mean by the “Israel of God” and why would he use such a phrase?

 

 

What questions do you have about the chapter or the book as a whole? How would you summarize the main messages of Galatians?

Questions for Galatians, chapter 5

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Click here for chapter 4

First reading: Read Galatians 5. What word, phrase, or verse stands out to you? Does it bring up a question? Speak to a question you’ve been having? Just resonate somehow? Is it confusing? Disturbing? Comforting? Make a note of it.

For this study, encourage others in your group to come with their own questions for the chapter or the book as a whole. Here were mine:
What kind of freedom is Paul talking about?

In verses 2-6, what are the negative consequences of giving up this freedom and what are the positive consequences of maintaining it?

You’re probably familiar with this list of the fruits of the Spirit, but might not have realized Paul composed it in this context. Why here? What does it have to do with the issue at hand?

Questions for Galatians, chapter 4

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Click here for chapter 3

First reading: Read Galatians 4. What word, phrase, or verse stands out to you? Does it bring up a question? Speak to a question you’ve been having? Just resonate somehow? Is it confusing? Disturbing? Comforting? Make a note of it.

Marc Chagall: Abraham and Sarah, 1956, The Bible, Original Lithograph

Marc Chagall: Abraham and Sarah, 1956

Paul uses three different metaphors for the Law – which one or which combination of images most aides your understanding?

 

What slave-like conditions do young sons live under in verse 1-3? What rights to they enjoy when they grow up in verses 6-7?

 

From your own experiences, what are the differences between the relationship of a parent and a young child and that of a parent and a grown child?

 

How is the observance of the Law the same as pagan religion? How is different? How is life in the Spirit different?

 

What is the effect of the distinction Paul makes in verse 9: knowing God vs. being known by God?

 

What is the difference in tone between Paul’s appeal in verses 12-20 and his appeal in verses 21-31?

 

What does he mean when he says he became like them and what reasons does he give them to become like him?

 

What image does Paul use to contrast the selfishness of the false teachers?

 

How might the Judaizers have used the story of Hagar and Sarah and how does Paul use it?

 

Miss Vera Speaks

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They ask how she grin through that face with that life.

I say I’s never shielded from nothing

‘Cept dying young.

 

People deep bruised by something

Talk like the world should end.

Won’t catch me dying every day like that.

 

‘Cause I seen them once

Just once – the cracks in the universe –

Thought I’d fall right through.

 

‘Stead I laughed – said some kind of God

Put up with a tattered-old place as here

Gotta have some grace for me.

 

– Jenn Cavanaugh

originally published in America, August 13, 2007

WP_20151111_001

 

 

Questions for Galatians, chapter 3

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Click here for chapter 1

Click here for chapter 2

First reading: Read Galatians 3 in Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase The Message. What word, phrase, or verse stands out to you? Does it bring up a question? Speak to a question you’ve been having? Just resonate somehow? Is it confusing? Disturbing? Comforting? Make a note of it.

http://expressway.paulrands.com/oldsite/photogallery/signs/general/regulatory/images/wrongway.jpg

Image © Sam Laybutt (ozroads.com.au)

Comprehension & Reflection: Read the chapter again, answering the following:

Of what powerful images and experiences of God does Paul remind the Galatians in the first five verses? What is he trying to accomplish by reminding them?

 

In this version of verse 5, Eugene Peterson essentially defines miracles as the “Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves.” How would you define a miracle?

 

What experience have you had of miracles in your own life and the lives of those around you? Did they seem to correspond to any particular human action?

 

Paul argues his point first from the Galatians’ experiences, and then from the scriptures. Look up some of the references he makes and list his main points from scripture. [Genesis 15:6, 22:18, 26:4; Deuteronomy 27:26; Habakkuk 2:4; Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 21:23]

 

What are the results of living by faith that cannot be gained from living by the law?

 

How would convincing the Galatians to think of themselves as descendants and inheritors of Abraham’s covenant protect them from the Judaizers’ demands? How was the Galatians’ initial faith like Abraham’s?

 

Restate in your own words the logic of Paul’s analogy of the ratified will in verses 15-20.

 

What does Paul say is the purpose of the law? What sort of roles does he assign to it?

 

In verse 28, what sort of general divisions does Paul say shouldn’t exist in Christ’s family? Do they still, in your experience? What error would Paul say these divisions indicate?

The Visions, Vibrations, and Tremors of Mary

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For Advent, an ekphrastic poem of Mary’s secret thoughts on the annunciation – by Jenn Cavanaugh.

Source: The Visions, Vibrations, and Tremors of Mary

Questions for Galatians, chapter 2

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Click here for chapter 1

First reading: Read Galatians 2. What word, phrase, or verse stands out to you? Does it bring up a question? Speak to a question you’ve been having? Just resonate somehow? Is it confusing? Disturbing? Comforting? Make a note of it.

Comprehension & Reflection: Read the chapter again, answering the following:

What do we know about Paul’s traveling companions, Barnabas and Titus, and what light do they shed on Paul’s ministry?

Why did Paul go to Jerusalem and what were the results of his visit? Describe Paul’s attitude toward the other apostles.

When Paul states his concern of “running in vain” in verse 2, what do you think he was worried about?

What is the larger significance of Titus not being compelled to be circumcised? What does Paul call those would have compelled him?

In verse 7, are there different gospels for the circumcised and the uncircumcised? Why might there be different apostles for the Jews and the Gentiles?

Why does Paul accuse Peter of hypocrisy? What led to it?

Try making some kind of visual outline of the distinctions Paul draws in verses 15-21 of justification through the law and through Christ (draw a picture or sketch a diagram or divide into columns). What do you notice?

What parts do grace and faith play in this chapter? In verse 16 the phrase “faith in Christ” could also be translated “the faith (or faithfulness) of Christ.” Read verses 15-21 again replacing “faith in” with “the faithfulness of.” Does it add anything to your reading?

Most of us cannot relate to the strong emotional, social, racial, and political divisions between Jew and Gentile at this time. Along what lines do we see the church dividing itself today?

Galatians details some rather unattractive struggles within the leadership of the early church. Why do you think these are included in our scriptures?

In this chapter, what are the signs of the true gospel and of the false?

Prayerful Reading (lectio divina): Ask 4 people in the group to be ready to read from the last few verses of the chapter.

Before the first reading take a moment as a group to quiet yourselves and prepare to listen deeply to the words being read and for the voice of God. Pray for God’s word to enter and work more deeply in your minds, hearts, and spirits. Read verses 19-21. Let the words soak in. Give them time.

For the second reading try to move from the intellectual exercise of study and enter into the truth of the words. Stop wrestling with them. Trust them and let them act on you. Read verses 19b(“I am crucified with Christ…)-20.

Let the third reading mark a time of silent prayer. Let your heart speak to God. Read verses 19b-20.

On the final reading rest in God’s presence. Let the Holy Spirit speak and transform your heart. Read verses 19b-20.

“Galatians 2:20. The Relinquished Life” by Mark Lawrence http://www.marklawrencegallery.com/products/the-relinquished-life

Click here for chapter 3

 

 

Questions for Galatians, chapter 1

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This blog began as an attempt to make available to others some resources that I’d been involved in making, especially those that had a relatively high holy-sweat to beneficiary ratio the first time around. I’m currently leading a very small group in which exactly one participant really, really likes some concrete guidance as she prepares throughout the week for our Bible study. Now, I’ve been to seminary and you would think I would have some great stuff like that readymade and at my disposal. And I’m sure I do somewhere. In my library in storage on another continent. In a database I think I could still access if I could remember the password. Or my username. On some software on a bricked laptop. You get the picture. So these are for Marion, and – by the power of WordPress – for you, if they’re useful to you. They’re not so original that you should hesitate to bounce off them free-style and make them your own, but they’re original enough that if you are going print them off and hand them around to your own small group you should put my name and a link to this post at the bottom of the page. In teeny tiny print at least. Because you don’t want to go into this study with anything on your conscience – Paul’s in a mood. Enjoy. by Rich Wyld at theologygrams.wordpress.com

First reading: Read Galatians 1. What word, phrase, or verse stands out to you? Does it bring up a question? Speak to a question you’ve been having? Just resonate somehow? Is it confusing? Disturbing? Comforting? Make a note of it. Hold onto it prayerfully and see if it makes more sense to you at the end of this study.

Comprehension & Reflection: Read the chapter again, answering the following:

Who is writing and to whom?

What is an apostle?

How does Paul describe Christ’s work in verse 4?

What does he seem to consider his own work to be?

What has happened to occasion this letter?

What does “gospel” mean?

Paul doesn’t articulate this “different gospel” in this chapter. What can you guess about it based on what he does say?

According to this chapter, what are valid sources of the “gospel” and what are not?

What “traditions” do you think Paul is referring to in verse 14?

What credentials and details of his own life story does Paul present and why does he do so?

What misinformation does he seem to be trying to correct?

What dichotomies does Paul establish in this chapter?

What is the overall tone of this chapter?

Is the issue of “different gospels” still relevant for us today?

FOR ADDITIONAL STUDY/ CONTEXT:

  1. Where else in the Bible can we read about the churches or region of Galatia? Do these passages offer any further insight into Paul’s audience?
  2. Compare the salutation at the beginning of this epistle to some others. What similarities and differences do you notice?
  3. Compare Paul’s account of his travels with those in Acts.
  4. What additional information can you find about the historical background and setting of this letter?
  5. What other passages can you find dealing with teachings contrary to the gospel? How are they defined, described, etc.? What consequences, warnings, and instructions are issued relating to them?

Click here for chapter 2