January 25, 2016
In the introduction to yesterday's Illuminate study on Psalm 73, Julie Anderson reminds us that "there is nothing like suffering to bring up doubts about God's sovereignty." Just as the psalmist is concerned that "arrogant and wicked people are often spared suffering," I find myself wondering - especially in the face of hardship - whether God plays fair. I'm not the only one.
Julie, for instance, knows about suffering. She is part of a teaching team that works with middle school students at her home church, an age group that is uniquely attuned to how hostile the world can be, an age group that includes some of the loneliest people I know. These students want to know if God sees them, if God cares about them. And even when we assure middle school youth that God loves them, they wonder, "But does he like me?"
Julie doesn't find an answer to suffering in this psalm, but she does offer a way forward, noting that as the psalmist "worships God, he rests in the fact that relationship with God" is what matters. That God does like him. That God is with him in his suffering. Just as God is with us.
Back in November 2008, the EFC-NA Christian Education Commission met in Canton, Ohio, to discuss - among other things - the possibility for creating "non-dated group study materials" to be used alongside or potentially to replace the Adult Friend quarterly. A year later, the commission agreed at a meeting in Canby, Oregon, that Barclay Press should move forward with this curriculum as a Bible centered replacement of the older quarterly: "We also approved the name change to Illuminate with Dan [McCracken] having the final decision on the name, based on research." Today, the Illuminate guidebooks offer an entry point for Bible study to nearly 3,000 groups and individuals almost every single week.
Eric Muhr
A special place for Christian writers
January 18, 2016
Brent Bill writes of an experience at the opera in this morning's Fruit of the Vine, an experience that reminded him of beauty's redemptive power: "What I didn't expect ... was to be so completely drawn in and mesmerized by Puccini's Tosca. It was beautiful - the sets, the symphony, the singers, the music. Captivating. The time flew by." In his devotional focus on Psalm 50:1-2, Brent asks us to join him in considering where beauty is at play in our lives. "Just as the psalmist says, God shines in beauty. Likewise, God's will for us is beautiful. As we think about what God wants us to do, we need to seek beauty in God's plans for us."
Fruit of the Vine is one of several bright spots at Barclay Press. It's the only daily devotional I know of that's by Friends and for Friends, and each day's reflection on a Bible passage offers another glimpse into the unique ways in which Friends encounter scripture. We've been gathering and sharing these reflections for more than six decades. Personal stories, from real people, every single day. There's a lot of shared history here. And a vital community.
From the Vault - Since "no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son may choose to reveal him," and since the revelation of the Son is in and by the Spirit, therefore it is only through the testimony of the Spirit that the true knowledge of God has been, is, and can be revealed. - from Poposition 2 on the Inward and Unmediated Revelation in Barclay's Apology in Modern English, edited by Dean Friday (published by Barclay Press in 1967 and revised in 1991).
What We're Doing - Richard Foster and his family lived at Camp Tilikum in the 1970s when he was on the pastoral team at Newberg Friends Church. During these years, he wrote Celebration of Discipline. From this connection to Tilikum, the idea came to develop a special place for Christian writers, a cabin situated in a remote area of the camp's 93 acres. A scholarship fund will make the cabin available, rent free, to Christian writers who are working on a writing project. Barclay Press is partnering with Tilikum in overseeing the application process for Tilikum residencies, which could begin as early as a year from now.
Eric Muhr
People react to being called beautiful
January 11, 2016
In yesterday's Illuminate study, the Friendly Perspective from Kay Wilson includes this line: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." It's from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 43, and even though the declaration of love was most likely meant for Browning's husband, it's a line - Kay reminds us - that should apply to the ways in which we remember and "celebrate a depth of love for God that delights." This morning, I'm reminded of a surprise dusting of snow last week, of icicles hanging from a bird feeder, of a long drive through the Columbia River Gorge on my way to be with friends in Idaho. How have you been experiencing delight in God's love?
What We're Watching - There's a simple youtube video - People react to being called beautiful - a mini-documentary in which a high school student simply records her fellow students while telling them that they're beautiful. The way these students react is powerful evidence that the Gospel message - God's good news - isn't old-fashioned or out of touch (although our efforts to share the Gospel certainly may be). If anything, people need to know - more than ever - that they matter, that there's room for them at the table, that God made them good and beautiful.
What We're Doing - Over the last six years, our Illuminate study series has guided hundreds of small groups through the entire Bible, a process that will come to an end in summer 2017. We think the Bible's important enough to travel through a second time (or more), so we'll be revisiting that series and bringing out a second, six-year installment in fall 2018. But in the interim year, we'll be trying something a little different with Illuminate, introducing a different teaching or saying of Jesus each week, paired with an Old Testament text that Jesus is referencing or building on, as well as a New Testament text that hints at how early believers understood and tried to live out Jesus' commands. I hope you'll join us!
Eric Muhr