Lamplighter: July/August 2010
Ask the Pastor
This past Sunday somebody approached me with an idea. “Pastor,” she said, “could we have an open forum, question and answer style study group? I’m thinking of a time when people could ask any questions they might have about their faith or their life. Then you could respond and lead a discussion around that response.” It sounded like a good idea to me. Here’s why.
When I was in seminary and many times since, I have heard preachers accused of irrelevance. It’s a valid criticism. Far too many sermons answer questions that nobody is asking – and that’s the very definition of irrelevance. However, when they function as they should the twin tasks of preaching and teaching address those questions of faith and life that really matter.
Good preachers/teachers are always trying to anticipate and answer the right questions. For instance, this year the wildly popular preacher/teacher Brian McLaren published a book entitled, A New Kind of Christianity – Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith. He poses these ten questions: What is the Overarching Storyline of the Bible? How Should the Bible Be Understood? Is God Violent? Who Is Jesus and Why Is He Important? What Is the Gospel? What Do We Do About the Church? Can We find a Way to Address Human Sexuality Without Fighting About It? Can We Find a Better Way of Viewing the Future? How Should Followers of Jesus Relate to People of Other Religions? How Can We Translate Our Quest Into Action?
These are great questions, but they are also very big questions. You may have some questions like these, or you may have smaller questions, more specific questions about aspects of faith or life that bug you every day. There are a lot of questions pressing upon the hearts and minds of people, but often they don’t get asked. And when questions don’t get asked, they usually don’t get answered. So what are your questions?
In order to get the ball rolling, I thought we could start right here in the newsletter with a regular feature in which I respond to a real question asked by a real member or friend of our church. Then perhaps, we could dedicate the sermon time one Sunday a month to the “Ask the Pastor” format. If these forums have some appeal, we can organize a regular weekly open forum study group, perhaps before church on Sundays.
So let’s get started with a question. The person who suggested this “Ask the Pastor” idea also had a question. “Are the Ten Commandments to be taken literally or interpretively?” This is actually two questions in one. The first has to do with whether and how the Ten Commandments are binding upon us. The second has to do with how we are to read and apply the Bible. Since the second question is broader, I’m going to address that first, and in doing so, perhaps we can also move toward an answer to the first question as well.
When I was interviewing for the pastoral call to this church, one of the members of the pastoral search committee asked me a similar question. “Is there anything in the Bible you take literally, or is everything subject to interpretation?” I said that in my view everything in the Bible must be interpreted. Sometimes, though rarely, the interpretive process yields a plain, straightforward or “literal” interpretation. But notice, even a “literal” reading of a Bible passage is a literal interpretation – the result of an interpretive process. So what is this activity we call interpretation?
Basically, interpretation is a process of posing questions to or about a text. Whether the text is a passage from the Bible or a newspaper article, the questioning process is the same. Everything we read or hear spoken is a text and must be interpreted. The sense, the reference and the significance of the text are derived from this interpretive process.
We are already in deep philosophical water here. By using the words “sense” “reference” and “significance” I am trying to convey something of the complexity of the concept of “meaning.” We can take a passage from the Ten Commandments to illustrate the interpretive process.
To ask what a text means is to ask first what the text says. What are the words or symbols employed by the author or speaker? Unless you know French, the collection of symbols “Tu ne commettras pas de meurtre” will make no sense to you. However, when we ask how these symbols translate into English, we get “You shall not murder”(NRSV) – the sixth commandment. Understanding what the words say is getting the sense of a text.
Knowing what the words say leads us to ask about the “reference” of the text. In the sixth commandment, for instance, the original Hebrew word râtsach can refer to “kill,” “slay,” or “murder.” Each of these words conveys the idea of putting to death, but each also has a different shade of meaning. We don’t murder accidentally, nor is deliberate killing in war considered murder. We commonly slay or slaughter beasts for food, but most people do not think of this as murder. So, to what kind of life-taking does the word râtsach (French – meurtre) refer? That is an interpretive question that gets at the “reference” of the text. Knowing the objects or ideas to which a text points is getting the reference of the text.
All too often, we want to jump right over the sense and reference of a text and get at its significance. This is understandable, since what we really want to know is how a text applies to me. But we are liable to make make big interpretive mistakes if we try to take a shortcut around the entire interpretive process. It is only when we are reasonably satisfied (we can rarely if ever be absolutely certain) as to the sense and reference of a text, that we can ask the interpretive questions about “significance.” That is, the “so what?” questions. These questions get at significance. The significance of a text is the way it matters for its hearers or readers.
So, what did this text – the sixth commandment – enjoin its original hearers or readers to do or refrain from doing? Why? In what historical context? When we have reasonably answered these kinds of questions, we may finally ask, “What is the significance of this text for us, or for me?” Does this passage forbid me to kill under all circumstances or does it only forbid premeditated murder. How about manslaughter in the heat of passion? How about self defense? What about warfare?
As you can readily see, even a Bible passage that is as seemingly straightforward as “Thou shalt not kill.” (KJV) is fraught with interpretive challenges and raises almost as many questions as it answers. For this reason, rather than seeing it as a rulebook or a constitution to be slavishly obeyed, it is better to look upon the Bible as a wise partner an ongoing conversation. In the conversation we gain insight into the human relationship with the divine, and consequently learn to live our lives more fully, with a greater sense of direction and purpose.
Three Prayers that Can Change Your Life and Maybe Your World
A new study/fellowship group for adults will be forming soon. The group will discuss Three Prayers that Can Change Your Life and Maybe Your World. The prayers are “The Serenity Prayer,” “The Prayer of St. Francis,” and “The Lord’s Prayer.” The group will meet Thursday evenings at 7:00PM in Riverside Cottage, beginning Thursday August 5. All are welcome.
Here are the three prayers that we will be discussing.
The Serenity Prayer (theologian Reinhold Niebuhr 20th century)
God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
The Prayer of St. Francis (Francis of Assisi 13th century)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith ;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer – ecumenical version (Jesus of Nazareth 1st century)
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
[For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever.] Amen.
Men’s Fellowship
A fellowship group for men will be forming soon. The group will gather to decide its purpose, goals, activities, structure (if any) and schedule. This truly will be a “bottom up” grass roots kind of group. The men themselves will determine everything about the group. The first organizational meeting will be on Sunday, August 8th following morning worship. So men, what do you want your men’s fellowship group to be and do? If you can’t be there on August 8th, talk to another man in the church and tell him what your ideas for a fellowship group are.
School Supplies Collection
The Litchfield Presbyterian Community Church is collecting school supplies for needy Litchfield children. The Deacons through the food pantry together with generous donations from the community have provided Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter food baskets as well as Christmas gifts for over 90 children this past year. Numerous local families continue to use the food pantry all year and throughout the summer months.
As the local economy continues to struggle, many family budgets suffer and basic back to school supplies can be difficult or impossible to purchase. In an effort to help these families with school age children, school supplies are being collected and will be distributed through the food pantry. Back to school sales in stores have already begun, so please consider picking up a few extra supplies and donating them to help local children. Items can be brought to morning worship each week or dropped off at the Church Office/food pantry or at a collection box located in Town Hall at 2 Liberty Way. Cash donations can also be made with checks payable to Litchfield Presbyterian Church and please write “school supplies” on the memo line so they can be directed appropriately.
School begins on August 30th so items would need to be received at least a week prior to that they can be made available to those who need them.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Cindy at 889-2148
Suggested Donations:
Elementary School:
- Backpacks
- Lunchboxes
- Crayons
- Markers
- Colored pencils
- Rulers
- Pencil cases
- Gluesticks
- Erasers – both large and pencil size
- Pencils
- Pocket folders
- Non spiral notebooks
- Hand sanitizer
- Snacks such as packaged crackers, granola bars, fruit cups, etc.
Middle School:
- Backpacks
- Highlighters
- Crayons
- Markers
- Colored pencils
- Rulers
- Pens: black, blue, red
- Gluesticks
- Erasers – both large and pencil size
- Pencils
- Pocket folders
- Spiral notebooks, both single and multiple subject
- Hand sanitizer
- Filler note paper
- Dividers
- 3-ring binders
- Calculators
High School:
- Backbacks
- Highlighters
- Markers
- Colored pencils
- Pens: blue, black, colored
- 3-hole punch
- Gluesticks
- Spiral notebooks, both single and multiple subject
- Dividers
- 3-ring binders
- Pencils
- Pocket folders
- Note paper/filler paper
- Graph paper
- Hand sanitizer
- Calculators
Did You Know…?
- that the Deacons are having their annual yard sale on Saturday, August 14?
- that Marge Dabrowski became a grandmother? Zoe Lucille Dabrowski was born on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 6 lbs. 9 oz.?
- that Benjamin Spotts was baptized on June 12 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard?
- that a new adult study group is starting on Thursday nights beginning on August 5 at 7 p.m.?
- that Benjamin Lombard Zych was baptized at our church on June 27?
- that Alyssa Paige Tinkham was born on June 14, 2010 at 5 lbs. 14 oz.?
- that a group from the church worked on a Habitat for Humanity house project at 50 Hosley St in Manchester on June 26?
Birthdays
- July 15: Kay Hafker
- July 15: Amada Baker Murray
- July 18: Betty Scofield
- July 25: Jessica McQuesten
- August 21: Bill Berg
- August 30: Nina Valentino
- September 3: Chris Lepine
- September 5: Thomas Dobratz
- September 6: Nancy McQuesten
- September 15: Marge Dabrowski
- September 18: Tom Sommer
- September 19: Lori Sommer
- September 20: Toby Gill
- September 23: Lance Collins
- September 27: Phil Durand
