For You

Hebrews 9:11-15

But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

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don't call for your surgeon,
even he say's it late,
it not your lungs this time
but your heart holds your fate
don't give me my money back,
don't want it anymore
it's not that nursery mouth I came back for
it's not the way you stretched out on the floor
I've broken all your windows
and I rammed through all your doors
and who am I to ask you to fight my wars
and you should know that’s true
(I came for you)
you should know that too
(I came for you)

I came for you
I came for you
I came for you
I came for you
I came for you, for you, I came for you

"For You" by Bruce Springsteen, this arrangement by Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Christ, the great high priest. He is God, yet came to life on earth not to take advantage of his divinity, but emptied himself taking human life humbling himself to death, even death on the cross. He did this so that every tongue would be able to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord for the glory of God the Father.

He did this for creation. He did this for us. He did this for you.

Christ the great high priest. He came as the high priest of the things to come, not the things that are today but the things to come. It used to be that to be made holy, acceptable to God, we would have to present a blood sacrifice. Some presented lambs, some presented rams, some presented bulls-each according to their ability to pay.

Christ presents himself. When the blood of the lamb of Christ is shed, what other blood could approach it? Our sacrifices of blood pale after the blood of the lamb.

Christ breaks down the barriers between the holy and the profane, making all holy again. Christ doesn't come to us because we are appealing, he doesn't come because we are worthy. He comes because we need him to come. It is Christ who has broken our windows, and crashed through our doors. Christ doesn't need us to fight his battles, because he has already won our battle.

Christ defeats death. Christ brings new life.

We should know that's true. He came for creation. He came for us. He came for you.

Blinded by the Light

Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday


Luke 9:28-30

About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.

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He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Momma always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh, but Momma, that's where the fun is

"Blinded by the Light" by Bruce Springsteen recorded by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J."

This was the first track on the first album by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. It introduced us to a cast of characters the world had never seen the likes of before: Madman drummers bummers, Indians in the summer, a teenage diplomat, the all-hot half-shot, the fleshpot mascot, young Scott, and his lover and that's just the first verse!

They were all blinded by the light, cut loose like a deuce; whatever that means.

On Transfiguration Sunday we have a trio who were blinded by the light. In our day and time; Peter, John, and James would look as wild and out of place as some brimstone baritone anti-cyclone rolling stone preacher from the East. On the side of a mountain they looked into the light and they saw the face of their Lord, they saw the face of the Lord change. (That's all "transfiguration" means, change face, no big deal.) As the face of the Lord changed they saw Moses and Elijah appear with him and they began to kibbutz.

Chatting with Jesus. Now that had to be amazing. The three of them, all of the apostles, all of the disciples, people--just plain folks had chatted with Jesus. When Jesus chats with these heroes of the faith, Moses who disappeared into the mountains and Elijah who was taken in the whirlwind, that's different. Peter wants to build shrines. He was so blinded by the light that he couldn't stay in the moment. He had to say something, even if it's silly.

There's a lesson for us, be present in the moment, every moment. You can never be sure when Jesus will take you aside and blind you by the light. When the light gets you, be there, listen, enjoy, praise God! Don't offer to do something. Offer to be there as long as the Lord is there too.

Don't be so blinded by life that we fail to be present when the Lord calls. We have to take to heart what Bruce sings, "Momma always told me not to look into the sights of the sun, Oh, but Mama, that's where the fun is."

Momma, the sights of the Son, that's where the fun is!

Two Women in Dire Circumstances

Genesis 38:12-26

In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He went over to her at the road side, and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it.” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she got up and went away,and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. He asked the townspeople, “Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?” But they said, “No prostitute has been here.” So he returned to Judah, and said, “I have not found her; moreover the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’ ” Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.

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You grew up where young girls they grow up fast
You took what you were handed and left behind what was asked
but what they asked baby wasn't right
you didn't have to live that life,
I was gonna be your Romeo you were gonna be my Juliet
These days you don't wait on Romeo's you wait on that welfare check
and on all the pretty things that you can't ever have and on all the promises

"Point Blank" by Bruce Springsteen from "The River"

Here is one of the truths of the ancient world, the "state" did not help take care of its citizens. Of course, what we understand as a "state" or "nation" didn't exist in that day or time either, but that's another point for another day. Instead of the "state," it was up to individual families to take care of themselves.

In a society where men held most of the power, this left woman, orphans, widows, and the like at a great disadvantage. In this time, to protect widows and keep the names of all of the sons alive in the nation; if a son died, his brother would take the widow and when they conceived, the male heir would be the dead brother's son.

In this instance, Tamar was married to Judah's son Er. Er died without leaving an heir so his brother Onan was responsible for producing Er's son through Tamar. Well, Onan wasn't pleased with the prospect of siring his brother's son so he would not plant his seed in Tamar's fertile soil. This ticked off the Lord who put Onan to death. Judah's third son, Shelah was then responsible, but he was not yet old enough. Tamar was told to wait so she did; but Judah did not fulfill his responsibility to provide a son for Er by Tamar.

In our reading, we see Shelah is now ready, but Judah is not going to fulfill his responsibility to his son's widows nor to his son's lineage. So being a little randy himself, Judah finds Tamar thinking she's a temple prostitute. They get to "know one another in a biblical way" and Judah leaves his ring, cord, and staph as collateral to guarantee he'll pay the prostitute a kid from the flock.

You read how this ends, Judah learns of Tamar's pregnancy and suspects whoredom (which by the way is in truth what she was forced to do to guarantee not just her future but the name of her husband as well). She is brought in to be burned for her actions. Before this can happen, she shows Judah that he is in fact the sire of his own grandson because he would not fulfill his family responsibilities.

Women grew up fast in those days, and they grow up fast today too. Women are found in situations nobody should find themselves in because of dire circumstances. We have read Genesis, Springsteen sings of a woman whose life has taken horrible turns.

Bruce sings of a woman whose life has taken such tragic turns that he sees as her hoping without hope that tomorrow everything will be alright. But she knows that tomorrow's fall in number in number one by one. She finds she's dying doesn't even know what from.

Like Tamar she only waits for the promises that she never knows will come. This woman, like Tamar, has a choice. She could wait in despair or she could do the most drastic thing she could think of to ensure her future. Tamar was almost killed for her deeds, as for this woman... she's a lot like Tamar. As Bruce sings, "You're walkin' in the sights, girl of point blank and it's one false move and baby the lights go out."

Tamar lived because Judah, her father-in-law knew what she did was right. We need to pray for women everywhere who are living in Tamar's situation yet today. We need to act so that their fate never ends like the song, "bang, bang baby you're dead"