WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:01.199 Are you Jura? 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:03.759 He answered, I am. 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:08.800 Then she said to him, Listen to the words of your slave woman. 00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:11.119 He answered, I am. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:21.120 Then she said, They used to say this saying in former times, let them ask at Abel, and thus would settle the matter. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:29.600 I am among the most peaceful and faithful in Israel, and you seek to put to death a city and a mother in Israel. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.759 Why would you swallow up the heritage of the Most High God? 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:41.759 Joab answered, Far be it, far be from me it that I should swallow up or dismantle. 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:44.159 The matter is not thus. 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:54.240 Rather, a man from the hills of Ephraim, Sheba, son of Bishri is his name, has raised up his hand against David, against the king. 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:58.640 Give him up, just him and I will go from the city. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:05.200 Then the woman said to Joab, Look, his head shall be thrown to you beyond the wall. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:08.959 Then the woman went to all the people with her wisdom. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:16.079 So they cut off the head of Sheba, son of Bitri, then they threw it to Joab. 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:25.680 And he blew the trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, and all went to their homes while Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:27.920 The word of the Lord. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:44.719 Does not wisdom call. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:56.239 On the highest heights, beside the way, beside the gates at the entry of the town. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.879 To you, the woman born, I call. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.960 Take my instruction and not silver. 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:14.560 For better is wisdom than jewels. 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:21.919 I, wisdom, dwell with prudence. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.960 The fear of the fount of wisdom is to hate evil. 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:38.080 Wise counsel and sound wisdom are mine. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.240 By me, royal reign. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:50.159 By me, Governor's government. 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:55.520 I love those who love me. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.479 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:40.080 And there are diversities of ministries, but the same sovereign. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:45.680 And there are diversities of works, but it is the same God who works all of them in everyone. 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:50.479 To each person is given the manifestation of the spirit for mutual good. 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:59.120 To one woman or man, to the spirit is given the word of wisdom, and to another a word of knowledge according to the same spirit. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.080 To another, faith by the same spirit. 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:05.120 To another, gifts of healing by the one spirit. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:16.959 To yet another working miracles, to another prophecy, to yet another discernment of spirits, to another families of tongues, to another, to another the translation of tongues. 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:24.879 All these are activated by one and the same spirit who allots to each one individually just as the spirit chooses. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:27.040 The word of the Lord. 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:52.560 And he did not, and he did and he did not there do any do many works of power because of their unbelief. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.279 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:28.800 Okay, deep breaths. 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:29.680 Always. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:30.240 Okay. 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:34.800 Every year around this time, we talk about stewardship. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:43.120 And as part of that, naturally, we imagine the kind of community that we want to be, and we think about our place within that community. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:49.920 In Corinthians today, Paul gave us a clear description of a healthy community. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:53.040 Everyone is different with different gifts. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:07:05.360 And Paul says, hey, if you're thinking there's a hierarchy where some gifts are better than others or more important, or that your gifts are a sign of your holiness, you're wrong. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:10.959 Rather, God gives us our gifts, and by definition, they're unearned. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:15.519 We aren't all the same, but everyone has value. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:22.319 Everyone brings something to the table, and our gifts are meant to be shared for the mutual good of everyone. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:28.399 Right after this passage, Paul writes about the community as a body. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:34.639 Someone might be the femur, someone else might be the eyelashes, but every part matters. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:39.920 There's a quote I love that says, I'm not interested in competing with anyone. 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:41.680 I hope we all make it. 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:45.360 And around here we say we can do more together. 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.800 So Paul's vision is the ideal. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.480 This is the kind of community we're called to create and nurture. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.240 And it's pretty clear, right? 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:57.920 Respect the dignity of every human being. 00:07:58.160 --> 00:07:58.720 Boom. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:07:59.600 Done. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:00.800 Easy. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:02.079 Right? 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:04.879 Maybe not quite. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:12.240 Throughout time and space, humans have fallen short of this ideal in all kinds of ways. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.160 For all kinds of reasons. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:20.000 They certainly missed the mark in today's story in Nazareth, which means there's something for us to learn. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:30.000 In this morning's gospel reading, Jesus asks, Are prophets dishonored except in their own hometown and in their own house? 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:34.480 I'm glad I'm not the only one that got a little tongue-tied with this translation. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:43.759 The more common translation of that verse, and the one that I can wrap my head around a little bit easier, has Jesus saying this. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:58.000 That is, out in the world, prophets have some measure of respect or honor, but not so much at home. 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:01.840 And okay, this makes more sense. 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:12.639 Jesus is likely referencing a common adage of the time, just general wisdom, maybe an ancient variation of familiarity breeds contempt. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:22.399 And isn't it interesting that there's this long-standing wisdom that people don't always appreciate what's right in front of them? 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:30.879 Has anyone ever had the experience of going back home for an overnight visit with your parents as an adult? 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:38.879 You had changed and grown and you were different, but all they could see were their memories of you. 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:45.600 If not with parents, I bet you can think of a time in your life when people could only see the old you. 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:51.360 Sounds like the folks in Nazareth who could only see their memory of Jesus. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.720 Jesus' community couldn't perceive his value. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.200 They saw his gifts as problems. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:06.000 And it turns out it might not just be that people get trapped in the past because they're being crummy. 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:13.440 Our brains are especially vulnerable to making these kinds of errors of perception in the present moment. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.159 Our brains are actually kind of weird. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:30.879 Scientists used to think that our brains constructed reality in a bottom-up way by absorbing all the sensory details of the environment and then using that information to construct a picture of reality. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:35.279 You can think of this sort of like baking a cake from scratch. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:43.200 Flour plus sugar plus butter plus eggs plus heat plus time equals a cake coming out of the oven. 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.360 It turns out though that our brains don't do that at all. 00:10:47.840 --> 00:11:00.320 Our sensory input is way too noisy, and there's way too many gaps for us to be able to understand reality by building it with our senses from all the component parts in real time. 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:06.799 Instead, our brains make split-second decisions based on past experiences. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:12.879 And then they check those predictions against our senses, and only the errors flow back up. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:27.039 You can think of this like your brain making a prediction that there will be a cake in the oven, checking that against your senses when you open the door, and only paying attention when the oven holds a potted plant instead. 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:33.279 We can demonstrate this to ourselves with simple sensory experiments. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:42.080 So, for example, if I gave you a radish to eat and I tell you that it's a radish, your brain will remember what it knows about radishes. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:53.039 You'll expect a crisp, peppery bite, and when you eat it, your prediction will match the sensory input and it will be a regular, unremarkable experience. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:12:06.240 But if I give you a piece of an apple and I tell you that it's a radish, your brain would register a total mismatch between the crisp, peppery prediction and the sweet, juicy taste. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:12.320 Most likely, your first reaction wouldn't be, oh, nice, fruit. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:17.279 Instead, it's probably going to be something like, ah, what is that? 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:27.600 It's so disorienting that your brain glitches with a split-second panic because the reality in front of you doesn't match the map that you were given. 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:31.440 Scientists call this a prediction error. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:38.320 And errors from accepting radishes and getting apples are weird for our brain, but they're harmless. 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:49.519 In more practical situations, though, for all living organisms, being able to minimize surprise or prediction error is a key to staying alive. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:56.480 If predictions about the environment are wrong all the time, animals eat poisonous foods. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:00.320 They fail to anticipate dangers or gauge risk. 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:06.559 They pick fights with predators they should have run away from, and just all kinds of problems. 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:11.120 For this reason, prediction errors feel bad to us. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:15.279 And this also extends to our lives as social creatures. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:32.320 Our brains construct our social reality by making educated guesses based on past experiences rather than fully absorbing the present, raw, objective truth of the person in front of us and the person within us. 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:47.120 If we're wrong about these predictions, maybe overestimating how trustworthy someone is, or misestimating our own abilities, we can end up in embarrassing, hurtful, or threatening situations. 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:55.919 In today's reading from Samuel, for example, Sheba's prediction machine makes a huge error. 00:13:56.399 --> 00:14:00.720 He miscalculates his political safety and pays a heavy price. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:08.639 And indeed, the more under stress we are, the higher the stakes of being wrong about our predictions can feel. 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:25.759 They're probably trying to stay on God's good side, make sense of their world, find meaning and purpose. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:36.159 And here comes Jesus, behaving in new and unexpected ways that don't fit with the prediction model they've relived on their whole lives to get this far. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:37.919 I get it. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:39.440 Don't you? 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:48.799 They think they understand the hierarchy of their town, the social relationships within that town, how their religion works. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:56.240 They're at the synagogue expecting to hear things they've heard before from the same people they've listened to for years. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:58.480 And that's not what's happening. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:04.080 At first, the text tells us they're astounded, they're surprised. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:11.279 Their brains register a mismatch between what they expect from the carpenter's son and what he's saying and doing. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:14.480 There's a little prediction error alarm bell. 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:16.159 It's uncomfortable. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:22.799 And their well-being in no small way depends on being able to resolve that gap somehow. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.399 So, prediction error alarms. 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:27.840 What to do? 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:31.039 They have some options. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:40.159 Let me adjust what I expect from him. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:43.120 They don't do this. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:53.039 And I can see the logic of not changing the whole model of years of life in your hometown because one day one person did a new thing. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:57.360 Another option they have is to get curious. 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:59.120 They could investigate. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.799 They could say, okay, this is unexpected. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:04.639 Did we misunderstand? 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:08.159 Maybe there's some follow-up questions we could ask. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:13.519 Maybe we could think about other times when unexpected things happened at the synagogue. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:17.840 Has God ever done wild things in the past through unexpected people? 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.080 They don't seem to have done that either. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:24.720 And honestly, I don't blame them. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:28.879 Getting curious is powerful, but it's hard work. 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:34.799 I've been learning a lot about that curiosity through the work of Parker Palmer. 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:45.360 He's a Quaker author and educator, and he's identified what ingredients are necessary to create environments where people can bring their whole selves. 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:55.039 He and his team created a list of 12 guidelines for groups, and one of them is extra relevant to this Nazareth story. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:01.039 It says, When the going gets rough, turn to wonder. 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:04.880 If you feel judgmental or defensive, ask yourself. 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.599 I wonder what brought them to this belief. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:10.240 I wonder what they're feeling right now. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.000 I wonder what my reaction teaches me about myself. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:20.000 Set aside judgment to listen to others and to yourself more deeply. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:32.640 But gosh, this means sitting with the discomfort of a mismatch or a gap that may or may not be a threat for even longer. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:42.240 At least if the Nazarenes had just updated their model on the spot, accepted Jesus, and hoped for the best, they could have moved on. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:49.440 But this option means holding space for discomfort and uncertainty simultaneously. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:55.839 And our very bodies, on the most basic cellular level, don't like discomfort. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:02.960 Folks in church often wonder aloud if we'd recognize Jesus if he showed up today. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:19.839 And I wonder if part of the reason we do this is that we suspect that on some level our machinery is inclined to resolve discomfort by skipping the work of curiosity and wonder and taking the same shortcut they used in Nazareth. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:25.519 A third option they have is probably the quickest shortcut. 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:29.920 It's to decide that the prediction machine is actually fine how it is. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:30.880 Thank you very much. 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:40.720 That path means protect that model at all costs, make the new information the problem, and reject it completely. 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:43.680 This is what they do. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.920 The text says they were offended over him. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:52.559 The root of this word in Greek is where we get our word scandalized. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:54.400 It's not neutral. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:59.440 They don't just ignore it, they are a little skeptical. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.519 They're actively upset, dysregulated. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.880 How dare this person mess with my expectations? 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:09.119 Where is this even coming from? 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:16.480 But here's the thing: a prediction error isn't always a bad thing. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:24.799 Sometimes I expect a certain amount of disappointment or rejection from people or circumstances. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.799 Maybe you do too. 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:32.720 So a part of my prediction model says, keep up your guard. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:34.640 Don't expect too much. 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:43.039 But then a happy surprise, a delight, maybe even a miracle, love shows up. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:48.799 And sometimes my reflex is to be suspicious, maybe annoyed. 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.880 Because if I don't keep that wall in place, I might get hurt. 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.799 So maybe some of the people in the town were like that. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:03.920 They were feeling a little discouraged by Roman occupation, maybe a little resigned to their lot in life. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:09.119 And someone comes along talking about possibility and hope in a new way. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:13.839 And maybe it could have been freeing, but maybe it was just scary. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:19.759 Jesus was a happy surprise, but he moves on. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:22.480 He doesn't do many works of power there. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:37.519 He did those somewhere else before this for other people whose mental models were more flexible, like the woman in chapter 9, who's healed when she touches his robe, or the synagogue leader in the same chapter whose daughter he brings back to life. 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:47.119 After this story, he walks on water, feeds 5,000 people, heals more people, but the Nazarenes miss out. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:51.039 So what do we do? 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:57.759 How do we stay safe, but still make room for things that are better than our predictions? 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:12.000 It seems to me that a big part of the challenge and the opportunity of being in community with each other and with God is learning to stay in the discomfort just a little bit longer. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:19.599 Maybe we can practice not rushing to resolve the gaps with shortcuts like judgment and rejection. 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:24.799 Maybe we can get curious about the present and get a little more information. 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:31.359 After all, this is a lot of what mindfulness and meditation are about. 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:34.799 Attending to the present with all our senses. 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:40.880 What happens when we intentionally tune into the present moment just as it is? 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:54.000 Instead of letting what used to be true take priority, what happens if we let what we see shape our expectations instead of letting our expectations shape what we see? 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.759 We have invitations all around this space to be in the present moment. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.960 With all the incredible art on the walls and the natural beauty out the window. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:12.079 And we have a constant anchor over here, reminding us that God's glorious revelation is all around us. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:18.880 There's an American naturalist who talks about getting out of our heads and tuning into the natural world. 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:20.880 And I love how she puts this. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:28.880 She says, the earth and its beings are extravagantly wild, full of unexpected wonders. 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:33.440 It's time to turn from our textbooks and listen to the birds themselves. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.920 Wonder sounds great, right? 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:37.279 Awe and wonder. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:39.279 I'm always up for it. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:47.279 But don't forget, when people encounter angels in scriptures, they're afraid. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:51.920 Unexpected things, even good ones, are alarming. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:57.839 People in those situations have to be reminded to take heart and not be afraid. 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:02.720 Sometimes I find courage in strange places. 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:10.480 There's a song that I've been listening to on repeat with lyrics that make me want to be brave in this way. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.160 It goes, I won't sing it, but it goes. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:18.000 This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:22.160 Whatever we face, we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart. 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.680 No matter the place, we can light up the world. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:30.160 Here's how to start greet the world with open arms. 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:33.839 Maybe it's a little corny. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:38.400 The cynical part of me wants to be a critic and shut this down. 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.759 But I also just love the image so much. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:45.759 It reminds me of Mary saying yes to the angel. 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:53.759 I wonder how life in Nazareth might have been different if they put that in practice, or how our lives might be. 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:58.720 This is hard, y'all. 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:05.920 I expect to be working at this for the rest of my life and to sometimes need reminders to take heart. 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:19.839 But if we can start or continue, or just try, maybe it means we move forward in our lives and in our relationships with less reliance on the map we've been making our whole lives. 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:25.759 So we might get lost, we might be wrong, we might get hurt. 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:41.279 But maybe we can be a community for each other and for those around us that forgives and comforts and picks each other up and makes room for each of us to change and grow and do something new. 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:47.039 I will always be grateful for the ways this place has made space for me. 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:59.599 And I've seen you do it for each other in so many ways, and for our kids, and for our respite families, and our food distribution families, and our neighborhood. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:05.279 And I think this is part of what good stewardship means: good community. 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:15.680 Because if we can tolerate being a little disoriented and uncertain, we can stay open to the wildly improper things God wants to do. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:21.279 We stay open to happy surprises and delight and miracles. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:22.559 Amen.