Invitation to Partner with Us for 2019 Lenten Study

Lenten Workshop 2019   

Stranger God: Meeting Jesus in Disguise by R. Beck

Five Sundays in Lent – March 10 – April  7

^{Matthew 5: 42-45}

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

WUMC Lenten Study

Come join us for a Lenten journey in which we will engage in reflection and honest discussion on Richard Beck’s Stranger God: Meeting Jesus in Disguise. 

When Richard Beck first led a Bible study at a maximum-security prison, he went to meet God. His own faith was flagging, but Beck still believed the promise of Matthew 25, that when we visit the prisoner, we visit Jesus. And sure enough, God met him in prison.

Beck combines biblical reflection, theological reasoning, and psychological insight to show how God always meets us in the marginalized , the oppressed, and the refuge. 

How are we predisposed to like those who are similar to us and avoid those who are unlike us? The call of the gospel is to override those impulses with compassion, to widen the circle of our affection.

Using a study guide provided by the author, we hope to continue and deepen a conversation we began last spring. Newcomers welcome! In the end, Beck turns to the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux for guidance in doing even the smallest acts with kindness, and he lays out a path that any of us can follow.

 We will meet for five consecutive Sundays starting March 10.  Class begins 15 minutes after service in the meeting room adjacent to the front doors.  An informal lunch will be served while we begin with short videos featuring individuals whose message is informative, spiritual and personal. Each week we will break out into small groups for discussion and close with reporting back to the larger group.

Childcare provided but please let us know. Please note that this series will NOT replace the long standing Sunday evening Bible studies led by Reverend Jim Harvey.

For information,  contact Pat O’Hara by leaving a comment below.
  

March 10  ~ Introduction: Welcoming the Stranger God – Part 1: Entertaining Angels

Beck leads us in confronting our own preconceptions of hospitality and challenges us to examine the circle of our affections. He leaves us with an injunction to leave the predictable and take risks as life hands us opportunities for which we may not feel prepared or ready.  This is where and when we will meet God.

March 17 ~ Part 2: The Emotional Battlefield –

Before we can understand our own barriers to welcoming the strangers, we must examine our fears, phobias, and what Beck describes as the “Cooties for Grown Ups.”  Together, we will identify those whose habits, cultures or political beliefs we find offensive.  How do we get to the place where we, like St. Francis, can embrace the leper?

March 24 ~ Part 3: “I Shall Be Love”

What are the practices and daily habit forming actions that have helped church communities expand their circle of affection.  We will develop a list of actions we can take as individuals and as a community to inspire true hospitality. 

March 31 ~ Practicing Hospitality

Beck believes that if we adopt the three fold recipe of “Seeing, Stopping, and Approaching” we can come closer to finding Jesus in the Stranger.  We will examine his examples and see if they map on our own experience

April 7 ~ How to Save the World and The Kindness Revolution

We need to start by loving locally and embracing the concept that “Blest be the (Weak) tie that Binds. Do we have the commitment to become the faith communities like those of the early church described by the Apostle Luke: Acts 2:42-47  

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

….and Acts 4:32–35  

The Believers Share Their Possessions

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.