Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas Day 2012: Purity like Mary's
Lectionary: Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 96,Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Today's sermon was extemporaneous and is available in audio form only.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve Midnight Mass 2012: We are the sign
Lectionary: Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 96,Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
We gather on this great and holy night to joyfully receive the gift of our Redeemer,
to collectively behold him with sure confidence of his love for us and his purpose for our lives. Having prepared ourselves during Advent for this moment, we stand together now ready to be reborn with him, as daughters and sons of God.
It is truly a joyful moment - for us and for the whole world. The reason is, we are not passive observers in the story of Christmas or in the continuing plan of redemption. We are active participants.
We aren’t here tonight simply to recount the first chapter of the greatest story ever told. We’re here to live it again.
Each of us is alive in this moment of time, having been sent by God to participate in making manifest the will of God on earth so that everyone will come to know the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Each of us has our part to play, our obedience to give, and our shame to bear as we live into our purpose.
Luke’s gospel narrative demonstrates this for us in Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. They show us how doing our part requires us to trust God’s love, promises, and the plan of salvation knowing that the working out of that plan unfolds over time.
Luke begins the story of Jesus’ birth with a discussion of the Roman census, which was a means of establishing an accurate tax base. The Roman government wasn’t concerned about justice or fairness, and there was no doctor’s note to get you out of going to register. It also didn’t matter to the Roman government whether the rich and the poor Jews were being taxed fairly or giving proportionately. It only mattered that money came in to support the Roman governors.
Being a righteous man, Joseph, who was a descendant of the great King David, could have said, ‘No, I won’t go register. I won’t participate in this unfair, earthly institution which will feed the monster Roman government that occupies our land. And I won’t submit myself to the public shame Mary’s condition will bring to me.’ He could have said that, but he didn’t.
Instead, he took his pregnant girlfriend 90 miles to Bethlehem to register as he was required to do. By doing so, Joseph publicly and legally claimed Jesus as his son, legitimating him and Mary according to earthly institutions.
Joseph’s journey also fulfilled the prophesy that the Messiah would be born of the house of David (which his adoption of Jesus made official) and in the city of David - Bethlehem. By giving his trust and obedience to God, Joseph participated with God in bringing about the will of God on the earth.
Mary also had her part to play, her obedience to give and her shame to bear. Coming up pregnant prior to her marriage to Joseph, Mary could have been stoned to death for adultery. She could have said, ‘No’ to the public shaming her pregnancy would bring her - but she didn’t. She told the angel Gabriel that she would do whatever God asked of her. By giving not only her ‘Yes,’ but her body and her life to God, Mary participated with God in bringing about the will of God on the earth.
As the plan unfolded for Mary and Joseph, it brought one degradation after another, culminating on this night with their inability to find a decent place to lodge. We traditionally translate this problem as “no room at the inn” but a better translation is: “no room in the guest quarters.” (New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Abingdon Press, 1855.)
It may have been that there really was no room. The census would have brought lots of visitors to Bethlehem all at once. Given the shameful circumstance of Mary’s condition, however, it was more likely that Joseph’s family simply wouldn’t admit them into their homes and the only place made available to them was the space where the animals were kept. It would have been a serious insult to Mary and Joseph.
In the big picture, however, the Word became Incarnate to reconcile the whole world to God. Even his place of birth demonstrates that truth. The poor, the judged, and those excluded from civilized treatment on earth are given a place of honor in God’s plan of salvation.
Even the shepherds, the first to hear of the birth, were as lowly as the manger that held the infant Messiah. When heaven opened up and the glory of God shone on them, the shepherds were given their part to play.
The angel told the shepherds that the Messiah of God had been born in Bethlehem and there would be a sign for them there if they chose to go see it: a baby in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloth. The shepherds talked about it, then offered their collective obedience and went immediately to find this sign.
The shame they bore? They were dirty, smelly shepherds and they weren’t likely to be welcomed into the presence of, much less conversation with, “civilized” people.
That didn’t stop them, though. Despite the potential for rejection, the shepherds went to Bethlehem, found the baby, and made known what they had seen and been told – and everyone was amazed by what they said. By believing the good news of salvation announced by the angels, by seeking and finding the sign they were told about, and by speaking their truth despite the risk of rejection, the shepherds participated with God in bringing about the will of God on the earth.
But these events took place almost 2,000 years ago. What does it mean for us today? Why do we gather now to remember it?
In his book, “Jesus Today” Dominican priest, Albert Nolan, says: “On the whole, we don’t take Jesus very seriously… by and large we don’t love our enemies, we don’t turn the other cheek, we don’t forgive seventy times seven times, we don’t bless those who curse us, we don’t share what we have with the poor, and we don’t put all our hope and trust in God.” (Jesus Today, Orbis Books, xvii).
Why? Nolan suggests that many of us believe these to be great ideals, but that actually doing them “isn’t very practical in this day and age.”
Well, I think Mary and Joseph might have said the same thing in their day – the shepherds too. Following Jesus has never been practical. It isn’t supposed to be. Following Jesus is revolutionary!
And that is why we’re here today. The message is the same for us as it was for the shepherds. We are the ones being invited to not be afraid, to go see for ourselves the sign of God’s salvation in our world.
Where do we find such a sign in this day and time? Well, that’s simple. All we have to do is look inside and recognize that we ARE the sign. I share with you a prayer from St. John of the Cross to Emmanuel:
How gently and lovingly
You wake in my heart,
Where in secret you dwell alone;
And in your sweet breathing,
Filled with good and glory,
How tenderly You swell my heart with love. (From: “Living Flame of Love”)
We are the church – the body of Christ born again this night into the world. Our purpose is to do our part in the reconciling work of Christ.
We are the players in the Christmas story we live today, right now, in this place and time. We are all Mary, giving our “yes,” our bodies, our lives to God. We are all Joseph, giving our trust to God. And we are all the shepherds, collectively giving our obedience, seeking the presence of God in worship together, then proclaiming the truth we know to a world that aches to hear it.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let us joyfully receive our King.” Amen.
We gather on this great and holy night to joyfully receive the gift of our Redeemer,
to collectively behold him with sure confidence of his love for us and his purpose for our lives. Having prepared ourselves during Advent for this moment, we stand together now ready to be reborn with him, as daughters and sons of God.
It is truly a joyful moment - for us and for the whole world. The reason is, we are not passive observers in the story of Christmas or in the continuing plan of redemption. We are active participants.
We aren’t here tonight simply to recount the first chapter of the greatest story ever told. We’re here to live it again.
Each of us is alive in this moment of time, having been sent by God to participate in making manifest the will of God on earth so that everyone will come to know the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Each of us has our part to play, our obedience to give, and our shame to bear as we live into our purpose.
Luke’s gospel narrative demonstrates this for us in Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. They show us how doing our part requires us to trust God’s love, promises, and the plan of salvation knowing that the working out of that plan unfolds over time.
Luke begins the story of Jesus’ birth with a discussion of the Roman census, which was a means of establishing an accurate tax base. The Roman government wasn’t concerned about justice or fairness, and there was no doctor’s note to get you out of going to register. It also didn’t matter to the Roman government whether the rich and the poor Jews were being taxed fairly or giving proportionately. It only mattered that money came in to support the Roman governors.
Being a righteous man, Joseph, who was a descendant of the great King David, could have said, ‘No, I won’t go register. I won’t participate in this unfair, earthly institution which will feed the monster Roman government that occupies our land. And I won’t submit myself to the public shame Mary’s condition will bring to me.’ He could have said that, but he didn’t.
Instead, he took his pregnant girlfriend 90 miles to Bethlehem to register as he was required to do. By doing so, Joseph publicly and legally claimed Jesus as his son, legitimating him and Mary according to earthly institutions.
Joseph’s journey also fulfilled the prophesy that the Messiah would be born of the house of David (which his adoption of Jesus made official) and in the city of David - Bethlehem. By giving his trust and obedience to God, Joseph participated with God in bringing about the will of God on the earth.
Mary also had her part to play, her obedience to give and her shame to bear. Coming up pregnant prior to her marriage to Joseph, Mary could have been stoned to death for adultery. She could have said, ‘No’ to the public shaming her pregnancy would bring her - but she didn’t. She told the angel Gabriel that she would do whatever God asked of her. By giving not only her ‘Yes,’ but her body and her life to God, Mary participated with God in bringing about the will of God on the earth.
As the plan unfolded for Mary and Joseph, it brought one degradation after another, culminating on this night with their inability to find a decent place to lodge. We traditionally translate this problem as “no room at the inn” but a better translation is: “no room in the guest quarters.” (New Interpreter’s Study Bible, Abingdon Press, 1855.)
It may have been that there really was no room. The census would have brought lots of visitors to Bethlehem all at once. Given the shameful circumstance of Mary’s condition, however, it was more likely that Joseph’s family simply wouldn’t admit them into their homes and the only place made available to them was the space where the animals were kept. It would have been a serious insult to Mary and Joseph.
In the big picture, however, the Word became Incarnate to reconcile the whole world to God. Even his place of birth demonstrates that truth. The poor, the judged, and those excluded from civilized treatment on earth are given a place of honor in God’s plan of salvation.
Even the shepherds, the first to hear of the birth, were as lowly as the manger that held the infant Messiah. When heaven opened up and the glory of God shone on them, the shepherds were given their part to play.
The angel told the shepherds that the Messiah of God had been born in Bethlehem and there would be a sign for them there if they chose to go see it: a baby in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloth. The shepherds talked about it, then offered their collective obedience and went immediately to find this sign.
The shame they bore? They were dirty, smelly shepherds and they weren’t likely to be welcomed into the presence of, much less conversation with, “civilized” people.
That didn’t stop them, though. Despite the potential for rejection, the shepherds went to Bethlehem, found the baby, and made known what they had seen and been told – and everyone was amazed by what they said. By believing the good news of salvation announced by the angels, by seeking and finding the sign they were told about, and by speaking their truth despite the risk of rejection, the shepherds participated with God in bringing about the will of God on the earth.
But these events took place almost 2,000 years ago. What does it mean for us today? Why do we gather now to remember it?
In his book, “Jesus Today” Dominican priest, Albert Nolan, says: “On the whole, we don’t take Jesus very seriously… by and large we don’t love our enemies, we don’t turn the other cheek, we don’t forgive seventy times seven times, we don’t bless those who curse us, we don’t share what we have with the poor, and we don’t put all our hope and trust in God.” (Jesus Today, Orbis Books, xvii).
Why? Nolan suggests that many of us believe these to be great ideals, but that actually doing them “isn’t very practical in this day and age.”
Well, I think Mary and Joseph might have said the same thing in their day – the shepherds too. Following Jesus has never been practical. It isn’t supposed to be. Following Jesus is revolutionary!
And that is why we’re here today. The message is the same for us as it was for the shepherds. We are the ones being invited to not be afraid, to go see for ourselves the sign of God’s salvation in our world.
Where do we find such a sign in this day and time? Well, that’s simple. All we have to do is look inside and recognize that we ARE the sign. I share with you a prayer from St. John of the Cross to Emmanuel:
How gently and lovingly
You wake in my heart,
Where in secret you dwell alone;
And in your sweet breathing,
Filled with good and glory,
How tenderly You swell my heart with love. (From: “Living Flame of Love”)
We are the church – the body of Christ born again this night into the world. Our purpose is to do our part in the reconciling work of Christ.
We are the players in the Christmas story we live today, right now, in this place and time. We are all Mary, giving our “yes,” our bodies, our lives to God. We are all Joseph, giving our trust to God. And we are all the shepherds, collectively giving our obedience, seeking the presence of God in worship together, then proclaiming the truth we know to a world that aches to hear it.
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let us joyfully receive our King.” Amen.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Advent 3, 2012: Breath and fire
Lectionary: Zephaniah 3:14-20; Canticle 9; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:7-18
John the Baptist says: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Don’t think you’re home free just because Abraham is the head of your family tree. “Even now the ax is lying at the root of [those] trees; [and] every tree (that is every one of you) that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the… unquenchable fire.”
How’s that for Good News?
If we are to hear what’s good about this, we will have to listen with new ears and a dose of humility.
Let’s start with the basic message of what the Good News is: God promised to save the whole world and to reconcile us to God (which means to co-exist with God) that we might live eternally in the love and presence of God. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God, who is the son of God and the son of Mary, and who lived, died, and rose again, thereby reconciling us to God. God in Christ, who was resurrected from the dead, then gave us the Holy Spirit, who is God, and who dwells in us, and called us to participate in the continuing work of redemption until he comes again.
Does that sound about right?
In our gospel story, John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah, is teaching those who have power, and privilege, and who understand salvation to be their right rather than God’s gift. John calls them to a baptism of repentance, urging them to change the way they live their lives, to get back on the path of righteousness (right relationship).
John makes this message concrete when the tax collectors, who were notorious for getting rich by exploiting the poor, ask him how they should repent. Be honest, John says. Take no more than is required. And when the soldiers, who were Mafioso type body guards and enforcers for the tax collectors, ask how they should change their ways, John instructs them to be humble, gentle, and honest in their work.
When one is lost, learning how to get back on the right path is Good News.
Using language familiar to his listeners, John explains that those who have strayed from the path of righteousness, including some from the family of Abraham, will be cut off at their roots and thrown into unquenchable fire.
Fire, as you remember, is symbolic language for God. John is describing a kind of spiritual do-over. The fire is unquenchable – just as God’s love and desire for our redemption is unrelenting. Being consumed by the fire of God’s love and purified in that love is a gift, and sometimes it’s the only way to change the course of one’s life.
The Good News here is that in God we can start over. The fire of God’s love will consume us, purify us, and make us new.
The listeners of this gospel story were people much like us. Most of them had enough to live comfortably. Some had more than enough. When they asked how they should repent, John answered them: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."
This is Good News on so many levels.
First, it opens these people up to a world in which they are not the center of attention. Being the center of attention is a way of life that seems attractive but it is actually a trap and soon becomes an obsession. Look at our culture of celebrities.
Secondly, it connects them to others, building in them empathy, respect, and a willingness to enter into friendship with people they used to judge and avoid knowing.
Third, it frees these people from their attachment to things. It makes relationships their priority. John tells them to give ‘their stuff’ away, to be as generous with others as God has been with them.
Imagine also what Good News this is to the weak, the poor, the exploited, and the hopeless. They are the ones who will receive the coats that will be shared. They are the ones who will receive the food that is no longer being hoarded and held away from them.
They are also hearing the ones who have enough, the ones who have been exploiting and harassing them, being told to change their ways. If that happens, they know they will no longer be judged or blamed for their poverty, but lifted out of it.
This truly is Good News.
Finally, John acknowledges to the gathered crowd that he is not the Messiah. He is baptizing with water, but the Messiah, who will come after him, will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire – both words that refer to God.
Holy Spirit, which is translated from the Greek word,‘pneuma’ also means ‘wind’ or ‘breath.’ The Messiah will baptize with the breath of heaven – the very breath that gives life to all that is living and breathes new life into those who are dead.
The Messiah will also baptize with fire – which is the presence and passion of God. Sharing in the presence and passion of God means knowing that we are connected, to God and to one another, bound by the eternal love of God.
And that means we will no longer be able to separate ourselves into groups of ‘us’ and ‘them,’ or even us and God. We will live in the unity of the Love that is God.
Our awareness of our connectedness and unity with one another and with God will transform the world, and the will of God will be manifest on earth as it is in heaven. No one will have to tell us to be honest, or gentle, or humble in our dealings with one another. We will bear this fruit because we will know that
the root we truly spring from is God and we will share the character and nature of God who dwells in us.
Lives transformed by the Good News of our salvation – that is the call of our baptism as much now as it ever has been – as much as it was for the people John the Baptist was teaching… as much as it was for the people to whom Zephaniah was prophesying: “Rejoice… O daughter Jerusalem! … the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.”
Rejoice. Be joyful. Hear the Good News of your salvation. There is no destruction to fear – only new life to embrace.
Let the fire consume you and be grateful it is unquenchable because it means that God never gives up on us. God always provides the chance for new life, purified life, life in the presence and passion of God.
When we truly trust God we don’t fear for our lives, we surrender them to God just like Mary and Jesus showed us how to do. Like Mary, we give up our expectations for what our lives might be and give ourselves fully to God whose plan is so much more than we can ask or imagine. And we trust as that plan is revealed to us over time.
Living in the truth of the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, we remember that resurrection is always God’s response to death. We know that if God calls us to die (literally or figuratively), it is so that heaven can breathe new life into us and into the whole world. So, we can offer ourselves to God, not out of fear, but anticipating joyfully the new life God is waiting to give us.
Muslim poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi, offers this prayer to God: “I have one drop of knowing in my soul. Let it dissolve in your ocean.”
As we enter our final week of Advent preparation, may we faithfully enter the unquenchable fire that purifies us and sets us free from all that divides us and distracts us from the truth of the Good News.
May we drown in the ocean of God where we find the peace that surpasses all understanding.
And may we trust in the bountiful grace and mercy of God to deliver us again and again from death into life. Amen.
John the Baptist says: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Don’t think you’re home free just because Abraham is the head of your family tree. “Even now the ax is lying at the root of [those] trees; [and] every tree (that is every one of you) that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the… unquenchable fire.”
How’s that for Good News?
If we are to hear what’s good about this, we will have to listen with new ears and a dose of humility.
Let’s start with the basic message of what the Good News is: God promised to save the whole world and to reconcile us to God (which means to co-exist with God) that we might live eternally in the love and presence of God. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God, who is the son of God and the son of Mary, and who lived, died, and rose again, thereby reconciling us to God. God in Christ, who was resurrected from the dead, then gave us the Holy Spirit, who is God, and who dwells in us, and called us to participate in the continuing work of redemption until he comes again.
Does that sound about right?
In our gospel story, John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah, is teaching those who have power, and privilege, and who understand salvation to be their right rather than God’s gift. John calls them to a baptism of repentance, urging them to change the way they live their lives, to get back on the path of righteousness (right relationship).
John makes this message concrete when the tax collectors, who were notorious for getting rich by exploiting the poor, ask him how they should repent. Be honest, John says. Take no more than is required. And when the soldiers, who were Mafioso type body guards and enforcers for the tax collectors, ask how they should change their ways, John instructs them to be humble, gentle, and honest in their work.
When one is lost, learning how to get back on the right path is Good News.
Using language familiar to his listeners, John explains that those who have strayed from the path of righteousness, including some from the family of Abraham, will be cut off at their roots and thrown into unquenchable fire.
Fire, as you remember, is symbolic language for God. John is describing a kind of spiritual do-over. The fire is unquenchable – just as God’s love and desire for our redemption is unrelenting. Being consumed by the fire of God’s love and purified in that love is a gift, and sometimes it’s the only way to change the course of one’s life.
The Good News here is that in God we can start over. The fire of God’s love will consume us, purify us, and make us new.
The listeners of this gospel story were people much like us. Most of them had enough to live comfortably. Some had more than enough. When they asked how they should repent, John answered them: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise."
This is Good News on so many levels.
First, it opens these people up to a world in which they are not the center of attention. Being the center of attention is a way of life that seems attractive but it is actually a trap and soon becomes an obsession. Look at our culture of celebrities.
Secondly, it connects them to others, building in them empathy, respect, and a willingness to enter into friendship with people they used to judge and avoid knowing.
Third, it frees these people from their attachment to things. It makes relationships their priority. John tells them to give ‘their stuff’ away, to be as generous with others as God has been with them.
Imagine also what Good News this is to the weak, the poor, the exploited, and the hopeless. They are the ones who will receive the coats that will be shared. They are the ones who will receive the food that is no longer being hoarded and held away from them.
They are also hearing the ones who have enough, the ones who have been exploiting and harassing them, being told to change their ways. If that happens, they know they will no longer be judged or blamed for their poverty, but lifted out of it.
This truly is Good News.
Finally, John acknowledges to the gathered crowd that he is not the Messiah. He is baptizing with water, but the Messiah, who will come after him, will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire – both words that refer to God.
Holy Spirit, which is translated from the Greek word,‘pneuma’ also means ‘wind’ or ‘breath.’ The Messiah will baptize with the breath of heaven – the very breath that gives life to all that is living and breathes new life into those who are dead.
The Messiah will also baptize with fire – which is the presence and passion of God. Sharing in the presence and passion of God means knowing that we are connected, to God and to one another, bound by the eternal love of God.
And that means we will no longer be able to separate ourselves into groups of ‘us’ and ‘them,’ or even us and God. We will live in the unity of the Love that is God.
Our awareness of our connectedness and unity with one another and with God will transform the world, and the will of God will be manifest on earth as it is in heaven. No one will have to tell us to be honest, or gentle, or humble in our dealings with one another. We will bear this fruit because we will know that
the root we truly spring from is God and we will share the character and nature of God who dwells in us.
Lives transformed by the Good News of our salvation – that is the call of our baptism as much now as it ever has been – as much as it was for the people John the Baptist was teaching… as much as it was for the people to whom Zephaniah was prophesying: “Rejoice… O daughter Jerusalem! … the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.”
Rejoice. Be joyful. Hear the Good News of your salvation. There is no destruction to fear – only new life to embrace.
Let the fire consume you and be grateful it is unquenchable because it means that God never gives up on us. God always provides the chance for new life, purified life, life in the presence and passion of God.
When we truly trust God we don’t fear for our lives, we surrender them to God just like Mary and Jesus showed us how to do. Like Mary, we give up our expectations for what our lives might be and give ourselves fully to God whose plan is so much more than we can ask or imagine. And we trust as that plan is revealed to us over time.
Living in the truth of the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, we remember that resurrection is always God’s response to death. We know that if God calls us to die (literally or figuratively), it is so that heaven can breathe new life into us and into the whole world. So, we can offer ourselves to God, not out of fear, but anticipating joyfully the new life God is waiting to give us.
Muslim poet and Sufi mystic, Rumi, offers this prayer to God: “I have one drop of knowing in my soul. Let it dissolve in your ocean.”
As we enter our final week of Advent preparation, may we faithfully enter the unquenchable fire that purifies us and sets us free from all that divides us and distracts us from the truth of the Good News.
May we drown in the ocean of God where we find the peace that surpasses all understanding.
And may we trust in the bountiful grace and mercy of God to deliver us again and again from death into life. Amen.
Monday, December 10, 2012
The goal of Advent
A message from the rector (found in the December, 2012 newsletter)
Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. This is a familiar Advent theme, and it isn’t clear whether this refers to our personal end (our death) or our collective end (the end of the world as we know it). But it doesn’t matter. The point is, wake up! Don’t waste the gift of life by proceeding through it as if in a slumber. Get up! Open your eyes, breathe deeply, and get going. There is much to do in the ‘already but not yet’ world in which we live!
There are people suffering right here among us and around the world. There are people hungry for food, for friendship, and for God! There is much to do.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick, connected with the excluded, and loved even those who executed him. Our earthly ministries should do likewise. We are here on this earth as a people chosen by God, chosen to be partners in the plan of salvation, just as Mary and Joseph were two millennia ago. But doing that work takes preparation – intentional, prayerful, continuing preparation.
That is the purpose and the goal of the season of Advent. All around us the Christmas season is kicking to high gear - carols are already playing in stores and restaurants. Holiday decorations and lights are up all over town. The tree was lighted last week at uptown Shelby. And this season, more than most others, also strains on our time, our attention, and our energy. I would guess that there are some among us who are already bracing for the stress, the depression, and the fatigue this holiday season brings… not to mention the debt.
Advent gives us the opportunity to step out of the madness, to quiet the chaos of the season as the culture experiences it and make space in our souls and our lives for God, so that the amazing event we await - the Incarnation - has the opportunity to have its transforming effect on us.
Advent calls us to include at least some time for quiet reflection and prayer. And from my experience with prayer, it is impossible to dread and fear anything while in the presence and embrace of God.
Redeemer is providing an alternative experience: Advent services designed to allow us to enter the peace, touch the mystery, and be in the Presence of God. Join us the three Thursday evening of Advent at 6:00 for a Soup Supper, then stay for our Advent Services:
* Dec 6: Service of Healing and Light - a traditional service of meditative prayer, songs, and readings from Scripture. The service begins in darkness and welcomes the light of Christ gradually, intentionally, fully. This service includes healing prayer, including anointing with oil and laying on of hands. Officiant: The Rev. Deacon Pam Bright
* Dec 13: Evensong - a traditional service of Evening Prayer sung by the Redeemer choir. Let the hectic-ness of the holiday season fall away into the quiet of prayer, grounded in Scripture, as we all prepare for the coming of the Savior at Christmas. (There is no Eucharist at this service.) Officiant: RoseAnn Evans.
* Dec 20: Advent Service of Lessons & Carols - a traditional celebration of Advent hymn-singing and reading from Holy Scripture focused on the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God. Officiant: Michele Wiltfong.
Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. This is a familiar Advent theme, and it isn’t clear whether this refers to our personal end (our death) or our collective end (the end of the world as we know it). But it doesn’t matter. The point is, wake up! Don’t waste the gift of life by proceeding through it as if in a slumber. Get up! Open your eyes, breathe deeply, and get going. There is much to do in the ‘already but not yet’ world in which we live!
There are people suffering right here among us and around the world. There are people hungry for food, for friendship, and for God! There is much to do.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus healed the sick, connected with the excluded, and loved even those who executed him. Our earthly ministries should do likewise. We are here on this earth as a people chosen by God, chosen to be partners in the plan of salvation, just as Mary and Joseph were two millennia ago. But doing that work takes preparation – intentional, prayerful, continuing preparation.
That is the purpose and the goal of the season of Advent. All around us the Christmas season is kicking to high gear - carols are already playing in stores and restaurants. Holiday decorations and lights are up all over town. The tree was lighted last week at uptown Shelby. And this season, more than most others, also strains on our time, our attention, and our energy. I would guess that there are some among us who are already bracing for the stress, the depression, and the fatigue this holiday season brings… not to mention the debt.
Advent gives us the opportunity to step out of the madness, to quiet the chaos of the season as the culture experiences it and make space in our souls and our lives for God, so that the amazing event we await - the Incarnation - has the opportunity to have its transforming effect on us.
Advent calls us to include at least some time for quiet reflection and prayer. And from my experience with prayer, it is impossible to dread and fear anything while in the presence and embrace of God.
Redeemer is providing an alternative experience: Advent services designed to allow us to enter the peace, touch the mystery, and be in the Presence of God. Join us the three Thursday evening of Advent at 6:00 for a Soup Supper, then stay for our Advent Services:
* Dec 6: Service of Healing and Light - a traditional service of meditative prayer, songs, and readings from Scripture. The service begins in darkness and welcomes the light of Christ gradually, intentionally, fully. This service includes healing prayer, including anointing with oil and laying on of hands. Officiant: The Rev. Deacon Pam Bright
* Dec 13: Evensong - a traditional service of Evening Prayer sung by the Redeemer choir. Let the hectic-ness of the holiday season fall away into the quiet of prayer, grounded in Scripture, as we all prepare for the coming of the Savior at Christmas. (There is no Eucharist at this service.) Officiant: RoseAnn Evans.
* Dec 20: Advent Service of Lessons & Carols - a traditional celebration of Advent hymn-singing and reading from Holy Scripture focused on the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of God. Officiant: Michele Wiltfong.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Christ the King, 2012-B: Living in accordance with divine truth
Lectionary: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 93 ; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37
En el nombre del Dios, Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo.
Hoow many of you have ever seen a 3-D movie? I saw Avatar in 3-D and it was amazing.
It was amazing to me that I could even share in the 3-D experience.
You see, growing up, I could only see in two dimensions due to an issue with my eyes. I wasn’t able to see in 3-D until 8 years ago following some laser eye surgery. Up until then my world looked pretty flat, like a picture or a photograph.
I remember (years ago) chaperoning a school trip to Disney’s Epcot Center where we took the kids to one of the first ever 3-D showings. I watched as the kids would reach out toward something that they said looked like it was right in front of them. They would back up when it looked like something was coming at them quickly.
To me, everything just looked like two blurry images, one mostly red and one mostly green,
sitting almost on top of each other. Looking through the 3-D glasses with 2-D vision made me feel like my eyes were crossing, so I took the glasses off and watched a flat but enjoyable show.
When the surgery gave me three-dimensional vision I had to learn to “see” my world all over again. Stairs were the best thing I re-learned. They had always looked like stripes to me and if there were shadows on them, it really very hard for me to see them at all. With new new-found ability to see depth, I finally understood what I was looking at, when it came to stairs, and they became much easier (and safer) for me to maneuver.
Many people had tried to explain depth to me over the years, but it was simply outside of my ability to see and comprehend until the surgery opened my eyes to it. This is kind of what it was like for Jesus as he tried to answer Pilate’s questions about kingdoms and kingship.
Pilate asks a question from an earthly experience - one bound by place and time, kind of a 2-D question: “Are you the King of the Jews?” (which would be the crime of sedition). “Am I a Jew?” (which would be the crime of treason). Your own people have handed you over to me.
Why? What have you done? Pilate needed a reason to put Jesus to death.
Jesus answers with eternal truth… a 3-D answer, you might say, and it’s something Pilate simply can’t comprehend: If my kingdom were of this world, my followers would be fighting to save me because that’s how things work in the world. “But, as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate hears Jesus’ reference to his kingdom and asks, “So you are a king?”
There was just no way for Jesus to answer that question. “King” is too small a word, too small a concept for the Incarnate God.
King is your word, Jesus says, not mine. I came to testify to the truth. Those who belong to the truth listen to me and obey me. Pilate did neither, nor did the religious authorities. Do we?
As we celebrate our patronal feast, the Feast of Christ the King, I want you to know that some people prefer to call this the Feast of the Reign of Christ. (And since this isn’t in our Prayer Book yet, we’re free to play with this a bit)
I like that. I like the Feast of the Reign of Christ. It’s more in keeping with Jesus life and teachings. Jesus never sought titles or privilege while he was among us – quite the opposite. He arrived as a helpless baby born to a poor, unmarried girl.
His ministry leadership was comprised of some fishermen, a tax collector, a doctor, a zealot, and some women – hardly a powerful or threatening group. Jesus’ ministry was about bringing in a new age – the reign of God - and he spent his time focused on the poor, the sinful, the excluded, and the powerless.
Rather than gathering up the things earthly rulers did to secure their reign, e.g. armies, riches, and lands, Jesus spent his time giving things away, e.g., food, healing, forgiveness. Yet, something about Jesus and his followers threatened the authorities and caused the religious leadership to tremble. That thing, I think, was truth.
In his presence, everyone knew that Jesus was the embodiment of truth and whenever we are in the presence of real truth we know our bubbles are going to burst – bubbles we’ve carefully and collectively constructed to make ourselves feel safe and in control. When those bubbles burst, we feel nervous and insecure because we realize how small we are in the presence of so great a truth as God.
That’s why so many religious leaders – then and now - break God down into small, comprehensible, controllable bits. But there is nothing small or comprehensible or controllable about God. And there is nothing to fear about that. It’s the truth. We can expect it, trust it, and count on it. We can surrender to the truth that God is God and we are not. And thanks be to God for that!
The reign of Christ isn’t about power, or glory, or privilege for a deity. It is now and always has been about salvation, about reconciling all who have been separated or lost back into the unity and presence of Love, who is God.
That’s why everything about Jesus’ earthly life and ministry kept catching the earthly authorities by surprise. They knew how a zealot would act, or a would-be warrior king. But they had no way to understand or respond to someone who acted out of selfless love, someone who would die in a moment in time so that all people could live eternally.
“For this I was born”…Jesus says…”for this I came into the world.” Christ our King does not rule over us using power or force, but reigns in love. Our King is not a great warrior or a mighty soldier, but a humble child, a sacrificial lamb.
We who hear this story today are witnesses of Jesus’ testimony, and we are invited by our King to listen to his voice. Listen, as it is being used here, is not about using our ears to hear, or even about paying attention to what is being said.
It’s a practice of living in accordance with divine truth. (The New Greek Lexicon, Wesley J. Perschbacher, ed., Hendrickson Publishing, 14.) In Greek, the word for “listen” and the word for “obey” have the same root and it refers to a way of being, not to something we do.
And the way of being to which we are called is found in the testimony of Jesus Christ. His is a testimony of humility, faithfulness, and obedience to God’s will, even in the face of injustice and suffering; of walking non-violently toward what may, at times, seem like certain death trusting that is actually the path of life and truth.
“For this [Christ our King] was born…for this [he] came into the world.” May we who belong to the truth listen to his voice.
May we who belong to the truth listen to his voice. So let’s say together now words that will commit us to that. Please open your Prayer Books to page 832, and let’s pray together prayer number 61: A prayer of self-dedication.
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
En el nombre del Dios, Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo.
Hoow many of you have ever seen a 3-D movie? I saw Avatar in 3-D and it was amazing.
It was amazing to me that I could even share in the 3-D experience.
You see, growing up, I could only see in two dimensions due to an issue with my eyes. I wasn’t able to see in 3-D until 8 years ago following some laser eye surgery. Up until then my world looked pretty flat, like a picture or a photograph.
To me, everything just looked like two blurry images, one mostly red and one mostly green,
sitting almost on top of each other. Looking through the 3-D glasses with 2-D vision made me feel like my eyes were crossing, so I took the glasses off and watched a flat but enjoyable show.
When the surgery gave me three-dimensional vision I had to learn to “see” my world all over again. Stairs were the best thing I re-learned. They had always looked like stripes to me and if there were shadows on them, it really very hard for me to see them at all. With new new-found ability to see depth, I finally understood what I was looking at, when it came to stairs, and they became much easier (and safer) for me to maneuver.
Many people had tried to explain depth to me over the years, but it was simply outside of my ability to see and comprehend until the surgery opened my eyes to it. This is kind of what it was like for Jesus as he tried to answer Pilate’s questions about kingdoms and kingship.
Pilate asks a question from an earthly experience - one bound by place and time, kind of a 2-D question: “Are you the King of the Jews?” (which would be the crime of sedition). “Am I a Jew?” (which would be the crime of treason). Your own people have handed you over to me.
Why? What have you done? Pilate needed a reason to put Jesus to death.
Jesus answers with eternal truth… a 3-D answer, you might say, and it’s something Pilate simply can’t comprehend: If my kingdom were of this world, my followers would be fighting to save me because that’s how things work in the world. “But, as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate hears Jesus’ reference to his kingdom and asks, “So you are a king?”
There was just no way for Jesus to answer that question. “King” is too small a word, too small a concept for the Incarnate God.
King is your word, Jesus says, not mine. I came to testify to the truth. Those who belong to the truth listen to me and obey me. Pilate did neither, nor did the religious authorities. Do we?
As we celebrate our patronal feast, the Feast of Christ the King, I want you to know that some people prefer to call this the Feast of the Reign of Christ. (And since this isn’t in our Prayer Book yet, we’re free to play with this a bit)
I like that. I like the Feast of the Reign of Christ. It’s more in keeping with Jesus life and teachings. Jesus never sought titles or privilege while he was among us – quite the opposite. He arrived as a helpless baby born to a poor, unmarried girl.
His ministry leadership was comprised of some fishermen, a tax collector, a doctor, a zealot, and some women – hardly a powerful or threatening group. Jesus’ ministry was about bringing in a new age – the reign of God - and he spent his time focused on the poor, the sinful, the excluded, and the powerless.
Rather than gathering up the things earthly rulers did to secure their reign, e.g. armies, riches, and lands, Jesus spent his time giving things away, e.g., food, healing, forgiveness. Yet, something about Jesus and his followers threatened the authorities and caused the religious leadership to tremble. That thing, I think, was truth.
In his presence, everyone knew that Jesus was the embodiment of truth and whenever we are in the presence of real truth we know our bubbles are going to burst – bubbles we’ve carefully and collectively constructed to make ourselves feel safe and in control. When those bubbles burst, we feel nervous and insecure because we realize how small we are in the presence of so great a truth as God.
That’s why so many religious leaders – then and now - break God down into small, comprehensible, controllable bits. But there is nothing small or comprehensible or controllable about God. And there is nothing to fear about that. It’s the truth. We can expect it, trust it, and count on it. We can surrender to the truth that God is God and we are not. And thanks be to God for that!
The reign of Christ isn’t about power, or glory, or privilege for a deity. It is now and always has been about salvation, about reconciling all who have been separated or lost back into the unity and presence of Love, who is God.
That’s why everything about Jesus’ earthly life and ministry kept catching the earthly authorities by surprise. They knew how a zealot would act, or a would-be warrior king. But they had no way to understand or respond to someone who acted out of selfless love, someone who would die in a moment in time so that all people could live eternally.
“For this I was born”…Jesus says…”for this I came into the world.” Christ our King does not rule over us using power or force, but reigns in love. Our King is not a great warrior or a mighty soldier, but a humble child, a sacrificial lamb.
We who hear this story today are witnesses of Jesus’ testimony, and we are invited by our King to listen to his voice. Listen, as it is being used here, is not about using our ears to hear, or even about paying attention to what is being said.
It’s a practice of living in accordance with divine truth. (The New Greek Lexicon, Wesley J. Perschbacher, ed., Hendrickson Publishing, 14.) In Greek, the word for “listen” and the word for “obey” have the same root and it refers to a way of being, not to something we do.
And the way of being to which we are called is found in the testimony of Jesus Christ. His is a testimony of humility, faithfulness, and obedience to God’s will, even in the face of injustice and suffering; of walking non-violently toward what may, at times, seem like certain death trusting that is actually the path of life and truth.
“For this [Christ our King] was born…for this [he] came into the world.” May we who belong to the truth listen to his voice.
May we who belong to the truth listen to his voice. So let’s say together now words that will commit us to that. Please open your Prayer Books to page 832, and let’s pray together prayer number 61: A prayer of self-dedication.
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Community Thanksgiving Service, 2012
Lectionary: Joel 2:21-27; Psalm 126; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Matthew 6:25-33
Good evening! Let us bow our heads and pray:
“Almighty and gracious God…Make us we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name.” Amen. (BCP, 246)
On October 13, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of a Civil War, made the following statements in a presidential proclamation for Thanksgiving Day:
“The year that is drawing toward its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful yields
and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible
to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God… No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”
How humbling it is for us to hear these words, knowing they were spoken in the devastating chaos of one of our country’s most difficult historical moments. There was no “us” and “them” in the Civil War. Everyone who died was one of us.
Whole cities were burned, industries were destroyed, and families were torn apart, ideologically and actually. During that time, many people had real cause to worry about the basics of human existence: food, shelter, clothing, medical care.
And yet, in the midst of the awful reality being confronted, a day was set aside to remember the greatness and graciousness of God. This is our Thanksgiving Day legacy.
In the face of whatever difficulty, chaos, or devastation we confront, it is important for us to set aside time, as we have done tonight, to remember the greatness and graciousness of God, and to remember God’s call to righteousness.
In our Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life but strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” This teaching of Jesus is directed to those who have enough, those who know prosperity.
Growing up around a lot of money I learned that no matter how much money you have, someone else has more. For some people, what they have never feels like it’s enough… even though it is.
“Don’t worry about your life…” Jesus says to them. Don’t become absorbed by your own desires. Desire instead the kingdom of God, go after it, ask for it, demand it… Be about the business of making the kingdom of God manifest on the earth.
To do that, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must live in righteousness, that is, in right relationship with God and with all whom God has Created, because, as we heard in the letter to Timothy, Jesus Christ came and offered himself as a ransom for ALL.
There is no one created by God who is outside the love and redemptive plan of God. It is up to us, however, to be the hands that reach out, the heralds that speak the Good News.
We live in a time when we hear a lot of discussion about who deserves help and who doesn’t. At Redeemer, we get calls every week from people who want to come to the Shepherd’s Table to eat or to get a bag of food and supplies from the Food Pantry. They want to know what documentation they should bring to prove they’re deserving of our help.
Bring nothing, we tell them. Just come and eat with friends.
We live in a society that also likes to fit people into boxes: this one is the right age, has the right disability, is on Medicaid. They go in the “we will serve them” box.
This one is disagreeable and ungrateful… It’s probably their own fault they’re poor and in need. They go in the “we won’t serve them” box. After all, we don’t want to enable such bad behavior.
I had a conversation like that just this week.
‘Oh – we know that person,’ several agencies told me. ‘They’re always angry and accusatory.
They made me feel uncomfortable. One person said “unsafe.”
As I listened, I thought: we fear strangers, not friends. In the end – the outcome was the same:
The disagreeable poor person didn’t “qualify” for any services.
So I asked these agency representatives: How many happy homeless people do you know? How happy would you be if you had to beg someone you knew was judging you to get what you need to live?
How many of these “disagreeable” people had to learn to be disagreeable in order to survive on the streets? …or in response to disrespectful treatment from people they needed to ask for help? Maybe, as in the case of long-term victims of domestic or sexual abuse they grew up hearing mostly abusive discourse and haven’t had much opportunity to practice polite conversation.
Jesus cared for the stranger, the sinner, and the outcast and calls us to do the same. There is always a story to hear, a wound that needs a salve. But people will only share stuff like that with a friend.
And the “don’t judge” thing Jesus was always mentioning? It’s pretty important. And it goes both ways.
When I left my abusive first husband, who was a doctor, he emptied our bank accounts leaving my infant daughter and me with no access to money. I was forced to apply for Food Stamps for a short time.
As I stood in line to receive them in the clothes I bought as a doctor’s wife, I heard comments from the others in line who were judging me for taking help I obviously didn’t need. I guess I didn’t look poor or hungry enough for them.
Everyone has a story, and their wounding or burden may not be obvious.
If we are to heed Christ’s teaching on how to be his follower we must learn to listen as friends not strangers and without judgment. We must learn to care for all those God leads into our lives
as sisters and brothers of the same parent – our heavenly parent. And we must work to become as generous with others as God is with us.
Some years ago I went on a mission trip to Romania. Part of my work there included serving homeless children - street children.
One of “my children” was an 8 year-old beggar named Çoni. Çoni was smart, savvy, and doomed by his poverty. One day, as we walked along the city streets of Cluj, this precocious little guy ran off and begged some money (which, by the way, he could do in 5 languages).
Then he went to a fruit stand and bought a banana. I sat on a nearby park bench and watched as he stood on tiptoe to pay the vendor.
When he returned to where I was sitting, he broke the banana in two and offered me half. I was overcome by the generosity that came so naturally to him.
To Çoni, I was a friend, and worthy of half the banana he just begged. Çoni certainly didn’t have enough to eat and he had no promise of food for the future. Yet he shared his banana with me all the same. The generosity of love shown by that 8 year-old street child transformed me and forever changed how I approach people of all kinds.
There will always be something that will tempt us to worry about ourselves, what we will eat, what we will wear... But the call of Christ on our lives compels us to turn our attention from ourselves to the kingdom of God.
It compels us to answer the command to love God and our neighbor – even the stranger who makes us uncomfortable. It compels us to trust God to guide us to listen in friendship to the stories of wounds and burdens borne by our sisters and brothers who are suffering and to provide for their needs as faithful stewards of the abundant bounty of God.
We do this all for the glory of God and for the welfare of all God’s people because “the Lord has done great things for us and we are glad indeed.” Thanks be to God! Amen.
Good evening! Let us bow our heads and pray:
“Almighty and gracious God…Make us we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name.” Amen. (BCP, 246)
On October 13, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of a Civil War, made the following statements in a presidential proclamation for Thanksgiving Day:
“The year that is drawing toward its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful yields
and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible
to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God… No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”
How humbling it is for us to hear these words, knowing they were spoken in the devastating chaos of one of our country’s most difficult historical moments. There was no “us” and “them” in the Civil War. Everyone who died was one of us.
Whole cities were burned, industries were destroyed, and families were torn apart, ideologically and actually. During that time, many people had real cause to worry about the basics of human existence: food, shelter, clothing, medical care.
And yet, in the midst of the awful reality being confronted, a day was set aside to remember the greatness and graciousness of God. This is our Thanksgiving Day legacy.
In the face of whatever difficulty, chaos, or devastation we confront, it is important for us to set aside time, as we have done tonight, to remember the greatness and graciousness of God, and to remember God’s call to righteousness.
In our Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life but strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” This teaching of Jesus is directed to those who have enough, those who know prosperity.
Growing up around a lot of money I learned that no matter how much money you have, someone else has more. For some people, what they have never feels like it’s enough… even though it is.
“Don’t worry about your life…” Jesus says to them. Don’t become absorbed by your own desires. Desire instead the kingdom of God, go after it, ask for it, demand it… Be about the business of making the kingdom of God manifest on the earth.
To do that, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must live in righteousness, that is, in right relationship with God and with all whom God has Created, because, as we heard in the letter to Timothy, Jesus Christ came and offered himself as a ransom for ALL.
There is no one created by God who is outside the love and redemptive plan of God. It is up to us, however, to be the hands that reach out, the heralds that speak the Good News.
We live in a time when we hear a lot of discussion about who deserves help and who doesn’t. At Redeemer, we get calls every week from people who want to come to the Shepherd’s Table to eat or to get a bag of food and supplies from the Food Pantry. They want to know what documentation they should bring to prove they’re deserving of our help.
Bring nothing, we tell them. Just come and eat with friends.
We live in a society that also likes to fit people into boxes: this one is the right age, has the right disability, is on Medicaid. They go in the “we will serve them” box.
This one is disagreeable and ungrateful… It’s probably their own fault they’re poor and in need. They go in the “we won’t serve them” box. After all, we don’t want to enable such bad behavior.
I had a conversation like that just this week.
‘Oh – we know that person,’ several agencies told me. ‘They’re always angry and accusatory.
They made me feel uncomfortable. One person said “unsafe.”
As I listened, I thought: we fear strangers, not friends. In the end – the outcome was the same:
The disagreeable poor person didn’t “qualify” for any services.
So I asked these agency representatives: How many happy homeless people do you know? How happy would you be if you had to beg someone you knew was judging you to get what you need to live?
How many of these “disagreeable” people had to learn to be disagreeable in order to survive on the streets? …or in response to disrespectful treatment from people they needed to ask for help? Maybe, as in the case of long-term victims of domestic or sexual abuse they grew up hearing mostly abusive discourse and haven’t had much opportunity to practice polite conversation.
Jesus cared for the stranger, the sinner, and the outcast and calls us to do the same. There is always a story to hear, a wound that needs a salve. But people will only share stuff like that with a friend.
And the “don’t judge” thing Jesus was always mentioning? It’s pretty important. And it goes both ways.
When I left my abusive first husband, who was a doctor, he emptied our bank accounts leaving my infant daughter and me with no access to money. I was forced to apply for Food Stamps for a short time.
As I stood in line to receive them in the clothes I bought as a doctor’s wife, I heard comments from the others in line who were judging me for taking help I obviously didn’t need. I guess I didn’t look poor or hungry enough for them.
Everyone has a story, and their wounding or burden may not be obvious.
If we are to heed Christ’s teaching on how to be his follower we must learn to listen as friends not strangers and without judgment. We must learn to care for all those God leads into our lives
as sisters and brothers of the same parent – our heavenly parent. And we must work to become as generous with others as God is with us.
Some years ago I went on a mission trip to Romania. Part of my work there included serving homeless children - street children.
One of “my children” was an 8 year-old beggar named Çoni. Çoni was smart, savvy, and doomed by his poverty. One day, as we walked along the city streets of Cluj, this precocious little guy ran off and begged some money (which, by the way, he could do in 5 languages).
Then he went to a fruit stand and bought a banana. I sat on a nearby park bench and watched as he stood on tiptoe to pay the vendor.
When he returned to where I was sitting, he broke the banana in two and offered me half. I was overcome by the generosity that came so naturally to him.
To Çoni, I was a friend, and worthy of half the banana he just begged. Çoni certainly didn’t have enough to eat and he had no promise of food for the future. Yet he shared his banana with me all the same. The generosity of love shown by that 8 year-old street child transformed me and forever changed how I approach people of all kinds.
There will always be something that will tempt us to worry about ourselves, what we will eat, what we will wear... But the call of Christ on our lives compels us to turn our attention from ourselves to the kingdom of God.
It compels us to answer the command to love God and our neighbor – even the stranger who makes us uncomfortable. It compels us to trust God to guide us to listen in friendship to the stories of wounds and burdens borne by our sisters and brothers who are suffering and to provide for their needs as faithful stewards of the abundant bounty of God.
We do this all for the glory of God and for the welfare of all God’s people because “the Lord has done great things for us and we are glad indeed.” Thanks be to God! Amen.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Pentecost 24B, 2012: Agents of transformation
Proper 27 Lectionary: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146 ; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
En el nombre del Dios: Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.
I’m not a big TV fan, but I do enjoy the Brit-coms. One of my favorites is called “Keeping Up Appearances” a BBC show from the 90’s about a middle-aged, middle class English woman named Hyacinth Bucket (spelled: b-u-c-k-e-t).
Hyacinth got into all kinds of predicaments in her efforts to convince others (and even herself) that she was a wealthy, refined, aristocrat – things she valued more than being authentic. Hyacinth was so pre-occupied with living the life she wished for that she missed out on living the life she had.
In our gospel story today, the scribes, who were respected, powerful religious leaders in those days, were condemned by Jesus for their preoccupation with appearances. ‘Look at them’ Jesus says, ‘They wear expensive clothes and sit at the head table at all the right parties. They demand your respect and thrive on the power you give them. They do what’s expected of them in return, praying long prayers, but only for the sake of keeping up appearances. “They will receive the greater condemnation.” Jesus says.
Then Jesus goes to the temple treasury where the people are putting in their offerings for the support of the temple. He watches as “many rich people put in large sums.” Then he watches a poor widow put her measly few coins in the collection plate.
Seeing an important lesson about the kingdom of God presenting itself, Jesus calls his disciples near and teaches them. But this isn’t a discussion about money. It’s a discussion about learning to see the new thing God is doing in the world – a world where the poor widow is honored and the rich religious leaders are condemned. By this teaching, Jesus is helping the disciples let go their preconceived notions about social and church structures so that they can see and participate in the new world God is creating right in front of them.
This is very much in keeping with our Bishop, Porter Taylor’s opening address at our diocesan convention this weekend, and so I share some his words with you today:
In his sermon at our Eucharist Saturday night, +Porter reminded us of the uncontainability of the Christ we follow, our Savior who broke open the tomb and, leaving death behind, inaugurated a New Age, bringing new life to the world – resurrection life. +Porter said: “Let us rejoice that we cannot predict what Jesus will do anymore. He is free. Our calling is recognize him wherever he is. Our calling is to learn to see him in unexpected places. And most of all our calling is to believe in his power to make all things new…”
The life, mission, and ministry we live as a parish, a diocese, a denomination, a part of a world-wide communion of followers of Christ, are gifts from the Almighty Giver, who, as we will hear in our Offertory Hymn (# 665) bestows bounteous gifts on us every day. Everyday our world is new and different because of the gifts of God bestowed daily.
We can refuse the gifts of God if we choose, holding out for the life we wish for or prefer to the one we have. Or we can open our eyes to see the life God is giving us to live and be transformed by it. Then we can open our hearts and carry this abundant life, this resurrection life to all who lack it or just don’t see see it.
Today is the only day we have to be “agents of transformation.” So, let’s answer our Bishop’s charge to be creative and inventive, and let’s walk in the way, widen the walls, and wake up the world…together. Amen.
Note: For the full content of Bishop Taylor's address and sermon, click here.
En el nombre del Dios: Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo. Amen.
I’m not a big TV fan, but I do enjoy the Brit-coms. One of my favorites is called “Keeping Up Appearances” a BBC show from the 90’s about a middle-aged, middle class English woman named Hyacinth Bucket (spelled: b-u-c-k-e-t).
Hyacinth got into all kinds of predicaments in her efforts to convince others (and even herself) that she was a wealthy, refined, aristocrat – things she valued more than being authentic. Hyacinth was so pre-occupied with living the life she wished for that she missed out on living the life she had.
In our gospel story today, the scribes, who were respected, powerful religious leaders in those days, were condemned by Jesus for their preoccupation with appearances. ‘Look at them’ Jesus says, ‘They wear expensive clothes and sit at the head table at all the right parties. They demand your respect and thrive on the power you give them. They do what’s expected of them in return, praying long prayers, but only for the sake of keeping up appearances. “They will receive the greater condemnation.” Jesus says.
Then Jesus goes to the temple treasury where the people are putting in their offerings for the support of the temple. He watches as “many rich people put in large sums.” Then he watches a poor widow put her measly few coins in the collection plate.
Seeing an important lesson about the kingdom of God presenting itself, Jesus calls his disciples near and teaches them. But this isn’t a discussion about money. It’s a discussion about learning to see the new thing God is doing in the world – a world where the poor widow is honored and the rich religious leaders are condemned. By this teaching, Jesus is helping the disciples let go their preconceived notions about social and church structures so that they can see and participate in the new world God is creating right in front of them.
This is very much in keeping with our Bishop, Porter Taylor’s opening address at our diocesan convention this weekend, and so I share some his words with you today:
“We journey inward [in prayer], we journey outward [in mission and ministry, but]… we journey together… [and] there is something sacred about working together… When we cannot talk about our “issues,” we can always work together. We can always feed the hungry and give shelter to the homeless and be agents for God’s reign.
Conversation and commitment are what matter. We cannot wait for a new Church to emerge because this day is the only day we have to be agents of transformation. Let’s be creative; let’s be inventive; but let’s get on with walking in the way and widening the walls and waking up the world. Let’s be about our core essentials: Christian Formation, Justice/Outreach, Evangelism, Communication, and Stewardship and liturgy. Let us find the best ways to move forward in these areas together.
…This togetherness enables us to hang on to one another even when we don’t agree. In Advent I will authorize under my specific guidelines the use of the liturgy of Same Sex Blessings passed by General Convention. These are liturgies for provisional use between General Conventions (emphasis mine). The Episcopal Church has not sanctioned same sex marriage. As a Church we are going to try out this liturgy for three years and in 2015 come together to listen to our experiences and decide what to do. We have had blessings in WNC for some time. All that this will do is to make the liturgy uniform. Remember “All May, Some Should, None Must.” While some will feel as if my guidelines are too restrictive; others will feel as if they are too radical. That diversity is who we are… I am confident that we are so committed to our Lord and his Church, that his strong love will pull us through our differences together.
I am pleased to say that our diocese is already creative and innovative and funner. People were not waiting for this address to do new things for our Lord and His Church…I want to say a word about the work that Beth Turner, Valori Shearer (sic), Beth Lilly, Karla Woggan, Rob Lundquist, Thomas Murphy, John Simpson, Augusta Anderson, Pattie Curtis, Osondu McPeters and others I forgot to mention are doing with Young Adults. It is creative and also traditional. They are gathering people into the faith through the blessed sacraments and scripture and prayer.
I am also committed to us being more creative in proclaiming the Good News... As a Church, we must be about what Jesus was about: unity and diversity. We need to bring in more people of color—especially Latinos—more young adults.
To put it simply, we need to be more flexible in how we do Church. This means I need you to be the ones to initiate creative experiments. We must get over our fear that if we do something new, my parish or our diocese will suffer. Let’s let the Spirit work… because it’s not our Church; it’s Christ’s Church and he is the bishop of our souls.
So, intentional, clearer, more focused yet innovative, creative, funner. This is my charge for 2013.”
In his sermon at our Eucharist Saturday night, +Porter reminded us of the uncontainability of the Christ we follow, our Savior who broke open the tomb and, leaving death behind, inaugurated a New Age, bringing new life to the world – resurrection life. +Porter said: “Let us rejoice that we cannot predict what Jesus will do anymore. He is free. Our calling is recognize him wherever he is. Our calling is to learn to see him in unexpected places. And most of all our calling is to believe in his power to make all things new…”
The life, mission, and ministry we live as a parish, a diocese, a denomination, a part of a world-wide communion of followers of Christ, are gifts from the Almighty Giver, who, as we will hear in our Offertory Hymn (# 665) bestows bounteous gifts on us every day. Everyday our world is new and different because of the gifts of God bestowed daily.
We can refuse the gifts of God if we choose, holding out for the life we wish for or prefer to the one we have. Or we can open our eyes to see the life God is giving us to live and be transformed by it. Then we can open our hearts and carry this abundant life, this resurrection life to all who lack it or just don’t see see it.
Today is the only day we have to be “agents of transformation.” So, let’s answer our Bishop’s charge to be creative and inventive, and let’s walk in the way, widen the walls, and wake up the world…together. Amen.
Note: For the full content of Bishop Taylor's address and sermon, click here.
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