The Prodigal Son/Forgiving Father/Offended Older Brother

Life can get complicated, relationships can get complicated and knowing that I am sometimes wrong is a concept with which I struggle every day. I believe this has been true as long as human beings have lived on Earth. It certainly appears that this was true in Jesus’ day and through his best known and longest parable He takes the opportunity to teach his followers (and us) a little bit about relationships with our neighbors and with God.

Most of us who are Christians, have been Christians, or know someone who is a Christian, know at least a little of the Story. The younger son believes he is ready to start out on his own, seeking his fame and fortune. He convinces Dad to give him his share of the inheritance and sets out footloose and fancy free to change the world, or at least his part of the world. After a period of time: weeks, months, years, he has exhausted his funds and lost his friends and ends up feeding the pigs, not a cool job for a young Jewish man. He decides (scripture says he “came to himself”) to go back to his father and beg to become one of his servants. As most of us know, the father runs to meet him, welcomes him home as a son and throws a big party to celebrate. The older, “responsible,” brother hears the noise, asks the reason and then becomes terribly jealous when he finds out what is going on. The older brother will not enter the party, the father comes out to him (sound familiar?) and reminds him that he loves him too and that he is his beloved son as well.

Obviously this is a story about God, a God who loves us all, even in the midst of our human propensity to make really bad decisions and mistakes, and very often to blame them on someone else. It is just as obvious that Jesus tells this story to teach us something about human relationships as well. Most of us believe that we are more often right than wrong, that we are smarter and more faithful than the next person and that if we do have problems they are caused by someone else.

In preparing to preach tomorrow at Christ Episcopal Church in Albertville, Alabama, I also read from St. Paul’s Second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 5:16-21, which for me adds some light and even heat to Jesus’ Parable.  I share a few of my insights from this epistle:

"If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation; everything old has passed away, see everything has become new. All of this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and God has given us the ministry of reconciliation."

So God is not only reconciling us to Himself, but is giving us the ministry of reconciliation. We are called not only to be welcomed back by God as Sons and Daughters, but to see our brothers and sisters as sons and daughters of God as well. Easier to be welcomed by God than to welcome those who make us angry, receive more than they deserve, or drive us completely crazy.

But St. Paul continues: “and God has entrusted his message of reconciliation to us.” To us, why? “I am still angry, I don’t want to forgive, I want what is rightfully mine.” Back to Paul: “so, we are ambassadors for Christ since God makes his appeal through us.” If God makes his appeal through us, then he is calling us to be empathetic, to recognize that we may be wrong and others right, or vice-versa, but that no matter what, we are called to be “the righteousness of God,” we are called to stay connected to one another. We as Christians do this in many ways, but the most obvious and perhaps even most meaningful is when we go to the altar to receive the “real presence of Christ” in the Holy Communion and stand or kneel next to a person who has offended us, or a person who does not believe exactly the same as we do about Jesus, or a person who voted for a person we would not even speak to. At this moment, the Holy Spirit joins us together with the God of all Creation and with one another.

We are joined together because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and because of Him are truly “Ambassadors of Christ,” first to one another and then to the whole world.

Change, an Invitation to Life: The Journey Continues

Change, an Invitation to Life: The Journey Continues: As Jesus continues his journey toward Jerusalem (Luke 13:31ff), he runs into a group of Pharisees who warn him that Herod Antipas wants t...

The Journey Continues

As Jesus continues his journey toward Jerusalem (Luke 13:31ff), he runs into a group of Pharisees who warn him that Herod Antipas wants to kill him. Remember these are the people who the gospels tell us were some of Jesus’ greatest enemies and yet they warn him that his life is in danger. Just something to think about as we look at human relationships. Jesus tells them, “thanks, but no thanks.” He tells them in essence that “I must be about my father’s business: healing, casting out demons and doing and teaching those things God sent me into the world to do and teach. My journey must end in Jerusalem because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.”

Jesus tells them and reminds us that he is a prophet, and that as a prophet he must proclaim God’s word, and FACE THE CONSEQUENCES. As we travel on our Lenten Journey we can learn from Jesus that God also calls us to be prophets, and that we too must proclaim God’s word and we too must FACE THE CONSEQUENCES. I do not know about you, but I get excited about proclaiming God’s word, less excited about facing the consequences. Since, however, this is our call, let’s look at some of the ways God gives us strength to do both.

In Genesis 15 we see God telling Abraham, “do not be afraid, because I am your shield, and your reward shall be great.” During this season of reflection, let’s claim this promise for ourselves. Psalm 27 also gives us encouragement: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? . . .One thing have I asked of the Lord; . . .One thing I seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. . .For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter; he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling and set me high upon a rock.” These and other promises from scripture give us hope, courage and confidence that we can live the prophetic life to which we are called and face whatever consequences follow.

For Christians during our Lenten Journey this encouragement we find in scripture can be very practical: worship every Sunday; find a group with which to meet weekly for study, reflection and prayer; gather together as a body in the presence of our Bishop. We can also find encouragement in acts of kindness like keeping our community clean, or serving at a local homeless shelter or helping to meet other needs in our area.

Our Lenten Journey is a model, a paradigm, for our life’s journey. I know something about the journey’s of many of my friends, as well as many other people with whom I cross paths in the many facets of my life, but the journey I know best is my own journey and I share a portion of that journey with the hope that my journey will open a window for you into your own journey, your own life, your own prophetic calling.

Many years ago my journey took me to Ponce, Puerto Rico and later to Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. I was first in training to be in the United States Peace Corps, and then a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching at The National Forestry School in the Dominican Republic. I learned many things on this journey that helped make me the person I am and gave me some of the tools I needed to be a prophet and to face the consequences. First I learned patience, I learned that not everything comes quickly or easily. I learned that we live for the long haul and that many things worth knowing and doing are not learned easily or quickly, that they take hard work and lots of time.

I also learned the importance of listening. I began to understand that we learn more by listening than we do by talking. This was an easy lesson since I was learning Spanish at the time and I had to listen more than I talked. I spent many afternoons with my elderly land lady on her front porch drinking Shafer’s beer and listening, and listening, and listening to her talk in Spanish.  In an environment and culture so different from that with which I was familiar, I learned to “listen” with all my senses: to be open to sights, sounds, colors, smells, texture, and ideas which were different from those I brought to the table.

There was a sign in our Peace Corps Training center that stated: “Do not seek to understand, seek to be present, to experience; for understanding will come later, or not at all.” God calls us to be present in this world, to enter life with open minds, open hearts and open hands; to live life to the fullest. This is what our whole Lenten Journey is all about: to be open to God; to be open to All of God’s People; There is truly something to be said for film director, Woody Allen’s, proclamation that “showing up is half the battle.” Early Christian Monk, Brother Lawrence, calls this “practicing the power of the presence of God.”

May our Lenten Journey lead us to an understanding of the world around us, but mostly, may it lead us to understand ourselves, and our relationship to the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier of all life.

Pilgrimage, Journey, Life

Pilgrimage, Journey, Life

The Christian life, in fact, all life is a journey. There is a lot of truth in the old saying, “getting there is half the fun.” Not only is the fun in the journey as much as in the destination, but learning and growing are also more in the journey than in the arrival. We learn from our companions on the way; we learn from the experiences we have on the way, good or bad, pleasurable or painful, joyful or miserable.

Yes, all life is a journey, but for people of faith there are “journeys within the journey.” For Christians, the season of Lent is one of those journeys. The models for our Lenten Journey are the Gospel stories of Jesus’ 40 days of temptation in the wilderness. In Luke 4:1-13, Jesus is lead into the wilderness by the Spirit to be “tempted by Satan.” Jesus spends 40 days fasting, praying and, I believe, focusing on God’s call and plan for his life, and what that will look like for Jesus who is not only fully God but fully human. This wilderness journey was necessary for Jesus to really know within himself who he was and who God called him to be.

Lent gives us that same wilderness opportunity to wrestle with ourselves, to wrestle with our God and with our own demons; to face the same temptations Jesus faced. We too, on our earthly journey, will struggle with the temptations of comfort, power, possessions, fame and influence. Without setting aside time and space for reflection the struggles can turn out to be just that, struggles. With “wilderness time” they become opportunities for growth and learning.

Several years ago, falling into the temptation for power, possessions and fame, I was “given” one such opportunity for learning and growth. I had been, in my opinion, a successful Episcopal Priest: a good pastor, preacher and teacher. I was the Rector of a church which had grown from 130 to 500 members and from a budget of $70,000 a year to a budget of $250,000 a year. People said really flattering things about me, and some even proclaimed I would become a bishop. When I was called to a much larger church, with a much larger budget and a much larger salary, I jumped at it! After all, “there is nothing wrong with power and possessions and fame.”

As it turns out, I did not become the greatest priest in the World, I did not become a bishop, and I lost my job after two and a half years, thus affirming Jesus’ wisdom in turning down the tempter. As a part of my earthly pilgrimage, my life’s journey, it was life changing, and while not fun to go through (in fact it was quite miserable) for me, my family,  and lots of other people, this experience helped make me who I am, it helped make me stronger. The Christian season of Lent and the Christian traditions of prayer and meditation have been opportunities to reflect on the past, grow from those experiences and look toward the future, while living for today, the only day promised to any of us.

I want to add that out of this experience and reflection on it and praying about it, I learned many valuable lessons. I learned the importance of Mental Health Counseling and Anti-depressants as tools God uses along with our prayers and our friends to lead us out of the wilderness. I built (or was given) many friendships that have lasted for the past ten years and some of which will last a lifetime. These friendships have strengthened me and my faith, and while I did not become the greatest priest in the whole world, I have been given a vision and wisdom to invite God to be a part of my Pilgrimage.

During this Lenten pilgrimage my prayer for all of us is that we will ask ourselves three questions and then take the time and find the space to listen to the answers. Like Jesus, listen to the answers from God and from our own heart, mind and soul.  The questions are: 1) What is important to me? 2) Why is this important? 3) What now?

This Lenten Journey calls us to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as we love ourselves (implying that we love ourselves first) to strive for Justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being.” (Book of Common Prayer, page 305)

Blessings and Peace on your way, and remember, “Getting there is half the fun!”

The Anglican Communion, The Episcopal Church and the Love of God

The Anglican Communion, The Episcopal Church and the Love of God

I borrow from Charles Dickens and a Tale of Two Cities when I say that our time is “the best of times and the worst of times” to be an Episcopalian, to be an Anglican. As most know, the majority of Primates of the Anglican Communion, meeting in England last week, suspended the Episcopal Church from participation in certain committees, and Episcopalian individuals from holding certain offices within the Communion. This is due to the Episcopal Church’s decision in July to allow the marriage of same sex couples and the ordination of homosexual people who have companions or spouses.

It is important to look at what happened last week, what it means, and the complicated issues effecting relationships within the Communion, particularly the issues between Western Provinces and Provinces from the Global South. I believe that part of the issue revolves around the legacy of Colonialism when the Western powers brought their Missionaries along as they sought to control the Southern Hemisphere’s natural resources. As Desmond Tutu and others have said, “When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, ‘let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.” This legacy still affects relationships within the communion. The arrogance real or perceived that Westerners still believe we are superior to people from the Global South can lead to a lack of trust.

Another part of that legacy is that the Christianity that was given to the people of Africa by the Church of England and other churches was based on a more literalistic understanding of scripture than many Western Churches have today. This is not to condemn either interpretation, of scripture, but to say that they can lead to different decisions about human as well as spiritual relationships. This information may help us better understand the disagreements among the member Provinces of the Anglican Communion.

The Anglican Communion is just that, a communion, not a World Wide Church as is the Roman Catholic Church. As such it has, until recently, never been a policy making body. For example, in the early 1970’s as some provinces were considering the ordination of women to the priesthood, the Communion chose to allow each province to make the decision that was best and appropriate for its own place and time. That changed in 1988 at the Lambeth Conference, the once every ten year gathering of Anglican Bishops from all over the world. At that conference a vote was taken that required that no province could act alone on the ordination of practicing homosexual people, or the marriage of same sex couples. This was an unprecedented move on behalf of the Anglican, fueled by the relationship between Global South Bishops and North American Conservative Episcopalians. This influence produced fear that the North American Churches were going to try to force the entire communion to accept and act on these decisions, something that was not planned nor desired.

As in any complicated human relationship, there are other issues involved in the decisions made last week by the Primates, but let’s move on to what those decisions were, how they affect the entire Anglican Communion as well as the Episcopal Church, and then I want to reflect on how I believe the Episcopal Church should respond to these actions

A majority of Anglican primates on January 14 asked that the Episcopal Church, for a period of three years, "no longer represent us on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, that individual members not be appointed or elected to an internal standing committee and that while participating in the internal bodies of the Anglican Communion, they will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity.”

The Primates further stated the desire to walk together, even with their differences over whether people of the same sex can marry. “This agreement acknowledges the significant distance that remains but confirms our unanimous commitment to walk together.” The announcement also said the agreement “demonstrates the commitment of all the Primates to continue the life of the Communion with neither victor nor vanquished.”

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry stated to the Primates, “Many of us have committed ourselves and our church to being ‘a house of prayer for all people,’ as the Bible says, where all are truly welcome. Our commitment to be an inclusive church is not based on a social theory or capitulation to the ways of the culture, but on our belief that the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross are a sign of the very love of God reaching out to us all. While I understand that many disagree with us, our decision regarding marriage is based on the belief that the words of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians are true for the church today: ‘All who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for all are one in Christ.’”

Curry continued: “The pain for many will be real. But God is greater than anything. I love Jesus and I love the church. I am a Christian in the Anglican way. And like you, as we have said in this meeting, I am committed to ‘walking together’ with you as fellow Primates in the Anglican family.” (For complete article I refer you to the Episcopal News Network).

So what do we do? First, I believe we stay connected. We in the Episcopal Church on a Diocese by Diocese and Parish by Parish basis can choose to perform marriages of same sex couples or not. As Bishop Kee Sloan of Alabama says, “no parish will be prohibited or required to perform marriages between two members of the same sex. If this sacrament is important to the Parish’s mission then by all means use it.”

Remember we are still part of the Anglican Communion. I believe we need to respect the other 37 Provinces in their decisions, realizing that we are not living in their local situations any more than they live in ours. We need to continue to work, pray and give for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in the world. I do not believe we should take our money or missions away from what the Communion is doing in the world.  After all the problems of hunger, war, terrorism and justice for all are still the church’s primary mission.

We are called by Jesus to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves…and respecting the dignity of every human being.” (The Baptismal Covenant, Episcopal Book of Common Prayer).

From Christ the King to Advent

“Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Collect for Christ The King, Book of Common Prayer)

The Feast of Christ the King is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Year (the Church Year, not the Calendar Year). The year begins on the First Sunday of Advent during which the Coming Christ is proclaimed by the Holy Spirit, Angels, John the Baptist and Mary. During the year with the help of the Sunday Gospel readings, we walk with Jesus on his journey as he “grows in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and Human Beings.”

We share in his victories and in his trials and tribulations, we are there when he is welcomed and praised and when he is despised and rejected. Everyone had a vision of who the Messiah would be, of what he would do and of how he would make their world better. As it turned out many people were disappointed in him. He spoke truth to power, the government and the religious establishment. Turns out ‘power’ did not appreciate the truth. He spoke truth to his disciples. Turns out they did not always like truth either.

Borrowing from the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus proclaimed a vision of the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’(Luke 4:16-19)

Jesus gave hope to all those who would listen to him, to those who were open to a God and a life larger than they could ever ask or imagine. He also healed the sick, raised the dead and taught people that the only Commandment that mattered was “love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself.”

On Christ the King we celebrate the achievement of that goal as well as the reality that its ultimate achievement depends on those of us who follow Jesus on the Way.

We will begin the new year in the same way we end the old: “Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule. Amen.”

All Saints Day Outshines the War on Halloween

I am not angry about it, it is certainly not a disaster in most of our lives, but there is a war on Halloween. You may not have heard of it, but there is an effort by some to replace Halloween with Harvest Festivals or Fall Flings, or in the worst case scenarios, Judgment Houses. Halloween is considered by some to be evil, created by Satan or at best confusing or un-necessary. Contrary to these ideas, I believe Halloween is a part of what I call the “Sacred Three Days.” Yes, in the Christian Church, we commonly refer to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter (or the Great Vigil of Easter) as the Sacred Three Days, and I agree that they are.

I also happen to believe that Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day are a second “Sacred three Days.” Halloween began as a Celtic Festival presided over by Druid Priests in Northern Britain before Christianity come into the Island after 600 CE. In the dark, short days of Fall and Winter people’s thoughts turned to the fear of those things that can hurt or frighten them: wild beasts, lack of food, the apparent death of plants, and the potential death of livestock, that sustained their lives, and the worst fear of all, their own deaths. The Feast of Samhain gave them a chance to stare fear and death in the face and refuse to give in to them. To believe that darkness would be preceded by light, winter by spring and death by life. This gave them an opportunity to believe that life was stronger than death. “Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the 'spirits’ could more easily come into our world.” I believe that this three day celebration in the church can also be a time that these spiritual boundaries can be easily crossed, as we connect with “those whom we love, but see no longer.”

When Christianity came into the British Isles after 600, the Christians as they are wont to do, adopted the feast of Samhain and Baptized it and it became “All Hallows Eve,” the eve of All Saints Day, the day they remembered the lives of those Saints who had become examples for Christians on how to live their lives, as well as the lives of ordinary people, those who are saints to their friends and family and nobody else. This was a time to celebrate the fact that life is stronger than death, that good is stronger than evil and that even when one is afraid, it is possible to stand up to those things of which we are afraid, including the greatest fear of all, the fear of death. Four centuries later the commemoration of those personal saints was moved to the following day, November 2.

As we twenty-first century Christians celebrate this powerful three days, we draw on Holy Scripture for inspiration and words to express those feelings for which we are, at times, speechless.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death for ever.

Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25: 1-6a)

All Hallows Eve, “Halloween,” All Saints Day and All Souls Day give us an opportunity to participate in the things that are important to us: to dress up as creatures that are frightening or exciting or challenging, and to have fun doing it; to stare fear and death in the face and to proclaim that love is stronger than fear and that life is stronger than death.

The Church on All Saints and All Souls Days gives us a safe space to use all of our senses in remembering “those whom we love but see no more.” We burn incense and we pray for our departed loved ones; the good, the bad and the ugly. At Christ Church we light candles in their memories, perhaps shedding a few tears, smiling at found memories and often offering forgiveness, or asking forgiveness.

In our prayers and our sermons we remember honestly our lives together, when we loved and when we were shown love, when we were hurt and when we hurt others. As we gather together on these days we know those in our midst who have lost loved ones, not just from “natural causes,” but through tragedy: loved ones who died in tragic accidents, or horrible diseases much too young; who were murdered or committed suicide or died of drug overdoses.

All Saints and All Souls offer us an opportunity to offer up our grief and pain to God as we pray for continual healing. It also offers us an opportunity to remember again, that all of those who have Gone before us are gifts to us from God, and that we are gifts from God to them. I use the present tense, because we as Christians believe that for God’s people, life is changed not ended, and that the relationships we have we with each other can never end.

John the Divine reminds us in The New Testament book of Revelation that:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God Is among   mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And

the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’           

The writer and Presbyterian Minister, Fredrick Buechner describes the importance of these three days and what it means to belong to the Holy People of God.

On all Saints’ Day, it is not just the saints of the church that we should remember in our prayers, but all the foolish ones and wise ones, the shy ones and overbearing ones, the broken ones and whole ones, the despots and tosspots and crackpots of our lives who one way or another, have been our particular fathers, mothers, (sisters and brothers), and saints.