Not the End, But New Birth

As human beings we seem to have always been impressed by successful people, large incomes and large and beautiful buildings. We read in Mark 13:1-8, that as Jesus and his disciples exited the temple, one of them looked back, and impressed, said, “look, what large stones and what large buildings!” Jesus, not so impressed, replied, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” Later, as Jesus and his crew were sitting around on the Mount of Olives, Peter, James and John asked Jesus, “when will this happen?” Jesus cautioned them to be very careful about predicting the end. “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” Good advice to which we should pay attention, even in our day.

Jesus is not prophesying so much as describing the world as it is. Then he calls the disciples, calls us, to look not at the world as it is, but as it can be: to look for the beginning, not the end, to look for birth not death. There are many examples of death and destruction in our day, always have been, always will be: the attacks of September 11, 2001, Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, the current wild fires in California, unending wars in the Middle East, political murders and politics in the USA and around the world,  just to name a few. These rightly cause us despair and could even lead us to believe that the end is near. BUT, Jesus says, “not yet! I have a better plan, and guess what, you are that plan!” 

The Prophet Joel (2:1-3, 12-17) proclaims on behalf of the Lord, “Your young me and women will dream dreams and your old men and women will have visions.” Like the ancient Hebrews, we are called to share in God’s dreams and visions for the world as it can be. Then God sends us to work: to pray without ceasing, to love our neighbors as ourselves, to welcome the stranger, to do unto others as we would have them do to us, to” feed the hungry, cloth the naked, bring release to the captives and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19) In this we become co-creators with God in bringing about God’s Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

In another time of trials and tribulation in the world, John the Divine wrote words of comfort and hope to the Christians in what we now call the Book of Revelation (21:1-5). “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 Peoples of the Earth: Divided and United

The Christian Year is a journey, which, like a Labyrinth or a golf course begins and ends at the same place. No matter what happens in a year of our lives, good times or bad times, joys or sorrows, just as in a round of Golf or walking the Labyrinth, at the end is a new beginning. The Christian year begins and ends and begins again, not with a baby Jesus, that comes later, but with the Cosmic Christ, in mystery and hope.

“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.” (Prayer for the last Sunday of the year, Book of Common Prayer, 236.)

And who are the peoples of the Earth who are so divided and enslaved by sin? I answer that question by quoting two songs. First from singer, song writer, and in my opinion, Theologian, Jimmy Buffett in his 1994 song, “Fruitcakes,” and then Donovan in his 1965 hit, “The Universal Soldier.”

First from Buffett: “Where’s the church, who took the steeple, the God’s honest truth is it’s not that simple. It’s the Buddhist in you, it’s the Pagan in me, it’s the Muslim in him, she’s Catholic ain’t she? It’s the born again look, it’s the WASP and the Jew, tell me what’s going on, I ain’t got a clue.”

And thirty years earlier from Donovan: “He’s been a soldier for a thousand years. . .He’s a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain, a Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew. And he knows he shouldn’t kill and he knows he always will. Kill you for me my friend and me for you. And he’s fighting for Canada, He’s fighting for France, He’s fighting for the USA. And he’s fighting for the Russians and he’s fighting for Japan, and he thinks we’ll put an end to war this way.”

Kingdoms against kingdoms, peoples against peoples, “my side is better than your side.” Human greed and jealousy and the need to be right and better than the other have throughout history lead to division and enslavement to sin as our prayer tells us. In John’s Gospel (18:33-37), Jesus and Pilate confront each other on the nature of kings and kingdoms and truth. Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king and Jesus replies, “my kingdom is not from this world.” Jesus’ implication is that his kingdom is more important and higher than any earthly kingdom. But we must be careful with Jesus’ statement here: though Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, it is in this world and this world is very important to Jesus, to God: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

If the world is important to God, then what we do on this Earth matters greatly, and we truly become co-workers with Jesus, co-creators with God in bringing about God’s kingdom on Earth. We become the hands and feet of Christ as we work to bring freedom to those enslaved by sin, ourselves included, and to bring together a divided humanity.

We believe Jesus Christ is the faithful witness to God the Creator, the first born of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the Earth. We believe the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us into the truth Pilate was looking for, and that that truth will restore all things on Earth as well as in Heaven, free us from our slavery to sin and bring us together as one people of God.

Life is Changed, Not Ended

Halloween was just plain fun for me as a child. I could dress up as something spooky, a ghost or a skeleton or some kind of ferocious beast. Halloween is a custom which dates back to pre-Christian Northern Europe, a location where winters are cold, dark, scary and long. The people would thumb their noses at fear of death by dressing up in skins of animals and other frightening figures, asserting their control over evil. As Christianity spread throughout Europe in the fifth century and beyond, Christians adopted this custom to assert belief in victory over fear and death.

This custom evolved into what I like to call, “three Holy Days:” Halloween or All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. By the way, the root word for Halloween is the same as the word for Hallowed in the Lord’s Prayer. In this unitive feast we celebrate the victory of good over evil and we remember all those saints of God, known and unknown, who have gone before us, whom we love but see no more. As a seminarian in Chicago, we celebrated by parading around the school block with incense, hymns and prayers, proclaiming that “yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me” (Psalm 23), thus acknowledging that in our baptism, “we are buried with Christ in his death, and will be raised with him in his resurrection.

Holy Scripture affirms that life will be victorious over death, good will ultimately conquer evil, and God will be with us always. God proclaims through the Eighth Century B.C. Prophet, Isaiah, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged 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 forever. (Isaiah 25:6-9)

Over eight hundred years later, John the Divine writes on behalf of the Lord, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; 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. ‘See, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:1-6) At the Grave of his friend Lazarus, Jesus weeps, then calls Lazarus out of the grave and tells those with him to “unbind him and let him go.” For God’s people, life is changed, not ended.

When we lose a loved one, as many of us have these past few weeks, we mourn their loss, we miss their earthly presence. But we also celebrate their glory in God’s glory, for we know, as Isaiah, John the Divine and Jesus knew, that “for God’s faithful people, life is changed, not ended; and when our mortal body lies in death, there is prepared for us a dwelling place eternal in the heavens.” (Book of Common Prayer, page 382)

Only the People of God can end Hate and Violence

“What is it you want me to do for you” is a question Jesus often asks those who approach him seeking something. Two examples appear in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 10:35-52. First James and John, the sons of Zebedee want to “sit on his right hand and his left hand when he comes into his glory.” A short time later, “blind Bartimaeus” asks to receive his sight. Both requests reflect blindness: Bartimaeus cannot see the beauty of this world and wants to; James and John cannot see the truth and beauty and danger of Jesus’ mission in the world and their place in that mission.

We who are God’s people, like the “Sons of Thunder,” are often blind to our part in the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. We forget about the cup of suffering that Jesus ‘drank’ and the baptism of torture and death that he suffered as he stood up to injustice in his mission to bring God’s Kingdom to Earth just as it exists in heaven. Many of us also forget, or choose to ignore Jesus’ call to us to share in his Baptism and drink of his cup. Who can blame us? As I read the Gospels, the idea of being ridiculed, losing jobs, hated and possibly even executed for proclaiming God’s good news to all people, for loving our neighbor as ourselves, and for welcoming the stranger, do not inspire one to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Two weeks ago I baptized Howard King, a smiling, trusting seven month old. In my sermon I told Howard, and all who were gathered, that only we as God’s children can do away with the hate and violence in our nation and the world. Even though during this week we have seen the murder of two black people at a Walmart in Kentucky, thirteen pipe bombs sent to former government officials and people of wealth and power in our country, and the murder of eleven of God’s Children during worship in a synagogue in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, I stand by my comments to Howard and his friends.

Today, I challenge all of us to avoid casting blame, to look at ourselves rather than others and focus on how we can, through our faith and our actions, our politics and our speech, do what I assured Howard only we can do. As we look at people, problems and politics through the eyes of our faith we will not all see the same scenarios or arrive at the same solutions to the problems and situations of our world today. How then do we proceed? I believe we proceed as Jesus would, with questions first rather than answers. Who do we hate? Why do we hate them? What do we do to make it easy for people to hate us? Finally, can we give our anger and hate over to God?

Some possibilities from my reflections, I know you will find your own as well: When posting on social media, fact check before you post. Better yet, don’t post, rather, talk with your friends and family members who see things differently or believe things differently than you, and really listen to them. Do not consider your political opponents “mobs” or “racists” or “deplorable” or things I cannot even write in the newspaper. We all know people like that exist, but we do not have to be them. Finally work your heart out for the politicians who reflect your beliefs, and rest assured I will do them same.

Most importantly, know that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar! I am pretty sure that Jesus would be turning over some tables in our country today, including some of mine.

And pray, and pray and pray!

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family: Book of Common Prayer, page 815)

A Life Well Lived

Two weeks ago I lost a friend and mentor, the Reverend Bob Gilbert. His death was not unexpected, he was eighty-eight years old and had been ill for some time, but his loss, just as his life had a profound effect on me. I first met Bob in Tellico Plains, Tennessee when I was nineteen years old and working for the U.S. Forest Service. I was young, Methodist, and learning the business of Forestry and Bob was the Methodist Minister of a rural “three-point Circuit. Bob and his wife, Dot, had three sons just younger than I, and after church on my first Sunday in town they invited me to lunch and I soon became their “fourth son.”

We stayed in touch over the years, and when Lynn and I married, the four of us continued our friendship, including a memorable trip by Bob and Dot to our New Orleans home when Bob’s beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers played in the Sugar Bowl. I will never forget crossing Bourbon Street as we showed the Gilberts around our city, and a member of Bob’s congregation shouted out, “hey Brother Bob, how you doing!”

Bob was small in stature, standing about 5’9” tall, but large in faith and courage. As one of his sons said at his funeral, “you would not be around dad long before you heard about Jesus: about His love and sacrifice and about how much Bob wanted you to know Jesus like he did.” I am convinced that I would not have become an Episcopal Priest had it not been for Bob’s love of me and the example of faith and strength and courage he gave to me and all those around him.

Brother Bob preached for over fifty years, but his faith was action as well as words. He believed that all people are children of God and God made no distinction between “Red and Yellow, Black and White.” This was not a popular belief in East Tennessee in 1967.  Not only would Bob tell everyone about Jesus, he was not bashful about telling people and showing people what Jesus would do. He was invited by members of the local Ku Klux Klan to lead a devotional at one of their secret meetings. Bob was met at the designated location, blindfolded and taken up the mountain, off the paved road and into the woods. The blindfold was removed and he found himself surrounded by Klansmen in white robes and masks, a burning cross in the center of the circle.

After Bob was introduced he began to tell Jesus’ familiar story of the “Good Samaritan.” Except: the robbed and wounded man in the ditch was a black man traveling from Knoxville to Chattanooga. “As the Methodist preacher and Baptist pastor drove by on the other side, the Klansmen cheered.” And then: “the third car stopped and out stepped a Klansman, robed and headed to this very rally. He took the man to the nearest hospital.” The crowd booed and hissed and cursed. Finally Bob shouted, “Quiet! Do not interrupt the word of God when it is being preached!” Brother Bob finished the story, was blindfolded, the fire put out and everyone left, without him. He made it to the dirt road, up the hill to the paved road and a hundred yards down the road a member of his church picked him up and took him back to his car.

Last Sunday I baptized a seven month old child, Howard Dewese King. My Prayer for Howard and for you and me was and is: “that we will have the courage, the faith, the sense of humor and the abundant life that Brother Bob had.”

“For we are buried with Christ in his death so that we may live in the power of his resurrection.”

We Want To Be First

Jesus and his disciples continue their journey. As they are heading to Capernaum (Mark 9: 30-37) Jesus again teaches them about his future: “the Son of Man will be betrayed into human hands. They will kill him and three days later, he will rise again.” Scripture tells us that “they did not understand, and they were afraid to ask.” I am pretty sure I would have reacted as they did.

Once they arrive at the house in Capernaum, Jesus asks them what they had been talking about on the road. They are silent because they had been arguing about who was to be the greatest. He then explains to them that if they want to be the greatest, if they want to be first, then they must be last of all and servant of all: To use their gifts and talents and privilege to serve others.

The call to be last of all applies firstly to those aspects of our lives where we hold some privilege or have some skills and abilities. Our privilege may be financial privilege, racial privilege, education privilege, gender privilege or unique skills or talents. Being last or servant does not imply that we are to be doormats, or that we are to be quiet in the face of oppression: not at all. It is a call for us to use our privilege and our abilities to serve those who do not have them. As I read this week in Sojourners Magazine, “we are only last in those places where we are first, and only servants where we have the ability to lead.”

What does this look like in real life? I share two examples to get you started thinking. First, Bill Gates, Founder and former CEO of Microsoft Corporation and his wife Melinda started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is worth $50.7 Billion Dollars. They use their money and their gifts and their blessings to fight disease, poverty and poor education around the world.

Second, The Very Reverend Tracey Lind, former Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. She was Dean of the Cathedral for seventeen years, as it grew to over 1000 members and devoted many of its resources to the benefit of the citizens of the city. She also has a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and volunteered with organizations that served the city in that capacity as well. In 2016 at a Baseball Game she went to the ladies room, looked in the mirror and did not recognize the person looking back at her. In November of that year she was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Lobe Degeneration (FTD). Her life and that of her spouse, Emily Ingalls, changed dramatically. After her early retirement, she and Emily spent time in Paris, France with a friend who was Dean of the American Episcopal Cathedral there. Her friend asked what next? Over the next few months they answered the question by deciding that their ministry would be to travel the country and world sharing their story of “Dementia from the Inside out and Upside Down” for as long as they could. They have been doing this for the past two years, and I was privileged and blessed last week to meet them and hear their story at a Clergy Conference. They are making a difference in the lives of victims of Dementia and their partners/care givers all over the world. They have truly followed Jesus’ command to become last of all and servant of all.

May we use our gifts and privilege to become the servant of all.

                                                              

Who do you say I Am

As Jesus and the disciples are walking along the road to the villages of Caesarea Philippi Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” Thinking themselves wise and informed, they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” Test passed, “we are good followers of the Master.” But, Jesus then turns, looks them in the eyes and asks, “But who do you say that I am?” I suspect their first answer was “wow, we sure didn’t see that one coming.” Peter, never the shy one answers, “You are the Messiah.”

I suspect Peter was proud of himself for giving the correct answer to his Lord, I certainly would have been. I doubt that feeling lasted very long, because as they walked, “Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Peter understood, but not completely.

How would you and I answer this question today? Who do we say Jesus is? Later in this passage which is taken from Mark 8:27-38, Jesus gives us instructions on how we can tell the world who Jesus is for us. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

We are invited to pick up our crosses and follow Jesus; to surrender ourselves to God: to give up our selfishness and greed; to proclaim by our words and our actions the Good news of God in Jesus Christ, to be a part of the kingdom of God on earth.

This past week I attended an Open House for the Court Appointed Juvenile Advocate program (CAJA) and met a young woman who works for Family Services of North Alabama. She grew up in the Black Belt Section of Alabama, near Greensboro and attended Sawyerville Day Camp as a child. The camp is sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama Youth Department. The camp provides a camping and learning experience for children in one of the poorest areas of our state. As an adult she is the Victims Services Director for an organization that helps people put their lives back together for the benefit of their families and their communities. By her actions she has truly “picked up her cross and is following Jesus.”

By picking up our cross, by giving back, by welcoming the stranger and by respecting the dignity of every human being, we do what Jesus did, and we change the world. May we continue to walk in love as Christ loves us, and give ourselves as an offering and a sacrifice to God.

Rich and Poor have this in Common, The Lord is Maker of them All

As the letter of James continues (2:1-17) Jesus’ brother reminds us of the importance of treating others as we would like to be treated, and the all too common temptation to do otherwise.

“My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?”

James goes on to remind us of the importance of the great commandment, “you do well if you really fulfill the law according to scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Many years ago I was the Rector (Pastor) of an Episcopal Church in New Orleans facing the difficulty of following James’ challenge to love all people as Christ loves us. New Orleans is a city where rich and poor often live side by side and this makes for some interesting times in the churches of the city. We often had book studies and Bible Studies in the homes of church members. During one such book study, a church member who lived mostly on the streets and made his living selling used books showed up. The next week he brought a friend with him who worked as a dancer at a French Quarter Bar and a sometimes prostitute. She too became a member of our church. The hostess, and I understand where she was coming from, simply could not live into James’ instruction to treat all comers the same. We talked and decided to move the book study to the church, after which she quite attending the book study and finally left the church (temporarily). Through time and prayer and conversation, she came back to the church, we rebuilt our relationship and we remained friends for the remainder of her life.

It is not easy to follow James’ command to be “doers of the word and not merely hearers,” but through prayer and trust in God and in each other and haltingly doing our best to follow scripture and “love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, it can, through God’s grace, happen.

As the writer of the Book of Proverbs reminds us: (22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23)

“Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.

Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.

Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate;

for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all.”

Be Doers of the Word and Not Merely Hearers

Jesus’ brother, James, helps us put faith and works in perspective by reminding us that for people of faith, one does not exist without the other. “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. . . You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.”(James 1:17-27)

James goes on to teach that God calls us to be, not simply hearers of God’s Word, but “doers of the Word.” James tells us that by acting on God’s Word, by walking the walk as well as talking the talk, that we will be blessed in the doing, in the acting, in the living out of and living into the Word of God.

What does our doing look like? James tells us that it looks like “care for orphans and widows in their distress, keeping ourselves unstained by the world, and, perhaps the most difficult, “bridling our tongues.” (I do so hate it when preachers quit preaching and start to meddling, but, James does stop us in our tracks and force us to think about our actions.)

For those of us who are Christians today, this means that we hear the word and act; that we love one another as Christ loves us; that we feed the hungry, cloth the naked, welcome the stranger. It means that we fight for what we believe, based on our faith and our knowledge, but that we respect those whose opinions and beliefs differ from ours.

Who are the widows and orphans of our time? Who are the vulnerable in our world today? Who is God calling us to serve? To find out, we need only look to the margins of our society. To follow God’s will, we need only love and care for those who live there. May God give us the strength and courage to be doers of the word, and that by doing, to be blessed and to be a blessing!

Love God, Love Your Neighbor, Change the World

I am involved in several different organizations in the community and state: civic, religious, political and recreational. Most of these profess standards of unity, cooperation, the common good, and in the case of the religious organizations, the first and great commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” On our best days we actually come close to living up to these lofty goals. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “there is no limit to the good we can do if we do not care who gets the credit.”

At other times, our human desire for recognition, power and reward gets the best of us and as soon as the prayers for unity end, the knives come out, at times, even in the church. This past week I was involved in several activities, some reflecting “our better angels,” and others, not so much.

Two examples from last Sunday’s scripture readings may help us see ourselves more clearly and inspire us to find a better way. In Second Samuel 18 we see how conflict within King David’s family lead to a disruption of the kingdom and the death of David’s son Absalom: 

"Then the Cushite came and said, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”

The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Jesus’ proclamation that he is the bread of life and that, whoever believes has eternal life caused a division among the people of Nazareth. Some responded, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?

As we began worship this past Sunday, our opening prayer helped bring my thoughts and actions into focus. “Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 232)

I believe that we, the Church and all people of God find hope in prayer and scripture and that we can be the yeast, the leaven, in the loaf of humanity that can bring hope to the world. The letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4:25-5:2 says this much better than I.

“Putting away falsehood let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Building a life on this foundation would solve most of the problems and jealousies I encountered this weekend and would change us and change the world.

LOVE GOD, LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR, CHANGE THE WORLD!

Free Food or Food that Endures

Why do we look for Jesus? After the feeding of the five thousand, as recorded in John 6:1-35, people got into boats and came looking for Jesus. Jesus accused them of looking for more “free food,” rather than signs of the presence of God. He then admonished them to “work not for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”(John 6:27) They then challenge Jesus to perform a miracle so that they can believe him, reminding him that Moses fed them with Manna in the wilderness. Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”(John 6:32-33)

It was not Moses, it was not Caesar, it was not even Jesus who gave them and gives us the bread of heaven. It is God. And Jesus is that bread! “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’”(John 6:35)

When we receive, when we eat the ‘bread of heaven,’ we are fed physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and truthfully. We receive forgiveness of sin and are raised to a new life of grace. Life that changes when we die physically, but never ends. God sustains us with the Holy Spirit that leads us and guides us into all truth. The following prayer for the recently baptized sums this up for all of us.

“Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon us your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised us to the new life of grace. Sustain us, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give us an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 308)

Five Loaves and Two Fish: The First Church Picnic

Was Jesus a magician or miracle worker, a showman or a savior? The feeding of the five thousand is the only one of Jesus’ miracles recorded in all four Gospels. Today I invite you to reflect with me on John’s version (John 6:1-21) of this powerful and life changing story. Jesus, in the middle of his sermon, and knowing what he planned to do, calls Philip to him and asks where they can buy food for all these hungry folks who have come out to hear the lifesaving words of Jesus. Philip tells Jesus it would take six months wages to feed a crowd this large. Another disciple, Andrew, responds to Jesus with the somewhat ridiculous solution of five loaves and two fish which have been brought by a young boy.

We have heard the story many times. All sit on the grass and eat their fill, and then the disciples pick up twelve basketsfull of leftovers. So, was this magical multiplication or inspired sharing? Yesterday I drove through Albertville on Highway 431 and in the space of a mile counted six fast food restaurants and five eat in restaurants. These did not exist in First Century Israel and Judah. In Jesus’ day, when people traveled they usually took food with them to sustain them on their journey, just as the young boy in the Gospel. I suspect that he was not the only one of the five thousand who prepared for the journey ahead of time. I certainly believe in a Creator and creative God, but what if the real miracle, the message Jesus was really trying to communicate, was the gift of sharing, that everyone gave of what they had, and that all were blessed and fed.

When I lived in New Orleans in the late 1990’s there were downtown feeding ministries every day of the week except Friday. The Episcopal Churches of the city and suburbs joined together to provide food for the homeless on Fridays. The ministry was called, that’s right, “Loaves and Fishes.” It succeeded because of sharing, the miracle of sharing. Each congregation took what it had, put it all together, prayed over it and there was always enough to feed everyone. As Christians, we believe that the Lord feeds us, that God answers all our needs and that we help the Lord meet the needs of others.

We learn from Jesus’ life and ministry that God desires for us a life, not of scarcity but abundance. Out of our abundance we in the affluent nations of the world are called to provide for the impoverished people of the earth, both at home and elsewhere. We are also called by God to preserve the land and waters of our planet so that the Earth too will be a place of abundance and peace for all of God’s people.

Are we to provide food? Yes, but we are also called to provide training, skills and resources that will prepare people to provide for themselves as well as others. Can we heal every person? Can we fix every human problem? Can your church and my church do all that needs to be done? No, but each person we feed or train or empower will change many others.

Five loaves, two fish, Change the World!

Like Sheep without a Shepherd

The Biblical writers often use the metaphors of sheep and shepherd to explain our relationship with God and with each other. As we examine some of these scriptures we get a sense of who we are, who God is and how important, and sometimes troubling, these relationships can be.

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture says the Lord. . . It is you who have scattered my flock. . .and have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock . . . and I will bring them back to their fold. . . I will raise up shepherds over them, who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:1-6)

When Jesus’ disciples return from their mission trips they are excited and share with Him “all that they had done and taught.” Jesus takes them away to a deserted place to rest, but the crowds see them go and hurry around the lake on foot, arriving ahead of them.” Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion for them, “because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:30-34) Jesus became their shepherd just as the Lord raised up new shepherds in the days of Jeremiah.

The Psalmist captures the power of shepherd and sheep, Lord and people in, what I believe, is the best known and most loved chapter in the Bible, the Twenty-Third Psalm,

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; * I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *and leads me beside still waters.

3 He revives my soul *and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The Lord is our Guide who will supply our needs; who leads us into times and places of peace; who renews our spirits and leads us into all truth. God is always with us, in good times and bad times, in life and death. God takes away our fears, feeds us, protects us, heals us, gives us abundant life and makes us citizens of God’s Kingdom. The Lord is our Shepherd.

God’s Reluctant Prophets

Throughout our lives, most of us have talked about and been asked about and tested about what jobs or careers we would like to pursue or should pursue. We have been guided toward or away from many different career fields: professions such as doctor, lawyer, merchant, engineer, factory worker and farmer. One career I have never seen on the list is that of Prophet. This is likely due to the fact that we have seen prophets in our lives and throughout history and we have seen what people, even well meaning people, do to them. A look at some Biblical prophets will help us to understand this reluctance as well is the importance of the “prophetic profession.”

When the Eighth Century B.C. Prophet, Isaiah, finds himself in the presence of God and the Holy Angels, he proclaims, ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’ The seraph touched his mouth with a live coal from the altar and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’  Isaiah continues, ‘I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ “And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” (Isaiah 6:5-9)

Amos, a contemporary of Isaiah, and another reluctant Prophet, is minding his own business as a “herdsman and a tender of sycamore trees,” when God finds him by a wall and calls him and sends him to, Jeroboam, the King of Israel to inform him that God is not pleased with his treatment of those who live under his rule. For his trouble, Amos is run out of town by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, the “King’s Priest.” (Amos 7:7-15)

Isaiah felt unworthy, Amos didn’t want to go, but our next prophet, John the Baptizer, suffers the ultimate fate that befalls so many of the most powerful prophets in every age. John was violently put to death by Herod, the King of Judah for proclaiming the Good News of God’s Kingdom amidst the Kingdoms of this world. John offended the King’s wife, who, by conspiring with her daughter convinced Herod to have John beheaded.

Jesus, who we Christians believe is our Lord and Savior picked up John’s mantle and moved it forward by proclaiming by word and action “The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mark 12:29-31) As Jesus continued his prophetic ministry, proclaiming God’s love to all and the coming of “God’s Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven,” the leaders of the Earthly Kingdoms, both secular and religious, found him to be a problem and conspired to put him to death.

No wonder so few people pursue a career as a prophet; but thanks be to God, there are those among us, who, led by the Holy Spirit, accept the call and the task. May God give us the courage to accept that call to proclaim not only a new heaven, but a new Earth.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and I said, 'here am I; send me!'" (Isaiah 6:8-9)

There has been a Prophet among Us

When God calls people to be prophets, they seldom become the most popular persons in the neighborhood. Prophets have been, are, and likely will continue to be misunderstood. At times they are threatened, slandered and even killed for their trouble. So, join me on a journey to look at some of God’s prophets, ancient and modern.

God calls the Sixth Century B.C. Prophet, Ezekiel, and sends him out: “The Lord said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ Whether they hear or refuse to hear. . .they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.” (Ezekiel 2:1-5)

The Eighth Century B.C. Prophet, Amos, was sent by God to Israel to speak against the increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor. His major themes were social justice, God’s omnipotence and divine judgment. He criticized the king and was “advised” by the Head Priest, Amaziah, to leave town just as quickly as he had arrived. John the Baptist, the first New Testament prophet, preached the baptism for the forgiveness of sins, baptized those who came to him, and prepared the way for Jesus and his message of love and forgiveness. For his efforts, John was beheaded by King Herod.

And then Jesus shows up, who, in addition to being proclaimed, Son of God and Messiah was, I believe, a prophet as well. When Jesus first started preaching and healing he went to his hometown to share God’s Good News. He was met with astonishment, skepticism and concerns.

"On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him." (Mark 6:1-13)

Since, because of their unbelief Jesus could do no deeds of power there, he sent the disciples out in pairs to proclaim and heal: “If they refuse to hear you. . .shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” I suspect the people to whom they went also knew that “there had been prophets among them. The Disciples proclaimed that all should repent, they cast out demons, anointed with oil many who were sick, and cured them.” (Mark 6:11-12)

After looking at some of the prophets of the past as well as Jesus, what is the place of Prophesy in the Church today? I firmly believe that God sends Prophets to be the Conscience of our Earthly Kingdoms, to be the conscience of our leaders and of we the people. As humans we all want our own way and those with power usually get it. Apparently, God does not like this: “they shall know there has been a Prophet among them;” St. Paul, “God’s Power is made perfect in my weakness;” and, of course, Jesus in his hometown.

When the people reject the prophet, the prophet goes elsewhere and takes the power of God with him or her, and along with the power of God, they take the healing and the Good News of God.

Truly, being a prophet can require much suffering and rejection. Prophets tend to be misunderstood by people of their own time and place because they are always calling people to see beyond that time and place. As an example, Martin Luther King, Jr. is almost universally loved and quoted today by people of all walks of life and political persuasions. However, when he was alive and working for Civil Rights and against the war in Southeast Asia, he was continually investigated by the FBI and was called a communist and many other names by many, many people.

Prophets expand our vision by calling us out of complacency with injustice. They reorient us to the liberating will of God.

Who are some of the prophets in the world today? I give you three and invite you to add your own: Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist who, as a teenager worked for female education, was wounded by the Taiban, and became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; The Most Reverend Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church who preaches about love, everywhere he goes, from the Royal Wedding in England to the Poor Peoples March in Washington D.C. He is not always appreciated as much for his love of the poor as for the Royal Family; finally, Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama to work with Death Row Inmates who do not have the resources to appeal their convictions, many of which are unjust and in error. He and Equal Justice Initiative also work to defend the most desperate and in need people in our society: the poor, racial minorities and young people tried as adults. He initiated the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which honors the almost 4000 African Americans lynched between 1877 and 1950. He and his organization have been subject to many bomb threats and death threats over the past 20 years.

I leave you with three questions: Who do you think of as prophets today? How might God be calling you to proclaim God’s Good News? How might God be calling you to be a prophet?

Why are You Afraid, have you still no Faith

After a hard day of preaching and teaching Jesus takes his disciples away from the crowds to the other side of the lake for some rest and relaxation. On the way a huge storm arises with lots of wind and rain and the disciples fear for their lives. They wake Jesus up, ask him to save them and he rebukes the wind and the sea, ‘peace be still.’ Jesus then questions his closest followers, ‘Why are you afraid?’ Have you still no faith?’ (Mark 4:35-41)

We all face storms in life: some storms are literal and physical, like the storm on the Sea of Galilee, and others are spiritual or mental or relational. Whatever the source of the storm we face, we often believe, as the disciples did, that Jesus has forgotten us. We, like the disciples, need to hear again the words of Jesus: “Why are you afraid, have you still no faith?”

In  April, 2010 a major tornado came through Albertville,  doing tremendous damage and affecting all of us at Christ Church either directly or indirectly by the destruction of our original Church building. It was a numbing blow to our community as those who were here at the time worked to salvage all that they could before tearing down the beloved old structure to begin rebuilding the holy space we now gather in to worship God and from which we leave to serve our community in the name of Jesus Christ. Prayer, teamwork and Christian Community took away our fear and renewed our faith.

In hopes that others will see a way to journey from fear to hope in their lives, I share a personal storm through which fear and depression replaced hope and faith in my life. Several years ago I resigned (before I could be fired) from my job as pastor of a large Episcopal Congregation. Not only was I “too liberal” for the congregation, but I had fired two employees who I still believe needed to be fired, but I did not do it properly, nor did I have the political capital to do so.

I had a severe emotional break down and our assistant Bishop sent me immediately to a psychiatrist the Diocese had on retainer. What does that say about the life of pastors and the church? I saw him during the remainder of my time in that city. The psychiatrist put me on anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants and I continued to see him weekly until we left the state. I continued my therapy when we moved to Alabama and I have continued the use of appropriate medication. This therapy and medication truly saved my life.

I know many people, for many reasons, are afraid to see a therapist or to use anti-depressants, but I encourage you, out of my experience, to take advantage of mental health care as a gift from God and to treat mental illness and issues as you would any physical disease or condition that can adversely affect your life.

Yes, we all have or will have storms in our lives: tornadoes, hurricanes, accidents, unexpected deaths. There will be divorces and job losses, alienation from family and friends, loss of physical abilities, and even loss of faith. When these things happen we need the faith of Jesus, not the fear of the disciples. Fear leads to death and destruction and faith leads to life. And I am not just referring to individual faith, as important as that is, but to the faith of the church. In the Christian Community, when my faith is weak, your strong faith will carry me. When your faith is weak, my faith will carry you and when all of our faith is weak and fear is creeping in, we find our faith again in the Word and Sacraments of the Church as we come together as the body of Christ in the world.

A secular (or perhaps not so secular) song, You’ll  Never Walk Alone, by Rogers and Hammerstein from the 1945 musical, Carrousel, proclaims faith and hope and life to us all.

"When you walk through a storm Hold your head up high and don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm is a golden sky and the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown. 
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart and you'll never walk alone, you’ll never walk alone."