And So It Begins (at the End)

My favorite Sunday of the year, last Sunday, the First Sunday in Advent! Yes, Christmas, Holy Week and Easter are the foundation of our faith in God through Jesus, but: this Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Year, gives us a different lens through which to see God. The year begins at the end, the Second Coming, looking at the mystery of God before and after the baby, before the birth of the one who is completely God and completely human. “Come thou long expected Jesus. . . .”  We look to the “Second Coming,” the realization of the dream of God and we are encouraged “to watch, to wait, to be ready, to stay awake!”

In Matthew 24:36-44 Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. . . . if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Jesus’ message and the Christian New Year beginning in late November or early December are reminders of how “out of step,” we Christians are with the rest of the world. This being out of step helps remind us that if “Jesus is Lord,” then “Caesar,” by whatever name Caesar is called today, “is not Lord.”

In what would be a prequel in today’s world, the eighth century BC Prophet, Isaiah son of Amoz proclaimed: “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.(Isaiah 2:1-5)

Again, as we move into the presence and mystery of God, we begin to see, perhaps darkly at first, the mystery of God’s dream of distributive Justice, and peace for all of God’s people.

“Come, Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee. Israel's strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart. Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring. By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne.” (Charles Wesley)

One Communion and Fellowship

“Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living. . .” (Book of Common Prayer, p.380)

The above is the Opening Prayer for the Celebration of “All Saints Day,” celebrated on November 1 or the Sunday after. The Feast is a sacred time to recognize and celebrate the eternal thread connecting God’s people to God and one another from the appearance of the first humans until “the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:20b)

And what does “all virtuous and Godly living” look like? Jesus’ explanation is recorded in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus shows us not only what it looks like, but also what it does not look like. He  shows us how to live and how not to live if we are to follow the saints, the people of God, who have gone before us, and if we are to provide a path to those saints who will follow us.

“Jesus looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”(6:20-26)

Luke’s version of the Beatitudes from what is commonly called the “Sermon on the Plain,” differs from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount,” (Mt. 5:1-12) in that the spiritual hunger and poverty and mourning have become earthly, physical hunger, poverty and mourning. Jesus also adds the “woe” statements to remind his followers of the results of not “following the Saints in “all virtuous and Godly living.”

Jesus continues: “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”(Luke 6:27-31)

I suspect that Jesus’ final challenge to his listeners, ending with “The Golden Rule,” turned their world upside down and caused them to question their desire to follow Jesus. I believe today that if we take this challenge as Jesus’ charge to us, that it will cause us to question our commitment to Jesus and to God’s people as well. I also believe we can draw our strength o follow Jesus from that “Great Cloud of Witnesses,” those Saints of God, who have come before us, who now surround us, and who will follow us.

What a blessing to be in such good company on our earthly journey.

“Seek the Welfare of the City where I have Sent You”

Former New York Yankees Catcher and Manager, Yogi Berra once quipped, “Wherever you go, there you are.” There is a lot of truth as well as humor in that statement. As human beings we can only physically be in one place at a time. We arrive in those places in many different ways, some out of choice and others through no choice of our own. Regardless of how we arrive: birth, a move by parents, a move for employment, fleeing poverty or danger, moving closer to family or being conquered and transported by an oppressor, as the people of Judah were in 598 B.C. when conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar and carried off to Babylon (now Iraq). (See Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7)

Once there, wherever there is, we have a choice to make about how to live. Will we seek to live the abundant life Jesus promises us, or will we complain, withdraw within ourselves and wait until life gets better all on its own, something that rarely happens without action on our part.

Reading the prophet Jeremiah’s letter to the “elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile,” it appears that many had chosen to put off living until they returned to Jerusalem, when and if that ever happened. The Lord of Hosts had other plans for them, and speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, proclaimed, “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7)

Whatever the circumstances that brought us to this area I believe God has a similar message for us today: “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you. . . and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”(Jeremiah 29:7)

We all have gifts and talents which will improve life in our community for many people and for the community as a whole, As St. Paul reminds us, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. Just as the body has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1Corinthians 12:1-13)

“Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works. Amen.”

Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity

The past week has been meaningful, sad, joyous, and thought provoking for me. The week began with the burial of a 58 year old man who died much too soon, continued with the wedding and celebration of a young couple, very much in love and surrounded by their friends, and ended when I “called” Bingo at the local nursing home where my 96 year old mother lives. As my thoughts and feelings of the events of the week swirled around my head and body, I recalled from my youth the phrase that gives this article its title: “Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity.” This phrase opened every episode of the 1961-1966 television medical drama, “Ben Casey.”

I am sad for the too soon death, thrilled and happy for the young couple and their friends and family, and both happy, and pensive about the residents of the nursing home and the opportunity I have to spend time with them, especially my mother who has lived a good, though rough in spots, life and continues to give me and many others joy and meaning. I am reminded again that life is truly a gift from God, and that God gives us one another: parents, friends, lovers, wives, husbands, children and “double first cousins,” to be our companions on this journey.

As I thought and, yes, prayed about life and our world, the “good, the bad, and the ugly,” I remember one of my favorite Books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament for Christians), the book of Ecclesiastes. The writer, Qohelet, “the Preacher,” is as much philosopher as he is theologian, and has wrestled with the same questions as I and many others have. “Why am I here, what is the meaning of life, why do we get sick, why do we die, can we still be happy?”

I share with you some of his answers: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to mend; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)

In the burial worship of the Episcopal Church, we proclaim:  “For to your faithful people, O Lord, 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.” (BCP, page 382)

The Apostle to the Apostle

Mary Magdalene! A name all Christians as well as people of other religions and no religion know. Throughout religious history Mary has been described in many ways, some not particularly flattering. She has been conflated by bishops, theologians and others with other women found in scripture which has certainly led to some of the confusion as to who she really was. At times she was thought to be the woman who washed Jesus feet with expensive oil and dried it with her hair, and with Mary of Bethany who sat at Jesus’ feet. She is depicted in Scripture as the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven devils, which may have lead to her description as a prostitute and may explain her devotion to him

Mary Magdalene, whose Feast Day was July 22, is mentioned by name twelve times in the Gospels, most notably, John 20:11-18 in which she is recorded as having witnessed his crucifixion and burial and as the first person to witness the Risen Jesus. After finally recognizing Jesus, when he calls her by name, Mary! She is told by Him to, “Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Acting on Jesus’ command, Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’ and she told them that he had said these things to her.”

Mary Magdalene, whatever else she did in her life, became the first to proclaim the Good News of the Resurrected Christ, the first Preacher of Resurrection to a world that truly needed to hear that Good News, and move from death to life. All of us who proclaim the Good News of the resurrected Jesus are following in Mary’s footsteps. As I read the Epistles of Paul, and of Timothy and Titus (which were likely written by followers of the Apostle Paul after his death), and see the prohibitions against women asking questions in worship or teaching men (1 Cor. 14:34; 1Timothy 2:11-12; and others) I realize that these letters, which are used as arguments against women preaching, were written at a time and place in history in which women were more restricted in their public involvement than they are today.

I believe that Mary Magdalene’s story reminds us that God calls people, both male and female, to all kinds of ministry, including the preaching ministry. St. Peter proclaims in Acts 2:17, “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”

 St. Paul reminds us that we don’t control the Spirit, God does (1Cor. 12:4-11): “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. . . All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”

Thanks be to God!

“And who is my Neighbor?"

Jesus was many things, including an Itinerant Preacher. He roamed the Galilean Countryside with his disciples and the women who followed him. He healed and preached, taught and prayed. Often people asked him questions during and after his sermons.

On one occasion (Luke 10:25-37), a lawyer asked a question to test Jesus: he said, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" to which Jesus answered by asking a question. "What is written in the law?” The man answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And Jesus said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."  Jesus calls this the First and Great Commandment. He didn’t create it but knew it from his reading of the scriptures (the first part is found in Deuteronomy 6:5, the second in Leviticus 19:18) but he expanded on it by broadening the definition of neighbor.

 

The Story continues: “And then, wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked Jesus, ‘and who is my neighbor,’” a question Jesus answered with a story. (Jesus almost always answers questions with another question or a story). Jesus then tells the story that we know as the “Good Samaritan,” a story I believe he told many times as he tried to communicate with people the essence of the Kingdom of God. Jesus then ends the dialogue by asking the lawyer another question: “Which of these three was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus then said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

Jesus tells this story at a time and in a part of the world where being a neighbor usually meant being a member of the same ethnic group, the same religion or both. With this parable, the neighbor turns out to be, “not the one we expect to be a neighbor,” but the one who showed compassion, the one who acted like a neighbor. You and I live in a world very similar to Jesus’ world except that communication is instantaneous: we judge neighbors by their religion, race, color and nation of origin rather than as the “one who showed compassion,” and we often forget the command part of Jesus’ statement, the purpose of the story, “go and do likewise.”

 

This does not mean that we have open borders, but it does mean that: we find ways to keep families together who come seeking asylum or safety; we make sure that conditions in locations where people must stay as the wait for asylum, or before they must go home, are safe, sanitary and that there is food to eat. It might also mean that we as a nation may need to look at policies of our country that may have contributed to some of the conditions in countries people are leaving.

 

Being a neighbor and a Christian in today’s world is complicated and followers of Jesus often see things differently from one another. Being a neighbor and having compassion means learning how to disagree with respect: not calling people names using profanity and not telling people with whom we disagree to go back where they came from. “America love or leave it, will be replaced with “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” Micah 6:8

Jesus shows us what it means to be a neighbor and commands us to “Go and do likewise."

God With Us/God as Trinity

Human beings have argued, fought and even killed other humans, over the identity of God and how we understand God. Christians have argued, fought and even killed other Christians over how we understand the Divinity and Humanity of Jesus and the relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity.”

In the midst of these “discussions,” the Roman Emperor, Constantine, called the Bishops of the church into the “definitive” Church Council in Nicaea, Turkey in the year 325 AD. Constantine was concerned about uniting the Empire, and a united church would certainly help him reach his goal. The Church’s goal for the Council was to establish the true nature of Christ (human and divine) and to develop an understanding of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one God in three persons. Out of this conference came both Unity and Heresy. This “Definitive Council” was followed by other “Definitive Councils:” Constantinople, 381; Ephesus, 431; and Chalcedon, 451. Each Council gave us the Church’s definitive answers. Did I mention that at some of these councils the Bishops got into fist fights and had to spend the night in jail? Perhaps a look at these councils will give us insight into things we will never know for sure, until we find ourselves in the nearer presence of our Lord, at which time we will likely find that it does not matter.

A brief look at the Creeds may help us understand why we believe what we believe, why others believe what they believe and what is truly important in our relationship with God and one another.

Nicaea’s primary goal was to establish the nature of Jesus as both completely God and completely human, thus countering early heresies that Jesus was “only God,” or “only human,” clarifying the Son’s relationship to the Father. Secondarily, this council began the work of developing an understanding of the Trinity as one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This later work would continue in 381 AD at the Council of Constantinople.

Constantinople confirmed the Nicene Creed, expanding the doctrine of the two natures of Christ and expanding and clarifying the definition of the Trinity “one God in three persons, and of the same substance.” This became the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, which liturgical churches recite today as the Nicene Creed. (See next paragraph)

“We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. . .” (BCP, p.358)

While the Trinity is rarely expressed specifically, the basis for the Creeds is found in Scripture and I share two examples: “Jesus said to the disciples, ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. . .’" (John 16:12-15)

And Jesus’ promise to all of us: “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.  In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. . .the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:18-27)

This is God’s Good News for us Today!

Change, an Invitation to Life: In our Own Languages we hear the Marvelous Acts of...

Change, an Invitation to Life: In our Own Languages we hear the Marvelous Acts of...: The feast of Pentecost has always been for me a very special day on my faith journey. We Christians celebrate the giving of and the breaki...

In our Own Languages we hear the Marvelous Acts of God

The feast of Pentecost has always been for me a very special day on my faith journey. We Christians celebrate the giving of and the breaking out of the Holy Spirit among the disciples, the followers of the way of Jesus, with energy and power and courage to spread the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. In Jerusalem on that day, fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus, there were gathered “people from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” (Revelation 7:9) And they each heard in “their own native language, the marvelous works of God.” (Acts 2:1-21)  On this day, the “followers of the Way,” became the Church and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit spread the Good News throughout the world.

This year on Pentecost I had an unexpected experience of these “Marvelous Acts of God.” I was assisting with a Voter Registration Project at a large Hispanic Roman Catholic Church in Albertville, Alabama, La Capilla de la Santa Cruz. We were there during the Noon Mass or Eucharist. Being “somewhat fluent in Spanish, I was able to listen to the Scripture readings, the Sermon and Eucharistic prayer in the native language of the majority of those worshiping there. This gave me some sense of what that day in Jerusalem might have been like: people inspired by the Holy Spirit, speaking different languages so all present could her and understand the “marvelous acts of God.” The Spirit of God was truly floating around “La Capilla de la Santa Cruz,” bouncing of ceiling and walls and into the hearts and minds and bodies of God’s people.

Padre Raul’s sermon was amazing, not only because I understood most of it, but because of his simple and powerful explanation of the Holy Spirit and her work in the world around and within us. To his simple question, “who is the Holy Spirit, he gave the equally simple and profound answer: “God! The Holy Spirit is God!” So simple and yet so life giving and life changing. He then asked, “What does the Holy Spirit do?” His answer: “The Holy Spirit shows us the rest of God, God the Creator and God the Son,” and then “opens our hearts and minds and bodies to God the Holy Trinity, to all of God.” Once we have been opened up to God, the Holy Spirit then enables us to do what God has called each one of us to do in the world.

We are all given different gifts, talents and callings to serve the world in Jesus’ name, and the Spirit gives us the strength, power, wisdom and courage to use our gifts to become co-creators with God. “Love God, Love your neighbor, Change the World.” Empowered by God the Holy Spirit we can “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves, and strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” (Book of Common Prayer, pp. 304-305)

In the Midst of Life there is Death (and Grief), and yet--Easter Continues!

“It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and every-where to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord; who rose victorious from the dead, and comforts us with the blessed hope of everlasting life. For to your faithful people, O Lord, 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, P.382)

“For life is changed, not ended.” Comforting words for sure, but when we lose to death someone close to us or even someone who has affected our lives through her or his writing or influence in the world, especially someone young and vibrant whom God is using to make the church and the world a better place for all, the crush of grief and loss, emptiness and tears can leave us devastated.

I share with you part of the story of a woman whom I did not know personally but whose writings and life challenge my faith while at the same time give me hope for the church and the world. As a priest in the church I have, at times, lost hope, as I see people’s understanding of God’s bigness and love get smaller rather than larger; our understanding of Jesus’ commandment “to love God and our neighbor,” turn into “if you don’t believe as I do, then “I am in and you are out.”

Rachel Held Evans, who died last week at 37 years old was and is one of those people who I consider to be a prophet. One who will continue to change the world and the church through those who knew her personally and love her still, and those of us who knew her only through her writings and whose lives are changed because of her. Rachel leaves behind a husband, a young son, a young daughter, and many personal friends who will, I am sure, continue to preach and teach the inclusive and loving understanding of God and Church that Rachel shared with all of us. Pray for those close to her who are experiencing profound grief and heaviness and emptiness.

Rachel was born in Alabama, moved to Dayton, Tennessee at 14, attended Bryan College there and continued to live there with her family. She grew up a Christian who loved Jesus and the Bible. As she studied and taught and prayed, she came to see the Bible as more than literal and took Jesus words seriously: “love God, love your neighbor, welcome the stranger, the foreigner and the oppressed.” She found a place in her heart and in the church for refugees and immigrants, LGBTQ people and people with whom she disagreed. She even saw a place in God’s Kingdom for people of different religions and no religion at all. (To learn more about Evans, I recommend The May 8 Washington Post Article “How Rachel Held Evans really should be remembered,” by her friends Sarah Bessey and Jeff Chu.)

Even though I knew her only from her books (Searching for Sunday; Inspired), blog posts and twitter she touched my heart so that her death brought a profound grief and emptiness to my heart. I pray for her family and loved ones and I live with Easter Hope. . . .

“For to your faithful people, O Lord, 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.”

Palm Fronds, Crosses, and Tombs

I grew up as a Methodist in the 1950’s and 1960’s. During that time the Sunday before Easter was “Palm Sunday,” celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I suspect the Preacher referred to events to come that week such as the “Last Supper” and “Good Friday but all I remember is the celebration.” Infants and children were baptized and we looked forward to Easter Sunday, chocolate bunnies and colored eggs.

For Episcopal Christians and other denominations as well, the Sunday before Easter is now “The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday.” Our worship begins with joy, a “parade” and the singing of “All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King! To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.” The Passion Gospel and sermon move us from joy to sorrow, from songs to tears: from celebration, to betrayal, arrest, denial, trial, death, and burial.

Becoming an adult and hearing and participating in and knowing the whole story changes everything. As St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12:  “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus form the core of the faith of those of us who are Christians. During his lifetime Jesus welcomed the stranger, including women, foreigners and lepers. He healed the sick and forgave sins. He proclaimed good news to the poor, release to the captives and the acceptable year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:14-21) He lived by the words of the Prophet Micah, “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) He preached The Beatitudes everywhere he went, and proclaimed as the First and Great Commandment words he had heard and read in Leviticus and Deuteronomy: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.”(Matthew 22:34-40)

In living as he did, Jesus began to be called King and Messiah by those who followed him. As Jesus proclaimed God’s love by word and deed, human leaders, both political and religious saw him as an impediment to their power and authority and scripture tells us that they determined to get rid of him.

We, like those who feared Jesus in his lifetime and encouraged his death, may also fear his call on our lives. We at times find it difficult to love mercy, do justice and walk humbly with our God, so on Palm Sunday, we pray:

“Almighty God, who’s most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified; mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace.” (BCP, 272)

As we enter Holy Week we remember Jesus by walking the way of the cross with him: from the joy and on through betrayal and trial to death and burial and then we wait. . .for God to act.

Dead and now Alive, Lost and now Found

Jesus would teach anyone who wanted to listen to him, regardless of who they were, what they wore or what they believed. The response from the religious leaders of his day was, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Jesus responded to them by telling a story: "There was a man who had two sons. . .” We’ve all heard the story. We call it the “Prodigal Son,” The Two Sons,” or “The Forgiving Father.” It’s a story about love and family and jealousy. About getting what we deserve and making sure that no one else gets more than they deserve. Ultimately it is about forgiveness and acceptance whether the forgiveness and acceptance are received or not.

Jesus often got into “hot water” with the “powers that be,” both religious and secular. Usually for talking to the wrong people or speaking of God more as a loving father than a despotic judge, and especially for eating with people who did not deserve God’s love: tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes. As we listen closely to this story, found in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, we see and hear Jesus illustrate that all deserve God’s love and forgiveness. Jesus hopes his listeners, then and now, see ourselves in this story, that we see our sins and mistakes as clearly as we see the sins and mistakes of others. Certainly some did and do, just as surely others did not and do not. I believe Jesus also hopes that we see God as bigger than we could ever ask or imagine.

In this story we can see the selfishness of the younger son as he takes his inheritance while his father is still living and blows it on parties and high living with his friends. The older brother, on the other hand, appears to be the perfect son: he stays home and cares for the family business, does all his father asks of him and never asks for anything special. This perfect son’s jealousy comes out when he feels he is not getting what he deserves, even to the point of expounding on his brother’s “sins” which may or may not have taken place.

God’s love, represented by the father’s actions, is greater and different than both expected. The younger son expected to become a servant and his father welcomed him as a son. The older son expected to be rewarded and the father welcomed him as a son. He loved them both with his whole heart and mind and strength, and forgave them both of their blindness and selfishness and lack of vision.

Wherever we find ourselves in Jesus’ story: the older brother, the younger brother, the father, a servant or just on the outside looking in, Jesus’ proclamation to the brother who stayed home is God’s gift to each of us. “We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”

May we celebrate God’s loving and forgiving presence in our lives, and may we go and do likewise. For truly we were dead and are now alive, were lost and have been found.

Litany of Penitence

I share with you one of the most powerful and important portions of the Ash Wednesday Liturgy

(found on Page 267-269 in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer)

The Celebrant and People together, all kneeling

Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

The Celebrant continues

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and
strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We
have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.
We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved
your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the
pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation
of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those
more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and
our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to
commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done:
for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our
indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our
neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those
who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of
concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.

Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world. 

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord,
Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Let’s Talk: This is Really Important

As strange as it may seem, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, is one of my favorite days of the Christian year. Perhaps an explanation is in order: My family and I lived in New Orleans for sixteen years. The last twelve years I was Rector/Pastor of St. George’s Episcopal Church on St. Charles Avenue, just two blocks from the main Mardi Gras Parade Route. This location made possible a major fundraising opportunity, “Mardi Gras Spirits!” We opened our doors and turned our fellowship hall (Undercroft) into a café with Cajun and Creole food, burgers, soft drinks, beer and wine. We also provided bathrooms for free, though we did accept “tips for trips.” After two weeks of daily and nightly parades ending with an eighteen hour Mardi Gras Day, I was so ready for Lent and for the Ash Wednesday reminder of what is really important in our lives, including the proclamation that “we are dust, and to dust we will return,” that we will die, and that what we do on this earth and in this life is important.

In the Episcopal Church, Fourth Century B.C. Jewish Prophet, Joel (2:1-2, 12-17) sets the tone for a Holy Lent by proclaiming God’s call to repentance to the people of Judah. As I read or hear this message, I hear it as God’s call to us as well.

“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near--a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come. 

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him. . .

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy.

Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, "Spare your people, O Lord. . .

God calls us to repentance, not to punish, but to bless. God chooses to bless us so that God might bless others through us and our lives. The importance of this invitation is seen in who is invited to this solemn assembly: the aged; the children including nursing infants; even the bride and bridegroom must put off the honeymoon to hear God’s invitation.

Yes, our daily lives are important to us and to our families and friends, and to God. But for our lives to be what God wants for us we must first hear Joel’s words and receive God’s blessing!

“Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him.”

As we return, weep and mourn, may the merciful God forgive us, shower us with God’s steadfast love and cover us with blessings.

God Calling

God calls us! Usually when we least expect it and almost always when we least want to hear it. Certainly this was true for Isaiah, the eighth century B.C. Prophet, and the fisherman, Peter and our sometimes friend, Saul of Tarsus, later to become Saint Paul.

Isaiah was worshiping in the temple and not contemplating becoming a prophet, when he saw a vision of the Lord and heard the angels proclaim: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." His response, "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!" When he heard the Lord ask, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" he replied, "Here am I; send me!" (Isaiah 6:1-8)

Peter, James and John were at work cleaning their nets after fishing all night will little success, when Jesus showed up on the shore to preach. The crowds were so large that Jesus asked to borrow Peter’s boat to use as a pulpit. After the sermon, he sent Simon out, reluctantly, to fish some more. The catch was so large, that Simon, awed by the power of God, fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" To which Jesus responded, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people. When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:1-11)

St. Paul puts God’s call to all of us in perspective by reminding us that he persecuted the people of God and was unfit to be an apostle, “but by Grace God called him.” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10) Yes, by Grace God called Isaiah, Peter, Paul, you and me to respond to the question, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" with the answer, "Here am I; send me!"

With the help of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 3:5-11), I want to shift metaphors from fishing to planting and finally to building. In responding to the Corinthians who were arguing over whose baptism was more important, Paul responds: “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. . . The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.”

At different times in our lives we all plant and water and harvest, and we all build on that one foundation that is Jesus Christ. I leave you with two verses from a seventh century Latin hymn, translated into English in the Nineteenth Century, which, I believe, will guide us, the church, as by grace we are all called to water what someone else has planted and to harvest what others have watered, and to build the church on that one sure foundation.

“Christ is made the sure foundation, Christ the head and cornerstone. Chosen of the Lord, and precious, binding all the church in one; holy Zion’s help forever, and her confidence alone

To this temple where we call thee, come, O Lord of Hosts, today; with thy wonted loving kindness hear thy servants as they pray, and thy fullest benediction shed within its walls always”

We are all God’s Children building on that sure foundation of Jesus Christ. As we are called and blessed through Grace, may God use us to be a blessing to others and to share God’s Grace with
God’s people everywhere.