Life, Marriage, Death, Baptism, Life

This past weekend, my wife, Lynn, and I went back to the city we consider our second hometown: New Orleans: The Big Easy, The Crescent City. A city whose motto in French is “Lalissez Le Bon Temps Rouler.” “Let The Good Times Roll. New Orleans is a city that prides itself in living life to the fullest and in every moment. This includes all of life, from birth to death and beyond, from Mardi Gras to Lent to Easter and beyond. 

Our reason for the trip included all the above! Thirty years ago, I met a couple in my first week as pastor/rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church. He was fifty-nine and she was thirty-nine. They met in the parking lot of their apartment building and wanted to be married on St. Andrew’s Day, November 30, because the bride’s maiden name was McKenzie. The bride knew she would likely be a widow for a long time. As it turns out, she died this past December leaving her almost ninety-year-old husband widowed. Friends of Nancy’s from all aspects of her life: broadcasting, Caledonian Society, University Education, and St. George’s Church, planned and organized a Memorial Service and Time of Remembrance for her and asked me to participate. What an honor and a pleasure. We prayed, we read scripture and told stories, ate her favorite Petit Fours, and drank her favorite wine. Truly in life there is death and in death life as seen in the following scripture which was read at her memorial.

 

“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death for ever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9) Rest in Peace my friend.

On the next day, Sunday, as we visited St. George’s where I had been rector for twelve years, we received even more confirmation of God’s presence throughout our earthly lives and beyond. Eliza, nineteen-month-old daughter of a young family was to be baptized and receive the sacrament of new life. Baptism, whether of an adult or child is always a joyful event, a time for all of us to renew our own Baptismal Covenant, and Eliza’s baptism was no different: until it became different, and even better! As we left the church building, we were met by a Jazz Band and led in a “Second Line” around the block on which the church is located.

A word of explanation for those not familiar with the “Second Line” and its importance in the life of New Orleans. The “First Line” is the slow, solemn, and mournful jazz procession to the cemetery. The “Second Line” is the joyful, life affirming procession away from the grave with dancing and waving of handkerchiefs and umbrellas celebrating life and resurrection. In New Orleans the Second Line has come to be a celebration of life on almost every occasion. What better way to celebrate Eliza’s new birth into the death of Christ so that she will be raised with him in his resurrection.

 

 

 

 

 

How do we Pray, Why do we Pray, What difference does our prayer make?

 

(Based on Luke 11:1-13)

 

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

I assume since some of disciples had been John’s disciples that they knew about John’s teachings on prayer. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, and another of John’s disciples saw Jesus and asked John who he was. John answered, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Andrew and the other disciple responded, “see you John,” and ran after Jesus.

How then did Jesus teach his disciples to pray: Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” That’s it: short, sweet and to the point. 

WHY do we pray: we pray to know God’s Purpose in the world, and God’s purpose for us. We pray to know how God meets our needs and protects us, and to know how God can use us to meet the needs of others.             

Let’s elaborate on the why by looking at what Jesus taught them: First you may notice that Matthew’s version (6:9-13) is longer and seems to have been adapted to liturgical worship, while Luke’s version, as mentioned earlier, ‘cuts to the chase.’ For this reason, I want to look at the prayer and learn from it through Luke’s eyes, weaving the how and the why together.

Father, hallowed be your name: the introduction, the reminder that God is Holy; Your kingdom come: God’s Kingdom is Inclusive: Heaven and Earth, “Red & Yellow, Black & White we are precious in his sight.” And as St. Paul, reminds us, “Jew, and Greek, male and female, slave and free.” And I would add, “any other division we humans have come up with in our time on this earth. We truly are praying to help God bring God’s kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Jesus continues, give us each day our daily bread. This is a two-fold meaning: a reminder that God desires for us to be nourished for today, and that we have a place reserved for us at the Heavenly banquet.

Next, we have a somewhat, to me, confusing phrase: “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. I do not believe that our forgiveness of others earns God’s forgiveness, but I do believe it inspires us to forgive others and is likely a condition of our continuing forgiveness by God, and our part in bringing about God’s Kingdom on Earth.

Finally: do not bring us to the time of trial: God does not bring us to trials and temptations, but they exist, and we ask God to protect us, now and in the life to come                                                                                                      

Perhaps the most important of our three questions is: What difference does it make? Does prayer protect us from all of life’s problems: cancer, auto accidents, divorce, job loss, or natural disasters? We know it doesn’t, so why pray, what difference does Prayer really make?

For answers, we again turn to Jesus. Prayer in the bible is not only a mystical experience, but also one of the ways we work with God to bring about God’s Kingdom on Earth as in Heaven. God’s purpose for us is health, wholeness, and peace. Life on this planet sometimes prevents this. Jesus’ prayer we just looked out reminds us that we are joined with God and one another through Holy Spirit. Through this prayer relationship we become co-creators and co-caregivers and co-peacemakers with God.

Good News, Bad News, Good News 

Some reflections on how to survive as a Church, Nation and World

The Good News about the Episcopal Church is that there’s room for everybody. The bad news about the Episcopal Church is that there’s room for everybody. The Good News of Gospel is that it can teach us how 2 live with everybody, even if our faith leads us to see the world differently from one another. In the Gospel of Luke 10:1-11, 16-20, we see Jesus send out the seventy disciples two by two throughout the land to invite people into a relationship with God and with one another. He sends them out with these instructions: “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, so pray that the Lord will send more laborers into the harvest.” Then Jesus admonishes them be those laborers, to “travel light”: “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.

“Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near. But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'” So, whether the people welcomed the disciples or not, the Kingdom of God had come near to them.

The following prayer from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer sums up in this Gospel in one small Paragraph. “O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection. Amen.” 

How can we live out the Gospel and this prayer in a church where there is room for everybody? How do we, the Body of Christ, proclaim this good news in a country where there is so much division, even among those of us who follow Jesus? Answer: refer to the above prayer! 

I want to refer to politics, but this is not a political statement. This a statement about faith, about how the good news of the Gospel of Christ can shape our politics and our relationships. As we look at political actions and relationships, we first remember the words of Jesus that “the Kingdom of God has come very near you. 

Having said that, I want to reflect on our responses to the many decisions handed down by the Supreme Court this past week. Decisions affecting abortions, gun rights, carbon emissions, and immigration. The reactions by the citizens of our country and the members of our religious communities have been quick and emotional and diverse. Many people have been thrilled and excited and joyful. Others have been disappointed, angry, hurt and heart broken. Many of the people on all sides of these important issues are people of faith, who have made their decisions based on their faith and their life experiences, just as you and I have come to our decisions based on our own faith and life experiences. Many on all sides are members of your faith community. 

This piece is not about who is right and who is wrong about any of these decisions, even though I have my opinions about that just as you do and will work faithfully towards those ends. No, this piece is about how we as people of faith relate to God and to one another. So, I do not leave you with answers to difficult questions at this point, I leave with a prayer that I hope and pray will lead us into right relationship with God and one another in a church, a country and in a world where “there is room for everybody.”

“O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection. Amen.”

 

           

 

 

 

Time in the Wilderness with Jesus

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Luke 4:1-13) After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

God’s first act after the baptism of Jesus was to lead him into the wilderness, “to be tempted by Satan.” The Wilderness was a place both physical and metaphorical for Jesus to struggle, not only with Satan, but more importantly with God and with himself. To wrestle with the questions, “why did God send me here in the first place? What am I called to do? How am I to do it?”

You might be thinking, but Jesus is God, he should know the answers to these questions already. Remember, our faith teaches us that Jesus is not only fully God, but also fully human. I believe the human part of Jesus needed this wilderness time to be alone with the Holy Spirit, to go through the proverbial battle between the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder.

The temptations Jesus faced during his time in the wilderness: physical needs, power and glory, proof to the world that he is God’s special person, are the same temptations we face when we have the courage to go into the wilderness alone as Jesus did. Jesus’ wilderness time helped form and transform him. It serves as an example for those of us who are his followers. Lent for us is a reminder that we, like Jesus, need Wilderness time, that we need to be reformed and transformed just as Jesus did.

Last week I saw on twitter a book by Brene Brown, psychologist, social worker, and Episcopalian, entitled “Braving the Wilderness.” The secondary title is “The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone.” The book was truly a gift from God to me. In it, Brown first defines true belonging as being true to yourself. Secondly, she states that true belonging means being respectful to those who disagree with you, even if they are not respectful to you.

Wow, sure sounds like this was what Jesus’ wilderness time was all about.

After his wilderness experience, Jesus stood up to the religious and political authorities of his day and stood with the “least of those” in society: the poor, the orphan and the widow, the divorced women who were forced to beg or prostitute themselves to feed their families. He talked with those with whom a Jewish man was not supposed to talk: Samaritans, women, lepers, tax collectors and Pharisees. No one was left out of his love.

Yes, it got him ostracized and eventually killed, but he did it anyway, because his time alone with God in the wilderness clarified in his mind, heart, and soul that “for this I was born and for this I came into the world.”

During this season of Lent, I invite you, to join me in the wilderness, praying that we like Jesus will be able to say, “for this I was born, for this I came into the world.”

Ash Wednesday 2022 and Prayers for Justice and Peace in the World

(Based on a Sermon Preached at Christ Episcopal Church, Albertville, Alabama, Ash Wednesday, 20220)

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (Book of Common Prayer) 

A Message from Bishop Curry: Statement on Ukraine 

“In view of the tragic and heartrending news from Ukraine following the Russian Federation’s invasion of that country, we are one with our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world, and with all those seeking God’s will, in praying for a rapid cessation to these hostilities and an end to the devastating loss of life and countless personal tragedies occurring since the invasion.  

With this strongly in our minds and hearts, the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama will come together with the Catholic Diocese of Alabama and other religious leaders and communities on Ash Wednesday for a day of prayer. We also invite everyone across our Diocese to join us at an ecumenical prayer vigil for Ukraine to be held at Kelly Ingram Park at 4:30pm on Ash Wednesday. We join with all people of faith in praying for the restoration of peace, safety, and stability in Ukraine. 

Eternal God, in whose perfect realm no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, and no strength known but the strength of love: so guide and inspire the work of those who seek your kingdom that all your people may find their security in that love which casts out fear and in the fellowship revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Savior. (Book of Common Prayer) 

Sadly, the situation in the world today is not new. God’s people and the world have faced similar situations since human beings first inhabited the earth. In such times, people of faith have prayed similar prayers to the one shared with us by Bishop Curry. The following warning from God and prayer through the sixth century BC prophet, Joel, is one such example, and one which provides challenge and comfort to us as we pray for this Crisis in our world, and as we begin the season of Lent. Crises, prayer and lent, as well as lent, reflection and hope can never be separated from each other. 

Joel 2:1-2,12-17: 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, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God? 

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, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, `Where is their God?'" 

In Psalm 103 we find God’s promise to Ukraine, to the USA and to the world, now during our Lenten pilgrimage and for ever and ever, world without end, amen. 

“The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness. He will not always accuse us, nor will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our wickedness. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so is his mercy great upon those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us. As a father cares for his children, so does the LORD care for those who fear him. For he himself knows whereof we are made…the merciful goodness of the Lord endures for ever on those who fear him, and his righteousness on children's children.

 

As our senior warden, Brenda Mayhall, shared with me earlier today: “May our Ash Wednesday be a time of reflection and promise.”

Home and Family in The Christmas Gospels

As Christians we see God’s actions in the birth of Jesus and the love and protection extended to him from Mary and Joseph. After the visit of the Magi, recorded in Matthew 2:13-23, we see God’s guidance and Joseph’s actions in protecting Jesus and Mary. In this I also see an example for all of us that families are one of God’s greatest gifts to us and how we are to care for and protect one another.

“After the Magi had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him. . .’

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, Joseph was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth. . .”

In this scripture I see God’s message to us as well as to Joseph: a message of home, finding home, coming home, and of finding home in God.

 Throughout the Bible, we see this message over and over. The eighth century B.C. Prophet, Jeremiah proclaims: “For thus says the Lord: See the remnant of Israel, I am going to bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth and they shall return here. With weeping they shall come and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble. (Jeremiah 31:7-14) The Psalmist also proclaims, “How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. . .  For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84) 

As I read about Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and their journey home, I am reminded that we are fellow travelers with them and with all the Saints, as we journey together to find our true home as sons and daughters of God and sisters & brothers of Jesus Christ.

 

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord who destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a)