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.

What Would Jesus Do

After being baptized, and full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus goes into the wilderness to spend time alone with God, to open his heart and mind to God’s purpose for his life, and “to be tempted by the devil.” (Luke 4:2) Returning to Galilee, Jesus begins to teach in their synagogues and is praised by everyone. Finally, Jesus ends up in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, and now the story becomes interesting.

“He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:16-21)

Jesus outlines in his “first sermon,” why God sent him into the world. I believe he did so because he wanted people to know what they were getting into if they chose to follow him, to know what he and the Creator were asking them to do.

God’s message passed on from Isaiah through Jesus challenges us as well. How do we proclaim good news to the poor when so often we want to blame the poor for the world’s problems? How do we proclaim release to those who are captive: the wrongly imprisoned; those held captive by addictions, or poverty. How do we see our own blindness to the needs of the hungry, homeless, and those without health insurance? And how do we recognize and admit that there really are people who are oppressed because of their race, lack of education, poverty, sexual orientation and other circumstances. Following Jesus’ command is the work, not only of each of us individually, but of the community, and in our case as “followers of the Way,” that community is the Church.

After Jesus made these proclamations, which the people applauded, they then became angry when Jesus suggested that God may have this vision for all God’s people, not just the Jewish people into whose tribe Jesus was born. “The People said, ‘Is not this Joseph's son?’ He said to them, ‘doubtless. . .you will say, 'do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum. . .but the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.”

Jesus’ vision, God’s vision was bigger than his hometown folks, and it got him into trouble. If we accept Jesus’ vision as our own, that vision may cause us problems as well.

So, how do we live into the vision of Jesus? How do we proclaim the Good News of God when ‘well intentioned people’ may respond by trying to ‘hurl us off the cliff?’ We live by doing what Jesus did, by saying what Jesus said, and by taking the chances he took.” In short, we become co-creators with God and we change the world in Jesus’ name.

The Baptism of Our Lord

The Baptism of Our Lord

(Based on Luke 3:15-17, 21-22)

As John the Baptist continued baptizing in the Jordan River for the forgiveness of sins, “the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah. John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”

This prepared them, and us, for the climax of this amazing story: “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’"

Through John, baptism became an important symbolic action for God’s people as they sought to live a righteous life, let go of their sins and begin anew. Through Jesus’ baptism, God proclaims Jesus as the beloved, and as the recipient and conduit of the Holy Spirit to God’s people throughout the world. As the Gospel of Jesus spreads throughout the Mediterranean, we see how the gift of the Spirit comes from God’s action, not ours. We offer ourselves or offer our children to be baptized and God sends the Holy Spirit as God chooses.

In the Book of Acts 7:14-17 we see that when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. “The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Elsewhere in Acts the Holy Spirit is given before baptism or during the act of baptism. Again, the conferring of the Holy Spirit and the timing of that gift are God’s actions not ours. The act of baptism, then, becomes a confirmation of God’s action of filling us with God’s Spirit: whether that happens before, during or after our baptism. What a blessing.

Baptism continues to be important to “the Body of Christ” as we see in Jesus’ final commission and blessing to his disciples (Matthew 28:16-20). “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

This is God’s challenge and God’s promise to us; this is God’s Good News for us today!

Prequel, Prophet, Prince of Peace

Prequel, Prophet, Prince of Peace

(Based on the Gospel of Luke 1:39-55)

After agreeing to become the mother of our Lord, a pregnant Mary sets out on a journey from Nazareth to the Judean hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with a son who will become John the Baptist. This visit is bathed with the presence of God’s Holy Spirit as John leaps in his mother’s womb as he senses the presence of one who he later calls “greater than I.” Elizabeth welcomes Mary and calls her “blessed of God:” “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

Mary was blessed because of her faith and obedience which make the incarnation humanly possible. Mary’s Song, the Magnificat, shows the importance and power of the Incarnation, of “God with us.” Mary’s song also telegraphs something of Jesus’ future, about the challenges and persecutions to come. If we are paying attention, it prepares us for our future as well. Mary confronts every Idol that we humans try to make into God, and she turns them on their heads.

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. . ."(Luke 1:46-53)

Mary is the supreme prophetic witness to God’s tender regard for the forgotten and discounted people of the world. She proclaims that where God’s mercy strikes home, the structures of privilege buckle and give way and Idols tumble.

Jesus’ Gospel is challenging, and Mary prepares us ahead of time for what is to come. May God give is the faith, obedience and courage to be like Mary.

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)