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.”