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.

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.