Friday, December 30, 2011

Sixth Day of Christmas: Frances Joseph Guadet; Prison Reformer and Educator

Scripture Readings

From the Morning Prayer Lectionary

1 Kings 17: 17-25 (NRSV)

After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!" But he said to her, "Give me your son." He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?" Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this child"s life come into him again." The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, "See, your son is alive." So the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth." 

From the Lectionary for the Holy Eucharist

Lamentations 3: 26-36 (NRSV)
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
to sit alone in silence
when the Lord has imposed it,
to put one's mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
to give one's cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.
For the Lord will not
reject forever.
Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve anyone.
When all the prisoners of the land
are crushed under foot,
when human rights are perverted
in the presence of the Most High,
when one's case is subverted
—does the Lord not see it?

John 13: 31-35 (NRSV)

At the last supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."


Blog Reflection

As I read the short biography of the life of Frances Joseph Gaudet I was so amazed by the information about this incredible woman.  I was grateful to read an exceptional short meditation on Frances Joseph Guadet in Forward Day by Day.

Psalm 23. I shall fear no evil; …your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

I only recently heard the name of Frances Joseph Gaudet (1861-1934), a new addition to the church calendar who is commemorated on this date. But now that I know about her, I want to become her fan on Facebook. There is no page for her, but perhaps I’ll start one, and hope that admiration for her will go viral. For now, I simply give thanks for her life and work.

African and Native American, daughter of a former slave, born in a log cabin, Gaudet successfully advocated for prison reform; she made juvenile offenders a focus of her efforts. Prisons in her day were designed mainly to punish, as many of them are today. Yet Gaudet, internalizing the message of today’s psalm, had the vision and the courage to oppose those prison practices and to put forward a philosophy of mercy and rehabilitation. Her message must have been met with enormous resistance, but she persevered.

God, please grant me even a small measure of her courage and commitment.

Stories like this one amaze me.  
Frances Joseph Gaudet was born a prisoner. She was not incarcerated for any crime she committed.  But, she was incarcerated socially and politically.  Guadet was a woman of African American and Native American decent.  She was born in Holmesville, Mississippi and eventually went to live with her brother in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Her two races along with her being a woman would have meant she was one second class citizen split three ways.  Yet, she did not allow the prejudices towards her to stand in the way of her work with prisoners both African American and Caucasian.  

Gaudet spent her life being part of educating prisoners.  She purchased a farm and built the Gaudet Normal and Industrial School.   Over time it was expanded over 105 acres.   Her school was known as a boarding school for children with working mothers.  Gaudet was the principal until 1921, when she donated the institution to the Episcopal Church of Louisiana.  It closed in 1950.  Four years later it's doors were reopened as the Gaudet Episcopal Home to serve African American children aged four to 16.   

Frances Joseph Gaudet died on December 30, 1934.  

All of the above information can be found in Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints on page 146.

Gaudet's work is an example of Matthew 25: 35-36 which is the alternative Gospel reading for her commemoration.  

Her social stigma in the deep south did not keep her from visiting Jesus in the incarcerated people of her day.  She dedicated her work to showing how an African American/Native American woman can be the hands, feet, heart and eyes of Jesus Christ.  

This commemoration needs to be allowed to penetrate our hearts and literally disturb us.  We need to be uncomfortable as we remember this courageous and holy women.  Uncomfortable with our own attitudes towards those who are different than ourselves.  Uncomfortable with those stereotypes that have filled our minds and formed our attitudes about others whom we consciously or unconsciously declare as useless or even dangerous.

How many of us say to others and to ourselves that we are not racist or sexist?  

How many of us have said something like that and then complained verbally and/or non-verbally about the Somali woman with the Shukr is taking too long to ring up the person ahead of us at the grocery store?

How many of us have said we are not sexist, but still laugh at degrading jokes about women?

The beauty of Guadet is that she did great things while people in the deep south were still using the "n" word or the word "red skin" to determine her worth and ability.  She knew and even accepted that she lived in places and times that there was much oppression and prejudice.   Yet, she did not let all of that keep her from doing what she could to for those more underprivileged than herself.

As women and men who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or considered or call ourselves queer (LGBTQ) we know that we live in very turbulent times.  Equality and freedom from religious, social and political oppression has not been completely realized; though we have made great strides.  We can all take the example of Frances Joseph Gaudet to accept where we are and push on to be the best LGBTQ people we can be.  In the midst of injustice and prejudice we can still serve the common good of those less fortunate than ourselves through the families we live in, the places where we work, the communities where we volunteer our time and share our resources.

It is also important that in the face of the violent rhetoric and disappointments pushed by Christianists and other Arch-conservative religious groups, that we maintain a level of respect for ourselves and others who are different from us so that the oppressed do not become the oppressors.  We must educate ourselves about others around us and seek friendships with other marginalized persons in the Church and society so that all of us are working together for the justice and equality that will mean all God's people are included.

The Christ-Child at Bethlehem is born to show us how to heal those broken relationships that are wounded by our short sightedness of different people around us.  The short sightedness we often have in our hearts and minds comes from the poor examples of the generations that went before us.  They are learned behaviors and attitudes.  As Yoda told Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back: "You must unlearn what you have learned." That my faithful readers takes a life time of growing and making lots of mistakes.  We all have to begin at some point.

During this past year we saw a terrible injustice with the execution of Troy Davis and many others because of the death penalty.  I am sure that Gaudet saw many injustices towards the prisoners she served. 

May 2012 be the year that we learn to see Jesus; the Word made Flesh in even the incarcerated.  May it also be the year that those in the prisons of attitudes and behaviors based on bias that leads to imprisoning others who are marginalized and oppressed may finally be set free.

+In the Name of our God who is Creator, Incarnate Word, and Life-Giver.  Amen.+


Prayers

Merciful God, who raised up your servant Frances Joseph Gaudet to work for prison reform and the education of her people: Grant that we, encouraged by the example of her life, may work for those who are denied the fullness of life by reasons of incarceration and lack of access to education; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 147).


Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 213).


Lord Jesus, for our sake you were condemned as a criminal:
Visit our jails and prisons with your pity and judgment.
Remember all prisoners, and bring the guilty to repentance
and amendment of life according to your will, and give them
hope for their future. When any are held unjustly, bring them
release; forgive us, and teach us to improve our justice.
Remember those who work in these institutions; keep them
humane and compassionate; and save them from becoming
brutal or callous. And since what we do for those in prison,
O Lord, we do for you, constrain us to improve their lot. All
this we ask for your mercy's sake. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 826).






Thursday, December 29, 2011

Fifth Day of Christmas: The Sheep Among the Wolves Replaces Five Golden Rings

Today's Scripture Reading

Matthew 10:16-22 (NRSV)

 
Jesus told the twelve disciples, "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. "


Blog Reflection

Among the many things I appreciate about Jesus is that he does not side step the reality of life.  Here Jesus is being very honest with his followers that there are dangers in this world.  Those dangers are linked to the need many people have of maintaining their false sense of security in the things and relationships in this world.  Because humankind is full of broken relationships.  Those broken relationships exist within the Church as much as anywhere else.

The Episcopal Church today commemorates Thomas Becket who was Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of King Henry II.  Originally Thomas who was thought to be more of a politician was very friendly with King Henry II.  After Becket became Archbishop of Canterbury, King Henry II became so infuriated with him that after a temporary successful banishment; when Becket returned not long after; Henry II had him murdered in his Cathedral. See Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 144 for the rest of the story.

Thomas A. Becket was the 40th Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170.  King Henry VIII did not rise to the throne until the year 1509.  During King Henry VIII's lifetime there were four different Archbishop's of Canterbury.  So the whole episode of Henry VIII's declaring himself the head of the Church of England did not happen for another 360+ years. As we can see from the short biography about Archbishop Becket in Holy Women, Holy Men the strains between Church and State were lively to say the very least.

Today is also the 5th day of Christmas.  In the famous Christmas song The Twelve Days of Christmas said that my true love gave to me five golden rings. So much for golden riches.

Why though might we pause on this 5th day of Christmas to think on Archbishop Becket, and the sheep among wolves?  

I have been staying with the issue of broken relationships as a central theme of Christmas, because our good Presiding Bishop said as much in her Christmas message.  But, I have another reason.  Inequality in relationships in this human world are always broken due to sin.  Before other progressives like myself start clocking to look at other pages as soon as I say the word sin, let us be realistic about what sin does to relationships.

Relationships in our world are broken.  They are unequal.

In the year 2011 we saw more relationships that are broken because of inequality, cruelty and degradation than we can count.  

In 2011 we saw an unprecedented attack on workers beginning in Wisconsin and Ohio and spreading to New Jersey, Maine, Michigan and so on.  

During this past year we witnessed a huge assault on a woman's reproductive health care.  

The middle class lost more battles during 2011 because of a do-nothing Congress. 

In other States like North Carolina, Minnesota and Pennsylvania we have constitutional amendments banning marriage equality on the ballots for 2012. 

Christianist organizations made relentlessly violent comments towards LGBT people, Muslims and other minority groups during 2011.

When New York passed marriage equality in 2011, the Liberty Council, the National Organization for Marriage and other anti-equality groups became the voice of mockery and denigration.

The inequality between the wealthy and the middle class became so great in 2011 that we saw the birth of the Occupy movement here and all over the world. Before the rise of the Occupy movement, we saw major demonstrations against dictatorial powers in Egypt, Libya, Syria and in many other places.

Between the Church and society there remains the income inequality between the have's and the have not's. 

Many are paying attention and are concerned.  Others remain part of the problem.

The world that the Christ-Child was born and raised in was a time of severe economic and social oppression. The Roman Empire controlled Palestine and did so with the iron fist.  There was King Herod who kept that distance between his wealthy self and the poor so great. He could not even let a poor, helpless child who was the Messiah come into the world peacefully.  Jesus Christ was born in the midst of our relationships broken by sin and social illness.  Jesus can tell his twelve that he is sending them out as sheep among wolves.  Jesus is both the Shepherd and one who came as a sheep just like you and me.  Jesus faces the wolves just like we all do.

Our lives and our work for equality, justice and inclusion of marginalized persons; including, but not limited to LGBT people is a work of sheep among wolves. 

In humility we are faced with having to accept where we are and make the best of it.  We are continually denigrated by Christianist groups and radical right wing groups that want nothing to do with helping us gain equality.  Yet, in that same humility we serve them by continuing to be a voice and a body that works for equality and faces the religious and spiritual violence of the wolves that would tear us to pieces with their sharp teeth. Many of us find those wolves in our own families.  We experience the betrayal of friends who say: "Yes, I accept you as a good gay or lesbian person, but I have to vote in favor of an anti-equality marriage amendment, because our pastor told us to."  Whether it's legal for them to say it or not.  Even if we know in our hearts that what they are doing is abusive and wrong. But, we should never give up.  We have to keep talking and showing people that LGBT people are good people right in front of their faces.

Our transgender members continue to face the wolves in the Church and society and in some cases within our own LGB communities.  Comments made by LGB people about a transgender person and how bad they think they look after their gender reassignment surgery.  How is that different from someone who is both anti-gay, lesbian and/or bisexual who says to someone in secret: "She still looks like a man"?  Is that really any better than a fundamentalist accusing a transgender person of "body mutilation?"

Jesus achieves greatness because of his coming as God's perfect revelation to serve all humanity in the utmost humility. 

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death—
   even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him
   and gave him the name
   that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
   every knee should bend,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
   that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.(Philippians 2: 5-11).


May 2012 be the year that with the help of God's Incarnation that relationships be healed.


Prayers

O God, our strength and our salvation, you called your servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of your people and a defender of your Church: Keep your household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (HWHM page 145).

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 213).

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 826).


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Fourth Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents: Let Go of Political Manuevering

Today's Scripture Reading

Matthew 2:13-18 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, 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." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."
When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
"A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."



Blog Reflection

I often wish I did not know about this Holy Day in our Church calendar.  I want the night before Christmas back with the beauty of the expected coming of the Christ Child, the music, the singing, the sermon about Emmanuel, God with us. 

I do not get to chose what is in the history of the Christian Church. I know.  I know. I am free to do whatever I want with my religion.  Except that if I do that and pass up what the Holy Innocents is about, I am not being true to who I am as a gay Episcopalian. 

We remember today with great horror and"why, O God" that King Herod slaughtered every male child up to two years old, because he was afraid that the new born King was going to supplant him.  This is one scene that Franco Zeffirelli brought home in the Anglo/Italian mini series Jesus of Nazareth depicted with drama that almost makes me sick to my stomach.   The screaming amidst the brutality of Herod's warriors putting these babies to the sword and the weeping mothers as the streets are literally filled with blood is heart wrenching.  

Last year when I wrote about this Holy Day, I also wrote about the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 121 years ago today.  A date that is oddly the same as remembering the Holy Innocents.  Native Americans were slaughtered during the Wounded Knee Massacre with the same kind of brutality that killed the Holy Innocence back in Bethlehem.  The Wounded Knee Massacre is as much a Holy Innocence killing as it is an example of the lack of hospitality that destroyed the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Both of these horrible massacres are the result of political maneuvering for the purpose of safe guarding a sense of insecurity on the part of a King and a government that just cannot allow something that they cannot understand, to roam freely and complete the purpose for which they exist.

When we read about incidents like these, our first question naturally is "where was God?"  If God is so Divine and Omni-present and Almighty, why didn't God intervene here?

I cannot answer that question in a way that would make sense. The violence we recall on a day like this, just does not make sense.

What also does not make sense is how so-called "pro-life" people make use of the horrible events we remember today to shame women about abortion.  It is a terrible abuse of pastoral and religious authority to use this day on women who are so often victimized by men in cases of rape and sexual assault. Women who are experiencing complications with their reproductive organs and need to make a decision about the fetus and the consequences she will face socially if she decides to abort, don't need reminders of how painful such a decision is.  Yet, many "pro-lifers" insist on using this day to pile on the guilt. 

Days like this can also be a reminder of how Christianists and others who still use the Bible to condemn lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; particularly youth.  LGBT and questioning youth who are trying to understand who they are and why they are so different from others who don't have these feelings in side of them that they are so afraid of.  They hear messages about how "As a Christian, I believe with all my heart that homosexuality is wrong." (See the movie For the Bible Tells Me So for the quote).  The innocence of a pure heart that wants to love herself/himself the way they are and know there is a place for them and God in t his world, gets violated as Christianist Pastors invade their sacred spaces.  This too is it's own form of a massacre.

How can the Christ Child of Bethlehem heal our broken relationships on a day like this?

I think we have to begin by allowing the Christ Child to help us understand what is in our own hearts.  All of us have those things that we think give us a sense of self security.  We all have that someone that we want out of our way so we can do as we please.  There is someone some where that scares our sense of self sufficiency to the point where we just have to do our political maneuvering.  If we are not careful, those feelings can drive us to an emotional violence towards someone whom we just hate so much, that we just cannot let them be who they are.

Jesus comes in the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth to help us know that the Light of God shines into those dark places within our hearts and souls.  That Light comes with love and grace to deliver us from our own sense of feeling like the hate that is in our hearts for someone else just cannot be changed or healed. God tells us that it is okay to let go. God tells us that it is okay that we let that individual who is between God and our personal salvation go and be who they are.  We don't have to change them.  We don't have to like them.  We don't even have to be their new best friend.  We also do not have to harbor that prejudice and hurt that harms ourselves on their account.  The Christ Child says; It's okay to let go.

Today's commemoration of the Holy Innocents teaches us that though we may not feel or see God in the midst of the horrible things that happen; we can be part of the solution if we are willing to let Jesus change our hearts and lives.  We can allow LGBT people, women, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews, immigrants and so forth seek to live their lives in peace with all of us.  In that peace there there is no need for political maneuvering.  Because God in Christ takes these horrible events and uses them to change communities and all humankind if only we will let God's Light shine through the darkness.

Amen.


Prayers

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy
innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your
great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish
your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, page 238).


O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know
you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend
us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that
we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of
any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, page 99).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, page 815). 

 
 
 
 

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Third Day of Christmas: St. John the Evangelist and Apostle: The Incarnate Word is About God's Inclusive Love

Today's Scripture Readings

1 John 1:1-9 (NRSV)


We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us-- we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


John 21:19b-24 (NRSV)

Jesus said to Peter, "Follow me."

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" So the rumor spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"
This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.


Blog Reflection

Today is the commemoration of St. John the Evangelist and Apostle.  St. John is my name sake as an Oblate of St. Benedict.

I chose the name because of my love for the Gospel named after John, as well as the three letters attributed to John in the New Testament.  The celebration of Christmas is just not complete for me without hearing the wonderful first chapter of John's Gospel about the Word becoming flesh, full of grace and truth.  John dedicates a majority of his first letter to God's love and the love we should have for each other to show that we are in relationship to God.  One of the most important parts of St. Benedict's Rule is to prefer nothing whatsoever to the love of Christ.

Lest we think that John is all mushy with love and sentiment, Jesus often nicknamed John and his brother James "Boanerges," which means, "sons of thunder" (See HWHM, page 140).  John was among the most arrogant for seeking to be seated on one side of Jesus with his brother James on the left.  It was John and his brother who had to be told that being a leader in God's reign was a matter of service to others.

Throughout John's Gospel, there is never a mention of John's name.  Whenever a reference could be made to John in the Gospel it is often always said as "the disciple whom Jesus loved."  There are many interpretations as to what that means.

One reference suggests that Jesus and John had a love affair. Why is that so horrible to think about?  God's Son was a human being with the ability to be in love with someone.  It is very possible that could be true.  Could that be what John was talking about in his first letter used today?  What John and the other apostles saw, touched and heard was nothing more than the very love of God through Jesus expressed in such an experience so awesome and beautiful, that they can only talk about it to people who just cannot believe it.

The other idea which has equal merit for being true is that "the disciple whom Jesus loved" means all of those who love and follow Jesus.  Given John's other remarks about God's love in his first letter, I could believe that too.

Forward Day by Day's reflection for today says:

The apostle John wrote these words not long after the crucifixion. We can hear the note of panic, frustration, and disbelief in his letter. He was there, he saw it all unfold, the coming of the Messiah and the redemption of the world. How can anyone question? How can anyone doubt?


Yet, already in John’s time, the Gnostics were challenging the divinity of Christ, and other divisions and dissent threatened to dissolve the young church.


For many of us, this Tuesday is our first or second day back at work after Christmas. The commute, the keyboard, the tasks put aside before the holiday now look stale and burdensome. Perhaps for us, too, the sense of wonder we found in the Nativity is already starting to erode. But we can listen to John. He saw, he heard, he touched, he wrote. He wrote to bring joy to the hearts of his readers. May our joy, indeed, be ­complete. Christ is born. Alleluia!

It is easy to put the blame on Gnostics for challenging the divinity of Christ.  Except that Christians do a really good job of challenging Christ's divinity through our refusal to love inclusively and with a sense of compassion towards those who are different than ourselves.   

St. John challenges me to look at my own arrogance and need to learn to love others who don't quite match up to my standards.  John may make my heart dance with his words and make me feel all warm inside, but if I am honest with myself, I am more challenged by his exhortation to love others to authenticate my wish to be a true disciple of Jesus.

The Church and society need to be infused with that love that heals broken relationships.  The love that came down on Christmas through one so innocent and so in need of help; though Jesus was the Word through whom everything in the world that was made, was made.  Jesus came to us as one who needed to be taught how to love in his own humanity; while being able to love unselfishly and completely in his divinity.  So the Church by virtue of our relationship with the Divine God; needs to continue to learn through the humanity of God's perfect revelation to love and heal broken relationships.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer (LGBTQ) people come with a natural desire to love and be loved for who we are.  Yet, because our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression challenge heterosexism; that idea that says that heterosexuals benefit at the expense of those who are not; we remain among the marginalized in the Church and society.  Even in the Episcopal Church, there are still clergy, Bishops and lay people that still look at LGBT Bishops, Priests and Deacons with a skeptical mind along with those questions about why is the Church becoming inclusive to us.

Today's Gospel appears to give us a look at something that can be easily missed.  John is reclining on Jesus.  Cuddling with each other, is Jesus and John at the table where Jesus is about to confront his betrayer.  Jesus tells Judas to do what he intends to do.  In the midst of this loving moment there is romantic and life giving love that is so tender. At the same time the love that sacrifices even to one who is about to betray Jesus is visible and real.  

The Church celebrates this feast of St. John as a reminder that the link between Christmas and the Cross is forever connected. God's love in Christ is tender, innocent and holy, because it also sacrifices and experiences the excruciating pain for all of the sins of humankind. God's love never withdraws itself, even in the face of injustice and prejudice. Even when betrayal and when life just does not make sense.  In the love of Jesus our sins are forgiven. Our broken relationships can be healed through the Incarnate, Crucified and Risen Christ.

We are challenged by St. John to know that the Incarnate Word is about God's inclusive love.  That includes you and me.
Prayers

Shed upon your Church, O Lord, the brightness of your light,
that we, being illumined by the teaching of your apostle and
evangelist John, may so walk in the light of your truth, that
at length we may attain to the fullness of eternal life; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, Book of Common Prayer, 238).

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (First Sunday after Christmas, Book of Common Prayer, page 213).

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen. (A General Thanksgiving, Book of Common Prayer, page 836).
 






Monday, December 26, 2011

Second Day of Christmas: St. Stephen: Religious Exceptionalism and Intolerance Kills Again






Scripture Readings

Acts 6:8-7:2a,51c-60 (NRSV)


Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated some men to say, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who said, "This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us." And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Then the high priest asked him, "Are these things so?"

And Stephen replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. You are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it."

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.


Matthew 23:34-39 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"


Blog Reflection

The commemoration of St. Stephen the day after the Christmas Season begins seems like we turned from one chapter of the story to another.  In a sense we have.  In a sense we have not.

Yesterday we celebrated God coming to us in Jesus Christ.  As one so fragile and helpless.  Jesus came to help heal our wounded relationships. 

Today, we commemorate the first Martyr of the Christian Church; St. Stephen. One of those relationships God came to heal us from is religious exceptionalism and intolerance.  What we need to understand to heal those broken relationships from this Holy Day in our Church calender is that religious exceptionalism and intolerance kills a lot more than a body.  It kills community.

Christians were the new group in town.  Jesus had ascended.  The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost.  The newly forming Church was gaining popularity.  Those who wanted to protect the exceptionalism of their own religion were challenged to be more inclusive of new ideas and the ways in which people understood their relationship with their God.  As Stephen makes the case for this new religion full of this zeal he has for being Christian, the existing religious establishment just would not tolerate it.

Sadly, what has happened to the Christian religion over these many centuries is that we have forgotten the lessons of how much religious exceptionalism and intolerance kills.  The Christ Child came to heal broken relationships, by helping us understand what is so broken and wounded about them.  The Church in the 21st Century is still learning how broken our relationships are.

What we have seen over the 20th Century with the rise of fundamentalism that makes use of the modern invention of Biblical literalism, is one form of religious exceptionalism and intolerance taken over by another sad example. The American Family Association. The Family Research Council(s) all over the country.  Focus on the Family.  The Trinity Broadcasting Network. These are a few examples of fundamentalist organizations that promote religious exceptionalism and intolerance. 

At the same time, in the Catholic Church, we have seen religious exceptionalism and intolerance rise through the use of a authoritarian model in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  It's pages are full of very great insights. However, the intent appears to be to create a faithful following that does nothing more than recite the teachings only for the purpose of ending all conversations that would contradict them. The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and Relevant Radio have done a good job of supporting and creating more individuals to promote this form of religious exceptionalism and intolerance. Here in Minneapolis and St. Paul we have a follower of the great "orthodox Catholic" networks. The person I speak of writes comments in any newspaper piece where Catholicism is written or spoken about. His comments are written for one purpose. To make sure that the teachings of the church are explained in their entirety.  Anyone who does not agree with what he writes, whether Catholic or not is immediately and violently torn apart by the commenter.

In our Anglican/Episcopal tradition we have seen many incredible strides.  Women are allowed to be ordained in all forms of Church ministry.  In most recent years and not without difficulties LGBT people can be ordained to all forms of Church ministries too.  Reconciliation has been sought with Native Americans, with a commitment to honor the cultural traditions they come from. Opposing the religious intolerance that continues to vilify Jewish people and Muslims is something we are talking openly about.  Yet, within our own progressive bodies, there remain those who would prefer to encourage religious exceptionalism and intolerance. 

St. Stephens' example of being forgiving and praying for the mercy on his persecutors is outstanding. In the midst of his terrible death by stoning, he is more concerned with keeping his own salvation and praying for those who are killing him.  Among the people in attendance of his stoning is Saul who would later become Paul.  Stephens' witness to the transforming power of God's saving love becomes a vehicle through which Saul would one day be where Stephen is.  One day, Saul when he is known as Paul will be the victim of religious exceptionalism and intolerance.

The coming of Christ at Bethlehem is a reminder that as Christians we are not always going to get it right.  As a human being from birth until death we never stop learning and growing in our understanding.  So the Church needs to continue to learn and grow because of those who lead it until Christ comes again.  That learning and growing happens as we are open to the transforming power of God's unconditional and all inclusive love and grace. 

The Church has it's history of burning heretics at the stake. Whipping those who do not share their views. Burning individuals who are thought to be witches. Many who supported discrimination towards Native Americans, African Americans, Irish people, Jewish people, Muslims, Atheists, Wiccans, Pagans and so forth. Christians at one point supported the idea that women should live in subordination. There are Christians who even today support such thinking. While there have been many strides towards greater acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, there are many who still prefer to reject us because of religious exceptionalism and intolerance.

A compelling case can also be made about religious exceptionalism and intolerance on the part of LGBT people and others.  As painful as being rejected because of our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression is, returning that rejection by suggesting that all Christians are gay haters is not helpful.  I know of way too many openly LGBT ministers and priests who receive uncalled for violence from the oppressed who become oppressors.  The wounds to our communities will not be healed if we continue to take part in further wounding broken relationships. 

As we celebrate this Second Day of Christmas with the Holy Day of St. Stephen let us speak the truth in love, but always with a respect for diversity and a tolerance for perspectives that are not the same as ours.  This is something I need to pray about and work for too. 

The Christ Child has come to heal our broken relationships.  He does that by helping us to understand where and how they are broken.  Are we paying attention?


Prayers

We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the
first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed
for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at
your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (St. Stephen, Book of Common Prayer, page 237).


Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (First Sunday after Christmas, Book of Common Prayer, page 213).


Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.  (Prayer Attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, page 833).

  

Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ: The Healer of Broken Relationships




Today's Scripture Readings

Luke 2: 1-20  (NRSV)

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 
"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.


John 1: 1-14 (NRSV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.


Blog Reflection

At the end of her Christmas message, The Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church writes:

Jesus comes among us to remind us of a world living together in peace, to reclaim and make real that vision of creation for all humanity and all God’s creatures. That world is put right as relationships between God and humanity are set right. The relationship between God and human being cannot be set right without equal healing of relationships between us mortals.  See, your salvation comes!  Will we welcome that healing?

 If there is one time of the year in which many relationships are definitely not healed; it is Christmas.  Many families and their relatives face the Christmas holiday with anger and deep pain as they approach each other (or chose not to).  The distance between the coming of Jesus in the Manger at Bethlehem and broken hearts for some is too much.  The desire to mend those broken relationships may be there, but when it comes to actually interacting with them face to face; hearts are just too hard.  Emotions just seem to never stop colliding.

The magic of that Christmas night with the stars and the shepherds, all the glorious music and lofty Scripture readings.  Where does it all go when we see or we don't see the person we are in conflict with?

Sometimes I think many of the Christmas Gospel stories are misleading.  They talk of something mysteriously wonderful happening.  But, consider the manner in which Jesus was born.  It was anything but majestic in the Anglican ceremonial sense.  Everything that happened around the birth of Jesus was disorganized.  Nothing was totally right in order.  It was down right messy.

Did it really get better after Christmas?  After the Magi left, Herod had every son up to two years old slaughtered with the sword because they did not know that Mary and Joseph had taken Jesus to Egypt at the suggestion of the Magi.  Rachel cried in agony only a few days after Jesus was born (see Matthew 2: 16-18).  Did the world really get better?

The joy in the message of Christmas is that God came in the midst of our mess, our violence, our broken relationships and all that was and still is not right about anything.   Jesus came to bring God's perfect revelation to what was and still is so imperfect.  God comes into hearts and relationships that are all bent out of shape.

God comes; not as the mighty warrior with swords and machine guns raised to kill and slaughter.

God comes to be among us; not to force God's way in.

God comes and overthrows the mighty from their thrones; not by political maneuvering and corporate cash to overthrow the liberals of his time; to raise up an arch-conservative monarchy to kick the poor out of their homes without health care or the basic necessities of life 

God's perfect revelation of Self comes to us; not as some family council or National Organization for Marriage to tell LGBTQ people that they cannot be married to the person they love or serve openly in the Military.

God does not come in the voice of the Archbishop of San Francisco to kick out the gay friendly speakers in the middle of Christmas Liturgies while attempting a church membership drive called "Come Home."

God does not come in the voice of Archbishop Francis Cardinal George comparing the Gay Pride parades in the middle of Chicago to the Klu Klux Klan

In her outstanding article; United Church of Christ Pastor Emily C. Heath writes:

What they fail to understand is that culture didn't remove Christ from Christmas. We Christians did. We accepted the transformation of Advent, the period from late November until December 24th, from a time of holy watching and waiting to one of hyper-consumerism and cultural observances. So much so that when we go to a big box store and don't hear "Merry Christmas" we see it as an attack on our faith instead of the rightful separation of the commercial from the spiritual.

But there are still those who believe Christmas is under attack. I think they're right. But I don't think stores who have "holiday sales" are the attackers. I don't think it's towns that remove Nativity scenes from parks. I don't believe it's public schools that insist that Jewish and Muslim and Buddhist kids not be asked to sing songs affirming a faith different from their own.

I believe the greatest attack on Christmas has come from within. It has come from those of us who claim our greatest hope comes from the fact that God became a person of goodness, kindness, justice, and love. And who then act nothing like that person did.

And so here is my suggestion to Christians about how to keep Christ in Christmas: this season, worry less about the holiday policies of non-religious institutions, and worry more about whether we are actually listening to, and then doing, what Christ told us to do. In short, keep Christ in Christmas by acting like Christians.


I've always found the Beatitudes a good place to start. When Jesus called his followers up to a hill and preached to them, he told them who the "blessed" were; the ones whom God has looked with favor upon and will grant joy. The ones Christ calls blessed are often the same ones we as a culture are the quickest to condemn or criticize. We blame them for their own situation, and we refuse to help them. We somehow forget that when God became incarnate and preached a sermon about who was most blessed by God, these are the ones who were named: the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the peacemakers, the merciful, the mourners, the pure in heart, the gentle. If Christmas is about the incarnation of God, and this is what God incarnate saw fit to tell us, then this is the ultimate Christmas message.

But over the last year, how many examples have there been of Christians who could care less who God has called blessed? How many times has a Christian told a hungry man to get a job? How many times has one told a poor woman that she just needs to work harder? How many times has a Christian ridiculed the gentle or the merciful? Called the ethical naive? Mocked the peacemaker or the one who calls for justice?

How many times have we told God by our actions that we could care less what Christmas means? Because if we don't take seriously the words of the man that that baby born on Christmas came to be, we have no idea what it means to keep Christ in Christmas.

Humankind cannot see God's desire to heal our broken relationships by miraculous deeds alone. Jesus is born today to show us that Jesus can be born again in us today and everyday to heal broken relationships by living as one of us. To know our experiences as one like us. Learning to cry when the pain hurts to much.  God comes and laughs at our jokes.  God comes to celebrate the momentous event of people coming together to love one another and make a difference in the world around us.

For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9, NRSV).

One of the greatest tragedies of this Holiday Season is when families cannot come together peacefully over the issue of sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression because of religion.  Individuals who are LGBTQ of all ages experience a deep rejection this time of the year from their families. They face the possibility of some Bible thumper in the family giving them the drill of: "Well, some day God will cure you of your gayness."  Honestly, facing that kind of thing in the middle of Christmas Dinner with family is like giving an LGBTQ person sugar in one dish and vinegar in the next.  All the LGBTQ person is likely to remember about that holiday meal is the bitter sourness of the vinegar.

This Christmas Season let's all go to the Christ Child in the Manger and ask God Incarnate to lead us once again through this next year to heal those relationships that are so broken.  The risk of further injury and even being crucified will be there this year just like they have always been.  There is also the very real probability of resurrection by which we can all have newly healed relationships in spite of our broken and wounded humanity.  That healing comes when we accept ourselves for who we are, live openly and honestly with God, others and ourselves.   That healing is made even more real when those who have rejected us in the past come around to a better understanding and begin to love us and our same-sex partner(s) as we are.

In her blog post: Holy Family Values, Rev. Susan Russell wrote:

The Christ Child made the Holy Family holy – what made them a family were the values that bound them together as an icon of God’s love for the whole human family. And those values have absolutely nothing to do with either the gender or the genetics of those who make up a family and everything to do with the inclusive love of the God whose deepest desire is for this human race – created in God’s image – to become the human family it was meant to be.

Sadly, one of the things that has WAY too often gotten in the way of proclaiming that love to all people is the very thing that was created to proclaim that love to all people – and that thing would be The Church. Yet maybe it’s my own lived experience of reconfiguring a family on the other side of a marriage that gives me the hope we can also reconfigure our churches on the other side of bias and bigotry against God’s LGBT beloved.

O Come, Emmanuel, O Come All Ye Faithful and heal our broken relationships.  Amen.


Prayers

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth
of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully
receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence
behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.


O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the
brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known
the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him
perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he
lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.


Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to
take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure
virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made
your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed
by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom
with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Collects for Christmas, Book of Common Prayer, pages 212-213).
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday after Christmas, Book of Common Prayer, page 213).   







Friday, December 23, 2011

Friday in the Fourth Week of Advent: Waiting for the Light

Scripture Reading

Luke 1: 67-80 (NRSV)

 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty saviour for us
   in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
   that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
   and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
   to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
   before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
   by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.’  The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.


Blog Reflection

Every night when we pray Compline (or Night Prayer) we pray the following words.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.


Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.


Lord, you now have set your servant free *
   to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, *
   whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations, *
   and the glory of your people Israel.


Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
   as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. 


 Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake
we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.  (See Book of Common Prayer, pages 134.135).


We pray the words "watching" and "waking" to symbolize the idea of staying a wake and waiting for something.  


Well since the days before St. Benedict; hermits, Monks and nuns and many other Christians would remain awake long after most were sleeping.  A form of the Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Daily Office was made for those who watched during the night.  The Liturgy is called Vigils.  These Liturgies were created from the idea contained in the words of Jesus in St. Mark's Gospel which we used to begin Advent this year.  

"Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come." "Therefore, keep awake--for  you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.  What I say to you, I say to all; Keep awake." (Mark 13: 33, 35-37).


The idea behind praying the Liturgy of the Hours is to acknowledge God's goodness and presence at all times of our lives. In particular vigils are a reflection of the words of Psalm 139: 10 and 11.  "If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night.  Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike." (Book of Common Prayer, page 794).


Watching and praying during the night hours is an awareness of God's Divine Light that shines at all times, even in the darkness of the night within our souls and throughout human history.  


During the Season of Advent we have been watching and waiting for the Light to come. That Light is Jesus Christ.  Though God is present in creation and through God's people world wide in every person, religion and otherwise; Christians believe that Jesus is the "Light of the World" see John 9: 5.  


The song of Zechariah at the birth and naming of John the Baptist is a testimony of how God visited God's people through a prophesy fulfilled.  Zechariah sings of the "tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."


No doubt wee are all living in a world filled with darkness.  Not just the dark of night which is both beautiful and frightening at the same time; we are also living through the darkness of war, prejudice, poverty, sickness and a certain amount of unwillingness on the part of all of us to be part of the solution for these and other issues.   The social diseases of sexism, racism, heterosexism, the privileged vs the underprivileged, religious superiority reflect a darkness in the human soul.  The abuses of power by corporations, politicians, religious organizations/ministers of all kinds continue to reflect a darkness while the needs of the oppressed and needy go ignored; with no one's ears or hearts paying attention.

Jesus is God's Light shining into the human experience of every soul.   

"All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.  

There was a man send from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify to the light, sot hat all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.  The true light, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him.  he came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God." (John 1:3-13, NRSV).  


God comes in Christ to show us the Light that we might share by reaching out to the marginalized in the Church and society.  The immigrants.  The impoverished. Those challenged physically, emotionally and psychologically.  The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people, families and couples. The straight individuals being confused by Christianists who tell them that LGBTQ people want to "redefine marriage" by wanting to share in the light of marriage equality.


Jesus comes in the midst of our poverty, abandonment and social injustices to help us know that God is with us.  God's Light wants to shine into the darkness of our feeling like because the Church does not accept us, somehow neither does God.  God's Light comes in the midst of our doubt and despair so that we might know God's acceptance and how much God loves us intimately and completely. 


Matthew 1: 18-25 (NRSV)

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.




We know that the story of Jesus does not end with the magic of Christmas Eve/Day; violence, bias and oppression were waiting on the doorstep for his arrival.  It did not stop, just because God arrived in the flesh. Just as it will not stop on December 25, 2011.  We will have to face all the uncertainty that is still before us.


What the Advent and Christmas message tell us is that no situation is so dark or messy that God will not be there with us.  God is present and will be present.  Even when the pain is just so great that we wonder if God exists.  Even when we feel emotionally empty.  Even when the Church still doesn't get it the way they probably should.  Just as the wonder of God's love in Jesus did not stop with the dreadful slaughter of the Holy Innocents which we will commemorate on December 28; so God has not stopped speaking and acting in 2011 as we go into 2012.  God with us means that there is always hope for justice, equality and inclusion.  

The wonder of Jesus did not end with the darkness of the cross, but there was new life in the light of the resurrection.  So it can be for all of us.  




Prayers


Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation,
that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a
mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 212).


Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of
death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where

you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep
peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your
tender mercies' sake. Amen. (Collect for Fridays, Book of Common Prayer, page 123).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, page 815).


Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the
strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that
all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of
Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and
glory, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, page 815).