Pride Sunday: Celebrating Love and Faith

Today's Scripture Readings

1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 10-16

On David's return from killing Goliath, the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" And David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.

Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army. David had success in all his undertakings; for the LORD was with him. When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them.

Psalm 133 (BCP, p. 787)


2 Corinthians 6:1-13 (NRSV)

As we work together with Christ, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,

"At an acceptable time I have listened to you,

and on a day of salvation I have helped you."

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see-- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return-- I speak as to children-- open wide your hearts also.

Mark 4:35-41 (NRSV)

When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Blog Reflection

Once while I was in college, a theology professor said that the purpose of the ten commandments was to help us understand what our problem was.  He never quite got around to telling us exactly what that problem was.  Even now, I tend to think it was one of those moments when we the students were to answer that question for ourselves.  Each of us could have named a particular problem, but does that really answer the question of why we need the commandment to love God, our neighbors and ourselves?

Our reading from Hebrew Scriptures is a love story between Jonathan and David.  One in which David loved Jonathan more the life itself.  Later as the narrative unfolds and Jonathan is killed, the pain of separation from one that David loved so much, is too much to bear.  The wound is deep.  The grief, all too real. 

One of the many things I have come to believe is that the human heart is something that it is not only impossible to try to control, in terms of who we love and how we love them, it is lethal to our overall health.   It is damaging to our physical, mental and spiritual wellness.  The world is full of enough tragedies in nature, sickness, crime and death that over work our human emotions.  Asking an individual to just not allow themselves the feelings of loving another person, is like telling the heart not to pump blood through one's body.

It is easy to call Pride Sunday as the continued call to justice and equality.  The ongoing discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Church and society continues to institutionalize itself in political campaigns and sermons.   Pride is our opportunity to celebrate our diversity as people who realize that we are all on this earth for a very brief period of time.  During that time, we all need to love someone, and be loved by someone.  It doesn't matter whether that love shared through romantic and sexual means is straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or that our gender is one that is different from the gender assigned to us at the moment we were born.  Pride celebrates the many ways in which our differences that divide us across political, social, religious and legal lines, are really there to unite us all as people who are here because of love, with love as the destiny to which we are all moving towards.

As Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as the Alpha (the beginning) and the Omega (the end), and the one through whom God reveals God's Self, we know that love was and remains the reason why we have the hope of salvation.  As Rev. Patrick S. Cheng writes in his book: From Sin to Grace: Discovering Queer Theology:

Christ is not only the Alpha (that is, the source of our creation), but Christ is also the Omega (that is, the ultimate goal of our existence).   Grace, therefore, can be understood as becoming divine. (Introduction, p. xiii). 

Cheng suggests, that any where we encounter the transforming power of Christ within relationships that becomes a moment for us to grow in grace, and encounter Christ is a moment that the Incarnate Word is helping us to be come more like the Divine.   LGBT people in our relationships, friendships and our sexual selves, can encounter the Crucified and Risen Christ, and be empowered to grow in the unmerited favor of God. When this happens we are connected to the Divine Revelation of the Holy One of God.  The mystery of God, becomes a living and interactive reality in the here and now.  It is transformational.  It is authentic. It is living.  It is beyond human explanation. It is the mystery of God, revealed in humankind.  The perfect revelation of God's Self in Christ.

In the Gospel today the disciples find themselves on a stormy sea.   While the waves are pounding against the boat, Jesus is sound asleep on the cushion.  The disciples wake Jesus and he wakes up, gets up and calms the storm.   Jesus then calls them out, by asking them if they have no faith.  From a glance, it is easy to take the side of the disciples.  They were afraid of drowning.  Storms are scary.  Yet, what Jesus is challenging them to do, is to believe that even the mighty winds and raging seas with all their destructive power are no match for what God can do in the lives of those who dare to believe in something stronger than nature, mightier than time and earth.

As we LGBT people continue to brave the storms of discrimination and violence, often done in the Name of Jesus, we may tend to think that God has either fallen asleep, or not even concerned.  It is way too easy to cast faith aside.  Feeling like to have faith in God is pointless, if religious groups led by NOM and the Family Research Council's are only going to keep hammering away at LGBT equal rights.   However, as Jesus rose in the middle of the storm on that windy day, so Jesus is alive and working with and through us.  Often in ways we cannot see, or understand.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty.  Shall say to the Lord, "You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust.  God shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter, and from the deadly pestilence.   God shall cover you with his pinions, and you shall find refuge under his wings; his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler."  (Psalm 91: 1-4, BCP, p. 719).

God is close to all of us as we face the reality of how abusive the Christianist right is, as God continues to shield us by calling us to holiness and hope in the One who ultimately can and does save our souls.   We are pursuing righteousness in calling on the leadership of churches, governments (national, local and international) to see LGBT people as deserving of equal protection under the law, and given the same opportunities as any one else.   Though we may lose a campaign, God does not abandon us, nor stop loving us.  Even when we are mad as hell over ballot referendums to take away marriage equality, or State's pass laws allowing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, God is still with us, loving us, and holding on to us.   God identifies with our pain and suffering.  God cries when we hurt.  God celebrates with us, as we achieve successes in the work of justice, equality and inclusion.

As we celebrate this Pride Sunday, may we also take time to thank God for making us LGBT.   May we also thank God for all of the people who told us that God loves us as we are.  May we take time to praise God for those wonderful bodily sensations that tell us that we are being loved by God, through another person's touching, caressing, kissing and the joining of our bodies together.   May we celebrate that no matter what Christianists say or do to us, God has affirmed us in Christ, and continues to love us today and for ever.

Amen.

Prayers

                  Loving God, bless us as we gather to celebrate LGBT Pride.  We are, each of us, created in your image lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, and transgendered, alike.  Hasten the coming of your kingdom when all are welcome and all are equal.  Anoint us with the balm of hope and send us your healing Spirit, that we may be known as a just and unified community.  We ask this in your Name, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.  (I have been told this prayer can be found in the Book of Occasional Services).

                 O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your
holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom
you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 7, Book of Common Prayer, p. 230).

                  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, p. 833).

Third Sunday after Pentecost: The Price for Faith Gets More Costly

Today's Scripture Readings

Ezekiel 17: 22-24 (NRSV)

Thus says the Lord GOD:

 

I myself will take a sprig

from the lofty top of a cedar;

I will set it out.

I will break off a tender one

from the topmost of its young twigs;

I myself will plant it

on a high and lofty mountain.

On the mountain height of Israel

I will plant it,

in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,

and become a noble cedar.

Under it every kind of bird will live;

in the shade of its branches will nest

winged creatures of every kind.

All the trees of the field shall know

that I am the LORD.

I bring low the high tree,

I make high the low tree;

I dry up the green tree

and make the dry tree flourish.

I the LORD have spoken;

I will accomplish it.

Psalm 92 (BCP, p. 720)


2 Corinthians 5:6-10,[11-13],14-17 (NRSV)

We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

[Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.] For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Mark 4:26-34 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."

He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Blog Reflection

The word faith is one that is thrown around almost like a can of soda.  It can be full and closed tight, open and being drunk for all it is worth, empty and kicked all over creation, or thrown away and discarded as nothing.  

When we say the word Faith with a capital F we are talking about the Christian Faith as a whole.  When the conversation is an individuals faith,we spell it with a small f.   News organizations and those not associated with any religious based community talk about a person's faith in a more generic term so as to not offend one group over another.  When Christians talk the word faith it can mean many things.  

In our Gospel today, Jesus is talking about a faith that begins in those who make the leap of faith to believe in God, the Parent of Jesus.  It is compared to a small seed that is planted and grows to an enormous size so that it provides something for the individuals and others who might share in it.  A faith that is not so isolated, nor is it without the need to provide something to others beyond oneself.  Even if it is some shade from the summer heat, or the opportunity to belong to a community of people who believe in and live for something greater than themselves.  A community where there is plenty of room for differences of belief, behavior and understanding.  One that is not so confined to being abstract and idealistic, but also humanly practical and accessible.

It never ceases to amaze and/or disgust me to see people using the Christian Faith as a reason to exclude, denigrate and demoralize people who are different than themselves.  The ongoing debate about accepting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people into the life of the Church, because of the need to stigmatize and degrade is ever so very disturbing.   The endless and erroneous use of the Bible to target LGBT people, Muslims, Jews, immigrants and the poor to treat them as second class citizens on earth, and even to dare to suggest that they are unwanted by God, is a misuse of our collective and individual Faith.  Rather then see all that is so good and wondrous about the unconditional and all-inclusive love of God through Jesus Christ to be shared and enjoyed by people, all of whom are different from each other in some kind of way, many Christians use the Bible and our Faith, to establish their list of so called "Christian family values" to be violent and hateful.  

This past week we witnessed examples of the ongoing violence towards women when Michigan Democratic Law Maker, Lisa Brown was banned from speaking on the floor, for saying the word: vagina.  Male privilege can be used to demean a woman's reproductive health care rights to care for her own body, in the "name" of God violently, but, a woman talking openly about her body and the need to protect the rights of women is seen as shameful or vulgar.   It appears that so called pro-lifers determined to declare war on women just cannot take responsibility for the hell that women are experiencing because of their negligence and grotesque behavior.  Why is it that individuals in the "name" of the Christian Faith must make people so ashamed of the beauty of the human body?   How is it that this has been the case for so many centuries of Church history?

A New York law maker backed by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) filed a bill to take away marriage equality for LGBT folks in the State.  

Another story out of Michigan about the House there passed a law that would allow student counselors do discriminate against LGBT students.       

This past week the breakfast giant General Mills publicly opposed the constitutional amendment that would ban marriage equality in Minnesota, a move that was amazing and awesome.  Yet, true to form, NOM's President Brian Brown declared a political war that is aimed at destroying the company for the position they took.

Just this past Friday, President Obama made the historic move of giving children of immigrants the opportunity to stay in America to study and work their way towards full citizenship.    The GOP House of Representatives was quick to condemn the move, accusing the President of granting amnesty, and suggesting it needs to be repealed.   The opinion being made by a Representative who in the past has led a very mean spirited campaign targeting Muslims in very hateful ways. 

Examples such as the one's I gave above are not good representations of Christians exercising their faith well.  They are the means of misusing religious based zeal to maintain certain individuals as second class citizens through violence and prejudice.  They are actions being taken in civil society, by Christianists and Dominionists determined to be sure that the Christian Faith that is made public and permanent is the one that is exclusive and destructive to people of faith and of good will towards others who are different than themselves.

As progressive Christians and individuals who believe in being inclusive peacemakers, we have the responsibility of proclaiming an inclusive Gospel of Faith.   One that recognizes that Jesus came to heal broken relationships, by identifying with all humankind in all of our pain and suffering.  Jesus came as one who was poor, marginalized and without even a place to lay his head.  Jesus came to bring the face of God to a place where every human person can celebrate all of the good things God gives us.  The hungry were fed, the sick were healed, the dead were raised and the hopeless found a new reason to have hope in God's love and grace.  Just small actions of hospitality and reconciliation changed the face of human history in ways that we are still learning about.  A Faith that forgives us of our sins when we fail, and unites us to God and one another through redemption and the promise of eternal life.  A way of life that is ever progressing and not regressing.  One that is open and accepting.  Not rejecting and legislating others unjustly, so to give rise to oppression.

Let us see that the price of our faith is costly enough to say that when the Christian Faith is used to exclude and hate, we can say that is the wrong way to go. Because our founder Jesus Christ showed us all a better way.  Jesus led the way to proclaim that through the Cross, all reasons for scapegoating are destroyed.  The way of Jesus is through love and sacrifice of self for others, to guide Christians to the work of peace, justice, inclusion, hospitality and reconciliation.

Amen.


Prayers

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast
faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim
your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with
compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and for ever. Amen.  (Proper 6, Book of Common Prayer, p. 230).


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, p. 815).


Gracious Father, we pray for they holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.  (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p. 816).

Top Ten Questions About God, Jesus, the Bible and Gay Pride by Susan Russell

My blog will be taking a break this upcoming weekend.   I enjoy writing it so much.  This weekend, I will be taking a much needed rest and will resume the following week.

In place of  my usual blog I want to invite you to read an excellent article by Rev. Susan Russell on the Huffington Post .  I also encourage you to comment where you feel led to help continue to tip the conversation towards a God who is all loving and inclusive.  

Below is the blog article copied and pasted for you to read.   Clock on the link above to comment.

In preparation for our L.A. Pride Festival this weekend, the team putting together the materials for our Diocese of Los Angeles booth at the festival came up with the following ten "frequently asked questions about God, Jesus, the Bible and gay people" -- and asked me to give them my best shot. And so I did.
Have I mentioned lately that I love my job?

1. Is being gay a sin?

No. Sins are acts that separate us from God and keep us from loving our neighbors as ourselves. Being gay is not a sin. Bullying is a sin. Being hateful to other people is a sin. Putting yourself in the place of God to judge others is a sin. Being gay is not.

2. What did Jesus say about gay people?

Jesus said the same thing about gay people as he said about all people: God loves you beyond your wildest imagining and calls you to walk in love with God and with each other. He also said a whole lot about loving your neighbor, welcoming the stranger, embracing the outcast and ministering to the marginalized.

3. Does the Bible really condemn homosexuality?

The short answer is no; no it does not. The handful of passages in the Old and New Testaments that talk about God condemning specific sexual acts have nothing whatsoever to do with sexual orientation and everything to do with contexts such as cultic prostitution or gang rape. To put it another way, using the Bible as a handbook on human sexuality makes as much sense as using it as a handbook on astronomy. Just as those who wrote the Biblical texts had no concept of the science that would prove the earth actually revolves around the sun, so they had no concept of homosexuality (which wasn't defined until the 19th century.)

4. How do I respond when people say "God hates "f--s"?

First of all, God's nature is to love, not to hate. We believe that what God cares about is not our sexual orientation but our theological orientation -- and that the question that matters is not "who do you love?" but "do you love?" Recognizing that homophobia causes some folks to project onto God their own fears, prejudices and biases against LGBT people, sometimes the best response is simply no response. It can be a challenge, but getting triggered by hate-mongers prevents us from being the change we want to see.

5. I thought gay men and women weren't allowed to be priests?

The Episcopal Church has been ordaining women to the priesthood since 1974 and we have women deacons, priests and bishops throughout the church -- including two women bishops here in the Diocese of Los Angeles. When it comes to gay men in the priesthood, the issue is not homosexuality -- it is honesty. The church has ordained gay men for centuries but finally the Episcopal Church added "sexual orientation" in the non-discrimination list in 1994 -- ending our version of "don't ask/don't tell." Because the Episcopal Church allows for diversity of practice, the leadership of "out" LGBT and women clergy is more prevalent in some places than others. But the Diocese of Los Angeles is proud to have been in the forefront of inclusion.

6. Can I still receive Communion in your church if I am gay?

Of course you can. In many of our churches you will hear a variation on the invitation "whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on the journey of faith there is a place for you here." God's love is radically inclusive and so is the Episcopal Church.

7. Despite what is happening legislatively, can my partner and I be married in the Episcopal Church yet?

The only accurate answer to this question is "that depends." It depends on which diocese you're in and whether you're in a state that has civil marriage equality. For example, New York State is a marriage equality state. In four of the six dioceses clergy can both solemnize and bless a civil marriage and in one of them clergy can bless but not solemnize (a judge or justice of the peace has to do the civil marriage part). Here in Los Angeles clergy both blessed and solemnized same-sex marriages in 2008 when it was legal and our bishops have been in the forefront of working to overturn Prop 8 and get marriage equality back. As Facebook might put it: "it's complicated."

8. What do I tell people when they say being gay is a sin and a choice?

Tell them that Jesus said absolutely nothing about being gay but he said a lot of things about judging other people. Then tell them that while there is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation there IS consensus that sexuality is a continuum. So the "choice" is not to be gay, straight or somewhere in between -- the "choice" is to build our own healthy relationships ... and give other people the grace to build theirs.

9. Should I try to "pray away the gay?"

No. If you need to pray away something, pray away homophobia. Homosexuality doesn't need healing. Homophobia does.

10. How do I respond when politicians condemn my sexuality, citing their belief in the Bible?

Remind them that the First Amendment protects them in believing whatever they want to about what God does or does not bless but it also prohibits them from using those beliefs to decide who the Constitution protects or doesn't protect. Tell them to stop confusing their theology with our democracy. And then campaign for and donate to their opponent in the next election cycle.


Prayer

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, p. 815).

Trinity Sunday: A Relationship of Love to Be Transparent

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 6: 1-8 (NRSV)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory."

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "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!"
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

Psalm 29 (BCP. p. 620)


Romans 8: 12-17 (NRSV)

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3: 1-17 (NRSV)

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Blog Reflection

Trinity Sunday always follows Pentecost.   Call it a "book end" as we move from the Easter Season on Pentecost into the Season after Pentecost or sometimes it is called "Ordinary Time."  Yet, before we return to the other Sundays after Pentecost, we stop on this first Sunday after, to reflect on a very profound and mysterious part of the Christian Faith, called the Trinity.

We could get into a long winded philosophical discussion about whether the relationship between the three Persons of the Trinity is logically possible or not.  We can talk about how when we are baptized in the Name of God in the three Persons of the Trinity.  We could also spend a significant amount of time on the subject of whether to refer to the three Persons by way of the traditional Names, or by more inclusive Names.  Yet, what the Trinity means for Christians still gets lost in all of the rhetoric of theological treatises and books. 

The Trinity cannot be explained or even described.  It can only be experienced as God's grace so chooses.  It is both beautiful and mighty.  It is holy, yet compassionate.  It is open to more than any human expression that can be written or spoken about.  God, the Holy Trinity can be known and loved as the One from whom all love comes and returns.  Yet as God's love in the relationship known as the Trinity is beyond our sight or comprehension, it is transparent in that it also transforms.  It can change the lives of all who are recipients of God's favor through boundless and all inclusive love.

The experience of God's relationship of love is transparent when we as human persons make the effort to "love my God, who lives in my neighbor" (St. Louis Marie de Montfort).  A transforming love that does not condone violence, prejudice, injustice or oppression.  A love that knows that to exercise brutality in word or action in the Name of Jesus Christ, is both a misuse of the Holy Name of God in the Anointed One of God, and an offense to the God who gives us every reason to love God back.  To declare that God's word in the Scriptures condones two Pastors suggesting that all LGBT people be killed by the government, is to spit in the face of the Jesus who is already crowned with thorns as he prepares to embrace the Cross on our behalf.  

The relationship of God's love through the Trinity knows that the physical love between two people of the same sex is holy, beautiful and wonderful.   That an individual who is born one gender and knows that she/he is a totally different gender, is blessed by God to live out the meaning of the resurrected Christ.  Women are to be shown respect and dignity with regards to their bodies, without making them second class citizens to men.  It is a love that seeks justice through compassion by individuals of all religious professions and practices, when any or all of us seeks the common good of every human person, without exception.

As we worship God today in this relationship of the Trinity, may we also honor the love that is given as we relate to one another.  May today be the opportunity for hospitality and reconciliation so that the healing presence of a loving God may be experienced because it is transparent.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us
your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the
power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep
us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to
see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with
the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity Sunday, Book of Common Prayer, p. 228).

 O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things
both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you,
all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable
for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen. (Proper 4, Book of Common Prayer, p. 229).

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 of Assisi, Book of Common Prayer, p. 833).

 

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