Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Bread and Word of Life: Not Violence or Prejudice

Today's Scripture Readings

Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18 (NRSV)

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:

"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

Psalm 34 (BCP, p. 628)


Ephesians 6:10-20 (NRSV)

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

John 6:56-69 (NRSV)
 

Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father."

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

Blog Reflection

One of the joys of being a musician is the ability to read notes on a piece of music and turn them into a magnificent melody with the harmony.   To someone who does not read music, the notes and staffs, sharps and flats all look like ink blots on paper.  It takes a skilled musician to read the music and give it life so that it goes beyond just a beautiful piece played or sung.  It becomes a living medium that moves the heart and stirs the soul.

Over the past 20 years or so, Gregorian Chant has made a huge come back.  When the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos recorded their first Chant CD, they gave new life to something that was considered by many to be dead.   They breathed new life into the lives of many people, with those simple chanted melodies and phrases that moved people to cherish a tradition that is long removed from our own time.  Yet, somehow, it is all still with us.  It is because of the Bread of Life, that brings the words of everlasting life, to all who will take time to praise God in what ever time and situation we may find ourselves.

I do love the Holy Eucharist.  The day that I was finally convinced for myself that Jesus is really present in the consecrated Bread and Wine, was a moment of conversion for me.  I fell in love with the idea and practice of receiving Christ in Holy Communion and seeking God's grace to be nourished and strengthened by the Sacrament.  However, every day, I am challenged in my heart, mind and actions about how I make the real presence of Jesus real in my relationships with Jason and others.   That is why the Eucharist is so important to my own life.  Without it, I would not be able to keep my faith in Christ amidst the violence and prejudice I have experienced as a gay man, and/or as a gay man who is a Christian. 

In today's Gospel, Jesus again tells us that he is the bread of life.  He invites us to feast on himself so that God may abide in us, and we abide in God.   There are followers in his audience who just find this too much to take.   So they leave.  Jesus asks those who remain if they too want to leave.  Peter answers: "Lord, to whom can we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

What so many in our time are looking for, is for Christians to be an authentic example of the real presence of Christ. To give life and meaning to the Holy Communion we receive and the Word we listen to.  Unless Christians are ready and willing to surrender ourselves to the will of God, by accepting who we are, and agreeing to love others with openness and inclusiveness, Holy Communion is just a potluck supper, and the Word who is Jesus, is just another old world legend.   How can we call others to believe and love, what we ourselves do not practice in our daily lives?

Over these past two weeks we have seen the Christian Faith once again used as an excuse for violence and prejudice.  When an individual running for the US Senate suggests that when women are raped, their bodies are able to not get pregnant, and therefore laws should be made that affects a woman's ability to make the choice that is best for her, the Christian Faith becomes an offensive means of brutality.  When whole political parties, claiming to be following the Gospel are prepared to take health care away from seniors and the disabled because of the greed of Wall Street executives, the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion, becomes Sunday morning snack.  It was good to share it, but it really doesn't mean much.  When money and greed is more important than helping immigrants find a home where there is no racial profiling or degradation, the Gospel is just a story book, by which it's main character is dead.

Jesus, the Bread and Word of Life, calls us to authenticate the one whom we receive, by being who we are, the Body of Christ.  We are commanded by Jesus, to love one another as he loves us.   To give of ourselves, our time, resources and even sometimes just holding up in prayer, the marginalized and oppressed among us.   This means that we open ourselves to opposing harmful amendments that ban marriage equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.  The Bread and Word of Life, does not condone, nor bless the work of ex-gay ministries or therapies that attempt to change a persons sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, because of violence and prejudice towards LGBT and Questioning people.  Jesus, does not laugh when young women and men attending middle, high school or college are bullied because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression.  Whether actual or perceived. 

When women, LGBT people, Muslims, Jews, Atheists, people of different races, cultures, classes and health are targeted and attacked socially and politically, Jesus weeps, because his message of salvation becomes moot and no longer lives and breaths among God's precious children.   No wonder people are losing interest.

The good news for us in 2012, is that Christians can still give meaning and authenticity to the message of the Gospel.  We can speak up on behalf of those stigmatized by radical religious and political groups.  We can act on the fact that voters are being suppressed all over the country with voter ID laws, by letting our governments know that we do not approve and we are prepared to do something to restore the right to vote. 

Jesus invites us to receive him in the Eucharist, and to remain with him, who has the words of eternal life, by seeking God at all times, and preferring nothing whatsoever to the love of Christ.  Hence, the two foundational pieces of the spirituality of St. Benedict.  We are asked today, to give life and meaning to our Baptismal Covenant, by working for peace and justice, and respecting the dignity of every human person, by standing up against violence and prejudice.  We can be people of radical hospitality and reconciliation, as we extend our hands in friendship and our hearts ready to receive and love others as Christ.

Let us all pray for one another to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, and ask for her leadership so that we can receive and live the Bread and Word of Life.  

Lord, to whom can we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  May we be authentic examples of what we pray and receive in our lives.

Amen.


Prayers

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 16, Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).

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).

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for Social Justice, Book of Common Prayer, p. 823).

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: O Wisdom of God, Nourish Us

Today's Scripture Readings

Proverbs 9: 1-6 (NRSV)

Wisdom has built her house,

she has hewn her seven pillars.

She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,

she has also set her table.

She has sent out her servant girls, she calls

from the highest places in the town,

"You that are simple, turn in here!"

To those without sense she says,

"Come, eat of my bread

and drink of the wine I have mixed.

Lay aside immaturity, and live,

and walk in the way of insight."

Psalm 34 (BCP,. p.628)


Ephesians 5:15-20  (NRSV)

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 6:51-58 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."

Blog Reflection

There are those who would go so far as to suggest that Jesus was a transgender person.  In Patrick S. Cheng's book: From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ, he writes about the transgender theologian Justin Tanis.

Tanis develops a trans-christology that focuses on Jesus Christ's breaking through "barriers of gender" during his ministry, including speaking with women, performing traditionally female acts such as washing feet, and having women as followers.  Furthermore, Jesus experienced harassment and a sense of homelessness, in much the same way as trans folk do today.  Tanis also draws connections between the resurrected body of Christ and the process of transition that trans people go through (p.104).

This particular point is well taken, in light of our reading from Proverbs.   The image is that of a woman setting the table and preparing a feast.  Wisdom for Christians is in the Person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the Wisdom of God made flesh.  So, it is quite possible to think of Jesus as all male on the outside, but quite feminine on the inside.   He would have transgressed many gender and cultural boundaries in his time.  The idea of a male assuming the duties and work of a woman would have been a major cultural violation, that would result in rejection.

If we take this to heart and think more about the possibility that Jesus was the Queer Christ, that would explain a lot about why he often found himself among those marginalized.  It would also explain why he was so good to help free the stigmatized, and call those doing the stigmatizing to repentance and conversion.

I really think that the bread of life discourses that we have been reading through the month of August, could give us some fresh insight into Jesus as Savior.  Jesus is offering us the opportunity to feast on his flesh and drink of his blood.  He said that he is the bread that came from heaven and that all who eat of his flesh and drink of his blood will be raised up on the last day.  In this very discourse, Jesus the Son of God, is offering to feed us like a mother feeds her children.  Jesus not only sets the table, but serves us what we need so that we might be connected to him, God and one another.  He offers us a place where we can sup with him, and on him, so that we can become part of the Body of Christ.

Here again, Jesus is transgressing his culture and the social norms of his day.  Those who heard him speak must have thought he was supporting cannibalism.  Yet, what Jesus is doing, is telling them how he is the spiritual food by way of the physical signs of bread and wine.  As we partake of the consecrated host and cup, we receive the very presence of God, through Jesus, who gives us his flesh to eat, and his blood to drink.  It is a presence we cannot see with our physical eyes.  Only through the eyes of faith is Christ present in the Holy Eucharist. 

As Jesus transgresses gender norms, cultural unspoken rules and common ways of thinking and/or behaving, to impart God's grace, he invites us to open our hearts and minds to the wonder of the Holy Spirit's work.   Our Mother, the Holy Spirit also challenges us in the 21st Century to go beyond gender and cultural norms so that we can bring God's healing and reconciliation to a wounded Church and society.    Bruised and broken by racism, heterosexism, gender discrimination, sexism, religious exceptionalism and the powerful oppressing and exploiting the poor.   Even suppressing the ability of minorities and low income individuals to vote to change the power structure to benefit everyone, not just the wealthy and powerful.  Such is the case in Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Hate groups such as the Family Research Council that experience a deadly shooting, and blame it on the very people they constantly work to marginalize and hurt through their words and the political process.  

Jesus shares the gift of himself with those who come to receive the presence of God in Holy Communion without distinction or prejudice.  God's grace through Christ reaches across political, religious and social norms, to bring wholesome healing and reconciliation.   God does this through Christ and the Church.   Why then can't the Church (as in the whole Christian Church) reach out, using Christ as our example and purpose?  When will we stop arguing about creeds and prayer books long enough, to realize that the Bible is being used as a weapon of mass destruction on the lives and souls of African Americans, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people.  Native Americans.  Jewish people.  Muslims.  Atheists and more.  We do not set a good example of Jesus Christ by using harmful rhetoric and/or hateful behavior.  We do not present Jesus as the kind and merciful Savior, by telling LGBT people that they must surrender who they are, and who they love in order to find salvation in God, who has not rejected their sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression.  Nor has God condemned the physical act of love between people of the same sex any more or less than people of the opposite sex. 

May  Jesus, the Wisdom of God, nourish us with God's presence.  May the Holy Spirit move on the hearts and lives of Christians and people of good will every where, to open our hearts and minds to all of God's people.  We cannot heal every disease, nor are we totally capable of handling every problem that comes to us.  Only God can do that.  But, we can extend a welcome from the doors of our churches, and the altar of the Lord's Supper, and our hearts and minds to hold these individuals in our prayers.   We can provide a place of affirmation, by which we support their dignity in society and the Church.  We can also be active in promoting justice and equality on their behalf, in whatever way God may be calling us.   When God calls us, may our answer be yes.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a
sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us
grace to receive thankfully the fruits of this redeeming work,
and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.  (Proper 14, Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).

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).

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.  (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).

 

 

 

For All the Children....Vote No

Today is one of those days when I must share a work of God's grace that is so powerful, that I cannot keep it to myself. As many of you may know, Minnesota is facing a vote on limiting the freedom to marry to straight couples, effectively banning marriage equality for LGBT people. The effort to push this amendment is getting a lot of strength from the local Catholic Archbishop. A group of Catholic choral members with other faith allies, came together to record this beautiful song: For All the Children...Vote No. The message is powerful, the voices magnificent and the movement of the Holy Spirit very real. Please consider watching this powerful video and sharing it. Help it to go viral. The message of this video and those who sing, should be the message of all Christians for all the marginalized, by virtue of our Baptism. In the words of the music: May God's welcome, be our song.

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: Hospitality, Reconciliation and the Living Bread

Today's Scripture Readings

1 Kings 19:4-8 (NRSV)

Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Psalm 34  (BCP., p. 627)


Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (NRSV)

Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Blog Reflection

St. Benedict in his Rule, chapter 53, On the Reception of Guests begins with the following at verse 15:

Great care and concern are to be shown in receiving poor people and pilgrims, because in them more particularly Christ is received; our very awe of the rich guarantees them special respect.

The kitchen for the abbot and guests ought to be separate, so that guests--and monasteries are never without them--need not disturb the brothers when they present themselves at unpredictable hours.  Each year, two brothers who can do the work competently are to be assigned to this kitchen.  Additional help should be available when needed, so that they can perform this service without grumbling.  On the other hand, when the work slackens, they are to go wherever other duties are assigned them.  This consideration is not for them alone, but applies to all duties in the monastery; the brothers are to be given help when it is needed, and whenever they are free, they work wherever they are assigned.  (R.B. 1980, The Rule of St. Benedict: In Latin and English, p. 259).

Sr. Joan Chittister in The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century wrote:

The fact is that we all have to learn to provide for others while maintaining the balance and depth, of our own lives.  The community that is so to greet the guest is not to barter its own identity in the name of the guest.  On the contrary, if we become less than we must be then we will no gift for the guest at all. (p.233).

As we continue through the sixth chapter of John, Jesus is identifying who he is.  He identifies as "the Living Bread".  Jesus proclaims that whoever partakes of him as the Bread of Life, comes as someone moved by God to approach and receive this grace.  Jesus is the fullness of God's grace as the Word made flesh. Yet, as Jesus shares the ultimate in hospitality, he still remains who he is.  The Holy One of God, sent to love us and help us become more like God.

Notice in the Gospel, Jesus says: "Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and who ever believes in me will never be thirsty."  Jesus never said, nor implied that only those lesbian or gay people who will seek to change their orientation, who comes to him, will never be hungry.  Jesus' invitation and proclamation of himself, is to share what he is with all who come to partake of God's grace through Christ.

Many of us feel a lot like Elijah.  We have been working for justice and inclusion.  Trying to talk to people we know, and others across political and religious lines about why we need to be concerned about the dignity of every human being.   We have gotten politically sandbagged.  They have spread lies and misinformation everywhere.  We are often worn out and in need of refreshment.   We need to escape to find rest and refreshment.  To pray and find peace with God and ourselves.   We need to be loved by our partner(s) and given the energy to get back into the activities of our lives.

Jesus invites us to come to him as the Bread of Life.  The Living Bread sent by God to welcome us and reconcile us.   God invites us to see sin and grace from a Christ centered model, instead of a crime and punishment model as Patrick S. Cheng writes in From Sin to Amazing Grace; Discovering the Queer Christ.   To understand that sin is an immaturity that keeps us from being more like Christ, and grace is to mature more into the image of the Divine.  When we receive Jesus as the Living Bread, we are welcomed by God's hospitality, and reconciled by Christ's Divine and healing grace.   The healing grace that helps us to grow in the knowledge and love of God for us and others.

The ministry of hospitality and reconciliation we are nourished to continue in, calls us to give of ourselves for others, without compromising who we are.  As LGBT people, we are called to reach out to others, to share and help, while never giving the anti-LGBT folks the power to decide who we are, or how we love others.   It is way too easy to allow them to have more power over us than they should have.   In the example I gave from St. Benedict's Rule, the community welcomes and feeds the guests, but at no time do they stop being the community that they have created.  They go about their work, and help each other as the need and availability arises.  So, should all of us do for each other.

As people of faith, we are commissioned to not only be who we are, and to offer ourselves in service to others, we also have a great responsibility to do so, going forward in sanctifying grace.  The grace that calls us to mature, by being more like Christ.  The One who gives of himself for the good of others, while sill remaining who he is as God's beloved.

So should we all do.

Amen.


Prayers

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always
those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without
you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 14, Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).

O Lord my God, 
Teach my heart this day where and how to see you,
where and how to find you.
You have made me and remade me,
and you have bestowed upon me
all the good things I possess,
and still I do not know you.
I have not yet done that for which I was made.
Teach me to seek you,
for I cannot seek you unless you teach me,
or find you unless you show yourself to me.
Let me seek you in my desire,
let me desire you in my seeking.
Let me find you by loving you,
let me love you when I find you.  Amen.  (Prayer by St. Anselm, St. Benedict's Prayer Book for Beginners, Ampleforth Abbey Press, p. 118).

Laurence: Deacon and Martyr: Who Are the Treasures?

Today's Scripture Readings

2 Corinthians 9:6-10 (NRSV)

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,

"He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Psalm 126 (BCP,. p. 782)


John 12:24-26 (NRSV) 
 

Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor."

Blog Reflection

Laurence the Deacon was martyred in Rome in 258 under the decree of Emperor Valerian.   He decreed that the upper class in the Church be persecuted and all of the buildings and treasures ceased and given to the Emperor to sell and/or obtain for his treasury.   Laurence was martyred six days after Sixtus II and his companions were in the same cemetery where Laurence was grilled alive on a gridiron.  

Before Laurence was martyred, they ordered him to find all the treasures of the Church and to turn them over to the Emperor.  Laurence returned with the poor, the sick and the children with whom he had taken care of through the Church's relief fund.   When Laurence returned, he said; 'These are the treasures of the Church."

Who are the treasures of the Church today?  

Christians are in a very difficult time.   The election is full of corporate cash being used to support the wealthy, such as health insurance company executives.  Owners of large oil companies and financial market appear to be spending their legalized unlimited cash to confuse voters about what is really at stake in things like the Ryan budget plan that would turn Medicare into a voucher paid system, leaving millions of elderly and disabled Americans in major financial disarray.

There have been two horrific shootings.  One in Aurora, Colorado and the other in Wisconsin.  Yet, those "second amendment rights" must be defended.  It is much more important to support the right to carry assault weapons, than to seek the safety of the people who die when a mad man goes into the place of worship of another religion other than Christianity, and kill those who don't preach the Christian Gospel.

Of course, we have people like Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association, suggesting that the children of same-sex couples should be kidnapped and carried through an "underground railroad."   Fischer believes that children being raised by same-sex couples are endangered of being "recruited" as LGBT people.  

Rev. Susan Russell wrote an outstanding article in The Huffington Post in response to Fischer.  In the article, Susan wrote:

Because here's the deal: There are good people of deep faith who read the same scriptures and come to different conclusions about a whole variety of issues. And then there are dangerous people of deluded faith who have projected their biases onto God and are so convinced that they have sole possession of the absolute truth that facts don't matter, laws don't matter, and the rights of those who disagree with them certainly don't matter.

And it is long past time for the rest of us -- for all the rest of us -- to claim our power by speaking out, standing up, and calling out the toxic rhetoric of the Bryan Fischers of the world for what it is: antithetical to the life, witness, and Gospel of Jesus; contrary to authentic Christian values; and not of God.

It should go without saying that kidnapping is not a traditional Christian value, but given that it apparently does need to be said, if we don't say it, who will?

The treasures of the Church are those people whom Jesus draws close to. Those who are marginalized and oppressed, because of discrimination and negative stereotyping, are people that Jesus went out to welcome and bring healing.   The Church is called to reach out to God's treasures by being a place of hospitality and reconciliation for all people.   We reach out by being open to the movement of God's Holy Spirit, who wants to rip open those Pandora's Boxes, and help us to see God working in the lives of the poor, the sick, the disenfranchised, the LGBT and the women who are attacked for exercising their reproductive rights.   We are called to be concerned for those who are sick and cannot afford to go to the doctor because they do not have health insurance.   We are called by Jesus to pray for those who are held captive by poverty, corruption and social oppression. 

Laurence was martyred, because he knew who the treasures of the Church were.  He brought them forward, so that his persecutors and we here in 2012, may remember that we give our lives for Christ, by being open to God's generosity and mercy in those with whom we share our faith and world. 

Do we know that we too are treasures of God and the Church?

God loves us all.  

God imparts God's grace to all. 

We are all treasures of God. 

May we all learn to think of ourselves as God's treasures.

May we all learn to see and love each other as treasures of God.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you called your deacon Laurence to serve you with deeds of love, and gave him the crown of martyrdom; Grant that we, following his example, may fulfill your commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving you with all our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 519).

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Poor and Neglected, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).

 

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: Chick-Fil-A, Marriage Equality and the Bread of Life

Today's Scripture

Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 (NRSV)

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not."

Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, `Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."

Psalm 78  BCP., p. 696


Ephesians 4:1-16 (NRSV)

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.  

Therefore it is said 

"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people."

(When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

 John 6:24-35 (NRSV)

The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Blog Reflection

The past two weeks have inundated us with the news about Chick-fil-A and their position on marriage equality.  This past Wednesday, was "National Appreciation Day for Chick-fil-A".   There were pictures released to show the many, many people lined up at Chick-fil-A to buy and eat their food to support their stance on the idea that marriage equality for LGBT people should not be legalized, nor celebrated.  It is said that they made well over a billion dollars on August 1st.  In addition, they are known to donate millions to organizations that oppose equality, by spreading misinformation about LGBT people that negatively stereotypes and dehumanizes us.

On Thursday, August 2nd, I saw this remarkable sign on Facebook.

I regret that you can't see everything that is written there, but it says: "You'd never see that many Christians lined up to help a food bank or homeless shelter. And that's something Jesus actually said to do."

What is written there is quite fair.  Jesus did ask us to feed him and clothe him in other members of his family in Matthew 25: 31-40.   Jesus himself, fed the five thousand as we read last weekend, without asking them what their position on abortion or gay marriage was.   Jesus did reiterate the idea of loving our neighbor as ourselves (see Matthew 22:34-49, Mark 12:28-34).  Rather than mandate rules and laws that further oppress the marginalized, Jesus healed the sick, including the Centurion's gay slave in Luke 7:1-10.  Jesus was far more interested in providing what people really needed such as compassion, inclusion and a closeness with God.   Jesus was so wanting to bring God into the lives of those he encountered, that he even provided the means and the substance by which God's presence would be known.

In our Gospel today, Jesus is more interested in uniting people with God's presence so that they would know God.  Feeding people with the Bread of Life that is Jesus, so that God's people might know that God provides for all their needs was the purpose of Jesus' words in John 6. 

We are all in need of a physical touch from God so that we might know that we are loved.   The Holy Eucharist is one of those ways in which the Erotic Christ is able to touch us physically and spiritually.  In the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, the very presence of God becomes part of us in an intimate and sensual way.  The holiness of God also provides a means of wholeness, as the real presence of Christ is united with us as we consume what cannot be completely consumed.  God's presence is personal and unselfish.  Jesus gives himself totally and freely for the good of those who come to him in Holy Communion so that we may grow into a fuller image of the Divine.  

To understand this better, I think we could use some thought about what place bread has in our world.   There is no better smell than to be in a house or bakery with bread in the oven.  When we are hungry, whether it be in need of regular nourishment or comfort food, there is something about bread that fills that need.  When we eat bread it warms our stomach and calms our soul.  It gives us a sense of fulfillment and peace.  Whatever else may be going on in our lives, when we eat bread, we feel as if just for a moments time all is well.   We experience a sense of being connected.

In Holy Communion, Jesus provides us with that connection to God's creation in the wheat, flour and water that comes from God and those whose working hands played their part in it.  At the same time, we receive and are united with the presence of the Divine by which our humanity and God's mystery are combined.  Yet, as part of that presence, is the mission and desire for us to become for others, what God has become for us.  The means to unconditional and all-inclusive love.   As the presence of God becomes real to us, that same presence must be come real through us. 

As lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the Holy Communion becomes the real presence of Christ as we accept who we are, and how we have been created to love others.   To love them with a true sense of ourselves, in recognition of the presence of the Divine God in others, even those who are different from ourselves.  We are touched by the living God as Christ gives us that grace to believe in the One who sent Jesus.  Even while Chick-fil-A, the National Organization for Marriage and others attempt to denigrate us, the presence of God through those churches and people who know that we are who we are, because of God's love, call us to embrace Christ in each other.  To uplift one another, and to love ourselves, our partners/spouses, etc by recognizing and affirming the presence of Divine and holy grace that comes from God. 

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians we read and hear that while we are all one in Christ, each of us has our particular calling and ministry to fulfill.  Every person is empowered with gifts and abilities that can be used to welcome, reconcile and heal those wounded by the Church and society.  Jesus, the Bread of Life is still greater and more powerful than all the billions of dollars that Chick-fil-A can donate to anti-LGBT hate groups.  Because through those who open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit given to us, we can be God's ambassadors for inclusive love, and work towards peace, justice and equality for all people.  We can say no to the continued efforts to target Muslims, Jews and people of other religious traditions, or those who practice no religion at all.   We can play a role  in telling the truth to the lies told by people like Bryan Fischer and Tony Perkins.  We can chose peace and justice to those promoting violence and oppression in both the Church and society, by being living examples of God's truth, that all people are loved, cherish, accepted and have a destiny in this life and the next.

Amen.


Prayers

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your
Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without
your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 13, Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior,
the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the
great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away
all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body
and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all
of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth
and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and
one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.  (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p. 818).

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. (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).