Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Honoring the Faith or the No Faith of Others

Today's Scripture Readings

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

The king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled." Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me-- that is my petition-- and the lives of my people-- that is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king." Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?" Esther said, "A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!" Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, "Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman's house, fifty cubits high." And the king said, "Hang him on that." So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.

Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.

Psalm 124 (BCP,. p. 781)

James 5:13-20 (NRSV)

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Mark 9:38-50 (NRSV)

John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell., And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

"For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

Blog Reflection

Did you notice something missing in the reading from Esther?   The story is quite amazing.  Kings and queens discussing and negotiating.  A villain getting what he deserved.  A people destined to be destroyed, saved, and an innocent man rescued from a hanging.  Wow!!  What an incredible account.   But, there is something missing.  A word almost always used in every book in the Bible, but this one.  Not one place through out this reading is God ever mentioned.  Yet, is God really missing from what is going on?

In our day of the arguments over whether or not religious freedom is endangered, to read this account, one could easily deduce from it, that God might not have been so important to whomever the author or translator was.  But, maybe what we are meant to do is see God acting between the lines of what is being said and done.  This story is filled with violence and retribution.  Something that many of us in this day and age, find very difficult to stomach.  And, for good reason.   Just because we do not read the Name of the Lord, our God in this story, does not mean God is not acting nor conversing with us through the Holy Spirit.  In fact, God may be speaking quite clearly to us.  Could God be telling us to pay attention to things going on around us, and to search for God and love God when we find God?  Even with events going on around us, that seem like God could not possibly be doing anything.  Are we listening for God to speak to us?  Are we waiting for God to call out to us on our own terms, or are we open to God searching for us through people and circumstances, especially those that seem foreign to us?

Even if we were to discover that we really are not searching and listening for God in the way we should; the Church is the place for everyone.  The writer of James tells us that the Christian Community is a place for healing and reconciliation, as we draw together to love and pray for each other.   Our sins of exclusion and social injustice, however backwards and violent they may be; God is able to forgive us and extend God's mercy to us, individually and collectively   Have you ever wondered why when we pray the Confession on page 360 in The Book of Common Prayer that we always pray: "we confess that we have sinned against you...."?   It is because all of us are sinners in need of God's saving grace.  We all walk past someone we should help.  We all say things to people that we shouldn't have said.  Everyone of us loses control and gives the middle finger to the driver that cuts us off, or the politician campaigning to take away our health care.   The Church is not so much a museum for the saints, as much as it is a hospital for sinners.   Just as a hospital that cares for the body, develops a better understanding of diseases that have always existed, and seeking better ways of curing or treating them; so the Church by the Holy Spirit learns better ways of loving people that we once condemned or treated as if there was no hope for them.   We all have to seek the help of the Physician of the Soul, to heal us of the spiritual and social diseases of racism, sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, Jewish phobia, and/or phobia of Atheists and Unitarians.  We need Jesus, to forgive us for not doing more to help people who are poor, disenfranchised from voting, losing their collective bargaining rights for better wages, health care and benefits, and allowing the horrible political rhetoric to divide us from one another.   The Church is the place where we come before God and seek new ways of understanding, behaving and helping others and ourselves to know God better.

The Rev. Ian McAlister wrote some very important insights concerning today's Gospel in Speaking to the Soul.

Each of us has one (or the other). We share having it and it connects us, past, present and future with the whole of humanity. It crosses racial, ethnic, cultural, physical, age and gender boundaries.

No matter who we are or where we live or what school we went to or what our job is or what colour our hair, eyes or skin happens to be, we humans have this in common: we have an extraordinary ability to create two groups of people, usually labelled Us (or me) and Them.

We see the results of this ability whenever Grand Final footy is played, or a boat load of refugees appears near Java, or a person makes a video belittling someone else’s faith, or a host of other circumstances.

As I say, it doesn’t take much for us to draw boundaries. The results of boundary-drawing are neither particularly pleasing to the eye or to the emotions, except if the Bulldogs beat the Storm this weekend.

What’s worse is the accompanying desire we have to let someone else sort out the difficulties: for some bureaucracy to come in and enforce conformity to manage our anxieties.

In the Gospel for this week, Jesus gets confronted with this line drawing, Innie v Outtie, battle. His disciples were getting twitchy; they want him to stop another bloke from casting out demons in his name because (horror of horrors) he wasn’t one of them.

I am not surprised that Jesus didn’t buy into this. It doesn’t surprise me that He goes on to point out that anyone who does a good work in his name will have a hard job doing anything against his name in the future.

It’s almost as if we are hard-wired to make lines, whether they’re racial, ethnic, linguistic, political, sexual, physical or religious. Truth is, religious lines are particularly well drawn and so simple.

As I contemplate this Gospel passage, I wonder whether it could shape or re-shape how we might think about those who see God differently from us, if they see him at all.

One of the greatest challenges for Christians is to be open to the movement of God in someone of a different faith tradition, or someone with no religious practice or belief at all, and honor that person.   These challenges are as difficult for me as they are for anyone else.  As an Anglican/Episcopalian, I think our rich tradition of Liturgy, prayer, theology and view of Scripture, Tradition and Reason are beyond description.  Yet, there are many who do not share my appreciation.   And, it is so difficult at times for me to put all of that down, and just love someone without looking to injecting my agenda into that person.   I do believe I learned that from my years in both Protestant Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism and as a conservative Catholic.    Yet, I also know, that I would not have all of the wonderful things I enjoy today, if it weren't for the time I spent in those traditions.  Therefore, I have to learn that everyone is who they are, where they are, because of whatever circumstances, however I might like or dislike those things.   The Gospel calls upon me to love a person I consider an "other" with the same love, by which God loves me.  I may pray that I will love God when I find God, but that same God knows how difficult that challenge is.  At times, I listen well.  At others, I fail miserably.  So it is as we work to be rid of our prejudices and attitudes towards those who are different from ourselves.

As we here in Minnesota are working to defeat the marriage amendment that would strip LGBT people from the possibility of marriage equality, the diversity that is coming together to oppose it is more than amazing.   Minnesotans United for All Families is the official campaign working to defeat the amendment.  A coalition of religious communities, political parties, businesses, labor unions, attorneys, individuals from all over Minnesota and the USA, organizations of varying purposes have all come together to encourage Minnesota to vote NO.   Each have found their voice in speaking up for the opportunity for LGBT people to marry the person they love.   Yet, as difficult as it is, we are also being challenged to love and respect those who are voting yes.  Even with the Catholic Archbishop working against us. As wicked as I believe his actions are, I still must welcome and love him as a brother in Christ.  I will disagree and even challenge him at the voting booth or by other means, but, I still have no right or business to fail to honor his dignity as a human being.  I still  have to bring myself and him before God in prayer, and ask for him to know the common good of God's love, as I do for those who support marriage equality, by voting NO.  This alone, immediately for many, will put me at odds with many in the LGBT communities, who are rightly angry and wounded by the actions of the Archbishop.  Many who are Atheists or do not believe in Christ as one with God, who just would rather glitter him in retaliation.  I cannot condone that sort of thing, yet, I must love them too.  I must pray for and seek to love and serve God who is present even in them.  Man, is it a challenge.   At times, I sure do mess up.

The good news today, is that regardless of where we are whether people of deep personal faith, or not, God loves each and every one of us,  Unconditionally and all-inclusively.  We are all made perfect in the image and likeness of God.  We have all been placed in this world to serve a common purpose, each in our own way.  However, differently we may all be, and feel towards each other, the best thing we can do is always seek the common good for one another.  It is a challenge that we need to be open to hourly, daily, etc.  Because today and this moment, is all we have.  There is work to be done.  God has placed us here to do the work.  So, let's get started.

Amen.


Prayers

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing
mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we,
running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of
your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 21, Book of Common Prayer, p. 234).

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).

  

Seventeeth Sunday after Pentecost: The Greatest and Least

Today's Scripture Readings

Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22 (NRSV)

The ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death;

considering him a friend, they pined away

and made a covenant with him,

because they are fit to belong to his company.

For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,

"Short and sorrowful is our life,

and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,

and no one has been known to return from Hades.

 

"Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,

because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;

he reproaches us for sins against the law,

and accuses us of sins against our training.

He professes to have knowledge of God,

and calls himself a child of the Lord.

He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;

the very sight of him is a burden to us,

because his manner of life is unlike that of others,

and his ways are strange.

We are considered by him as something base,

and he avoids our ways as unclean;

he calls the last end of the righteous happy,

and boasts that God is his father.

Let us see if his words are true,

and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;

for if the righteous man is God's child, he will help him,

and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.

Let us test him with insult and torture,

so that we may find out how gentle he is,

and make trial of his forbearance.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death,

for, according to what he says, he will be protected."

 

Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,

for their wickedness blinded them,

and they did not know the secret purposes of God,

nor hoped for the wages of holiness,

nor discerned the prize for blameless souls.

Psalm 54, BCP., p. 659


James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a (NRSV)

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. 

Mark 9:30-37 (NRSV)

Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them,

"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

Blog Reflection

On the subject of Chapter 7: Humility in the Rule of St. Benedict, Esther de Waal writes:

I am therefore now ready to undertake this exploration into humility, which is better translated as exploring into humility, which is better translated as exploration into the reality, into the reality of being earthed in myself and God.  The derivation of the word from humus, "earth," is enormously reassuring.  For so often the idea of humility that springs to mind is servile and unattractive, while to be earthed, centered, with my feet on the ground immediately appeals to me.  Here we are given on of the most profound explorations into self- knowledge, that true self-knowledge that is not in the least narcissistic but leads me on to the true self and so to God. (A Life-Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, p. 57).

The readings for today, are inviting us to consider where we are placing ourselves in terms of our relationship with God and others.  Each of us already have our dignity by the fact that we are created by a loving and merciful God.  Our God gave us the very best of God's Self when he fashioned each of us and knew from the foundations of the world, that we would be who we are, right here, right at this very moment.  Yet, because of our lack of maturity that comes from being human, we do not yet understand that in Christ, we are redeemed so that we may become a greater image of the Divinity in this world.  Our sins weigh our growth in God down, so that we only mature so much at one time.  In Jesus Christ, we have the perfect revelation of God in the human person as we are meant to be in so far as we are able.  In the Person of Jesus, God reached out to those of us who felt that we were not good enough to call ourselves a daughter or son of the Holy One, and let us know that no matter where we are in our personal lives, God loves us all so deeply, that God gave the life of God's only Son to save us from our sins.

What many Christians fail to take into account, is that the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church with all the greatness of what that means, needs to recognize that because we consist of individuals who are also lacking a certain degree of maturity are among those who lead and/or direct us, all of us are still in need of God's grace so that we can grow into greater images of the Divine nature of God.   None of us, have completely arrived.  No matter how sincere we may have said the sinner's prayer at one point in our life.  The age old gospel song said: "God's still working on me."  It is as true as it can be.

One of the many ways that the Church (as in all of us), have yet to grow, is letting go of the pride that suggests that we can decide who we invite into the Church and who we should keep out.   The late former Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, with Dale Coleman editing the book entitled The Anglican Spirit, warns that using the Gospel as our means of deciding who we should accept or reject shows the Church's sin of pride.  No one of us has so perfectly become so holy, so that we get to decide that we are better than anyone else.  Many of us may be tempted to read today's Gospel about Jesus' conversation with and about the two disciples arguing about who is greatest and who is least, with our minds on someone else that we think isn't where they need to be. But, if we are honest, Jesus is really talking about any one of us needing to see our need for growth as it truly is, and seek God in the midst of it, so that we may mature.

Herein is the problem between Christians vs. Christianists and equality, inclusion and justice for all marginalized people in the Church and society, not limited to, but including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or queer people.  When I use the word queer here I am using it as one who's sexual orientation is anything other than straight, and one who's gender identity and/or expression is not limited to the one they received physically at birth. This idea is well explained in the book: Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology by Patrick s. Cheng.  Many Christian communities, influenced by the Christianists have basically understood that their one purpose is to dominate the message of the Gospel with a message of condemnation and the elimination of any individual or group of people that are not straight or of one gender in mind and/or body and/or being.   They have raised up very ignorant women and men who claim to be experts on God's Word, when in fact, all they have done is worked that Bible to say what they want it to mean, and create a multi-billion dollar enterprise of hate and destruction.  One that stigmatizes LGBT people, women and individuals of diverse races, religious beliefs and much more, to create political, religious and social movements designed to infuse attitudes of shame, pain and horror upon many lives.    What they have promoted does not reflect humility, just because they are going up against the tide of the persecution of what they call "religious freedom."   It reflects a life of exceptionalism based on a false sense of security that God has not created, nor does God celebrate.   God does not enjoy seeing God's people making peace with oppression.

We need too understand that all of us are least among each other in terms of who Jesus Christ is.   Jesus Christ was the perfect revelation of God.  Yet, as Paul wrote in Philippians 2: 6 that Jesus "did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited."   Jesus understood that his place among God's people was to serve others because he had a full knowledge of himself as being earthed as the one who gives and serves.  Even in our Eucharistic Liturgies, we celebrate that God's presence comes to us by way of a small piece of bread and a little sip of wine.  Yet in those small pieces, the greatest amount of God's grace is shared with us to help us mature.  Who then are we to suggest that we are any greater than anyone else?

How might God be calling us to earth ourselves?

Amen.


Prayers

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to
love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among
things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall
endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 20, Book of Common Prayer, p. 234).

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).

Serving Christ in the Word: By Patrick Augustine

This post is taken from Episcopal News Service. 

The article is so very to the point as it is.  

Serving Christ in the World
by The Rev. Canon Patrick Augustine

[Episcopal News Service] Our hearts are saddened as we watch the violence that has erupted across the world in protest to an anti-Islam film. It has already caused human loss of lives such as Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans serving in the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

It reminds me of images of November 1979 of the burning of the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. I was then the rector of St. Thomas Church in Islamabad. I witnessed with my own eyes the rage and destruction caused by thousands of students demanding “death to America.”

I also express my protest to this person who made a movie demonstrating scathing attacks on the prophet of Islam. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has made it clear to the Islamic world with her statement, “This awful internet video that we had nothing to do with.” Enemies of the United States such as al-Qaeda are using it to their advantage to target American presence abroad.

America is a land of liberty and millions of immigrants have come to her soil to enjoy many freedoms. At times misguided individuals use their freedom of expression in harmful ways. In 1989, American artist and photographer Andres Serrano, in the name of art, displayed a photograph of a small plastic crucifix she titled “Piss Christ.” This cross was submerged in a glass of the artist’s own urine in a New York museum. This is not only an offensive expression of art but also a terrible abuse of free speech. It appears to be done with malicious intentions to cause hurt and disrespect to the followers of a certain faith community.

Equally contemptible were the actions of one individual who made a movie to insult Muhammad. We cannot take these events lightly. As Americans we are not living in isolation from the rest of the global community. If we desire respect we need to earn it by showing respect to others.

Free speech doesn’t give license to offend. People of faith must condemn the actions of those individuals who have intentionally hurt the sanctity and harmony of our faith communities. But I fear the repercussions for Christian minorities living in Muslim countries. Many of them already live under the fear of persecution with very little guarantee of basic human rights.

I have often wondered what inspired Christians in the Roman Empire who were persecuted and killed for confessing the name of Jesus Christ. In our own modern days of the 21st century we learn of the persecution of Christians in Sudan, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt and many more countries.

For the church in Pakistan there is no other option for the faithful followers but to lift up to the hills and behold the cross of Jesus. In the valley of the shadow of death thou art with me. That is their witness as they continue in the face of persecution, discrimination and acts of terror serving that nation through their schools, hospitals, leprosy clinics, schools for the blind and literacy centers.

It is on the cross of Jesus the powers of hatred and violence were defeated that meek and weak may have a life of hope and resurrection.

What Jesus calls us to do is not always pleasant; it is not always easy; it should not be done without serious contemplation. He wants us to know very clearly what it may cost to follow him. Some of us wonder “Am I worthy to be a disciple of Jesus?” Do I have stamina, perseverance to carry his cross?

Martin Luther was right when he said:  “God can carve the rotten wood and ride the lame horse.” Jesus chose just such people: fishermen and tax collectors, known as sinners and zealots. They were not particularly part of the religious establishment. Jesus took these ordinary earthen vessels and filled them with His grace and power to lift high the cross.

One thing the Gospel makes clear: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: The Tongue and the Cross

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 50: 4-9a (NRSV)

The Lord GOD has given me

the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain

the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens--

wakens my ear

to listen as those who are taught.

The Lord GOD has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious,

I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me,

and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face

from insult and spitting.

 

The Lord GOD helps me;

therefore I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set my face like flint,

and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

he who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?

Let them confront me.

It is the Lord GOD who helps me;

who will declare me guilty?

Psalm 116: 1-8 (BCP., p.759)


James 3: 1-12 (NRSV)

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Mark 8: 27-38 (NRSV)

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Blog Reflection

This week the world witnessed a horrible series of events.  The killing of several individuals in Libya, as a result of an uprising that began from an anti-Islam YouTube video have stunned and saddened us all.  Individuals claiming to be soldiers for Christ made some decisions that have brought serious implications upon people of another religious tradition.   The dangers of religious exceptionalism have once again made a dent in humankind that is difficult to heal.

In the Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 6: Restraint of Speech, he wrote:

Let us follow the Prophet's counsel: I said, I have resolved to keep watch over my ways that I may never sin with my tongue.  I have put a guard over my mouth.  I was silent and was humbled, and I refrained even from good words (Psalm 39: 1-2).  Here the Prophet indicates that there are times when good words are to be left unsaid out of esteem for silence.   For all the more reason, then, should evil speech be curbed so that punishment for sin may be avoided.  Indeed, so important is silence that permission to speak should seldom be granted even to mature disciples, no matter how good or holy or constructive their talk, because it is written: In a flood of words you will not avoid sin (Prov 10:19); and elsewhere, The tongue holds the key to life and death (Prov 18: 21).  Speaking and teaching are the master's task; the disciple is to be silent and listen. (The Rule of St. Benedict 1980, p. 191).

Esther de Waal in her commentary on the Rule wrote:

As soon as I read this [what is in the final sentence of the chapter about restraining speech] it takes me at once back to the opening words of the Rule and to the need to listen.  Benedict's spirituality, if I were to reduce it to one single concept, is that of listening to the voice of God in my life. (A Life-Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, p. 51)

I really do think that is what James was writing about in his letter today.  Sadly, Christians do more damage with how much of what we say.  Many of our most zealous preachers with the concept of reading the Bible literally, just cannot resist the temptation to create calamity and destruction, and call it being faithful to God's Word.   Yet, what they understand about being a righteous follower of Jesus, becomes destruction and evil for others in one way or another.   Especially those of other religions, sexual orientations, political parties, genders, gender identities/expressions that just do not seem like measure up to how they think they understand God and others.

I believe a central theme to be found in this Sunday's Liturgy of the Word, is that we are to think very carefully about what we say and do when we claim to follow Jesus Christ.

This morning at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, our guest preacher the Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Hahnemann said some very profound things in his sermon.  He reminded us that even in the time in which Jesus lived no two people had the same opinion about who Jesus was.   When Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was, each person gave a different answer.  Only Peter stated that Jesus was the Messiah.  Jesus himself never fully told us who he was.  Whenever he spoke of the Son of God, he never exactly said it as if he were speaking of himself.  Even in the ever famous John 3:16 he refers to God's Son, but he doesn't exactly say that it is him.  Christians all through the centuries, from the early Church to this present time have had different ideas of who Jesus actually was.  There was more blood spilled over the council of Nicea as they organized the Nicene Creed, and even then, it wasn't completely accepted for a good many years.   Yet, even as Christians have disagreed about who Jesus is or was, we have all tended to agree that what he did had historical consequences on the world.   It changed the way we think of God, others and ourselves.  It also gave to many, the opportunity to open our hearts and minds to who God is, what God does, and what God calls each individual person to do.  And, we can all say with quite a bit of certainty, not everyone's experience is the same, nor does our experience of God take us all in the same direction or destination.

Even after Peter's confession, we see that just because he proclaims Jesus as the Messiah, it doesn't change the fact that he is a very weak man.  Jesus rebukes him, as he tries to derail what Jesus is about to do as he tells the disciples that he is going to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise again.  It is the final paragraph of today's Gospel that gives us some tangible way that we can imitate the work that Jesus does  We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him.

Yet, each Christian depending on what tradition you are from understands what it means to follow Jesus differently.   For many fundamentalists and Evangelicals it means saying the sinner's prayer and accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  For some "orthodox" Catholics it means to be obedient to the teachings in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, even while the rest of the world does not accept them.   Many of us who are part of mainline denominations see this as a call to working towards justice and equality for all people, including women, LGBT, those oppressed by addictions and our governments lack of responsibility for their own people, etc.

I would like to suggest that given what has happened this week with regards to Libya and the attacks against the Muslims, that we consider a new idea about what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus.   Taking up our cross and following Jesus means we concentrate on living the meaning of being Christians, instead of always talking about it.   It means spending time in prayer, reading, study and reflection.   It also means thinking and praying for God to guide us to knowing when we speak of God's love vs. acting on that same love out of respect and care for others who are affected by what we say and do.  We may all have different ideas about what we believe about Jesus Christ and what it means to carry our crosses, and proclaim our Faith, but one thing I think we can agree with; if we do not do it out of love for God, our neighbor and/or ourselves is it really worth saying or doing?

As people of Faith who are concerned about striving for justice and peace among all people and respecting the dignity of every human person, with God's help, we must recognize the need to respect those who are different from ourselves.  We need to allow people to be where they are, but through our own actions and sometimes words, help them see beyond their prejudices by acting as loving people who know that life really does stink sometimes.    We do this as LGBT Christians and others marginalized by the Church and society, through working for justice and equality, but also through eliminating our own prejudices.   Rejecting racism, sexism and religious based discrimination of all kinds out of love for Christ who accepts and loves all of us.

As we pray and work during the week ahead let us take some time to ask ourselves what is really worth talking about, vs. what cross are we being called to take up to follow Jesus?   What ways do we open our mouths and say things that have the possibility of impacting others negatively?   What ways by which we could speak good things, but think about holding them back out of a need to listen more closely to what God may be calling us to do?

Amen.

Prayers

O God, because without you we are not able to please you,
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct
and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Proper 19, Book of Common Prayer, p. 233).

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).   

Holy Cross Day: The Cross: An Opportunity for Growth

Today's Scripture Readings

Numbers 21: 4-9 (NRSV)

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’ Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Psalm 98 (BCP., p. 727)


Galatians 6: 14-18 (NRSV)

May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule-- peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

John 12: 31-36a (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light."

Blog Reflection

My former Spiritual Director, Abbot Anselm of Pluscarden Abbey in Scotland once told me:

"The best way to beat the devil at his game, is to take something meant for evil and grow in grace because of it."

In today's Brother, Give Us A Word, Brother Kevin Hackett of the Society of St. John the Evangelist wrote:

"By focusing on the cross and its place in our lives (rather than its place in Jesus’ life), we are reminded in stark relief that an integral part of the life to which Jesus calls us includes disappointment and defeat and suffering and death. This does not immediately sound like good news, I’ll admit, but it is the truth." 

The quotes from Fr. Abbot Anselm and Br. Kevin are the reason I chose to the reading from Numbers used in today's Morning Prayer as opposed to the chosen reading from the Lectionary to be used for the Eucharist.  

The reading from Numbers seems so odd for us.   The idea of God sending snakes to bite and kill people, just doesn't sound very good.  It sounds a lot like those who suggest that Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans, Louisiana a couple weeks ago because of Southern Decadence.   However, we need to read this from the view point of the people and the times in which they lived.  Numbers was not written at the time in which these stories would have taken place. The book itself suggests that it came from about the period of 400 B.C.E.  However, it is most likely that it would have been written between 1500-1200 B.C.E. well after the Babylonian Exile.   Having said that, these events would have been shared by way of an oral tradition, long before it would have been written down. Therefore, we need to be very careful about interpreting these as if God must send bad things, because of things we do.  I do not believe that is the point of this reading.

There is something important to look at from the point of Moses holding up a golden image by which people are now healed.   Didn't God punish Israel severely for worshiping the golden calf in Exodus 32?   Here a snake of gold placed upon the staff of Moses is used to heal people.   What might we take away from this?

One answer might be that the things that happen in our lives that are so dreadfully evil, can also become very beneficial if we put God at the center of our lives instead of the circumstances of what is going on.   We become so focused on why something happened or the potential end, whether it is actual or imagined, and it becomes our idol.  It robs us of our center and we become slaves to something that has no business owning us.   This is very much what happens with addictions.   We become so obsessed with how the alcohol makes us feel, how talking meanly to our spouse or children, or someone different from ourselves, that we can no longer hear God calling us to holiness.   We must at some point refocus our hearts and minds on who we are to serve, rather than what we are giving all of our life's energy to.

As we celebrate today the Holy Cross on which Christ died, I think what Br. Kevin wrote is very true.   We can become so focused on Christ dying on the Cross for our sins (for which we should indeed be very thankful), and forget that we too have our own dying to do.  Not just physical death, which will happen to us all, but also the death of our immaturity so that we may grow more into the likeness of the Divine Savior who is Jesus the Christ.

Jesus reminds us today in the Gospel that he was lifted up so to draw others to himself.  Yet, he reminds us, as does St. Benedict in his Rule: "Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness will not overtake you" (John 12: 35, Rule of Benedict substitutes the word: "Walk" for "Run" RB 1980, Prologue, vs. 13, p. 159).  All we have is what is before us, right here, right now.  What we have is what we have.  As Sally Field's character Momma in the movie Forrest Gump said on her death bed: "You do the best you can with what God gave you."  

As lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people, we have been given our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression by God's creative grace. 

Patrick S. Cheng writes extensively about a particular sin and grace with regards to LGBT people in his book From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ, in Chapter 9, Model Five: The Self-Loving Christ.  I understand Fr. Cheng to suggest that we must seek God's continual graces so that instead of living in shame as many Christianists would have us do, we will be able to live with a sense of pride.  By pride, we do not mean the kind that says we are any better than anyone else.  However, the shame that is a sin in and/of itself that says we are worse than everyone else, is nothing but a bold face lie that comes from the immaturity of the discrimination and oppression of those who cannot see the effects of their attitudes and behaviors beyond themselves. What looks like a lifestyle of sin and shame to them, must become the source of grace and healing for us. As  they attempt to push us further and further away from what is true, we must embrace the Cross and so die to what they say we are, and become true about who we are.   Rather than give in to unhealthy relationships and behaviors such as alcoholism and sexual abuses that give their claim of our shame lots of power, however, inappropriate it is, we must seek healthy, wholesome and life-giving relationships that speak of the radical dying to self that the Cross demands of us.  This is the kind of pride that comes by way of the grace of God.   It is not earned, nor is it something that can just be assumed or taken for granted.   It comes to us as a gift of God, through the redemption of Christ and the Cross. 

On this Holy Cross Day, we are being asked to see opportunities for growth as the way we can carry our own crosses.  This upcoming Sunday, we will read about how Jesus calls us to discipleship by carrying our cross and following him.   For many of us who are among the marginalized of the Church and society, that will mean that we do not live or think according to those negative attitudes and rhetoric around us, but rather by that truth that sets us free, when we accept and embrace ourselves and others around us.   Such as accepting the commandment to love one another as we have been loved.  Even if we are hated for all the wrong reasons.  It may come by way of being totally disgusted and speaking up about the evils perpetrated upon the Muslim people in Libya and elsewhere, and politicians here in the US making remarks about them for their own political advantage.

We are challenged today to live out our own crosses by looking at the difficulties and disappointments we face, and growing in grace from and because of them.  Even if that means we lose some prestige or popularity.   Even if it means that by death, we will have new life. 

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted
high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to
himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery
of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and
follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Collect for Holy Cross Day, Book of Common Prayer, p. 243).  


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).


Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but
first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he
was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way
of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and
peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (A Collect for Fridays, Book of Common Prayer, p.99).

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Let us Love God in Whomever God is Found

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 35: 4-7a (NRSV)

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

"Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

He will come and save you."

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

and the thirsty ground springs of water.

Psalm 146 (BCP., p. 803)


James 2:1-17  (NRSV)

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Mark 7:24-37 (NRSV)

Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go-- the demon has left your daughter." So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

Blog Reflection

My very favorite Benedictine Prayer was written by St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109).

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 I still 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
(Taken from Saint Benedict's Prayer Book for Beginners, Ampleforth Abbey Press, p. 118).

I really think words to that prayer is what our Scripture readings are about.   We have all been given so much that is good from God.  Yet, we have not even begun to do what it is that we are made to do.  We need God to teach us how to search for God.

"The person who prays for the presence of God is, ironically, already in the presence of God.  The person who seeks God has already found God to some extent.  "We are already counted as God's own," the Rule [of St. Benedict] reminds us.  Benedict knows this and clearly wants us to know it as well.  A dull, mundane life stays a dull, mundane life, no matter how intent we become on developing spiritually.  No amount of churchgoing will change that.  What attention to the spiritual life does change is our appreciation for the presence of God in our dull, mundane lives.  We come to realize that we did not find God; god finally got our attention.  The spiritual life is a grace with which we must cooperate, not a prize to be captured or a trophy to be won" (Sr. Joan Chittister, The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century, p.6,7).

The problem we face as human beings is that through our up bringing in some cases, our education and influences we make up for ourselves what God is like.  One of the most hideous mistakes of Western art that have depicted scenes of Jesus, the Holy Family, or any other Biblical figures, is that many of them have given us an image of them as European Caucasian people.  On may crucifixes, Jesus is this strong, well muscled, Caucasian man with long (sometimes dark blond) hair and a smooth haired beard and a moustache, with a piece of cloth around his waist.   When in fact, Jesus would have been a dark colored, middle eastern looking man, with rather wiry like hair, a course beard, still quite strong and of course, he was Jewish.  Because of our imagination of what Jesus must have looked like, and how Anglicized he has become, the idea of Jesus being a poor, middle eastern guy is not something many of us like to think about.

We are all asked today, to love God in whomever God is found.  Our readings are about seeing God in those who are very different than ourselves. The reading from James cautions us about violating the law of God by presuming that because someone is poor, smelly and exhibits behaviors that we might find repulsive, that we are think of and/or treat them less important than someone who is wealthy, clean and powerful.  When we fail to receive people who are different, or make decisions about where they should or should not be either in the Church or society, we are failing to live up to the meaning of "loving your neighbor as yourself."

In our Gospel today, we even see Jesus, confronted by the reality of his own humanity having to face within himself the attitudes of his own culture.  Yet, because of the incredible faith of the woman who continued to plead with him to help her daughter, Jesus reveals his relationship with God and does the right thing.  Later, he gives the man who cannot hear, the ability to hear and so reminds us all to allow God to unplug those ears of our hearts so that we may hear the words of God who loves us so deeply, help us to better know and love God in others and ourselves.

As we enter into these 57 days until the 2012 elections we will be bombarded with advertisements and emails about which candidates can best address the problems we have.  We will have many difficult messages to understand, as each party and person, very passionate about getting our vote tells us why she/he/they are the best to address many of our issues.  Many of us will also have ballot referendums to vote on that will affect people in our communities, or even our very selves and families.  What tends to happen in these electoral campaigns that is so disturbing, is the cash that will be spent on promoting a party or a candidate that is not spent on actually helping the poor, the lonely, the disenfranchised, the immigrant and so on.  The candidates themselves, as well as their campaigns make peoples basic human rights part their playing cards to help them appeal to the voters that they are trying to attract.  But, do they actually have what is in the best interest of upholding the dignity of every human person, as their actual aim?  Or, are they just trying to get a vote, and well, later on, it just was a campaign promise.  It really meant nothing more.

Meanwhile, other campaigns will be launching ads full of fear, with horrible things to say about particular parties, issues or candidates.  Such is the case with ballot referendums that will limit the freedom to marry to straight couples only.  They will suggest that same-sex couples want to get married so that we can molest children, redefine marriage relationships and change what is taught in our schools.  Sadly, many will take messages like this very seriously, and deny LGBT people the freedom of marriage equality.   Because they think of Jesus as a non-sexual, non-romantic kind of guy that just prayed and preached hell to liberals, LGBT people and women who have abortions.  Yet, it is very possible to see Jesus as the Erotic-Christ who touched humankind through the incarnation, healed the sick by lovingly laying his hands on them, washing the feet of his disciples, and allowing Thomas to touch the nail marks in his hands and the wounds in his side after the resurrection. 

If we as Christians and as people of good will are going to make our church and local communities a better place, we must be willing to allow ourselves to get beyond our ignorance and prejudice so that we may become a more welcoming and inclusive people.   To do this, we will need to ask for the grace of God, to help us to find God by loving God, and then love God when we find God in others.  At times it will mean putting the needs of others ahead of our own.  Even if it makes us just a bit uncomfortable.  This is not something we can just do.  We need the unmerited grace of God.  It is never too late, nor inappropriate to ask God for this grace.

Whom might God be calling us to love today?

How might God be moving us to love that other person(s)?

How are we doing things in such a way that distorts the message of God's inclusive love of all people?

What truths are we willing to speak, what actions are we ready to take with God's help to strive for peace and justice for all people, and uphold the dignity of every human being?

The answer is probably just a prayer away.

Amen.


Prayers

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as
you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength,
so you never forsake those who make their boast of your
mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen. (Proper 18, Book of Common Prayer, p. 223).


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).

Labor Day: Work: It Does the Soul Good

Today's Scripture Readings

Ecclesiasticus 38: 27-32a (NRSV)

So it is with every artisan and master artisan

who labors by night as well as by day;

those who cut the signets of seals,

each is diligent in making a great variety;

they set their heart on painting a lifelike image,

and they are careful to finish their work.

So it is with the smith, sitting by the anvil,

intent on his iron-work;

the breath of the fire melts his flesh,

and he struggles with the heat of the furnace;

the sound of the hammer deafens his ears,

and his eyes are on the pattern of the object.

He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork,

and he is careful to complete its decoration.

So it is with the potter sitting at his work

and turning the wheel with his feet;

he is always deeply concerned over his products,

and he produces them in quantity.

He molds the clay with his arm

and makes it pliable with his feet;

he sets his heart to finish the glazing,

and he takes care in firing the kiln.

All these rely on their hands,

and all are skillful in their own work.

Without them no city can be inhabited,

and wherever they live, they will not go hungry.

Psalm 90 (BCP., p. 717)


1 Corinthians 3:10-14 (NRSV)

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.

Matthew 6:19-24 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Blog Reflection

Idleness is the enemy of the soul.  Therefore, the community members should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading.  (Rule of Benedict, Chapter 48)

The function of the spiritual life is not to escape into the next world; it is to live well in this one. (Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB.  The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century, p. 211).

Work is an essential part of human life.  Through the gift of work we participate with God in the very act of creation.  Whether the work is building something, cleaning something, work on the computer, cooking, serving, activism, organizing, volunteer or paid.  Work is one way that humans are actually doing things in concert if you will, with God.

Unfortunately in this world and especially this 21st Century, work is also tied to someone's wealth or even the growth and establishment of vulture capitalism.  Where by which, the richest of CEO's and those with financial and political resources that could easily feed six third world countries are given the power to control and benefit from others not being able to work to earn a decent living.  The ability to be able to afford the basics of life has become that much more complicated to achieve.  Worker unions that are struggling to establish safe working places, good wages, health care and retirement benefits are being silenced and losing their collective bargaining rights.  Pell Grants, scholarships and loans for higher education have been cut, and more students are graduating in debt so that they cannot find work in their chosen field.  Only to find themselves working in jobs that barely pay a decent wage so that they can just afford the basic needs of life. 

As Christians our concern needs to be not just thanking God for the gift of work, but also doing our part to help others in need, and to work to change the system that makes poverty so wide spread.  Our faith calls us to be participants in making society and the Church a more just and equal system where all people can find a decent job, and be paid a just wage.  For those who are unable to work through no fault of there own, Christians should share our resources with and on their behalf.  Such is the case with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

There is also a need for Christians to be vocal and active in changing the many ways in which companies and employers are allowed to discriminate against perspective and/or current employees.  Whether because of one's race, religion, culture, language, sexual orientation and/or gender, gender identity/expression, disability and so on.  Sadly, even parish churches are known for having policies and practices that are biased in ways that do not reflect the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

As Christians we are told in today's Gospel to store up for ourselves treasures that matter in the Reign of God. By following what Sr. Joan said, living well in this world.  Living well by doing our part to care for our own needs, but also to be concerned about the needs of others.  Work is a way by which we participate in creation, by helping others to obtain what they need to live life well.  

May God prosper the works of our hands.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another
that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide
us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but
for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for
our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of
other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out
of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.  (Collect for Labor Day, Book of Common Prayer, p. 261).

Heavenly Father, we remember before you those who suffer
want and anxiety from lack of work. Guide the people of this
land so to use our public and private wealth that all may find
suitable and fulfilling employment, and receive just payment
for their labor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Unemployed, Book of Common Prayer, p. 824)

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). 

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Inclusion, Justice and Equality: Three Rituals for Christians

Today's Scripture Readings

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 (NRSV)

Moses said: So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.

You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!" For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children.

Psalm 15 (BCP., p.599).


James 1:17-27 
 

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV)
 

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching human precepts as doctrines.'

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Blog Reflection

Marcus Borg, Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon wrote an article in The Huffington Post entitled A Chronological New Testament.   He makes the case for why Christians would understand the New Testament if we actually read it in it's chronological order as opposed to how it is currently laid out in the Bible.  In the chronological New Testament, it does not begin with Matthew along with the other three Gospels, followed by Acts and ends with Revelation.  If we were to put the books of the New Testament in their chronological order, as Borg suggests, they would look much more like this.

1. Thessalonians.  2. Galatians.  3. 1 Corinthians.  4. Philemon. 5. Philippians. 6. 2 Corinthians. 7. Romans.  8. Mark.  9. James.  10. Colossians.  11. Matthew.  12. Hebrews.  13.  John.  14. Ephesians. 15.  Revelation.  16. Jude.  17. 1 John.  18. 2 John. 19. 3 John.  20. Luke.  21. Acts.  22. 2 Thessalonians.  23. 1 Peter. 24. 1 Timothy.  25. 2 Timothy.  26. Titus.  27. 2 Peter.   

The reasons that Borg gives for reading and/or viewing the New Testament in this chronological order are very interesting to me.  See them below.

• Beginning with seven of Paul's letters illustrates that there were vibrant Christian communities spread throughout the Roman Empire before there were written Gospels. His letters provide a "window" into the life of very early Christian communities.
• Placing the Gospels after Paul makes it clear that as written documents they are not the source of early Christianity but its product. The Gospel -- the good news -- of and about Jesus existed before the Gospels. They are the products of early Christian communities several decades after Jesus' historical life and tell us how those communities saw his significance in their historical context.
• Reading the Gospels in chronological order beginning with Mark demonstrates that early Christian understandings of Jesus and his significance developed. As Matthew and Luke used Mark as a source, they not only added to Mark but often modified Mark.
• Seeing John separated from the other Gospels and relatively late in the New Testament makes it clear how different his Gospel is. In consistently metaphorical and symbolic language, it is primarily "witness" or "testimony" to what Jesus had become in the life and thought of John's community.
• Realizing that many of the documents are from the late first and early second centuries allows us to glimpse developments in early Christianity in its third and fourth generations. In general, they reflect a trajectory that moves from the radicalism of Jesus and Paul to increasing accommodation with the cultural conventions of the time.

It is interesting that this article appeared in The Huffington Post this past Friday, before this weekends readings.  As one might guess, the number of comments beneath Borg's column are very numerous, with not too few of them by those who read and interpret the Bible literally being rather angry and threatening about the content of this article. What is really going on there is not too much unlike what Jesus was dealing with in today's Gospel reading.  At what point does ritual become so important to us, that we forget what Christians are really suppose to be doing?

Episcopalians are all about rituals.  Our Book of Common Prayer is full of rituals.  Every service, order of worship has a ritual.  They are beautiful and powerful.  As Episcopalians, we often risk worshiping our Liturgy, instead of God.  I too am affected by this sin.  I like Liturgy to be neat, nice flowing and without having to adjust to something different than what I am used to.  I have so been caught by the Holy Spirit many times about my attitudes towards individuals and things going on during a Liturgy.  I have to learn to accept others with the same love and mercy with which God has accepts me. 

Even those who claim to not love ritual style worship, are actually into daily rituals of their own.   Aside from what we do in our churches, we all follow a daily routine of rituals.   We wake up at the same time every morning.  We take our shower at the same time every day.  We read the newspaper or news blogs on the computer or our phones while we drink our morning coffee.  We always brush our teeth after every meal.  We have our favorite TV programs that we watch on particular nights.  All of these are a ritual in one way or another.  Where ever we have a routine, we are doing a ritual.  Whether it is religious or not.

Sadly, even our attitudes about God, others and ourselves can become a set of rituals.  Racism is an unspoken ritual that too many of us have been taught in many cases by the poor example of those who raised us.  Sexism is a ritual that infects men with poor attitudes towards women in places of employment and much of society.  Heterosexism is such a part of the history of Christianity and much of our society.  This is why trying to pass marriage equality for LGBT people is so very difficult.  Here in Minnesota, we are working to defeat a harmful amendment this November that would permanently deny the freedom of LGBT people to marry the person that we love, if it should pass.   As the debate to pass or defeat the amendment heats up, the proponents are calling it the "marriage protection amendment" claiming that they are simply trying to prevent marriage from being redefined.   Marriage seen as being defined as between one man and one women is a ritual.  A ritual where heterosexism and homophobia are given their power by a majority making a decision concerning the civil and human rights of a minority.  A ritual in our Church and society, which must be discontinued.

Sadly, religious exceptionalism, by which Christianity is the religion of supersessionism by which all others are to be conquered to be come Christian, is also a ritual that is neither based on the Gospel, nor was it the purpose of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We should instead learn to see Jesus as interconnected with all peoples and religions of the world.  Including with those who chose to practice no religion at all.

Jesus is calling us today to go back to what the meaning of our faith really is.  To love the Lord our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  To have some concern about those who are marginalized, oppressed and disenfranchised.   To share our resources with and on behalf of the poor, the lonely, the dying and those immigrants that just want a new home to live in.  To see in every person, God's image and likeness, with the opportunity to be counted as one of God's children and to be included and nourished at the Altar when we receive Holy Communion. 

James reminds us to understand that every act of self giving comes from God and is designed to accomplish God's will.   The physical and sexual act of love making between two people of the same-sex is just as much a gift of God, as it is between people of the opposite sex.  The gift of being another gender than the one assigned to us at birth is a gift given by God, and one that is not to be shamed, nor is it to mean that we justify cruelty in our speech or actions.  Making tasteless and gross jokes about people of different races, cultures, religions and those who are poor or sick, is an example of deceiving ourselves about being so religious. 

While celebrating our rituals in our worship, we would do well to learn to exercise the three rituals of inclusion, justice and equality.   We are a church vibrant, alive and well, when the doors and hearts of our churches are wide open to receive and make room for those who are different from ourselves.   When Christians exit our churches to become missionaries for inclusion, justice and equality, the Gospel we read and hear at Mass, becomes the living Word of God who is Jesus the Christ.  As we work to establish and defend marriage equality in the laws of our State and Country, and call upon Christianists who make use of events such as Hurricane Isaac to suggest that it happened because of homosexuals, to recant, apologize and stop, the Gospel we read and the rituals we celebrate, become visible signs of God's grace.

How are we being called to make inclusion, justice and equality part of our lives and work as Christians?

In what ways might God be speaking to our hearts about what we do with rituals, while leaving other things unattended?

Where and when might we become more open the Holy Spirit calling us to establish a Church and society where inclusion, justice and equality are as important to us as the rituals we celebrate at Mass?

As we ask these questions in our prayers, we will want to be ready for God to answer.   When we ask God to basically help us to get ourselves out of our way, God is more than happy to oblige.  Are we ready and willing to allow God to answer such a prayer in our lives?


Amen.


Prayers

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good
things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in
us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth
in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 17: Book of Common Prayer, p. 233).

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).