Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost: Christ Welcomes All to Come Closer to God

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 31: 7-9 (NRSV)

Thus says the LORD:

Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

"Save, O LORD, your people,

the remnant of Israel."

See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,

and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame, those with child and

those in labor, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

With weeping they shall come,

and with consolations I will lead them back,

I will let them walk by brooks of water,

in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;

for I have become a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Psalm 126 (BCP., 782)


Hebrews 7: 23-28 (NRSV)

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Mark 10: 46-52 (NRSV)

Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stood still and said, "Call him here." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; get up, he is calling you." So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Blog Reflection

There is the saying that "You can get more bees with honey, than you can with vinegar."  How might that be broken down to say some thing important to Baptized Christians?

We can attract more to the Person of Jesus Christ through love, compassion and inclusion than we can through hate, rejection and exclusion.  People might find the truth about the Christian Faith to be more appealing, if Christians lived that truth with an openness of heart and mind, than closer to the freezer in the fellowship hall and thinking only about ourselves. 

The Gospel reading today gives us a picture of how those who claim to be followers of Jesus, place stumbling blocks between him and those who might like to get closer to God.

A woman who has had to get a divorce from her abusive partner (male or female), needs to come closer to God to grieve and heal.  But, she cannot do that if she has to be worried about being rejected from Holy Communion just because she is not living with her spouse, and/or her sexual orientation.  

An older man, whose only son who has just taken his own life, does not understand how God could have allowed him to not see the signs of his sons depression before he did the unthinkable and irreversible. He cannot come closer to be healed, if he is hearing people in the church gossiping about what a failure of a business man he was or is.  

Our actions and words can play a huge role in whether or not people feel as if they can come closer to God.

Why is it that Christians at times, make God difficult to come close to for others?

I think it has a lot to do with how we understand our Baptismal Covenant and what it means.  When we promise that with God's help, we will: "seek to serve Christ in all persons, loving [our] neighbor as [ourselves]", and to "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being," we are promising to God and our church communities that we will do just that.  It means that we will seek out God's presence with respect and reverence within each person.  It means that we will look for God to help us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to strive for that justice and peace, while respecting the dignity of every human person as someone created, redeemed and being renewed in the Holy Spirit.   We are not given permission by God to exclude people from coming out of the side lines, to find salvation and purpose in God's perfect Self revelation in Jesus Christ.  The lost, the broken, the poor, the LGBT, the woman who needs or has had an abortion, the Atheist (whether or not they believe in God or want to believe in God, or end up believing in God or not) are not for us to pretend as if they are not important or without hope.  None of them will even begin to comprehend the possibility that the "Lord is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and of great kindness" (Psalm 103, 6), if we are the ones constantly telling them to "keep quiet".

When St. Benedict tells us that "the love of Christ must come before all else" (RB 4, 21, p 183), he is calling on us see Christ in others, and love him there as he is, not as we would want him to be. We are to open wide the doors of our hearts and minds to "love my God, who is in my neighbor" (St. Louis Marie de Montfort).  This kind of thing is extremely challenging, when the person we are dealing with is rude, disoriented, totally rubs us the wrong way or seems like they could care less.  Yet, some how, God is there in that person, and now that we have found God there, we must seek how we can love God there.

If at times, we would get ourselves out of the way between Christ and others, and see him there, and work with him as he is in others, the Reign of God would actually flourish in the deserts where there is no water or fresh vegetation.  The raging brush fires of hate driven anti-marriage equality amendment campaigns would be understood as the grave injustice that they are.  The suffocating heat wave of targeting Muslims, Jewish people, and Native Americans to "make sure they think, worship and behave as we do" would be relieved by the cool, gentle and soothing breeze of inclusion. We might recognize and honor the reality that every person finds their own path to connect their lives to the Divine Being in ways that we cannot and should not try to control.

How is God calling us to allow people kept on the side lines to draw closer to God through Christ?

How does our Baptismal Covenant challenge us to see beyond the "isms" of our divided society and Church, so that we may acknowledge with reverence the presence of God in all people, and respect their dignity?

I think we would do well to offer for ourselves and others a prayer that I find inspiring.

Father, pour out your Spirit upon your people,
and grant us a new vision of your glory,
a new experience of your power,
a new faithfulness to your Word,
and a new consecration to your service,
that your love may grow among us,
and your kingdom come;
Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.
(Prayer to the Holy Spirit, Saint Benedict's Prayer Book for Beginners, p.120).

Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of
faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you
promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 25, Book of Common Prayer, p. 235)


O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the
earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those
who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people
everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the
nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh;
and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Mission, Book of Common Prayer, p.100).


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 the Neglected, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).