Fourth Sunday in Lent: Open Our Eyes, O God!

 

Today's Scripture Readings

1 Samuel 16:1-16 (NRSV)

The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, `I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Psalm 23 (BCP., p.612)


Ephesians 5:8-14 (NRSV)

Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light-- for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

"Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

John 9: 1-41 (NRSV)

As he walked along, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, `Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet."

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner." He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?" Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him. Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind." Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, `We see,' your sin remains."

 Blog Reflection

Lent is now in its fourth week.  Two weeks from today we will begin Holy Week.  As we draw closer to the celebration of recalling Christ's total self-sacrifice for our redemption, the Revised Common Lectionary brings us to this reading of Jesus healing the man born blind.   It is another long Scripture reading.  Before we arrive with Jesus to enter with him into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, we need to reflect on how well we see the compassionate love of God before our eyes.

In interpreting today's Gospel reading about Jesus healing the man born blind, we need to take some important key facts in mind.  In the time in which this narrative would have occured, many had the horrible presumption that anyone who was disabled or a beggar was such because of some sin she/he or even their parents must have committed.

The major problem with John's Gospel, is that it is most likely written by the oral tradition of the Johaninne Christians. There was probably not one person telling the story, but many.  They faced a great deal of persecution and affliction because of their faith.  It resulted in a terrible amount of dislike for the Jewish Faith. That is why there is a lot of texts in John's Gospel that is very sadly antisemitic. In the case of this Gospel reading in John 9:1-41, it really does not help much that Jesus' reply was that the man was born blind so that "God's work might be revealed in him."  This too suggests that God afflicted the man from birth for this moment.  It is not exactly a ringing endorsement of God's graciousness.

The central meaning here is that Jesus put compassionate and healing love for the dignity of the man blind and poor ahead of the ritual rules.  As the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees heats up, the issue becomes what is more important; the person born blind and being ridiculed and denigrated by those from whom he begs, or the rule about the sabbath?

As Christians, we too need to think and pray about what is more important.   Is it more important for our Congressional leaders to please the Koch Brothers by denying millions of hungry people the funds for food stamps, unemployment insurance and protection from high-powered magazine rifles?   Or do we value even more the Baptismal Vow to uphold and respect the dignity of every human person to motivate us to tell our Congress and President to stop putting politics ahead of people?

As the nations of the world decide how to best respond to what is happening with Crimea, Russia and the Ukraine; are economic sanctions really the answer?   Those in control of the Russian government are not going to feel the most painful impact of such sanctions.  It is those who really are poor who will pay the biggest price.

Christians in the United States really do have another matter that we need to examine to question as to the clarity of our vision.

The recent issue of "religious liberty" has swept its way into every important social issue from abortion and birth control, to equal rights protection for LGBTQ people, and to reducing gun violence is out of control.   Any legislation on any Federal, State or Municipality level that seeks to address the needs of the poor, marginalized and oppressed becomes the subject of the "religious liberty" debate.  It has become one of the most potent whispering campaigns that amazingly has found it's way into the ears, pulpits and court rooms of our country via the work of the Alliance Defending Freedom organization.  I cannot remember such outrageous nonsense like this uniting the efforts of fundamentalist Christians and the entire National Conference of Catholic Bishops like this one has.  The religious liberty talking point is nothing more than a sham on behalf of selfish and narrow minded people claiming to be followers of Christ who are sore losers.  It is pathetic and immature. It is not liberty on the basis of religion.  It is  spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse disguised as religious zeal.  It is meant to blind people about the real truth about what is happening. Conservative religious based bigotry.  Because the same Christianist organizations who claim they are the victims of discrimination based on "religious liberty" think nothing of bullying a human service organization such as World Vision USA because they decided to end their employment discrimination practices towards same-gender married couples.

This past week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the arguments in the case of Hobby Lobby with regards to their "religious liberty" right to refuse to cover the cost of contraception to their employees as a result of the Affordable Care Act.  As to what I think of this matter, I am going to defer to an article in USA Today written by Bishop Gene Robinson.  See the quote below.

Sometimes, even for a bishop, it's embarrassing to be a Christian. Not that I'm embarrassed by Jesus, whose life was spent caring and advocating for the marginalized, and whom I believe to be the perfect revelation of God. I'm just sometimes embarrassed to be associated with others who claim to follow him.

The Jesus I follow always stood with the poor and powerless — and trust me, this struggle is about about power. Whether the issue touches women or gays and lesbians, our religion should be about more love, not less; more dignity, not less.

Christians need to be very careful about using our religious beliefs as weapons of mass destruction that could have a lasting impact well beyond the non-existent issue of "religious freedom" that has been exploding into a harmful and unnecessary holy war.  What is in our hearts may be very well intentioned.  But, if many of us would look into our hearts with Jesus, we may often find that what God is seeing there and what we think is there are not one and the same thing.

In our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures today, God tells Solomon: "Mortals, ,, look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).  During Lent, we are looking with prayer, fasting, alms-giving and self-denial at what is in our hearts.  We are inviting God to go there with us as we repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness.   At some point, it befits us to see honestly the blindness we pretend is not there with regards to our personal relationship with God and others, and seek the help of Jesus to change our ways.  That is what repentance means.  To change the direction in which we are going.  Christians have way too many examples in our history both far back and most recent of giving Jesus Christ a bad Name by fueling our prejudices.  It is time for Jesus and others to see in our hearts and lives the unconditional and all-inclusive love that is compassionate and self-giving with no exceptions.   It is time to put the love of God, neighbor and self ahead of our erroneous Bible interpretations and politics. It is time for our ritual worship and how we live and love to become one and the same.  Handling people with the same care as we would the Sacred Vessels of the Altar.

Amen.


Prayers

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down
from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world:
Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in
him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p. 219).

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.260).

Gracious Father, we pray for thy 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.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.816).

The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ: God Comes to Turn Our Lives Upside Down and Bring Salvation

Today's Scripture Reading

Luke 1: 26-38 (NRSV)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Blog Reflection

I have just finished reading The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience by Thomas Keating.  He finishes the book by reminding us that Jesus doesn't make the biggest impact on our lives when they are all set in their untroubled moments.  Jesus makes the greatest change in our lives, when they are turned upside down.   When nothing seems to make sense.  When we have the most questions, with no answers.

I think Mary must have felt like God turned her world upside down when the Angel Gabriel came to her, to announce that she was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God.  History tells us that Mary was most likely no older than 16 years old.  I am sure she had many plans   Among them her engagement to Joseph.  Suddenly, just like when most are weddings are being planned, comes the shocker that turns everything over.  Whatever the plans were before, they suddenly had a new component to them.  It was out of order.  It was what most human minds would have thought was illogical.

The Annunciation is about keeping in mind that God is beyond logic.  God is not bound by human rules or laws.  God is not even bound by what humankind perceives to be God's word in the Bible itself.  God is bigger than all of that.  Yet, God comes not as a warrior to stop the conflicts of our lives.  God comes to us in Jesus Christ, through the yes of Mary, to let us know that when our lives are upside down, we too are given the opportunity to make choices.

Are we open to answering yes to God's call upon our lives to bear the presence of Christ in the midst of our messy lives?   Or, are we completely bent on having things our way, come hell or high water?

And there is more.  Just because we answer yes to God's call in our lives, doesn't mean that everything going forward will be without it's demands on our lives for further conversion.   The changes have only just begun.  The possibilities of what God can do with and through us are unlimited when we are obedient to God's will.   In Mary's case, God's random act of grace continued to pour itself out, even to the moment when Mary stood at the foot of the Cross with John, while her son was dying out of love for God and all of us.   For all of us, if we are willing to answer yes to God's random act of grace on our lives, God will only bring out what is truly best.  Even if it winds up costing us everything.  Even if the rest of the world tells us we are crazy.

How is God calling us through God's random act of grace, to make the Church and society a more inclusive place for LGBT and others who are marginalized?

What price are we willing to pay to answer God's call on our lives?

Our answer is more than a simple sinner's prayer and a statement that we have been saved.   It is way more than saying things such as "Religion does not save, only Jesus does."  Answering the call of God on our lives, turns them upside down.  It means walking the way of the Cross with Jesus, and letting God show us a greater love of God, neighbor and self that is authentic and transparent.  It is at total giving of self so that God's reign that is here and now can become ever more real and life-giving beyond our prayers and rituals.  Our God is to be found in the ordinary routines of our lives.  As God turns them upside down, God also calls us to follow Jesus in the midst of our messy lives.  Our choice is to answer yes to the narrow way that leads to everlasting life, or the no that leads to death, darkness and destruction.  

St. Benedict has something to say about all of this in The Rule.

Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation.  It is bound to be narrow at the outset.  But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.  Never swerve from his instructions, then, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom.  Amen.  (RB 1980, Prologue, vs 48-50, p. 19).

Amen.

Prayers

Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have
known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced
by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion
be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and
reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.240).

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

Third Sunday in Lent: Jesus Shows Us How to Be Pure of Heart and a Peacemaker

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 17:1-17 (NRSV)

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

Psalm 95 (BCP., p.724)


Romans 5:1-11 (NRSV)

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

John 4:5-42 (NRSV)

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!

He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, `Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, `One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."

Blog Reflection

If you are still reading this blog after reading all the Scripture verses for this Sunday's Liturgy, thank you ever so much.   Please keep reading.  The fun has just begun.

Beginning with the Third Sunday in Lent through the Fifth Sunday in Lent in Year A, the Gospel readings get longer.  They get longer because the Church and the Lectionary are drawing us into a deeper awareness and meaning of the Passion and Death of Jesus.   They show us how boundless the love of God for us really is.

When I first read the story from Exodus a few years ago, I felt somewhat bad for the Israelites.   They were wandering in the desert and would be for the next forty years.  Many of their generations would not actually see the Promised Land the Lord God promised to them through Moses.   Their concern about being thirsty was legitimate was it not?

One can look at it that way if one has not read the preceding chapters of Exodus.  God did amazing things in front of their eyes.  The plagues in Egypt.  The leaving of the Israelites from Egypt in to the wilderness and finally through the Red Sea, with Pharaoh's chariots and charioteer's drowned in the Red Sea.  The manna that God provided them with in the wilderness.  God had showed God's people how faithful God is to God's word many, many times.  But, rather than wait upon Yahweh to give them what they most needed, they quarreled and complained.  Even after miracle after miracle, they still had more faith in their former life in Egypt than they did in where God had them in the wilderness.  It took the prayer of Moses and the striking of the rock to release the water that gave the people what they most needed.

It is so very appropriate that the Psalm for this Sunday should be what we begin the Daily Office with.  Psalm 95.  The adoption of using this Psalm at Matins (Morning Prayer) comes from the Benedictine Tradition.   Ester de Waal in her book, A Life-Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict  gives us an explanation to the importance of this Psalm in our daily prayer.   Psalm 3  "is followed by Psalm 94 (95) with its invitation to come in, joyfully (1), reverently (6), and penitently (8).  It also has in verse 7 that wonderful line that brings us back yet again to the opening word of the Rule and to the underlying theme, "O that today you would listen to his voice."  Praying should be a dialogue of listening with the "ear of your heart" (Prol., 1), and I am given this daily reminder so that I must never let my ears be closed or my heart be hardened" (page 72).

What sorts of things do we grumble about with the Lord?

In what ways are we not seeing God's gracious and mighty works in our lives?

How can we see what God is giving us as gift, and live in an attitude of thanksgiving for it?

In what ways do we harden our hearts to keep from listening to God?

Now we turn our attention to the heart of this Third Sunday in Lent Year A.   The meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman at the Well of Jacob.   The significance of this meeting gives us two amazing surprises.  Once again, Jesus demonstrates that He is listening for how God can turn the established order of things over on its head, and accept it as God's will.   Here, Jesus breaks through the boundaries of cultural and sexist bias.  He is not only talking to a woman which is pretty much forbidden in that time, but He is also talking to a Samaritan woman.

What was the issue with the Samaritan's you might ask?  Well, you see back in the era of King Alexander the Great in the writings of the Apocrypha, he had destroyed the Temple and persecuted all of the houses of Jewish worship.  Alexander ordered that all of Israel that remained worship his gods.  The Jewish people within the southern part of Israel at the time had outright refused to worship the foreign gods of Alexander the Great.  The Samaritans in the north accepted Alexander's commands, and that was the end of that relationship.  Even though the Samaritans were a people with roots in the Jewish Tradition of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even Moses, the fact that they gave over their religious freedoms to what were considered to be pagan gods, was just something the Jewish People could not over look.   As we see, Jesus Himself is not afraid to cross that cultural boundary to reconcile God with those cut off from the local community.  Not women.  Not Samaritans.  Jesus wants to impart the life-giving water of God's salvation to all people  In so doing, Jesus lives out what it is to be pure of heart (or single-hearted) and a peacemaker.  Here we read that Jesus is willing to empty Himself of even his reputation to draw this woman closer to God through His magnificent love.

Thomas Keating in his book, The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience writes the following.

The single-hearted see God in themselves, in others and in the ordinary events of life.  Jesus said, "The Son cannot do anything by himself--he can only do what he sees the Father doing."  Thus, he is always looking at the Father.  What Jesus does is to translate his vision of the Father into his daily life and teaching and ultimately into his passion and death on the cross.  This is an important point for our practice.  Contemplative prayer is the place of encounter between the creative vision of transformation and the actual incarnation of that vision day by day.  Practice of the creative vision into the concrete circumstances of each day (page 103).

On the subject of being a peacemaker, Keating writes:

The commitment of the spiritual journey is not a commitment to pure joy, but to taking responsibility for the whole human family, its needs and destiny.  We are not our own; we belong to everyone else (page 104).

Jesus' interest in this woman is to see the image of God in her, and to glorify God in upholding her dignity and help her to find peace with God.

Notice that in Jesus' exchange with this woman, once she and He get to the subject of how many husbands she has, He does not dwell on, or call her on that issue.  David Lose in a terrific article on this subject, wrote in The Huffington Post:

And that's it. That's the sentence that has branded her a prostitute. Conservative preacher John Piper's treatment is characteristic. In a sermon on this passage, he describes her as "a worldly, sensually-minded, unspiritual harlot from Samaria," and at another point in the sermon calls her a "whore."

Yet there is nothing in the passage that makes this an obvious interpretation. Neither John as narrator nor Jesus as the central character supply that information. Jesus at no point invites repentance or, for that matter, speaks of sin at all. She very easily could have been widowed or have been abandoned or divorced (which in the ancient world was pretty much the same thing for a woman). Five times would be heartbreaking, but not impossible. Further, she could now be living with someone that she was dependent on, or be in what's called a Levirate marriage (where a childless woman is married to her deceased husband's brother in order to produce an heir yet is not always technically considered the brother's wife). There are any number of ways, in fact, that one might imagine this woman's story as tragic rather than scandalous, yet most preacher's assume the latter.

The difficulty with that interpretation is that it trips up the rest of the story. Immediately after Jesus describes her past, she says, "I see that you are a prophet" and asks him where one should worship. If you believe the worst of her, this is nothing more than a clumsy attempt to change the topic. But if you can imagine another scenario, things look different. "Seeing" in John, it's crucial to note, is all-important. "To see" is often connected with belief. When the woman says, "I see you are a prophet," she is making a confession of faith.

In this exchange between Jesus and this Samaritan Woman, He shows us how we are to see in each person the dignity and integrity of the Beatific and Incarnational vision of God.  God is not limited to our biases, nor does God live by them.  God does not cease to welcome the stranger, the person of a different race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, immigration status, economic status, health status, language, etc into the embrace of God's mercy.  And neither should we.   Jesus in His Death and Resurrection has freed the waters of Baptism to flow from His own pierced heart of love into all nations, races, peoples and faiths.  In Canticle 18 in The Book of Common Prayer on page 94 we pray these words:

And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
   for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people and nation,
   a kingdom of priests to serve our God. 

Jesus in this Gospel extends His invitation to everyone to drink from the Living Waters of Baptism, and to continue to receive from the Sacrament of Holy Communion the outpouring of God's love through the Body and Blood of Christ.

We as the Church, as the Body of Christ are called through our Baptismal Covenant to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to strive for peace and justice in all persons, by respecting the dignity of every human person.  In so doing, we too have the opportunity to live out the Beatific and Incarnational vision of having a pure heart and being a peacemaker.  It does not end with our Sunday Eucharist, and does not stop at the doors of our churches or homes. The Living Waters of Christ are ever flowing in and out of our lives into the wider ocean of God's mercy to be shared with others, without prejudice or violence.

This past week, Rev. Fred Phelps of the insidious Westboro Baptist Church died.  His sad legacy of the horrible "God Hates Fags" picketing and rhetoric cannot be undone.  His tone and those who followed have done their damage to God's holy children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning.   Their work is responsible for the spread of more prejudice that did not stop with LGBTQ people, but also went towards immigrants, African Americans, Native Americans, women and more.  Yet, even in Phelps' death, those of us who have experienced the hurt of his rhetoric, have also the experience of Christ's forgiveness and mercy in our own lives.  Our response to Phelp's death should should be to forgive those who have hurt us, and to pray for those who continue to hurt us.   We must never give up the work of speaking out against prejudice, injustice and brutality in the name of any religious conviction. That must include returning prejudice and hate towards one who ever so sadly provoked it.  Our prayers for Phelps' soul should be for God's mercy and the forgiveness of everyone whom his campaigns have injured.  Our response should be the Gospel response and in the words of The Rule of St. Benedict: "and never despair of God's mercy" (Preferring Christ: A Devotional Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, p. 66). 

May our Lenten Journey lead us back to the Living Water that is in our Baptism to find refreshment from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, that we may also be examples of what it means to live with a pure heart and be a life-giving peacemaker.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves
to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and
inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all
adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil
thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.218).

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. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.815).

Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the
world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among
them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they
may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.816).

Second Sunday in Lent: Faith, Love and Salvation

Today's Scripture Readings

Genesis 12: 1-4a (NRSV)

The Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."


So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.

Psalm 121 (BCP., p.779)


Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 (NRSV)

What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.


For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

John 3:1-17 (NRSV)

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


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


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


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

Blog Reflection

I think one of my favorite more modern Anglican hymns would have to be David J. Evans 1986 hymn "Be Still, for the Presence of the Lord".    Part of the third stanza says: "no work to hard for him, in faith receive from him, be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place."    It is a beautiful tune, and the word suggest sitting in silence and stillness before the Lord, and allowing God to penetrate every fiber of our being.  Giving God the go ahead to take over, and believe beyond all doubt the God can do things beyond our imagination, because of faith.

I think Abram's faith must have been really unique to have trusted that God would make of him a great nation, without even knowing what he might see.  Yet, even today where Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith is spoken of, the name of Abraham is found.  The faith of Abraham became so much more than a vision.  It became a trust in God, that believed that anything God promised, no matter how impossible it seemed, it would happen.  Not only did Abram have great faith in God, but God must have had a lot of faith in Abram.

What kind of shape is our faith in as we continue to witness the unfolding of what is taking place in Ukraine and Russia?   Are we taking every possibility into account of how to stand up against violence and oppression in that situation, without giving ourselves over to more military violence perpetrated by our own nation?

As we are all very disappointed in what has happened with the draconian bill in Uganda that further criminalizes same-gender relationships of all kinds, are we in faith taking seriously the consequences of economic sanctions that further harm the poor and needy in that country?

The Psalmist today, reminds us of where our help comes from as we face the perils and dangers of our lives.   Our help comes not just from any person or place.  Our help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and Earth.   We may feel at times that God is not as close as we would like God to be.  Yet, God is the designer of the DNA in the cells of our bodies.  The Holy Spirit of God breaths life through our lungs, with hope for our darkest tomorrows.  God has not taken a slumber.  God is watching over us with the help of the Angels who serve God.

In the famous conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus, we read about a spiritual rebirth through the Sacrament of Baptism.  This particular passage of Scripture follows the story of the Marriage of Cana in John chapter 2.  Jesus in that Gospel narrative has just given new life to the water and made it into wine.  Just as God breathed the life of creation into water, Jesus renews the power of water, by His own immersion through His own Baptism.  The wine prefigures the Eucharist at which Jesus changes wine into His most precious Blood.   Now in the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus tells us of a spiritual rebirth by the waters of Baptism.  The Baptism that immerses us into His death and resurrection.   St. Paul writes about the relationship of Baptism with the death and resurrection of Christ in Romans 6:1-11. If you attend the Great Vigil of Easter, you will  hear that reading.  

The work of Jesus to save our souls is the result of God's amazing love that gave the gift of God's Son for the sins of the world.   The hymn entitled "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley, has in it's first stanza those wonderful words.  "Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God, shouldst die for me?"   In the death of Christ, God tastes what every human being experiences in the death of their body.  Yet, the real death and resurrection for Christians, is to experience the death of our false selves and rises with a new true self, devoted in service of Christ and others in His Name.

As Christians who have experienced this saving power of God through Jesus Christ, our response should be one of gratitude and a wholehearted love of our neighbor as ourselves.   During this Season of Lent, our fasting, prayer, alms-giving, and self-denial is to help us deepen that love of God, neighbor and selves.   In our General Thanksgiving that we pray often at the end of Morning and Evening Prayer, we say: "give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days...." (Book of Common Prayer, pages 101 and 125).

Yet, we also know that each of us harbors a prejudice somewhere in our hearts.   Our culture outside and within the LGBT communities, in and outside of our churches is full of biases towards people of different races, cultures, genders, gender identities/expressions, physical/emotional challenges, languages, immigration statuses, religions and more.    Even in those of us who have experienced the discrimination of Christians due to our sexual orientation, many in our LGBT Communities feed a hatred towards all religions, people of color, and different expressions of different peoples.   Even individuals who claim to be politically progressive, often demonstrate bias in their speech and practices within the political structures of their parties.  I once heard one such person who supports immigration reform make a statement about Latino's that was as biased as anyone who thinks that immigration reform is about amnesty.

Jesus challenges all of us today, to be open to a continuing conversion of our hearts, minds and souls.  

"Benedictine Spirituality" Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB writes in The Monastery of the Heart, "is a sacramental spirituality.  It holds all things--the earth and all its goods {and it's people} as sacred."   It recognizes the "oneness of creation, the symphony of life forms that depend on one another to bring the universe, pulsing and throbbing with life, to a wholeness that reflects the full face of God"  (Pages 115, 116).

Jesus wants us to recognizes and honor one another as Sacred Vessels.  Each of us carries within us the image of God, the saving power of Christ and the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit.   This Season of Lent is our opportunity to open ourselves to the presence of Christ in the Sacrament that is revealing God's Charisma emulating from our neighbor's life and soul, and handle each other with reverence, respect and care.   With this in mind, no amount of violence, oppression or injustice in God's Name is without iniquity.  Lord have mercy on us all.

May we all honor the faith, love and salvation of God in one another better this day, and in the weeks and months ahead of us.

Amen.


Prayers

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious
to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.218).

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 on me all the good things I possess, and still I do not know you.  I have not yet done that for which I was made.   

Teach me to seek you, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, or find you unless you show yourself to me.   Let me seek you in my desire, let me desire you in my seeking.  Let me find you by loving you, let me love you when I find you.  Amen. (Prayer of St. Anselm, St. Benedict's Prayer Book for Beginners, p.118).

      

First Sunday in Lent: Jesus' Temptation Faces our Emotional Systems With Us

Today's Scripture Readings

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 (NRSV)

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, `You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, `You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Psalm 32 (BCP., p.624)


Romans 5:12-19 (NRSV)

As sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned-- sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)

After Jesus was baptized, he was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him,

"If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written,

'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Blog Reflection

The number forty in the Bible has great significance.  The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years before entering the Promised Land.  Elijah spent forty days on the Mountain.  Nineveh spent forty days in a fast to repent and return to the Lord.  

The First Sunday in Lent each year takes us to a Gospel narrative of Jesus' temptation in the desert for forty days.  Continuing with the idea written by Thomas Keating in The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience beginning on page 39-42, what Jesus is doing in the temptation is facing the emotional systems of all of us.  The emotional systems are survival/security, affection/esteem and power/control.  Each of us has these built into our human system.  By themselves, they are not evil or wrong.   How and where they are directed can determine the moral impact of what our emotional systems lead us to.  If they lead us to use them for the sake of themselves, there is a problem.  If we use them out of love for God, neighbor and self, we are growing in holiness and relationship with God.

In Jesus, is God's prefect revelation of God's Self.   Jesus is the human face of God made real.  God did not wait for us to reach God's level.  God came to us as one like us. In Christ, we are shown how God walks with us as we face the temptations of our emotional systems.   In all of the examples that Matthew's Gospel gives us of  how Jesus was tempted, and responded to Satan there is one common theme that the devil is trying to get Jesus to do.   In the end, the issue is not how hungry Jesus is.  Nor is it whether Jesus is the Son of God, or how much of the world He could rule.   The common thread in all that Jesus is tempted to do, is will Jesus be His own god, or will He rely on God for His salvation?   Yes, Jesus is hungry after forty days.  But, if Jesus does change the stones into bread, what He would do is decide that He and not God is the one who ultimately fills his hungering heart.   If Jesus were to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple, He would indeed be protected.  But, He would have made Himself God, deciding what God should and should not do for Him.  Jesus could have bowed down and worship Satan in exchange for all the kingdoms of the earth.  But, He would have made himself God, and not worship the Lord, His God.

In the temptations and His response to them, Jesus shows us His great humility.  The very humility written about in Philippians 2:1-11.   He does not regard His likeness to God to be the most important thing.  Jesus out of His love for us, empties His glory, and shows us the way to God.  Jesus does not exalt Himself as God's Son.  He serves humankind and therefore receives the glory of God as God's Son because of what He gave.  

What are some of the emotional systems that we cling to?

Could the reason be that Christians in not too few number continue the campaign against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people because it challenges our emotional systems of security, esteem and control?

Do we ignore the dangers of climate change because the security, esteem and control of the rich and powerful has too strong of a hold on our government and politics?

Do we resist the real need to change our gun laws so that our schools, neighborhoods and communities are safe, because the Second Amendment worshipers are afraid of losing their security,esteem and control?

Do we remain silent about the real existence of racism and sexism, because we like the security of a Caucasian/male dominated system, by which we are highly esteemed and in control?

Are we willing to speak up about the current violence in Ukraine, and give up a bit of our security, esteem and control over the fact that the United States has too invaded countries and taken them over against their will?  Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and drone missile attacks come to mind.

Our Lenten observance of fasting, self-denial, abstinence, alms-giving and prayer is to help us individually and collectively draw closer to God in trust and hope for our salvation in Christ Jesus.  These practices are not for Christians to wave flags and banners to show others how good we are in our own spiritual journey, while we ignore the real needs beyond our church walls.  Needs such as the exploitation of the weak, sick, poor and disenfranchised.   The beatings of gay men that have taken place in New York City, Minneapolis and in Russia.   The regular sexual harassment and assault on transgender people.   The bullying of LGBTQ students in schools, families and church communities.   If we are doing our Lenten practices and becoming more self-centered and less concerned about things like what I have named, we might want to spend a bit more time being very honest with God and ourselves about what kind of conversion we are open to.  

This Season of Lent is God's gracious gift to us, to be able to confront those parts of ourselves that won't live up to the call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and ask the Holy Spirit for a renewed heart and mind.   A heart with reverence for God's presence in our neighbor, and love God in her/him without distinction.  

In today's Gospel, Jesus faces our emotional systems and shows us how to be victorious by trusting in God to help us.   As we look upon our own lives in the presence of God's mercy and forgiveness, we have the opportunity to experience God's healing and reconciling grace.  The grace that enables us to not just face and over come our temptations, but also tell the world about Jesus through our lives redeemed and changed for the better.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be
tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted
by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of
each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.218).

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have
made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and
make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily
lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.217).

 Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on
the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within
the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit
that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those
who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for
the honor of your Name. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.101).