Second Sunday of Easter: Thank God for Thomas

Today's Scripture Readings

Acts 2:14a, 22-32 (NRSV)

Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the multitude, "You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know-- this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,

`I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;

therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

moreover my flesh will live in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One experience corruption.

You have made known to me the ways of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'

"Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying ,

`He was not abandoned to Hades,

nor did his flesh experience corruption.'

This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses."

Psalm 16 (BCP., p.599).


1 Peter 1:3-9 (NRSV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith-- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

John 20:19-31 (NRSV)

When it was evening on the day of Resurrection, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Blog Reflection

One of the fads on Facebook that has become an addiction for many people, and in some ways myself, is the Buzzfeed surveys.  If you answer a particular set of questions, you can find out things like What Disney Cartoon Character you are.  Other possibilities are What Religion Are You?   How many 80's movies you have watched.  One survey was what kind of Christ you are.  The answers were quite interesting.  If you answered the questions in a particular way, you could learn that you are the Medic Jesus who heal people.  You might be the Preachy Jesus.   The types of surveys and answers are all over the map.  I play a few behind the scenes, but I make it my business not to post the answers I get, except for a few.   And my reason for doing that, is because I don't want those surveys and the answers I get to become the means by which I identify or define myself.  Nor do I want others to use them to identify things about me.  I feel that my identity is first and foremost an adopted son of God, by the redemption of Jesus Christ.  Whatever my sexual orientation or gender identity is, my national origin, language, etc., they are all labels the become opportunities for me to be compared and/or designated certain opportunities based on those.   All of those are nothing compared to the opportunities I am given because of the difference the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ has made in my life.

When the Risen Christ appeared to those first Disciples while Thomas were not present, they experienced the saving grace of God that changed their lives forever.  They were filled with sorrow for all that had happened on Good Friday.  They were locked behind closed doors for fear of being arrested because they were previously with Jesus.  They heard the stories of Mary and those who were at the tomb when Jesus rose from the dead.  But, they just did not believe it.  If all of that were not believable, suddenly the Risen Christ appeared with the words: "Peace be with you."   Those first Apostles ran away when He was nailed to the Cross.  Peter denied Jesus three times.  All Jesus was concerned with, was bringing God's peace upon those scared, sad and discouraged Disciples.  

Thomas represents in all of us that doubting moment.  The doubt that is not satisfied by the words that came to him about the Resurrection.  Thomas wanted to see the Risen Christ for himself.   Thomas was the skeptic.  He's the skeptic that plays the devil's advocate in the middle of a meeting.   Everyone wants to finish up and go home.  The skeptic wants to see that which satisfies her/his curiosity.   But, Jesus comes even to those who have doubts.  The Risen Christ is alive and calling even the skeptics among us.   "Peace be with you.  See my hands and my feet.  Touch me and see."  Thomas cries those wonderful words "My Lord and My God" as a statement of faith.  The faith that became his sight.   Because he doubted and later believed, those who have not seen, but believe through the words and actions of others are blessed indeed.   Our identity as children of God is confirmed through the faith of others who like us doubted, and were later shown God's blessings in their lives.

We are living in some times of real doubts.  The civil unrest in the Ukraine and the threat of more violence from Russia.   The news that we still  have not seen unemployment insurance renewed, or the minimum wage raised leaves so much doubt about what kind of future low income and middle class people have.  Very little has been done to reduce the gun violence that threatens our schools, communities of various peoples, and neighborhoods.  The rhetoric by Christianists towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people continues to be violent, even with all the progress we have made towards marriage equality and more.  The terrible ruling by the Supreme Court this week with regards to Affirmative Action in Michigan.  The way in which women are victimized as second class citizens with regards to work, equal pay and reproductive health care.

The problem is, we still live in an age and world where the dignity of every human person is the least of our concern.  Instead of loving our neighbor as ourselves, we are loving money, power, prestige, popularity and the ability to draw attention to ourselves.  We do not want to share our country with the many immigrants who want a chance to make a life for themselves.  We want to keep an "other" so that we feel like we have power and control over things around us.  We walk by sight, not by faith.

Jesus comes to us, alive and offers us peace in the midst of our chaos.  He comes to invite us to touch him through the wounds of prejudice, indifference, and oppression and see that our broken humanity can and will be healed through God's transforming grace.  The Risen Christ beacons us to see beyond our doubts, stereotypes and preconceived notions and see Jesus offering us peace, healing and reconciliation.  Jesus offers us the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of our sins through His Death and Resurrection, with the opportunity to start over again and again. 

As Easter Week ends, and we continue through this wonderful season in the Church; we have the opportunity to meet the Risen Christ and love Him in one another.  We can embrace one another by forgiving each other and being forgiven.  We can be restored to friendship with God through God's mercy in Christ, and find our way back to being true Disciples full of hope and peace.

Peace be with you.  

Alleluia! Christ is risen
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery
established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all
who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body
may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith;
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. 224).

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. (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.  (Book of Common Prayer, p. 823).

Easter Day: Are You Resurrectable?

Today's Scripture Readings

Acts 10:34-43 (NRSV)

Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ--he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Psalm 1181-2, 14-24 (BCP., p.760).


Colossians 3:1-4 (NRSV)

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

John 20:1-18 (NRSV)

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, `I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Blog Reflection

If you have never had the opportunity to attend the ceremony of a Benedictine making her/his Solemn Vows you are truly missing something wonderful.   If you get an invitation to attend, you should definitely accept.

One of the parts of the Rite, involves the one making Solemn Vows to prostrate on the floor and then be covered with a pall.   While covered with the pall, the Cantor and the Community chant the Litany of the Saints.    The pall is then removed, the Sister or Brother stands up and makes her/his Solemn Profession with the Vows of Stability, Conversion of Life and Obedience.   The Vows are for life.   There is no turning back.   The experience of the pall, symbolizes dying to our old selves and rising a new person.   It is a symbol of what takes place in our Baptism.   Up to the point that Solemn Vows are taken, the Sister or Brother has undergone a grueling formation process.   Surrendering herself/himself to praying the Offices, the daily prayerful reading of Scripture and learning The Rule of St. Benedict along with obedience to one's superior.    One would think that doing such would make one imprisoned.   After all, the idea of surrendering ourselves to the "judgment and commandments of another" (See RB 1980, Chapter 5:12) is not looked upon very well in this day and age.  However, the exact opposite is what happens.   When we learn to surrender ourselves to the will of God through obedience to our Superior, we find the greatest freedom, and our greatest reward is learning to trust more and more in God for all that we need.

On this Easter Day, as we arrive with Mary at the tomb and discover that Jesus is not there, we too might become absorbed in the experience of questioning our faith.  How can all that we hoped for, suddenly be taken away by the Crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday, be laid in the tomb on Holy Saturday, only to find ourselves at an empty tomb?    Where is Jesus?   Where have they laid Him?

Thomas Keating in his book The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience on pages 70-73 gives us a lot to ponder about the event of Mary Magdalene and her encounter with Jesus.   The seen of the garden for example, is a "cosmic context."   The two gardens of Eden and where the Resurrection took place as "juxtaposed."  

"in the first, the human family, in the persons of Adam and Eve, lost God's intimacy and friendship; in the second, Mary Magdalene (out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils) appears as the first recipient of the good news that intimacy and union with God are once again available."

"Jesus is the gardener of the New Creation."

At one point in our Gospel narrative the story suddenly changes when Jesus calls her by name.  Keating writes:

"Jesus spoke her name, "Mary!"  Only he could say her name in that way.  Instantly, with the whole of her being, she recognized him and in that moment knew that he had risen from the dead.

In the Scriptures, to be called by name has special significance.  To call someone or something by name is to identify who or what it is."

"By calling her by name, Jesus manifests his knowledge of everything in her life and his total acceptance of all that she is.  This is the moment in which Mary realizes that Jesus loved her.  This is the first step in her transformation.

In the Christian scheme of things, the movement from the human condition to divine transformation requires the mediation of a personal relationship with God.  The personal love of Jesus facilitates the growth of this relationship. The experience of being loved by him draws the Christian out of all selfishness into deeper levels of self-surrender.  How could this movement occur without the conviction of being personally loved by him?  The simple utterance of one word, "Mary!" brought to focus all her longings.  Her response was to throw herself into the arms of Jesus as she cried out in her joy, "Master!"

In these moments, through the Resurrection of Jesus, Mary was resurrectable.   Her moment of vulnerability enabled her to hear the voice of the Risen Christ calling her by name.   Mary's response was to recognize in the Risen Jesus, her Master.  The one who accepted her as she was, and loved her without condition or distinction.

Are we resurrectable?

On the Easter Day, we are met with God's extravagant love that is inclusive and unconditional.   Jesus calls us by our name in the midst of our doubts, fears and chaos.   He offers us the opportunity to know that God has forgiven us and redeemed us through the Blood of Jesus Christ.   We can feast with joy and wonder that God ushered in the New Creation through the Paschal Mystery.

In the Invitatory Psalm for Morning Prayer this week, we pray with one voice: Alleluia, Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  Alleluia.  (See The Book of Common Prayer, p.83)

Are we resurrectable?

Are we ready to set aside all of our prejudices, and live into our Baptismal Vows?   To strive for peace and justice for all people, and to respect the dignity of every human person, with God's help?

Are we resurrectable?

Are we ready to end the sexism that continues to suggest that women are not equal to men, and continue the assault on them in terms of equal work compensation, reproductive health and respect?

Are we ready to reduce the gun violence that is killing innocent women, men and children in our schools and local communities?

Are we interested in calling out the wealthy and powerful who fight the efforts of addressing climate change, to stop polluting our oceans, rivers and end the fracking that is destroying many of our most precious animal sanctuaries?

Are we ready to call out the countries of Uganda, Russia, Nigeria and others about their laws that have further criminalized LGBTQ people in their countries?

Are we ready to say no to the violence between Russia and the Ukraine?

Are we serious about no longer ignoring the pain and the anguish of those who live in poverty, without unemployment benefits, food stamps and the right to vote?

Are we ready to work so that all Christians will end the spiritual and pastoral violence of LGBT people in the Church and society?

Can we please end the violence towards Jews, Muslims and other religions and/or those who practice no religion at all?

The Resurrected Christ saw the pain that was in Mary on that first Easter Day, called her by name, loved her and brought new life to hers.   Mary knew that there was no longer a barrier between God and her, because of Jesus' love for her. 

If Christians are to be resurrectable on this Easter Day, then we must allow Jesus to come to us, call us by name and meet us in the midst of our pain, disbelief and disarray.  As we recognize that Jesus loves us as we are; we must also turn to our neighbor and with that same love, love them as God in Christ has loved us.   Only then, will our Alleluia's really be moments of true joy.   Because we will know in our hearts that the barriers of injustice, oppression and violence that divide us become that which unites us to the Risen Christ and one another.

Are we resurrectable?

Amen.

Prayers

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus
Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of
everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the
day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death
of sin by your life-giving Spirit; 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.222).

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

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

Holy Saturday: Waiting, Watching and Praying

Today's Scripture Readings

John 19:38-42 (NRSV)

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Blog Reflection

Instead of my writing about the events of Holy Saturday on my own, I am going to defer to a short meditations.   The words of this meditation come from the members of the Companions of St. Luke/Order of St. Benedict.

It’s over.  The Man many called “Messiah” has breathed His last.  He did not “save himself” as some witnesses taunted, nor did the Heavenly Host come to rescue Him. Instead, for three agonizing hours, Jesus of Nazareth hung on a cross, suffering a slow and very agonizing and especially disgraceful death.  But, the Sabbath approaches and observant Jews must tend to their rituals—and… 

“…Hey, Nick!  We can’t hang around here too long, you know.  After all, the Sanhedrin condemned this Man, this so-called Pretender and Rabble-Rouser to death…why, if we’re caught here or accused of supporting this…this…blasphemer, why—who knows what will happen to us???  Wasn’t it enough that at least we didn’t vote in the Sanhedrin to condemn this Jesus?”

“After all the precautions we took, Joe, to distance ourselves, to make sure we didn’t follow “too closely” behind, obscuring our faces as we listened to this Man preach.  We sought Him out under the cover of darkness, or from high above in a tree, to hide our insecurities, our inner longings, and our fear while we trying to maintain our standing within the community.  We’ve got a lot to lose, don’t we my friend, among the movers and shakers if we are ‘found out’.”

“And after all our careful maneuverings, now you are concerned about this dead body?  That the Romans would leave it exposed?  Do you think they even would let us have it, after all, He was accused of treason as well as blasphemy??  Are you mad?  Moreover, by touching this body as the Sabbath draws near, we ourselves could be considered ritually unclean!”

“But, wasn’t it Jesus who said the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath?  And…whom would Jesus exclude from His table?  Certainly not tax collectors or adulterers, so why should we be made unclean simply for ensuring He gets a decent burial…Okay, let’s go and claim the body and do the best we can…”

In this darkest of days when all hope seems lost, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea, secret followers of the Christ,  go to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, to bury Him according to Jewish custom, as an observant Jew, not as a thief or criminal.  They had nothing to gain and everything to lose.  As members of the Sanhedrin and the privileged class, they did this at great cost to their position in society and even their well-being. 

 

But at that moment when Jesus cried “It is finished”---it was only just beginning.  For Nicodemus and Joseph had found their courage to proclaim themselves openly as followers, if not yet of Christ risen, still of Christ crucified.  For them Jesus has become their Paschal feast, the fulfillment of God’s saving grace.

 

What, my friend, holds you back from boldly proclaiming, in word and deed, God’s triumph of love over death?

Prayers

O God, Creator of heaven and earth:  Grant that, as the
crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and
rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the
coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life;
who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.221).

Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathaea with reverence 

and godly fear prepared the body of our Lord and Savior for burial, 

and laid it in his own tomb: Grant to us, your faithful people, grace

and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days

of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.  (Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints, p.499). 

    

Good Friday: Our False Self Meets Divine Love Crucified For Us

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (NRSV)


See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
--so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals--
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.



Psalm 22  (BCP, p.610).


Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 (NRSV)

The Holy Spirit testifies saying,

"This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"
he also adds,

"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

John 18:1-19:42 (NRSV)

Blog Reflection

Thomas Keating in his book The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience wrote the following about Philippians 2:6-9.

To become sin is to cease to be God's son-or at least to cease to be conscious of being God's son.  To cease to be conscious of being God's son is to cease to experience God as Father.  The cross of Jesus represents the ultimate death-of-God experience:  "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"  The crucifixion is much more that the physical death of Jesus and the emotional and mental anguish that accompanied it.  It is the death of his relationship with his Father.  The crucifixion is not the death of his false self because he never had one.   It was the death of his deified self and the annihilation of the ineffable union which he enjoyed with the Father in his human faculties.  This was more than spiritual death; in was dying to being God and hence the dying of God: "He emptied himself, and took the form of a slave...accepting even death, death on a cross!"  The loss of personal identity is the ultimate kenosis (page 62).

All of those things that we think make up who we are, today, meet the Divine Reality.   Even our emotional comforts through which we claim our identity are not an end in and of themselves.  If Jesus Christ did not claim any thing to be the source of His greatness as being God, then our false-selves are really baseless.   

The path to being our true-selves is found in letting go of our false-selves.   Our true-selves are not caught up in useless labels, our belongings or even the things we enjoy.  Those things are all temporary, and they are means to our true-selves.  But, they are not an end.   They are evidence of God's presence in our lives.  However, the moment they become our god, or lead us to making ourselves a god, that is why they are false.  

On this Good Friday we remember that Jesus was crucified for us.  In that agonizing death, with all it's humiliation and injustice, Jesus surrenders everything including His relationship with God into God's hands.  "Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit."   In these words that we pray every night at Compline, we surrender ourselves into God's hands with confidence, because Jesus prayed these words from Psalm 31 on the Cross.

Jesus gave His life out of love for every human being.  One of my favorite prayers I use during Matins (Morning Prayer) so very often is the one found on page 101 in The Book of Common Prayer.

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.   

The crucifixion and death of Jesus is our reason for loving and including all people in the life and ministry of the Church.   There is no justification to scapegoat any person for any reason, if we take seriously what this day means.   All efforts to even suggest that the Jews killed Jesus are nothing more that an attempt to blame others for the fact that our sins are what killed Jesus.   Our refusal to love others as Christ loved us, which by the way is a commandment of Jesus we heard last night; is why Jesus was crucified.   If anyone seriously believes that Christians should lord ourselves over any person because we are Christians, then we have missed the message of Good Friday.   It was not Christ's divinity that He held on to to die to save our sins.   It was His divinity that He crucified and handed over for our salvation and redemption.

In the crucifixion and death of Jesus, our false self meets the divine love of God in Christ.  Because Jesus Christ is our Lord, Savior and Redeemer.  God's love for us in Christ was so strong, the God did not even spare God's own Son, but handed Him over for us all. (See Romans 8:32).   May God's love for us in Christ, be our reason to love others in Christ's Name.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your
family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be
betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer
death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer. p.221).

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. (Book of Common Prayer, p.100). 

Maundy Thursday: Hospitality and Humility by Washing, Eating and Sharing

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 12:1-14 (NRSV)

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.

Psalm 116:1, 10-17 (BCP., p.759)


1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NRSV)

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35(NRSV)

Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean."

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord--and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

Blog Reflection

All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt 25:35).  

The abbot shall pour water on the hands of the guests, and the abbot with the entire community shall wash their feet.  After washing they will recite this verse: God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple (Psalm 47[48]:10).  (RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English, Chapter 53:1, 12-14, pages 73, 74).

One thing that has inspired me about the many Benedictine monasteries I have visited over the last twenty years, is how much the chapter on the reception of guests is lived into with great meticulousness.  Each community I visited, including the Companions of St. Luke/Order of St. Benedict with which I am now a Novice; the welcome by the Superior and the whole community is genuine.

It is interesting to me, that in Chapter 53 of The Rule, St. Benedict wrote about the abbot and the whole community washing the feet of the guests.  It appears that St. Benedict wanted the guest to experience the hospitality of not only the community, but also that of Christ Himself washing the feet of His followers at the Last Supper.   A traveler's feet are often tired, worn, with a few blisters and possible calluses.   Yet, St. Benedict wants the guest to be received as Christ and served as Christ.   The guest is welcomed to interrupt the regular routine.   The guest comes to the monastery to help the Community experience a bit of displacement so that the Paschal Mystery is a living moment of grace.

If you are like me, you have probably wanted so much to receive every person as Christ, yet the first person who comes along and strikes the odd note in you, is someone you so quickly dismiss.    What we say and believe, and what we do are not one in the same.  We are all hypocrites.  We all need the help of God's grace to mature and move on.

That is why we need this Maundy Thursday, and this Gospel about the washing of the feet.   Jesus set aside all thoughts of proclaiming His own divinity and honor, to serve the least among us to the point of washing the feet of the same disciples who would later abandon Him. Including washing the feet of Peter who would deny Him three times.  Jesus welcomes and washes the feet of all who are there with Him at that first Eucharist.  

The Holy Eucharist is the sharing of the Body and Blood of Christ.  The real presence of Christ in the form of consecrated Bread and Wine.  Hymn number 322 in The Hymnal 1982 has the most wonderful words.

When Jesus died to save us,
a word an act he gave us;
and still that word is spoken,
and still the bread is broken.

He was the Word that spake it,
he took the bread and brake it,
And what that Word did make it,
I do believe and take it.

The belief in the real presence, or even if one believes that it is a symbolic presence; the important thing is that Christ is present in and through us; Christ's Body.  Furthermore, it is just as important that we recognize that presence of Jesus not only in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but recognize in one another a Eucharistic vessel.   Each of us carries Christ within us, and shares Him with others.  

One of the most important ways we live into the meaning of our Baptismal Covenant is to respect the dignity of every human being without distinction.   Each person is a holy and good image of God.   One's race, religion, gender, gender identity/expression, language, sexual orientation, culture, health or wealth status, age, etc is not a barrier to divide us.   Through the Body and Blood of Christ, we are One Body, in One Lord.   St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:14-17:

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 

May our celebration of Maundy Thursday lead us all to a greater reverence for the presence of Christ in each other as Eucharistic vessels. 

Amen


Prayer

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he
suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy
mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.221).

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

Wednesday in Holy Week: What Do We Make of Judas?

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 70 (BCP., p.682)


Hebrews 12:1-3 (NRSV)

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

John 13:21-32 (NRSV)

At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples-- the one whom Jesus loved-- was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once."

Blog Reflection

Earlier this week, my husband Jason and I had a conversation together about Judas.  In this discussion, Jason and I asked the following question.   "Should we really assume that God condemned Judas?"

I have several problems with the idea that Judas might be condemned.  One of which, if it was Jesus' purpose to give His life on the Cross to redeem us all from our sins, then didn't Judas do God's will when he handed Him over for the 30 pieces of silver?   The very idea that Judas would betray Jesus fulfills a prophesy in Isaiah.  Secondly, given that we believe that God forgives all our sins through the Paschal Mystery in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, why wouldn't the soul of Judas also be saved?   The last problem with this whole thing with Judas that I have, is that I am not a believer in the Calvinist theology of predestination.   I do not personally believe that Judas was predestined to betray Jesus and his soul go to hell for it.

Among the problems we have with the traditional understanding of Judas, is that for centuries people equated mental illness and suicide with some kind of spiritual crisis.  Therefore, if Judas did in fact betray Jesus, Judas would have been condemned because he did betray Jesus and he committed suicide rather than asked forgiveness as Peter did after Peter denied Jesus three times.  

We now think and believe that mental illness does not mean that one is demon possessed.  We also now believe that someone who commits suicide, while very tragic, that their soul is most likely in the hands of our very merciful God.   Another thing we know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, Jesus most certainly still loved him.

I think we have to be very careful about making an individual like Judas into a scapegoat, while we ignore the very presence of bias and hypocrisy in our own hearts.   All of us at some point of time do something that betrays Jesus in some way, shape or form.  Yet, God forgives us through God's mercy in Christ. 

At the same time, Judas is a reminder of some very deep realities. 

All of us, including Jesus understands the tragedy of being betrayed by our best friend.  Every time I pray Psalm 41, I think that the words of verse 9 are something Jesus identified with.   "Even my best friend, whom I trusted, who broke bread with me, has lifted up his heel and turned against me."

Also, in any of the plans we make, if we are not careful we can easily be betraying our best friend, rather than helping her/him.

Before we eat at the Lord's Table tomorrow night on Maundy Thursday, we might want to reflect on how we perceive those who are different from ourselves.  Whom are we looking at, and thinking they must not belong there with us?   What responsibility are we taking for what we do, and how it affects others beyond ourselves?   What kinds of deals are we making that betray Jesus in our neighbors?

We need to reflect on the fact that the Holy Eucharist is about whom we include, not whom we justify ourselves for excluding.  It is not about us indulging in our stereotypes of others.   The Holy Eucharist is the Presence of Christ in the Bread and Wine, which represents His presence in one another.

Amen.


Prayer

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be
whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept
joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the
glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.220).

Tuesday in Holy Week: The Wheat and Message of the Cross

Today's Scripture Readings


Isaiah 49:1-7 (NRSV)

Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The LORD called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, "You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified."
But I said, "I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the LORD,
and my reward with my God."
And now the LORD says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength--
he says,
"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
"Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

Psalm 71:1-14 (BCP., p.683)


1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (NRSV)

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

John 12: 20-36 (NRSV)

Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 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."

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.

Blog Reflection

Over these past few months, I have begun baking bread.   I make a honey wheat bread.  Each time I make it, I am amazed at how all of the ingredients come together to make a dough.   After the dough rises in a bowl, it gets put into bread pans to rise some more.  Then, it finally gets baked.   The aroma in the house is just wonderful.

The words of Jesus in today's Gospel about the grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying so that it bears fruit make a lot of sense to me.   I cannot make the wheat flour and all the ingredients in to a dough for baking bread, unless the grain of wheat falls and dies.  A single grain of wheat falls to give life far beyond what it was before.

Jesus is telling us that God will be glorified in what Jesus is about to do in giving His life.   If Jesus is to bring new life to those for whom God sent Him; He must in obedience to the Father, surrender Himself to the service of humankind to the point of His death.  When Jesus tells us about those saving their lives and losing them, and those who give them for the sake of the Gospel, He is telling us to do as He did.   What Jesus does on the Cross, is what He has done throughout His entire earthly ministry.   St. Paul tells us as much when he wrote: "The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

What does it mean for Christians to be an example of Christ's obedience this week?

One matter we might do well to meditate on is our response to the horrific shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas.   Bishop Dean Wolfe of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas made an outstanding statement about the incident found here.  

The news of an armed man shooting and killing a teenager and his grandfather at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, and a woman at the Village Shalom assisted living facility, is another shocking reminder of the culture of violence that continues to flourish within our larger culture. We are particularly saddened to learn these murders appear to have been motivated by anti-Semitic feelings expressed by the man now in custody for these crimes.

On Sunday, the violence came to us. These are our neighbors. These are our friends. This is not somewhere strange and far away for us. These violent incidents happened in our diocese. My son played several basketball games at the Jewish Community Center when he was a student at Bishop Seabury Academy. We have friends who regularly participate in programs there.

On Sunday afternoon the Jewish Community Center was filled with young people from a myriad of faith traditions rehearsing plays and auditioning for musical competitions. It says something about the way in which people of different faith traditions live and work so closely together in our community that a man intent on killing members of the Jewish faith went to a Jewish Community Center and a Jewish assisted care facility and took the lives of two Methodists and a Roman Catholic. Hatred makes everyone look like the enemy.

I think for Christians, we must learn and relearn to think of those who worship in other faiths including Judaism and Islam as our Sisters and Brothers just like anyone else.   Whether our neighbors worship God through Jesus or not, we demonstrate the meaning of the Cross when we chose to love others, even those different from ourselves without distinction.   Jesus never suggested that we all have to agree with each other.  Jesus did tell us to love one another.   To those who celebrate life through hate and violence, the message of the Cross is foolishness.   But to those of us being saved, it is the power of God in our lives to love beyond our comfort zones, and without prejudice.

Perhaps this Easter Day, we can all celebrate a Church and society with a little less violence, injustice and oppression.  And show forth the evidence of the Resurrection, because we decided to do something about it.

Amen.


Prayer

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an
instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life:
Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly
suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior
Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.220).

Monday in Holy Week: The Self-Giving Love of the Cross

Today's Scripture

Isaiah 42:1-9 (NRSV)

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed

until he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the LORD,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people upon it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I am the LORD, that is my name;

my glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to idols.

See, the former things have come to pass,

and new things I now declare;

before they spring forth,

I tell you of them.

Psalm 32:5-11 (BCP., p.632)


Hebrews 9:11-15 (NRSV)

When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

John 12:1-11(NRSV)

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Blog Reflection

In my blog post for the Fifth Sunday in Lent Year C I wrote the following about this Gospel reading.

All of us need to learn to see Christ in our neighbor. Each person is a sacred vessel containing the presence of Christ. We can and should serve one another with gladness and joy. To serve another, is to serve Christ. 

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is costly.  It will demand our best and our all.   We will be challenged to let go. Turn over ourselves over and over again for the use of God's will.  At times, it will cost us that which is most precious to us. It might be that special date or time we had planned to entertain ourselves or become an entertainer.  It may cost us our popularity. It may cost us those possessions that we are hoarding all for ourselves, when others could use our excess.  It may be our intellectual pride by which we think we are smarter than others.  It may be our desire to fit in with the most powerful, wealthy and the best looking.

Mary is preparing Jesus for His final journey into Jerusalem and ultimately to the Cross.  This anointing of Jesus' feet also has another meaning.   As Thomas Keating writes in his book The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience:

In this remarkable incident, Mary manifests her intuition into what Jesus is about to do.  Moreover, she identifies with Him to such an intimate degree that she manifests the same disposition of total self-giving that He is about to manifest on the cross.  She had learned from Jesus how to throw herself away and become like God.  That is why this story must be proclaimed wherever the Gospel is preached. "To perpetuate Mary's memory" is to fill the whole world with the perfume of God's love, the love that is totally self-giving.  In the concrete, it is to anoint the poor and the afflicted, the favored members of Christ's Body, with this love (Page55).

We begin Holy Week with this Gospel, because this is it.  Here we are asked to make the decision to follow Jesus in real discipleship in His self-giving love, or let Him go to the Cross without following Him in our daily life.   The costly part is that we will have to live into our Baptismal Covenant in upholding the dignity of every human being even if society and the Church continue to make distinctions that are contrary to the Gospel.

That is what the Cross is all about.

Amen.


Prayer

Almighty God, whose 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 that the way of life and
peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p.220).

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday: With Whom Are You Entering Holy Week?

Today's Scripture Readings

Liturgy of the Palms

Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV)

When Jesus and his disciples had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, `The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 

"Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, 

"Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Psalm 118 (BCP., p.760)


Liturgy of the Word

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 31 (BCP., p.623)


Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death--
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Passion Reading: Matthew 26:14-27:66 (NRSV) 


Blog Reflection

Marcus Borg in a blog post about Holy Week: Palm Sunday writes the following...

What most Christians know about Holy Week centers on Good Friday and Easter, Jesus’s death and resurrection. The former is commonly understood as payment for our sins. The latter is most often understood as the proclamation of life beyond death – that God not only raised Jesus from the dead, but will someday also raise us, or at least those who believe.

But there is so much more to the story of Holy Week. Not only is there more, but the more challenges and indeed negates the common understanding of Good Friday and Easter.

In this blog, I focus on what Christians call “Palm Sunday.” The story is familiar: as the week of Passover begins, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and people cheer him, shouting “Hosanna – blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Less well-known is the historical fact that a Roman imperial procession was also entering Jerusalem for Passover from the other side of the city. It happened every year: the Roman governor of Judea, whose residence was in Caesarea on the coast, rode up to Jerusalem in order to be present in the city in case there were riots at Passover, the most politically volatile of the annual Jewish festivals. With him came soldiers and cavalry to reinforce the imperial garrison in Jerusalem.

It is clear what Pilate’s procession was about. By proclaiming the pomp and power of empire, its purpose was to intimidate. But what about Jesus’s procession, his entry into the city?

Thus for Passover that year, two very different processions entered Jerusalem. They proclaimed two very different and contrasting visions of how this world can and should be: the kingdom of God versus the kingdoms, the powers, of this world
The former is about justice and the end of violence. The latter are about domination and exploitation.

On Friday, the rulers of this world kill Jesus. On Easter, God says “yes” to Jesus and “no” to the powers that executed him.

Thus Palm Sunday announces the central conflict of Holy Week. The conflict persists. In words from St. Paul, the rulers of this world crucified the Lord of glory. That conflict continues wherever injustice and violence abound. Holy Week is not about less than that. 

Are we beginning Holy Week by entering Jerusalem with Pilate in a search for domination, power and exploitation?

Christians would like to believe that all of our yearly rituals of getting our Palms today, kneeling at the words that Jesus breathed His last during the reading of the Passion and shaking our heads at how fickle the human heart is.  Yet, if that is all we do, then Holy Week is a fable.  In so doing, we do not give God the opportunity to bestow on us the wonderful graces during Holy Week that make a difference in our lives.  The story of Holy Week might as well be put on the library shelves with the other religious based myths, to fade away with the coming of the electronic/digital age and quick fix self-help programs.

As long as Christians remain silent and apathetic about how much wealth and power have taken over not only the world's politics, but also in the Church, Holy Week looks like a fiction still in someone's imagination.

When Christians turn our heads and pretend that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are not being bullied in our schools, neighborhoods, homes and churches; and pour money into campaigns to stop anti-bullying measures; we are entering Holy Week with Pilate, not Jesus. 

If we continue to use the events of this week to promote antisemitism saying that the Jews killed Jesus, and/or support prejudice towards Muslims and other religions; we might as well be judging Jesus with Pilate.  Or we probably do not realize that we too are among those shouting "Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!"

If we enter Holy Week with Pilate, we might be tempted to think of ourselves as our own god.  It is our way or the highway.  All the world and it's many resources are ours for the plundering.  We excuse the polluting of the waters of the world with oil, or cause earth quakes because of the Keystone Pipeline all with the dishonest thinking that it is creating jobs.   

On the other hand, if we enter Holy Week with Jesus, we will discover that the path to holiness comes through humility.  The same humility that Paul writes about in the ancient hymn in Philippians 2:5-11.   The humility that is prepared to set aside all thoughts of being God, to become a servant of others even to the point of the death of self.   God's love in Jesus Christ is not about seeking self-honor or indulging in the self that is false.  Full of the "what I think...." and refuses to "walk according to the judgement and commands of another...." (Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 5:12).

Jesus enters Jerusalem today knowing full well what is coming later in the week.  Yet, He will face immense hate, injustice and the losing of His life on the Cross.  He is willing to go through it all out of loving obedience to His Father and for all of us.  He will not stop loving those who falsely accuse and refuse to believe in Him.   He will chose to love even Judas who will betray Him with a kiss.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus will become the sin that God cannot look at, and take it all unto Himself and go so far as the Cross to redeem us all.   He will love the outcast, the woman, the LGBT person, the immigrant, the mother who weeps for her son lost to gun violence.  Jesus will love and redeem the one who chose no religion at all, because organized religion just hurts that person(s) so much.  There will be an outpouring of God's mercy that none of us can understand, explain or put into words that make sense.   One thing we will definitely know, is that God's love for us is unstoppable.   To make scapegoats of anyone for any reason, would be to look at what Jesus did for all of us and our Baptismal Covenant and would be the equivalent of Peter denying Jesus three times, or Judas selling Him for thirty pieces of silver.

In Christ, God tells all of us during this Holy Week, that God is with us, hurts with us, and is there to help us know that there is Easter Day after Good Friday.   That is why Jesus enters Jerusalem today.

Hosanna!  Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord.

With whom are you entering Holy Week?


Prayers

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the
human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to
take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant
that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share
in his resurrection; 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.219).

Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony
and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to
take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.252).

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).