Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Psalm 51:1-13 (BCP., p.656)
Hebrews 5:5-10 (NRSV)
Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
as he says also in another place,
- "You are my Son,
- today I have begotten you";
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
- "You are a priest forever,
- according to the order of Melchizedek."
John 12:20-33 (NRSV)
Now 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.
Blog Reflection
This past Thursday I was in the supermarket check out lane. I was a bit late that day, and had finished my grocery shopping for the week. I was really looking forward to checking out quickly and getting home. Things seemed to be moving quite a bit slower than usual. As I looked more closely at the cashier, I realized that things were moving a lot slower because she was moving very slowly. It seemed to take her a longer time to count the change from the register, tear off a receipt and fold it. I saw her eyes and they did look a bit dreary. Perhaps she was not feeling particularly well that day. It was difficult for me not to become a bit irritated by the slow pace of things, until I meditated just a bit on St. Benedict's admonition to regard the earth and all it's goods, including all people as the "sacred vessels of the altar." (RB 1980: Chapter 33). Once I began to remember that, I found myself admiring how carefully she was doing her job, irregardless of the attitudes of others around her. I also found it a bit easier to be aware of the presence of God in the situation. Whatever the reason the cashier was moving so slowly was really not important. What is important is that whether it is easy or difficult, God's presence really is every where. God's law of love is always being rewritten in our hearts as God makes God's presence known to us in those situations, people and places where it just seems that things just are not quite what we think they should be. All God asks of us, is to take the time to seek union with God, with the God who has already found us.
Here we are on the fifth Sunday and Week of Lent. Next weekend we start Holy Week and the journey towards Easter Day. How has Lent been for you? How have you drawn closer to God through prayer, alms-giving and self-denial? Well, we still have at least two more weeks to go. Make the best of it.
The overriding message of the readings for this Weekend's Eucharist is that God wants to enter our hearts renewed by Christ's redemption. The renewal is ongoing and ever working. Our biggest obstacle is ourselves. Our Christian Faith teaches us that not only is it okay to step out of the way and let God help and guide us, it is necessary if we are to search for that union with God in the here and now to find our way forward.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ was lifted up on the Cross to draw all people to himself. Once again, our Gospel Reading presents us with a bit of a "Jesus only" picture. As a Christian believer myself, I agree that Jesus is my only Savior and Lord. I can sing those great evangelical Gospel like hymns that "Jesus saves" and believe it in my heart all I like. However, the moment that I make it my business to judge the journeys of others by my own beliefs (and I know I have done plenty of this), I am as guilty of making Jesus into a business proposition to benefit my own ego as anyone else. This is not evangelism. This is religious zeal by coercion and self concern only. Instead of keeping me sensitive to others, it makes me blind to the presence of God in the other. Oh, Lord, have mercy on me.
As has become the tradition of this blog that I have been writing for the past six years, I must at this point in Lent condemn all forms of antisemitism. There is so much prejudice and violence going on these days over religion. Christianity by itself does not hold the monopoly on all religious and/or spiritual truth. The awesomeness of our Faith is that we are one of many great Faiths around us, which includes our Jewish Sisters and Brothers. No amount of justification for condemning Judaism and those who continue to worship Yahweh on the part of Christians is appropriate or to be condoned. The Jews are not responsible for the death of Jesus. Please, let's not continue with this insult to God and to other religions by promoting disrespect or violence towards other religious faiths, including those who chose to practice no religion at all.
Jesus in our Gospel today, welcomes those who came to Him, because He was about to do God's will in what must have been a very frightening time for Him. Yet, He also knew that if He was going to over throw the powers of sin and death, and be the source of God's love in the world for those who believed in Him, that preparing for the reality of the Cross was going to be God's way of doing it. Jesus would be lifted up to draw all people to Himself. No amount of exclusion on any basis including but not limited to sexual orientation and/or gender expression/identity comes close to honoring what Jesus did for all of us. Jesus who is the fulfillment for Christians of what it means to live with the law of God written in the heart with a renewed faith, was about to be the visible reality of the love of God that has no end.
As Christians who profess a Baptismal Covenant, we Episcopalians along with others are committed to recognizing and loving Christ in our neighbor, seeking justice and peace, and upholding their dignity. It is a work we must recommit ourselves to not only at the Great Vigil of Easter now less than two weeks away, but every day of our lives. Each encounter with that person that drives us crazy is the presence of God made as real as the Eucharist, and is to be cared for as such.
May we continue through our Lenten Journey to pray and work together to be the living example of Jesus being lifted up and drawing all people to Him through those of us who love Him so much.
Amen.
Prayers
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly
wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to
love what you command and desire what you promise; that,
among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts
may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent. The Book of Common Prayer, p.219).
Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed. The Book of Common Prayer, p.826).
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