First Sunday of Advent: A New Beginning with Plenty of Problems

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NRSV)

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The LORD is our righteousness."

Psalm 25:1-9 (BCP., p.614)


1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 (NRSV)
 

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

 

Luke 21:25-36 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Blog Reflection

My Mother passed away last Sunday at 3:25am.  During the last five days of her life, I was able to spend some very precious time with her.  We made peace with each other.  When she died, I was happy for her that she was and is at peace.  It was also a very sad moment for me.  The woman who had given birth to me, nurtured me and helped me all her life had died at least physically.  One of the things I found myself saying to her after she passed, was that all of the times she called and I felt like she was disturbing me; I wanted her to disturb me one more time. I can no longer call to ask her advice.  I now have to rely on God and those who love me to help me at those moments when I might have asked my Mother to help me.  You might say that when my Mom's earthly pilgrimage ended, her new life with God began.  My own life, however, has been changed forever.

The First Sunday of Advent is the moment when the former Liturgical Calendar Year ends, and a new one begins.  Yet, what makes it seem like an extension of the former year, is that the new year begins with Scripture readings that continue the theme of awaiting the second coming.  The most recognizable difference is that we are now reading from the Gospel of Luke. 

Every year on the First Sunday of Advent, we hear from the Gospel to be alert, stay awake for the hour is drawing near.  We are told to stay alert because new things are coming.  A transformation that will impact everyone's lives in a way that we could not have imagined.  It symbolizes a new beginning.  Yet, with every new beginning, the problems that have been with us before are just as relevant in the here and now.

We have heard many horrible accounts of what happened in Paris.  We have also been reading of how many Governors of any number of states saying that they will not receive refugees from Syria.  Among the reasons is that they suspect that the refugees are part of a radical group of Islamic terrorists.  Just this week, while we are pausing to give thanks, a gunman opened fire by a Planned Parenthood clinic in Denver, Colorado.  These and many more incidents tell us that while our world is advancing, many of the problems that humankind and even the Church has endured, are still happening today.  There may be different groups of people, with many scapegoats among them.  But, the attitudes of prejudice and supporting oppression of the weak, the lonely and those who are already affected by life's worst woes, are all there.  Until or unless we put our trust in God and open our hearts to allowing the Holy Spirit to do new things in our lives; we will continue to dwell in the grotesque mud in which we are living.

On this First Sunday of Advent, Jesus promises us the opportunity to see Him in His great power and glory.  We are offered a vision of Jesus in a state of pouring the Grace of God into all humankind through a new heaven and a new earth.  A state of existence in which there is only the love, peace and hope that comes from God alone.  It comes with a willingness to let go of our past and embrace God's Grace in the here and now, as we await the promise of God in the future.

We begin Advent with a reflection of hope.  The hope that leads us to a newness of life.  A way of life that is not weighed down by all the things we carry in ourselves and our many relationships.

'Lord, show us your love and mercy.
For we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope;
And we shall never hope in vain.'

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of
darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of
this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come
again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the First Sunday of Advent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 211).

At this time, I wish to announce to my readers that next year on the Feast of Christ the King, November  20th, 2016 I will be posting my final reflection for this blog.  I have enjoyed writing this blog year after year, week after week since I began this project in 2009.  Since then, the Church and all of us have traveled together through some amazing moments at which God's Grace became very tangible.   It has been my privilege and honor to write these blog posts and share them with those who have been reading them.  However, the time is coming for me to spend time on my other blog, Simple Reflections for a Deeper Spiritual Life.  I also need to devote my time to my husband, and my formation.  After my final reflection on here, the blog will still remain active so that readers can enjoy all of the blog posts here.  However, there will be no more new reflection entries.  Until then, continue to enjoy the new blog entries.  Let us pray with and for each other.  Peace be with you all.

Twenty Fifth Sunday After Pentecost: Proper 18: Stability, Change and Letting Go

Today's Scripture Readings

Daniel 12:1-3 (NRSV)

The Lord spoke to Daniel in a vision and said, "At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."

Psalm 16 (BCP, p.599,600)


Hebrews 10:11-125 (NRSV)

Every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the right hand of God," and since then has been waiting "until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet." For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after 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.

Mark 13:1-8 (NRSV)

As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs."

Blog Reflection

As I read the Scripture Readings for this Sunday, I feel as though I can identify with them personally. 

Over the past two weeks, I have been very busy as my Mother's personal caregiver.  My Mother has been in an assisted living facility since May of 2014.  She had to live there due to issues she has been having with vascular dementia.  Up until a month and a half ago, Mom was very active.  She went out with the activities director to the store once a month, out to lunch or dinner.  She came over to our home for Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner in 2014.  I drove her to doctors appointments, and watched over her health care programs.  In early September of this year, my mom called me to say that she was not able to hold food down, and lost interest in eating.  I took her to doctor appointments, as well as to get x-rays of her throat and esophagus, and she saw an ear, nose and throat specialist.  They all found nothing to explain what was happening.  On Monday, on November 2nd, my mother made the choice to not go to any more doctor appointments.  She did not want to go to the ER for an evaluation of her condition.  She made the conscious choice with a sound mind, that she wants to die.  She is not eating and drinking just enough water to keep her hydrated.  Mom confessed to me, that she has been doing all of this to herself, because she is tired of being sick and wants us to let her die.  In as much as I wanted to do everything I could do to change her mind, I do not have the power to over ride her decision.  My only course of action has been to arrange hospice services to care for her needs and honor her decision.  Not only is hospice doing a really great job with providing comfort care services for my Mother, they are also very helpful to my husband, myself and other members of my family as we are grieving what is inevitable.  

This is a period of great difficulty as you can imagine.  I am having to allow myself the room to grieve that my Mother will be leaving us to enter into her Eternal Rest.  Everything that I may have thought I had in its stable place is changing. 

I think that is what Jesus was telling those who were listening to Him as He talked about what was to come.  Jesus was not so much as telling His listeners about the ending of the age, as Tradition has concluded.  Jesus was prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.  In a moment like that, no wonder they would hear of nation against nation and as if there were earthquakes.  It would seem like birthpangs as one age would give away to another.  Not knowing about what has to come must have been very frightening and unsettling.

By now, we have all heard about the horrible shooting in Paris, France.  We have also heard about the horrible accusations that just because a fundamentalist Islamic group has claimed responsibility for this horrific act of violence, so it is automatically assumed that all Muslims are violent.  It is an interesting analogy, given the many who assume that just because fundamentalist Christians are quite violent with their rhetoric and activities, all Christians must be as well.  I am proud to say that such is not the case with Christians anymore than it is with Muslims.

Whether we are talking about aging parents and siblings, violence, oppression and religion; the heart of the matter is that change is inevitable.  How do we find stability in the midst of that change?

As Benedictines, our Vows are Stability, Conversion of Life and Obedience.  Our Vow of Stability is about finding stability in Christ and our Community.  Conversion of Life is about allowing God to change us through prayer, work and our relationships within our Community.  Obedience is about obeying our Superior out of love, not fear so that we may find a greater Stability in God with purity of heart, submit ourselves to the Conversion of Manners, in Obedience to God's will. 

Whether God does or does not change, whether the Scriptures are the Word of God or not, regardless of the changes the Church and each of us experience; God desires each of us to search for union with God so that whatever changes come our way, we know that God alone is our stability. 

Our world, our country, the Church is changing.  We have been walking and learning together that God wants all of us to strive for peace and justice for all people and to respect the dignity of every human person.  God knows we cannot do this on our own, which is why we respond to the Vows of our Baptism; "We will, with God's help."   We need God's help and the help of one another to find our stability in God as we are changed through obedience to God's will. 

All of this comes down to the point of letting go. 

As I am witnessing my Mother's deep faith, with her finding peace in letting everything as she has known it, by letting everything go; she is teaching me about letting go. 

All of the things we tend to hold on to including the arguments we may have had with our parents while they were with us, our spouses, and one another; as we all journey towards being with God in Eternity, what are they all worth?  

As we acquire wealth and political power, spreading prejudice and the divisions because of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, language, health status, religion and much more; what is it all worth when we have to let it all go to meet God face to face? 

The answers to these questions comes by way of what we read in Matthew 25:40: "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' "

The things we take with us from this life into the next is love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, goodness, that which we did for others in the Name of Christ, and of course faith through God's Grace.   We receive all of these in this life to take to the next by letting go.

As we hear the Holy Scriptures this week, "mark, learn and inwardly digest them" let us also ponder with the heart of Mary (Luke 2:19), ask the Holy Spirit to help us to let go.  All we really have to gain is the love and mercy of God, if we will all only let go.

Amen.


Prayers

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for
our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn,
and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever
hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have
given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 28, The Book of Common Prayer, p.236).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for the Human Family, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).

Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy
never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come,
knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we
can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Those We Love.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 831).

Twenty Fourth Sunday After Pentecost: Proper 27: Who Should Be Giving It All?

Today's Gospel Lesson


Mark 12:28-44 (NRSV)

Teaching in the temple, Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Blog Reflection


Last Sunday, for All Saints Day, I had the privilege to be present for the Installation of the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter & St. Paul (The National Cathedral) in Washington, D.C.  Among the many things The Most Rev. Michael Curry said during his excellent sermon he talked about the Jesus Movement.  A movement that continues the Gospel story of Jesus "turning the world upside down and right side up."  Jesus now turns that world upside down through Christians who devote themselves to the work of Jesus to end oppression, feed the hungry, set free those imprisoned by systems that are corrupted by power controlled by greed, discrimination and the privileged out numbering the underprivileged.

This Gospel narrative for today shows us another picture of that same oppression and the Jesus Movement at work.  In a system where women are dominated by men, injustice controls the outcome for those who live under oppression; we see those systems doing their dirty work in the life of the widow.   The widow put all she had into the Temple treasury.  Jesus recognizes her and the sacrifice she made.  But, as the Rev. Jered Weber-Johnson said during his sermon at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church this morning; was Jesus commending the woman, or was He issuing a warning about the system to which she donated?  

The Church in all it's wisdom to preach the Gospel and perform it's work of ministry; sometimes forgets who our ministry is for and about.  Is our ministry as Christians about letting the Holy Spirit guide us to tearing down the many walls that divide us; or are we about building up new ones as soon as the former ones crumble?  The Church now finds itself in an amazing crossroads.  To continue down the road of heterosexism, sexism, religious discrimination, while ignoring the weak, the sick and the stranger, or to really invest ourselves in the work of bringing the Reign of God.  Those who already have only so much to give, are giving it all.  While so many of us who have an abundance are giving only such a small amount.  We have food while many are hungry.  We have friends and family, while so many are lonely and isolated.  We have opportunities where so many have very few options.

As we contemplate this Gospel today and pray to God from this point of where we are; may all of us take time to listen to what God is saying within the depths of our hearts.  May we all be open to where God is calling, and how God is calling us to "turn the world upside down, which is right side up."  All of the Saints in the past and the present are showing us the way forward.  It is Jesus' way, the way that leads to peace and hope for all persons.   It is what our Baptismal Covenant is all about.

Amen.


Prayers

O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might
destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God
and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may
purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again
with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his
eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 27: The Book of Common Prayer, p. 236).

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.  (Prayer for the Church:  The Book of Common Prayer, p.816).

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for Social Justice, The Book of Common Prayer, p.823)