Last Sunday After Pentecost: Christ the King: The Cross: The Reason for Inclusive Love

Luke 23:33-43, NRSV

 

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. The people stood by, watching Jesus on the cross; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Today's Blog Reflection

As I have written in previous blog posts this past year, this will be the final blog entry for Br. Anselm Philip's Many Thoughts.  The blog itself will remain up and available for those who wish to read the seven years of posts that are on here.  However, I will not be writing new posts after this one.

I want to thank those who have followed my blog since I began writing it in the Fall of 2009 following The National Equality March.  Thank you if you began reading this blog at any point since then.  Thank you if you just stopped by and read one post or a few.  Thank you if you liked it.  Thank you if you didn't.  There are memories, stories, commentaries, rants, celebrations, lamentations, spiritual direction, etc throughout the blog posts.  They will remain here for you to read.

I will be making regular additions to the other blog I started entitled Simple Reflections for a Deeper Spiritual Life, beginning with the First Sunday of Advent.  By this time next week, it will be it's own domain.  I look forward to sharing with you on that blog.  

In my final installment, I want us to think about what the Cross means to us as Christians.  What does the Cross mean for us in this political environment where racism, sexism, islamophobia, trans-phobia and all the others now have a license to thrive?   How do we see our role as Christians who look to our Lord Jesus Christ as King, who gave His life for us on the Cross?  

I invite all of us to consider the thoughts I am sharing here today.

On the Cross, Jesus our King met scapegoating at its very worst, and pronounced it unacceptable.  It really doesn't matter if every person believes in Jesus in the same way as Christians do.  It really doesn't matter if one is Jewish, Muslim, Native American, African American, white, male, female, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer.  It does not matter if we are disabled or able to leap to the moon.  Whether we are rich or poor.  A "legal" or "illegal" immigrant.  What matters for Christians is that our Lord Jesus Christ, who is King for us, declared that sacrificial love as His ultimate power; and no one was excluded from God's love.  Hatred hurled at the Word made Flesh with all fury.  Jesus who was the Son of God and Son of Man (or the Human One), was stripped, beaten, nailed to the cross next to two thieves and even gave over His relationship with God to love the most and the least of us.  At His Resurrection, the story began in new life.

Why is the unconditional and all inclusive love of God in Jesus Christ not the best reason for Christians to love others without exception?  The sin of Christians is not whether we all agree with every installment of the Nicene Creed.  It is our refusal to allow the love of God in Christ to penetrate us to the core of ourselves by way of those who are lonely, weary, different from us and in need of love.  It has something to do with what our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls the Jesus Movement that empowers Christians to make the world a better place.

In The Rule of Saint Benedict ( you didn't think I wouldn't use that in my last blog post did you? LOL), Chapter 53, he wrote "Let all guests who present themselves be received as Christ."  On the Cross, Jesus promised the other thief who mocked him, and suddenly believed in him the promise of paradise.  The thief was the presence of Christ to Christ Himself.  He listened.  He welcomed Him.  He found a place in God's Kingdom even for him.  So Jesus made a place for each of us at His Father's table.

Today, Jesus our King, calls on us from the throne of God's love on the Cross to receive Christ in those who are different from ourselves.  Jesus asks for us to listen to Him speak to us through their stories.  Jesus calls on us to give to Him a place of love.  Jesus seeks someone to love Him in those who are marginalized, beaten and left in the trenches of our social and political system.  He asks us to reach out our hands and voices to support them, give them a place in our churches, our communities and hearts; so that they may find a home with Jesus in this world and the next.  

Imagine what the Church, what society would look like if we met Jesus at the Cross, claimed Him as King and allowed His unconditional and all-inclusive love to transform us and the world around us.  

I am sure many who have read my blog posts over the years have asked if this is possible.  I believe the Angel had something to say about that at the Annunciation.  "With God, all things are possible."

I think this is a good answer.  Don't you?

Amen.

Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all
things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of
lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided
and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together
under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (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.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).

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.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.260).

Fourth Sunday of Advent: The Great Change of Power Has Come

Today's Scripture Readings

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 (NRSV)

Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Canticle 15 (BCP., p.91-92)


Romans 16:25-27 (NRSV)

Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)

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

Blog Reflection

Jason and I have a wonderful new parish home.  We have been attending St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota since All Saints Sunday.  We are enjoying it immensely.  The Liturgy, the music, the preaching and the community there are amazing.  

On the Subject of preaching, we heard a wonderful sermon about Mary last weekend.  The sermon which you can read here was given by The Rev. Barbara Mraz who is both a Deacon at St. John's and the Writer in Residence.  Among the many things I learned from her sermon is that the Magnificat (Canticle 15), has been banned in many countries throughout the world.  It was not uncommon in those countries, that the Magnificat was a direct challenge to oppressive power within the governments.  The words: "He has cast the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly" was considered the same as beginning a public protest against the dictatorial power.  It was not uncommon for protestors to write those words on posters and put them up all over the city.

I wonder if the police would respond to the words of the Magnificat put up in protest of racial discrimination with military style violence.  Would they take out their tear gas or pepper spray?  Would they put their police blockades up with shields, clubs and wear protective gear?

What kind of a response would church members get if they recited the words of the Magnificat in an effort to tell the leaders of our church to get their act together on a particular matter of social justice within the church?

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent we read in our Gospel and in the Magnificat, that God is changing things from the way they have been.  In the past, great leaders came from a line of wealthy men.  They were destined for immense power.  In the account of the Annunciation from St. Luke's Gospel, the Angel Gabriel informs Mary, a 16 year old girl that she is full of grace and has been chosen to bear the Savior Jesus in her womb.  Mary would not be with child from having sexual relations with any man, including her betrothed Joseph.  Mary hears the Angel tell her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God."  The hope of all humankind that would change the powers of this world, came through a woman by God's random act of grace.

Two things speak very profoundly.

1. Mary is a woman in a man's world.  In choosing Mary to bear Jesus, God has disregarded the dominant power of her society.  God clearly communicated through the Annunciation, that God wanted nothing to do with that.  All that God did was call Mary to accept God's call on her life to do something that would change the history of the world forever.  Not even the established law of Mary having relations before she would be married to Joseph was as important to God, as it was to call this young girl to her priestly vocation of and doing the very thing that the Holy Spirit was empowering her to do.

2.  St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote:

"O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator.  See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter.  If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves.  Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving.  Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word" (Liturgy of the Hours: Volume I, Advent and Christmas Season., p.346).

God comes to and calls each of us to our particular vocation through God's random acts of grace.  The choice we have is to respond in obedience or to say no.   Perhaps we would say no because we are too self-centered.  The vocation God is calling us to will change the powers of this world once again and make us very unpopular.  It is likely that if we respond in obedience, we will be sacrificing our reputation, our popularity and even our whole lives to what God is calling us to.  We will be met with resistance.  We will face the prejudices of many who label us as second class citizens because of our race, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, immigration status, political party, religion, language and/or behavior.  There will be those who want to throw stones at us, because we have broken with the common tradition of our time.  We will be called to serve God and others because we are first and foremost daughters and sons of God; adopted by Jesus Christ.  Those labels others use to define us, are not in God's database.

May all of us have the humility and strength that was in Mary to accept God's random act of grace on our lives.   May we hear the Angel's words to Mary said to us, "Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God."  May we all pray for one another and for ourselves, that as we journey from here to Bethlehem; we may welcome God's Incarnate Word born for us in humility and love.  May all of us may know the depth and wonder of God's love for all of us.  No exceptions.

Amen.


Prayers

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation,
that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a
mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.  (Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Advent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.212).

We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts, that
we who have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ,
announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross
and passion be brought unto the glory of his resurrection;
who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Traditional Collect, The Annuciation.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.188).

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). 

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

Today's Scripture Reading

Luke 1: 26-38 (NRSV)

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

Blog Reflection

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen.

Prayers

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

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

The Annunciation of our Lord Jesus Christ: The First Female Priest Says YES!

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 7:10-14 (NRSV)

Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test. Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Hebrews 10:4-10 (NRSV)

It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

"Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,

but a body you have prepared for me;

in burnt offerings and sin offerings

you have taken no pleasure.

Then I said, 'See, God, I have come to do your will, O God'

(in the scroll of the book it is written of me)."

When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Luke 1:26-38  (NRSV)

 

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

Blog Reflection

Who was the first Christian disciple to exercise the roll of a Priest?  It was Mary.

Mary was chosen by a random act of God's grace to be the mother of the Incarnate Word.  She was a simple woman, probably 16 years old. Yet, Mary experienced the fullness of God's favor, for this once in a life time opportunity that would change not only her life, but the history of the entire world.  By her surrendering herself to God's will, offering herself completely to God's purpose, she became the bearer of God, through whom God gained a human form.

Among the many duties of a Priest, is to give oneself up to the will of God.  Also, a Priest serves the common good of others, and gives birth to Faith through not only their duties, but by their life example.  Even when faced with the greatest of personal suffering, a Priest still surrenders her/himself to what is best in God's eyes, totally trusting that all will be well.   Mary did all of this, in her acceptance of God's call on her life.

Mary sang her Magnificat in Luke 1: 46-55 of how God changed the dynamics of those who were thought to be powerful, now giving way to the lowly, the servant and the hungry.   Through Mary's acceptance of God's plan for her life, God came to us as one like us, to show us that God relates to us where we are.  As we face our Lenten practices of self-denial, fasting and prayer, God comes to us through the yes of Mary, to identify with our human experience.  "The Lord is with you" is said by Gabriel to Mary, but is said to all of us too.  God does not abandon us, but is in the midst of our sufferings and tribulations.

Mary doesn't wait around for some Church council to decide the doctrine of the Incarnation. She accepts God's will, even though she has her own fears and uncertainty about what all of this might mean.  Through the humility of Mary, God shows humility as Jesus becomes the greatest example of what it means to be earthed, by serving the marginalized and releasing those oppressed by social, religious and political suppression.  

As we see the injustices of racism, sexism, heterosexism, class discrimination and a total disregard for the dignity of every human being in our politics and even in our churches, we are reminded that our God has been there in the Person of God's Son.   Just because Jesus was different in so many ways, he was "despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." (Isaiah 53: 3).  Jesus shows us how to trust in God in the midst of the most horrific of circumstances and still comes out the victor of life over the imminent powers of death.  

All of this happened, because the first female Priest, said "Yes."

In what ways are we being called to say our yes to God's will?

How might we answer God's call in our lives?

What are some places where we are clinging to our own will, because of fear and uncertainty?

Each one of us, must answer these questions between ourselves and God, as we discern where and how God might be calling us.  Among the things we can be very sure about, is that if God is calling us, it is because God loves us, and sees in us something wonderful that God wants to use.  God wants to use us to make a positive impact in our world where as long as you have all the money, you can get by.  In a time when as long as you are well known and prestigious you can do anything you want, God calls those of us who remain hidden in prayer and solitude, to be a positive influence on changing the world for all of God's people.


Prayers

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

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

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the
strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that
all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of
Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and
glory, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).  

 

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Full of Grace The Inclusive House of God

Today's Scripture Readings

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 (NRSV)

Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent." Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Romans 16: 26-38 (NRSV)

Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-- to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)

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

Blog Reflection

Every human heart has one thing in common.  Everyone wants to know where home is.  Pumba in The Lion King said: 'Home is where your rump rests."  Bugs Bunny often said: "The sanctity of the American home must be preserved."  The song artist Michael Bublé sings a song called "Home."  Of all the places he's been, he wants to go home.


The reading from the Hebrew Scriptures tells the story of a conversation between God and the prophet Nathan. God wants Nathan to deliver the message to David that God wants a house built where God can dwell.  God calls upon David to recognize God's works among the People of Israel, but God is the one that has no house.   The ark of the Covenant had been buried in a ground so that it would not be desecrated.  God wants Nathan to tell David that it is time for God to have a place where all the people of Israel can come and worship God.  God promises to make David's descendents a place in God's House by which God would bring salvation to God's people.

Christians over the centuries have understood from the Geneology leading up to the birth of Jesus in the very beginning of Matthew's Gospel, that Jesus was born of the line of David.  Thought the intention of such is not meant to be anti-Semitic, it is very easy for this to be understood that somehow Christianity came along and replaced Judaism.  I reiterate here that any religious or spiritual violence towards Judaism by Christians is offensive and non-conforming to the message of the Gospel.  Our Christian Faith is as important to us, as Judaism is to those who practice the Jewish Faith or any other for that matter.

Christians believe that Jesus came as from among David's lineage to be the salvation of those who would come to God through God's beloved Son.  So it is very interesting to find that it is Mary, a young, poor girl betrothed to a man named Joseph who was of the line of David.    But, something mysterious and wonderful happens.

There has been the misleading and inaccurate understanding over the centuries to confuse the virginal conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary to be the act that shames all forms of sexuality.  In particular any sexuality that does not produce children by the conjugal act of a man and woman.  This misconception has been literally beaten to death past the death of the horse by Roman Catholic theologians and saints throughout the ages.  However, such an interpretation and application misses entirely the purpose of Jesus being born through a virgin.

"What the first and third Gospels want us to know is that Jesus--and eventually his movement--represent the destabilization of that gender construction--because at the very level of his very tissues, Jesus has no part in it.  And to the extent that we allow Jesus' life to be our own paradigm, you and I in our spiritual rebirths are ourselves virginally conceived.  The Prologue to the Gospel of John says as much:

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13).

The notion of the virgin birth is not countersexual.  It is the beginning of God's healing the world's sexuality in Christ.  It is a revolutionary, radical notion; reclaim it from reactionaries."  (Gay Unions in Light of Scripture, Tradition and Reason, by Gray Temple, pages 92-93).

When Mary sings her beautiful Magnificat in Luke 1: 46-55 she sings: "He has shown the strength of his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty."  Mary's song is one that knows that God's grace has indeed touched her life.  God's grace has filled Mary with such an amazing experience of God's transforming love. The Rev. Dr. Titus Presler said this morning at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, God randomly chose Mary for this fullness of Grace at this most precious moment in time.

The exciting news that we find here, is that God wants to build a home to dwell in each of us.  God's house of prayer in the Church and within all of us, has something that God loves so very much that God has made us all full of God's grace.  In us is an opportunity to commune with God and be given that grace to experience God's transforming power.  The transforming random fullness of grace from God calls us to participate in the establishment of justice, equality and inclusion for all people. "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28).

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people and many others due to race, color, gender, religion, religious points of view, wealth status, immigration status etc have all been challenged by church communities who tell a nice tale of being inclusive and/or welcoming until it comes to them and/or their particular situation.   Individuals with emotional and behavioral challenges also find themselves among the "exceptions" to the "opportunities for inclusion." 

The message of the Angel Gabriel to Mary and all of us, is the God is with all of us.  Each of us can be made to be a house for the indwelling of the almighty and graceful God of love.  Our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression and all the other "isms" or challenges are not obstacles for God to find a place with them.  In the case of LGBTQ people, changing the essence of who we are and who we sleep with are not required to be a "more acceptable" home for God's fullness of grace.  Just as God was able to randomly use a young woman who's heart was open to be used for a transformation so big that it changed human history, so God can use any one of us at random.  

When people who were once opposed to including LGBT people and other marginalized persons into the Church and all of society, God is randomly using us to "give birth" to the Son of God once again through the fullness of God's grace through us.  When prejudice that has been fed by ignorance and fear, suddenly gives way to being open to being educated about those who are different than ourselves and how we might make friends among those we once stigmatized, God's fullness of grace is at work in us, making history that changes our communities and ourselves.

The Occupy movement is just such a movement that is filled with God's fullness of grace as they are calling on the rich to give just a little more so that the middle class and low income people can have an opportunity to live better.  Fr. Paul has a great blog post about how Mary's Magnificat can challenge the rich to pay a few more taxes.  You can read that blog here.

We are all challenged to take these final days of Advent to prepare for the transition of God making a place for God's Self disclosure in Christ.  What better way to prepare than to know that  by making ourselves more inclusive and the world around us more inclusive, that Christ can be born and reborn through all of us.  We can say together with Mary: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38).


Prayers

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation,
that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a
mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 212).


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, page 818).


Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 833).

The Annunciation of Our Lord: God Cannot Save Us without Us

Scriptural Basis

Luke 1:26-38

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

Blog Reflection

"It has been said, "God made us without us, and redeemed us without us, but cannot save us without us,"  Mary's assent to Gabriel's message opened the way for God to accomplish teh salvation of the world.  It is for this reason that all generations are to call her "blessed."

The Annunciation has been a major theme in Christian art, in both East and West.  Innumberable sermons and poems have been composed about it.  The term coined by Cyril of Alexandria for the Blessed Virgin, Theotokos ("the God-bearer"), was affirmed by the General Council of Ephesus in 431." (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 288).

The Rev. Susan Russell has said on not too few occasions quoting her Rector Ed. Bacon: "I am sure glad Mary did not wait for the doctrine of the Incarnation to give her yes to God's request." 

I would have to agree and say I am glad Mary did not wait for the Council of Ephesus to be called the "God-bearer" before she consented to the Angel Gabriel's message.

I have written on a few blog posts that I believe that Mary was the first female Priest.  She gave her consent to do the will of God, and offered herself in service to God for all God's people when she allowed God to bear God's perfect revelation in Jesus Christ through her.  She did not wait for some council to give her permission. Though she may not have been sure about everything the Angel may have told her, Mary trusted in God and said yes.  In spite of her insecurities and imperfections.   The labels that society and others had placed on her, she ignored. 

The Rev. Canon Gray Temple in his book: "Gay Unions in Light of Scripture, Tradition and Reason" writes:

"I want to suggest one more thought.  If we grasp the single-sex/sex-as-violence-between-unequals gender construction, suddenly Luke's and Matthew's insistence on our Lord's virginal conception begins to make urgent existential sense, something the most liberal among us would be fools to part with.  It's mistaken to debate about biological parthenogenesis-that's anachronistic.  And it's literarily-doltish to ape The Golden Bough and range our Lord's conception alongside pagan semidivinities who are supposed to have been conceived without fathers.  Jesus's birth hasn't got anything to do with that.  What the first and third Gospels want us to know is that Jesus--and eventually his Movement--represent the destabilization of that gender construction--because at the very level of his very tissues, Jesus has no part in it.  And to the extent that we allow Jesus's life to be our own paradigm, you and I in our spiritual rebirths are ourselves virginally conceived.  The Prologue to the Gospel of John say as much....

The notion of the virgin birth is not countersexual.  It is the beginning of God's healing the world's sexuality in Christ.  It is a revolutionary, radical notion, reclaim it from the reactionaries." (Pages 92, 93).

The Annunciation for Christians is the beginning of the end of what we call one person (or group of people) dominating themselves over others.  The words of the Magnificat (Song of Mary) say as much.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior,
   for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
  you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
  and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
  from generation to generation.
You have shown the strength of your arm
  and have scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones
  and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things
  and have sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel,
  for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise you made to our ancestors,
  to Abraham, Sarah and their children for ever. 
(From Enriching Our Worship 1, page 27).

More importantly it also as Temple suggests "not countersexual."  Nor is it to somehow suggest that sexuality in and of itself is a dirty thing as too much of Christian history has stated.  Therefore the Annunciation is not an appropriate story to attempt to launch a campaign against a woman's right to choose, or the sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people.  It is also not appropriate to use the Annunciation against the gender identity/expression of transgender people. 

What the Annunciation says to us is to be open to God's call in our lives and to be willing to accept the changes that God by the Holy Spirit may bring.  God as God's Self is not change-less and neither should we expect that the Church and we as ourselves are also not change-less. 

In the Incarnation, God became human so that God could save us as one like all humankind.  We see countless examples in the Bible of how God may have intended to do something, but later changed God's mind. 

How open are we to God's call in our lives?  How willing are we to be the bearer of God in our time?

There are injustices all around us.  Prejudice.  Political, social and religious oppression against all kinds of people, including LGBTQ people.  We see the push for one group of people to dominate another based on race, religion, class, gender, political/social and economical status, health status, immigration status etc.  Addictions gripping many, many people.  We read and hear the rhetoric of bias, cruelty and violence being suggested towards all kinds of people every where.

All of these things and many more are happening around us.  God is calling each of us to do our part to end religious based oppression against other people.  How are we answering that call?

As our Republican House threatens to take away food stamps from the children of labor protesters, and funding for those who make sure that nuclear weapons are taken out of the reach of terrorists, how is God calling us to act on behalf of those less fortunate than ourselves?

How is God calling us to a change of heart, mind and how we take advantage of opportunities to help change our world, communities for the better?

As we continue through Lent to meditate on how God is calling us to prepare for Holy Week and Easter, we would do well to spend some time with Jesus and the Cross and see how one act of supreme sacrifice changed the entire world.   Jesus learned how to sacrifice all because of the example of Mary.  When Jesus spoke those words: "Let it be according to your will, not mine," Jesus was repeating the words of Mary.  "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

For the sake of justice, equality, inclusion and peace may we all learn to say those words and not wait for a Parish or Diocesan Standing Committee to consent.

Prayers

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

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 your Son our Lord. Amen.  (Collect for Fridays, Book of Common Prayer, page 99).

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

The Annunciation: A New Beginning for All.

Here we are on March 25th. Palm Sunday is four days away. Suddenly, it is the Annunciation, when we remember the Angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would be the mother of God Incarnate. It is a wonderful time to reflect that as we are getting ready to celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, here at the Annunciation is the nine month preparation before Christmas arrives.

I don't know about you, but I don't like to think of Christmas shopping quite yet. I am too busy getting ready to enjoy Easter, Spring and Summer. The Church calendar works in such a way that it reminds us that the journey we are about to start with Christ in Holy Week began when Mary received the news that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ. In the Eastern Church, the Paschal Mystery which we will celebrate next week, began at Christ's birth. Meaning that at the moment when God took on the flesh of humankind and became one like us is the moment Christ's suffering on behalf of humankind began. The Episcopal Church likes to blend Western and Eastern Christian Theology to give room for diversity.

The Annunciation as well as the events of Holy Week that we will begin recalling next week are an invitation to reflect on who Jesus Christ is and what he means to those who believe themselves to be Christians. Jesus Christ came, lived and gave himself up for all who were on the margins of society and the religious leaders of his time. What Christ did when he was among us, he continues to do through the ministry of the Church. The work of the Gospel to invite the stigmatized to find God's love and mercy in Christ, is the also the main ministry of the Church. If the Church takes this mission seriously, then we must also acknowledge that no amount of prejudice toward any group of people is appropriate. Any level of violence and hatred that leads people to the feeling that any group of people must be stamped out because they do not fit our agenda, has to be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

Unfortunately there is still a lot of prejudice that lives in the Church today. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are one of a few groups of people that continue to experience such bias. When the religious right continues their crusade to keep LGBT people from obtaining their equal rights, by proclaiming us to be dirty, unacceptable or labeling LGBT people as pedophiles, or interested in bestiality, it is denigrating. Such remarks and behavior are a contradiction to the very nature of who Jesus Christ is. They violate the very purpose of Jesus Christ coming among us through the Virgin Mary.

Reports of child sex abuse continue to come forward in the Catholic church. All Pope Benedict can say is that the abuse is the result of how many gay priests are in the church. Rather than accept responsibility and be accountable for the lives that are so devastated by the abuse, the clerical leadership of the Catholic church has chosen to be like the elder son in the story of the Prodigal Child. "They are the one's most sinful, not us." The very fact that this went unchallenged for as long as it did, and that it is spread all over the world as it is, tells the level of irresponsibility of Catholic leadership towards the people their lack of action has affected. Yet, the reason all of this has happened, according to the Pope is because of all of the gay priests that are in the Priesthood, as well as the accessibility of pornography on the internet that lures his priests into misbehavior. This is a perfect example of how prejudice and hypocrisy is unfortunately very much alive in the Christian faith.

As we think about the Annunciation I think it is important to remember that Christ came into a world full of violence, hate and bias. We still live in such a world. The Church like Jesus, must meet the challenges of our present culture with a determination to meet violence, hate and bias with peaceful, all inclusive love. This is very difficult to do, because all of us have that human natural tendency to fight violence with violence. However, progressive Christians have a great history of avoiding becoming like the tea party folks who have stooped to throwing bricks through Democratic office windows. Progressive Christians meet these challenges through grassroots community organizing, candle light vigils and parades that celebrate diversity in all of it's many forms. These are excellent ways to stamp out the prejudices of our time. They must continue and we need new people with new ideas to come forward and offer to lead others to peaceful resolutions to conflicts.

As we celebrate the Annunciation, let us pray that the effects of the Incarnation of Jesus will not end with the Gospel story, but will come alive through our participation in the events. Those events come alive when we challenge people about routing out discrimination and violence from the world around us. Such challenges shake people up, but they also help convert old ideas and start new ones. The Annunciation was the start of something new that changed many lives. Hopefully, through our continued participation in the life of the Gospel through our own lives, what happened at the Annunciation will continue to be lived out in our time.

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