Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday 2013

Today's Scripture Readings

Luke 19:28-40 (NRSV)

After telling a parable to the crowd at Jericho, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'" So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They said, "The Lord needs it." Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,

"Blessed is the king

who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven,

and glory in the highest heaven!"

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."

 
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.

Luke 22:14-23:56

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 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. And the people stood by, watching; 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."

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent." And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. 

Blog Reflection

Every year that I write a blog post about Palm Sunday, I begin with the words: "Oh! The fickleness of the human heart."

The joyful reception of Jesus on this day.  The Hosanna's that ring out from them and us during the grand hymn: "All Glory, Laud and Honor."   The celebration of Christ as a King.  Hmm.   Where have we thought of that before?

Here we have another comparison between the Last Sunday after Pentecost, the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, and now the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday.  A moment of triumph, before we go into a period of horror, death and mourning.  The difference here is, the triumphant mood lasts only up to we enter the Liturgy of the Word, that begins the Narrative of the Passion of Christ.  In it's own way, is this not very much like the two faced attitudes of most of us?   We laugh and celebrate the inauguration of Pope Francis I and the enthronement of Justin Welby as the new Archbishop of Canterbury.   Yet, the first news to hit the air waves to question or criticize anything they have done that we will disagree with, and the triumph because shouting, swearing and in some cases, character assassination.

The stories that will be heard this Holy Week leading up to Easter Day, are the stories of all humankind.  In one way, or another. 

All of us know what it is to be received warmly by our friends, family and acquaintances.  When we begin a new job, the boss welcomes us.  The receptionist welcomes us. The office manager welcomes us. Our co-workers welcome us. Once the lunch break is over on the second day, suddenly we are everyone's new pest. There is nothing we can do right.  Most if not all who welcomed us are complaining behind our backs. Passing judgement on what kind of a person and/or worker we are. Based on their limited information.

In many ways, are the events of Passion, Palm Sunday not like a young man or woman growing up in a typical American home?  Their parents encourage them.  They push them to become the best they can be at whatever they do. They encourage them in all of their friendships and relationships. Teachers, Pastors, community leaders watch for the perfect person who gets all the best grades in school. Becomes the latest champion on the minor league baseball team. Wins the local spelling bee. Let that young man or woman break the news to those closest to him/her that he/she is attracted to members of the same-sex or thinks he/she may be a transgender person, all the fame and goodness in that guy/girl disappears in a moment.

Let a young girl announce to her father who attends "pro-life" rallies on Good Friday that she is pregnant and her boyfriend took off.  Suddenly, the father who opposes abortion, rather than helping his little girl through the fear and trauma of her situation, kicks her out.  With federal funding being taken from clinics that can help her, job training programs, day care centers, health care programs, not to mention the shame of family and friends, what choices will she have?   What if she was raped and has no recourse over her rapist?

People in our civilized society speak every day of "accepting people as they are."  Yet, there is always something about another person's race, religion, employment situation, health, etc that becomes a reason to push them to aside or treat them differently.  The person that loves others in a very different way, is the person that no one in town wants to know any further.

Holy Week, including today, is about our human relationships.  Much more importantly, about our relationship with God.  Not so much as our relationship with God just in our prayers, fasting and penances which we have engaged in this Lent.  It is our relationship with God as we encounter the Holy One in the person who is different from ourselves.  It is so easy to love God in the silence of our own personal prayers.  It is so difficult to love Jesus in another person.  It takes us so much effort to see others as Christ, Himself.

In The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 71: Mutual Obedience, he writes:

Obedience is a blessing to be shown by all, not only to the abbot but also to one another as brothers [and sisters], since we know that it is by this way of obedience that we go to God. (RB 1980, p.293).

In A Life-Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict Esther de Waal writes:

The importance of obedience to God, to authority, and to our brothers and sisters is something that has concerned Benedict throughout the Rule.  Obedience depends on listening so totally and openly to the other that through them we discern the face, the voice of Christ himself.   This is the root of what obedience that we show to one another. (p.229).

In the stories that we will read this Holy Week and the Liturgies we will participate in, we will again be brought face to face with the reality of our humanity.  We will again meet Jesus experiencing human suffering, resentment, bias, injustice, yet accepting God's will through it all, so that by the way of His death on the Cross, there might be the Resurrection. "By his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5 CEB). We will be given the opportunity to again realize what our Baptismal Covenant (see Book of Common Prayer, p.292-294) calls us to with regards to our relationship with God, our neighbor and ourselves.  We will also be confronted with the opportunity to decide if we too are open to obedience to God's will, no matter what it requires of us in the end, or are we just too good to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus? (See Mark 8:34).  Are we willing to wash the feet of Jesus in the person we despise the most?  If we find ourselves on either side of Christ on the Cross, will we mock Him with the thief on one side, or on the other, asking to be received into His kingdom, recognizing that we are sinners and that without the mercy of God in Christ Jesus we have no hope?

Will we as Christians be drowned in antisemitism as Christians read and hear Gospel stories of the Passion that suggest that the Jews are responsible for the death of Christ?  Or will we admit that it was the sins of all of us, including our sins against other religions, including, but not limited to Jews, Muslims and many others by which God loved us so much, that God did not spare God's own Son? (See Romans 8:32 NRSV).

Our responses to Jesus in corporate worship are awesome, powerful and life-giving.  Only if, we are willing to greet Jesus with the same abandonment of our will as we reach out to Christ in the woman who is losing her right to choose.  In the LGBT teen who is being bullied.  In the LGBT couples all over the country watching the Supreme Court as they hear testimonies about Prop 8 and DOMA this upcoming Tuesday.  Do we see and hear Christ in the children losing their education funding through the Sequester?   Are we willing to reach out to help the families of Newtown, PA, Colorado, Virginia, Arizona, etc., and do something about the out of control gun violence?   Do we help Christ in the poor, sick, disenfranchised and those who are not so theologically brilliant?

This Holy Week, let us all agree that even though we disagree, that we can look for Jesus not only in our worship and prayers, but also in our relationships with each other.   May we realize that Jesus is working in and through our lives through communities as well as within our individual selves.  May we respond to Him with "not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). 

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. (Collect for Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, Book of Common Prayer, p. 219).


Assist us mercifully with your help, O Lord God of our
salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation
of those mighty acts, whereby you have given us life and
immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (From the Service of Palm Sunday, Book of Common Prayer, p.270).


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. (Collect for Fridays, Book of Common Prayer, p.99).


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. (Prayer for Mission, Book of Common Prayer, p.101).

 

Fifth Day of Christmas: The Sheep Among the Wolves Replaces Five Golden Rings

Today's Scripture Reading

Matthew 10:16-22 (NRSV)

 

Jesus told the twelve disciples, "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. "

Blog Reflection

Among the many things I appreciate about Jesus is that he does not side step the reality of life.  Here Jesus is being very honest with his followers that there are dangers in this world.  Those dangers are linked to the need many people have of maintaining their false sense of security in the things and relationships in this world.  Because humankind is full of broken relationships.  Those broken relationships exist within the Church as much as anywhere else.

The Episcopal Church today commemorates Thomas Becket who was Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of King Henry II.  Originally Thomas who was thought to be more of a politician was very friendly with King Henry II.  After Becket became Archbishop of Canterbury, King Henry II became so infuriated with him that after a temporary successful banishment; when Becket returned not long after; Henry II had him murdered in his Cathedral. See Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 144 for the rest of the story.

Thomas A. Becket was the 40th Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170.  King Henry VIII did not rise to the throne until the year 1509.  During King Henry VIII's lifetime there were four different Archbishop's of Canterbury.  So the whole episode of Henry VIII's declaring himself the head of the Church of England did not happen for another 360+ years. As we can see from the short biography about Archbishop Becket in Holy Women, Holy Men the strains between Church and State were lively to say the very least.

Today is also the 5th day of Christmas.  In the famous Christmas song The Twelve Days of Christmas said that my true love gave to me five golden rings. So much for golden riches.

Why though might we pause on this 5th day of Christmas to think on Archbishop Becket, and the sheep among wolves?  

I have been staying with the issue of broken relationships as a central theme of Christmas, because our good Presiding Bishop said as much in her Christmas message.  But, I have another reason.  Inequality in relationships in this human world are always broken due to sin.  Before other progressives like myself start clocking to look at other pages as soon as I say the word sin, let us be realistic about what sin does to relationships.

Relationships in our world are broken.  They are unequal.

In the year 2011 we saw more relationships that are broken because of inequality, cruelty and degradation than we can count.  

In 2011 we saw an unprecedented attack on workers beginning in Wisconsin and Ohio and spreading to New Jersey, Maine, Michigan and so on.  

During this past year we witnessed a huge assault on a woman's reproductive health care.  

The middle class lost more battles during 2011 because of a do-nothing Congress. 

In other States like North Carolina, Minnesota and Pennsylvania we have constitutional amendments banning marriage equality on the ballots for 2012. 

Christianist organizations made relentlessly violent comments towards LGBT people, Muslims and other minority groups during 2011.

When New York passed marriage equality in 2011, the Liberty Council, the National Organization for Marriage and other anti-equality groups became the voice of mockery and denigration.

The inequality between the wealthy and the middle class became so great in 2011 that we saw the birth of the Occupy movement here and all over the world. Before the rise of the Occupy movement, we saw major demonstrations against dictatorial powers in Egypt, Libya, Syria and in many other places.

Between the Church and society there remains the income inequality between the have's and the have not's. 

Many are paying attention and are concerned.  Others remain part of the problem.

The world that the Christ-Child was born and raised in was a time of severe economic and social oppression. The Roman Empire controlled Palestine and did so with the iron fist.  There was King Herod who kept that distance between his wealthy self and the poor so great. He could not even let a poor, helpless child who was the Messiah come into the world peacefully.  Jesus Christ was born in the midst of our relationships broken by sin and social illness.  Jesus can tell his twelve that he is sending them out as sheep among wolves.  Jesus is both the Shepherd and one who came as a sheep just like you and me.  Jesus faces the wolves just like we all do.

Our lives and our work for equality, justice and inclusion of marginalized persons; including, but not limited to LGBT people is a work of sheep among wolves. 

In humility we are faced with having to accept where we are and make the best of it.  We are continually denigrated by Christianist groups and radical right wing groups that want nothing to do with helping us gain equality.  Yet, in that same humility we serve them by continuing to be a voice and a body that works for equality and faces the religious and spiritual violence of the wolves that would tear us to pieces with their sharp teeth. Many of us find those wolves in our own families.  We experience the betrayal of friends who say: "Yes, I accept you as a good gay or lesbian person, but I have to vote in favor of an anti-equality marriage amendment, because our pastor told us to."  Whether it's legal for them to say it or not.  Even if we know in our hearts that what they are doing is abusive and wrong. But, we should never give up.  We have to keep talking and showing people that LGBT people are good people right in front of their faces.

Our transgender members continue to face the wolves in the Church and society and in some cases within our own LGB communities.  Comments made by LGB people about a transgender person and how bad they think they look after their gender reassignment surgery.  How is that different from someone who is both anti-gay, lesbian and/or bisexual who says to someone in secret: "She still looks like a man"?  Is that really any better than a fundamentalist accusing a transgender person of "body mutilation?"

Jesus achieves greatness because of his coming as God's perfect revelation to serve all humanity in the utmost humility. 

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.(Philippians 2: 5-11).

May 2012 be the year that with the help of God's Incarnation that relationships be healed.


Prayers

O God, our strength and our salvation, you called your servant Thomas Becket to be a shepherd of your people and a defender of your Church: Keep your household from all evil and raise up among us faithful pastors and leaders who are wise in the ways of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ the shepherd of our souls, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (HWHM page 145).

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, 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 213).

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. (Book of Common Prayer, page 826).

Truth Continues to Be Revealed as Diversity is Embraced and Defended

Scriptural Basis

Matthew 13:47-52 (NRSV)

Jesus told his disciples, "The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

Blog Reflection

I remember my Church History Professor Dr. K. Stephen McCormick saying: "Once you define absolute it is no longer absolute."  Even though he was a professor in a conservative Christian liberal arts college of the Church of the Nazarene, what he said is as true for Anglicans and Episcopalians.  It is true for all of us who call ourselves Christians. 

Last year Ret. Bishop Christopher Senyonjo taught me one of the most valuable lessons when he preached on John 16: 12 and 13.  Jesus said: "I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, she will guide you into all truth; for she will not speak on her own, but will speak whatever she hears and she will declare to you the things that are to come."  With this Scripture we can understand that none of us knows the full truth about God, ourselves and others.  Not one of us has obtained all truth about the Bible, theology or anything else either by ourselves or from the best of scholarship to know all that there is to know.  Therefore, as Christians we would do well to be open to the idea that all the truth we now know that began with God's revelation continues that revelation (Epiphany) even today.  We must be open to new things and understandings.  We must never stop with just our Nicene or Apostles Creeds.  We must never read the Bible literally without some attention to good researched information and attention to detail.  As Anglican's we can implore Church and human Tradition and Reason to better understand how and where the Holy Spirit is leading us into truth.

Today as we commemorate St. Thomas Aquinas, we celebrate God's Spirit continuing to lead us into all truth.  Recognizing that those who make billion dollar profits off of building capitalistic empires of hate for homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people by misinterpretations of Scripture are most likely wrong about the conclusions they have made.  There is more than one way to interpret the favorite "clobber passage" Leviticus 20:13: "If a man lies with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them."  As a proud gay Episcopalian Christian, I think that is actually good news.  I would never want a man to lay there with me another man as he would with a woman.  I want him, my Partner Jason, to lay there with me as one man lays with another man. There are lesbians who are quite happy to hear that a man should not lay with another man as they do a woman, seeing they don't want men laying next to them. I thank Rev. Robyn Provost for this thought that I have just shared with you.  I also know that the word "abomination" meaning "toevah" means "cultural taboo".  There are plenty of us that eat shrimp that is also considered an abomination.  A lot of people where clothing made of two kinds of material.  And how many of us today would take a child that is being disobedient to her or his parents out to the edges of the city and stone her or him to death in front of everyone to watch?  Because we are open to being led into truth which was the work of St. Thomas Aquinas even in his limited ideology, we now understand so much more than he did.  It is said that upon his death bed, he said he did not really believe a word of what he wrote.  So even Thomas Aquinas questioned things like we do today.

Today more than ever, Christians and all people of good will need to be open with what truths the Spirit is leading us to.   Over the past 24 hours we have been hearing two pieces of really bad news.  We have heard of the tragic murder of Ugandan LGBT Activist David Kato who was found stabbed to death in his home.  I am so proud today of Archbishop Rowan Williams for his response to this news that you can read here.  I am also proud of many in The Episcopal Church including our Presiding Bishop who had these words to say:  

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said Kato's murder "deprives his people of a significant and effective voice, and we pray that the world may learn from his gentle and quiet witness, and begin to receive a heart of flesh in place of a heart of stone. May he rest in peace, and may his work continue to bring justice and dignity for all God's children."

We are also very disappointed that an Anglican Priest in Uganda led efforts to yell inappropriate anti-gay remarks outside Kato's funeral

Many of us have responded to the 24 hour petition for Brenda Namigadde, a Ugandan lesbian in the UK who faces deportation back to Uganda where she has a death threat awaiting her.

In Louisiana, a gay man has become the victim of a hate crime, by being beaten with a Billiards cue stick.

Yet, on the other side of the same coin, there is some good news for LGBT people today.  The Senate Majority Leader in Iowa is making himself a human shield in a sense to keeping marriage equality the law there.  He has been working very hard to make sure the Constitutional Amendment there does not come to a vote in the Senate.    There has been a Gender Identity anti-discrimination bill introduced in the House in Maryland to protect transgender people from identity theft. 

While there is terrible religious based bigotry towards LGBT people all over the world, in the USA and the Church, there are still really terrific things that are happening as people turn their minds to the Spirit who is continuing to "guide us into all truth." 

Truth continues to be revealed as we embrace and defend diversity.  I do believe that is the kind of truth that St. Thomas Aquinas wanted to convey.  Though his own personal reach may not have extended as far as we do today, the point that he began at has contributed in some small way to where we are now.   That is why we commemorate him and all who continue with the Spirit to "guide us into all truth."

Prayers

Almighty God, you have enriched your Church with the singular learning and holiness of your servant Thomas Aquinas: Enlighten us more and more, we pray, by the disciplined thinking and teaching of Christian scholars, and deepen our devotion by the example of saintly lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for St. Thomas Aquinas, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 195),

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 you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, page 818). 


O God, who created all peoples in your image, we thank you for the wonderful diversity of races, cultures, sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions in this world.  Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (Thanksgiving for the Diversity of Races and Cultures (Sexual orientations and Gender Identities/Expressions added by blog author), Book of Common Prayer, page 841.)

Read and Think Carefully.

Luke 12:32-48 (NRSV)

'Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 'Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 'But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.'

Peter said, 'Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?' And the Lord said, 'Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says to himself, "My master is delayed in coming," and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one whodid not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. 

This here is one of those heavy duty Gospels.  It contains a lot of thoughts about the reign of God at the end of time.  As the Church year begins to close in preparation for a new year on November 28th, so the readings in both the Daily Office and the Eucharist talk more and more about the end of the age.  These Gospels are often misused to scare people into Biblical literalism.   The Book of Revelation which is not a blue print for the future, becomes a Weapon of Mass Destruction.   

This Gospel challenges us to be about the work of the Gospel.  Which means calling people to repentance.  Changing hearts and minds to think more like that of Jesus Christ "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, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross.  Therefore God 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." (Philippians 2: 6-11).   


What we see many Christianists and arch-conservative Catholics doing is rather than try to be more like Jesus who served all people, we see leaders of the Church trying to be more like God.  Not just being like God, but give people a vision of God that is not anything like who God was in Christ.   God's perfect revelation in Jesus Christ was one who encouraged his followers to be about the work of spreading the reign of God on earth, rather than destroying people's faith in God through movements like the Tea Party. Movements that endorse the idea of leaving a noose near the door of Equality California. Or Southern Baptists, Roman Catholics, the Orthodox Church in America, The Presbyterian Church in America, and the Rabbinical Alliance of America sending a statement to President Barack Obama that if they repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell "could force their chaplains to choose between serving God or serving the military."  And then there is our own Archbishop of Canterbury trying to push the Anglican Covenant which is designed to introduce the idea of punishing provinces of the Anglican Communion who do not agree or operate according to the wishes of others.   Rather than looking for ways to push people out of the Church we ought to be looking at every way in which we can really promote the Gospel and invite people to believe in God and find peace within the loving mercy of Jesus.

When Jesus tells his followers to be about the business of working, he doesn't mean chasing out the very people who need God the most.  Jesus is telling us to be about the work of God's mercy and inclusive love.  We have been entrusted with the good news of God's unconditional love, so as to encourage others to follow Jesus Christ so that God's salvation can be shared with those who are lost, marginalized, stereotyped and separated.  When we use the Gospel to further marginalize, stereotype, and divide we are promoting a different Gospel than the one Jesus Christ told us to live.   Jesus Christ warned those who sat on their rules too much and thought they were holy just because they could recite the laws and prayers.  Jesus' stern warnings to be found working extends to those of us who love our Liturgical worship all too much, but fail to understand that we have a sense of mission by which we are to share the Gospel with others through our living more than preaching.   When the Church tries to suggest that the Gospel is for everyone except lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people unless they change who they are, they are turning the Gospel of salvation into a message of destruction and torture.   A careful look at this Gospel reading and we will see that Jesus wants his followers to be about a Gospel of inclusion, mercy and the building of community, not the tearing apart of.  

If only Christians would become excited and enthusiastic about helping people to find their way to the Church because it is a place where they are loved, accepted and affirmed.  A place and a people who promote holy living because of what we share in common in spite of our diversity, instead of trying to destroy diversity.  A Church where our sexual and gender diversity really helps us all to discover new things about ourselves and each other so that we can grow in to a community of love and mission.  I think that is what this Gospel is calling us to today.  May Jesus find us at work building up inclusive communities where everyone is welcomed, affirmed, accepted and celebrated.

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 25, Book of Common Prayer, page 235).

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).

 

We Are Commanded to Love One Another

John 15:17 (NRSV)

Jesus said to his disciples, "I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Today is the commemoration of Sts. Simon and Jude who traditionally have been known as "Apostles to Persia". Because these two men were Apostles today is what we call in our Episcopal Church calendar a red letter day. 

We do not know as much as we would like to about these two Apostles.  We know that Catholics have offered novena's to St. Jude and often we will see devotions to the Saint in the classified section of the newspaper.  We know of the incredible work of St. Jude's Children's Hospital.  A facility known for its outstanding work on behalf of children who have cancer.    St. Simon is most likely the Zealot, whom that is pretty much all we know.  It is said that both actually died very peaceful deaths as opposed to others who were beheaded, crucified or tortured in other ways.  

I am having one of those days when I have a lot on my mind.  The elections are coming up.  The Tea Party has many people scared to death.  Last night Keith Olbermann on MSNBC gave a wonderful special comment about why we all need to go out and vote next November 2.  I have things to do, people to call and responsibilities to my husband.   Yet, in the midst of all this stuff to do, I have to stop and write this blog today.  Because in the Gospel for today's commemoration are the words: "Love one another."

The words of Jesus: "love one another" are hard words for me to read/hear.  I like things to go my way.  I might not be so loving of others next week if Republicans or Tea Party folks win elections on Tuesday.  I have a real hard time trying to convince people who have been so offended by Christians like Sharon Angle of Nevada promoting attack ads against immigrants and African Americans and others who are not white, Christian, heterosexual or other wise, that someone like her should be loved, because Jesus said to "love one another."   I have a very hard time with "love one another" with Minnesota Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Emmer having participated in a Christian Rap group that sings a tune saying: "You Can Run, But You Can't Hide" aimed particularly at me, a gay man and my husband, and many of my good friends here in Minnesota.  Being told by Jesus to "love one another" is real difficult for me to do with Archbishop Nienstedt and his anti-marriage equality DVD and that fact that a number of my good friends will be refused Communion this upcoming  Sunday because they will be wearing a rainbow colored sash at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The fact that Jesus tells me I must love them as Jesus loves me, does not in any way mean that I must agree or approve of what they do.   Being asked to love them means it is my responsibility to call them out when they are imploring "spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse" upon myself and others like me.  Jesus gave us the commandments to love one another even toward those who misuse the Bible and their pastoral authority to abuse LGBTQ people and other minorities.  It is a very loving thing to tell Archbishop Nienstedt that he and his Priests as St. Paul's Cathedral are using "spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse" when they refuse the Presence of God in the Eucharist to people wearing a rainbow sash.  As is the authority that came from Cardinal Arinze in 2005 from Rome that told former Archbishop Harry Flynn to do that.  It is quite loving to not vote for Sharon Angle, Christine O'Donnell, Tom Emmer, Carl Paladino, and so many more because of their outrageous homophobic statements.  It is very loving to disagree with the Archbishop of Canterbury's statements towards LGBTQ people and the Episcopal Church when the Diocese of Los Angeles ordained Suffragan Bishop Mary Glasspool.   It is a very loving thing to tell the Anglican Bishop of Uganda and the leaders of Uganda that their bill to "kill the gays" by hanging and/or putting them in prison for life is so wrong that it should not even be printed on Government paper.  It is quite loving to tell Lou Engle that he sounds like Adolf Hitler when he rallies his crowds against any group of people that are not quite like him.  When Christians insight violence and influence hate, they are doing wrong to Christ and the Church.  

We are commanded to love one another.  That means that we tell Church leaders that when they or anyone for that matter scapegoats, LGBTQ, immigrants, people without health care, poor people, people of different races, women, Jewish, Islam and other people for their personal, financial and political gain, they are profaning the Name of Jesus Christ and violating the commandment of love.   Love demands that we sacrifice our popular stature to take a lash or two rhetorically or even literally for standing up for the truth, that all human beings are created in the image of God, and that we "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. with God's help." (BCP 294).   That is why the work of the Church to accept and include LGBTQ, women, and all people within our doors, and to share in the Sacraments is so very important.  It is just one way in which we fulfill Christ's commandment to "love one another."

O God, we thank you for the glorious company of the apostles, and especially on this day for Simon and Jude; and we pray that, as they were faithful and zealous in their mission, so we may with ardent devotion make known the love and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Sts. Simon and Jude, Book of Common Prayer, page 245). 

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. (Prayer for Mission, Book of Common Prayer, page 101).

Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth.

Lord, keep this nation under your care.

To all who have executive authority and to all who have administrative authority, grant wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties.

Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To those who make our laws give courage, wisdom, and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations.

Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

To the Judges and officers of our Courts give understanding and integrity, that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served.

Give grace to your servants, O Lord.

And finally, teach our people to rely on your strength and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, that they may elect trustworthy leaders and make wise decisions for the well-being of our society; that we may serve you faithfully in our generation and honor your holy Name. For yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Amen. (Prayer for Sound Government, BCP, pages 821-822).


Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States (or, of this community) in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for an Election, BCP, page 822).

  

Sergius: Abbot of Holy Trinity in Moscow: Could We Learn to Listen to God Too?

Luke 8: 16-21 (NRSV)

Jesus said:‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lamp stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. ¹⁸Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’

The True Kindred of Jesus

19
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰And he was told, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ ²¹But he said to them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’

This Gospel reading comes just after Luke 8: 1-15 with the following Parable beginning at verse 4.

When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to Jesus, he said in a parable: ⁵‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. ⁶Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. ⁷Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. ⁸Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’ As he said this, he called out, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’

The Purpose of the Parables

9
Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets^* of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak^* in parables, so that
“looking they may not perceive,
   and listening they may not understand.” 

There is a real difference between hearing and listening.  It is often easier to hear than it is to listen.  When we hear something it is often something that may or may not be intended for us, but we hear the sound anyway.  The sound of a bird chirping or a lawn mower, for example.  Listening requires a sense of surrender.  When we listen we are attentive with an interior focus on what someone is saying or waiting for something we expect.  Listening involves a risk.  There is always the possibility that when we are listening, we will hear something we do not particularly care for.  When we hear something we do not care to hear, we can choose to only hear it or actually listen to what happened.  Hearing something only can stop it as soon as it is in the mind.  Listening risks something going through the mind and into the heart.  If it is something that hurts and we listened, it will turn our emotions to anger, hurt or even deep sadness.  When we listen to good news, we will experience joy and a sense of serene.

When it comes to listening for God, it requires a willingness to listen to what is beyond ourselves, and yet how God connects with the deepest parts of ourselves.  When God enters our space of silence when we cannot hear so much as a pin drop, that is when God the Holy Spirit comes to our restless hearts and makes her home deep within our souls.  The Holy Spirit calms us with her wonderful Motherly grace and tells us once again how much God loves us.  As we listen to the Holy Spirit, she will tell us to see ourselves through God's eyes not through the eyes of our common world.  The Holy Spirit makes no distinction of persons, but comes to the heart that is wounded and seeks to help us find solitude in the quietness of God's wondrous graces.

Those who often listen become people of wisdom and leadership.  A humble listener does not need to place themselves in the front rows to be seen.  A listening leader leads by example and compassion and a desire to meet the challenges around the individual and her or his community and know that by action she or he can change things for the better.  Even if she or he only helps others take a tiny step forward.

*In the middle of the Russian Civil War, Sergius began a life of seclusion in a nearby forest from which he developed the Monastery of the Holy Trinity as a center of revival for Russian Christianity.  Sergius was inspired intense devotion to the Russian Orthodox Faith.  Sergius supported Prince Dimitri Donoskoi to that helped him win a decisive victory against the Tartar overlords in the Kulikovo Plains in 1380 and laid the foundations for his people's independent national life. 

The Russian Church observes Sergius' memory on September 25.  His name is familiar to Anglicans from the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius, a society established to promote closer relations between the Anglican and Russian Churches.  (*See Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 600).

Sergius is an example of what can happen when an individual takes the opportunity to spend some time in solitude and listen to what God has to say.  One can learn to listen to God in a diversity of situations and be moved to understand things in diverse ways.  Listening has the power to turn what we listen to into actions that can change people's lives.

The Episcopal Church has been listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit to help us change our understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning and queer people (LGBTQ).  We understand that sexual orientation and gender identity/expression is not a choice, but a gracious and wonderful gift from God to love and to be the person/people God created us to be.  Our committed and loving relationships are also a symbol of God's love for all humanity, the love of Christ and the Church.  The love of God in Jesus Christ is for all humanity, not just a particular part of humankind.  It is humankind that must learn to stretch our hearts open to love others different than ourselves.  God's heart is always wide open to love every one of God's precious children. 

Sadly, the Archbishop of Canterbury's (ABC) own language towards LGBTQ people is still old fashioned.  Archbishop Rowan Williams reportedly supports gay bishops who remain celibate.   In other words as long as gay and lesbian people are willing to refrain from our vocation to love someone of the same sex, which is why God blesses us with sexual and gender diversity.  It is a shame really that having spent some time with Pope Benedict XVI he would adopt like ideas, even if they do not reflect the truth of God's love for LGBTQ people.    This is hardly listening to the experiences of lesbian and gay people as the Lambeth Council of 1998 suggested.  Happily the Episcopal Church does not share the ABC's narrow minded opinion.  Because in the Anglican Tradition we do not have a hierarchy control such as the Papacy, each Church within the Anglican Communion can decide how to operate within it's own borders.

In her Pentecost Letter, Katherine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church wrote:

The recent statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury about the struggles within the Anglican Communion seems to equate Pentecost with a single understanding of gospel realities. Those who received the gift of the Spirit on that day all heard good news. The crowd reported, “in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power” (Acts 2:11).

The Spirit does seem to be saying to many within The Episcopal Church that gay and lesbian persons are God’s good creation, that an aspect of good creation is the possibility of lifelong, faithful partnership, and that such persons may indeed be good and healthy exemplars of gifted leadership within the Church, as baptized leaders and ordained ones. The Spirit also seems to be saying the same thing in other parts of the Anglican Communion, and among some of our Christian partners, including Lutheran churches in North America and Europe, the Old Catholic churches of Europe, and a number of others.

That growing awareness does not deny the reality that many Anglicans and not a few Episcopalians still fervently hold traditional views about human sexuality. This Episcopal Church is a broad and inclusive enough tent to hold that variety. The willingness to live in tension is a hallmark of Anglicanism, beginning from its roots in Celtic Christianity pushing up against Roman Christianity in the centuries of the first millennium. That diversity in community was solidified in the Elizabethan Settlement, which really marks the beginning of Anglican Christianity as a distinct movement. Above all, it recognizes that the Spirit may be speaking to all of us, in ways that do not at present seem to cohere or agree. It also recognizes what Jesus says about the Spirit to his followers, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:12-13).

The Episcopal Church has spent nearly 50 years listening to and for the Spirit in these matters. While it is clear that not all within this Church have heard the same message, the current developments do represent a widening understanding. Our canons reflected this shift as long ago as 1985, when sexual orientation was first protected from discrimination in access to the ordination process. At the request of other bodies in the Anglican Communion, this Church held an effective moratorium on the election and consecration of a partnered gay or lesbian priest as bishop from 2003 to 2010. When a diocese elected such a person in late 2009, the ensuing consent process indicated that a majority of the laity, clergy, and bishops responsible for validating that election agreed that there was no substantive bar to the consecration.

The Episcopal Church recognizes that these decisions are problematic to a number of other Anglicans. We have not made these decisions lightly. We recognize that the Spirit has not been widely heard in the same way in other parts of the Communion. In all humility, we recognize that we may be wrong, yet we have proceeded in the belief that the Spirit permeates our decisions.

If all of us could take some time to listen to the Holy Spirit lead us towards heavenly understandings, we would see that our earthly prejudices are groundless.  May a little listening help us all to love each other today better than we did yesterday, and tomorrow better than today.

Grant us, Lord, not to anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things which are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 20, Book of Common Prayer, page 234).

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Sergius of Moscow, may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Sergius, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 601).

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 you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, page 818).

Discovering Our Treasures Among That Which is Old and New

Matthew 13:44-52 (NRSV)

Jesus said to his disciples, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

The Episcopal Church today commemorates a Priest who was heavily involved in the Oxford Movement.  A Priest by the name of Edward Bouverie Pusey.  He was born near Oxford on August 22, 1800 and lived until September 16, 1882.  Pusey was very fond of the teaching about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  In 1843 Edward Pusey preached a sermon before Oxford University entitled: "The Holy Eucharist, a source of Comfort to the Penitent."  Pusey was condemned for this sermon.

When the Late Cardinal John Henry Newman converted to Catholicism in 1845, "Pusey's adherence to the Church of England kept many from following, and he defended them in their teachings and practices." (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 590).

On the wall above my computer from which I am typing this blog post I have a 2010 Episcocat Calendar that has pictures of cats with every month.  Underneath each picture is a written phrase.  Below the picture for January 2011 is printed: "High Church, Low Church, Broad Church....What happened to Christian unity, not to mention charity?"  A phrase with some truth to it, no doubt.

The Episcopal and Anglican traditions are well known for our excellence in worship, music and architecture. Having come from the Roman tradition I tend to like moderate to high worship.  I have maintained my belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Over the past year and four months I have also become more open to inclusive language and an appreciation for different styles of worship that help others to enjoy their meeting with God.  Among the things I want to meditate on today is that God finds God's treasure and pearl within us.  God has recognized the beauty of God's Self stamped into everyone of us whom God has made and redeemed through Christ.  God is as in love with God's treasure that is found in the love shared between people who are LGBTQ as those who are heterosexual.  God finds God's treasure in those who are not Christian, or white, or male, healthy, wealthy, who write or speak in English or of one gender in heart, mind or body.  We are all God's treasure and in us is a beautiful pearl whom God happens to love very much.

At the end of today's Gospel we read the words: "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." (Vs. 51, 52). 

I beg the indulgence of those more learned about the Scriptures than I, but I think there is room to interpret the line that I have italicized to mean that God is able to bring out of all of his treasures including LGBTQ, women, people of other races and the like, that which is old and that which is new.  The Christian Faith is as much about hanging on to those things that we have always understood and believed, as much as it is about understanding and believing in things, in new ways.  At one point in our history the idea of ordaining women as Priests or Bishops was like speaking a foreign language.  Now, it is more common.  At one point ordaining an openly gay Priest would have been considered unheard of.  Now, there are many openly LGBTQ Priests, two openly gay Bishops and many more in discernment.  While we are a long way from full and complete acceptance, we have made many strides towards full inclusion. 

As I prepare to close out today's blog I want to convey a message from the House of Bishops that are meeting in Arizona this weekend.  They are supporting the Dream Act that will be before the United States Senate this upcoming week.  Sadly and I cannot imagine why it is being completely looked over, but so is the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell included in the Defense Authorization Bill that contains the same Dream Act.  Nevertheless I would echo their request to please contact our Senators this week and ask them to support the Dream Act as well as the Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.   What is the Dream Act?  According to Bishop Brian Prior of Minnesota here is what it means.

DREAM is an acronym for “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors.” Under the act, eligible students can apply for “conditional lawful permanent residency” for a six-year period during which they must graduate from a two-year college, complete two years of a four-year degree, or serve in the military for two years with honorable discharge (if they choose to leave service). At the end of the six-year period, if they have met the criteria, they can become lawful permanent residents.

Why is the DREAM act important? Each year 65,000 US raised students are denied access to higher education and legal employment due to the fact that they were brought to this country at a young age by their parents. Instead of punishing these students for actions taken on their behalf and beyond their control, the DREAM Act would provide a fair process by which these young people could gain legal status in virtually the only country they have ever known.

Please contact your Senators and ask them to support the Dream Act as well as the Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

I must also take this time to call out Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Great Britain.  Last night I watched an incredible Choral Vesper Service at which both Pope Benedict and Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams celebrated  in Westminster Abbey.  The message of the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury about working towards Ecumenism was totally wasted. Today the Pope will beatify John Henry Newman and place his feast date not on the date of his death, but on the date of his conversion to the Roman Church.  What started out as a wonderful possibility towards mutual respect and charity, has turned into an opportunity to give the middle finger to the Anglican Communion by the Roman Pontiff.  In so doing the Pope has conveyed an attitude of Supersessionism towards of the Roman Church towards the Church of England.   The Christian Charity just went right out the window. 

As we remember with gratitude the holy women and men of the Church, let us also pray that the Church will become a more charitable and inclusive home of worship, prayer and service for all of God's holy people.

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 19, Book of Common Prayer, page 233).


Grant, O God, that in all time of our testing we may know your presence and obey your will; that, following the example of your servant Edward Bouverie Pusey, we may with integrity and courage accomplish what you give us to do, and endure what you give us to bear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Edward Bouverie Pusey, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 591).

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for All Christians in their vocation, Ember Days, Book of Common Prayer, page 256).

 

Shepherds, Theives and Wolves: Which of These Three Represents the Church?

John 10:1-18 (NRSV)

'Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.' Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, 'Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away-and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.'

When a Bishop is consecrated and ordained one of the symbols of a Bishop's office is the crosier.  The crosier is a symbol that reminds the Bishop and the people that Christ is the good shepherd.  The Bishop is an ordained minister who serves Jesus Christ the shepherd while helping to tend to Christ's flock.  This is a terrific reminder that all of us are led by Jesus, and that lay people, bishops, priests and deacons are all orders of ministry with the responsibility of representing Christ and the Church. (See pages 855 and 856 of the Book of Common Prayer).  Within the Church are diverse groups of people, all of whom are called to share the ministry of hospitality and reconciliation in whatever order of ministry we find ourselves.

How are we in the Church doing with representing Christ and the Church?  Are we representatives of a Church that is a shepherd so that all people can find themselves welcomed, to be reconciled and find peace with God?  Or are we deceiving people and instead behaving like thieves and wolves looking to welcome people only so that we can be destructive?  Are we willing to look at our behaviors and attitudes towards those who come to the Church looking for an open hands, arms, minds and hearts will find those things?


The challenge for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning and queer people is finding a church home that will accept us as we are.  So many of us have wandered into the "sheep folds" of church communities hoping to find peace with God, only to find ourselves coerced by Pastors who wish to exploit and change our sexual orientation and/or gender expression/identity by committing us to ex-gay ministries.  LGBTQ couples have been welcomed into church communities only to find Pastors and church members attempting to destroy loving relationships, or keep them out of the choir, from teaching Sunday school or participating in the supper club.  We don't think of such attitudes and behaviors as stealing, but when people are so prejudiced that they cannot leave individuals to God so that God can do God's work with them, it is as if we are thieves or wolves looking to steel sheep from Christ's sheepfold so that they can be devoured with "Christian Values used as Weapons of Mass Destruction" (Rev. Susan Russell),

How about American Evangelicals embarking as missionaries of hate to Uganda so that their country may write bill that if passed will mean life in prison or death by hanging for known homosexuals?   Parents in that country now have the attitude that they would rather their lesbian and gay children die by hanging than be openly or actively who they are.   Is this the work of thieves and wolves, appearing as shepherds?

We might like to leave such descriptions to Evangelical and/or Fundamentalist church communities, but what about Roman Catholic or Anglican communities?  When the Archbishop of Canterbury threatens to lower the Episcopal Church on the tier of the Anglican Communion because of the election and ordination of Suffragan Bishop Mary Glasspool, isn't even Archbishop Rowan Williams behaving more like a ravenous wolf than a shepherd?   Or how about an Anglican Covenant that is designed to shut down the conversations that lead to the further exclusion of LGBTQ people?   Is this really a better example of the Church leading us to "greener pastures"?  


Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Bishop Paul Jones who was Bishop of Utah.  Bishop Jones spoke out against war during the days before and after World War I.  The House of Bishops as well as many people within the flock of Utah protested Bishop Jones' statements against war.  He later resigned due to pressure against his position.  Even after he left the office of Bishop, Jones continued to speak out against the injustices of war.  He died at the beginning of World War II in 1941.

During his farewell address to the Missionary District of Utah in 1918 Bishop Jones said: "Where I serve the Church is of small importance, so as long as I can make my life count in the cause of Christ.... Expediency may make necessary the resignation of a Bishop at this time, but no expedience can ever justify the degradation of the ideals of the episcopate which these conclusions seem to involve." (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 560).  

 
Yet here is the Church in the Year 2010 and we have spoken against the outrage of war.  Will the Church by 2020 finally realize that all the schisms over the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson and Bishop Mary Glasspool were just as wrong as opposing Bishop Jones' opposition to war?   Will the Church look back and realize that those who have been splitting the Episcopal Church and the ELCA over LGBTQ equality and realize that they have been acting like thieves and wolves rather than wise shepherds?   Will they realize that the Holy Spirit was already at work, and they just misjudged her?  What then will the Church do to help the souls who turned away from the Church not wanting to bother, and finding safer sheepfolds elsewhere?


How can we in 2010 help the Church to understand our role as shepherds?   How can we better represent Christ and the Church as we support LGBTQ equality and inclusion?   How can we be that voice for people who are confused or resentful of the Church because we appear more like thieves and wolves?  


The point of Christ the Good Shepherd is that Jesus wants to lead us by his voice of love and compassion.  The Holy Spirit is not about violence, hate, cruelty and exclusion.  The Holy Spirit who leads "us into all truth" (Jn 16: 12)  wants to lead us into the truth that there are no children of God that are not important to God.  Heterosexism that fuels the fire of homophobia is not of God.  Any "ism" that leads us to condescend any of God's people is not shepherding them into truth.  Any "ism" that deprives any of God's people of the dignity that is theirs by virtue of being created, redeemed and sanctified by God, is not shepherding God's people.  The voice that God's people are searching for is the voice that leads us to safety and wholeness where we find God's gracious mercy and unconditional love.  When we find God's salvation in the cross of Jesus, we are being guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth. 
All of us are called to be part of the solution as we work with the Holy Spirit to address our faults and shortcomings, so that she can turn them into opportunities for ministry.  How are we answering that call?  There are so many in our local communities who are lost trying to find their way through the complicated pastures of life.  The Church has answers, but if they we are to be understood as shepherds, we must also understand and change where we appear more like thieves and wolves.   

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 17, Book of Common Prayer, page 233).

Merciful God, you sent your beloved Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Raise up in this and every land witnesses who, after the example of your servant Paul Jones, will stand firm in proclaiming the Gospel of the Prince of Peace, our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for Bishop Jones, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 561).

Are We About Faith and Mission or Power?

Matt. 16: 13- 20 (NRSV)

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."  And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. 

When I read this Gospel I am taken back to my former Roman Catholic thinking for a bit.  Anyone who is or was Roman Catholic remembers that it is from this Gospel that they defend the supremacy of the Pope"s "authority" over the universal Church.  Now that I am Episcopalian and given the struggles I have had to accept myself as a gay man and how that relates to my faith, I have had to look at this particular narrative quite differently.   As I prayed about what direction my personal faith journey had been taken me, this narrative now has a whole new life giving understanding.

The faith and revelation that leads Peter to confess Jesus as the "Son of the Living God" is the same as that of all Christians, straight or gay, black or white, able or challenged, male or female.  The mission of Jesus to Peter as the rock upon which the Church is being built even today is the mission of all Christians, not just some, and not just one with all of the authority of any single person or entity.  The ministry and mission of building up the Church which includes binding and loosening is something that all Christians are called to engage in, in and through the various ministries that we are a part of.  


One day I was reading through the Catechism or Outline of the Faith in the Book of Common Prayer pages 845-862.  As I was reading through the section on Ministry (see pages 855 and 856) I found some things to be quite profound.  First to the question: "Who are the ministers of the Church?"  The answer is: "The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons."   To the questions: "What is the ministry of the laity, bishop, priest or deacon?"  Each separate answer begins with the same sentence: "The ministry of (laity, bishops, priests, deacons) is to represent Christ and his Church"  Each order of ministry represents Christ and the Church in a different way, but the first order of all ministers of the Church is to represent Christ and the Church in whatever capacity they exist.   That says something very important.  It means that everyone in the Church is called to represent Christ and the faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God and to participate in building up the Church.  The completion to the question: "What is the ministry of the laity?"  The answer in the Catechism is: "The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church, to bear witness to him where ever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship and governance of the Church."


The Gospel and the Catechism say something very important for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered members of the Church.  As God calls forth people in the Church who are LGBT, so God calls upon us to be part of Christ's work of reconciliation in the world, and to do so according to the gifts we are given.  LGBT people have been given the most wonderful gift of our sexual orientation and/or gender expression/identity. Embedded within our sexual orientation and gender identity/expression is how we love other people.  We can and must love other people within the Church and beyond according to who we are and how God has created us.  God has already gifted people who are heterosexual with that gift, and continues to bless them with how they help build up the Church.  God the Holy Spirit has also blessed LGBT people with gifts to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation and has called us to take our place in the life, worship and governance in the Church and society.  There are also LGBT Christians who are being called by the Holy Spirit to participate in the ministry of reconciliation as Bishops, Priests and Deacons, so that it is understood that all of God's people are included in Christ's ministry and mission in the world.


As the struggle within the Anglican Communion as well as with many other more conservative Christians continues to look for ways to exclude lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people from ministry in the Church, the question becomes is the Church about faith and mission, or about power and control?   Through out the centuries of the Roman Papacy what was suppose to be a person who was called as a man of deep faith, and therefore empowered to be a spiritual leader, has become an internationalized centralized struggle for power.  The Papacy has gone beyond just an office of spiritual wisdom and a symbol of deep faith, it has become how much one religion can dominate the world and force it's way into lands and territories to turn political and national powers towards it's own thinking and behaving.  That power struggle has left centuries of destruction to the faith of billions of people.  Is that really what the confession of Peter as Jesus "the Son of the Living God" and being given the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" is about?  I tend to think, not.   And now in the Anglican Communion, with the Archbishop of Canterbury telling Episcopalians that they are no longer members of the Anglican Consultative Council in ecumenical dialogues, is that about mission and ministry, or is it about power and control?  Control to the point of violating the boundaries of other Churches within the Anglican Communion because they don't like the fact that we now have two openly gay bishops?  With such power arguments, is it any wonder why so many LGBT and Questioning individuals would rather be part of no church?


As LGBT Christians who are caught in the middle of all of this, it is very important that we keep our attention on the fact that the Church is about faith and mission.  What that faith and mission means to each of us, is for each of us to to decide for ourselves within our own prayer life.  Yet, one thing we can all agree on is that Jesus Christ is one incredible Savior and Lord.  In Jesus, God has come to save us from our sin, and to reconcile the world to God's Self and call us to be reconciled to each other.  LGBT Christians are called to be part of that mission, in whatever capacity the Holy Spirit has moved upon our hearts and minds.

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 5, Book of Common Prayer, Page 229).

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, Page 100).

Gracious Father, we pray for your 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 your Son our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, Page 816).