Third Sunday After Epiphany: Where Can You Use Your Gifts?

Today's Scripture Readings

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10  (NRSV)

All the people of Israel gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Psalm 19  (BCP., p.606)


1 Corinthians 12:12-31a (NRSV)

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts.

Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV)

Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all
the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Blog Reflection

Saint Paul helps us to begin our meditation, as we continue to think about the gifts that God has given each of us.  Our gifts are unique, as is how we use them.  Our diverse gifts bring about a different result, but it all points to one common end.  To serve others in the Name of Christ.  

As an adult male, Jesus goes to the podium and reads from the Prophet Isaiah.  We hear this reading ever three years when we are on Year C.  The Year of the Gospel according to Luke.  This reading has been called, "Jesus' inauguration speech."  Additionally, it is the call to reach out to others to listen to their stories and seek to serve them in the way Jesus accepted His ministry outlined in this reading.  Jesus is interested in more than mere words.  Jesus understands that the words that He read, are the call of God on His life to make those words a living reality.

As in the time of Jesus, there are so many around us who are held captive and oppressed by injustice and prejudice.  Way too many people near and far who live in the oppression of poverty, violence and death as a daily routine.  Wealth, power and prestige are more important that the dignity of every human person.  Wounding those who are already wounded by life through no fault of their own; are made to bear even greater burdens while political candidates argue over which of their opponents deserve more dirt and mud than given a chance to make a difference.  The billion dollar funds of political action committees to hire bigger staff and push campaign after campaign to raise more money; while the voices of the voiceless are barely being spoken let alone heard.  

This Gospel text is in St. Luke's, because Luke was a physician.  A doctor who worked to cure and heal the sick.  That is why Luke's Gospel is full of amazing stories of Jesus as the Great Physician.  Those who found themselves broken physically, mentally and in terms of social exclusion; found in Jesus, the presence of God who welcomed them and offered them a new beginning.  Jesus calls Christians to use those amazing gifts that God gave us to do the work of ministry and make a difference in the world.  We are offered the opportunity today to decide if we are going to be the fulfillment of these words that began Jesus' ministry.  

As we listen to this Sunday's Liturgy of the Word, and respond by receiving the nourishing Presence of Christ in the Eucharist; let us ponder how we might prayerfully begin our work of the ministry of healing and reconciliation.

Amen.


Prayers

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our
Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News
of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive
the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 215).

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. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).

The Conversion of St. Paul: Understanding Conversion as a Means, Not an End.

Today's Scripture Readings

Acts 26:9-21 (NRSV)

Paul said to King Agrippa, "Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

"With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, `Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' I asked, `Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, `I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles-- to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

"After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me."

Galatians 1:11-24 (NRSV)

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only heard it said, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God because of me.

Matthew 10:16-22 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the twelve, "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

The problems I have with how the Conversion of St. Paul is told in Acts Chapter 9 along with many of his letters throughout the New Testament, is that the work of God appears to be an end in and of itself.  When reading the stories about and letters by St. Paul at face value, without taking some time to understand their meaning and apply some critical thinking to what we are reading, a more literary reading appears to back up the whole "born again" idea. The "born again" ideal adopted by many Christianists and not too few Christians of varying backgrounds, carries with it the particular danger of assuming that because God has saved us, there is nothing more to be done. It is quite okay that we submit ourselves to a culture of exploitation, where the wealth of a few is more important than the common good of all people.  After all, if God has saved us, we can just flip the bird to the needs of others around us, sit back and let everything else including our own sense of responsibility towards the presence of Christ in others, just go the way of all flesh.

This kind of reaction suggests that conversion as an end in and of itself.  One that does not convey an encounter with Christ in a way that is continuing to change our lives by a daily relationship between God and us.  It has only changed us from the point of recognizing and loving the God we cannot see, while failing to reverence and love the presence of the risen Christ in our sisters and brothers before our very eyes.  St. John alluded to this in 1 John 4: 17-21.  As did St. Paul in Romans 12: 9-21, 1 Corinthians 7 as well as Galatians 5 and 6.   It is much easier to use the Bible and the basics of our Christian Faith with it's doctrines as weapons of mass destruction, than to create an atmosphere of mutual love and respect for people who are different from ourselves without casting a huge cloud of fear of the ever allusive end of time.

Film producer Macky Alston has been working on "Love Free or Die" to appear on Sundance.  It is the story about the life and ministry of Bishop Gene Robinson.  The film will talk about how Bishop Robinson's work in the Diocese of New Hampshire which has been nothing but outstanding, has also been the source of unending tension within the Anglican Communion.  An article about Love Free or Die appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune. As soon as Macky Alston's story about his passion for creating the film appeared on YouTube, immediately in the comments below it has appeared some of the most vicious assaults on The Episcopal Church, on Bishop Robinson and those of us who love and appreciate all that the Bishop has done on behalf of LGBT people all over the world.  One of them in particular quoting the following Bible verse. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20.  Such poor use of the writings of the Prophet Isaiah not only demonstrates serious violence, but an encounter with Christ that has been deemed itself a counterfeit by being very self centered.

The same case can also be made by Christianists and other individuals responding negatively to President Obama's State of the Union Address.   I am frustrated with the extreme right that continues to bash the President with under currents of racism, while negatively referring to his policies as socialism.  Socialism is a means by which we understand that taking care of our sisters and brothers in the middle and lower social classes is taking care of ourselves.  We are all connected to each other.  We all need the help of one another to find work, receive help so we can go to the doctor, help children get nutrition while they are attending school and help them get a good education.   I am equally disappointed by those few progressives and our own LGBT people who are angry that President Obama invited a lesbian couple to be in attendance of the SOTU Address, but only mentioned the word gay once.  Are we really that quick to forget the Presidents who came before Obama who not only failed to enact legislation that benefited the LGBT communities, but also did not hire LGBT people into their Administrations to show that we are as capable at fulfilling our jobs with love for our country as much as anyone else?   President Obama has made those efforts and done them successfully.  Often in the face of horrible backlash, even risking his reputation as a leader among social conservatives for having done so.  Does our responses to the SOTU reflect a thankful heart for the progress made, with the commitment to keep on working?  Or do they reflect an only self seeking form of inclusion, without being willing to include ourselves in the work of justice, equality and hope for a brighter future for everyone, not just ourselves?

Conversion is not just a blast of divine energy that knocks us off the horse as St. Paul experienced.  It is the continual conversation between the Holy Spirit with ourselves and our communities around us.  Conversion is an ever moving and energizing event that turns the ordinary activities of each day and moment, into opportunities to help ourselves and others grow in our attentiveness to God in every place and activity in our daily lives.  It is the experience of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us "with sighs that are too deep for words" (Romans 8:26) moving our hearts to forgive as well as to welcome and be participants in God's work of healing and reconciliation in our world. 

Whether our experiences of God are like the Confession of St. Peter which we celebrated last Wednesday, or more like the Conversion of St. Paul, God is at work in each of us doing something wonderful.  But confessions and conversions are just abstract words and experiences, unless they are reflected in the prayers and activities of our daily life.  We have to let go of our prejudices towards Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, Immigrants, the poor, the sick, the dying, LGBT, women and so many more.  We have to allow our Mother the Holy Spirit to transform us and our own lives, to become the real face of God transforming the world around us.

This is what I believe is the real message of the Conversion of St. Paul and the letters he wrote.  His conversion and his writings reflect an encounter with the crucified and risen Christ in his own life that results in a deep hunger to become a transforming agent in the world around him.  Even with the prejudices and limitations of his own culture and those found within himself.   God still does something wonderful and influential in and through St. Paul. 

Even with everything that is as imperfect as it is, we in no means should justify any of it, nor stop speaking up or being activists for change, but we are invited to make a contribution as a result of the transforming power of God by making choices about what we do in the here and now.  Understanding that conversion is a means, not an end.  There is always more work for God and us to do.


Prayers

O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; 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.  (Conversion of St. Paul, Book of Common Prayer, p. 238, 239).

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our
Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News
of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive
the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Prayer for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, p. 215).

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.  (Prayer attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, p. 833). 

Fredrick Dension Maurice: The Founder of the Christian Socialist Movement

Scriptural Basis

John 18:33-37

Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Blog Reflection

In the same year that Karl Marx declared religion to be the “opiate of the people,” Frederick Denison Maurice wrote, “We have been dosing our people with religion when what they want is not this but the living God.” Like Marx, Maurice wanted to solve the questions of our complex society; unlike Marx, he called for a radical, but non-violent, reform, by the renewal of “faith in a God who has redeemed mankind, in whom I may vindicate my rights as a man.” Maurice was a founder of the Christian Socialist Movement, which, he wrote, “will commit us at once to the conflict we must engage in sooner or later with the unsocial Christians and unchristian Socialists.”

Maurice was born in 1805 into the family of a Unitarian minister whose life was marked by intense religious controversy. Maurice studied civil law at Cambridge, but refused the degree in 1827, because, as a Dissenter, he could not subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. After several personal crises, however, he became an Anglican and was ordained in 1834. Soon afterwards he was appointed Professor of English Literature and History at King’s College, London, and, in 1846, to the chair of Theology.

In his book, The Kingdom of Christ, published in 1838, Maurice investigates the causes and cures of Christian divisions. The book has become a source of Anglican ecumenism. Maurice was dismissed from his professorships because of his leadership in the Christian Socialist Movement, and because of the supposed unorthodoxy of his Theological Essays (1853).

Maurice saw worship as the meeting point of time and eternity, and as the fountain of energies for the Church’s mission. He wrote, “I do not think we are to praise the liturgy but to use it. When we do not want it for our life, we may begin to talk of it as a beautiful composition.”

After the death of the Christian Socialist Movement in 1854, Maurice founded the Working Men’s College, and resumed teaching at Queen’s College, London. Maurice awakened Anglicanism to the need for concern with the problems of society. In later years, he was honored even by former opponents. He was rector of two parishes, and was professor of Moral Theology at Cambridge from 1866 until his death. (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 300).

This commemoration is one that we could easily use on Christianists as a good April Fools Day joke.  The word "socialist" is a word that people in conservative politics and religion fear.  People like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh use this word regularly against President Obama and Democratic politicians.  It is used to put fear in the minds of every day people, to suggest that it is through the liberal/progressive folks that the Nazi regime is taking over the United States and the liberal/progressive Christian Church. 

My partner Jason has often said: "The idea behind socialism is not what is bad, as it is the people who want to use socialism to distort it's meaning." 

Socialism has been used to say that our nation should not do health care reform.  It has also been used to deny lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people equality, justice and inclusion.  Dr. James Dobson the founder of Focus on the Family has often suggested that gay men are compared to Nazi's in wanting to take over the United States.  Other organizations like the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage and others like it continue to publicly use the rhetoric of socialism to denigrate individuals who are LGBTQ for their own political purposes.

Why are Christians, even those who claim to be more progressive afraid of the word socialism? 

Jesus' reply to Pilate in the Gospel for our commemoration gives us some clues.  

Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:37).

Notice that in verse 38 when Pilate asked Jesus: "What is truth?"  That Jesus did not reply.

What happened?  Was Jesus silent because he did not know?  Did Jesus not answer because he was afraid of Pilate's response?   Jesus knew he was going to be crucified.  It was not like he had anything else to really lose. 

Was Jesus' silence because Pilate was actually looking at what truth is?  Perhaps Jesus felt that if Pilate did not see that for what it was, it really was not for Jesus to answer the question for him.

The truth that Jesus speaks of and died for, was the reality that every person born under heaven who is searching for some kind of meaning in this world is of tremendous concern to God.   God is so concerned and wanting us to share eternal life with God, that God gave the life of God's Son, God's perfect revelation to die for our sins.  God is so madly in love with every person created in God's image that God just could not stand idly by and see all humankind lost because of the wages of sin and death. 

Therefore, it really is a sin if we stand idly by and disregard or do nothing for the marginalized and denigrated of our society and the Church.   Christian socialism is a good word.  It means that we care about each others welfare to the point that we are willing to act on their behalf.

If we are so loved by God, that God just could not do something to rescue us from our sins, that means that so is every human person.  Therefore it is a very appropriate response for us to care about and care for God's people who remain poor and/or without human dignity and equality.   In Jesus, God raised her heart and his voice up to draw all creation to God's Self so that all humankind could find their salvation in God.   

Who are we then, to allow sick people to be denied health care, food, medicine and other needs that can help save their lives? 

How can we just watch the budget debates in our United States Congress and in our States all over the country where they are affecting a woman's right to choose, collective bargaining rights for union workers, slash funding for low income individuals who cannot work through no fault of their own, and take marriage equality from LGBTQ people? 

How can we just listen to the stories of LGBTQ youth who have committed suicide due to bullying in their schools, communities, and in some instances their own families and not take action with the It Gets Better Project to make a difference?

Why should Christianist and arch-conservative Catholic/Anglican/Orthodox groups be allowed to constantly use hate rhetoric towards LGBTQ people, muslims, Native Americans, women and so forth, without our voices and actions telling them how wrong they are?

We are at Friday in the third week of Lent. Three weeks from today is Good Friday.  Three weeks from this Sunday is already Easter.  Our Christian Faith is so much more than our beautiful Liturgical celebrations, our favorite hymns and pews.  Christianity is so much larger than the stories and individuals in the Bible and the many denominations, and dogmas that are so controversial.   Our "Faith without our works is dead." (James 2:17 & 28).   Our creeds said, and Bible's read without our willingness to love and act on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves without our help, are worthless legends.  The story of Good Friday is just some myth and Jesus remains dead and buried if we cannot see beyond our own needs and be willing to respond to those of others.  

May this Easter find many of us who believe in Jesus Christ and the death and resurrection come alive with our concern and actions on behalf of all of God's people. 

Prayers

Almighty God, you restored our human nature to heavenly glory through the perfect obedience of our Savior Jesus Christ: Keep alive in your Church, we pray, a passion for justice and truth; that, like your servant Frederick Denison Maurice, we may work and pray for the triumph of the kingdom of your Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the commemoration of Frederick Denison Maurice.  Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 301)

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).

Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hand 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).