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

Today's Scripture Readings

Daniel 12:1-3 (NRSV)

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

Psalm 16 (BCP, p.599,600)


Hebrews 10:11-125 (NRSV)

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

"This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"
he also adds,

"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Mark 13:1-8 (NRSV)

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

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

Blog Reflection

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen.


Prayers

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

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

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

The Fifth Sunday in Lent: The Resurrection and Life

Today's Scripture Readings

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NRSV)

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord."


So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.


Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, `Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act," says the Lord.

Psalm 130 (BCP., p.784).


Romans 8:6-11 (NRSV)
 

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law-- indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. 

John 11:1-45 (NRSV)
  

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.


Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."


When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."


When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"


Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 

Blog Reflection

There are few conversations that most human beings do not like to have.  One conversation no one likes to talk about is death and/or dying.  Many people in their early years try to get educated, begin a career, start a family thinking that the sky is the limit in life.   Many like to believe that if they only earn enough money, get the best car, eat all the right foods their life will be prolonged.   The reality of life is, that nothing in life is really a guarantee, except for one thing.  Some day, each of us will die. 

The Gospel narrative of the death and raising of Lazarus, brings us with Jesus, to look at death in the face.  Depending on where the reader understands the reading, it seems that when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick and dying, He was not very concerned.  Why would this man who has healed many people from every disease imaginable, drove the money changers out of the temple and raised Jarius' child from death; not rush to the side of Lazarus before he died?  Don't Mary and Martha have a point when they tell Jesus upon arrival after Lazarus died; that if Jesus had been there their brother would not have died?

Jesus, being true to His purpose of being on earth, has other intentions.  In so doing, Jesus shows us all that just when we think we know how things ought to be, God has other plans.   When our lives are turned upside down, that's when God is closest to us.  Even when we do not see or feel anything happening.

At the point that Jesus prays for those around Him, and raises Lazarus, He has told us all how much God loves each of us.  God loves us so very much, that in Jesus Christ: God's perfect revelation of Self, our death is not the last word.  Rev. David Sellery in Speaking to the Soul wrote:

Before Jesus came among us, Death was the grim reaper, the all-powerful terminator come to extinguish us all. Jesus changes all of that. Death is not the dreaded conclusion to a meaningless existence. Our fate is not extinction. Death is a beginning, not an end. It is our passage to a life that will never end. Death came into the world through sin. It was conquered by the Sinless.

In two weeks from today, we will celebrate Easter Day.   Here at the raising of Lazarus, Jesus puts a face and a name on those who have died.  This means that whatever we might be facing in our health, our relationships or in life in general, as long as we put our faith in Jesus Christ and trust in God's mercy, everything and anything is only a passing guest.  It may hurt us to the core, but it does not have the final say over us.  Each day, moment and event that happens to us in daily life is a moment to encounter the saving grace of God.   God's work of salvation in our lives is always at work in and through us. 

Grace and salvation are not just something that are a matter of Baptism or the sinner's prayer.  They are not only about praying, reading or worshiping God.   Grace and salvation are also about seeking the common good of each other, whether it is convenient or not.   The grace of God reaches out through us to the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized.   If Jesus did not even marginalize the dead such as Lazarus, then we have no business marginalizing anyone for any reason.  Jesus shows us that not even the tomb is strong enough to keep God from saving the lost of this world.   So, not even the Supreme Court's horrible decision regarding campaign financing this week, the Archbishop of Canterbury's outrageous statement about LGBT people and Africa or any other reason should keep us from believing what God can do through us out of gratitude for our redemption.

As we walk through this Fifth Week in Lent, let us all take some time to reflect on what the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ means in our lives.   How do we live in our relationships with each other, and those who are different from us in ways that reflect our belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?

Whatever darkness or tomb we may be in today.  Whatever it is that pinches our hearts and shakes our minds.  Whatever is going on between us and those we love, making us feel like all hope is lost, Jesus has one question for us. "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly
wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to
love what you command and desire what you promise; that,
among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts
may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.219).

Eternal Lord God, you hold all souls in life: Give to your
whole Church in paradise and on earth your light and your
peace; and grant that we, following the good examples of
those who have served you here and are now at rest, may at
the last enter with them into your unending joy; 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, p.253). 

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

 

Holy Saturday: We Await the Rest of the Story

Scriptural Basis

Matthew 27:57-66 (NRSV)

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, `After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, `He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

Blog Reflection

The last event to take place during the funeral of someone is the burial.  During the prayers for the dead at the place where she/he will be laid to rest is the one place where relatives and those who loved the individual just cannot hold back their tears. Why?  Because at the burial point everything seems so final.

There are many images of the dead being buried from many of the great movies.

The scene of the undertakers dumping the body of Mozart in the movie Amadeus into a grave of bodies for those who could not afford their own cemetery plot is chilling.

In the movie Fried Green Tomatoes there are two burial moments that are so moving.  One was for Buddy and the other for Ruth.  There was even a burial moment for Buddy Jr's arm.

Death with it sense of finality in this world leaves us with a sense of powerlessness.

How many people have died from HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease and many other illnesses?  The deaths of those we love or knew well strike at our core.   They remind us of our mortality.  Life is really very brief.

The reading from Lamentations so well speaks of the emotions that so many of us feel

Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24 (NRSV)

I am one who has seen affliction

under the rod of God's wrath;

he has driven and brought me

into darkness without any light;

against me alone he turns his hand,

again and again, all day long.

He has made my flesh and my skin waste away,

and broken my bones;

he has besieged and enveloped me

with bitterness and tribulation;

he has made me sit in darkness

like the dead of long ago.

He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;

he has put heavy chains on me;

though I call and cry for help,

he shuts out my prayer;

he has blocked my ways with hewn stones,

he has made my paths crooked.

The thought of my affliction and my homelessness

is wormwood and gall!

My soul continually thinks of it

and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,

"therefore I will hope in him."

The death of Jesus though, has a whole different meaning for those of us who wait for Easter.  The story does not end here at the sealed tomb.

One of my favorite readings to date about Holy Saturday, comes from the Roman Office.  An ancient Homily on Holy Saturday.

Something strange is happening--there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness.  The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.  The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and has raised up all who have slept since the world began.  God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

God has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep.  Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, God has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, Jesus who is both God and son of Eve.  The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory.  At the sight of Jesus Adam, the first man God had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: "My Lord be with you all."  Christ answered him: "And with your spirit."  Jesus took Adam by the hand and raised him up, saying: "Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." (Liturgy of the Hours, Volume II Lent and Easter Seasons, pages 496, 497)

We do not know who is the author of this great homily.  But it is beautiful in it's descriptive language.

As I reflect on Holy Saturday, as we await Easter Day I have to stop just for a bit and ask us to reflect on the reality that just as there was hope for the first parents Adam and Eve, there is hope for all who have died.  Jesus Christ is the hope of all who live and all who die.   Among the many things Jesus did was to put a face on those who have died.  In Jesus death and the burial is not where the story ends.

Therefore, I must plead with our faithful conservative friends.  Please remember that Jesus Christ, not you, nor your literal interpretations of the Bible have the final say over the souls of LGBTQ people and many others.  It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that we await to celebrate tomorrow that ultimately brings salvation to all people, because of God's unconditional and all inclusive love.  May we all put away the rhetoric that is so destructive to those different from ourselves.  May we all put far from us any and all thoughts of violence and oppression that would make some privileged while others are to be targeted and destroyed.

In Jesus, God has forgiven all our sins and made us all worthy to share in the eternal life prepared for all God's people.  It is because of Jesus that every person has the hope to await our own resurrection on the last day.

Let us end our need to scapegoat.  Let us end the anti-Judaism that suggests that the Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus, and therefore violence and prejudice towards God's holy people in the Jewish faith is justified.  Let the culture war against Muslims stop.  May Muslims be recognized as among God's children who must be respected, loved and admired for their devotion. May the ill favored behavior towards LGBTQ people, women and people of different colors, races etc end because Jesus Christ died and rose for all.  Not to be scapegoated or changed at the core of who we all are. But, because God has loved us all and gives us every reason to love one another as Christ has loved each of us.

Prayer

O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Holy Saturday, Book of Common Prayer, page 283).

Good Friday: The Loving Arms Of God Forever Outstretched

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (NRSV)

See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.

Just as there were many who were astonished at him
--so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals--
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Psalm 22 (BCP., p. 610)


Hebrews 4: 14-15 5: 7-9 (NRSV)

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

John 19: 16b-36 (NRSV)

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

"They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots."
And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced."

Blog Reflection

The image of the Prodigal Son has been returning to me over and over again this past Lent.  First, by way of Henri J.M. Nouwen's book The Return of the Prodigal Son.   Second, I found this theme returning to me as I read two books by Esther de Waal.  The first of her books was A Life-Giving: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict.  The next book was Seeking Life: The Baptismal Invitation of the Rule of St. Benedict.  Last, but not least a book by Claudia A. Dickson entitled Entering the Household of God: Taking Baptism Seriously in a Post-Christian Society.   In each of the titles I have mentioned, the authors in one form or another refer to the outstretched arms of Jesus Christ on the Cross as the arms of God forever outstretched to receive the most wretched of sinners. Such was the meaning of the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

As I was doing my Lectio Divina today, I read the following amazing words in Thomas A Kempis' The Imitation of Christ.  "The Cross is always ready and waits everywhere, for you" (p. 93).

What is it like to look back on life and discover instances when we may have found the Cross waiting for us, and the arms of our loving Savior with His arms outstretched?

When I was a Church Music major at Eastern Nazarene College between 1988 to 1994, I saw the health of my Church Music Professor decline very rapidly.  It declined due to Lu Gehrig's Disease.  In February of 1994, he lost his battle with the disease and died.  When I began attending college in the Fall of 1988, he was a healthy man.  He had a Master's Degree in trombone, and a magnificent tenor voice.  When he conducted the Messiah every December, performed by the Choral Union, he was masterful, full of gesture and life.  By the time he died, he was lucky if he could raise his arms off his electric wheelchair to scratch his nose.

One summer while I was there, I needed help to pass my sight singing proficiency exam that was to be taken at the beginning of the next school year.  I had failed it four times.  The exam to be given me was my last chance, or I would not get my degree.  One day, I woke up really late for my on campus summer job.  I did not have time to take a shower.  I was miserable all day.  After work, I went to work with him on my sight singing practice.  I was just about in tears. Prof. Howard heard my story compassionately.   After I finished, he just about laughed himself to death.  He told me that if he had told his wife over the phone that he was about devastated because he woke up late, did not take a shower and all that, his wife would laugh for about 15 minutes.  He said that his wife would eventually say: "So what!!" My professor continued: "You were able to wake up and live another day.  You got to go to work without getting fired.  You were able to do what you could. You did what you were suppose to do."  Before I forget, I did pass the exam in the Fall.

I was thinking about this today as I was meditating on what Good Friday is all about. Here was a man, who was literally losing all the ability to move the muscles in his body voluntarily, yet he was telling me to cheer up and get on with life. He told me with no bitterness or sorrow for himself.  His main concern was encouraging me. 

On Good Friday, Jesus Christ is God's remedy for our sins.  God knowing that we could not accomplish our salvation unless God intervened on our behalf, did more than that.  God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, became the punishment our sins deserved.  He suffered a most agonizing death to restore us to friendship with God.  All that Jesus suffered on this most holy of days, was God acting in our place, so that God can look upon us all through the blood of God's Son and see us forgiven and liberated to live our lives in friendship with God and one another.  We are the one's who sinned by being so immature.  But, God through life and death of Christ showed us the Way (See John 14:6) back to God's Self.

It is not enough to come to this day after five weeks of fasting, prayer and alms giving to go back to the way we were.  As people baptized into Christ Jesus, we have shared in His death and resurrection.  By the power of the Holy Spirit that came on Pentecost because of Christ's resurrection, we are enabled by God's grace to grow in holiness through our relationships with others.  Including, but not limited to the marginalized, poor, oppressed, and the physically/psychologically challenged.   

The Cross is not the Christianists excuse for targeting women, LGBT people, Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, African Americans, Liberals, etc.  The Cross is not a progressives excuse to not forgive and pray for Christianists who chose to hate in the Name of Christ.  The Cross is not a reason for the conviction to justify the closing down of planned parenthood offices nation wide, or targeting abortion doctors to murder.  The Cross is not our emblem to deny health care to the sick and vulnerable.  Nor is it the justification for drone missiles killing whole families in Pakistan, or targeting Americans suspected of being terrorists.  The need for a Savior who died on the Cross, is not our scapegoat for not being good stewards of the environment, our possessions, our sexuality, our families and children.  The Cross on which Jesus died, does not mean the Judaism has been superseded by Christianity and therefore is no longer a valid bulwark of faith. 

The Cross is our reference point for "the path of God's commandments" so that "our hearts may overflow with the inexpressible delight of love" (vs. 49, Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict, p.165).   The love by which the loving arms of God are forever outstretched to embrace all who long for God's mercy and salvation, is our reason and text book for embracing one another in charity and hope.  

As we pray throughout the day, let us all take time to ask God to recreate new hearts in us by the Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11).   That we may love God, others and ourselves with a holy and life-giving love.   The kind that welcomes all, offers reconciliation and recreates the face of the earth.

Amen.

Prayers

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your
family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be
betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer
death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Good Friday, Book of Common Prayer, p.221).


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).

Commemoration of All Faithful Departed: Their Story Continues

Scriptural Basis

John 5:24-27 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.

"Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. "

Blog Reflection

In the Book of Common Prayer on page 862 of the Catechism or Outline of the Faith we read the following.

Q. Why do we pray for the dead?

A.  We pray for them, because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is.

Those who die are never too far away.   The memory of who they were while they lived still lingers in our hearts and minds.  We remember what they did.  We remember with fondness the many times we spent time with them, or wished we had spent even more. We may not see their bodies anymore.  We do not see them or talk with them. We are not able to visit with them per say.   But, every time we remember them, some how they are present with us.

When I think of Fr. Tetrault and how he told me to love as God created me to love, and do what I can to help someone, Fr. Tetrault is with me. 

When I make a pasta sauce or bran muffins made with Kellogs All-Bran and raisins, my Great Aunt Clara suddenly feels closer to me. 

Sometimes when I remember a joke that I laughed at, or a song my Dad used to sing in his pick-up truck, I remember him.

When I make Thanksgiving Dinner, I remember my grandmother and all the great times we had.

We pray for those who have died because we loved them.  Our love for them does not stop at death.  God's love for them and us does not stop at death. 

In the Roman Missal, the Preface Prayer before the Holy, Holy, Holy is sung we read the words:

Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended.
When the body of our earthly dwelling lies ind death
we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.
(Sacramentary, Catholic Publishing Company, Page 527).

Christians believe that death is not an ending, but a transition.  The best is yet to come.  The love never stops.

Today, we take time to remember those who have gone before us.  We remember them and we pray for them, that God who is gracious and merciful has received them unto God's Self.  We wait in hope, not despair for the day when we will all be reunited with God and all whom we love because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Among the greatest accomplishments of Jesus Christ in his life on earth was that he put a face on those who had died.  When I read the narrative of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus in John 11: 17 to 44 the greatest miracle of all was that God put a face and a name on those who died.  God made sure that we knew that in death God does not forget us. God's love and power are not conditional by death, sexual orientation or any other means. 

May all of us be comforted by the hope that God gives us.  May we remember those who have died with fondness so that they are never far from us.  May we do all we can to spread the good news that in God there is life, peace, eternal happiness and love unlike any other.


Prayers

O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers: Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son; that on the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Holy Men, Holy Women, Celebrating the Saints, page 659).

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

Fifth Sunday of Lent: A New Live Lived with Authenticity for Justice and Inclusion

Today on this Fifth Sunday of Lent, I have a great deal on my mind.  This past week has been terrible with the budget fights in Washington, DC, along with the Supreme Court electoral mess in Wisconsin.  The Republican controlled House of Representatives are determined to wipe out so called "entitlements" known as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Not even on the forefront of the minds of those doing such things, are the millions of middle-class and low income Americans who are in need of the programs and services they want to eliminate.  All for the sake of giving away billions of dollars in tax breaks to wealthy corporations, and their CEO's.   All of the money in the United States can be found for tax subsidies for the oil and nuclear energy industries, while women's health care and programs that assist people in need, there just is not enough money for those any more.  I am going to say it, it is an ass backwards system.

How should Christians be responding to all of this in our time?  What does this weekend's Scripture readings have to say about the situation the Church and society finds ourselves in?   How might we become instruments of justice and equality where oppression and neglect are so visibly destroying the lives of so many people?

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NRSV)

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord."


So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.


Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, `Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act," says the Lord.

Blog Reflection

Notice that the dry bones mentioned in Ezekiel are not one individual.  "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel."  A community once filled with concern for the stranger, interest in doing justice for those oppressed had become selfish and most likely greedy. 

As Out in Scripture says:

The well loved “dry bones” passage of Ezekiel 37: 1-14 dramatically illustrates the theme of the texts for this week: God’s desire that we enjoy not just life, but liveliness.

To live is to see beyond our own prejudices and deeply held "traditions" and see the names and faces of real people who need to hear and understand the message of the Gospel.  All persons are of high value to God.  God see's the "liveliness" in diverse groups of people, not just those who are Caucasian, white, male, wealthy, healthy, heterosexual and so on.   God calls upon us to "enjoy not just life, but liveliness" among all of God's people.


Injustice and oppression brings about death and destruction.  They dry up all of the running water and vegetation that gives life to communities of persons.   When people are excluded, people become proud to be alone and isolated from those who are different from themselves.  Out of exclusion comes greed and an unquenchable thirst for power and prestige. 


A great example of this is the ongoing problem in Uganda, where a petition of over a million people has been brought forward to pass the bill that would mean life in prison or even the death penalty for women and men who are openly LGBT.   This is the result of evangelists here in America, who have taken the message of hate into Uganda and filled the people there with the "false witness" of what LGBT is about.  Such moves are not about just being "correct" in their information.  It is about created dead societies of people who through the forcing of false information, seek to see a society gain a sense of "power" over people who are different than themselves.  It is a way of building a "society" that "fits" their ideals.

John 11:1-45 (NRSV)

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.


Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."


When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."


When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"


Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

 Out in Scripture offers more insights.

Ezekiel and John 11:1-45 offer a different view. Indeed the sign of God’s presence and power is precisely in the body coming back to life. Homophobic culture insists that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people crucify their liveliness (live celibate lives) in order to be deemed righteous by the church. Yet, we must prophesy resurrection to all such persons. Just as Ezekiel summons Israel out of the grave of exile into its cultural life and liveliness, so LGBT people are invited by God out of denial and self-hatred, guilt and thwarted attempts at forced celibacy.  We are called into life (authenticity) and liveliness (passion).

In the gospel of John, life comes as we come out from the grave (closet?) and liveliness comes as we shed our grave clothes (unfetter the body).  It is interesting that at the end of Ezekiel 37:7-9 the disembodied bones end up with sinew, flesh, skin and ruah (spirit), but no clothes.  Similarly, Lazarus ends up in the same state with Jesus calling for the cloth to be taken off him (John 11:44). Nakedness is celebrated here as God calling forth new life.  Just as when we were born, are bodies are exposed without shame.  

In this message of life and liveliness, there is a sense of urgency. John unambiguously shows us Jesus’ error – he thought Lazarus would not die, thus he waited before going to attend to him. Yet Lazarus did die, and understandably Mary and Martha were disappointed that Lazarus’ special friend had not come when summoned. 

Do we also disappoint when we passively wait in the face of the death-dealing attitudes of condemnation, ostracism and scapegoating sometimes heaped upon LGBT people?  Who suffers when we have waited for an opportune time to speak? Or, when we wait for a better time to assert our rights to life and liveliness.  We invoke Psalm 130 to justify our waiting. Yet the waiting (qwh in the Hebrew) of the psalmist is instead an active preparatory waiting – as a runner in a relay begins running her leg of the race before the baton is passed. We must not wait for God to arrive, we must begin running before God hands us the baton.

Part of celebrating a life of equality and inclusion is living the fullness of who we are, with a sense of appreciate for God's beauty in having created us as LGBT.   

Heterosexism with it's insistence that all must be straight in order to be happy and healthy, shields not only LGBT people, but others from learning the truth about how wonderful and holy LGBT people are.  Homophobia which is the result of heterosexism, causes a fear and a reaction to that fear that is destructive for LGBT people as well as the Church an society.   

Because of how much these forces work against LGBT people, it is so difficult not to find within ourselves a sense of internalized homophobia, and live in shame of who we are.   Even though we may have come out many years ago, and are now living and working on our own.   Even if we find ourselves in happy and holy relationships.

Jesus calls LGBT people today, just as he called Lazarus to "come out" and live our lives as resurrected people. LGBT people are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live with a sense of authenticity.   We are not called out by Jesus in today's Gospel to live our lives ashamed of who we are. That is why LGBT and many others like us, need this Gospel today to remind us that God's wish for us, is to be alive and celebrating who God has made us.  

As God has called us out, so God also calls us to be instruments of equality, justice and inclusion for ourselves as LGBT people and many other's on the margins of socieyt and the Church.    

We are not called just to "lay down and die" when some Bishop or Priest says or does something that is utterly wrong.   Jesus calls us to "come out" and be the voice for those who remain oppressed because of politics, religion, spiritual and social stigmatization.   

So how can we take this Gospel and Ezekiel and affect change in our society? In what ways can we take the events of this past week and all of the evil that is around us in the Church as  well as all of society and be resurrected people, calling forth those communities that have become the dead"valley of dry bones?"

It is up to each of us to decide what we will do and how we will live the meaning of today's Scriptures. I think all of us knows where we are living as if we are dead. I also think that we also know that we do not have to remain dead in those places. Jesus calls us to "come out" and live as resurrected people.

Prayers

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for Fifth Sunday of Lent, Book of Common Prayer, page 219).

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
        We have tried to live as we were taught,
        denying our bodies, denying our liveliness.
        Yet we have known this is not your way.
    We have trembled before the gift of liveliness.
        We have tasted it and turned away
        to inauthentic repentance and superficial guilt.
        Yet you pursue us relentlessly with your embrace,
        with your acceptance, with your love.
    Forgive us for rejecting your acceptance.
        Forgive us for rejecting our body-selves.
        We now accept your gift, just as we are.
        In the name of Jesus, fully-embodied Christ, Amen. (Prayerfully Out in Scripture)