Ash Wednesday: Do Something More for God in Lent

Today's Scripture Readings

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 (NRSV)

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near--
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come.
Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the LORD, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD, your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Sanctify the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her canopy.
Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD,
and do not make your heritage a mockery,
a byword among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
`Where is their God?'"

Psalm 103 (BCP., p.733)


2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 (NRSV)

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,

"At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you."

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see-- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Blog Reflection

New England and the Northeast part of the United States has record snow fall.  The tensions concerning the horrific violence of ISIS are escalating.  We continue to witness more grand standing on the part of the Judges in Alabama about the freedom to marry.   Our Congress is at a stand still over whether or not to fund Homeland Security that protects Americans at home and abroad.  The regular assaults on those who are disabled and retired haunts our consciences when comments are made that those receiving Social Security benefits "are gaming the system." A judge in Texas has made a ruling on Pres. Obama's Executive Action to improve our broken immigration system.  Turmoil, prejudice and oppression are all around us.

Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent are God's gift to us today.  As the events of the world present us with the inescapable reality of human suffering, the Church invites us to journey with Jesus for the next forty days beginning with a stark reminder of our mortality.   The imposition of ashes on our foreheads accompanied by the words, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" bring us face to face with how quickly life as we know it is passing away.  St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tells us that now is the time of salvation.  There is a sense of urgency in those words; an almost military style wake up call.  There is a lot to do.  We have so much to celebrate.  As St. Benedict wrote in The Rule, "the Lord waits for us daily to translate into action, as we should, his holy teaching." (Prologue vs. 35).

Regarding the observance of Lent, St. Benedict wrote,

"The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent.  Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times.  This we can do in a fitting manner by refusing to indulge evil habits and by devoting ourselves to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial.  During these days, therefore, we will add to the usual measure of our service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food or drink, so that each of us will have something above the assigned measure to offer God of his own will with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:6).  IN food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting, and look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing" (RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English, Chapter 49:1-7, p.71). 

My Superior, Abbot Robert Cotton, OSB remarked in our CSL Newsletter for Lent, that while others focus on what to give up in the next forty days; St. Benedict wrote about "adding to the usual measure."  Abbot Robert suggested that,

"Lent is not a time of “giving up” so much as it is a time of contemplation, preparation and a time to move forward in our quest for a more perfect union with God. It is a time to make sure our priorities are right and aligned with  our goal. As monastics, we are called to do this not just once a year, but daily. In keeping Christ at the center, a life of Lent becomes the natural expression of our desire to become Christ like. This is not privation; this is Life itself."

Whether one is a monastic, a Priest, Lay Member, Bishop, or Deacon, whatever our path of life might be; we are all hungering and longing for more than the food on our tables or that something we are setting aside.  Lent is our time to do something more in our relationship with God.  We are to do more than pay the usual lip service of going through the rituals and motions.  Jesus tells us in the Gospel today, to do more not for the sake of being seen by people so as to gain human respect or for notoriety's sake; but, so that we grow closer to God in a bonded relationship of love, faith and trust.

It is important that whatever we may be setting aside over the next forty days, that we replace it with doing something for God and others.  There is always a tremendous need to be fulfilled by the work of Episcopal Relief and Development.   IntegrityUSA needs the support and prayers of everyone as they continue their work for a greater inclusion of LGBT people in the Church and Society.  David R. Henson wrote a terrific post in Pathoes about spending Lent in which Black Lives Matter to address the racism that is around us.  It is also important to do things such as turning off the TV and/or the computer to communicate (not just talk with, but actually communicate) with our spouses and families.  Spend some time thinking about our prayer life, our attitudes towards others and addressing those things in our lives that make union with God a bigger obstacle than it needs to be.

Whatever we do this Lent, may we all take time to meditate on the reality that God is so madly in love with all of us, that God gives us the next forty days to draw closer to us.  As we rediscover the wonder of God's love that includes the suffering and death of Christ; may we also grow in a deeper bond with God's presence with reverence and respect for our neighbor.  May our hearts and minds bow in worship as God makes God's being visible to us those relationships in which God wants us to respond in love, self-sacrifice and the hope of resurrection.

May God bless us all in our journey of Lent this year.

Amen.


Prayers

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

Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony
and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to
take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Prayer Of The Cross, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 252).

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Prayer for Social Justice, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 260).

Ash Wednesday: The Spiritual Journey of Lent Begins

Today's Scripture Readings

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 (NRSV)

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near--
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come.
Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the LORD, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD, your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Sanctify the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her canopy.
Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD,
and do not make your heritage a mockery,
a byword among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
`Where is their God?'"

Psalm 103 (BCP., p.733)


2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 (NRSV)

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,

"At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you."

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see-- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Blog Reflection

Today, we begin preparing for the "interior resurrection" as Thomas Keating puts it, that will be ours at Easter.  The impact of Easter on our spiritual lives, will have a greater meaning if we begin the Season of Lent by paying a bit more attention to what Keating calls our "emotional programs" (See The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience, p.36).

All of us, beginning with our birth and into adulthood, become aware of those emotional programs that we use to identify ourselves in our false sense of ourselves.  Those systems are survival/security, affection/esteem, and power/control.  They can be characterized as food/sleep/work/the basics, being the center of attention/popular/notable/famous, and rich/in control/determining our own destiny/self-salvation.   This Season of Lent is when the Church goes on a retreat for forty days to pray, listen, fast, give alms, deny ourselves, and prepare to welcome the Risen Christ at Easter with our whole selves renewed in the unconditional love and mercy of God.

Lent is a time for looking at our own Spiritual activity.  The words of Jesus in this Gospel we hear year after year, invites us to examine our motives in our Spiritual practices.   Are they driven by a sincere desire to grow closer to God, by letting go of our false sense of self which is pride?  Or, do we do them hoping to fulfill our emotional systems of survival/security, affection/esteem, or power/control to feed our false sense of self with things that cannot give us any lasting satisfaction?

Another way to ask these questions is, are we doing them for the sake of themselves?  Or are we doing them to draw us closer to God?

Our Lenten journey that we begin today, is our opportunity to walk with Jesus into the desert for forty days, so that we may grow closer to Him in our relationship to God, our neighbor and ourselves in genuine self-sacrificing love.  The love that is not shady, because it is self-seeking.  But, a love that is seeking union with God as the only thing really worth while.

Paul begins our Lent every year with this reading from 2 Corinthians.  Paul writes about the kairos which in Greek means "the appointed time."  Paul writes that the appointed time for our salvation in Christ is now.  When Paul writes in Galatians 4:4: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son born of a woman,,,," he uses the same word kairos for time.  The time to seek union with God by letting go of what is false, self-seeking, and not life-giving is now.  Lent is that special time of grace in our Liturgical year to know of the merciful love and forgiveness of God that we sing about in Psalm 103.

This period of Lent is good for our personal souls, but it is also extra good for the repentance of our social sins.   The sins that fuel prejudice towards LGBT people, women, people of different races, religions, cultures, abilities, health status, employment status, language and more.   The sins of omission by which we neglect the poor, the stranger, the hungry, the naked, the lonely and the disenfranchised.  Lent is an opportunity for the Church and society to examine ourselves from the inside out, to see if we can follow Christ more closely by becoming one diverse people of a greater hospitality, with healing and reconciliation for all of God's people.  Not just some, but for all people.   What an amazing Easter Day we would celebrate if that is where the Church and society landed at the empty tomb.

Let us all put our feet firmly on the labyrinth of Lent, and walk humbly and prayerfully with our God.   May we all grow just a little closer to God, with love for one another so that what we sing and do on Easter Day will equal the joy of our renewed sense of self.  May we discover during this Lent, that God alone is all we really need.  And that, serving others in God's Name is truly good news by which the Holy Spirit will renew the face of the earth.

Amen.


Prayers

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

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

Ash Wednesday: Lent 2013: Personal and Communal Time with Christ in the Desert

Today's Scripture Readings

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 (NRSV)

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near--
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come.
Yet even now, says the LORD,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the LORD, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD, your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Sanctify the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her canopy.
Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep.
Let them say, "Spare your people, O LORD,
and do not make your heritage a mockery,
a byword among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
`Where is their God?'"

Psalm 103 (BCP., p.733)




2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 (NRSV)

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,

"At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you."

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see-- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21(NRSV)

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Blog Reflection

When Lent begins every year I often feel like expressing the sentiments that Rizzo does at the beginning of the movie Grease.  "Well, here we are again."   If most of us are honest with ourselves and God, we won't be able to say with Marty: "But, this year we are Seniors."    That is exactly why the Church brings us through this time with Jesus, we call Lent.   None of us have learned it all.   In fact, the reason we are here is because of God's mercy and love to help us to learn and grow in our journey as Christian people.

Lent is that period in the Church year that gives us the time to take a look at where our journey with Christ has been going.   In what ways are we growing closer to God?  Are there ways in which we can make more space for God?   Is there some place of growth that we have been putting off?  How serious are we about this life of being a Baptized Christian?

In the reading from Hebrew Scriptures, the Prophet Joel is talking to the people not as individuals, but as a whole community.   Joel knows of the ritual worship of the community he is speaking to.  However, it is not the ritual he is most concerned with.   He is deeply concerned about what is within their hearts.  Even as they participate in the ritual of covering themselves with ashes, are they really aware of how their attitudes towards others affects their relationship with God?    They may tear their garments to shreds over having offended God, but do they rend their hearts so as to experience real contrition?

In our times, do we care more about doing rituals than using them to unite our hearts and minds to God?  Do we receive the ashes on our foreheads with a sense of penance and reverence for the reality that we are on this earth a short time, and accept our Baptismal Vow to love God, neighbor and ourselves with everything we have during our lifetime?  

Paul tells us that now is the day of salvation.  When I read these words, I am reminded of the new version of Psalm 95:7 in the Common English Bible.  "If only you would listen to his voice right now!"  God is calling us to salvation here and now.  There is a sense of urgency in Paul and the words of the Psalmist.   The time to be paying attention to what God is calling us to, is now.    What ever our situation might be.  If we are facing our best or worst moments.   If we are celebrating a new relationship or grieving the loss of one.   If we are being energized in a good way by what is going on around  us, or totally losing it.  The point is God is communicating with us.   Through our emotions.  Our process of thinking of what it is we want to do.  God is calling us like a mother, to keep on trying and working.  Do not give up.  There is much more that God wants us to do.   Are we paying attention right now?

Jesus in our Gospel is instructing us to do what we do for the sake of our relationship with God.  Not for our stature within our communities.   Not for public respect or prestige.   The point is to seek God with what is in our hearts and let that relationship speak for itself.    Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not a matter of winning a popularity contest.   It is about making space for God so that God can work in and through us.  Our prayers, penances and alms giving, whatever practices we do this Lent, are to draw us closer to God and through that closeness with God in others. 

Lent is all about addressing our comfort zones.  Those spaces in our hearts where there is fear of someone we know very little about, that keep us locked up inside.  Such crowded spaces do not allow us to grow.  They do not allow us to mature in grace.  The Psalmist said in Psalm 118:5 Common English Bible wrote: "In tight circumstances, I cried to the LORD.  The LORD answered me with wide-open spaces.  The LORD is for me--I won't be afraid.  What can anyone do to me?"   Do we trust God enough to let God answer our prayers with "wide-open spaces?"   That is what Lent is about.

Those "wide-open spaces" include accepting others who are different than ourselves.   Such as passing marriage equality for LGBT people.  Ending racism, sexism and the constant attacks on low income individuals, those who are sick, retired and disabled.  Learning to accept people of different religions, cultures and philosophical persuasions, and be open to learning from them.  

As we journey with Jesus through the desert we call Lent, we have time to spend looking at those spaces in our lives.   How can we open more of them for God?   How can we trust in God to answer our prayers to open them?    I think some of the answers may be in the Collect for Ash Wednesday, as well as many of the other activities we do and do not do during Lent.

Amen.


Prayers

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


Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Poor and Neglected, Book of Common Prayer, p.826).

Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent: The Potter vs the Pottery

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 18: 1-11 (NRSV)

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.  Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. 

Matthew 20: 17-28 (NRSV)

While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.’

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ But Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’

When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ 

Blog Reflection

The reading from Jeremiah reminds me of a hymn I played and sang many times.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine Own Way!
Thou art the Potter: I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will.
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
(Written by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934).

I can think of many times this hymn might have been used for an altar call.  Either at revival meetings or evangelistic crusades, to encourage people, old and young to come forward and give their hearts and lives to Christ.   A hymn like this, also gets used as a real guilt trip on individuals questioning their sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression.   A hymn such as Have Thine Own Way, Lord becomes a vehicle through which it is suggested that if one is LGBT, then one has not surrendered one's will to God.

I look at this from the completely opposite perspective.  As a gay man, if I attempt to be someone I am not, or resist the natural reality of my sexual orientation and chose to not love people as I have been created to love them, I am defying the will of God.

We have a hard time with the reading from Jeremiah.  It is difficult to imagine a loving God plotting evil against God's own people.  Such seems contrary to how we understand God's nature.   Except that this is written from the perspective of the writer of that time, place and culture.  A culture that believed that God punishes people for sins and injustices. Biblical scholars and theologians in the modern age have come to see these things very differently, in light of science and actual archeology. 

Our focus needs to be on God seeking to mold us and shape us into a people who care for those who are oppressed, who facing injustice and intolerance.  God does not desire to see people destroying each other through denigration and violence.  God challenges us to look at God's mercy and holiness as God reaches out to the poor, the lonely, the depressed and the marginalized. 

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus is presented with James and John and the question of who sits on his right or left.  It is a question of who can be placed closest to Jesus as a means of a privilege that no one else might have.  Here, we see scene much like the typical mother coming with her sons, to ask the music director to give her sons the first place solo parts, or to be captains of a school football team.

Jesus points out that greatness is not a matter of where one sits, or even who one is.  Greatness in the reign of God is about who is willing to become a servant of the servants.  Are we willing to bend down and wash the feet of those who walk day and night without proper shoes to wear?  Would we be willing to receive and feed a person who comes to us, who has not bathed in weeks and provide for them a place at our table, offer them our couch to sleep on and our shower to clean themselves up?   Are we willing to become a voice for individuals who often have no voice, or have their voice taken from them through no fault of their own?

Lent is the opportunity to take a look at what kinds of spaces we are making for God.  As we spend time in prayer, fasting and acts of self-denial we are challenged during this Lent to find ways of making God our center.  It is easy to spend time in quiet prayer and be so in love with God, and then see someone and treat them as a second class citizen for any number of reasons.  Jesus in today's Gospel, calls upon us to be willing to serve all people, even to the point of being willing to sacrifice ourselves.  Not all of us will be called up on to die physically, per say.  But, when we open our lives to others, to serve their needs ahead of our own, we are being shaped by the Gospel as we seek to serve God in another person.

As we approach Holy Week when we will remember how Jesus literally served all of us by giving of his very self as a sacrifice for our sins, we will see in Jesus the example of humility as a servant of all persons.  With no exceptions.   God's unconditional and all-inclusive love becomes the way for all who wish to follow Jesus to the Cross and be there to greet him at the empty tomb.


Prayers

O God, you so loved the world that you gave your only-begotten Son to reconcile earth with heaven: Grant that we, loving you above all things, may love our frineds in you, and our enemies for your sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.  (Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent.  Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 45).

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

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Poor and the Neglected, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).

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.  (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).

Ash Wednesday: Lent is Time for God

Today's Scripture Readings

Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17 (NRSV)

Isaiah 58: 1-12 (NRSV)

Psalm 103 (Book of Common Prayer, p. 733)



2 Corinthians 5: 20b-6: 10 (NRSV)

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,

"At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you."

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see-- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Blog Reflection 

In her reflection on Chapter 49: On the Observance of Lent from the Rule of St. Benedict, Sr. Joan Chittister, O.S.B., writes the following in her book The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century.

"Once upon a time," an ancient story tells, "the master had a visitor who came to inquire about Zen.  But instead of listening, the visitor kept talking about his own concerns and giving his own thoughts.

"After a while, the master served tea.  He poured tea into his visitor's cup until it was full and then kept on pouring.

"Finally the visitor could not help it any longer. "Don't you see that my cup is full?' he said.  'It's not possible to get anymore in.'

"'Just so,' the master said, stopping at last. "And like this cup, you are filled with your own ideas.  How can you expect me to give you Zen unless you first empty your cup?" (p. 219). 

Like the visitor to the Zen master, most of us Christians come to God quite full of ourselves.  Myself, especially.  We may sing hymns like "Have Thine Own Way , Lord," by when the time comes for God's way, the only way that appeals most to us, is our own.  We like our place in the sun.   We may as modern day Christians accept Galileo's explanation that the earth is not the center of the universe.  However, we are all too happy to take the earth out of the center of the universe and replace it with ourselves.  It is our way or the highway.  It is as if we we were just about half way there on that highway that John the Baptist prepared for us to make way for the Lord during Advent, and turned right around and ran back to ourselves.

Lent is a time to be reminded that we are just a speck of dust in the world.  As we hear throughout the day in our Ash Wednesday services: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Book of Common Prayer, p. 265).  During Lent we remember that it is not by our own merits that we alone will save ourselves.  It is by God's grace and mercy that forgives us of our sins through the death and resurrection of Christ that we have the hope for eternal life.

However, Lent is not about being most concerned about the end of our lives.  Lent is about taking care of what is here and now.   Paul writes in his 2nd Letter to the Corinthians that the time of salvation is now.  Now, is the hour to be seeking God, and allowing God to change us.  The time for prayer, fasting and alms giving is now.  The time to take ourselves out of the center and put the will of God and and the interests of others before ourselves is now.

For some of us, this will mean letting to of higher expectations upon ourselves.  We do not have to have all of the answers. We are not required to be perfect in all things.  We are called to perfect love of God, neighbor and self. 

Lent is a time for a greater self knowledge.  A time when everything about ourselves that is both good and bad is to be placed into the hands of God, with the permission to allow God to change us through a daily dying to self.  Lent is a joyful time of finding the victory of the resurrection, as we embrace the Way of the Cross.  The contradiction of bringing life out of death, becomes a daily encounter as we make more time for God through following the example of Christ's self-sacrificial love.

For others, Lent is a time of trying once again to quite smoking, drinking, indulging ourselves in practices that are not healthy for ourselves and others around us.  A period of looking for strength from God as we struggle to find opportunities for growth.  A period of looking for new ways to serve God, by giving up old ways that just have not worked.

Lent will present us with moments of facing our own mortality.  We will find ourselves helpless and not sure what to do.  We will find ourselves giving in to those temptations to return to things as they were.  What Lent reminds us, is that in those moments, God is actually closer to us even when we just don't feel like God cares or is interested.  If we will look to God in those times when we don't exactly feel God's presence, but just know that God is there in our minds and hearts, we can and will find the strength to meet our challenges.  If by chance, we mess it all up and fall, we can go to God who is gracious, merciful and forgiving to help us pick up and move on.

Lent is also a time to refocus those energies that we use to concentrate on our problems and needs, by turning our attention to others who need.  As women's reproductive health care and the rights of LGBTQ people, immigrants, voters, the health care and future of the middle class and lower income individuals continues to be exploited and attacked, we can use our time during Lent to discern what our response will be.  We can take an active role in helping those who are experiencing oppression, injustice and prejudice directly through local community support and/or through advocacy on their behalf.   The opportunities for living out our Baptismal Vows during Lent, are exactly the reason why we celebrate this Season of Penitence.  We can pray for the grace during this Lent to do more than just pray and leave it all up to someone else.  We can ask God to "teach us to seek God, for we cannot seek you (God) unless you teach us, or find you until you show yourself to us.  Let us seek you in our desire, let us desire you in our seeking.  Let us find you by loving you, let us love you when we find you" (Prayer of St. Anselm of Canterbury, St. Benedict's Prayer Book for Beginners, p. 118).

During Lent we should ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to help us to open up our limited understanding of God, others and ourselves.  To see God's creative and redemptive activity in those who are different from ourselves.  Whether those differences be race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, health status, language, employment status, personal challenges and so on.  Lent is a time for asking God to remove the blindness that keeps us from seeing God's goodness in diversity so that we may include them, by working for justice and equality.

As we begin this Lent with the ashes, may we proceed from here through the next 40 days that will lead us to Holy Week, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and ultimately Easter Day.  As we prepare to celebrate God's acts of redemption and salvation, may we be about God's saving work in our own lives, in those around us, and for the good those beyond us.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
  and all that is within me, bless God's Holy Name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
  and forget not all God's benefits. (Psalm 103: 1,2, BCP, p. 733).

Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have
made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and
make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily
lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p. 732).

Psalm 51, BCP. 266, 267

1     Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
                                      loving-kindness; *
           in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
 
  2     Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
           and cleanse me from my sin.

  3     For I know my transgressions, *
           and my sin is ever before me.
  4     Against you only have I sinned *
           and done what is evil in your sight.

  5     And so you are justified when you speak *
           and upright in your judgment.

  6     Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
           a sinner from my mother's womb.

  7     For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
           and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

  8     Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
           wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. 

  9     Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
           that the body you have broken may rejoice.

10     Hide your face from my sins *
           and blot out all my iniquities.

11     Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
           and renew a right spirit within me.

12     Cast me not away from your presence *
           and take not your holy Spirit from me.

13     Give me the joy of your saving help again *
           and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

14     I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
           and sinners shall return to you. 

15     Deliver me from death, O God, *
           and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
           O God of my salvation.

16     Open my lips, O Lord, *
           and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. 

17     Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice; *
           but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.

18     The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
           a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.