St. Andrew the Apostle and World AIDS Day

Today's Scripture Readings

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (NRSV)

Moses said to the people of Israel: Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?" No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

Psalm 19 (BCP., p.606)


Romans 10:8b-18 (NRSV)

"The word is near you, 

on your lips and in your heart"

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for 

"Their voice has gone out to all the earth,

and their words to the ends of the world."

Matthew 4:`8-11 (NRSV)

As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Blog Reflection

Forward Day by Day has an excellent reflection for us today.

Have you ever stepped into the unknown? It can be scary. There may be much that’s unknown when you make a new beginning. The fishermen took a giant step into the unknown when they got out of their boats to follow Jesus. Where would he take them? What would they do? What would happen? There was no way for them to know. But they knew enough to trust Jesus and to accept his invitation.

It was costly discipleship for the fishermen to follow Jesus. They let go of important things. But they were ready for the new life that Jesus offered them. They were ready for a new beginning, even if they didn’t know all it would mean or everything that would happen.

We make a new beginning this Advent. Jesus calls us to step into a new life and an unknown future. We can trust and not hold back. He will find us there.

The other Gospel Reading for St. Andrew is taken from the Daily Office at Vespers.  In John 1:35-42 we read that Andrew went and found his brother Simon and said, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated "Anointed").  He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter)." 

In Matthew's Gospel, Andrew is among the newly called who have to step forward in "a new beginning."  In John, Andrew is the one who goes and brings Peter to Jesus.  They seem to contradict each other do they not? 

This is why I think that the Feast of St. Andrew and World AIDS Day being on the same day could not be more profound.  Jesus called those first Apostles among them Andrew while they were doing their usual daily work.  They left behind what they had in hand and followed Him, even though they were full of uncertainty.  Jesus does not call us when it is convenient or even comfortable.  He speaks to the depths of our souls and makes us downright uncomfortable.  God does not want us to become complacent in our own little world while pretending that there aren't other things to take care of. 

The very first word in The Rule of St. Benedict is "Listen."  Cyprian Smith, O.S.B. in his book, The Path of Life: Benedictine Spirituality for Monks and Lay People wrote, "The whole spiritual life of the Christian....is a process of listening to God, "inclining the ears of the heart,"   Lonni Collins Pratt and Fr. Danieal Homan, OSB in their book, Benedict's Way: An Ancient Monk's Insights for A Balanced Life talk about the need to listen to God through all of life's events.   

It is amazing that even in 2014, well after thirty years since we first heard the word AIDS or HIV that so many in the Church, society and even the LGBT communities pretend that the issue no longer exists or effects us.  We have drugs that help people with HIV/AIDS live longer and healthier lives.  Yet, the negative stereotypes regarding HIV/AIDS and those who live with the threat of and/or the disease itself continue with all the toxicity of stigmatization.  Many Christians still live in ignorance stating that HIV/AIDS was and still is "God's punishment for homosexuality."   Yet, if we listen to God through life as St. Benedict tells us, we are all being called as St. Andrew was to see the face of Christ in our sisters and brothers who live with HIV/AIDS.  Ignoring them is to be tone deaf to the Gospel message of what the Season of Advent is all about.   We were told in the Gospel Reading for the First Sunday of Advent to "Keep awake."   The more we ignore and pretend HIV/AIDS is not a real issue in our time, the more it appears as if we are asleep while the real world passes us by.

May we like St. Andrew respond to the call of Christ to follow Him, and bring those closest to us to love and know Him in faith.   Let us see HIV/AIDS and those who live with the effects of it as the presence of God among us, calling us to compassion and concern through prayer and work on their behalf.   May we embrace individuals with HIV/AIDS with sincere love and open minds; letting go of the stereotypes so that the Kingdom of God already here, but not yet; may bring about healing and reconciliation for all.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew
that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and
brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by
your holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to
bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Collect for St. Andrew.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 237).

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of
darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of
this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit
us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come
again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the
dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the First Sunday of Advent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 211).

Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost: Show Thanks for Mercy

Today's Scripture Readings

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c (NRSV)

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me."

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, `Wash, and be clean'?" So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel."

Psalm 111 (BCP., p.754)


2 Timothy 2:8-15 (NRSV)

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David-- that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful--

for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Luke 17:11-19 (NRSV)

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

Blog Reflection
 
There are very few experiences that can make a person isolated from one's community like a debilitating illness can.  To find oneself sick with something that disgusts other people.   The way they look at the color of your skin when pale.  The private conversations at a restaurant dinner table across the room.  The feeling that every where you go, there is talk about you and your health condition.  The feeling of the loss of dignity.  Where is there relief?

The readings this weekend from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospel tell us the story of people with leprosy.  Not only was such a person sick, they were cut off from their community.   It was thought that if they got the disease, they did something to bring it on themselves.   Not only were they considered not "fit" to participate in society, they were also to be excluded from worship, because they were viewed as unclean.

The Scriptures this weekend show us how God looks past our health condition, our social status, skin color etc, to see the person and her/his dignity.   Regardless of whatever our state in life is, we all are in need of God's mercy.  Unlike many of the laws and thoughts of how God applies God's law, the Holy One does not see things as we see them.  In Canticle 10 in The Book of Common Prayer, we pray the words from Isaiah 55:6-11 that include the words: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways says the Lord.   For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."   God is not about punishment and destruction.   The heart of God is mercy, forgiveness and unconditional love for every human person.

Jesus showed God's love when He healed the men with leprosy. Yet, after each experienced the healing power of God through Jesus, only one returned to give thanks.  The one who returned to give thanks was the foreigner.  The one who was thought to be the outcast among the outcasts, is the one who returns to give thanks and praise to God for the healing he experienced threw Jesus.  Jesus affirms his faith and sends him away a whole person.

How do we show thanks to God for the mercy we are experiencing because of Jesus Christ?

Do we welcome all of God's people in hospitality to bring about reconciliation?

Whom are we keeping outside of our communities because of some preconceived notion?

As our Congress continues to hold the poor, disabled and others hostage to the demands of the wealthy and powerful, we need to stop and think about what it is we are doing to each other in this debate.  What affect all of this is having on those who live with oppression, sickness, injustice and prejudice, and what are we doing to alleviate their suffering, or make it worse.   The worst part of this crisis is not felt by those who have nothing to lose.  It is experienced by those who have already lost everything, and have the last of everything left to lose, including but not limited to their dignity.   How can we as Christians turn a blind eye to what is happening, and not call on our government and it's leaders to get their act together?

We have the opportunity to show thanks to God for God's mercy by working for peace, justice and equality for all people.  Through our prayers, actions and coming together as the community of faith, we can fulfill our Baptismal Vows, by doing our part to bring hope to where there is despair.

May we give thanks God, by being merciful as God is merciful to us.

Amen.


Prayers

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and
follow us, that we may continually be given to good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 23, Book of Common Prayer, p.234).

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). 

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

Monday in Holy Week: No Good Deed Goes Unscandalized

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 42: 1-9 (NRSV)

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed

until he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the LORD,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people upon it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I am the LORD, that is my name;

my glory I give to no other,

nor my praise to idols.

See, the former things have come to pass,

and new things I now declare;

before they spring forth,

I tell you of them.

Psalm 36: 5-11 (BCP, P. 632)


Hebrews 9: 11-15 (NRSV)

When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.

John 12: 1-11 (NRSV)

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Blog Reflection

In every age since the world began, God sends along someone to communicate with us on God's behalf. The covenant that God established with the people of Israel was given so that they might love the Lord their God with all their being, and love their neighbor as themselves.  Like every group of people, hearing what they were to do and doing it was no easy task.  They found themselves confronted by the choices they had made and what they meant for them as a people.  Injustice was all around them. The world as they knew it was falling apart. God did not leave them alone, but sent God's servant to them to help get the community back on the track towards holiness and justice. The hope that is given by the promise of God's servant in our reading taken from the Hebrew Scriptures today in Isaiah, is also a promise to all of us. God sends us to be God's servants in a world of injustice, oppression and to deliver those who experience isolation and prejudice.

As Christians, God's answer to us in our faith about who our High Priest is, is compared to the Priesthood described in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Because I like to avoid any hint of anti-Semitism, rather than take the path of the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, I prefer to see it from the point of comparison and contrast. A likeness and difference that allows our Jewish sisters and brothers to worship God through their tradition, free of unfair stereotyping, just as we Christians want to do in ours.  The Priest God sends to us in the Incarnate Word who is Jesus Christ, becomes the sacrifice that would take away our sins and establish a covenant through Baptism.  As Christians continue to enjoy the benefits of the love of God in Christ, we celebrate our redemption because of his willingness to make himself that Paschal Sacrifice through which we pass from death to new and unending life.

In the Gospel for Monday in Holy Week, Mary has done a wonderful and compassionate thing.  Jesus just raised Lazarus from the dead, but the plotting to kill him is getting worse with each passing hour.  He knows that his passion and death are coming very quickly.  Mary, knowing what is going on around Jesus takes on his own nature, and anoints his feet and wipes them with her hair.  She worships Jesus, while seeking to serve him, who was becoming the biggest outcast in the community.  While more and more appear to be hating Jesus because he loved a bit differently, she loves him with a pure and holy love.

Judas, Jesus' betrayer is so filled with jealousy and anger, that he couldn't just let Mary take his moment away.  He had to be the Scrooge of the day.  Just when Mary did a most wonderful deed, Judas has to scandalize it as if it is the worst thing that had just happened.

Are there examples of Christians who have to ruin the day, when someone else has done something so wonderful and compassionate? 

I think of the day that the Episcopal Church ordained our first openly gay Bishop.  An exciting and holy moment in the life of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion world wide happened.  Outside of the ceremony and Mass where Bishop Gene Robinson was consecrated and ordained, was the group from the Westboro Baptist church with their "God Hates Fags" signs.  People chanting: "God hates the Episcopal Church."   Within our own Anglican Communion, those opposed to what happened created divisions around a moment when the Holy Spirit was uniting us with those who were seen as "unfit" for the Office of Bishop.  Such has led to everything from a temporary moratorium to not ordain LGBT Bishops, to the creation of the Anglican Covenant that was just rejected by the Church of England last week.

In States across America that have passed marriage equality laws, Christianist organizations like the National Organization for Marriage, The Catholic church, the Liberty Council and Family Research Councils, have worked to fund and pass constitutional amendments to ban marriage equality for LGBT people.  Last June when the New York State passed marriage equality, while so many of us were celebrating, the Christianist organizations had to roll in with their hate signs and money to take out any legislator who voted in favor of the legislation. 

Last week, our Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori participated in an excellent interview with the Huffington Post.  During her exchange with the reporter, she said:

"The best of scriptural interpretation is about looking at the whole document and the direction in which it is moving rather than pulling out pieces that point to your point of view or prejudice," she said. "When Christians read their scripture that way, they have much more fruitful conversations with Muslims, Buddhists and Sikhs who read their scripture that way."

No sooner was this article up, that the Bible beaters immediately began pulling out Scripture verses defending their biases towards the ordination of women, LGBT people and so forth.  They just couldn't wait to prove her point.

What was happening around Jesus from the beginning of his public ministry right to the Cross, is that his enemies could not help themselves to cease scandalizing every good word he spoke and deed he had performed.  Anything that took away from the prestige and power of those in authority over others, just couldn't be allowed to be anything other than a violation of their rule book.

Jesus goes to the Cross for all of us who have had the best of intentions, only to be scandalized, ridiculed and marginalized.  Even those of us who are LGBT people who just want to get married to the person we love for no other reason, other than the fact that we love another person of the same sex.  Our wanting to be with our spouses through those good times and bad times, in sickness and in health, till death due us part, just cannot be understood for what it is.   A gay man tending to his partner who is dying of AIDS, cannot be seen as a husband caring for his sick husband.  He has to be deemed by Christianists as a threat to the safety of children and families.  Jesus' Passion this week, is about all of us who have been there, and done that.

The Cross is about all of our sufferings and pains, every injustice and scandal that comes our way.   Not only is the Cross about accepting those things, but it is also about trusting in God even when the worst of injustices happens to us.  Even if they result in our death, when we trust in God and do God's will without turning back or giving up, there is resurrection awaiting us on Easter Day.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose 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 that the way of life and
peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Monday in Holy Week, Book of Common Prayer, p. 220).

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).

Gracious Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.  (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p. 816).   

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Inclusive Communities: The Heart and Soul of the Christian Faith

Scriptural Basis

Genesis 45: 1-15 (NRSV)

Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, `Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there-- since there are five more years of famine to come-- so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28 (NRSV)

[Jesus called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us." Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."]

Jesus left Gennesaret and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Blog Reflection

A couple weeks ago I was attending a human rights commission meeting.  During the meeting a staff person from our local historical society came to talk about what they are doing to help make the stories of new Americans (Hispanic, Somalians, etc) the stories of our City.  She pointed out that whether a resident of our City has lived here all their lives or moved in from another city, town or country, everyone's story of what brought or kept them to decide to live in our City is the story of the entire community.

The historical society staff person also spoke briefly of a conversation had all too often by long-time citizens who visit.  Their group conversations begin with what a great place our City was in the 1940's and 1950's.  The conversation is almost always followed with: "Our City was such a great place, until the black people moved in, etc, etc." (Here you can put any immigrant group, race, religion, sexual orientation and/or gender expression.)   The staff person spoke of the need to try to shift such conversations away and more into the reason many of their ancestors or friends moved into the City, is really the same reasons most minorities move into a particular location.  Because most likely their story is the story of everyone.

The reading from Genesis today could be seen as a coming out story according to Out in Scripture. Joseph was able to do something that no one else in the family could do. So his brothers seeing Joseph getting some preferential treatment by their father, sold him into slavery. Their move was an attempt to take him and is wonderful gifts and put them outside of the family. 

In this story today, we see that the tables are turned. Joseph's brothers are experiencing a great famine and are in need of help. They turn to Joseph who is now a leader in his community. Joseph does not hold the grudge against his brothers, but takes the occasion to serve them, giving them whatever they need to survive.

This narrative contains images of hospitality and reconciliation.  The oppressed becomes the liberator even for those who had oppressed Joseph.

Many of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender have experienced rejection and oppression from family, friends, church communities etc when we come out. Parents reject their children. Children reject their parents. Friends who once knew each other in a church summer camp cannot cease to proselytize their camp mate who has now come out and perhaps gone to a more accepting and affirming congregation. These and many other rejections can leave a loving heart very bruised on the inside and outside. Those wounds take a very long time to heal.

Among the very difficult things for an LGBT person to do who has experienced so much rejection by religious communities, is to trust those who are part of former congregations.  The painful memories are just too vivid. Yet, among the worst things an LGBT person can do is not accept someone they once knew as an adversary, who tries to make peace and show acceptance. The LGBT individual who's trust is broken needs to be approached with sensitivity. This is one of those moments when good zeal can be mis-perceived and second guessed.  It can be harder for the LGBT person to heal and be reconciled.  But, being reconciled with those who have hurt us in the past is very necessary for the LGBT person to experience interior and social healing.

Whether we are LGBT, straight, or whatever our race, gender, class, language, occupation, health status, etc, we all need each other to build communities of friendship and support.  Those communities are made up of individuals who have experienced the brokenness of racism, sexism, heterosexism. the effects of religious extremism and the like. Yet in order for communities to heal and move on to create maturity and hope for the future each person needs to embrace and welcome each other. Recognizing our own biases and limitations and working with others to change them, is one of the best ways to create and nurture communities where diversity becomes inclusion.

Our Gospel today shows Jesus in a situation that seems way out of place. The Gospel narrative begins with Jesus reminding his followers of what his mission and ministry are about, Yet in the next paragraph, the story of the Canaanite woman Jesus is faced with his own hypocrisy. 

The preacher Siri Hauge Hustad from St. Mark's Cathedral today made the point that the Canaanite woman is already on the losing end.  She is a woman who is faced with the sexism of her time. She is a Canaanite which means she faces the racism accorded to her people. And her daughter is said to be possessed by an evil spirit. She is already down and out.

Jesus in his humanity responds with a rejection. "Jesus, what the hell are you doing?"  Jesus meets the meaning of the previous paragraph looking at him in the face. The woman in her faith and wisdom makes her case and moves Jesus' heart.  Jesus grants her what she most needs.  Jesus' reflection of our broken humanity experiences healing and moves on.

Today in our society and the Church we are being confronted with the meaning of the Gospel. We see Muslims being targeted by radical Christianist groups. LGBT people singled out for violence, cruelty and segregation.  Immigrants labeled as "illegals" to be treated inhumanly. Anthony Makk an Australian who's husband Bradford Wells has HIV/AIDS, and Anthony is Bradford's caretaker. Anthony is being told by the Obama Administration that he must leave the Country by August 25th. You can read the full story here.

The equal rights and opportunities for  individuals of different religions, immigration status, sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, languages, levels of poverty and gender are the subject of presidential campaigns, legislative debates and electoral results. 

Inclusive communities are the heart and soul of our Christian Faith. Our faith was founded by a middle eastern Jewish carpenter who spent his life seeking out and serving those marginalized and set aside. Jesus welcomed individuals of diverse backgrounds and abilities to walk with him and learn from him. Some needed more time to learn and develop an understanding of what being a Christian was about. Yet, at no time did Jesus say that one must conform to a given creed, understanding of what he was doing or not doing, or be of one sexual orientation vs. another. Jesus simply welcomed all, embraced all and yes, challenged all to grow in the knowledge and love of God, neighbor and of self.  

Sadly, the optional first reading from Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8 omits the part about the eunuchs being the ones who gain a "monumental" place in the house of God.  The eunuchs were the gay men of Biblical times.  Jesus had nothing but good things to say about the eunuchs in Mt.19:10-12.  Yet, as much as Jesus welcomes those who are not quite the status quo, the Church remains a place hostile, not hospitable to diversity to become inclusive. 

The Christian Faith can only become better the more inclusive we become. The more Christians work in community with other religions, LGBT, women and many others, the more positive affect on changing the world for brighter tomorrows Christians will have. Accomplishing this means we must face our own attitudes of racism, sexism, class discrimination, heterosexism and ask God's Holy Spirit to heal and move us past them. 

If Jesus who is God's perfect revelation of Self can be confronted by the cultural issues of his time, and be changed for the better, what is holding Christians of today back?


Prayers

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 15, Book of Common Prayer, page 232).


O God, who created all peoples in your image, we thank you for the wonderful diversity of races, cultures and sexual orientations and/or gender identities/expressions in this world.  Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Thanksgiving for the Diversity of Races and Cultures (Sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions added by blog author) Book of Common Prayer, page 840).


 Amma-Abba, Mother-Father, in heaven
        let us be like Jesus--
        open to the correction of those
        whom we exclude from our acts of compassion.
    Let us follow your way —
        to go against nature
        when we want to limit access to your

        Welcome Table

        Amen (Prayerfully Out in Scripture).

World AIDS Day 2010: Remember and Respond

Today is a day to remember and respond.  A time to recall that we live in a world wear every day people experience sickness, disease and death.  There are many diseases that make life in this world a living hell for so many people and those who love them.  Breast cancer, cancer of all kinds, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and so much more.   One disease in particular seems to have had a hysteria in it's onset that became labeled the "gay disease" in the 1980's and even many today think it is "God's punishment for homosexuality."  Such is a very sad testament to the Religious Right.  HIV/AIDS continues to be known not only among gay and bisexual men, but also women especially in South Africa, children, among drug users and individuals who have had blood transfusions.   HIV/AIDS has even changed the way institutions clean up bodily fluids of all kinds.  The stereotypes and cries for justice in health care and State, Federal and International funding combined with education is so important.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori wrote the following in her Letter on World AIDS Day.

The world lives in painful silence and gathering doom. More than 30 million people around the world are living with HIV, and at least 2.5 million persons will be infected in the coming year. Developing countries experience HIV and AIDS as major links in the chain of poverty and instability binding so much of God's creation. In the United States HIV rates are also rising among the poor. An increased need for American funding of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment has been met with silence and retreat, as other pressing challenges vie for national and global attention.

And yet silence and doom do not have the last word. The UNAIDS report released last week notes that the rate of new HIV infections has either stabilized or been reduced significantly in 56 nations. New infections have fallen 20% in the past decade, and AIDS deaths have fallen 20% in the past five years. The director of UNAIDS urges the world to break "the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic with bold actions and smart choices." The Centers for Disease Control identify HIV/AIDS as one of six diseases which can be overcome. Research results released last week show promising results in clinical trials of a new prophylactic drug, designed to prevent HIV infection in at-risk communities. This success comes in the wake of recently publicized advances in identifying HIV 'controller genes,' which may lead to advances in vaccines or treatment.

This contrast confronts us on World AIDS Day: great progress and even greater hope despite public discourse and political leadership that rarely prioritizes an end to this deadly and stigmatizing disease. What can Christians do to ensure the victory of hope and new life in the face of silence and death?

The first priority: continue to advocate forcefully for government investment in the fight against AIDS both here and abroad. The U.S. government's has, in the past two years, decreased our nation's promised investment in HIV/AIDS abroad. This reduction had included both funding for particular countries, and our investment in the multinational Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote compellingly of President Obama's unfulfilled commitments in a New York Times op-ed this past summer. As the President prepares his budget for the coming fiscal year, I urge Episcopalians to challenge him and the new Congress to keep America's promises to the world. Joining the Episcopal Public Policy Network will connect your voice to those of other Episcopalians working in this and other areas of social justice.

The second priority: Episcopalians must continue to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS within our own communities. This Church still has AIDS, and urgent challenges remain. Stigma continues to be a major issue in the United States and around the world. Encouraging routine testing is essential, particularly among adults over age 50. I commend to all Episcopalians the work of the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition, which has done much to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS and avenues of healing within our own communities.

Finally, I urge your prayers. As we prepare to mark the thirtieth year of the world's awareness of HIV and AIDS in 2011, pray for all who have died from this terrible disease. Pray for those living now with HIV and AIDS. And pray for a future without AIDS.

These past weeks have brought us new signs that such a future is indeed possible. Pray that we will use our collective resources, imagination, and will to make a world without AIDS a reality.

As the world and even the Church has moved in our concern over individuals who live with HIV/AIDS it is important that the messages of comprehensive sex education in our schools nationwide receive the support of every concerned person of good will.  The subject of sexuality remains a big taboo even in many of America's homes.  Many conservative Christians all across the board do not want public schools to deal with the subject of contraception including the safe use of condoms to help protect their children from HIV/AIDS.  Yet, many homes remain places where sexuality whether it be heterosexuality or homosexuality cannot be discussed in healthy and open ways.  The absence of such conversations leaves the children of today with confused messages that sexuality is dirty or just needs to be learned on it's own terms.  Those places in America that insist on abstinence only sex education also have the highest rate of teen pregnancy and HIV infections.   Yet, many conservative Christians still want our children to not have the information they need to make informed decisions about their bodies.  Decisions that not only affect their lives, but the lives of anyone they may come into contact with. 

The Episcopal Church today also commemorates the Deacon Nicolas Ferrar who brought a sense of religious observance to the newly established Church in Virginia.  The Gospel reading for today's commemoration follows.

Matthew 13:47-52 (NRSV)

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

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

If the kingdom of heaven is a place where there are all kinds of fish which I think means there are all sorts of people too, then this world and the Church must continue to do all it can to make room for everyone no matter where they are on their faith journey.  The one phrase that makes St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis such a wonderful place to worship is:  "Wherever You Are On Your Faith Journey, St. Mark's Welcomes You."  

Now for all those Christianists who are about to take the other part of this Gospel about the angels separating the good fish from the bad, I think some reconsideration is in order here.  The good Christians in this world are often regarded as the "not so good liberal Christians" by the arch-conservative right.  I am sure there are those who are conservative, who read my blog and think that I believe that Christianists are bad Christians.  That is not entirely true.  In conservative Bible believing Christians I know it is their deepest desire to serve Jesus with devotion and love so as to "win" people to follow him.  Indeed that is what Christians are called to do in the work of evangelization.  The problem that has arisen from that is the idea that the Bible condemns lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people to the point that unless we surrender and allow God to "change" our sexual and/or gender diversity or cease physically loving others of the same sex, we are damned to hell.  The Bible verses that have been quoted over the years to suggest such have been erroneously interpreted and used.   As a result LGBT people have been marginalized and stigmatized so badly by well-meaning Christians that many LGBT people just prefer not to be involved with any religion at all.   Individuals who live with HIV/AIDS have heard some pretty crude statements from devoted Christians and Catholics to the point where they don't know what to listen to or what to believe anymore.   

What we in the Christian Church need are people so devoted to God and Jesus that they are willing to consider that there is more to the Christian Faith than what the Bible reads.  We Episcopalians love our glorious music and worship and that is all good.  I would not be an Episcopalian today if I did not love how we worship.    But the Christian experience for all of humankind cannot stop at interpreting the Bible so literally that we condemn LGBT individuals and those living with HIV/AIDS, when that is simply not what Jesus Christ was about or taught.  As Christians we cannot continue to condemn comprehensive sex education that helps our teenagers and youth make informed decisions that help them stay alive and healthy should they make the choice to be sexually active.   We also cannot continue to ignore the issue of HIV/AIDS here in the United States or abroad as if we have no responsibility to love our neighbor as ourselves.   

What is living A Day with HIV is like in America?  Read a great article by the Bilerico Project here.  

There continues to be terrific news coming around about the Military Survey to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT).  Even though there is much stalling in the US Senate.  Meanwhile Civil Unions have passed in the Illinois Senate giving LGBT folks a lot of hope for marriage equality there.  Yet amidst all of this great news are those who are willing to allow unemployed Americans go without some kind of benefits, while giving tax breaks to those who make more than enough to survive a  year on.   Clearly we have many good things going on, but we also have folks who consider themselves very good followers of Christ placing heavier burdens on those who already have a lot to carry, while making life easier for those who line their pockets with campaign contributions.   Is it possible this was what Jesus was talking about in referring to separating the fish?   

As we remember World AIDS Day as well as LGBT individuals, Nicholas Ferrar  and those who are struggling with this terrible economy, let us also reflect on our own work as Christians.   Christianity does not check our brains at the door when we read our Bibles, or leave our "love our neighbor" theology when we walk out the doors of our churches.  The Gospel needs to come alive in our active concern for those who need a message of love, acceptance, inclusion and hope in this world.   There is way too much violence and hate sometimes at the hands of Christians who are looking at the world through one set of lenses.  It is past time that we start seeing that all individuals are members of Christ's family, and represent Christ himself to us, the world and the Church.  Amen.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday of Advent, Book of Common Prayer, page 211)

Lord God, make us worthy of your perfect love; that, with your deacon Nicholas Ferrar and his household, we may rule ourselves according to your Word, and serve you with our whole heart; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for St. Nicholas Ferrar, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 93).

O Lord Jesus, Healer of our every ill, during your ministry you cured those who suffered from both the disease and the stigma of leprosy. Now we confront the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Today, as before, support and heal all people living with the disease, comfort those who have lost friends or lovers, strengthen and encourage families, caregivers and activists in their daily tasks, guide doctors and researchers on their quest, lead politicians and governments to policies of compassion, and enlighten those whose hearts are filled with prejudice, hate, and error. Amen. (For Persons with HIV/AIDS By Stephen Helmreich ).

      

Commemoration of All Faithful Departed: All Souls. What Does Death Mean?

"In the New Testament, the word "saints" is used to describe the entire membership of the Christian community, and in the Collects for All Saints' Day the word "elect" is used in a similar sense. From very early times, however, the word "saint" came to be applied primarily to persons of heroic sanctity, whose deeds were recalled with gratitude by later generations.

Beginning in the tenth century, it became customary to set aside another day--as a sort of extension of All Saints--on which the Church remembered remembered that vast body of the faithful who, though no less members of the company of the redeemed, are unknown in the wider fellowship of the Church.  It was also a day for particular remembrance of family members and friends.

Though the observance of the day was abolished at the Reformation because of abuses connected with Masses for the dead, a renewed understanding of its meaning has led to a widespread acceptance of this commemoration among Anglicans, and to its inclusion as an optional observance in the calendar of the Episcopal Church."  (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 664).

One day as I was meditating upon the Gospel narrative of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (see John 11), I came to a new understanding about the work of Jesus.  Jesus put a name and face on those who have died.  When someone passes away, we grieve and work through the loss. But to some extent we all sort of forget about the person who died.  We may remember all of the great things (or not so great things) she or he did, but the individual is gone.  When Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb in a sense, Jesus put a name and face on those who are often forgotten as a result of death. 

We commemorate today all those who have gone before us.  We remember with love those who cared for and nurtured us.  We might remember with pain even those who died not loving us as we might have wished they did.  There are those whom we love who have died.  Others we really did not love, but who are also dead.  Whether we loved them or not, or they loved us or not their memory still lingers in our minds.  They are not so forgotten. 

Many of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer remember today those who have died as a result of HIV/AIDS.  Many partners loved their loved ones right up to their deaths.  Caring for them night and day, with every nickel and dime until they breathed their last.  Many of those people died without last rites.  Still others did. 

This year we can commemorate those young people who took their own lives because of bullying.  In their memories we strive to do all that we can to end bullying. 

Every one we remember or have forgotten is someone that God loves very much.  God loves all of us, including those who have died.  These three days of All Hallows Eve, All Saints and now All Souls are a kind of "triduum" for all of those whom God has redeemed because of God's precious love. 

We are given today an opportunity to thank God for all that the Faithful Departed that we remember have given to us as part of God's love that surrounds us on every side.  We are given a chance today to remember them with love and hope and to trust them into the loving hands of God once again.

Today is a great day to read and meditate on Wisdom 3: 1-9.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them.
In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be a disaster,
and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble.
They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them forever.
Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with him in love,
because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,
and he watches over his elect.


In the Gospel of John 5: 24-27 we read:

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. "

If there is one thing we can know and believe in our Christian Faith is that death never has the last word.  Jesus does.  Because we believe that Jesus is God's perfect revelation, we trust in God to be merciful and compassionate, understanding and all loving.  Because we believe in a loving and merciful God, we also believe that God has more compassion for all God's people, than we are capable of comprehending.  We can therefore trust our faithful departed as well as ourselves into God's care.

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. (Collect for All Souls, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 665).

Prayer, Work, Hospitality and Reconciliation: Benedictine Concepts for Every Day People

Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV)

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.' 

I have always found this Gospel account to be very Benedictine.  Martha and Mary invited Jesus into their home to share in a meal: hospitality.   Martha takes on the tasks of preparing the meal: work.  Mary has chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus to hear what he was saying: prayer.  In the course of the discussion Martha gets upset that Mary is not helping.  Jesus attempts to help both Martha and Mary see that what each of them is doing is important.  Jesus invites Martha to consider the need to be quiet and listen so to center herself on God.  Prayer.

The problem with this Gospel is we have two women being portrayed in a bit of a stereo type.  The women work to prepare while the man sits on his rump and talks all the time he is there.  Mary is portrayed as sitting their listening and in Martha's defense, she was leaving all the work to Martha.  When Jesus tells Martha: "Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her" Jesus is not telling Martha she is doing wrong.   He reminds her that worrying about things all the time and not taking time to listen to God in prayer leads to an imbalance within our spiritual and personal lives.


As activists in society and the Church on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people many of us are fatigued from battling with leaders and campaign efforts.   Working on justice all the time without taking some time to recharge our interior personal lives with the love of God's grace and love can be a form of spiritual malnutrition.  


I posted the image of St. Benedict because he was a great symbol of taking the time out of our day to pray, work, show hospitality and be about the ministry of reconciliation.  We will not be successful in our work of justice and equality if we do not center ourselves and our work on God.    One of the philosophies of St. Benedict is that when we work, we are at prayer.  When we are at prayer, we are doing the work of God.  In the Latin: work of God is translated as opus Dei.  And NO we are not talking about the reactionary group mentioned in The Davinci Code.  We are talking about doing the work of God when we are at prayer.  Prayer is God initiative, we just choose to participate in the exchange.  Prayer is a two way street of listening and talking or thinking.  It is a state of the body as well as the open position of the heart and the soul.


Likewise, when we are at work we are opening up ourselves to participate in God's work of creation and development.  God is the God of both creation and evolution.  Try telling that to Christine O' Donnell.  God not only makes, but inspires development and nurturing as we participate with God as God does God's work through our work.  For many of us our work is working towards equality and justice for LGBTQ people.  Some are Bishops, Priests, Deacons and lay people.  Some are pastoral counselors, others are psychologists and psychiatrists.   Others do missionary work of writing, helping out at a local HIV/AIDS center, may be by helping to prepare hot meals.  For many of us, maintaining our homes and relationships is as much about working as it is about hospitality and reconciliation.  


The point is: "Everything works together for good of those who love God." (Romans 8: 28).  In the foot note to the word good it says: "Other ancient authorities read: God makes all things work together for good, or in all things God works all things for good."  This means that even our sexual and gender diversity which is part of the perfect nature of each of God's children, is something God uses for good.  When we apply our gift of sexual love within the context of loving committed relationships God is doing good through and with us.  

What Jesus is telling Martha is that Mary has taken time to balance the scales of life a bit.  Sometimes we need to withdraw from rush of a busy world full of problems, bias, arrogance and corruption to find in God peace, acceptance, humility and wholeness.  We need to take time to surrender our tears, our anger, our happiness and laughter and just bask in the Son Light of God's amazing love for each of us.  God will speak to our hearts and our minds and will help us keep our lives on a course that is both fruitful and meaningful. We will see ourselves through God's eyes as God tells us that we are God's children with whom God is well-pleased. God will want us to know that what ever we have done or not done that has offended God, God has forgiven us.  We will hear about how God is so concerned with what hurts us as well as celebrate with us those things that are helping us to be happy..  We may come back knowing we have work to do, or even to find that a new problem has come our way.  The important thing to remember is that when we return to our daily activities, God has not stayed back in our prayer chamber.  God has walked with us and will go with us through anything and everything and will help us understand God's will through it all.  We might not get it the first time, but we do not have to always get it right.  In the words of Bishop Gene Robinson in the Special Extras section of For the Bible Tells Me So: "All we have to do is put one foot in front of the other, and God will do the rest."

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 24, Book of Common Prayer, page 235).   

TwEAT Out, Fight AIDS – April 29, 2010

This blog, it's photos and content is being re-published with permission and encouragement of Gay adNetwork.

TwEAT Out, Fight AIDS – April 29, 2010
Become Part of the World’s Largest Dining Experience

 

Just planning a meal with family or friends on April 29th, 2010 is a unique opportunity to do something good for your community that is satisfying, fun, and possibly “record setting.” Subaru is proud Host Sponsor of Dining Out For Life®, an annual fundraiser held in over 50 cities and nearly 3,000 restaurants across North America. Subaru is rallying support of this great cause via social media in a campaign called TwEAT Out, Fight AIDS!

Here is how to participate: In the weeks leading up to Dining Out For Life, participants will be asked to register on www.diningoutforlife.com, make a reservation at a participating restaurant on April 29, and then to TwEAT about it. TwEAT (Tw-EET) Adj. Def: To use social media utilities like Twitter® or FaceBook® while planning or eating a meal (Especially pertaining to HIV/AIDS fundraiser Dining Out For Life®.) All registrants will be counted in an effort to set a world record for the Largest Day of Dining Out!

Cyber-service is an evolving trend with the growing number of people who utilize social media as a networking hub. “We are hoping to connect Dining Out For Life in a significant way with many who are responsive to cause-related action,” stated Tim Mahoney, CMO Subaru of America. “We plan to link followers of social media and fans of Dining Out For Life to encourage participation in this event off-line, in real-time, in an effort to raise even more awareness and needed funds.” Last year over 250,000 participants helped raise nearly $4 million dollars in just one day of dining. All monies raised in each city, stay in that city. With a successful viral campaign, organizers expect to exceed these numbers.

Dining Out For Life has gained the support of three superb advocates of the cause: Ted Allen, host of Food Network’s primetime series, Chopped is national spokesperson and this year will be joined in this role by film and TV actress, Pam Grier (Foxy Brown, The L Word and Smallville). Felipe Rose, singer and Native American Indian of the World Famous Village People has volunteered to lead the TwEAT OUT social media crusade.
Helping to promote this meaningful event are: Host Sponsor, Subaru of America and Partners CBS Station Groups, Dining Out Magazine, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, Open Table.com and Yelp! Numerous regional sponsors also provide crucial support to the event in each city. Follow us on-line: www.diningoutforlife.com; twitter.com/DineOut4Life and on FaceBook.com/DineOut4Life. For a complete list of participating cities visit www.diningoutforlife.com and mark your calendar to Dine Out on Thursday, April 29th.

The Cross and HIV/AIDS

This past Wednesday, I participated in AIDS Action Day Minnesota's State Capitol. It was a day where those of us concerned about the issue of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and education programs gathered to lobby our State law makers. We stressed the importance of keeping the current Minnesota Budget for HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention in place. Our Governor is looking to cut a lot of money most of it away from the unemployed and poorest of those who live in Minnesota.

The State of Minnesota saw a 13% increase in the number of new HIV infections in 2009. This information along with all of the statistical numbers can be found at the Minnesota Department of Health's web site.

During my time there I was very moved by the stories of Deonta and Dean. They told their stories of how Deonta an 18 year old guy contracted HIV when he was 16 and Dean who is 22 contracted HIV when he was 18. Through the work of the Youth AIDS Project in Minneapolis, Minnesota Deonta and Dean a youthful couple now live in their own place and are leading fulfilling lives. You can read more about their story in the colu.mn.

Since attending AIDS Action day and hearing Deonta and Dean's story I have been thinking quite a lot about the Cross and the issue of HIV/AIDS. For many in our society HIV/AIDS is the all shameful disease. If you contracted it, it is because you were misbehaving in the first place. Though we have learned over the past 20 years that HIV/AIDS is not just a gay or bisexual man's disease, many still look at HIV/AIDS as a result of homosexual behavior, and that is why sexual activity and same sex relationships should be condemned and LGBT Rights should be avoided. Yet, in these two young men, I see two people who have been affected at such an early age taking on their cross without shame. Deonta and Dean are embracing the reality of where they are and instead of allowing HIV/AIDS to hold them down from pursuing life in all it's goodness, they are reaching out to tell others their story and witnessing to God's power when people surrender to God's will and live as they are with trust that God will see them through. Okay, neither one talked about religion. It is very possible that they are among many LGBT people who have thrown off all organized religions. Nevertheless, God still works in and through people, places and events and invites us all to a conversion of heart and life.

The Cross is that incredible something so full of shame, disgrace and guilt. At the Cross the Son of God who loved everyone he came into contact with, was crucified. As Jesus hung dying on the Cross he asked God to forgive those who had placed him there. (See Luke 23:34). Jesus forgave a repentant thief and cried out for God when Jesus thought he had been forsaken. When Jesus cried out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27: 46), Jesus was not giving up on God, but rather was still holding on to his faith that God would eventually rescue him, which God did when Jesus was raised from the dead.

The Cross invites us all to remember that without God we cannot survive those moments when we feel that we are at the end of ourselves. When we see Jesus on the Cross we see evil at it's peak, yet even there it's hold is only temporary for those who trust in God. Our crosses do not go away, just as Christ's Cross was a reality that would not stop. However, we can face our most difficult times with total faith and trust that God will not abandon us, even when we feel we are abandoned and cry out to God wanting to know where God is. God may not reveal God's Self in the way we think God should, but when God does reveal where God is or what God is doing we can usually see that God was actually acting all along. What is more important is that we understand that God is active and concerned about every aspect of what we are facing in our lives.

As I listened to Deonta and Dean's story, I saw how they were carrying a tremendous cross together. But they were determined to not give up. In fact, they proved that when we all hang in there, even when circumstances seem hopeless, God does incredible things in our lives.

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Third Sunday of Lent, BCP, Page 218).