Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost: Proper 19: Our Identity, Our Response and The Cross

Today's Scripture Readings

Wisdom 7:26-8:1 (NRSV)

For wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,

a spotless mirror of the working of God,

and an image of his goodness.

Although she is but one, she can do all things,

and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;

in every generation she passes into holy souls

and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

She is more beautiful than the sun,

and excels every constellation of the stars.

Compared with the light she is found to be superior,

for it is succeeded by the night,

but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,

and she orders all things well.

Psalm 19 (BCP., p.606)


James 3:1-12 (NRSV)

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Mark 8:27-38 (NRSV)

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Blog Reflection

It must have been a very interesting show with Jesus, the Disciples and in particular Peter.  Jesus: "Who do you say that I am?"  Peter, " I say you are the Messiah."   Jesus, "I am going to Jerusalem and there I will be put to death and rise again."  Peter, "No do not do that.'  Jesus, "Get behind me, Satan."   Jesus, "If you want to be my Disciples, deny yourselves, take up your Cross and follow after me."

The scene may suggest that in the heat of the moment Peter's faith shined like the sun, then his own head might have gotten a bit big.  Jesus humbled Peter, by telling the devil in him to get behind Jesus and do not tempt Jesus.  Then, tells every one what they must do to follow Him." 

What would our response have been?

Would our response be anything like Peter's?

Can we really understand and take up our Cross and follow Jesus?

In claiming Jesus to be the Messiah, Peter took risked a lot.  It would mean that Peter and the other Disciples now see Jesus as something that those to whom they were meeting and healing and so forth, would have to be very careful with.  To say who Jesus is according to Peter, was to essentially change everything around them and become like the social outcasts that Jesus was delivering right in front of them.   As Peter learns, this proclamation on his part cost him big.  It was a change of identity, that required a particular response that would ultimately lead him and those who agreed with what he said to the Cross that Christ was to carry.

Jesus asks each of us today to identify who He is for each of us.  Jesus asks us to identify ourselves in relationship to who we know Jesus to be for us.  Jesus tells us to put aside who and how we think of what Jesus should and should not do.  Jesus then tells us to pick up what is ours to carry, and to lose ourselves in service to God for the glory of God's Reign.  Those are pretty tall orders.

Among the many points in this weekends readings, we find an opportunity for us to make decisions and to make them count for something very important.  It is no longer just about ourselves.  It is now about something much bigger with the potential to gain something wonderful by giving up what we think is important to us.  It is about serving the community of faith, in faith and seeking union with God through our relationships with one another.  It is there that we will know our essence and find ours infused with the Holy Essence of God that leads us into a life of fulfillment and purpose.  This fulfillment and purpose cannot be found in this world based on things such as wealth, fame, power, control and a determination to benefit at the expense of others who are already underprivileged beyond their capacity.

As issues of race, trying to curb the gun violence that threatens every one of us in one way or another, sexism, heterosexism, immigration, refugees and more; the question for Christians is to know the identity of Jesus, our own identity in Jesus, and to allow the loving mercy of God to shape us so that our faith becomes that living reality that so many long to see, touch and hear.

Who do you say that Jesus is?

Who are you in relationship to Jesus?

What will your cross be like as you pick it up and follow Jesus?

The good news for this Sunday is, you do not have to do it correctly the first time, and you are never alone no matter how you answer those questions.  Each of us has God's love and grace, and we have the investment of the community of faith to nurture, help and sustain us. This is a Christian Faith that lives beyond the death of the grave, and is among us because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  All we have to do is answer the questions and live by that new life that Jesus gives to all of us and by faith, put one foot in front of the other, and God will do the rest.

Amen.


Prayers

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

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted
high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to
himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery
of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and
follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.  (Collect for The Holy Cross Day.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 244).

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

Holy Cross Day: The Cross: An Opportunity for Growth

Today's Scripture Readings

Numbers 21: 4-9 (NRSV)

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. The people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food.’ Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.

Psalm 98 (BCP., p. 727)


Galatians 6: 14-18 (NRSV)

May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule-- peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

John 12: 31-36a (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light."

Blog Reflection

My former Spiritual Director, Abbot Anselm of Pluscarden Abbey in Scotland once told me:

"The best way to beat the devil at his game, is to take something meant for evil and grow in grace because of it."

In today's Brother, Give Us A Word, Brother Kevin Hackett of the Society of St. John the Evangelist wrote:

"By focusing on the cross and its place in our lives (rather than its place in Jesus’ life), we are reminded in stark relief that an integral part of the life to which Jesus calls us includes disappointment and defeat and suffering and death. This does not immediately sound like good news, I’ll admit, but it is the truth." 

The quotes from Fr. Abbot Anselm and Br. Kevin are the reason I chose to the reading from Numbers used in today's Morning Prayer as opposed to the chosen reading from the Lectionary to be used for the Eucharist.  

The reading from Numbers seems so odd for us.   The idea of God sending snakes to bite and kill people, just doesn't sound very good.  It sounds a lot like those who suggest that Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans, Louisiana a couple weeks ago because of Southern Decadence.   However, we need to read this from the view point of the people and the times in which they lived.  Numbers was not written at the time in which these stories would have taken place. The book itself suggests that it came from about the period of 400 B.C.E.  However, it is most likely that it would have been written between 1500-1200 B.C.E. well after the Babylonian Exile.   Having said that, these events would have been shared by way of an oral tradition, long before it would have been written down. Therefore, we need to be very careful about interpreting these as if God must send bad things, because of things we do.  I do not believe that is the point of this reading.

There is something important to look at from the point of Moses holding up a golden image by which people are now healed.   Didn't God punish Israel severely for worshiping the golden calf in Exodus 32?   Here a snake of gold placed upon the staff of Moses is used to heal people.   What might we take away from this?

One answer might be that the things that happen in our lives that are so dreadfully evil, can also become very beneficial if we put God at the center of our lives instead of the circumstances of what is going on.   We become so focused on why something happened or the potential end, whether it is actual or imagined, and it becomes our idol.  It robs us of our center and we become slaves to something that has no business owning us.   This is very much what happens with addictions.   We become so obsessed with how the alcohol makes us feel, how talking meanly to our spouse or children, or someone different from ourselves, that we can no longer hear God calling us to holiness.   We must at some point refocus our hearts and minds on who we are to serve, rather than what we are giving all of our life's energy to.

As we celebrate today the Holy Cross on which Christ died, I think what Br. Kevin wrote is very true.   We can become so focused on Christ dying on the Cross for our sins (for which we should indeed be very thankful), and forget that we too have our own dying to do.  Not just physical death, which will happen to us all, but also the death of our immaturity so that we may grow more into the likeness of the Divine Savior who is Jesus the Christ.

Jesus reminds us today in the Gospel that he was lifted up so to draw others to himself.  Yet, he reminds us, as does St. Benedict in his Rule: "Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness will not overtake you" (John 12: 35, Rule of Benedict substitutes the word: "Walk" for "Run" RB 1980, Prologue, vs. 13, p. 159).  All we have is what is before us, right here, right now.  What we have is what we have.  As Sally Field's character Momma in the movie Forrest Gump said on her death bed: "You do the best you can with what God gave you."  

As lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people, we have been given our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression by God's creative grace. 

Patrick S. Cheng writes extensively about a particular sin and grace with regards to LGBT people in his book From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ, in Chapter 9, Model Five: The Self-Loving Christ.  I understand Fr. Cheng to suggest that we must seek God's continual graces so that instead of living in shame as many Christianists would have us do, we will be able to live with a sense of pride.  By pride, we do not mean the kind that says we are any better than anyone else.  However, the shame that is a sin in and/of itself that says we are worse than everyone else, is nothing but a bold face lie that comes from the immaturity of the discrimination and oppression of those who cannot see the effects of their attitudes and behaviors beyond themselves. What looks like a lifestyle of sin and shame to them, must become the source of grace and healing for us. As  they attempt to push us further and further away from what is true, we must embrace the Cross and so die to what they say we are, and become true about who we are.   Rather than give in to unhealthy relationships and behaviors such as alcoholism and sexual abuses that give their claim of our shame lots of power, however, inappropriate it is, we must seek healthy, wholesome and life-giving relationships that speak of the radical dying to self that the Cross demands of us.  This is the kind of pride that comes by way of the grace of God.   It is not earned, nor is it something that can just be assumed or taken for granted.   It comes to us as a gift of God, through the redemption of Christ and the Cross. 

On this Holy Cross Day, we are being asked to see opportunities for growth as the way we can carry our own crosses.  This upcoming Sunday, we will read about how Jesus calls us to discipleship by carrying our cross and following him.   For many of us who are among the marginalized of the Church and society, that will mean that we do not live or think according to those negative attitudes and rhetoric around us, but rather by that truth that sets us free, when we accept and embrace ourselves and others around us.   Such as accepting the commandment to love one another as we have been loved.  Even if we are hated for all the wrong reasons.  It may come by way of being totally disgusted and speaking up about the evils perpetrated upon the Muslim people in Libya and elsewhere, and politicians here in the US making remarks about them for their own political advantage.

We are challenged today to live out our own crosses by looking at the difficulties and disappointments we face, and growing in grace from and because of them.  Even if that means we lose some prestige or popularity.   Even if it means that by death, we will have new life. 

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted
high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to
himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery
of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and
follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Collect for Holy Cross Day, Book of Common Prayer, p. 243).  


Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always
those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without
you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 14, Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).


Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but
first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he
was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way
of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and
peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (A Collect for Fridays, Book of Common Prayer, p.99).

Holy Cross Day: Jesus Includes Lifting LGBT People To Himself

Scriptural Basis

John 12:31-36a (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light."

Blog Reflection

As Christians we know the Cross as the universal symbol of our religion.  Of all the subjects written about in the history of the Christian Church the mystery of what the Cross means is the subject of books, prayers and whole cultures for centuries.

One such image of the Cross that has come to mean a lot for many Americans, is this image of the Cross made out of the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
 
What does the Cross mean that Jesus gave his life on it?  What does the Cross teach us about the real world we live in?  What should our response be to what the Cross has come to mean in our own lives?   These and many questions continue to be asked among Christians.

However, the question that really needs to be asked in our time is what the Cross does not mean.

The Cross does not mean that Christianity supercedes all other religions in the world.

The Cross does not mean that all Christians must conform to one understanding only of the Christian faith.

The Cross really is not a peace symbol.  A tremendous act of violence took place there. Not only for Jesus, but for many people who were oppressed by the Roman Empire.  Crucifixion was an act of capital punishment, but does not make capital punishment an acceptable measure for dealing with crime.

The Cross is not an excuse for violence, prejudice and the dehumanization of other peoples, races, classes, religions, philosophies, cultures, sexual orientations, genders, gender identities and/or expressions.

The Cross does not condone the denial of health care to millions of sick and suffering people all across America.  Nor does the Cross condone people shouting: "Yeah, let them die" when asked if it is okay to tell a 30 year man that he will have no health care while in a coma, because he did not buy his own during a Presidential debate.

Nor does the Cross compliment an outrageous Texas Judicial ruling that the husband of a same-sex couple may not leave his children with his husband because he is "not related."

In the Gospel narrative chosen for this holy day in our Church Tradition, Jesus is talking about throwing down the evil powers of this world, by drawing all to himself.  Jesus draws all to himself in his total act of self-giving love that he exercised not only by the act of allowing himself to die on the Cross. Jesus also demonstrated a life of selfless and sacrificial love by what he did through out his life.   Jesus healed the sick.  Raised the dead.  Welcomed strangers from places outside of his own community, who had been marginalized.  Jesus made deep friendships with women and honored their faith and courage.   Jesus healed the servant and the same sex partner of the Roman Centurion (see Mt. 8:5-13) who would later stand by the Cross and acknowledge that Jesus was the Son of God.  Jesus fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah 56: 3-5 by recognizing the eunuchs (the gay men) of his time. (See Mt. 19: 10-12).

God desires to draw all people to God's Self, not as others would like them to be, but as they are.  Different ways of living and/or behaving do not prevent God from drawing such people to God's Self.  Sexual orientation does not prohibit God from drawing a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or questioning person to God's Self unless they change.  The decision of two people of the same-gender joining their hearts and lives together in marriage does not keep God from gathering them to God's heart and celebrating their love and the holiness of their life together.


All too often the Cross has been the weapon of choice along with the Bible, to become agents of division among diverse people.  Church leaders, vestries, conferences and ministers can find every use of the Cross to exclude people, but we do not see them using the Cross as the reason every person must be included.

In our Gospel today, Jesus sees his work and mission as one of drawing all to himself.  To do something that changes cultures of hostility, oppression and darkness.  Jesus wants to draw all to himself so that all may know that God loves everyone unconditionally and all-inclusively.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world to himself: Mercifully grant that we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Collect for Holy Cross Day, Book of Common Prayer, page 244).

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, page 101).


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. (Book of Common Prayer, page 833).