Last Sunday After The Epiphany: From Epiphany to Lent

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 34:29-35 (NRSV)

Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Psalm 99 (BCP., p.728)


2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 (NRSV)

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

Luke 9:28-36 (NRSV)

About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Blog Reflection

The ending of the Seasons after the Epiphany and Pentecost have a couple things in common.   They both end with a glorious image of Jesus.

The last Sunday after Pentecost is Christ the King.   We recall Jesus as the King who would come and establish the Reign of God and reign Himself in glorious majesty.   The celebration takes place as we prepare to journey into Advent when we recall that Christ who came once in history, will come again in glory, as we prepare to remember his first coming at Christmas.

Today, on this last Sunday after the Epiphany we have an image of Jesus glorious in the Transfiguration.  In the Transfiguration, Jesus reveals the glory of God as He prepares to go from that mountain to Jerusalem where He will be crucified on another mountain.   When we leave this mountain with Jesus today, we will go with him into the desert we call Lent.  As we walk with Jesus through Lent, we will be taking a good hard look at ourselves to make more space for God as we prepare to celebrate Holy Week and Easter.

Before Jesus can go on to Jerusalem, he goes up to the mountain to seek approval from God with what He is about to do.  Jesus is about to go forward and face the reality of His own death, before He can rise from the dead.  Those who are with Jesus are terrified of what they are witnessing.  But, though they are tired from their journey and work, they dare not fall asleep.   This is such a contradiction to what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before the crucifixion.

One of the reasons why many Benedictine and Trappist Monasteries still celebrate Matins, is so that not only their bodies, but their hearts will also be awake to greet the coming of Christ.   It is one thing to be awake physically.   It is quite something altogether different to be awake in both body and mind.   To be awake with all of one's senses, to greet God with the words of Psalm 3:5.  "I lie down and go to sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me."   It is God who allows us to wake up for another night and day, to recall the mighty acts of God who will "surely, strike all my enemies across the face, you will break the teeth of the wicked. Deliverance belongs to the Lord, your blessing be upon your people" (Psalm 3:7 & 8).

We may not know or understand everything that happened in the Transfiguration.  But, we do know that any encounter with Christ that gives us a revelation of God can only lead to good things.  However, they will not happen without our willing to lose a little bit of ourselves to obtain it.  It will require us to seek the goodness of God in ways and people that will disturb our comfort zones and shake our arrogance.   We will need to be awake to see God's glory.

It is not uncommon that God is revealing God's Self in ways around us, but our minds and souls are still asleep.   There may also be moments and opportunities to encounter the revelation of God, but, are we really aware of what is there?

God is revealing God's justice in the efforts to address the issues of those who are oppressed because of racism, sexism, heterosexism, greed, and exploitation.   These are opportunities for others to encounter Jesus as being glorified as Christians take interest in the dignity of the human person by letting go of our prejudices to encounter Christ in new ways.

God is calling us all to wake up and see God's glory being revealed in what is taking place all around us.  God does not promise to end all violence, oppression and poverty.  God promises to be with us as God calls upon us to work to end these evils in our world.  We must stop frightening the world about God being destructive, when God is the One who loves us all.  God who is forever moving and changing in our midst, also calls us to move and change the world around us.

As Jesus needed to seek God's will before moving forward, so must we.  If we are to experience all that Lent can provide for us, we need first to spend some time in silence seeking God's will.  In our penances, prayers and readings through Lent, we must be open to seeking the presence of Christ in all people, places and opportunities.  They are moments by which God can reveal God's glory in us, if only we will go with Jesus to the cross over and over again.

"All who want to save their lives will lose them.  But all who lose their lives because of me will find them"  (Mt. 16:25 Common English Bible).

Amen.


Prayers

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son
revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that
we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be
strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his
likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Book of Common Prayer, p.217)


O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know
you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend
us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that
we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of
any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.  (Collect for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, p. 99).

Please note, that you can follow my writing from Ash Wednesday leading up to Palm Sunday, please follow my other blog on Word Press: Simple Reflections for a Deeper Spiritual Life.  There will be regular blogging here from Palm Sunday through Easter Day.

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday: Holy Week Means Everyone Counts

Today's Scripture Readings

Mark 11:1-11 (NRSV)

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, `Why are you doing this?' just say this, `The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

"Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. 

Isaiah 50:4-9a (NRSV)

The Lord GOD has given me

the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain

the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens--

wakens my ear

to listen as those who are taught.

The Lord GOD has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious,

I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me,

and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face

from insult and spitting.

The Lord GOD helps me;

therefore I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set my face like flint,

and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

he who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?

Let them confront me.

It is the Lord GOD who helps me;

who will declare me guilty?

Psalm 31:9-16 (BCP., p.623)


Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death--

even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

The Passion of Jesus Christ According to Mark 14:1-15:47 (NRSV)


Blog Reflection

Holy Week should be the week during which Christians are able to just sit back and take in the events we celebrate.  We should just take part in all of the Holy Week Liturgies the Church offers and just go back to what we were doing before.  Sadly, we Christians already celebrate Holy Week in that way.  As long as I can remember, Christians observe the Holy Week rituals as if Christians are the only ones that matter.  Anyone who doesn't celebrate what we remember this week is doing something wrong.  No wonder so many look at Christians on this week and respond with, "So what!!  It is just business as usual."

Contrary to what many may see and think, Holy Week is so much greater than our own little world.  There is more at stake during Holy Week than our creeds or the Bible being correctly understood and believed.  Holy Week is about every person's journey in the face of human suffering, betrayal and the fickleness of the human heart as prominent as they can be.  We see it every year on Palm Sunday.  Jesus is welcomed by the same people into Jerusalem who will be later portrayed as crying "Crucify Him!! Crucify Him!!"  Yet, if we pay more attention to how the Passion reading happens during the Liturgy, it is the worship congregation that often reads and recites those words.  The meaning is so very important.  It is not the Jews who crucified Jesus and are therefore irrelevant to the rest of the World (all of which is as incorrect as possible), it is our sins, and God's love for all of us.  Our sins were not strong enough for God who is so madly in love with all of us, that God gave Jesus to suffer the agonizing death He endured.  God's love for all of us without exception is so great, so powerful that God identified with all of us in Jesus to the point of the complete abandonment of Self to redeem all of us from the worst of ourselves.

The events of Holy Week, along with all of the ritualistic celebrations are an opportunity for all of us to find God at work in Jesus exactly where we think God is just not interested.  Just when it appears as if all hope is lost, not even death is strong enough to keep Jesus dead in the grave.  Before we can effectively celebrate and grow in our faith life as Christians in the Easter event, we first must face our own brokenness, our humility and humanness in the passion and death of Jesus.  It does not stop there.  Jesus shows us how God can do more than we can hope for or imagine at the very worst of human tragedies, and find new hope and life by surrendering everything we are and have into God's hands with faith and trust.   

This past week we the Christian Faith used as a weapon of mass destruction.  When Indiana passed their law to allow discrimination of LGBT people on the basis of "religious liberty," they effectively made it possible for Christians to excuse themselves from any means of living the message of the Gospel by simply saying that it "goes against our religion."   If you want to talk about an act of sacrilege just before Holy Week, I believe we have the worst kind of example.  Jesus Christ who loved even Judas who betrayed him, is inaccurately portrayed in such laws as loving others with exceptions based on preconceived notions and religious arrogance.  Anyone who does not "measure up" to a particular Christians ideal of what another person should be, becomes justification for spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse.

As we wander into Holy Week with Jesus, we may want to ponder on what the events and rituals really mean to us.  Are we serious about our Baptismal Vows that we will renew together this week?   Or are we just saying such things to get through another Holy Week to eat the ham on Easter Day?  Will celebrating the Paschal Mystery this week really change us to the point in which we trust in God to love others as Christ has loved us?  Or, will we join Judas in selling Jesus for thirty pieces of silver to get that trouble maker who loves others better than we do out of the way?

Holy Week means that everyone counts.  Including us.  Including others around us who are different than us, and with whom we share this earth with.  Whether we succeed or fail, God loves and redeems us all.

As we journey together this Holy Week, may Christians grow and evolve into the Easter People Christ came to save us to be.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the
human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to
take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant
that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share
in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. The Book of Common Prayer, p.219).

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).

Fifth Sunday in Lent: Christ Lifted Up for All

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm 51:1-13 (BCP., p.656)


Hebrews 5:5-10 (NRSV)

Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,

"You are my Son,

today I have begotten you";

as he says also in another place,

"You are a priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek."

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

John 12:20-33 (NRSV)

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 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.

Blog Reflection

This past Thursday I was in the supermarket check out lane.  I was a bit late that day, and had finished my grocery shopping for the week.  I was really looking forward to checking out quickly and getting home.  Things seemed to be moving quite a bit slower than usual.  As I looked more closely at the cashier, I realized that things were moving a lot slower because she was moving very slowly.  It seemed to take her a longer time to count the change from the register, tear off a receipt and fold it.  I saw her eyes and they did look a bit dreary.  Perhaps she was not feeling particularly well that day.  It was difficult for me not to become a bit irritated by the slow pace of things, until I meditated just a bit on St. Benedict's admonition to regard the earth and all it's goods, including all people as the "sacred vessels of the altar." (RB 1980: Chapter 33). Once I began to remember that, I found myself admiring how carefully she was doing her job, irregardless of the attitudes of others around her.  I also found it a bit easier to be aware of the presence of God in the situation.  Whatever the reason the cashier was moving so slowly was really not important.  What is important is that whether it is easy or difficult, God's presence really is every where.  God's law of love is always being rewritten in our hearts as God makes God's presence known to us in those situations, people and places where it just seems that things just are not quite what we think they should be.  All God asks of us, is to take the time to seek union with God, with the God who has already found us.

Here we are on the fifth Sunday and Week of Lent.  Next weekend we start Holy Week and the journey towards Easter Day.  How has Lent been for you?   How have you drawn closer to God through prayer, alms-giving and self-denial?   Well, we still have at least two more weeks to go.  Make the best of it.

The overriding message of the readings for this Weekend's Eucharist is that God wants to enter our hearts renewed by Christ's redemption.  The renewal is ongoing and ever working.  Our biggest obstacle is ourselves.  Our Christian Faith teaches us that not only is it okay to step out of the way and let God help and guide us, it is necessary if we are to search for that union with God in the here and now to find our way forward.

As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ was lifted up on the Cross to draw all people to himself.   Once again, our Gospel Reading presents us with a bit of a "Jesus only" picture.  As a Christian believer myself, I agree that Jesus is my only Savior and Lord.  I can sing those great evangelical Gospel like hymns that "Jesus saves" and believe it in my heart all I like.  However, the moment that I make it my business to judge the journeys of others by my own beliefs (and I know I have done plenty of this), I am as guilty of making Jesus into a business proposition to benefit my own ego as anyone else.  This is not evangelism.  This is religious zeal by coercion and self concern only.  Instead of keeping me sensitive to others, it makes me blind to the presence of God in the other.  Oh, Lord, have mercy on me.

As has become the tradition of this blog that I have been writing for the past six years, I must at this point in Lent condemn all forms of antisemitism.  There is so much prejudice and violence going on these days over religion.  Christianity by itself does not hold the monopoly on all religious and/or spiritual truth.  The awesomeness of our Faith is that we are one of many great Faiths around us, which includes our Jewish Sisters and Brothers.  No amount of justification for condemning Judaism and those who continue to worship Yahweh on the part of Christians is appropriate or to be condoned.  The Jews are not responsible for the death of Jesus.  Please, let's not continue with this insult to God and to other religions by promoting disrespect or violence towards other religious faiths, including those who chose to practice no religion at all.

Jesus in our Gospel today, welcomes those who came to Him, because He was about to do God's will in what must have been a very frightening time for Him.  Yet, He also knew that if He was going to over throw the powers of sin and death, and be the source of God's love in the world for those who believed in Him, that preparing for the reality of the Cross was going to be God's way of doing it.  Jesus would be lifted up to draw all people to Himself.  No amount of exclusion on any basis including but not limited to sexual orientation and/or gender expression/identity comes close to honoring what Jesus did for all of us.  Jesus who is the fulfillment for Christians of what it means to live with the law of God written in the heart with a renewed faith, was about to be the visible reality of the love of God that has no end.

As Christians who profess a Baptismal Covenant, we Episcopalians along with others are committed to recognizing and loving Christ in our neighbor, seeking justice and peace, and upholding their dignity.  It is a work we must recommit ourselves to not only at the Great Vigil of Easter now less than two weeks away, but every day of our lives.  Each encounter with that person that drives us crazy is the presence of God made as real as the Eucharist, and is to be cared for as such.

May we continue through our Lenten Journey to pray and work together to be the living example of Jesus being lifted up and drawing all people to Him through those of us who love Him so much.

Amen.


Prayers

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

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.826).

Fourth Sunday in Lent: The Greatest Challenge of Christian Relationships

 
Today's Scripture Readings

Numbers 21:4-9 (NRSV)

From Mount Hor the Israelites 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 107:1-3, 17-22 (BCP., p.746)


Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV)

You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-- not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

John 3:14-21 (NRSV)

Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Blog Reflection

This Sunday, we are brought face to face with the greatest challenge in Christian relationships.  How are we to be a good reflection of those relationships in a world where the very word Christian brings a whole array of meanings?  Some are conclusive while others are elusive.

If you say the word Christian to a person who is of a particular group of people who have experienced that word as being hurtful, their response could be very negative.  It could also be very neutral.  One might hear similar to what Mahatma Gandhi said.  "I like your Jesus, but I do not like your Christians."  I remember a woman once sing out loud over a microphone, "Jesus, save us from your followers."  What in the world is wrong with the word Christian?  Why does it bring such responses?  I am not the only one asking these questions this weekend.  The Rev. Barbara Mraz the Writer in Residence at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN is also asking this question.  You can read her blog post here. 

I have been writing a lot this Lent about words such as The Holy Essence of God, and facing the best and worst of ourselves and others.  These words are a special part of my own personal journey with God, because the more I have studied about the word Christian and asked the question of what is wrong with that word; I have realized that there are so many things in my own life that are a contradiction to that word.  One of the things a Benedictine Novice such as myself learns very quickly is that I am not the nicest guy on earth.  I think way too much about myself as opposed to my neighbor.  I struggle every day with my own ego and brush up against my false-sense of self that gets all wrapped up in words and labels.  In as much as I write about the issues of injustice and prejudice, I know that I too hold attitudes within myself that are part of the problem, not the solution.

As I read through the readings for this Sunday's Liturgy, I am drawn to the stark reality that Jesus is telling us that the word Christian is not a word of privilege.  It is not a term that means that I get to impose what I think or believe on anyone else.  I can share it, write about it and do it.  I can also if I am not careful enough, determine that the word Christian stops with myself and has no bearing on my relationship with God and others around me.  It can be so easy for me to think that I am someone really special, just because I use that word Christian to define myself in word only, and excuse myself from acting on what the word means.

The message of these Scripture readings is that God did not stop at loving the world just because we were lost in our sins.  God loved the world so much, that Jesus came as God's perfect revelation in the human form to save the world and not just Christians.  God sent the Son into the world to save it without condemnation, so that we could live into a relationship with God within the context of our relationships.  Such is the work of our faith, and the faith that makes our work worthwhile.  The world in which God sent Jesus includes those who disagree with each other, those who even dislike one another and those who wonder why in the world God still puts up with us.  When we look at the violence expressed in human suffering all over the world over things like religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression/identity, the powerful vs the weak, the sick, the lonely, the dying etc., what is it about all of us that keeps God's loving graciousness fixed on us as the apple of God's eyes?

The answer for the Christian (as difficult of a word as it is), is a cross on a hill, far away on which Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34 NRSV).   God loves each of us so extravagantly that "God did not withhold his own son, but gave him up for all of us." (Romans 8:32).  In Jesus' sacrifice, He willingly handed over His relationship to His Father, only saving His faith that God would raise Him up.   Jesus made Himself as vulnerable as any man alive, and paid the ultimate price of His life out of love, humility and obedience to God's will.

Perhaps the greatest challenge of Christian relationships is that to live them means to set aside even the pride of that name to make ourselves as vulnerable as Jesus made Himself.  It is much too risky say for a lesbian and/or gay person who has experienced rejection, violence and oppression in the Name of Jesus, because she/he will have to risk the possibility of healing to the point of forgiving and reconciling her/himself with those who continue to harm her/him just because.  It is much too risky for an evangelical pastor who has always preached against homosexuality and/or abortion to admit she/he has misinterpreted the scriptures all these years and to change her/his position.  It could not only mean the loss of her/his pastoral ministry in her/his church, but also the esteem of her/his colleagues and friends.  A Christian who stands up against racism or for greater gun control, could face a lot more than her/his reputation going down the drain.  All because the word Christian means certain things for some, and different things to others.

The name Christian often means many other things, but please don't tell us that it means that we have to love others who are different than ourselves beyond our church doors, or outside of our beliefs.  That requires way too much.  Such is too much of a slippery slope that could mean that the Jesus who is an abstract idea held captive in the name of Christian actually becomes a real, breathing and life-giving Savior.  It would mean that Jesus means so much more than watching The Passion of Christ or Jesus of Nazareth.  The name Christian would be who we are because our relationships as challenging as they are, are no longer an acceptable excuse for us to avoid.  Including if it means that I must sacrifice even myself for the benefit of the other person.

O God, make speed to save us.  O Lord, make haste to help us.  May our journey of Lent bring us closer to being what the word Christian is about in the great challenges of our relationships.

Amen.


Prayers

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down
from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world:
Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in
him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Fourth Sunday in Lent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 219).

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have
made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and
make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily
lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Ash Wednesday.  The Book of Common Prayer. p.217).
 
Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for Social Justice.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 260).

Third Sunday in Lent: Turning Over Tables

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 20:1-7 (NRSV)

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work-- you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Psalm 19 (BCP., p.606)


1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (NRSV)

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,


"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."


Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

John 2:13-22 (NRSV)

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Blog Reflection

This Sundays readings seem to be full of contradictions.

In the reading from the Hebrew Scriptures we read about God giving the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  The Psalmist writes words about praising God in nature and how even the sun gives glory to God.  In the Epistle we read about what it means to be wise and foolish.  In the Gospel we read of Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers in the court yard of the Temple.  All the readings rolled together into one, sound as if we are watching one big drama unfold in front of us.  It could almost be an episode of Murder She Wrote or Law and Order.

These readings and the message contained in all of them are no drama.  They are the stuff of life with the element of faith.  Put together they could lead us to  ask ourselves this same question, "How serious are you about your faith?"  Another question they could pose would be, "How valuable to us is our faith?"

In this journey of Lent, we are fasting, praying and giving alms as we spend time with Jesus in the wilderness of our hearts.  I think this is about that time during Lent, when many of us feel a bit edgy.  Spring cannot come fast enough.  The political news media is full of images of what ISIS is doing.  Our Congress continues to honor the wealthy at the expense of the poor and physically/mentally and psychologically challenged.  The Alabama Supreme Court Justices just defied the U.S. Supreme Court telling their Probate Judges that they cannot perform marriage ceremonies for same-gender couples.   Here in Minnesota, a State Senator just introduced a bill that would rescind a local Public School Districts policies to protect transgender students from discrimination in sports activities.  This and a lot more can make us very angry.

Other than the scene in Matthew 23 where Jesus gives His opponents the business, the turning over of the tables is the only other story in which we see Jesus get this angry.  In most Gospel readings we read of Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, helping the blind to see and talking with His disciples.  Here, we read that Jesus saw what was happening and did something about it.  Now by many who interpret this Gospel narrative, this becomes an excuse to allow ourselves to become violently angry at just about everything and anything.  If we use this Gospel too irresponsibly, we can justify any reason and/or path to dealing with anger, to the point of disregarding the dignity of other human beings.  I would submit however, that this is the direct opposite of what we are seeing Jesus do here.  We need to take these words deeper into ourselves and let the Holy Spirit speak to us there.

Anger is a response that is about feeling threatened and trying to protect ourselves.  Unfortunately, due to prejudice and injustice that is out of control in most instances, our human tendency toward anger is all too often misguided and out of proportion.  Anyone and everyone who speaks or thinks differently than we do becomes a target for anger.  This is especially true for those who are targeted because of their religion, sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression, race, etc.  This is equally true for those who claim to have deeply held religious beliefs that are based on the Word of God towards those who are different from themselves in one form or another.  The fact is, when we are angry about something our ability to see things beyond our limited perspective is greatly impaired.  While anger is a healthy response, in many cases when it is out of proportion, it clouds our judgement and makes us sterilized to be able to love another person enough to respect their inborn human dignity.

Jesus' actions and words in today's Gospel are about directing our anger appropriately enough to wake people up to the reality of what they are doing in terms of their relationship with God and others around them.  They do not have to necessarily agree with Jesus, but, given the action Jesus did, they have little choice but to take a good hard look at what their actions are conveying.   Jesus in this Gospel shows us how to be angry, what to do with it symbolically (not literally), and how to call people to the all important task of being attentive to God in their lives.  Our response to what Jesus does in this Gospel text, should not be what tables can we over turn in the world around us per say; but what tables within us do we need Jesus' help to turn over within our own lives.  As we see both the best and worst of ourselves during this Holy Season of Lent, what are the habits, attitudes, behaviors and reactions do we need to let the Holy Spirit turn over so that we can allow God to bring us healing and reconciliation with ourselves and our neighbor?  In the middle of a world and culture that regularly gives itself over to violent and reckless behavior, and all too common unfortunately in the name of some religious belief, how can we live into our relationship with God by finding appropriate and peaceful ways of responding in love, as opposed to reacting in fear?

As we continue to learn about what the Desert Mothers and Fathers did in their search for union with God, we also discover that their journey into the desert was not about fixing the world.  Unlike many of us, they had the humility and courage of faith, to let go of what the world offered them to face the reality of who and what they were.  Through prayer, contemplation and working for the good of their community they grew into a deeper awareness of God in themselves and the world around them.  Consequently, St. Benedict also believed that "the labor of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience" (RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English, Prologue, vs 2, p.15).  Yet, the difference the Desert Mothers and Fathers, and St. Benedict made on the world could not have been more significant.  We make the biggest impact on the world when we take time for solitude and silence to spend with Jesus in our hearts and minds; and respond with transparent action with love of God, neighbor and self as our common goal.

Can Christians turn over tables in holy and life-giving ways?  The answer is yes.  However, the more we rely on our own interpretations alone of Scripture and pretend that honoring the dignity of every human person is not something we need to take seriously; the more we appear as angry Christians who don't seem to give a damn.  Nothing could be more contrary to who Jesus is and what His Gospel is about.  If Christians do regard the law of God as being more precious than silver or gold, then it befits us to listen more carefully to what Jesus is doing and teaching us during this Lent.

May it be so for all of us.

Amen.


Prayers

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 the Third Sunday in Lent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.218).

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

Second Sunday in Lent: Take Up the Cross by Letting Go

Today's Readings

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 (NRSV)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you."


God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."

Psalm 22:22-30 (BCP., p.611)


Romans 4:13-25 (NRSV)
 

The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Mark 8:31-38 (NRSV)

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples 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 

Why do we Christians even need the Season of Lent?  We go to our churches, pray, participate in coffee hour right after a Worship Service, go to Shrove Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday, attend Holy Week services, etc.  We are good Christian people.  Why do this thing called Lent every year? 

I would like you to join me in an exercise.  Immediately after you read this blog post, turn off your computer or phone.  Ignore that "ding" that just let you know you have another email waiting for you.  Try walking away from your IPad, or better yet, forget where you left it and not go into a panic because you can't find it.  Let's say you can't detach yourself from your phone or pad, try paying no attention to how many notifications you have on your Facebook wall.  Ask yourself if it does not bother you that you are ignoring the notifications on Facebook or Twitter.

In the last week, I know of a man who works in tech support.  His company ran into a problem in which no one in the entire corporation could get into their computer or account.  Not even the help desk staff.  Before the first hour was up, there were over 100 calls in the queue of angry company employees who could not get into their email, do their projects or sales information, etc.  As of this week, the help desk staff are still clearing all the repair tickets from the fall out.

The reason we need the Season of Lent, is because of how easy it is for all of us, myself including to put things like our computers, cars, television sets, food, drink, moods, addictions and behaviors of all kinds between us and our relationships with God and others around us.  We yelled at our spouse because our computer crashed.  We cry over a work project lost because of the Windows Update.  Think you have "detached" yourselves from most possessions, but not your computer?  What happens to you the next time you get a flat tire, or someone scratches the door of your car?   How do you talk with others around you after a representative at a customer service call center does her/his job and you just can't stand them telling you that they cannot help you?   Someone sat in your favorite pew in church, which means you have to find a new place to sit.  How do you respond or do you react?

The point is, all of us have something to work on.  We are all human.  No one of us is perfect, no matter how diligently we try.  What is right in our behavior is all wrong in our attitude.  What seems to be going well on the surface, has an undercurrent that is in a lot of turmoil.  We say yes, when in our hearts we are shouting no.  We are all get wrapped up in ourselves at one time or another.

Lent is God's gift to us to tell us that the Christian life is not about being perfect as in a perfectionist.  Lent is about accepting the reality of who and what we are, and to continue letting it go.  When we talk about obedience in the Monastic tradition, we are not talking about doing what is asked for the sake of itself.  St. Benedict says, "Listen, incline the ears of your heart." (Prologue. The Rule of St. Benedict, vs. 1).  Obedience is about listening from the whole of ourselves so that we can discern how we will respond to what God asks of us through our Superior.  We cannot listen and know what we are to be obedient to without taking some time in solitude and silence.  Obedience in the Benedictine Monastic Tradition is about responding out of love.  The love we respond with is what is referred to in 1 John 4:18 which reads, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love."    

Jesus invites all of us this Lent to take up our cross by letting go.   To "deny ourselves" is to let go our false-sense of self, and live from our essence in union with God's Essence in which we find our true self.  In our false self is our prejudices, fears, self-absorption that hangs on to all those wounds, our anger, possessiveness and more.  In seeking union with God's Essence within our own essence, we accept all that is contained within our false self and we learn to practice the spiritual art of letting it go.  We accept that we fail, that we have issues with those around us who are different from ourselves, that we are affected by our arrogance and perfectionism.  We simply let go of all of that, and walk on carrying the cross out of love and obedience of what God asks of us in the here and now.  We accept that we cannot do any of this on our own.   St. Benedict wrote in The Rule, "What is not possible for us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace." (Prologue, vs. 41).

One of those things God asks of us, is to respond in love to the needs of the marginalized in the Church and society.  Our Baptismal Vows are a promise to live more deeply into our mission as Christians in a world in which the love of God, neighbor and self has become a matter of convenience.  If upholding the dignity of every human person does not work for us because we will acquire enemies inside and outside of the Church; then we can simply not do it.  If it takes us too close to the cross and we just can't let it go; then we simply ignore it and pretend it doesn't hurt anyone else but us.  This kind of thing is so contrary to what it means to deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Jesus.

Why do we need Lent?

That is what God wants to talk with us about this Lent.

Are we really ready to listen and respond out of love?  

Amen.


Prayers

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious
to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 218).

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).

First Sunday in Lent: A Journey Into Our Best and Our Worst

Today's Scripture Readings

Genesis 29:8-17 (NRSV)

God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

Psalm 25:1-9 (BCP., p.614)


1 Peter 3:18-22 (NRSV)

Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Mark 1:9-15 (NRSV)

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." 

Blog Reflection

In my preparations for this blog post, I have been doing a word comparison study on the words, "And the Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness."  

Mark's Gospel account of the temptation of Jesus is the shortest version of the story. There is no detailed information about how Jesus was tempted, and what the conversation between Jesus, the Scriptures and the devil was about.  Mark's description begins with "the Spirit drove Jesus."  In Matthew 4:1 and Luke 4:1, they read that The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted.  There is quite the different meaning in those two words led and drove.  When I researched other translations of this text, I found some interesting variations on the word drove.  The word used in The Common English Bible is forced, while the word used in The Message Bible is pushed.  The New American Standard Version uses the word impelled.   The only version that suggests that the Holy Spirit was more gentle with Jesus is the New International Version which reads that the Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness.

To better understand what is happening in Mark's Gospel, it is best to go back to the beginning where we reread about what took place at the Baptism of Jesus.  As Jesus was coming up out of the waters of His Baptism, and the heavens are torn apart and the Holy Spirit descends on Him and a voice says: "You are my Son the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."   The Holy Spirit represents the Essence of God.  A good synonym for Essence is "the Intrinsic Nature" of God.  The word 'intrinsic" is best understood as "in and of itself (herself, himself)."  So why would the Essence of God drive, push or impel God's Beloved into the wilderness to be tempted among the wild beasts?   If God is so "pleased" with Jesus, why send (or drive) Him to face such personal danger?

To contemplate this mystery it is a good idea to look at the lives of Desert Mothers and Fathers.  They went into the desert not to escape the world as some suggest; although that was certainly an important part of the reason.  In the desert, one loses all attachments to how things used to be.  All of the illusions of ourselves are gone.  It is in the desert (or in solitude) with God, that we see as clearly as possible, the best and worst of ourselves.  We are confronted with the reality of just how wounded our bodies and souls are by our false-sense of self.  The false self that thinks that we are "someone" or "something" other than who or what we really are.  We see how we define ourselves by the damaging labels others place upon us.  We see how much we really rely on wealth, personal pleasure, possessions, power, fashion and knowledge to make up who and what we are.  If we are to receive some kind of healing with the help of God's Essence; then the Holy Spirit must be united with our own spirit, our own essence.  When we remove all the deceptions in our bodies and souls and seek a holy union with the Intrinsic Nature of God within our own essence, we are living from our Eternal Truth.   Then there can be true healing and we can live from our true selves.

So, why did the Spirit drive Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted?

Because Jesus is the Word of God, united with the Essence of God.   In Jesus Christ, the Perfect Revelation of God in the human Person, our humanity finds its fulfillment and healing when we face the best and worst of ourselves in the Light and Grace of God's Intrinsic Nature.  If God's Beloved in Christ can face the best and worst of our human nature in the wilderness, and rely on The Essence of God within Him: He will be more than able to face the reality of all human suffering in His Passion and Death on the Cross.  Humankind continues to fail under the reality of our communal, personal and spiritual immaturity.  We are all tempted.  At times, we all give in and live by our false-sense of self.  We all suffer because of things that have happened to us, including addictions, abuse, violence, prejudice and more. The reality of our human nature does not disappear because of God's grace.  On the contrary, we must, by faith in God, accept our false-selves and let go so that we can live into and from our true selves, united with God's Holy Essence.   

If we are to see a change in the Church and society with regards to the marginalized, destitute, sick and oppressed; we must begin by facing the best and worst of ourselves, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, find victory and strength in Jesus the Christ.  We must experience and live from our essence and the Essence of God, and seek healing and reconciliation within ourselves and the world around us.  In this great mystery, is that "truth" that "sets us free" (See John 8:32).

As we continue in our journey of Lent, may we be willing to walk with Jesus to face the best and worst of ourselves; so that, we can also seek and find the rejuvenation of God the Holy Spirit to live into our true selves to respect and uphold the dignity of every human person.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be
tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted
by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of
each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the First Sunday in Lent, The Book of Common Prayer, p.218).

O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the
earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those
who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people
everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the
nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh;
and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.100).

Ash Wednesday: Do Something More for God in Lent

Today's Scripture Readings

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

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

Psalm 103 (BCP., p.733)


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blog Reflection

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

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

Regarding the observance of Lent, St. Benedict wrote,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amen.


Prayers

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

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

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

Last Sunday After the Epiphany: Transfiguration, Contemplation, Action

Today's Scripture Readings

2 Kings 2:1-2 (NRSV)

Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent."

Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent."

Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Psalm 50 (BCP., p.654)


2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (NRSV)

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Mark 9:2-9 (NRSV)

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Blog Reflection

Well, here we are.  The Last Sunday after the Epiphany.  Lent begins in three days.  Since the First Sunday after the Epiphany at Jesus' Baptism, we have followed Him through the calling of those first disciples, casting out demons and healing the sick.  Every year just before Ash Wednesday, the Church takes us to the mountain top with Peter, James and John as they experience Jesus' Transfiguration.  Just as with Christ the King Sunday before Advent begins, the Sunday prior to beginning Lent takes us to one of those glorious moments in Jesus' life and ministry.  The Transfiguration is also understood traditionally as an event within the Season of Epiphany.  God is manifested in Jesus in a luminous image of His glorified body after the Resurrection.  When Pope John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries to the Dominican Rosary, the Transfiguration is one of the mysteries to meditate upon.

The Transfiguration is symbolic of what contemplative prayer is about.  Jesus is so in touch with who God is to Him, that He experiences the fullness of God's perspective of Him.  At this moment, Jesus makes preparation to walk down the mountain and make His way to Jerusalem where He will face His death and resurrection.  I believe that in the Transfiguration, Jesus receives from Moses and Elijah the connection of who He is and what He is about to do with the history of God's People.  Peter, James and John are so mystified by what takes place on the mountain, that they are terrified.   While these three disciples are following Jesus and learning from Him, they have not yet given themselves completely to the sacrificial work that God is doing in Jesus.  In this experience they witness for themselves the full revelation of Jesus so marvelously, that it fills them with a joy that makes them want to stay there with Him.  In that moment, their fear gave way to faith and they were able to hear God tell them to listen intentionally to Jesus from their hearts.  Jesus was transfigured, while the lives of Peter, James and John experienced transformation.

The last thing that Jesus said to the disciples seems rash if taken at face value.  Jesus is challenging them and us, to do more that just talk.  We are encouraged to live what we experience as we know God more deeply in our prayer and meditation and translate it into how we live.  As with any of the Biblical mysteries of Jesus' life cannot be explained or comprehended in our limited human minds.  But, they can be lived into reality as we listen to Jesus within our own hearts and respond in faith.  To respond in faith is our consent that we do not know how God wants to be transparent through us; but, we are willing to put one foot in front of the other in trust that God will take us the rest of the way.   It means allowing the Holy Spirit to widen those closed up spaces within our whole selves, so that we can face the prejudices that are there as they are, and seek healing and reconciliation with God and our neighbor.

This past week, we saw an outrageous example of how the Name of Jesus Christ is profaned in the State of Alabama.  As the freedom to marry became legal with the blessing of the Supreme Court, we saw several judges misuse their power to determine that their understanding of the Christian faith will be what everyone else observes.  By the way they used their judicial power the judges inflicted spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse on LGBTQ people and those who support their right to marry the person they love.  Jesus came not to decide who is saved and who will be damned.  Jesus came and made God's unconditional and all-inclusive love transparent through how He lived His life.  In the life, death, resurrection and transfiguration, Jesus gave a human face to God, as God became visible in transforming our human nature through a relationship of experiencing union with God in all aspects of our life.  Jesus upholds and preserves the dignity of every human person in His own divine reality and impacts humankind for all ages, races, sexual orientations, genders, religions, etc.  We owe Jesus and our neighbor our purest love, devotion and humility to do no less than what He did.

As we prepare to begin Lent this week, may we recommit ourselves to listening more intentionally to God within our hearts and respond by serving those in need around us.

Amen.


Prayers

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son
revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that
we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be
strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his
likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Last Sunday After The Epiphany,The Book of Common Prayer, p.217)

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for the Oppressed, The Book of Common Prayer, p.826).