Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Forgiveness is Authentic Freedom

Today's Scripture Readings

Genesis 50:15-21 (NRSV)

Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers said, "What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?" So they approached Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this instruction before he died, `Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.' Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, "We are here as your slaves." But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones." In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

Psalm 103 (BCP. p.733)


Romans 14:1-12 (NRSV)

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

and every tongue shall give praise to God."

So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Matthew 18:21-35 (NRSV)

Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, `Pay what you owe.' Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

Blog Reflection

The life of Joseph in the Book of Genesis was full of ups and downs like all of us.  Sold as a slave, yet, he had the ability to interpret dreams.  His abilities gave him a unique relationship with Pharaoh, to the point that after Pharaoh's death, Joseph rose to the throne.  The conversation between Joseph and his brothers in today's reading is enough for us to believe that reconciliation is possible.   All reconciliation needs is the humility to come to terms with what we have done and what we are willing to do to fix it.

Among the things that so many of us who are Caucasian cannot figure out is why African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and so forth are so weary of trust that Americans are really prepared to end racism.  Even well passed the time of President Abraham Lincoln when the thirteenth Amendment was passed and the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. America continues to hold that white people are superior.  The shooting and death of Trayvon Martin and now Michael Brown, along with the various slanderous statements made to and about President Barack Obama, show how racist Americans remain.   The many gains of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people and their equal rights protections are a cause for celebration.   Yet, the tragic losses in terms of no actual immigration reform, equal rights for Native Americans who still cannot vote, African Americans and women fly in the face of what we are all about.   Joseph was able to forgive his brothers, because they were able to see the error of their ways.  If we are to see a better relationship with other races among us, we will have to recognize and seek reconciliation for the many ways in which we continue to deny equal rights to individuals because of their race.  Check out this article about 10 ways in which white people can fight racism. 

It is very interesting that the reading from Genesis, as well as the other optional reading from Exodus that have a connection to the subject of slavery.  It is interesting that these readings are included with the Gospel reading from Matthew.   These readings have two themes moving through them.  Interwoven within them is life has so many challenges that remain out of our hands.  Though we cannot control many of them, we can affect change in and through how we address them.  We can choose how much we allow what happens through the ignorance and/or full knowledge of others to affect our interior relationship between ourselves and our God.  We can also choose how much we allow what others do or do not do, to make a determination on how we will respond either in this moment or as we move forward.

Tomorrow, the Church will celebrate the transferred feast of The Holy Cross.  The death of Jesus Christ on the Cross granted us forgiveness of all our sins.  God in God's infinite love and mercy gave all of us the opportunity to be redeemed from all that keeps us from embracing our true vocation of divine daughters and sons.  We are also sisters and brothers in Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.  The parable in Matthew's Gospel reminds us that no matter how grave our sins and faults may be, God in Christ has forgiven us.   We are asked to respond with gratitude for that forgiveness, by seeking by the same grace through which we have been forgiven, to forgive others.   God is not unsympathetic to the struggles we have in forgiving others who have hurt us so deeply.  God is willing by God's mercy to aid us towards an authentic and transparent experience of that amazing grace that helped us to see, when we were blind. 

Forgive us, Lord as we forgive.  We have heard these words, sung them, and prayed them in the Lord's Prayer. We repeat them, because we are human. Today's Gospel reading tells us that authentic freedom comes because we forgive, and forgive, and forgive again.  May we never stop praying those words.

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 Holy Cross Day. The Book of Common Prayer, p. 244).

O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love
our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth:
deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in
your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for Our Enemies.  The Book of Common Prayer, p. 816).

 

Fourth Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents and the Wounded Knee Massacre

Today's Scripture Reading

Matthew 2:13-18 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

Blog Reflection

I often wish I did not know about this Holy Day in our Church calendar.  I want the night before Christmas back with the beauty of the expected coming of the Christ Child, the music, the singing, the sermon about Emmanuel, God with us.

I do not get to chose what is in the history of the Christian Church. I know.  I know. I am free to do whatever I want with my religion.  Except that if I do that and pass up what the Holy Innocents is about, I am not being true to who I am as a gay Episcopalian and a Benedictine.

We remember today with great horror and"why, O God" that King Herod slaughtered every male child up to two years old, because he was afraid that the new born King was going to supplant him.  This is one scene that Franco Zeffirelli brought home in the Anglo/Italian mini series Jesus of Nazareth depicted with drama that almost makes me sick to my stomach.   The screaming amidst the brutality of Herod's warriors putting these babies to the sword and the weeping mothers as the streets are literally filled with blood is heart wrenching. 

As in past years, I write today about this Holy Day, and the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 123 years ago today.  A date that is oddly the same as remembering the Holy Innocents.  Native Americans were slaughtered during the Wounded Knee Massacre with the same kind of brutality that killed the Holy Innocence back in Bethlehem.  The Wounded Knee Massacre is as much a Holy Innocence killing as it is an example of the lack of hospitality that actually destroyed the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.   It wasn't homosexuality, as some still insist.

Both of these horrible massacres are the result of political maneuvering for the purpose of safe guarding a sense of insecurity on the part of a King and a government that just cannot allow something that they cannot understand, to roam freely and complete the purpose for which they exist.

When we read about incidents like these, our first question naturally is "where was God?"  If God is so Divine and Omni-present and Almighty, why didn't God intervene here?

I cannot answer that question in a way that would make sense. The violence we recall on a day like this, just does not make sense.

What also does not make sense is how so-called "pro-life" people make use of the horrible events we remember today to shame women about abortion.  It is a terrible abuse of pastoral and religious authority to use this day on women who are so often victimized by men in cases of rape and sexual assault. Women who are experiencing complications with their reproductive organs and need to make a decision about the fetus and the consequences she will face socially if she decides to abort, don't need reminders of how painful such a decision is.  Yet, many "pro-lifers" insist on using this day to pile on the guilt.

Days like this can also be a reminder of how Christianists and others who still use the Bible to condemn lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; particularly youth.  LGBT and questioning youth who are trying to understand who they are and why they are so different from others who don't have these feelings in side of them that they are so afraid of.  They hear messages about how "As a Christian, I believe with all my heart that homosexuality is wrong." (See the movie For the Bible Tells Me So for the quote).  The innocence of a pure heart that wants to love herself/himself the way they are and know there is a place for them and God in this world, gets violated as Christianist Pastors invade their sacred spaces.  This too is it's own form of a massacre.

How can the Christ Child of Bethlehem heal our broken relationships on a day like this?

I think we have to begin by allowing the Christ Child to help us understand what is in our own hearts.  All of us have those things that we think give us a sense of self security.  We all have that someone that we want out of our way so we can do as we please.  There is someone some where that scares our sense of self sufficiency to the point where we just have to do our political maneuvering.  If we are not careful, those feelings can drive us to an emotional violence towards someone whom we just hate so much, that we just cannot let them be who they are.

Jesus comes in the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth to help us know that the Light of God shines into those dark places within our hearts and souls.  That Light comes with love and grace to deliver us from our own sense of feeling like the hate that is in our hearts for someone else just cannot be changed or healed. God tells us that it is okay to let go. God tells us that it is okay that we let that individual who is between God and our personal salvation go and be who they are.  We don't have to change them.  We don't have to like them.  We don't even have to be their new best friend.  We also do not have to harbor that prejudice and hurt that harms ourselves on their account.  The Christ Child says; It's okay to let go.

Today's commemoration of the Holy Innocents teaches us that though we may not feel or see God in the midst of the horrible things that happen; we can be part of the solution if we are willing to let Jesus change our hearts and lives.  We can allow LGBT people, women, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews, immigrants and so forth seek to live their lives in peace with all of us.  In that peace there there is no need for political maneuvering.  Because God in Christ takes these horrible events and uses them to change communities and all humankind if only we will let God's Light shine through the darkness.

Amen.


Prayers

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy
innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your
great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish
your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, page 238).

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. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, page 99).

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, Book of Common Prayer, page 815).

Thanksgiving Day: By Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving

Today's Scripture Readings

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 (NRSV)

When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us." When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

Psalm 100 (BCP., p. 729)


Philippians 4:4-9 (NRSV)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

John 6:25-35 (NRSV)

When the crowd found Jesus on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Blog Reflection 

Agricultural festivals are of great antiquity, and common to many religions.  Among the Jews, the three pilgrimage feasts, Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, each had agricultural significance.  Medieval Christianity also developed a number of such observances none of which, however,, were incorporated into the Prayer Book.

Our own Thanksgiving Day finds its roots in observances begun by colonists in Massachusetts and Virginia, a tradition later taken up and extended to the whole of the New American nation by action of the Continental Congress.   (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p.700).

These words in Holy Women, Holy Men strike a consonant and a disonant chord for me.   It is a wonderful thing to give thanks for all that God gives us by gathering with family, friends and sharing in the abundance together.   On the other side of the coin, is the reality of how much wanton destruction the pilgrims and white Christians brought to the Native communities.  The history of what colonization has meant to those who were oppressed and robbed cannot be justified.  Their cries for justice are valid.

St. Paul tells us "Do not worry about anything, but with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  It is much easier for us who have been given so much to pray with thanksgiving, and make our requests to God, than those who are still pleading for deliverance from violence and prejudice.   Yet, it is often those who live under such situations that teach us to be thankful to God in ways that shake us to our bones.  When a hungry child looks up at us and says thank you at the Thanksgiving meal at the soup kitchen, she is sincere.   Where as many who have an over abundance, have the greatest difficulty expressing appreciation without complaining that he may lose his investments in his portfolio because the Affordable Care Act is helping the poor to have health care for the first time in decades.  

In the Ninth Conference on Prayer, St. John Cassian devotes a majority of that Conference to the different kinds of prayer mentioned by St. Paul in our reading from Philippians today.   Abba Isaac breaks down what Paul writes as four different kinds of prayer.  Prayer, supplication, intercession and thanksgiving.  Each of these are dependent on the other.  Yet, they each have a different function in prayer.  Prayer itself, Abba Isaac suggests, is vowing or an offering of something to God of and from ourselves.  Supplications is a form of confessing our sins and asking for sanctification and deliverance.   Intercession is pleading with God on behalf of others, and thanksgiving is expressing our heartfelt thanks to God for the grace we receive in Christ Jesus.  

If we take the words of our Scripture Readings today seriously, and celebrate this Thanksgiving as St. Paul and St. John Cassian suggest, then we must take into account our responsibilities to each other, and seek God's consolation and opportunity for conversion that this holiday calls for.  Our giving thanks for all that God has given in abundance out of God's great love, must come with supplication for our sins and/or participation in the evils of injustice and cruelty, and a renewed offering of ourselves in prayer for change and transformation.

In today's Gospel Reading, Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Life.  Every time we gather together for the Eucharist, we celebrate in thanksgiving for the great gift of our salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ.  God's greatest gift to Christians, is Jesus Christ, God's perfect revelation of Self.  In Christ, we have the awesome example of how God responds to our brokenness, by offering Himself in sacrifice to redeem us.  The Real Presence of Christ, invites all of us to share the Goodness of God with others around us, to find forgiveness of our sins, and the grace to be transformed and to transform the world beyond ourselves.  In thanksgiving for all that God gives by the great gift of faith, we are invited and welcomed to become participants in the Holy Spirit's work of "renewing the face of the earth" (Psalm 104:31 BCP).

May we all give thanks to God today, with supplication and prayer to recommit ourselves to helping to heal the wounded community of humankind.   Let no person's dignity be dishonored.   May every person know of God's extravagant and inclusive love, in which there is no distinction or exception.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the
fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those
who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of
your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and
the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.246)


Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.  (A General Thanksgiving, Book of Common Prayer, p.836).

On a personal note, today I am very thankful to Almighty God for the gift of faith.   I am thankful for the Eucharist.   I am thankful for the Anglican Communion and The Episcopal Church.   I am thankful for the opportunity to be a Clothed Novice in the Companions of St. Luke/Order of St. Benedict.   I am thankful that I am legally married to my husband Jason, and for all that Jason is to me.    I am thankful that we now have 15 States where there is the freedom to marry.   I am thankful for the opportunities to share my faith and hope in this blog and for all who read, and gain something from it.  I am also thankful for those who read my blog and struggle, or just pass it by.   I am thankful that there are loving and caring people out there who care about the marginalized including LGBTQ people, and many more.  I am thankful for these things and many more that I cannot name or remember.

Thanks be to God.   Amen.

Saturday After Ash Wednesday: The Marginalized are Called to Partnership with Christ

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 58: 9b-35 (NRSV)

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
   you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
   the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
   and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
   and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
   and satisfy your needs in parched places,
   and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
   like a spring of water,
   whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
   you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
   the restorer of streets to live in.

If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
   from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
   and the holy day of the Lord honourable;
if you honour it, not going your own ways,
   serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
then you shall take delight in the Lord,
   and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
   for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Luke 5: 27-32 (NRSV)

After this he went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up, left everything, and followed him.

Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax-collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?’ Jesus answered, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.’ 

Blog Reflection

This Lent, I chose for my seasonal reading the book entitled: Pilgrim Road: A Benedictine Journey Through Lent, by Albert Holtz, O.S.B.  On each day of Lent, Holtz has written a page about his sabbatical pilgrimage that took him from Newark Abbey in New Jersey through England, to Bolivia, Amsterdam, and just about all over the world.  He completes his story of what he saw on a particular day's trip with a reflection for our Lenten observance.

On the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Holtz recalls his Euro-star train journey from Paris' Gare du Nord at 8:09 a.m., through arriving at 10:35 a.m. in Waterloo Station in London.  As Holtz writes, he paints for the reader a magnificent picture of what he is seeing and experiencing from the beginning of that train trip to the end.

At one point, he writes of the following experience.

10:20 a.m. Out of the tunnel...Syndenham, Hill station...Herne Hill....apartment buildings and row houses...worn-out neighborhoods of brick and asphalt...rough, rough, shuddering tracks... A double-decker bus below...a wide river alongside--probably the Thames.

I think about the little man in the gray cap, and a snatch of Scripture from the prophet Jeremiah comes to mind.  God's chosen ones, he declares, "will be like a well-watered garden." Hmm... What if we were less like a speeding train and more like a watered garden?

If my life were a garden, then my heart would be a place of calm, patient waiting for things to come in their own due time: seasons of blossoms, seasons of plenty, and seasons of sleet and snow and seeming sterility.  If my life were a garden to be tended, then my desire to control everything would no longer make sense, because a garden can't be forced or pushed or hurried along; a garden needs to be nurtured, not driven headlong like a train on a track.  Then my efforts at prayer or work would take on a different meaning, because anything that a garden produces comes not as my accomplishment but as a mysterious, beautiful gift of nature's bounty (p. 9-10).

At his reflection point for all of this, Holtz writes:

If your life is like a garden, then Lent is not a project to be accomplished, but rather an opportunity to let God help you to look carefully at your garden and help it to be more fruitful.  Prayer, fasting and works of charity are traditional ways of doing this.  If your life is a garden that needs to be watered and weeded but cannot be forced or controlled, ask the Lord to help you this Lent to let go of your need to control, and to teach you how to be patient with the God's slow way of doing things (p. 10).

Lent is a period of tending to our gardens. Our lives are full of seeds that have been planted.  Some by God, some by those who have inspired us, and those particular things that are part of the natural law called: life.  As we receive the gifts of faith, hope and love from these seeds comes the life of God's creative beauty that will bring forth something wonderful, that shall grace the sky with dazzling new colors and flavors that will please the most discerning of palates. 

There will also be the weeds, that come through sin and the difficulties of life.  Many of these will be planted by the biological realities of our D.N.A. Many weeds will grow from our families and the behaviors they teach us by word and example.  There will be many pains and hurts that will give life to the weeds, which seek to weaken what grows from the seed.  Many of them will come through no fault of our own.  Some will come as we harbor grudges and find it difficult to forgive those who cannot tell the difference between good vegetation from healthy seeds vs. the weeds.  Such people often insist on trying to pull the weeds out for us, because of what they do not understand.  Others will insist that the weeds along with the product of the seed must be burned, suggesting that the whole garden is contaminated.  What they do not see, is that while the seeds are sprouting, and the plants are growing, that through some are being challenged by the weeds, they are discovering a fuller knowledge of themselves. They really only need help to work past the effects of those weeds, to become a mature and healthy food that will provide nourishment and hope for generations to come.

The tax collectors in Jesus' day were presumed by those of their time, to be sinners.  They were marginalized "because of the dishonesty and injustice associated with their profession. Jesus does not talk to Levi privately, but calls him in the midst of his business, and goes to a public banquet where a "large crowd" of tax collectors and other friends are present.  The Pharisees emphasize the impropriety of sharing a meal with these people, who, besides being sinners, would have contact with the Gentiles and thus been ritually unclean.  Jesus uses a proverb to explain his stance: he has come to help those in need and will go out to them.  Those who will not recognize their own need are not ready for the doctor" (Jerome Kodell, O.S.B. Collegeville Bible Commentary, New Testament Volume, p. 947).

Once again, we see that Jesus goes to those presumed to be "ritually unclean" because of what they do.  Jesus, not pleased with that kind of thing, does not waste time trying to reason with those who have already written them off.  Instead, Jesus goes and makes a partnership with them, to welcome them (hospitality) as part of God's family first, and to show God's mercy and forgiveness (reconciliation) for them second.  Jesus does not see individuals as "ritually unclean", alternatively, he includes them to be part of the work God has sent Christ to do.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer individuals, along with other marginalized persons, have experienced being set aside by those who consider us to be "abominations." This is their way of suggesting that we are "unclean."  The injustices experienced by Native Americans at the hands of white, Christian, men who insisted that their cultural identity and religious values made them such a superior class that they thought of themselves as "commissioned" to exploit and dispose of others who were not like them; is a shameful chapter in American history. This attitude brought by through colonization, resulted in many cultures, traditions and peoples being subjected to the most cruel and unacceptable means of stigmatization and prejudice.  This is something that we as Americans and Christians should not be proud of.

Lent is a time for us to take an honest look at what has been happening in our garden.  As we grow in the company of people of diverse sexual orientations, genders, gender identities/expressions, classes, races, cultures, languages, health statuses, wealth statuses, religions and so on and so forth; what are we declaring to be "unclean" when it is in fact a product of God's Holy Spirit?  Are we looking at other plants recognizing their unique contributions to the work of God among us? Or, are we declaring them weeds because, well, they are just not like us?  

God has come in Christ to make us part of a partnership for the expansion of the reign of God among all people.  We, as Christians, are just one particular flavor, or product of what God is growing in the great garden of life.  It is God's job to determine what no longer bears good fruit.  Not ours.  Our partnership with God, is to participate in loving everyone who is part of God's garden. Each person is created in God's image and likeness, and have been redeemed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That includes us.  That includes those that we have arrogantly decided are weeds. 

During this Lent, let's allow God to have control over our own gardens, and leave those of others to the care of God as well.  

When we work with God by letting the goodness of the seeds of our own faith, to be nurtured by unconditional and all-inclusive love; the awesomeness of God's transforming grace becomes visible to others so that they can add their God created flavors to the diverse garden of God's holy and life-giving people. 


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth your right hand to help and defend us, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 35).

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


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, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).

Sixth Day of Christmas: Frances Joseph Guadet; Prison Reformer and Educator

Scripture Readings

From the Morning Prayer Lectionary

1 Kings 17: 17-25 (NRSV)

After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!" But he said to her, "Give me your son." He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?" Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this child"s life come into him again." The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, "See, your son is alive." So the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth." 

From the Lectionary for the Holy Eucharist

Lamentations 3: 26-36 (NRSV)

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for one to bear

the yoke in youth,

to sit alone in silence

when the Lord has imposed it,

to put one's mouth to the dust

(there may yet be hope),

to give one's cheek to the smiter,

and be filled with insults.

For the Lord will not

reject forever.

Although he causes grief, he will have compassion

according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

for he does not willingly afflict

or grieve anyone.

When all the prisoners of the land

are crushed under foot,

when human rights are perverted

in the presence of the Most High,

when one's case is subverted

—does the Lord not see it?

John 13: 31-35 (NRSV)

At the last supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Blog Reflection

As I read the short biography of the life of Frances Joseph Gaudet I was so amazed by the information about this incredible woman.  I was grateful to read an exceptional short meditation on Frances Joseph Guadet in Forward Day by Day.

Psalm 23. I shall fear no evil; …your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

I only recently heard the name of Frances Joseph Gaudet (1861-1934), a new addition to the church calendar who is commemorated on this date. But now that I know about her, I want to become her fan on Facebook. There is no page for her, but perhaps I’ll start one, and hope that admiration for her will go viral. For now, I simply give thanks for her life and work.

African and Native American, daughter of a former slave, born in a log cabin, Gaudet successfully advocated for prison reform; she made juvenile offenders a focus of her efforts. Prisons in her day were designed mainly to punish, as many of them are today. Yet Gaudet, internalizing the message of today’s psalm, had the vision and the courage to oppose those prison practices and to put forward a philosophy of mercy and rehabilitation. Her message must have been met with enormous resistance, but she persevered.

God, please grant me even a small measure of her courage and commitment.

Stories like this one amaze me.  

Frances Joseph Gaudet was born a prisoner. She was not incarcerated for any crime she committed.  But, she was incarcerated socially and politically.  Guadet was a woman of African American and Native American decent.  She was born in Holmesville, Mississippi and eventually went to live with her brother in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Her two races along with her being a woman would have meant she was one second class citizen split three ways.  Yet, she did not allow the prejudices towards her to stand in the way of her work with prisoners both African American and Caucasian.  

Gaudet spent her life being part of educating prisoners.  She purchased a farm and built the Gaudet Normal and Industrial School.   Over time it was expanded over 105 acres.   Her school was known as a boarding school for children with working mothers.  Gaudet was the principal until 1921, when she donated the institution to the Episcopal Church of Louisiana.  It closed in 1950.  Four years later it's doors were reopened as the Gaudet Episcopal Home to serve African American children aged four to 16.   

Frances Joseph Gaudet died on December 30, 1934.  

All of the above information can be found in Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints on page 146.

Gaudet's work is an example of Matthew 25: 35-36 which is the alternative Gospel reading for her commemoration.  

Her social stigma in the deep south did not keep her from visiting Jesus in the incarcerated people of her day.  She dedicated her work to showing how an African American/Native American woman can be the hands, feet, heart and eyes of Jesus Christ.  

This commemoration needs to be allowed to penetrate our hearts and literally disturb us.  We need to be uncomfortable as we remember this courageous and holy women.  Uncomfortable with our own attitudes towards those who are different than ourselves.  Uncomfortable with those stereotypes that have filled our minds and formed our attitudes about others whom we consciously or unconsciously declare as useless or even dangerous.

How many of us say to others and to ourselves that we are not racist or sexist?  

How many of us have said something like that and then complained verbally and/or non-verbally about the Somali woman with the Shukr is taking too long to ring up the person ahead of us at the grocery store?

How many of us have said we are not sexist, but still laugh at degrading jokes about women?

The beauty of Guadet is that she did great things while people in the deep south were still using the "n" word or the word "red skin" to determine her worth and ability.  She knew and even accepted that she lived in places and times that there was much oppression and prejudice.   Yet, she did not let all of that keep her from doing what she could to for those more underprivileged than herself.

As women and men who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or considered or call ourselves queer (LGBTQ) we know that we live in very turbulent times.  Equality and freedom from religious, social and political oppression has not been completely realized; though we have made great strides.  We can all take the example of Frances Joseph Gaudet to accept where we are and push on to be the best LGBTQ people we can be.  In the midst of injustice and prejudice we can still serve the common good of those less fortunate than ourselves through the families we live in, the places where we work, the communities where we volunteer our time and share our resources.

It is also important that in the face of the violent rhetoric and disappointments pushed by Christianists and other Arch-conservative religious groups, that we maintain a level of respect for ourselves and others who are different from us so that the oppressed do not become the oppressors.  We must educate ourselves about others around us and seek friendships with other marginalized persons in the Church and society so that all of us are working together for the justice and equality that will mean all God's people are included.

The Christ-Child at Bethlehem is born to show us how to heal those broken relationships that are wounded by our short sightedness of different people around us.  The short sightedness we often have in our hearts and minds comes from the poor examples of the generations that went before us.  They are learned behaviors and attitudes.  As Yoda told Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back: "You must unlearn what you have learned." That my faithful readers takes a life time of growing and making lots of mistakes.  We all have to begin at some point.

During this past year we saw a terrible injustice with the execution of Troy Davis and many others because of the death penalty.  I am sure that Gaudet saw many injustices towards the prisoners she served. 

May 2012 be the year that we learn to see Jesus; the Word made Flesh in even the incarcerated.  May it also be the year that those in the prisons of attitudes and behaviors based on bias that leads to imprisoning others who are marginalized and oppressed may finally be set free.

+In the Name of our God who is Creator, Incarnate Word, and Life-Giver.  Amen.+


Prayers

Merciful God, who raised up your servant Frances Joseph Gaudet to work for prison reform and the education of her people: Grant that we, encouraged by the example of her life, may work for those who are denied the fullness of life by reasons of incarceration and lack of access to education; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 147).


Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of
your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our
hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 213).

Lord Jesus, for our sake you were condemned as a criminal:
Visit our jails and prisons with your pity and judgment.
Remember all prisoners, and bring the guilty to repentance
and amendment of life according to your will, and give them
hope for their future. When any are held unjustly, bring them
release; forgive us, and teach us to improve our justice.
Remember those who work in these institutions; keep them
humane and compassionate; and save them from becoming
brutal or callous. And since what we do for those in prison,
O Lord, we do for you, constrain us to improve their lot. All
this we ask for your mercy's sake. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 826).

Fourth Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents: Let Go of Political Manuevering

Today's Scripture Reading

Matthew 2:13-18 (NRSV)

When the wise men had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

Blog Reflection

I often wish I did not know about this Holy Day in our Church calendar.  I want the night before Christmas back with the beauty of the expected coming of the Christ Child, the music, the singing, the sermon about Emmanuel, God with us. 

I do not get to chose what is in the history of the Christian Church. I know.  I know. I am free to do whatever I want with my religion.  Except that if I do that and pass up what the Holy Innocents is about, I am not being true to who I am as a gay Episcopalian. 

We remember today with great horror and"why, O God" that King Herod slaughtered every male child up to two years old, because he was afraid that the new born King was going to supplant him.  This is one scene that Franco Zeffirelli brought home in the Anglo/Italian mini series Jesus of Nazareth depicted with drama that almost makes me sick to my stomach.   The screaming amidst the brutality of Herod's warriors putting these babies to the sword and the weeping mothers as the streets are literally filled with blood is heart wrenching.  

Last year when I wrote about this Holy Day, I also wrote about the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 121 years ago today.  A date that is oddly the same as remembering the Holy Innocents.  Native Americans were slaughtered during the Wounded Knee Massacre with the same kind of brutality that killed the Holy Innocence back in Bethlehem.  The Wounded Knee Massacre is as much a Holy Innocence killing as it is an example of the lack of hospitality that destroyed the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Both of these horrible massacres are the result of political maneuvering for the purpose of safe guarding a sense of insecurity on the part of a King and a government that just cannot allow something that they cannot understand, to roam freely and complete the purpose for which they exist.

When we read about incidents like these, our first question naturally is "where was God?"  If God is so Divine and Omni-present and Almighty, why didn't God intervene here?

I cannot answer that question in a way that would make sense. The violence we recall on a day like this, just does not make sense.

What also does not make sense is how so-called "pro-life" people make use of the horrible events we remember today to shame women about abortion.  It is a terrible abuse of pastoral and religious authority to use this day on women who are so often victimized by men in cases of rape and sexual assault. Women who are experiencing complications with their reproductive organs and need to make a decision about the fetus and the consequences she will face socially if she decides to abort, don't need reminders of how painful such a decision is.  Yet, many "pro-lifers" insist on using this day to pile on the guilt. 

Days like this can also be a reminder of how Christianists and others who still use the Bible to condemn lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; particularly youth.  LGBT and questioning youth who are trying to understand who they are and why they are so different from others who don't have these feelings in side of them that they are so afraid of.  They hear messages about how "As a Christian, I believe with all my heart that homosexuality is wrong." (See the movie For the Bible Tells Me So for the quote).  The innocence of a pure heart that wants to love herself/himself the way they are and know there is a place for them and God in t his world, gets violated as Christianist Pastors invade their sacred spaces.  This too is it's own form of a massacre.

How can the Christ Child of Bethlehem heal our broken relationships on a day like this?

I think we have to begin by allowing the Christ Child to help us understand what is in our own hearts.  All of us have those things that we think give us a sense of self security.  We all have that someone that we want out of our way so we can do as we please.  There is someone some where that scares our sense of self sufficiency to the point where we just have to do our political maneuvering.  If we are not careful, those feelings can drive us to an emotional violence towards someone whom we just hate so much, that we just cannot let them be who they are.

Jesus comes in the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth to help us know that the Light of God shines into those dark places within our hearts and souls.  That Light comes with love and grace to deliver us from our own sense of feeling like the hate that is in our hearts for someone else just cannot be changed or healed. God tells us that it is okay to let go. God tells us that it is okay that we let that individual who is between God and our personal salvation go and be who they are.  We don't have to change them.  We don't have to like them.  We don't even have to be their new best friend.  We also do not have to harbor that prejudice and hurt that harms ourselves on their account.  The Christ Child says; It's okay to let go.

Today's commemoration of the Holy Innocents teaches us that though we may not feel or see God in the midst of the horrible things that happen; we can be part of the solution if we are willing to let Jesus change our hearts and lives.  We can allow LGBT people, women, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews, immigrants and so forth seek to live their lives in peace with all of us.  In that peace there there is no need for political maneuvering.  Because God in Christ takes these horrible events and uses them to change communities and all humankind if only we will let God's Light shine through the darkness.

Amen.


Prayers

We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy
innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray,
into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your
great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish
your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit,, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Innocents, Book of Common Prayer, page 238).

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. (Prayer for Peace, Book of Common Prayer, page 99).

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, Book of Common Prayer, page 815). 

 

 

 

 

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Remember Who Is Owner and Who Are the Tenants

Scriptural Basis

Matthew 21: 33-46 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:

`The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord's doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes'?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Blog Reflection

At times, I think I am quite the hypocrite.  I enjoy going to union rally's and other events like it.  One of the songs they always sing is the famous "This Land is Your Land."  I enjoy singing it with the crowd.  At the same time, I often feel a sense of my own hypocrisy.  The land we are on, really is not our land.  The land we are on belonged to many Native American's before the white Christians took this land I now call mine, took it from them. Yet I sing about the land as if it were mine.  The owner of all of our lands is really God.  God created the land and gave it to whom God chose.  Yet, I sing of the land as if it were my own.

The Liturgy of the Word for this weekend begins with the giving of the commandments to Moses and the people of Israel in Exodus.   God gives the law of loving God and neighbor. God calls on those whom God has rescued from slavery to recognize God as the one God and to not create others. To avoid stealing, murder, adultery, bearing false witness, and so on.  To connect the original first reading with the optional reading from Isaiah 5: 1-7 is to understand that all who work in the vineyard of God's reign are those who have been created and commissioned by the love of God and neighbor that is required of all people.

Christianists and many archconservative Catholics/Episcopalians/Anglicans/Orthodox etc would have us believe that once Jesus Christ came and died on the Cross and rose again, means that only they are those who have chosen to work in the vineyard of God's reign.  Many Christianists and the others I have mentioned, believe that unless you agree that all abortion is murder and that any sexual activity outside of the marriage of one man and one woman, then you are not among God's workers or participants in the work in the vineyard.  In a sense, they could represent those killing the messengers.

God's reign is not made up of only one kind of person. God's spacious vineyard is not only Christians, Caucasians, legal immigrants, heterosexuals, men, European, speak English or are wealthy and healthy.  God's reign is made up of all kinds of people, each unique and with their own characteristics.  God has created the land and the work for all whom God made and loves.

The Psalmist in Psalm 19 writes and sings of how the Law of the Lord is perfect.  The Law of God revives the soul and gives joy to the heart.  The ways of God are acceptance, inclusion and love.  While the world around us seeks separation, violence and oppression, God seeks all of us out to know that in God's reign there are none who are left behind.  Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or queer people are among those whom God loves and wants.  God's Law is present in LGBTQ people and seeks to bring salvation to us by affirming us as we are, and helping us to live our lives to the fullest.  God's Law of love and marriage is as much for LGBTQ people as it is for straight people.  Not all marriage has to include raising children and not all unions must be man and wife.  The Law of the Lord that is so perfect, is inclusive of all people who are created and loved by God.

As much as LGBTQ people and many others who experience division from families and communities because of violence and oppression, we experience a lot of religious groups rejecting us and keeping us from obtaining what God, the land owner has freely bestowed on all of us.   Many individuals who have come to God's vineyard to speak to all God's people about including others in that vineyard have been killed and/or scandalized in their work for justice and inclusion.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.   Harvey Milk. Rosa Parks. Harriet Tubman.  The list can go on and on.

Those who do experience this kind of violence identify with the crucified Jesus.  Jesus came with a message of inclusion. Jesus' life was spent seeking the lost and those excluded to be made a part of God's community. God warned of political corruption and the consequences to minorities and those marginalized by those who enjoy their prestigious power over seeking to serve others. And because Jesus loved differently, Jesus too was marginalized, executed and even after Jesus' glorious resurrection and ascension Jesus remained an outcast.    

Whether we are Christian or not, straight or not, white or not or any other privileged vs the underprivileged, our challenge is to continue in the work of the vineyard.  To work in the vineyard doing what we are supposed to do, without becoming the new oppressors as new folks come to help us better understand how to be inclusive.

In the charming Avenue Q there is the funny but truth telling song: "Everyone is a little bit racist."  And the song is all too correct.  As much as we all try to eradicate our attitudes towards people of other races, there is still that part of us that is very suspicious about someone who is not quite like us.  It does not take much to be confronted by our own racism or prejudice towards someone else. 

I think the message of today's Gospel is for all of us to be aware of when we are the prophet coming to deliver a message of God's love, as well as when we assume we are the land owners who can just take out anyone that we do not like or who say things we do not wish to hear. 

God's receiving grace as well as God's forgiving mercy are with us no matter where we find ourselves in this story.  God seeks to redeem and transform us and our communities.  Each of us needs both redemption and transformation so that we can be a part of God's reign to do the work in the vineyard.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 22, Book of Common Prayer, page 234).

Almighty God, who created us in your own 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 Daily Office Site).