Good Friday: Our False Self Meets Divine Love Crucified For Us

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (NRSV)


See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
--so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals--
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.



Psalm 22  (BCP, p.610).


Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 (NRSV)

The Holy Spirit testifies saying,

"This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"
he also adds,

"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

John 18:1-19:42 (NRSV)

Blog Reflection

Thomas Keating in his book The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience wrote the following about Philippians 2:6-9.

To become sin is to cease to be God's son-or at least to cease to be conscious of being God's son.  To cease to be conscious of being God's son is to cease to experience God as Father.  The cross of Jesus represents the ultimate death-of-God experience:  "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"  The crucifixion is much more that the physical death of Jesus and the emotional and mental anguish that accompanied it.  It is the death of his relationship with his Father.  The crucifixion is not the death of his false self because he never had one.   It was the death of his deified self and the annihilation of the ineffable union which he enjoyed with the Father in his human faculties.  This was more than spiritual death; in was dying to being God and hence the dying of God: "He emptied himself, and took the form of a slave...accepting even death, death on a cross!"  The loss of personal identity is the ultimate kenosis (page 62).

All of those things that we think make up who we are, today, meet the Divine Reality.   Even our emotional comforts through which we claim our identity are not an end in and of themselves.  If Jesus Christ did not claim any thing to be the source of His greatness as being God, then our false-selves are really baseless.   

The path to being our true-selves is found in letting go of our false-selves.   Our true-selves are not caught up in useless labels, our belongings or even the things we enjoy.  Those things are all temporary, and they are means to our true-selves.  But, they are not an end.   They are evidence of God's presence in our lives.  However, the moment they become our god, or lead us to making ourselves a god, that is why they are false.  

On this Good Friday we remember that Jesus was crucified for us.  In that agonizing death, with all it's humiliation and injustice, Jesus surrenders everything including His relationship with God into God's hands.  "Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit."   In these words that we pray every night at Compline, we surrender ourselves into God's hands with confidence, because Jesus prayed these words from Psalm 31 on the Cross.

Jesus gave His life out of love for every human being.  One of my favorite prayers I use during Matins (Morning Prayer) so very often is the one found on page 101 in The Book of Common Prayer.

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 crucifixion and death of Jesus is our reason for loving and including all people in the life and ministry of the Church.   There is no justification to scapegoat any person for any reason, if we take seriously what this day means.   All efforts to even suggest that the Jews killed Jesus are nothing more that an attempt to blame others for the fact that our sins are what killed Jesus.   Our refusal to love others as Christ loved us, which by the way is a commandment of Jesus we heard last night; is why Jesus was crucified.   If anyone seriously believes that Christians should lord ourselves over any person because we are Christians, then we have missed the message of Good Friday.   It was not Christ's divinity that He held on to to die to save our sins.   It was His divinity that He crucified and handed over for our salvation and redemption.

In the crucifixion and death of Jesus, our false self meets the divine love of God in Christ.  Because Jesus Christ is our Lord, Savior and Redeemer.  God's love for us in Christ was so strong, the God did not even spare God's own Son, but handed Him over for us all. (See Romans 8:32).   May God's love for us in Christ, be our reason to love others in Christ's Name.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your
family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be
betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer
death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer. p.221).

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but
first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he
was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way
of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and
peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.100). 

All Saints Sunday: Beatitude Is Our Attitude

Today's Scripture Readings

Daniel 7: 1-3, 15-18 (NRSV)

In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: "As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever."

Psalm 149 (BCP., p.807)


Ephesians 1:11-23 (NRSV)

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Luke 6:20-31 (NRSV)

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:

"Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

"Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.

"Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

"Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

"But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

Blog Reflection

In the Oxford Concise Dictionary of the Christian Church the following definition is given for the Communion of Saints.

Part of the 9th article of the Apostles Creed.  it is usually interpreted as the spiritual union existing between each Christian adn Christ, and so between every Christian in Heaven, Purgatory, or on earth (p.136).

J.B. Bernard in An Introduction to the Episcopal Church on the subject of the Communion of Saints wrote:

This means the fellowship of Christians with one another through their possession of the one Spirit and their fellowship with Christ.  It applies not only to this world, but also the next.  All Christians are one in Him (p.91).

These quotes along with our Scripture readings on this All Saints Sunday gives us a lot to ponder.   Yet, the greatness of it is not in the amount to think about, but the enormity of God's love for all God's people.  All of us who have been brought together by the Catholic Creeds, to serve in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, find our oneness in Jesus Christ.  All that is good and holy, with all the potential to be touched by the ever present mercy of God, is because of what Jesus Christ did by His death, resurrection, ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  No matter how much the Church may get wrong since it's beginnings, this oneness in Christ, this one belonging to one another because of Christ, means that there are no losers and no one to be excluded.  Everyone is to be invited to receive in faith the Holy Mysteries, and ponder for themselves what salvation in and through Jesus Christ means for them.

In case we need some kind of script to understand what it means to be one in Christ, that we are a part of the Communion of Saints, we need look no further than Paul's letter to the Ephesians. We all share in some way in that inheritance of the Saints in the light of Jesus Christ, so that each of us may know what is true and worthwhile.  None of us are required to agree with one another.  All that is asked of us, is to know in our hearts that God has redeemed us in Christ, and promises the strength of God the Holy Spirit to each of us, as we work on behalf of God to do the ministry of hospitality, healing and reconciliation for all God's people.

As we read the Beatitudes in Luke's Gospel today, we hear Jesus affirming those who are already blessed to be counted as among the Saints.  The poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who love their enemies, and accept God's will in circumstances including those that are just contrary to what we think that they should be.   All of us in one way or another have lived through those moments of being in need, being crushed and broken, and facing injustice, oppression and prejudice.  Yet, Jesus tells us all, that we are blessed, and that God's reward is already there for us.  It is in this moment that we find God's grace calling us to be saints, radically transformed for the work of God's compassion and mercy.   In our Baptism, we have all received that redemption of Christ so that we all share together as members of Christ, as part of the Communion of Saints.

Ten years ago this weekend, The Episcopal Church consecrated and ordained Bishop V. Gene Robinson.  The first openly gay Bishop in the Episcopal Church.  His consecration and ordination has borne the fruit of the Holy Spirit to help LGBT people become more included in the ministry of the Church.  Bishop Gene's voice has been, and continues to be heard amidst all the controversy in the Church over the issues surrounding of sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression. Those of us who are LGBT have received the Good News of the Gospel, that we too are to be counted among the Communion of Saints, to serve and be served as part of Christ's Body, the Church.   Among us are the poor, the hungry, those who mourn, the pure in heart, those in need of mercy and peace.  Bishop Robinson's consecration and ordination was an act of God answering our prayers, to bring us hope and much grace as we continue the work of inclusion for all God's people.

On this All Saints Sunday, may we count ourselves as among the Communion of Saints.   May we pray to know that we are one in Christ with one another, in all our diversity, arguing and calamity.   Christ is God's presence and peace in the midst of the chaos.  In Christ, is our hope, our faith, our Baptism, and all that God promises in this life, and in the life to come.   May we claim the blessing of God who is + Father, Son and Holy Spirit + for ourselves and others around us.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one
communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son
Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those
ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love
you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy
Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Collect for All Saints Day, Book of Common Prayer, p. 245).

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior,
the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the
great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away
all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body
and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith,
one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all
of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth
and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and
one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. (Prayer for the Unity of the Church, Book of Common Prayer, p.818).

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).

Monday in Easter Week: What Happened to the Resurrection Event?

Today's Scripture Readings

Acts 2:14,22-32 (NRSV)

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the multitude, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know-- this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him,

`I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken;

therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

moreover my flesh will live in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One experience corruption.

You have made known to me the ways of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'

"Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying ,

`He was not abandoned to Hades,

nor did his flesh experience corruption.'

This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.

Psalm 118: 19-24 (BCP, p. 762).


Matthew 28: 9-15 (NRSV)

Suddenly Jesus met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, "You must say, `His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.

Blog Reflection

What started out as really good news to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, turns out to be an event kept under wraps as the soldiers are paid to tell a different story than what actually happened.  It is amazing what happens when an event that is true, becomes captive to bribery.  

What happens to the resurrection event in our own lives? 

Is the highest celebration of the Church year allowed to bring us and others the joyous news by our having been changed from the inside out?  

Do we respond to the resurrection event by loving our neighbor better than we did before Lent began? 

Did the resurrection do more for us than just going to church with the Easter people who go once a year, because we experienced a spark in our faith, through our behaviors and attitudes towards others? 

Did the Easter event become something we don't act on or talk about, because we are just too busy, or afraid of what others might think?

Sometimes when I read posts of the awful things that happened during Holy Week and Easter on the part of Christians, I wonder if the resurrection has changed us at all.  It is said that this past weekend that Cardinal Dolan used his media power this past weekend to blast President Obama on his policy about contraception concerning religious institutions and the health insurance for their employees.  If the resurrection is a real event, then why was it suddenly put away to make a mockery out of the Crucified Christ in women and President Obama?

This past week and weekend, and now this Easter Week is full of joy and celebration as we greet the Risen Christ who comes to us to say "Peace be with you."   Are we offering peace to each other by more than just the sign of peace at the Liturgy, but seeking to bring peace to our neighbors?

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people have experienced Lent, Holy Week and Easter as the time of serious bashing.  In the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, I am sure many Parishes read that horrible prayer that the Archbishop asked to be prayed to support the amendment that bans marriage equality for LGBT people.  What might Easter Day have been like to be at Mass celebrating the resurrection, then suddenly rejected as an LGBTQ person when that prayer was said?

The Easter event of the resurrection is about God's justice and mercy.  It means that all of us have been so richly loved by God, that God's Son endured the shame of the Cross and triumphantly rose from the dead to redeem all of us for salvation.   God embraced all of us in this Easter celebration, by helping us know that death is not the last word.  There is resurrection, there is hope.  As LGBTQ people, the resurrection event is our Easter story, as it is for all who consider Christianity as our religion, spirituality and meaning for living.   The love we share for our partners, friends, families, communities, churches etc, is because God first loved us, and showed us the Way through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

How are we telling the resurrection story today?  

Are we telling the story as God's Easter people?

Or, have we allowed the story of the Paschal Mystery to be kept silent, because we let someone pay us off to keep quiet?


Prayers

Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that we who celebrate with
awe the Paschal feast may be found worthy to attain to
everlasting joys; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Collect for Monday in Easter Week, Book of Common Prayer, p. 222-223).


Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus
Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of
everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the
day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death
of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for Easter Day, Book of Common Prayer, p. 222).


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).