Second Sunday of Advent: Who Will Prepare a New Way for God?

Today's Scripture Readings

Malachi 3: 1-4 (NRSV)

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight-- indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

Canticle 16 (BCP., p.92)


Philippians 1:3-11 (NRSV)

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Luke 3:1-6 (NRSV)

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Blog Reflection

John the Baptist is an important figure during the Season of Advent.  John the Baptist represents desert spirituality, strong social justice preaching and prophecy.  He is so close to God by what he has given up that he is absorbed in contemplative prayer.  John the Baptist can see so many injustices going on around him, and he can speak to all of them as a prophetic witness to what God is bringing in the Person of Jesus Christ.

These past two weeks have been so full of violent news.  The horrible shooting in San Bernardino is another statistic added to the growing number of horrific incidents of gun violence.  What happened not long ago in Paris, France and here in the States, has brought about a surge of islamophobia accompanied by stereo types designed to denigrate those who practice the Muslim Faith.  We continue to see attitudes of heterosexism, and sexism in many parts of our society.  Racism and the refusal to be a welcoming country for those seeking refuge from oppression.  All of these things and many more that we could mention suggest a deep hunger for a vision of God that is not violent, judgmental; but, full of compassion and grace.

St. John the Baptist arrived on the scene with a call to prepare for the new way that God wanted to bring in Christ's Nativity.  It is an era in which every human person's dignity is upheld and the Reign of God is one that is inclusive; while seeking healing and reconciliation.

As Christians today, we are called in the here and now to make a new way in which God will speak to a different generation of how the Holy Spirit anoints all of us to the tasks that are before us.  We can no longer pretend that the Christian Faith is nothing more than quoting Bible verses to prove a political point.  Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the love that He brought at His Nativity, is about being present in all of the messiness of the world as it is, and being the prophetic witnesses that call for real change in the Church and society.  We do not call for it by words and good speeches only, but by living with a genuine devotion to the work of God that shapes how we live and relate with each other.   If Christians will only share the message of Christ by our actions and interactions with God's people that are beyond the doors of our churches; the Christian Faith would inspire people of all generations to become Christians, as opposed to turning people away by nonsense that does no one any good.  It will highlight the goodness of all human kind by disarming oppression, violence and prejudice.  The world will see the Word made flesh, because God impacts the world through Christ present in us and each other.

What does John the Baptist represent for you?

How do you see your role in preparing a way for God?

In what way are you being called and empowered to be a prophetic witness in your daily life?

St. Benedict offers his thoughts in the Prologue of The Rule, while borrowing from Sacred Scripture.  "Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness of death may not overtake you. (RB 1980, p.16, John 12:35).

Amen.


Prayers

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to
preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:
Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins,
that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our
Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 211).

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn
but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the
strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that
all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of
Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and
glory, now and for ever. Amen.  (Prayer for Peace, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).

The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ: God Comes to Turn Our Lives Upside Down and Bring Salvation

Today's Scripture Reading

Luke 1: 26-38 (NRSV)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Blog Reflection

I have just finished reading The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience by Thomas Keating.  He finishes the book by reminding us that Jesus doesn't make the biggest impact on our lives when they are all set in their untroubled moments.  Jesus makes the greatest change in our lives, when they are turned upside down.   When nothing seems to make sense.  When we have the most questions, with no answers.

I think Mary must have felt like God turned her world upside down when the Angel Gabriel came to her, to announce that she was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God.  History tells us that Mary was most likely no older than 16 years old.  I am sure she had many plans   Among them her engagement to Joseph.  Suddenly, just like when most are weddings are being planned, comes the shocker that turns everything over.  Whatever the plans were before, they suddenly had a new component to them.  It was out of order.  It was what most human minds would have thought was illogical.

The Annunciation is about keeping in mind that God is beyond logic.  God is not bound by human rules or laws.  God is not even bound by what humankind perceives to be God's word in the Bible itself.  God is bigger than all of that.  Yet, God comes not as a warrior to stop the conflicts of our lives.  God comes to us in Jesus Christ, through the yes of Mary, to let us know that when our lives are upside down, we too are given the opportunity to make choices.

Are we open to answering yes to God's call upon our lives to bear the presence of Christ in the midst of our messy lives?   Or, are we completely bent on having things our way, come hell or high water?

And there is more.  Just because we answer yes to God's call in our lives, doesn't mean that everything going forward will be without it's demands on our lives for further conversion.   The changes have only just begun.  The possibilities of what God can do with and through us are unlimited when we are obedient to God's will.   In Mary's case, God's random act of grace continued to pour itself out, even to the moment when Mary stood at the foot of the Cross with John, while her son was dying out of love for God and all of us.   For all of us, if we are willing to answer yes to God's random act of grace on our lives, God will only bring out what is truly best.  Even if it winds up costing us everything.  Even if the rest of the world tells us we are crazy.

How is God calling us through God's random act of grace, to make the Church and society a more inclusive place for LGBT and others who are marginalized?

What price are we willing to pay to answer God's call on our lives?

Our answer is more than a simple sinner's prayer and a statement that we have been saved.   It is way more than saying things such as "Religion does not save, only Jesus does."  Answering the call of God on our lives, turns them upside down.  It means walking the way of the Cross with Jesus, and letting God show us a greater love of God, neighbor and self that is authentic and transparent.  It is at total giving of self so that God's reign that is here and now can become ever more real and life-giving beyond our prayers and rituals.  Our God is to be found in the ordinary routines of our lives.  As God turns them upside down, God also calls us to follow Jesus in the midst of our messy lives.  Our choice is to answer yes to the narrow way that leads to everlasting life, or the no that leads to death, darkness and destruction.  

St. Benedict has something to say about all of this in The Rule.

Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation.  It is bound to be narrow at the outset.  But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.  Never swerve from his instructions, then, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom.  Amen.  (RB 1980, Prologue, vs 48-50, p. 19).

Amen.

Prayers

Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have
known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced
by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion
be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and
reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.240).

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.  (Book of Common Prayer, p. 99).

Third Sunday in Lent: Jesus Shows Us How to Be Pure of Heart and a Peacemaker

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 17:1-17 (NRSV)

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

Psalm 95 (BCP., p.724)


Romans 5:1-11 (NRSV)

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

John 4:5-42 (NRSV)

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!

He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, `Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, `One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."

Blog Reflection

If you are still reading this blog after reading all the Scripture verses for this Sunday's Liturgy, thank you ever so much.   Please keep reading.  The fun has just begun.

Beginning with the Third Sunday in Lent through the Fifth Sunday in Lent in Year A, the Gospel readings get longer.  They get longer because the Church and the Lectionary are drawing us into a deeper awareness and meaning of the Passion and Death of Jesus.   They show us how boundless the love of God for us really is.

When I first read the story from Exodus a few years ago, I felt somewhat bad for the Israelites.   They were wandering in the desert and would be for the next forty years.  Many of their generations would not actually see the Promised Land the Lord God promised to them through Moses.   Their concern about being thirsty was legitimate was it not?

One can look at it that way if one has not read the preceding chapters of Exodus.  God did amazing things in front of their eyes.  The plagues in Egypt.  The leaving of the Israelites from Egypt in to the wilderness and finally through the Red Sea, with Pharaoh's chariots and charioteer's drowned in the Red Sea.  The manna that God provided them with in the wilderness.  God had showed God's people how faithful God is to God's word many, many times.  But, rather than wait upon Yahweh to give them what they most needed, they quarreled and complained.  Even after miracle after miracle, they still had more faith in their former life in Egypt than they did in where God had them in the wilderness.  It took the prayer of Moses and the striking of the rock to release the water that gave the people what they most needed.

It is so very appropriate that the Psalm for this Sunday should be what we begin the Daily Office with.  Psalm 95.  The adoption of using this Psalm at Matins (Morning Prayer) comes from the Benedictine Tradition.   Ester de Waal in her book, A Life-Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict  gives us an explanation to the importance of this Psalm in our daily prayer.   Psalm 3  "is followed by Psalm 94 (95) with its invitation to come in, joyfully (1), reverently (6), and penitently (8).  It also has in verse 7 that wonderful line that brings us back yet again to the opening word of the Rule and to the underlying theme, "O that today you would listen to his voice."  Praying should be a dialogue of listening with the "ear of your heart" (Prol., 1), and I am given this daily reminder so that I must never let my ears be closed or my heart be hardened" (page 72).

What sorts of things do we grumble about with the Lord?

In what ways are we not seeing God's gracious and mighty works in our lives?

How can we see what God is giving us as gift, and live in an attitude of thanksgiving for it?

In what ways do we harden our hearts to keep from listening to God?

Now we turn our attention to the heart of this Third Sunday in Lent Year A.   The meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman at the Well of Jacob.   The significance of this meeting gives us two amazing surprises.  Once again, Jesus demonstrates that He is listening for how God can turn the established order of things over on its head, and accept it as God's will.   Here, Jesus breaks through the boundaries of cultural and sexist bias.  He is not only talking to a woman which is pretty much forbidden in that time, but He is also talking to a Samaritan woman.

What was the issue with the Samaritan's you might ask?  Well, you see back in the era of King Alexander the Great in the writings of the Apocrypha, he had destroyed the Temple and persecuted all of the houses of Jewish worship.  Alexander ordered that all of Israel that remained worship his gods.  The Jewish people within the southern part of Israel at the time had outright refused to worship the foreign gods of Alexander the Great.  The Samaritans in the north accepted Alexander's commands, and that was the end of that relationship.  Even though the Samaritans were a people with roots in the Jewish Tradition of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even Moses, the fact that they gave over their religious freedoms to what were considered to be pagan gods, was just something the Jewish People could not over look.   As we see, Jesus Himself is not afraid to cross that cultural boundary to reconcile God with those cut off from the local community.  Not women.  Not Samaritans.  Jesus wants to impart the life-giving water of God's salvation to all people  In so doing, Jesus lives out what it is to be pure of heart (or single-hearted) and a peacemaker.  Here we read that Jesus is willing to empty Himself of even his reputation to draw this woman closer to God through His magnificent love.

Thomas Keating in his book, The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience writes the following.

The single-hearted see God in themselves, in others and in the ordinary events of life.  Jesus said, "The Son cannot do anything by himself--he can only do what he sees the Father doing."  Thus, he is always looking at the Father.  What Jesus does is to translate his vision of the Father into his daily life and teaching and ultimately into his passion and death on the cross.  This is an important point for our practice.  Contemplative prayer is the place of encounter between the creative vision of transformation and the actual incarnation of that vision day by day.  Practice of the creative vision into the concrete circumstances of each day (page 103).

On the subject of being a peacemaker, Keating writes:

The commitment of the spiritual journey is not a commitment to pure joy, but to taking responsibility for the whole human family, its needs and destiny.  We are not our own; we belong to everyone else (page 104).

Jesus' interest in this woman is to see the image of God in her, and to glorify God in upholding her dignity and help her to find peace with God.

Notice that in Jesus' exchange with this woman, once she and He get to the subject of how many husbands she has, He does not dwell on, or call her on that issue.  David Lose in a terrific article on this subject, wrote in The Huffington Post:

And that's it. That's the sentence that has branded her a prostitute. Conservative preacher John Piper's treatment is characteristic. In a sermon on this passage, he describes her as "a worldly, sensually-minded, unspiritual harlot from Samaria," and at another point in the sermon calls her a "whore."

Yet there is nothing in the passage that makes this an obvious interpretation. Neither John as narrator nor Jesus as the central character supply that information. Jesus at no point invites repentance or, for that matter, speaks of sin at all. She very easily could have been widowed or have been abandoned or divorced (which in the ancient world was pretty much the same thing for a woman). Five times would be heartbreaking, but not impossible. Further, she could now be living with someone that she was dependent on, or be in what's called a Levirate marriage (where a childless woman is married to her deceased husband's brother in order to produce an heir yet is not always technically considered the brother's wife). There are any number of ways, in fact, that one might imagine this woman's story as tragic rather than scandalous, yet most preacher's assume the latter.

The difficulty with that interpretation is that it trips up the rest of the story. Immediately after Jesus describes her past, she says, "I see that you are a prophet" and asks him where one should worship. If you believe the worst of her, this is nothing more than a clumsy attempt to change the topic. But if you can imagine another scenario, things look different. "Seeing" in John, it's crucial to note, is all-important. "To see" is often connected with belief. When the woman says, "I see you are a prophet," she is making a confession of faith.

In this exchange between Jesus and this Samaritan Woman, He shows us how we are to see in each person the dignity and integrity of the Beatific and Incarnational vision of God.  God is not limited to our biases, nor does God live by them.  God does not cease to welcome the stranger, the person of a different race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, immigration status, economic status, health status, language, etc into the embrace of God's mercy.  And neither should we.   Jesus in His Death and Resurrection has freed the waters of Baptism to flow from His own pierced heart of love into all nations, races, peoples and faiths.  In Canticle 18 in The Book of Common Prayer on page 94 we pray these words:

And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
   for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people and nation,
   a kingdom of priests to serve our God. 

Jesus in this Gospel extends His invitation to everyone to drink from the Living Waters of Baptism, and to continue to receive from the Sacrament of Holy Communion the outpouring of God's love through the Body and Blood of Christ.

We as the Church, as the Body of Christ are called through our Baptismal Covenant to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to strive for peace and justice in all persons, by respecting the dignity of every human person.  In so doing, we too have the opportunity to live out the Beatific and Incarnational vision of having a pure heart and being a peacemaker.  It does not end with our Sunday Eucharist, and does not stop at the doors of our churches or homes. The Living Waters of Christ are ever flowing in and out of our lives into the wider ocean of God's mercy to be shared with others, without prejudice or violence.

This past week, Rev. Fred Phelps of the insidious Westboro Baptist Church died.  His sad legacy of the horrible "God Hates Fags" picketing and rhetoric cannot be undone.  His tone and those who followed have done their damage to God's holy children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning.   Their work is responsible for the spread of more prejudice that did not stop with LGBTQ people, but also went towards immigrants, African Americans, Native Americans, women and more.  Yet, even in Phelps' death, those of us who have experienced the hurt of his rhetoric, have also the experience of Christ's forgiveness and mercy in our own lives.  Our response to Phelp's death should should be to forgive those who have hurt us, and to pray for those who continue to hurt us.   We must never give up the work of speaking out against prejudice, injustice and brutality in the name of any religious conviction. That must include returning prejudice and hate towards one who ever so sadly provoked it.  Our prayers for Phelps' soul should be for God's mercy and the forgiveness of everyone whom his campaigns have injured.  Our response should be the Gospel response and in the words of The Rule of St. Benedict: "and never despair of God's mercy" (Preferring Christ: A Devotional Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, p. 66). 

May our Lenten Journey lead us back to the Living Water that is in our Baptism to find refreshment from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, that we may also be examples of what it means to live with a pure heart and be a life-giving peacemaker.

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.  (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. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.815).

Almighty God our heavenly Father, guide the nations of the
world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among
them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they
may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.816).

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany: Loving Our Neighbor, Even When We Would Rather Not

Today's Scripture Readings

Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18 (NRSV)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.

You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Psalm 119:33-40 (BCP., p.766)


1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 (NRSV)

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

"He catches the wise in their craftiness,"
and again,

"The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile."

So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future-- all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Matthew 5:38-48 (NRSV)

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Blog Reflection

Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB in her book The Monastery of the Heart: An Invitation to a Meaningful Life writes the following in the chapter 17 about Hospitality.

It is possible, of course, to make community out of "our kind of people," out of people who look like us and think like us and have the same backgrounds we do.

But that is not the kind of community the ancient Rule has in mind or a Monastery of the Heart sets out to be.

And with good cause.

When Benedict of Nursia began his new way of living in wild, licentious, sixth-century Rome, he turned that world upside down.

He took into his monastic community the rich and the poor, the slave and the free, the young and the old, artists and craftsmen, peasants and noblemen.  It was a motley crew.

And then, as if that weren't enough, he opened the doors of the monastery to anyone who came, at any time, to anyone who knocked, no matter who they were or where they had been in life along the way.

Most of all, he made of their coming a royal affair.

Guests were to be met by the entire community "united in peace," with prayer and always with the kiss of peace.

Benedict's community met everyone, whoever they were, with friendship and trust and honor.  The pilgrim, the poor, and the stranger all became new new royalty at the monastery door.

"Jesus" the Rule teaches "is to be welcomed in them" (pages 135-137).  

It would be wonderful if we could all live like that.  Welcome everyone, whether or not we like her/him.  No more barriers to being friends with everyone we come into contact with.   Of course, we know that is hardly possible.  Each of us have our point of discomfort with another person.   Someone who doesn't quite "measure up."   As that is the case, is God in our readings this Sunday asking too much of us?

Leviticus is the Book of the Holiness Code.  It was written in the post-Babylonian Exile era.  It was written in hindsight of events that the Israelite people had already experienced.  It is quite possible that it was written with a certain fright that what happened to them in the exile, could reoccur if they did not get their Temple worship together.  The entire book is full of ritual purity in preparation for the worship of God.  Therefore, it is very important to be careful about not exacting specific passages in Leviticus such as chapter 20:13 as condemning all same-gender sexual acts as a moral obligation, when in fact it is a cultural taboo only.

However, what the book is telling us is that our response to God's acts on our behalf, should be nothing less than love and respect for our neighbor.   To the point that we would honor their property, who they are, and what we do with what is on loan to us, to be shared with our neighbor.  It is clear that in this writing from Leviticus, that making room for the strangers among us is evident to living with a heart that is thankful to God.  To disregard the immigrant among us for the sake of hoarding all things for ourselves, is to disregard the Law of God who loves and delivers us.  God's word to us here, is that our society and our communities begin to deteriorate when we leave the hungry, the stranger and the unrecognizable without their full dignity among us.

As we in the United States continue our conversation about Immigration Reform, how are we welcoming the stranger among us?

At what point do we stop identifying immigrants as "illegals" and leave some room for them to find peace, prosperity and hope in our country?

At what point in our discussion, do we stop making silly statements such as "Can I be an illegal?  I could really use the benefits" as our excuse for racism and envy, when we already have more than immigrants can even imagine?

As the States of Kansas, South Dakota, Arizona, Idaho and others like them, consider bills that would legalize discrimination for businesses and services for LGBT people on the basis of "religious freedom," perhaps we should ask ourselves at what point does our "religion" give us the right to discriminate?   If our Faith is about salvation and redemption in Christ, because all are welcome, as they are, who are we to make such exceptions, and justify them?  

The Gospel for this Sunday is probably the most difficult for many of us to consider, let alone apply.   However, what Sr. Joan wrote in the quote I used above, applies as much to our adversaries as it does our closest confidants.  Our problem with this Gospel Reading is our false sense of self.   We think that we are created and even redeemed to be comfortable, at peace at all times, without any conflict, loved by all and that is only where we find God.   We put all our stock in God and ourselves, based on warm fuzziness.

While there is nothing completely bad about wanting to be comfortable and cozy, if we look for our relationship with God in only that, we will be endlessly disappointed.   The reality of this life is, that we can never find total consolation and comfort in the things of this world.  Even those who we love so closely are only but one drop in the bucket of our human experience.

What Jesus is proposing in this Gospel, is also what is meant in the sixth and seventh steps of humility in chapter 7 of The Rule of St. Benedict.

The sixth step of humility is that a monk (or anyone can be inserted here) is content with the lowest and most menial treatment and regards himself a poor and worthless workman in whatever task he is given,,,

The seventh step of humility is that a man (or woman) not only admits with his tongue but is also convinced in his heart that he is inferior to all and of less value, humbling himself and saying with the Prophet: I am truly a worm, not a man, scorned and despised by the people (Psalm 22:7) (Page 36, 37 RB 1980).

Before you close my blog post today at this point, let me explain this a bit better.  St. Benedict here is not talking about walking around with an inferiority complex, nor indulging in self abuse.   He is also not suggesting that we adopt an attitude to be oh so happy to be abused, discriminated against, etc., that is not what he is saying here at all.   What St. Benedict and Jesus are saying, is to find our ultimate comfort and completeness in God alone.  It is quite alright for us to be at the back of the line of human preference.  Not because that's what we are not, but because of all that God is.  All that we are, need, can be, and are about is found in God.   So that even if we are confronted by someone who completely disregards us, we do not justify what they do, or in some cases not speak up, all is not lost for us.   Because, we are to put our hope in God alone, and love our neighbor, even our adversary with complete abandonment of ourselves out of love and reverence for God present in every person.

This past week I engaged in a very interesting conversation with someone about the terrible violence towards LGBT in African Countries.  I maintain that he violence towards LGBT people in Uganda, Nigeria and Russia is unjustifiable.  The conversation I had was with someone who felt that the Anglican voices in the African Countries that are supporting the draconian laws there, should have no voice in our Anglican Communion.   The problem with that is, that if we build up an attitude and policy of prejudice towards someone, because of their prejudice, then anyone with a prejudice can be kept from participating in the life and ministry of the Church.   That in fact, would mean any and all of us.  We will not succeed in changing hearts and minds towards one another, the more we silence the voices in opposition to each other.   We will succeed, because we continue in dialogue with each other and tell our stories to one another, so that we listen to each other, and open ourselves up to the presence of Christ in each other.   No matter, how difficult it is for us to do that.   It means being open to one another, and loving each other, as we struggle to understand and accept each other.   It will mean bearing in our hearts and souls in union with the wounds of Christ on the Cross in prayer for more open hearts and minds in our dialogue.   But, let us not forget that the story of our redemption does not end with the Cross and death of Christ.  It continued in Christ's Resurrection to new life, and sending the gift of the Holy Spirit.   The Holy Spirit is still among us, and "guiding us into all truth" (See John 16:12-13 NRSV).  Therefore, "for God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27 NRSV).

We must, with God's help, learn to recognize in those who harbor a prejudice, our own ability to discriminate against another.  We must pray with compassion as Henri J.M. Nouwen suggests in his book: With Open Hands.  Seeing in our neighbor, our ability to hurt one another, our lack of acceptance and ability to forgive and be forgiven.   If we close off our dialogue with each other, we will miss the opportunity to encounter Christ in one another.

In a week and half we will be at Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.  As we pray and prepare ourselves for the season of fasting, penance and alms giving, perhaps we need to pray for each other.  We should pray for one another, that we will be given a special measure of God's grace to receive all God's people with genuine hospitality, with a commitment to healing and reconciliation.   Through our prayers and work on behalf of all God's people, may violence and prejudice become yesterday's ways of dealing with out disagreements.  Instead, today, we want to embrace one another.  We continue in dialogue, listening carefully to God and each other.   May we listen and be silent to hear God speaking to and with us more clearly, with reverence and awareness of God's presence in each other.

Amen.


Prayers

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we
do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our
hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace
and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted
dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son
Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.216).

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. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 260).

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. (Book of Common Prayer, p.818).

Psalm Meditation: Psalm 122:9 Because of God's House, I Will Do You Good.

Psalm 122:9 in the Book of Common Prayer, p.780

Because of the house of the LORD our God,
  I will seek to do you good.

These words struck me in an interesting way when I prayed them as part of Midday Prayer (or Diurnum as it is also called) today.   They speak of something very profound when it comes to our relationship with God, in others.   I believe it is imperative to look upon others as being a house of the LORD our God.  

Over the many years, magnificent Cathedrals and church buildings have been built and maintained.  They are rightly referred to as the house of God.  Some refer to them as temples for the Lord.  Within the walls of such buildings is a space where God is present in silence to speak to the soul through various pieces of architecture, art work, music and various symbols.

Matthew 25: 31-46 and the verse from Psalm 122:9 are talking about the house of the LORD our God that is in each of us.   The sacred space that is the heart and soul of the human person.  In spiritual language the heart and soul represents the whole of a person.  Not just the internal organ from which blood is pumped in and out, giving life to the body.  In the heart and soul of a human person is the life and breath of the Holy Spirit providing continual communion with God.  Therein lies the essence of the "sacred vessel" that Esther de Waal wrote about in her book A Life-Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict.  

In The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 64 entitled The Election of an Abbot, he writes about the kind of man who should be considered to be Abbot.  In addition to the monk's spirituality and overall good character, Benedict warns about what kind of disciplinarian the Abbot should be.  Beginning with verse 11 Benedict writes: 

He must hate faults but love the brothers.  When he must punish them, he should use prudence and avoid extremes; otherwise, by rubbing too hard to remove the rust, he may break the vessel. 

Esther de Waal writes in her commentary:

In using that image of the person as a vessel, he (Benedict) is saying something incarnational. Is he not telling us that each person is a Eucharistic vessel? (p.214).

I think the challenge here is to view each person as a vessel, a house of the LORD, our God, and because of that, we must do good for the human person.   An individuals immigration status, race, religion, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, employment status, wealth status, health condition, ability to work or not work, language etc, should not be used by us to determine how we treat an individual who is a vessel, a house of the LORD, our God.   On the contrary, such should be the very reason why we must reverence, care for and respect all persons.   It is precisely because each person is a Eucharistic vessel, a house of God that we must continue the word of justice, inclusion and equality for all people.  Ending violence, oppression, prejudice and malice for all people is more than about liberating people.  It is about striving for peace and justice within the house of the LORD our God that is every human person.

Amen.

Prayer

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).

Second Sunday After Pentecost: Lord, Only Speak the Word and We Shall Be Healed

Today's Scripture Readings

1 Kings 8:22-23 ,41-43 (NRSV)

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart.

"Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name -- for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm-- when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built."

Psalm 96 (BCP., p.725)


Galatians 1:1-12

Paul an apostle-- sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- and all the members of God's family who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Luke 7:1-10 (NRSV)
 

After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and the slave does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Blog Reflection

It is often quite amazing how someone who doesn't quite fit in can change the dynamics of a community or neighborhood.  In many small communities, as soon as someone new moves in, suddenly everyone who has lived there up to that point, knows there is someone that is new on the block.  If the community is welcoming and accepting, they may send over a hot dish while the new neighbors get their house in order, or throw a block party.   If the neighborhood is not so hospitable, the gossip about the new family living in the house down the street, begins almost immediately.

The people in the time of Jesus had been waiting on a Messiah to come and rescue them from Herod and the Roman Empire.  They were not expecting God to arrive and teach them to love their enemies, or play a part in ending injustice, oppression and prejudice.  They were also not looking for a Savior who would challenge them to include others different from themselves, in particular someone who was part of the Empire that was oppressing them.  But, that is the Jesus that came to them as God's perfect revelation.

The servant of the Centurion was most likely his sexual companion.  It was common for men of that time to have same sex partners who would also worked for them.  If there was a point in the Gospels for Jesus to make a complaint against same-gender sexual relationships, this would have been the moment.  However, Jesus did not say anything about that.  Rather than say anything about how the Centurion lived, or worried about what organization the Centurion belonged to, Jesus saw the Centurion's faith that went beyond the limits of cultural norms, and saw God at work.  The Centurion knew that all Jesus had to do, was give the word and his servant would be healed.

The healing that took place, was also meant for the community that was experiencing the oppression.  Jesus made use of the occasion to point out that it is often those who are different from us, and even those who appear to be opposing us, who can teach us something about faith by way of trust.   Such individuals can often be seeing the bigger picture of what is happening, and provide new insights and opportunities for hospitality and reconciliation. 

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people are not the enemies of Christianity, the heterosexual family of one man and one woman, with children and so forth.  Marriage Equality for LGBT people does not hurt the definition of marriage, family nor pose a threat to human society.  As more states open the way for marriage equality,  churches bless those relationships and ordain LGBT people to lead and minister, the opportunity for real healing for the Church and society can happen.  Because we realize that every person or persons are part of the human family, and should be treated with love and respect.  No person should become the target of violence and hurtful rhetoric just because we do not agree with the way they live, or who they love.  The Gospel is our reason to build bridges for diversity within community.   Not divide and fragment communities based on distinctions that are detrimental to the human family.

Today's Gospel invites us to pray that our eyes and ears will be open to listen to the Master's instructions and "attend to them with the ears of the heart" (Prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict).   So that we can respond to God's invitation to continue to the work of radical hospitality and reconciliation that is possible because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit came so that healing and reconciliation could be an important part of the mission of the Church.   A work that continues with our saying yes to God.

Amen.


Prayers

O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things
both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you,
all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable
for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.  (Proper 4, Book of Common Prayer, p.229).

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).

Good Friday: The Loving Arms Of God Forever Outstretched

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: 14-15 5: 7-9 (NRSV)

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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,

John 19: 16b-36 (NRSV)

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill what the scripture says,

"They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots."
And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced."

Blog Reflection

The image of the Prodigal Son has been returning to me over and over again this past Lent.  First, by way of Henri J.M. Nouwen's book The Return of the Prodigal Son.   Second, I found this theme returning to me as I read two books by Esther de Waal.  The first of her books was A Life-Giving: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict.  The next book was Seeking Life: The Baptismal Invitation of the Rule of St. Benedict.  Last, but not least a book by Claudia A. Dickson entitled Entering the Household of God: Taking Baptism Seriously in a Post-Christian Society.   In each of the titles I have mentioned, the authors in one form or another refer to the outstretched arms of Jesus Christ on the Cross as the arms of God forever outstretched to receive the most wretched of sinners. Such was the meaning of the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

As I was doing my Lectio Divina today, I read the following amazing words in Thomas A Kempis' The Imitation of Christ.  "The Cross is always ready and waits everywhere, for you" (p. 93).

What is it like to look back on life and discover instances when we may have found the Cross waiting for us, and the arms of our loving Savior with His arms outstretched?

When I was a Church Music major at Eastern Nazarene College between 1988 to 1994, I saw the health of my Church Music Professor decline very rapidly.  It declined due to Lu Gehrig's Disease.  In February of 1994, he lost his battle with the disease and died.  When I began attending college in the Fall of 1988, he was a healthy man.  He had a Master's Degree in trombone, and a magnificent tenor voice.  When he conducted the Messiah every December, performed by the Choral Union, he was masterful, full of gesture and life.  By the time he died, he was lucky if he could raise his arms off his electric wheelchair to scratch his nose.

One summer while I was there, I needed help to pass my sight singing proficiency exam that was to be taken at the beginning of the next school year.  I had failed it four times.  The exam to be given me was my last chance, or I would not get my degree.  One day, I woke up really late for my on campus summer job.  I did not have time to take a shower.  I was miserable all day.  After work, I went to work with him on my sight singing practice.  I was just about in tears. Prof. Howard heard my story compassionately.   After I finished, he just about laughed himself to death.  He told me that if he had told his wife over the phone that he was about devastated because he woke up late, did not take a shower and all that, his wife would laugh for about 15 minutes.  He said that his wife would eventually say: "So what!!" My professor continued: "You were able to wake up and live another day.  You got to go to work without getting fired.  You were able to do what you could. You did what you were suppose to do."  Before I forget, I did pass the exam in the Fall.

I was thinking about this today as I was meditating on what Good Friday is all about. Here was a man, who was literally losing all the ability to move the muscles in his body voluntarily, yet he was telling me to cheer up and get on with life. He told me with no bitterness or sorrow for himself.  His main concern was encouraging me. 

On Good Friday, Jesus Christ is God's remedy for our sins.  God knowing that we could not accomplish our salvation unless God intervened on our behalf, did more than that.  God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, became the punishment our sins deserved.  He suffered a most agonizing death to restore us to friendship with God.  All that Jesus suffered on this most holy of days, was God acting in our place, so that God can look upon us all through the blood of God's Son and see us forgiven and liberated to live our lives in friendship with God and one another.  We are the one's who sinned by being so immature.  But, God through life and death of Christ showed us the Way (See John 14:6) back to God's Self.

It is not enough to come to this day after five weeks of fasting, prayer and alms giving to go back to the way we were.  As people baptized into Christ Jesus, we have shared in His death and resurrection.  By the power of the Holy Spirit that came on Pentecost because of Christ's resurrection, we are enabled by God's grace to grow in holiness through our relationships with others.  Including, but not limited to the marginalized, poor, oppressed, and the physically/psychologically challenged.   

The Cross is not the Christianists excuse for targeting women, LGBT people, Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, African Americans, Liberals, etc.  The Cross is not a progressives excuse to not forgive and pray for Christianists who chose to hate in the Name of Christ.  The Cross is not a reason for the conviction to justify the closing down of planned parenthood offices nation wide, or targeting abortion doctors to murder.  The Cross is not our emblem to deny health care to the sick and vulnerable.  Nor is it the justification for drone missiles killing whole families in Pakistan, or targeting Americans suspected of being terrorists.  The need for a Savior who died on the Cross, is not our scapegoat for not being good stewards of the environment, our possessions, our sexuality, our families and children.  The Cross on which Jesus died, does not mean the Judaism has been superseded by Christianity and therefore is no longer a valid bulwark of faith. 

The Cross is our reference point for "the path of God's commandments" so that "our hearts may overflow with the inexpressible delight of love" (vs. 49, Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict, p.165).   The love by which the loving arms of God are forever outstretched to embrace all who long for God's mercy and salvation, is our reason and text book for embracing one another in charity and hope.  

As we pray throughout the day, let us all take time to ask God to recreate new hearts in us by the Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11).   That we may love God, others and ourselves with a holy and life-giving love.   The kind that welcomes all, offers reconciliation and recreates the face of the earth.

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.  (Collect for Good Friday, 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.  (Collect for Fridays, Book of Common Prayer, p.99).


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.  (Prayer for Mission, Book of Common Prayer, p.101).