Good Friday: The Cross is Our Reason To Love, Not Hate!

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

Unless we have a heart of stone, it is very difficult to read the words of the passion and death of Jesus without feeling that sense of shame in what human beings are capable of.   The praise and jubilation that the crowds shouted to receive Jesus into Jerusalem with palm branches strewn about, has become a call to crucify the Son of God.  The fickleness of the human heart has shown all of it's true colors. 

The Good Friday event of the crucifixion of Jesus is more like a mirror of what humankind can be like.  Yet, as we recall all of the terrible things that happened on Calvary today, we also remember that this is how God showed God's unconditional and all-inclusive love for all of us.  Even those of us who crucify Jesus through our sins.  

In today's meditation from Pilgrim Road: A Benedictine Journey Through Lent, Albert Holtz, O.S.B., writes about his experience during the Good Friday Service at Fatima Parish in Santa Cruz.   The people gathered in the congregation bring their palms that they carried and waved from Palm Sunday.  For them, it is a reminder of how they and all of us, shouted "Hosanna in the highest!  Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!" on Palm Sunday, and today on Good Friday we with the crowd shouted: "Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!"   When they walk forward to venerate the Cross the carry the palms with them, reminding them that they too are as much able to welcome God with a song of praise, as they are to crucify Jesus again by their sins.

Fr. Holtz also reminds us of the palms in another place in the Scriptures.

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples, and languages, standing before the throne before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.  They cried out with a loud voice, saying

"Salvation belongs to our God
      who is seated on the
      throne, and to the Lamb." (Revelation 7: 9-10).

The reason we are among those who can wave palm branches as we celebrate the saving power of our God, is because of Jesus Christ who "became obedient unto death, even death on a Cross" (Philippians 2:8).  The writer to the Hebrews notes that our High Priest knows all about our human suffering and that we should approach the throne of grace to find help in time of need.   In Jesus Christ, God has identified with the totality of our human experience to the point where all of us are among God's beloved, with whom God is well-pleased. Even as Jesus cries out, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23: 34).

The need for scapegoating other people is over.  God has shown unconditional and all-inclusive love for every human being.  The reason Jesus can call us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being, with God's help, is because Jesus Christ has showed us the way to do that.  The commandment Jesus gave us at his Last Supper last night, to love one another as he loves us, is one that Jesus with God's help, has fulfilled.

No amount of prejudice towards another individual because of race, religion, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, language, culture, health status, wealth status, political affiliation, or any other reason, is acceptable. The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, shows that God has loved each and every one of us, without exception.  God's love has gone to such length's that "God did not even spare God's own Son, but handed Him over for all of us.  Will God not also give us all things with Him?" (Romans 8: 32).  Therefore, any attempt to exclude someone who is not like ourselves from justice, equality, and inclusion, is another shout to crucify the Son of God again. 

The Cross is not a reason to target lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people to take away human rights protections or marriage equality.   Good Friday is not an excuse for George Zimmerman to shoot 17 year old Trayvon Martin.  The events of Good Friday are not a cause for zeal for Christians to target Jewish people and Muslims to suggest that there is no salvation for them, unless they convert to Christianity.    The message of the Cross that is the power of salvation, does not bless the countless protests at Planned Parenthood clinics all over the country today.  Jesus did not cry out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" so that States all over the United States should pass invasive vaginal ultra-sound requirement bills for women. 

Good Friday and the death of Jesus on the Cross should give to us the inspiration to show compassion and mercy towards every human being.  We should be using this occasion as our very reason why we should love our neighbors as ourselves, and strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.   We should insist that the meaning of the Paschal Mystery is to celebrate the amazing love of God, that stretched out the arms of Jesus on the cross, to let all of us know that God embraces every human person, without exception.  Our response to that love, should be to follow Jesus' example.

When I survey the wondrous Cross where the young Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the Cross of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.  (Hymn 474, Hymnal 1982).

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).


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).

Tuesday in Holy Week: Injustice and Evil Meet Their Match

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 49:1-7 (NRSV)

Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The LORD called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, "You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified."
But I said, "I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the LORD,
and my reward with my God."
And now the LORD says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength--
he says,
"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
"Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

Psalm 71: 1-14 (BCP, p. 683)


1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 (NRSV)

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

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

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

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

John 12: 20-36 (NRSV)

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

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light."

Blog Reflection

Is it possible for all of the injustice in the world to make sense?   Why can't there be an end to violence, wars, poverty, prejudice and destitution?    Why does evil have to win some times?

There are no simple answers to these and other questions we might ask.  Terrible incidents such as the tornadoes hitting Dallas, Texas today, just don't have explanations.  Diseases such as Alzheimer's,  Breast Cancer, Leukemia and HIV/AIDS are products of many cells and infections.  They are not the result of anything God could bring upon humankind.  Yet, if God is so powerful and merciful, why doesn't God stop them all?

There is a thought that can bring us comfort, if we will allow our hearts and minds to go there.  God in Jesus Christ experienced what it means for injustice to win, and still managed to be victorious.   It is the message contained in St. Paul's Letter to the Corinthians.  "The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  None of this could make sense to and for Christians, if we did not have the example of what Holy Week means.

If we think about what Jesus is saying in our Gospel today, he is suggesting that even God lost over the powers of evil, if you will.  After all, how can God die?   Yet, the most vile of evil's in the struggle between the powers of hell and those of God, would be if God died after the most brutal of tortures.   Having been rejected, scorned, mocked, spit upon, flogged, crowned with thorns and finally hung upon the Cross, Jesus wonders why God would have forsaken him.  How could God have abandoned God's Self?   Yet, in the humanity of Christ, God departed, and Jesus still trusted that God had the power to rescue him, even if he should die.  Salvation and justice would not have known a better victory, than the Son of God giving up his life for our sins, out of his self-sacrificing love, only to rise again on Easter Day.   Sin and death were rendered a failure.

Jesus in this Gospel reading from John, is prepared for this moment.  He recognizes that only by his death, will the things he had spoken and done would make sense.  In his resurrection, would the world know how much God loved us as John wrote in chapter 3 verse 16 and 17.  The wisdom of the world that says when evil wins it is all over, was made powerless and false as God in Christ accepted death so that there may be new and unending life.

We can see in our own times, examples of how a tragedy in all of its horror and madness, still reveals the power of God in the world.  Through the tragic killing of 17 year old Trayvon Martin, individuals are rising up to call our attention to how real the evil of racism is in our Nation.  People who might have given up on any hope of calling attention to how bad the Stand Your Ground laws really are, found a reason to raise our voices in concern for those threatened by violence that results from another person's prejudice.

The insane beating and killing of Matthew Shepard, called our attention to the horrible reality of hate crimes towards youth and other individuals who are LGBT.  The grief of Dennis and Judy Shepard was turned into a movement to eventually enact the hate crimes bill signed into law by President Obama in October of 2009. 

The courage of Sandra Fluke who was willing to testify this past February in a Congressional hearing about why access to contraception is so important for women, has helped many others become active in our concerns about male privilege deciding the reproductive health care for women.  The injustice of any and all women being kept from testifying during that hearing, gave women their voice and opportunity to speak out and inspire others to exercise their voice for women's rights.

Yet, we dare not stop seeing what injustices still play out in our times.  Individuals who could lose their health care should the Supreme Court strike down the Affordable Care Act.  Seniors and those who are disabled would see poverty in their regards increase dramatically should Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid become privatized.   People in our own neighborhoods dying as a result of starvation and dehydration, as well as in third world countries all over the world.  These and other injustices need our attention too.

As we look to Jesus' example during this Holy Week, we would do well to pray for that part within all of us that has yet to die to our self-centeredness, so that we may serve Christ in others.  The Paschal Mystery that we celebrate this week, should propel us from being apathetic towards those in need, to being active in not only helping them with their basic needs, but changing the system that keeps injustice and oppression as something we can just ignore.


Prayers

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an
instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life:
Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly
suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior
Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Tuesday in Holy Week, Book of Common Prayer, p. 220).

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).     

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

Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent: Keeping Our Faith Alive as Evil Plots Thicken

Today's Scripture Readings

Ezekiel 37: 21-28 (NRSV)

then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children and their children’s children shall live there for ever; and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them for evermore. My dwelling-place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations shall know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them for evermore. 

John 11: 45-53 (NRSV)

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.’ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.’ He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.  

Blog Reflection

The scene in today's Gospel is incomplete without a look at what happened before the meeting of the chief priests and Pharisees.  Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead.  For many who were questioning the legitimacy of Jesus up to that point, were now confronted with an inescapable event in front of their eyes, and now believed in Jesus.  As for those who did not, who felt that this Jesus was too much of a trouble maker, the time had come to form a political action committee to plot to take him out.

This picture here is not unlike what has been happening around President Obama.  A man dedicated to doing what he can for the middle class. Obama worked hard to pass health care reform.  He has also been an advocate for the rights of women over the issue of contraception. He crafted a policy that benefits both religious institutions who do not wish to pay for contraception, and those individuals who would still like to obtain it.  Yet, in the eyes of many who hate the President, not so much for being a liberal, but because they just cannot accept that a black man holds the office of Chief and Commander, something must be done to take him out.  Even threaten his life. Those campaigning against him, will do or say anything, even things that are not even relevant to the facts, to be sure they can take him out.

As information about the Trayvon Martin case continues to become available, it becomes ever more clear of how much racism is a part of the debate.  The defense of the so called "stand your ground law" is the cover for what is really the reason why this young man was murdered.  The hatred for one black seventeen year old, walking down the street, wearing a hoodie, who was stalked and gunned down, by a man who can claim self defense, without any facts to back him up.  Just because Trayvon's picture appears on some web site, with his middle finger in the air, the very middle finger many so called Christianists have used towards President Obama and other minorities, or wears a tattoo, is no excuse for justifying the killing of this incredible young man.

Maggie Gallagher, the founder and former President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is "unapologetic" for trying to divide minority groups and the LGBT communities, in the effort to suppress our right to marry.   As long as they can prevent LGBT people from marrying the person they love, because of their own heterosexism, if they invoke racism as a means of doing so, it really doesn't matter, right?  The ends, justifies the means in this instance?   Or is this an example of "moral relativism" working for those willing to "break the law" to be sure what "belongs to God is not taken over by Ceasar" we can even violate simple Christian Charity to do so?   In other words, it is okay to sell Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver again.

As we stop on this Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent, before we begin Holy Week, we would do well to remember the words that Jesus actually said: "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25: 40).   When we can use religious zeal, no matter how good we think our intentions might be, to scapegoat one person, to target them, we can use it for just about any one person after.   There are days when I think that Christianists and others who support what they do, have learned from the example of the wrong characters in the Gospels.   Rather than look to the model of generosity, hospitality, inclusion and reconciliation of Jesus, they have looked to those who targeted one who loved and lived differently to stamp them out of existence.  

Among the ways we can keep our faith alive in these days when politically and socially evil plots thicken, is to let faith be our guide to understanding and doing what is good and holy.  We can see African Americans as good and holy people, as well as Native Americans, Immigrants, LGBT people, and women, as those whom Christ came to seek out, to welcome them into the company of God's holy people.  We can refuse to allow the prejudices of Christianists to influence how we worship God, what we believe about people different than ourselves, and how we act on their behalf.  We can see through the plot of the political corruption that wishes to take health care away from our senior citizens, retired, and disabled individuals.   We can agree that we should remind those in our government that they have a role to play in protecting the civil rights, and work towards the equality of the dignity of all human beings.  We can do these things, because this is what our Baptismal Covenant has called us to do, as our way of living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Our peace and integrity is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection.  By whom we are saved and delivered." (By Gregory Norbert, Oregon Catholic Press - www.ocp.org, also found on the album: Listen: Song of Presence, by the Monks of Weston Priory, 1973, 1994).    


Prayers

O Lord, you relieve our necessity out of the abundance of your great riches:  Grant that we may accept with joy the salvation you bestow, and manifest it to all the world by the quality of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives avd reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent. Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 64).

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


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, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.  (Prayer attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, p. 833).

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent: By What Truth Are We Seeking Freedom?

Today's Scripture Readings

Numbers 21: 4-9 (NRSV)

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

John 8: 21-39 (NRSV)

Again he said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ Then the Jews said, ‘Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ He said to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.’ They said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Why do I speak to you at all? I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’ They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.’ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’

Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.’

They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did,

Blog Reflection

My blog readers will notice the reading from Hebrew Scriptures today, is the same one I wrote about on the Fourth Sunday in Lent. 

To understand what the issue with the serpent was, you have to go back to while the Israelites were in Egypt.  In Exodus 7: 8-13 is the story of how Aaron through down his staff and it became a snake.  When Pharaoh's sorcerers through down their staffs, they also became snakes.  But, Aaron's snake swallowed theirs.  Thus the serpent of God was more powerful than the that of Pharaoh. 

The serpents were a reminder of how much injustice they experienced in Egypt.  To turn back would return them to disaster.  Only by looking at the bronze serpent could they see that moving forward on God's terms was the way they would in due time, see the promised land that God promised to their ancestors.

In our Gospel for today, Jesus is also looking forward.  He continues to foretell about his coming death on the Cross.  He is being confronted by those who do not believe in him.  Jesus realizes that he in many ways is on the losing side of the debate.  Yet, Jesus still claims for himself the promise of God as his refuge, who sent him to do the work he does.  Jesus again alludes to being lifted up, and that it is only then that the words he had been speaking would make sense.

To those who are believing in what Jesus has to say, and remain in his words, he says: "you will known the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

How are we seeking the truth about Jesus as progressive Christians?  As Christians who are looking forward to Holy Week, how do we understand truth in 2012?

These past two weeks have revealed the awful reality of how much racism is still a very living issue.   Trayvon Martin's murder and the horrible remarks coming from certain racist pundits, show that we are not as far along in routing out racial prejudice as we might have wanted to believe.  The importance of the Trayvon Martin matter, is to recognize that as long as one innocent and unarmed individual can be followed, shot and killed, while his shooter claims 'self  defense" is protected by the law, no one of us is actually safe.  Terrance Heath in an excellent set of articles in The Bilerico Project, asks the question: "Whose Son Will Be the Next Trayvon Martin?"

Racism has raised it's ugly head over the issue of marriage equality for LGBT people.  Yesterday the news was released in court documents shows that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has been working to divide communities of diverse races and the LGBT communities, as they work to deny same-sex couples the right and opportunity to marry.  

I believe that the truth that we are learning from these and other examples, is that once discrimination becomes acceptable towards any group of people, it can be used again and again to stigmatize and marginalize anyone and every one.  When prejudice and violence is justified, using the Christian Faith and it's principles as it's basis, the most extreme spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse can kill a lot more than the body.  It destroys whole communities, and creates atmospheres of hostility, oppression and injustice.  It is certainly not what being a true follower of Jesus Christ means.

Dr. Kent R. Hill, former President of Eastern Nazarene College, who held that office when I graduated in 1994 often said and/or wrote: "All truth is God's truth."  Many in the conservative side of theological and social morality debates would say that if truth can be redefined then we run into the dangers of "moral relativism" as Pope Benedict XVI said.  As we examine many of the actions of the Bishop of Rome with regards to the issue of child pedophilia that have been raised, we can easily see how moral relativism can be condemned in one instance, and then defended as an appropriate action in another.   How then can this sort of thing be "truth"?

The truth that Jesus is speaking about can be found within human Reason as much as it can be found in the Scriptures and Church Tradition.  Among the other truths we have been learning is that what is written or spoken in one of those, does not have to completely backed up word for word, by the other.  The experiences of science, technology, archeology and cultural anthropology hold as much truth as can be found in any theological masterpiece.   More importantly, the truth of God is found in how we experience the Gospel in our every day life.  As we live the meaning of the Cross and Resurrection in our daily life, the truth of God's love for every human person in Jesus Christ, becomes an actual living and participating part of the Gospel story of our lives.

What truth are we seeking to set us free?


Prayers

Almighty God, through the incarnate Word you have caused us to be born anew of an imperishable and eternal seed: Look with compassion upon those who are being prepared for Holy Baptism, and grant that they may be built as living stones into a spiritual temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.  (Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent.  Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 61).

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


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

Fifth Sunday in Lent: Following Jesus to Good Friday

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NRSV)

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

Hebrews 5:5-10  (NRSV)

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

"You are my Son,

today I have begotten you";

as he says also in another place,

"You are a priest forever,

according to the order of Melchizedek."

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

John 12:20-33 (NRSV)

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

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

Blog Reflection

All of the readings for this Sunday, give me some shivers.   All of the readings become useful by those who want to suggest Christianity as a religion of anti-Semitism and/or supercessionism.  Even the reading from Jeremiah is often thought to be referring to Jesus as the "new covenant."   After all, Jesus said that the Cup of Salvation is "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (see Luke 22:20) while instituting the Eucharist.

The people that Jeremiah was writing to and/or about were in exile.  They were believed to be in Babylon because they had broken the God's covenant.  Their land of origin had been plundered, and they were taken away to live in a land where they were captives.  The Prophet is delivering God's message that God wants to write a new covenant into their hearts.  God wants there to be a marriage with God's people, so that God's law is not just a matter of being observed because it is required.  God is wanting there to be this relationship of love, where by God's people respond because of a love they have received as God's holy people.  "They shall be my people and I will be their God."  A relationship with God, that is kept because God is their Savior.

Do we understand that our relationships with each other are reflective of our relationship with God?

This is something that St. Benedict knew about.  In writing the Rule of St. Benedict, he lays out a way of life to be lived by those who pray and work together as a community.  To be concerned about the others with whom we share our lives.   Benedict sees the relationship between time spent alone in the desert and with others in the market place.  The time we spend with God in silence and solitude, must reflect our attitudes towards others, especially those who are different from ourselves.  As God receives us in mercy and love, so should we accept others.

Jesus was born and lived in a culture that observed the Law of Moses, and, he sought to take that relationship to a new level.  It was more than about following the rules and/or dictating rituals and the like.  It now needed to be taken to those who were marginalized and stereotyped as unacceptable or unlovable.  Jesus assumed the role of a Priest when he offered himself in obedience to his Father's will, by dying on the Cross for the sins of all.  As Christians move towards Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter Day, we celebrate Christ as our Paschal Sacrifice. 

Jesus is aware that his time has come in the reading from John.  It appears at least from this reading that the time has not yet come when the message of Jesus reaches out to the Gentiles.  Could that be why they are left out of the rest of the story?   Jesus explains that it is by his death that he will be lifted up and will draw all people to himself.  Unless he undergoes his passion and death, the message that he proclaims will remain such for only a selected group of people.  The story of Jesus indeed has gone far because of his death and resurrection, proclaimed by the Apostles and their successors down through the ages.  There is a reason why the Gospel continues to be heard in every generation.

The act of Jesus giving up his life is an example for all who would follow him, of what being a Christian means. The Christian life is not one of being in love with wealth or power.  It is a life lived from the point of self-giving in service to others in hospitality and reconciliation.

St. Benedict recognizes this in Chapter 53 of the Rule, with regards to The Reception of Guests.   Guests are to be received as Christ himself.  They are to receive the kiss of peace and prayed with.  The abbot with the entire community are to wash their feet.  After which, they recite the verse: "God, we have received your mercy in the midst of your temple" (Psalm 48: 7).  They are to be told what the Rule is, where they are allowed to go, and places where they are not allowed.  Only one of the Monks is assigned to care for the needs of the guests. All of the other brothers are to speak only for a few moments, and then explain to a talkative guest that they are not allowed to talk to the guests, because the care for the guests needs are to be handled only by the Guest Master.

Among the many things a disciple of Jesus Christ must do as part of "giving up your life" is to see in those who are different than ourselves the very image of God.  When we allow our hearts and behaviors to be ruled by prejudice and negatively stereotyping of others, we participate in the love of our life in this world.  In other words, we become participants in a world that seeks to divide rather than unite.  A world that justifies a 17 year old Trayvon Martin being shot because "he was wearing a hoodie", as an excuse for racism.   A society that wants to excuse Christianists, who beat LGBT people while they recite Leviticus 20: 13.   When we hold on to and feed bias, we might be tempted to join others in targeting Muslims and Jewish people, Native Americans, Immigrants and those without medical insurance as political play chips in elections.   Facilities like Planned Parenthood and other facilities that offer reproductive health care to women, become the focus of gun violence and lose funding because of suspicions that are most likely false.

If our Church and society are to be healed of the attitudes of discrimination and glorified brutality, then Christians must lead the way, by calling for justice, inclusion and equality for all people.  Christians must seek to welcome individuals of diverse groups of people, and provide ways of reconciliation through education and taking opportunities to learn about those who live in our communities, churches and schools.  We need to speak up on behalf of the poor, the disenfranchised and those who are oppressed because of injustice.   We must be willing to give of ourselves for the benefit of others.

During these last days of Lent, leading into Holy Week, let us take some time during this upcoming week to be quiet before our God.  The readings throughout the week will get darker and will have a lot more tension.  But, we will also see that Jesus will face them, by loving them, while at the same time, not letting them get him off track.  Jesus knows is death is pending.  He is willing to face it all on our behalf. His words and his life will call on us to follow his example in the Gospel stories of our own lives.


Prayers

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


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


Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for Social Justice, Book of Common Prayer, p. 823).

Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent: Let Anyone Who is Thirsty, Come and Drink

Today's Scripture Readings

Jeremiah 11: 18-20 (NRSV)

It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew;
   then you showed me their evil deeds.
But I was like a gentle lamb
   led to the slaughter.
And I did not know it was against me
   that they devised schemes, saying,
‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
   let us cut him off from the land of the living,
   so that his name will no longer be remembered!’
But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously,
   who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
   for to you I have committed my cause.

John 7: 37-52 (NRSV)

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’ 

Blog Reflection

"Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, "Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water."

I get the feeling that Jesus' call for anyone who is thirsty to come to him, is a message for all of us who get tired and thirsty in the culture of debates and disagreements.  As controversies grow over the response to the Trayvon Martin murder and the racism that continues to be a part of our American story, people are thirsty for truth and peace.  The poor and disenfranchised, those without health insurance and the means to support themselves and their families, continue to be at the bottom of the priority list.  Our politicians and Presidential candidates are more concerned about votes and PAC money than they are with actually doing things to help the most vulnerable among us.   There is a thirst for justice, equality, inclusion and hope.

The Prophet Jeremiah was being pursued by those who wanted him dead.  He had been warning the people to not neglect God's commandments to love God, neighbor and self.  The people would just assume to get rid of the messenger than pay attention to the message.  When people's comfort zones become no longer cozy, they want to get rid of that new thing that threatens their sense of "everything is alright" in the midst of what is pure injustice and oppression of others in their communities.   Jeremiah is praying for God to show God's power by helping him with his enemies.

Jesus is confronting those who do not believe in him or the one who sent him.  Their comfort zones have been interrupted.  Things that are not familiar have come into their communities and disrupted things as they had always been.  When Jesus calls those who are thirsty to come to him, and those who believe to drink of the Goodness of God, he is calling on those who are looking for the Cup of Salvation by which they can approach God and receive God's grace and mercy.   Jesus wants the living waters of God that have flowed into the hearts of those who believe in him, to flow out in the form of social justice, works of mercy and hope for those who feel that all hope is lost.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people, along with the marginalized in the Church and society, are among those who are thirsting for God.  They are wandering in the desert of uncertainty without a sense of direction, wondering what tomorrow or next year might bring.  The lives of the marginalized are not important to those seeking public office.  They are playing cards to see who can get ahead of who, with the most money and power to back up their work.  How many delegates a Candidate can get by promising to inflict more pain upon women, LGBT people, immigrants and those who can barely afford a one room apartment, is what really matters in the scheme of things.   Meanwhile, the marginalized and those affected by negative stereotyping and false information remain with parched mouths longing for the living waters of justice, compassion, inclusion and equality.

As Christians who are moving towards Good Friday, we know that sometimes evil wins.  It seemed on that terrible day that death and hell had won over even God incarnate, as Jesus bowed his head and died.  The mockery of the crowds, the screams of pain from the nails and the loss of blood overwhelmed us with sorrow and shame.  It appeared that all hope was gone. The one who was thirsty was given vinegar to drink.

Good Friday, however, was not the end of the story.  Death was not the victor.  It was through death that the new life of the resurrection in Jesus Christ was able to happen.  Evil and death did not have the last word.  New life and the justice of God's extravagant love triumphed over the powers of darkness and the gates of hell.  Christ had learned obedience through what he suffered, and by his becoming a slave and servant of all, God gave him the Name above all Names.  The humble had been exalted.  The one who was thirsty became the well spring from which new and life giving water would flow for all eternity.  The scapegoating found an ending to it's purpose.  Injustice and oppression had a renewed hope for the day when justice and freedom would be realized.  The day when truth became the end for all lies.  Sorrow and despair gave way to endless joy and celebration. 

In these last days of Lent, let our longing for Easter be what helps us keep going in our prayers, self-denial and acts of penance.  The thirst we experience during these days in the desert of uncertainty leading into the unknown, are opportunities for us to trust in God, who is our Cup of Salvation.  But, it is also the chance to allow the living waters of faith, hope and love to pour out from our hearts and lives, to give hope and possibility to others who thirst.


Prayers

Mercifully hear our prayers, O Lord, and spare all those who confess their sins to you; that those whose consciences are accused by sin may by your merciful pardon be absolved; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent.  Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 59).

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


Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Poor and Neglected, Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).


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

Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent: Good Friday is Still Two Weeks Away

Today's Scripture Readings

Wisdom 2: 1-24 (NRSV)

For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
‘Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
For we were born by mere chance,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been,
for the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts;
when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.
Our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will remember our works;
our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,
and be scattered like mist
that is chased by the rays of the sun
and overcome by its heat.
For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,
and there is no return from our death,
because it is sealed up and no one turns back.

‘Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist,
and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no flower of spring pass us by.
Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
Let none of us fail to share in our revelry;
everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,
because this is our portion, and this our lot.
Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
or regard the grey hairs of the aged.
But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.

‘Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child of the Lord.
He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
Let us test him with insult and torture,
so that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.’


Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hoped for the wages of holiness,
nor discerned the prize for blameless souls;
for God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,
but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it.

John 7: 1-30 (NRSV)

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. So his brothers said to him,

‘Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ (For not even his brothers believed in him.) Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.’ After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret. The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, ‘Where is he?’ And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, ‘He is a good man’, others were saying, ‘No, he is deceiving the crowd.’ Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews.

About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished at it, saying, ‘How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?’ Then Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him.

‘Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?’ The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?’ Jesus answered them, ‘I performed one work, and all of you are astonished. Moses gave you circumcision (it is, of course, not from Moses, but from the patriarchs), and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath in order that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I healed a man’s whole body on the sabbath? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.’

Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.’ Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, ‘You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.’ Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. 

Blog Reflection

As we begin to draw closer to Holy Week, we will notice that the Scripture readings get quite severe in their stories of Jesus' clash with the people of his time.  We will read of how the tensions between Jesus and his enemies grows more intense.  Jesus' Passion is drawing closer with each passing day.

It is very important not to get side tracked into anti-Semitism.  It was the sins of all of us that crucified Jesus.  Not the Jewish people or their religion.  They are characters in the story.  They are part of the narrative.  What the people do in these Gospel accounts are things that so many of us do to one another at some point in our lives.  How many of us have held in our systems a grudge against someone so severe, that we would do just about anything we could to get them out of our way?  I think all of us can be pretty good at passive aggression, by simply sending a message to someone via any means other than our saying it directly.

This account of Jesus' conversation takes place during the Festival of Booths.  This Festival was very similar to our Thanksgiving Day in the United States.  A day when we gather our harvest and give thanks to God for the abundance we have received.  We are not sure if the "brothers" written about are in fact his related brothers or brothers in the Jewish Faith with which he was associating.   Jesus teaches in the Temple and that his words are not his own but those of God.  There are Jews (again those who were not accepting Jesus, not the Jews themselves), who are accusing him of healing and working on the Sabbath day.  Jesus confronts them, because they can circumcise on the Sabbath, yet, they are hounding Jesus for healing on the same occasion.   Jesus challenges his hearers, by insisting that if they are not listening to him, then they probably do not know who sent him.   Just as with many other texts in John, it ends with "his hour had not yet come."

In Wisdom 2: 12-24, there is an obvious plot to take down someone who is "righteous".   The entire reading appears to be a group of people who are seeing someone very different, who is confusing things for them.  The point of their discussion is to do something about it.  This is from the part of Wisdom by which the wicked hold a just person before the throne of God.  It is not until later in 5:5 that they will realize what a mistake they have made.  The just one will be called a child of God for having done what is right in the eyes of God.  Yet, the Lectionary for today also includes verses 15-22 of Psalm 34 in which the Psalmist proclaims that God is with those who are righteous, near to the brokenhearted and ransoms the lives of those who serve God.

These last days of Lent are difficult.  We find ourselves longing for Easter. That is what Lent is suppose to do. We are doing something right.  But, we are not there yet. Like it or not, we still have to go through Holy Week and be brought up to Good Friday.  We still have to face the ugly that has yet to happen in this season.  May be for some of us, it is right in front of us, and we are wanting to pay it no attention.

As difficult as the Scripture readings are, I do believe they speak to us about our work as progressive Christians who are working for the dignity, inclusion and equality of marginalized persons including LGBT in the Church and society.

When we are doing the work of hospitality and reconciliation, we are going to face the zealousness of those who disagree with us.  We will be and are being accused of "preaching perverted doctrines."   Why?  Because they are different than what people have been taught before.  People like having things comfortable.  They don't like to be told that they have been getting it wrong.  They will seek to discredit us, demean us and attempt to get us off track.   Many of us are called "homosexual activists who are trying to corrupt the minds of children and others."  As we see in Jesus' time, they called him a blasphemer.  Yet, Jesus continues speaking the word of God and doing what God sent him to do.  Jesus gives credit to God as the one who sent him, and it is God's work that he does and speaks.  So, we must do the same.

The work of hospitality and reconciliation, seeking to uphold the dignity of every human person is God's work given to us through our common Baptism.  Our acts of penance and self-denial are opportunities to bring us closer to God through Jesus, to pray not only for the redemption of our sins, but those of others.  We can use them as occasions to pray against the violence of racism that is at the heart of the Trayvon Martin murder.  To pray for the conversion of those working to take marriage equality away from LGBT people all across the country, and to justify spiritual and religious based violence and bigotry.   Even if they all work against us, we still have the obligation to speak the truth about God's unconditional and all-inclusive love for all people.  We must not allow those with evil in their minds and hearts to persuade us away from doing what is right by God and the Holy Spirit. 

If our readings point us to anything, they remind us that as Jesus draws closer to his Passion and death, and so do we.  All of us will one day face the reality of our mortality.  "Remember, from dust you came, and to dust you shall return" we all heard on Ash Wednesday.  The fact of our own death approaching, and the hope that we have in Jesus Christ, needs to inspire us to seeking justice, peace and defending the dignity of all human beings.   Even though Jesus knew that what he was doing would result in his death, he kept on going, doing God's will.  We too, knowing full well that what we are doing is difficult and will bring us results that are less than pleasant in some cases, must still keep on doing what God empowers us to do.  Lent and the Cross are about giving up ourselves in service of God and our neighbor, as we seek to prepare our hearts to experience the resurrection of Easter Day.


Prayers

O God, you have given us the Good News of your abounding love in your Son Jesus Christ: So fill our hearts with thankfulness that we may rejoice to proclaim the good tidings we have received; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent. Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints,. p. 58).

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


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 the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.  (Collect for Friday, Book of Common Prayer, p. 56).

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent: Finding God in the Midst of Injustice

Today's Scripture Readings

Exodus 32: 7-14 (NRSV)

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.’

But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth”? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.” ’ And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people. 

John 5: 30-47 (NRSV)

‘I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

‘If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.

‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?’ 

Blog Reflection

The news today is bursting at the seams over the murder of Trayvon Martin.  A 17 year old, African American who was doing nothing more than walking home, when George Zimmerman shot him.  His community, family and folks all across the nation are outraged by the failure of the Sanford City Police Department to appropriately apprehend the suspect.   Martin's parents are calling for justice for their son.  Rightly so, this issue has brought to light the issue of racism, and the dangers that exist for African American's in our country.  Clearly, something has gone terribly wrong.

It appears from Exodus that something had gone wrong.  The Israelites who had been brought out of the land of Egypt by God's strong arm, created for themselves a golden calf and began to worship it.  All of this is happening as Moses is up on Mount Sinai receiving from God the Commandments by which the people are to live.  God is enraged that God's people would forget God's mighty acts and make for themselves a graven image to worship and sacrifice to, in the place of the Almighty Yahweh.  Moses pleads to God on behalf of the people, to not destroy them, suggesting that God's reputation is on the line if God does something so evil.  I love what happens here.  God changes God's mind.  

We must remember that the accounts of God in the Hebrew Scriptures as well as in the New Testament are written from a human perspective. The events were written down only after they had been passed on orally for thousands of years.  Our perspective is very limited.  And, we are so far removed from that generation of people. 

The message that is here for us, is that when we take our minds and hearts off of the God who loves and provides for us, we can give ourselves over to evils and ways that infect us. They blind our sense of God and we stop paying attention to the needs of those around us. Our behavior becomes destructive and we lose sight of what is really important. Our God has given so much for us to love and enjoy. When our physical and spiritual vision no longer sees that, we are no longer worshiping God through our daily lives.  Instead, we worship things, problems and everything becomes too big for us.

I do believe in many ways that is what is wrong with the Trayvon Martin matter.  When we take our eyes off of recognizing God's creation that gives dignity to every human person, suddenly someone's race, sexual orientation and/or gender expression, etc becomes our god.   We have to take control of it.  We have to make an "other" out of it.  Whatever, we do, we must take a stand and even wipe it out. 

So many of us who are white have gotten so use to thinking things that are completely inappropriate about people of different races.   The language we hear through the 911 recording of George Zimmerman calling in this incident should wake all of us up.  He was labeling Trayvon as a possible drug user, dangerous, but most importantly, he was black.  Too many times, we take another person's race and from there, we make presumptions about their activities, their behaviors and make them a target without any thought what so ever to what we are doing.  We may not shoot someone down in cold blood, but how many of us have had a conversation about another person's character, and made certain judgments about that person based on race, sexual orientation etc?  

In our Gospel today, Jesus is in a conflict with people around him, who are unbelievers.  They are people who see things happening in front of them, but they are not convinced.   Jesus has just finished telling them about the coming resurrection.  Now he is telling his audience about how he cannot do anything on his own and about his testimony.  Jesus claims oneness with God, yet he is not the Father.  God testifies on behalf of the Son.

In the last part of this Gospel, Jesus says something that I think many who read the Bible literally should pay very close attention to. 

"‘You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.'"

It is not by the Scriptures alone that we will find salvation in Jesus Christ.  It is through hope in God through Jesus Christ that we can believe in the promise of eternal life.  

It is very important to be careful with John's Gospel here.  The point is not anti-Semitism.  There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the Gospel of John was not written by the Apostle and Evangelist himself.  But, was written by the Johannine's.   There is even the possibility that it was a combination of things the Johannine's wrote about the same stories, and then they were all put together in one book.   "The expression "the Jews" (which should not be understood as a condemnation of Jews in particular or in general) virtually becomes a technical term for those who reject Jesus." (New Oxford Annotated, New Revised Standard Version, New Testament, p. 124).

Jesus challenges us to see God's presence in the work that he is doing.  Jesus has been drawing criticism, because he dared to associate with a Samaritan woman (See John 4).   He has crossed the lines of cultures and gender associations to bring those outcast by society closer to the heart of God.  God is in the midst of injustice and division, bringing inclusion and unity to welcome through hospitality and reconcile through healing and mercy.

As we are all kind of consumed by the injustice of what happened to Trayvon Martin, we are asked to find God working through the injustice of the situation.  God never endorses violence as a way to solve anything.  God is in the middle of it, communicating to us if we will listen.  

People are coming together to express concern about what happened.  We are seeing people of many different races and backgrounds raising their voices in outrage and calling for justice for not only Trayvon, but also anyone who has to fear what might happen to them, the next time they are walking peacefully down a sidewalk.   People are recognizing that what happened to Trayvon is about what can happen to any of our children.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people know all too well about youth being bullied in our schools, communities and even their own families.  To ignore these things and allow them to go unacknowledged, only lets them to get out of hand.  It is our business to speak up in the face of injustice and oppression and be the voice of reason, when people irrationally invoke violence as a means for dealing with prejudice in our communities.  Christians have the message of hope and salvation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  All scapegoating and stereotyping stops there.   Any prejudice that becomes violence done, using the Cross as it's excuse, is a counterfeit Christianity.

As we have only two weeks left before Holy Week, let us ask God to help us to see and hear God working in the midst of injustice.  May we seek to be God's peace makers in the times we live in.  May we be part of the solution, by choosing love and inclusion as our way and purpose for what we do.


Prayers

Almighty and most merciful God, drive from us all weakness of body, mind and spirit; that, being restored to wholeness, we may with free hearts become what you intend us to be and accomplish what you want us to do; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent.  Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 57)

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

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