First Sunday of Advent - reflection

     Today I started the day with a rousing worship by the three R's, that is, the right reverend Roland at his "candy shop".  Always inspiring and challenging, he  had me thinking about today being the first Sunday of Advent. What is that we truly want to learn in this season? What are we celebrating? What are we preparing for?

     Certainly we recognize and celebrate the birth of the Christ child.  Doesn't all the celebrating spring form this one humble human act? A messy, painful birth; a coming into this world in a most traumatic way. Our tradition tells us it is in the lowliest of places too, a manger.

      Surely, even if we can foresee what the Christ child's future will hold we see more than our salvation as a singular act of redemption by him.

      Advent brings a time of reflection and preparation. The festival of lights, the light of the world has deep significance for us in this darkest time of the year. Indeed, this time should have us reflecting also on the darkest times of our lives. 

      One of the blessed messages of Jesus as child and adult is that we should seek the light and turn from darkness.  How easy it would be to be overcome by the feelings and sensations of darkness in our lives or the world and embrace that darkness.  What Advent asks us to do is to prepare for Christ's birth by looking at the light that exists all around us.  There is light shining in every corner and every person if we choose to see it.  Even if that seems a daunting task, we are called to walk toward the light, to see the hope of light in our future. We are called to never give up hope because we believe that with God, all things are possible.

        Perhaps most importantly, we are called to see the light in ourselves. How and where will we let our own light shine?

No redemption required

John 14:1-7

           Perhaps it is a peculiarity of Christian denominations that the phrase No one comes to the Father except through me carries more weight than words found in the very same reading that says In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places.

          Once that first line is accepted, it becomes the lens for all that follows. That is, arrogance, self righteousness and indignance that any one should question an idea or person outside the officially saved realm. Indeed, the vision of the officially accepted becomes the lens for official conversion, repentance and salvation. No other views need apply. It all becomes self perpetuating and self supporting. 

            I ran across the following drawing on FaceBook the other day and posted a comment that someone should forward it to the local Roman Bishop. Said Bishop had accused me not too long ago of "attempting to marry another gentlemen".  From his view and belief my soul was in danger by attempting such a "union".  

                                                                                   

I would note that I not only attempted it but had in fact succeeded. Not only was ours a legal success but it also was consecrated in a ritual ceremony rich in both Jewish and Christian tradition. Yes, I had even married a "nice Jewish boy". 

My only further comment, had I felt a need to reply, was that not only was I not in danger from attempting such a "union" but no repentance or redemption was required (outside of those normally associated with humans ). 

One of joys of getting older is having the wisdom to see the true importance of this passage is the sentence about God having many dwelling places. To my mind, Jesus' life was a constant example of showing us just how wide God's love is, embracing all sorts of people that the power holders of the day seemed to think were not worthy, doomed and needed redemption. Alas the true message of Jesus and of God's abiding love is still lost in rules, theology,righteousness, power, rhetoric, purity and clubs.

          One of the joys of being separated from the (Roman) church is the freedom to challenge and see that they are in fact, not "all that".  Any system that is self perpetuating by it's own 'powerful' design and depends on myopic views and circular logic cannot be a true vision of God's love. I can see that now. Perhaps I always did and hoped there was room for internal dissension and questions. It isn't true. there is no room for anything in Rome but arrogance, self righteousness and hypocrisy of the highest order.

          We can look at Jesus as a rebel, we can emulate his anti-authority stances, his penchant for deriding and chastising the religious leaders and for his warm and wide embrace to all of the marginalized and sinners of his day. However, the best and most extraordinary way to be a Christian is to embrace and love all those margins, include everyone and see that everyone has a valid perspective, something to bring to the table if you will. There are many paths and there may be one gate, but that gate is incredibly wide and there is enough room for everyone. There is a room for everyone.

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

Men of action

Matthew 21:12-17

           Each morning I get a little pearl of wisdom or a thought provoking quotation via e-mail. It is meant to encourage me, to empower me to act, to be the best I can be. It might say 'the only way to surely fail is not to move at all'. Of course, said much more eloquently. Today's was actually this quote of Anthony Robbins.  "In life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action. "  Action is the key to life. Movement, growth and change are all the hallmarks of real life. Those who have stopped thinking and stopped moving have already died even if their bodies still breath and sit around years longer.

          There are examples out there in the real world, men ( and women ) of action that we usually see as heroes and leaders. I think of people like Martin Luther King Jr. I think of people like John Boswell.  Mother Theresa is another person of action!

          Today Jesus enters the Temple and gets angry. They say emotions aren't bad, it's what you do with the emotion that can get you in trouble. Still, Jesus is so angry ( so human ) he overturned tables and drove the merchants out. Bravo! A true man of action, our hero in so many ways. Yes?

          So often we fail to act. We passively stand by. I recall a time in a food store where I watched a woman berate and verbally abuse her mother. I said nothing, I did nothing. I still bear the guilt of non-action. How often do we see something we know is wrong and we just do not do anything. Afraid of getting involved, happy that it does not involve us. But in fact it does involve us. WE are all brothers and sisters. This goes to something I call social sin. I may not have berated that elderly woman but in failing to act as a fellow human being I am guilty of letting it happen. I was not the man of action I want to be and that I now strive to be.

           Of course we can't stand up for every cause and every single thing we see going on around us or in the world that has gone awry. But I caution all of us and am reminded of that quotation of the Protestant pastor Martin Niemoller (1892–1984) that rings as true today as did back in the 1940's .

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— 

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— 

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

        What we need to remember is that no matter how we differ, we are all children of God.

        I cannot help but think that when we are passive and inactive we could all be accused of complicity. That is my ( our ) social sin. Jesus was far from the redeemer and messiah that most Jews expected. Jesus was a rebel and far from ordinary. He bucked all of the accepted social norms, so much so his life story reads like an ancient heretic and yet he was all about love. Jesus was a man of action!

        On this Palm Sunday the Jews laid palm branches to welcome the Messiah to Jerusalem but yet were eerily quiet as he was tortured and hung on a cross. Not just our brother, but our Messiah. Where is our passion, our action our determination and decision to love and seek justice?

        This week, people of decency have been standing up against a heinous law in Indiana that is the furthest thing from Christian. Many will say how horrible it is. Even though someone may not be an overt LGBTQ "ally", they say how sad it is. How could it happen (again)? Haven't we learned this lesson already?  People who think, see the implications of this law and shake their heads.

         What kind of action should you take? Will you be passive and complicit? What wrongs are you called to right? Or will we stand by as Jesus is paraded in the streets, dressed as a gay man or women, tortured, rejected, denied humanity and the freedom we say we stand for? 

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written,

“My house shall be called a house of prayer”;

   but you are making it a den of robbers.’

The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, they became angry and said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read,

“Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies

   you have prepared praise for yourself”?’ 

He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

Grindr anyone?

Mark 8:31-9:1

           Todays passage reminds me of the time when my Mother was very sick, she was trying to recover from having had a stroke. A small procedure was needed to help her and she was aware enough to say no, she did not want the procedure. When it was pointed out that the alternative would likely be death,  she confessed that she was quite ready to meet her maker. That to me was a stunning revelation and an admission that goes to the heart of today's passage.

          Perhaps it is a stream of consciousness about my Mom but it also brought me to a time in the 70's when it seemed a common practice in our area to indulge one's children with hot cars as graduation or even 16th birthday presents. Muscle cars were still all the rage so I suppose the mix of affluence and society in general made it logical jump for some. I am sure my own Dad could have indulged me so too but I think he had a good grasp on what is truly important and what lesson such extravagant gifts give.  I do know that I read in the paper many, many incidences where the "child" so gifted went out and almost immediately wrapped the car around a tree and died making the gift one with an extreme lesson. 

          It's not that I am against the finer things of life in any way. With the correct intent, with a proper and mature understanding, I am sure God would wish us all to have 'the finer things in life'. But those things are not guarantees of happiness by any means. Those things can become the misguided focus of one's life thereby missing what we are really called to do, what we are really called to be.

           If I was actually preaching this morning, I mean in an actual church I would have to ask the congregation right now to raise their hands. Who has used Grndr? Who uses Grindr? Is there anything wrong with it?  With limits I don't think there is anything wrong with seeking out love and companionship. This is what we are called to as human beings.  Right from the get go in Genesis we are called to companionship and the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of such a union. Heck everyone knows I think Sex is a gift from God to be enjoyed and revelled in.

          But what does it have to do with surgical procedures, hot cars and telling Satan to get behind us? I am sure there are people that spend way too much time focused on Grindr or some other internet networking sex site. It's all well and good as a tool (no pun intended) but if it becomes more important than the actual people, than actual relationships, it becomes no different than racing around aimlessly and carelessly in a hot rod car. The end result is often tragedy and loss of life.  

         The stakes are too high for us in this life to place the importance of living all in material things or earthly physicalities.  Gifts from God, but ones that can be misused, misunderstood, vilified or become tortured desires. All of this can take our focus away from the happiness and goal of our life.

        We are not to focus so much on the sufferings of this life, they will come and go. We are not to focus so much on the material or the carnal, they too will come and go. What is not fleeting, what is eternal and fulfills our purpose is the love of God and the love we live.

         

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’

And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.’

Write and live and love

John 6:1-15

          And Jesus said that 'if you had the faith the size of a mustard seed that mountain would be thrown into the sea'. We fail to realize the extent of the power we hold. But not like the Jews in Jesus' time who were expecting a warrior hero messiah, we too may have a wrong idea about our power. Perhaps we think if we have power we could actually move a mountain into the sea, or some other fete of magic. Perhaps we could lay our hands on someone and remove their cancer. Perhaps we could be an empath like Gem in Star Trek.

          We have such expectations and some of those expectations may be realistic but I think we fail to see the power we already exert. There is an old commercial for some hair product that shows a person and relates 'if you tell two people' (the screen divides in three) and they tell two people and then they tell two people... The screen splitting exponentially and simply having started by telling two people. It sounds like a good business model but for me it shows the power we have in our hands. Not unlike the ripples in a lake from throwing a rock, the waves reach to all four corner of the pond.

          We might poo poo the result of our actions because of their simplicity. The truth is that even a small act of love can have a profound effect. We are accustomed to thinking about doing something 'big', some grand gesture when a simple act of love can be immensely profound. The result can be exponential.

          As an out and proud man, I am called to live a good and decent life. Oh that's right, we are all called to do that, straight or gay, no matter who we are. Somehow though the eyes are on me and every other gay person. Already vilified by so many, my life and my love becomes a beacon to all those who see how I live. Unfairly or not, my community is judged by my actions, how I love and how I live. The results of my love can be exponential for the gay community. I write this blog and I see a few hits from far away places. I don't hear from anyone, the few responses I have ever gotten are from my spouse and a friend or two here and there. I see hits from every country but I hear nothing. Yet I don't know who it is that's reading from so far away. I don't know what influence or role I play with my challenging or uplifting words. I pray to help simply one person but I know that if I can reach just one person with love and hope the results can be profound. So I write and live and love.

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.  A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

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'Do you not understand?' ( !!! )

Mark 8:11-21

          Easter is fast approaching and I feel overwhelmed. If only I could feel simply 'whelmed'. I seem as busy as ever. Perhaps this is the excuse we give ourselves or others when we 'don't get it'.

           The Pharisees don't get it, the disciples 'didn't get it' and so often the people that we think are the one's that should understand, simply don't get it. How frustrating it is when even the ones closest to us do not seem to understand what we are saying or doing. I know the simple confusions of a relationship like my husband and I is frustrating at times. This is part of simple daily living. I can only imagine how Jesus felt when his own disciples, his hand picked crew, could not grasp the meaning of some of the things he was saying.

           I can give the Pharisees a pass of sorts. They are so steeped in rules and the proper way to act that they can barely see beyond their own noses. The Pharisees, if not all Jews of the time, expected a redeemer who would be a conqueror, a military leader who would repel and overcome the Romans. How could they see or understand the Christ who welcomed the outcast, fraternized with sinners, spoke to Samaritan women, blessed gay couples (The Centurion and his 'pais') and who may have actually been gay himself (The 'beloved disciple' resting his head on Jesus' chest). All these things are enough to cause sufficient a stir that they could obscure your vision - even today. 

          We are accustomed to viewing almost everything in the light of our own beliefs, how we ourselves live and are comfortable. When someone different comes along, acts differently or has a different frame of reference, we simply can't seem to see how they see. In fact, we are trained not to see what they see. Our way of life bolsters our belief systems and how we see everything. The idea of a gay Jesus goes against almost everything some of us believe and have been taught but the evidence is there making it a possibility. What difference would it make? 

           For another week here perhaps, as we try to enter our Lenten journey more fully, the challenge may be to look beyond everything we are comfortable with. Perhaps we could try to understand the things we just simply cannot grasp the meaning of. I know how frustrating it is to understand or be patient with those that 'don't get it'. Jesus certainly did. God surely weeps at how we treat each other here on earth. We really don't get it most of the time. 

           Perhaps we could hold up some notion that we have, perhaps a not so popular belief and try to either let people see it and deal with the almost certain fallout of misunderstanding or, perhaps we could try our hardest, by listening and perhaps even research, to understand something we simply 'don't get'.

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ They said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’ 

Tastes salty

Mark 9:42-50

          My husband says that some of my best reflections are ones in which I bring in real life stories. When I make it personal and 'real' I succeed in bringing my message across. Every writer, every preacher succeeds only to the extent that they can transport the reader or listener into the scene they are creating.  Imagery is often employed but most often you have to use material the people are already  familiar with. Jesus used parables using references the people of the day could understand, fishing, bread, dirt, disease, death.

           One of the images in today's passage is salt. Salt was probably one of the first preservatives and a flavour enhancer.  To this day, while we have an array of preservatives used in our foods, it is salt that is added as a final touch. "Salt to taste", the last step in any recipe. Salt is the essence of who we are, a stabilizer of life. The beginnings of life as we know it here on earth started in a 'normal saline' (salty) stew of sorts.  So salt is an intimate part of our lives and if you don't have salt, things are bland at best, worthless, tasteless and without any pizazz.

             Our lives and faith are like that too. What is the salt of our life? What makes us tick? What makes each one of us in our own unique way, salty, maybe even peppery so to speak? It is our life goal to find our own salt. The challenge I have placed before us in Lent as believers in Jesus Christ is to find how we relate to everyone and find ourselves fulfilled (saltiness) as humans. The challenge is not so much in how we express our faith, I presume we are faithful people. The challenge is to find out how we are salty by ourselves, in how God created us in our own unique and special way as a human. Everyone is different. Our faith hopefully encourages us to find our answers and helps give ritual thanks for the gifts we know we have and have been graced with. Religion, our faith, should always cooperate with our own personal journey while enriching everyone as a community.  We say thank you and we enrich everyone by our presence, our own saltiness.

               If we don't find our own unique brand of saltiness and offer that freely to the community to which we belong, life will just be a bland and tasteless journey. We need to seriously season our lives with the saltiness that is each and every one of us. 

           

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.^, And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’

Material girl

John 7:37-46

           We all know that Jesus would sometimes go off to pray alone. I think the 40 days in the dessert was an extreme example. Jesus' life is a guide for us and I always encourage people to set aside some legitimate quiet time for themselves. We need time to reflect, time for self assessment and time to speak with our creator or to simply listen. All of this is not very worldly, not really about material things.

           But we all like our night out on the town, the good meal, time with friends, good love and yes, perhaps even some good sex. Is this going against Jesus' message? I don't think so. Jesus was fully human like us and as such lived in a material world. Jesus experienced all we experience and while he did set time aside to pray for sure, he also enjoyed life for sure. Jesus also drew most of his parables from his lived life and observations. In fact, Jesus quite often railed against the very strictures religion put on material things. Jesus seems very judgemental of what religion said about some pointed material things.

        Let's look at Jesus' firs reported miracle, the water into wine, and fine wine it was if scripture holds true. How much more earthy and material can one be than to indulge in 'spirits' at a wedding? This is no Bible Belt temperance leader. Jesus made wine  and I assume for drinking.  Very worldly, very material ( the "best wine" ).

        When you look at the people Jesus associated with, the hemorrhaging woman, the leper, the marginalized, the lame, the sick, the poor, the sinners, all looked down on by the religious of the day but Jesus dove right in. At the risk of being labelled a sinful person himself he delved into the most very human of situations, sick and sinners all. Not very ascetic but perhaps prayerful in a different way.

        When I think of Jesus and his humanity, I cannot help but think about the people he loved as well. We have the disciples of course but also people he was friends with, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Did not Jesus weep when he was told Lazaraus was dead? Is this a detached response or a deeply personal human and earthly response. Perhaps even more so, what of "the disciple whom Jesus loved"? This speaks of a deep emotional attachment if not more. Was not the "beloved disciple" laying his head on Jesus' chest at the last supper?  This does not preclude Jesus' spirituality and his need for 'time away' but it speaks of his humanity, his foundation in his real and true humanity. Jesus did not speak from the theoretical. Jesus was both spiritual, the holiest of course, but also very material, very human.

        So many religions and churches, even today, speak against the material, against sex, against living a passionate life. Passionate living was all about Jesus and Jesus quite often took to task those that tried to vilify human action, human love and human thoughts. No more. They say that money is the rot of all eveil but that is not true. The love of money is the root of all evil. I think Jesus would be one of the first to enjoy money, enjoy eating, drinking, maybe even loving a person in a most intimate of ways, whether that involves sex or not. Who knows. 

        As much as we are called to completeness in our creator, we are here to live a fully human lives as God created us with the material things we have been graced with.  So long as we respect everything and everyone, so long as we are free to love and be loved and as long as we do not let anything own us, we are doing quite well I think. I think Jesus would approve and it is His life that we should emulate.

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!’

Zen-like, gay-like Jesus

Luke 8:40-56

          There is one line in this passage that seems to jump out at me this morning. When Jesus is in a bustling crowd with people pressing in all around, the haemorrhaging woman reaches out and touches him. Jesus senses this right away. Jesus asks 'who touched me?'  Everyone else seems incredulous at this question but Jesus persists.

         I am in awe of people who are so present and so centered that this kind of awareness is almost second nature. I read a book quite some time ago that I have spoken of before called The Gospel According to Biff. If young (man) Jesus did not travel to the east and experience Zen and some of the other Eastern religions he certainly displays the aura and actions of eastern wisdom.

        In some ways I think gay men have been blessed with such wisdom. As it has been a general rule (although the pendulum is gracefully and thankfully swinging) that gay people have not been accustomed to raising children. The gay spirit, hearts and attentiveness have been able to focus on other things. It some cases that has been totally worldly things but history has shown that gay men and women have been able to focus more on perfection of self, attention to the spiritual realm and the etherial. We have often found the gay community at the heart of art and expression; major contributors to vision, invention and exploring our human depth.

          As I have suggested, I certainly see Lent as a time to try to become more fully human and to become more self aware.  In some ways that would be to practice and be more Zen like. In a similar fashion it would be to be more gay. The gifts of being a gay man or woman is a gift not only to ourselves but to the rest of the world both gay and straight. Many things could be learned by the straight community if they would just enjoy life and self as much as gay people do. 

         I would call upon all people during Lent to be more gay if you are gay and to explore the joys of 'gayness' if you are straight. I cannot say if Jesus was gay or straight but there are indications that he was so gifted. Instead of people going around gay bashing or condemning a 'lifestyle', perhaps it is time to elevate and celebrate ourseleves and most assuredly being gay.

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.

As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her haemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’ When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’

While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.’When Jesus heard this, he replied, ‘Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.’ When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, ‘Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, ‘Child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened. 

Sooner rather than later

John 16:16-24

           One of the quirky things about the religion of my youth , and perhaps several more, is the concept that one can pray to loved ones who have passed and Saints that lived long ago.  To some, speaking to the dead might seem odd at the get go but as with many concepts, (Roman) Catholicism has a rationalization or logical reasoning why it's correct. In this particular case, I bought the goods. Basically, since God is timeless and since all our deceased 'live'' in God's presence we are free to speak to anyone we choose. Furthermore, since they are timeless (that includes our past and our future), these dead people can be spoken to and in some manner perhaps even affect change in our lives. That is, intercede in some way. Who knows.

              So what's with all this dead, past, future, timeless God stuff, what does that mean to us? I cannot say for everyone but there are a whole lot of people out there who want what they want and they want it right away. Madison Avenue does a fine job of inducing want and then convinces us "why shouldn't you have it right now?"  You deserve it! Waiting is not an art or a virtue for Madison Avenue.

              They say Saint Monica waited,  what 17 years?, for the conversion of her son Augustin. Can you imagine waiting 17 years for something? I knew that there was something missing in my life, something unfulfilled or wrong with my life. I  could not identify it until I was 50 or so when I realized I am gay. Wow. Can you imagine waiting for 50 years for such an epiphany? I now feel whole and happy. I have been immensely blessed. How long are we willing to wait for the 'perfect man' or for whatever else it is we seek?

          When Jesus tells his disciples his cryptic words about "a little while", what are they to think? Our reference to time is certainly not God's reference to time. Could that have some clue as to what Jesus was saying? When asked about the end of the world, Jesus said even he did not know that, it was only for the Father to know. We could wind up waiting our whole life for one thing or another. After all, patience is in fact a virtue. We need to exercise some patience or learn to be patient. No matter what we may deserve it is not necessarily for us to serve (ourselves) in spite of what Madison Avenue may have to say.

          If we somehow manage to muster the patience of Monica, it is important to know that in all that waiting and in the 50 years I waited we shouldn't just be sitting on the bench as if we are waiting for a train to arrive. We are called to live and love at every moment in our lives. We may  find that in the loving we do we may find the answer to our prayers sooner rather than later.

‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.’ Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying to us, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and “Because I am going to the Father”?’ They said, ‘What does he mean by this “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Distractions

Luke 9:2-6

          Several years ago I had to go to an auto parts store for something     

and when I got there I realized I didn't have my cell phone. I nearly panicked. This was long before Facebook, texting or any other social media mania. This was strictly a phone. Even so, I apparently got extremely attached to it and wondered what I would do if something happened. The reaction was so strong I still remember it today.

            Five years ago my husband and I went to France on our honeymoon. We spent a few days exploring the countryside. Having visited Chartre, we were headed to a small Inn outside of Tours when my phone died. My GPS enabled phone was our guide and the recharger apparently broke in the luggage somewhere over the Atlantic.  I'll admit that panic tried to intervene but happiness and clearer heads prevailed. We knew our general direction and we set out with roundabout signs as our guide. We wold drive in circles at those roundabouts until we determined the correct direction and then proceed to the next roundabout, again circling until we decided which way to go. In the end the 3 hour drive took 5 but we had a grand old time. It was an adventure and it reminded me of my youth when we thought nothing of taking off on a road trip with virtually no planning - with no cell phones at all!

              A few days ago I had the extreme pleasure to snorkel and swim with some manatees in Florida. It is clearly a big business shuttling tourists to the area or renting kayaks so you can shuttle yourself to the area where the manatees frequent. My husband and I watched as one Mom paddled feverishly as her daughters (teenagers) sat oblivious to their surroundings attached to their i-phones. What does our future look like? I am scared. 

              I mention all this because this short passage today speaks of taking nothing on their journey, no bag, o bread and no money. Today I wonder if "no cell phone" would be added to that list. I'm honestly not sure what the answer to that question would be. All of this speaks to our society and our attachments.  I am certain we can see that God is often displaced by worship of the 'things' we simply must have, things that we never seem to put down,things that have our attention perhaps even at the expense of face to face human interraction. It is a bit sad.

              On our Lenten journey I have called myself and others to be more human, to get in touch with who they are and be the best of who they are. Part of that call is to set have the time set aside and to be free of attachments that can distract us.  

               My trip to rural France was an adventure par excellence with just my husband and I depending on each other and the goodness of the local residents. It was a pure adventure and a heck of a lot of fun. We got  to see each other and explore each other  and the people without distraction. People are always the most important thing and getting to know yourself ( without distractions ) is key.

and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

Xanax in the water

John 4:27-42

       There is such a richness to the messages I get from the Gospel of John in-spite of some of the passages that seem to eternally elude me and in-spite of the fact that we really did have a course on John's Gospel in the seminary. John's Gospel, and this passage, remind me that what the world needs is a collective dose of Xanax.

        In today's passage we find Jesus talking to a woman, and worse than that, a Samaritan woman. The disciples come along and the scripture points out that no one questioned Jesus about this. I mean, what man, what Holy Man or what Rabbi would talk to, converse or give the time of day to a freeking Samaritan woman? But as if it's the elephant in the room, no one says anything. Do you think Jesus was accomplishing two important tasks here? One of course is to convey (to the woman) that God's love and message is open to all. Second, Jesus is letting the disciples know that no one is untouchable, no one is anathema and everyone is welcome at God's table, even the ones we view as vile or loathsome or 'less than worthy'. This is an incredible message for them but just as much so for us today.

          Today the world seems at war with itself. Everyone has 'thee' message and everyone else is wrong, un-enlightened and unworthy, if not a downright infidel. Religious zealots abound in every religion and political zealots abound as well. We are a world of taliban-esque people and what we all could use is probably a worldwide dose of Xanax or reefer.

          We get so hung up on the minutiae of our religious denominations or political stances or nationalism that we forget we are all brothers and sisters. And yes, some of the biggest disfunction are in families but we are in fact one family. We are all children of God even if we have different 'recollections' of him, or her. What we are seeing in essence are different facets of a diamond if you will. Is any view more valid than the other? We truly need to appreciate diversity and sometimes I really think Xanax in the water would be welcome.

           

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 labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’

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 for 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 Saviour of the world.’

Moving forward

Mark 3:31-4:9

                When I was in my late teens there was a chap I hung out with quite a bit. We were involved in church together, travelled together and had similar friends. Sometimes it almost seemed like a soap opera but that would be another blog or perhaps a book! One of the things we seemed to have a penchant for was to discuss things, debate, converse, challenge each other. We covered a lot of topics. After a few years I grew weary of what began to appear to me to be repetitive arguments. I grew weary of the tension. I knew he was not challenging me and always retreated to a stereotypical religious argument for almost any subject we were discussing. It was tiresome and eventually we grew apart. Rather, I avoided him and then he and his wife and the relationship basically ended.

               Move ahead about 30 years and I came to the joyous discovery that the missing piece in my personality that made me whole is that I am gay. That's an over simplification of course but again, another blog or book. Suffice to say though that simply stating I am gay changed a great many relationships. There are those hat I thought would be as loving and supportive as they had always been that dropped me like a hot potato. To many it made no difference at all, I wa the same decent and loving person I had always been. Many others came out of the woodwork so to speak to embrace me and in some ways I have a 'new family' in addition to the wonderful siblings and my children that have been rocks to me. I cannot even begin to speak about how wonderful my husband is.

                  In today's passage it would be so easy to simply make a historical note that Jesus in fact had brothers and sisters. The point I would make is that Jesus seems to be dissociating himself from his family while broadening the definition of who his family is. To embrace his ministry and be true to who he is Jesus had to be willing to embrace new and varied people ( "family" ) and be willing to put aside the old if necessary. Tough challenges for anyone, even Jesus. We live and love and we are called to do so with power and zest and fullness. When we have to say good bye willingly or through tragedy or death, it hurts. The dissociation hurts, it's just human.

                     But one thing I have learned that is a powerful force in my life from everything both personal and material is that things never really end. The friendship I had with that chap at 17 still resides in my consciousness. The relationship has helped mold me and made me richer for the love and living. The same is true for my parents. While I miss them, the love we shared and that they imparted has not died. The memories are there intact, the love is still vibrant, almost palpable and they live on in me and what we shared.  Strangely enough the same is true about some material things. I once had a Jeep that I had a heck of a good time with, romping in mud troughs, climbing over boulders sharing fellowship with some great people. Every time I see a Jeep riding on mudders with the top off I smile and great memories come flooding back. I no longer have the Jeep but the joy and memories are still alive. 

                   Sometime we are called to 'move on'. We can lament the change or we can come to know that life makes us richer for everything and everyone we know or have known. Embracing and broadening our love, our relationships while maintaining those who brought us where we are and who we are is a joy to thank God for. We are called to always move forward to be the best that we can be, living in the now and (hopefully), joyfully remembering the past.

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters^* are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’ 

Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’

The faith of a Polycarp

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

          It is the year of our Lord, Two thousand and fifteen. Many years since Bishop and Saint Polycarp was sentenced at the age of 86 to be burned to death.  When Polycarp was asked to denounce Jesus, Polycapr said "Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" I feel the same way even though I am quite a few years shy of 86. I hope and pray I could meet my creator in such a brave, honourable and faithful way.

         It seems that little has changed in some ways after the 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded last week. I pray I will never be put to such a test for I am perhaps the weakest of Christians, a far cry from the Saints that have preceded me and who died in service to our Lord.

         For many of us it would seem unfathomable to live up to the standards of the Saints, let alone face death in place of denouncing our faith. Perhaps I am over dramatizing the lives of the Saints. Perhaps I am whitewashing the lives faithful people live. The challenges seem daunting and I see my own failures daily. Perhaps this is true of any faithful person who knows how they wish to live but also reflects on how miserably we seem to fail at times. I know I do. 

         If the lives of the faithful and Saints have any meaning; indeed, if Jesus' life has any meaning, it is that we are fully human and in so being we are sinners and saints.  ( OK, so Jesus was def not a sinner. ) But can I attain redemption by my faith alone? Can I attain redemption by trying my best even if I fail? Can I attain redemption by proceeding along in life with a sincere faithful heart knowing that I fail but aspire to great deeds all along the way? 

       A a sinner and saint, as a person who knows and appreciated the magnitude of the gift that Jesus has given us, perhaps, just perhaps, that is enough. It is by faith alone. Jesus said many times "your faith has healed you".  It would human arrogance to think we can attain perfection on this side of the grave ( if ever ) but it is faith and love that keeps us striving, keeps us getting up each time we stumble and fall.  By faith alone. 

          I pray that should I live to the age of 86 as Polycarp did, I will have the calmness, surety and faith to have always said yes to Christ because "Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

         

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Embracing gayness and light

John 1:35-42

          It is the beginning of Jesus' public ministry and perhaps not unlike the beginning of the world. There is an inevitability of some things. Perhaps some of this is how the disciples began to follow Jesus, part of that story is related in today's passage. Part of the story too is the actual incarnation of Jesus. Was it inevitable that God would send his Son to us as a human? Was it inevitable that Jesus would die on the cross for us, die and rise again? Was it inevitable that Judas would betray Jesus. There are many theological discussion and writings about all these questions.

          Of any such questions, the most inevitable to me would be Jesus becoming fully human for all of us and dying for us. Why? Because it is God's nature. God so loved the world and love he did by becoming one with us in our humanity. Just as Jesus came to save the Jewish people and soon found himself embracing all sorts of 'others' from sinners and Centurions, from gentiles and women of every kind. God's love in this way seems inevitable. God always loves us. Whether we choose to accept that love is a much bigger question.

           Part of this discussion to me, especially during Lent, has to be the inevitability of who we are. That is, embracing our own human nature and embracing who God made us to be. "Be all that you can be" as the saying goes. Trying to be a nuclear physicist when your talents run akin to those of Picasso does not seem inevitable. That would not be embracing whom God made you to be. Where do your talents lie? In what ways are you the special creation that God envisioned and placed on this earth?

            There are myriad ways in which we can embrace our humanity, our talents our existence. For me that is being the best damn gay man I can be. I am embracing it along with all my other gifts and talents. I try to respect myself in the process ( and others of course ) and I realize being gay is but one portion of who I was created to be. Overall I was created to be a loving creature that returns love to God directly and through others. All of this I view as inevitability of sorts. Not that any of it has to happen, I can say no to my gifts and talents. I can say no to God. I can fail to love myself and others. In that sense it is not inevitable.

             The way in which it is inevitable is that there are things about me and only me that God made. I may be similar to others ins some ways, I certainly am not the only gay man or woman God created.  God did that throughout his created world and animal kingdom. But for those 'things' that make me who I am am, that is what Lent is all about. Salvation comes through embracing who you are in it's totality and that it really must be expressed. Just like Jesus had to love because that is the essence of who he is. I also hear he makes a mean bench because as a human he was a damn good talented carpenter too!

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

The fully human journey for Lent

Luke 18:9-14

           I have always maintained that Jesus made life just a wee bit harder for mankind in singling out the two great commandments. Now we are required to use our heads and hearts to live and love according to God's plan for us. With the Ten Commandments it was relatively easy, you simply obeyed those laws and you could feel saved, self righteous. Even with the myriad manmade religious laws that the Temple elite set forth you could be assured of complete salvation by obeying every law to the letter.

             Here we have the tax collector who walks away more justified than the self righteous prigg who has his nose in the air while looking down on everyone else.

              It seems a much harder challenge to love everyone in it's most encompassing form than to simply check of a box that you fulfilled the letter of the law. Love requires compassion, recognition of everyone's inherent value. Love requires that we put others before ourselves. Love requires that we exercise some form of introspection and analysis of where we are succeeding and where we are failing. Love requires us to grow. 

               That growth thing is what hangs a great many of us up. That is what Lent is all about.  Someone I know likened it to a cocoon. On Easter we all burst forth as magnificent butterflies - or at least that's our goal. Someone else I recall said Lent was a time to become as human as we possibly can.  I'd like to try and embrace both these ideas for Lent. Whatever I do, whatever plan I may come up with or whatever I "give up" for Lent, all of it should be geared to making me more human. 

              Embracing our humanity completely as Jesus did requires a lot of living and loving. It requires us to fight against the evils that may tempt us and requires us to live fully, embracing those things that God gives us as gifts for the living. 

               The first option at my disposal to be fully human will be to love others. It seems easy enough and the joys of companionship, loving,  bonding, holding, sharing and caring are all part of being fully human. Even our sexuality makes us more human. It is a gift to us as God created us. Embrace that too on your Lenten journey. Share your God given gifts in all it's glory and forms.  Listening, loving, talking, sharing,  the list seems endless and our journey in Lent is as grand and as varied as we are as humans. 

                Whatever we do for Lent, let us do it for the glory of God in love and let us embrace our humanity to the full.  

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’

Repeating history. Are we doomed?

Daniel 3:13-29

              So here is one of today's passages from scripture. Is it a joyous celebration and example of how God is faithful to us and saves us from all turmoil and torment.   Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are not consumed by the fire and are an example of the strength of our God. But what else is playing out here? Not unlike many other stories conveyed from ancient scripture, there is violence and evil and one person (or group) trying to force their beliefs on another group. So much so that Nebuchadnezzar throws people into a fire to get them to convert or to reject their God. Sound familiar?

             Just the other day 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded at the hands of Islamic extremists. I have no doubt these brave faithful were not perfect but yet they met their death no different than what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had faced. On the other hand, I have no doubt at all that the perpetrators were the worst possible example of what Mohammad tried to say and reveal about God. Liars and selfish sinners one and all.  God weeps at the violence and desecration of His message. 

         The similarities between what happened to these Coptic innocents and what Nebuchadnezzar tried to foist on people is obvious. Is it all that different from the crusades or the inquisition?  Have we not been forcing our own arrogant beliefs about a loving God on everyone else for millenia? What have we learned or are we actually capable of learning?

           I have no message here today except to note that we all seem to be in the same pit of quicksand, all doomed to the same fate if we do not figure a way for all of us to climb out safe. Are we all doomed to revisit the sins of the past? I am afraid for us and I imagine God weeps for us. The God of love is the God of all. We must find a way to respect, reconcile and live together or we are in fact doomed.

         The concept of "one true faith" seems a basis for a never ending cycle of religious disresepct, hate and revenge. This cannot be what God intended for humanity. 

          Let us think, pray and love like our lives depends on it. It  very well may

Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?’

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defence to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.’

Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace to be heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counsellors, ‘Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?’ They answered the king, ‘True, O king.’ He replied, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.’ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’ So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counsellors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.’

Stop making excuses

Luke 14:15-24

          Before it was legal for my husband and I to marry, we had an exchange of vows between ourselves with two witnesses. It was as solemn as any ceremony and we committed to each other as God was our witness. It was a Sacramental, non denominational wedding with God smiling down on us with love along with all those we invoked who also shined down on us from heaven. Some time later, we saw fit to invite to our home a group of people who had been particularly supportive of us. I still recall one person who called at the last minute to say "the day got away from me" and therefore would not be able to make it. I don't think my husband has ever gotten over such a lame excuse for such a joyous occasion. Clearly, the person had no idea what the invitation was for. Or maybe they did, who knows?

          We all have an arsenal of excuses at our disposal for just about everything. We can't do something because the time is not right or we don't have the time. We judge relationships that way too. This person isn't right, that person isn't right - not what I am looking for. Too old, too fat, too young, too muscular, not buff enough. You name it, we all have excuses. 

           I have a magnificent cat who while amazingly dog like and human at times, still maintains enough aloofness to let you know who is really in charge. There are times I can call him and he comes on command and there are others when there isn't a millimeter of movement. The time has to be right for him. Very likely, he senses when the time is right for me. I am the one that must be settled, really settled before he will come to me. 'Get yourself settled dad so you can give me the attention I deserve' I imagine him saying.  Almost all the situations I can think of in life are like that. The excuses we make are all about us. "The day got away from me" is really about being too busy with fluff. You accomplish really nothing and miss out on the most important things in life.

           I imagine God must be aching much more than my husband over "the day got away from me". How many times are we each called and we have one excuse or another. How much more would we accomplish if we actually put some time into the important. Maybe we'd find the minutia isn't really that important at all and what we shouldn't be wasting our time on is all sorts of errands and chores anyway.

           I wonder how many people in their frantic search for 'the right one' have missed any number of beautiful people who would love to love them except for that one dismissive excuse or another.   When you are too busy, too judgemental? Have your standards been set just a wee bit too high (sarcasm),  you easily miss out on who is out there looking for you. That goes for God and any number of delicious, delightful people. 

          You really miss out on life and love.  How sad is that?

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.” ’

It's all in the follow through

Mark 16:15-20

          One of the many joys of my ministry years ago was Baptising babies. Here is the living proof of our ability to start fresh. Each child is a a new day and a new hope. If we ever caught ourselves in the negativism of saying all that is wrong with the world, a babe is our opportunity to mold this life for the better. To teach all the incredibly wonderful lessons we wish we had learned. We can show this child what love is really about and how to avoid some of the pitfalls we may have experienced. A child is a gift from God and a grand opportunity, a fresh slate, a joy to behold.  In Baptism it is that and more. In Baptism we are putting the love and light of Christ on this child and we are invited into the unfolding scene ourselves as well. God always calls us.

           As my mind reminisces over that joyful 'task', I also began to hone in on Baptism. What is Baptism. How would I define it? Would I use terms and ideas that have been popularized? Could I only express it in terms that were influenced, if not dictated, by the concepts and rules of the Roman church of my upbringing? Could I expand my mind to see what other concepts of Baptism are?

            We are all familiar with the expression "Baptism by fire". It isn't exactly the way we would want to enter a situation and yet like many 'fires', it produces strong metal. Challenges seem to make us stronger. I know how good I feel after an invigorating spin class. I know how good it feels to have accomplished a difficult task. This is not what we think of religiously as baptism but it is another view of baptism isn't it?

            Are there other paradigms for baptism then? At it's core baptism is a about initiation, about cleansing, starting new and the hope of the future. We can embrace that concept every day. Could we say we are baptised in the light of the rising sun? Does this daily ritual cleanse us and can we see the opportunities each day brings? 

            As we approach Ash Wednesday, I was thinking too about the ashes we don. That is a remembrance and actually a look to the future while embracing our past.  In an extreme sense, getting personally sand blasted, reminding us of the graffiti of our soul and life and making us clean and fresh.  Do we baptize ourselves with ashes then? 

            Then I can think of other new beginnings, the first day at a new job, at school. Perhaps the first time we make love with someone.  Maybe having a chunk of my aorta cut out last year was a baptism of sorts, a new beginning for me. The opportunities for newness abound.

            It does not matter so much then what paradigm I use to look at baptism. The truth is, newness abounds. We are constantly stepping forward in life in new situations and each decision we make.

            The importance of baptism the is not in the initiation, it's the engagement that really says it all.
What do we do after the baptism? How do handle the commitment, our life, our relationships?  There is a joke about a small child who receives his First Holy Communion. He sees a priest years later and asks 'when do I receive my second holy communion?' While we celebrate initial engagements and events no matter what kind of 'baptism' it is, what truly counts is the carry through.

    

            

And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.