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.

Laying down a little for a friend

John 15:12-15

           Permit me to take you back about 40 years to the Baltimore Catechism. My parish priest is explaining about mortal and venial sins and conveying why my soul is like a milk bottle with black spots. Mortal sins are a wholesale turning your back on God and makes your soul (milk bottle) black. Venial sins are small ways of turning our back on God and hence make your milk bottle speckled with black particles. You can, he explains, achieve the same effect as a mortal sin by continuously choosing small sins, speckling your 'milk bottle' until it is essentially all black. Interesting explanation and it does has some merit even in it's (over) simplicity.

           And what of our good actions? Let's think of them as karma. Can we bank sufficient good deeds to overpower the dark particles of sin? Must we literally lay down our lives for a friend or can we achieve the same by living our lives, laying down a little bit at a time. Can we die to ourselves in the name of love by random or focused small acts of kindness?

           The Roman church is replete with saints who were martyrs, literally giving up their lives in the name of Jesus Christ, at least in the ideal. (some interesting people though have become saints based on human judgements). Other churches, the Episcopalians I note specifically, honour and remember saintly people, holy men and women who may not have given up their lives but have contributed to the kingdom here on earth. The 'rules' for "canonization" are less stringent if present really at all.

            Some people look at life as if success or faith is based on some grand gesture or some great worldly achievement.  Our contribution to God's plan of salvation can easily be made by simply living good and decent lives, speaking up for the marginalized in any way we can and consistent efforts to do good in the world in which we live, even if that sphere of influence is minute. It's as if we laid down our lives one pure speck at a time overcoming those little specks of darkness that exist.  It is that idea of a single candle point of light.  How powerful is it when a darkened church is filled with everyone holding a small lit candle. It is glorious!

            Let me end by telling you about Sainted Anna Schuster. You will not find here name in the official Roman roster of saints, not even the Episcopalians although they are much more likely to recognize her in spirit that the Romans even though Anna was a devout Roman Catholic. Anna was a gifted, dedicated and awarded teacher. In a time when medicine might seem to us today as close to butchery, she became immobilized by a broken hip. Here world was a bed in her bedroom and extended to a wheelchair in her living room when she had sufficient help to move her there for a few hours each day. Anna prayed and journaled and was a beacon of faith. Not complaining and ever faithful, she witnessed her love in such a small world but yet gave a resounding example of laying down her life, gently succumbing to her ailments but living brightly none the less. Her life was a grand gesture of a different type not recognized by formal religion but she was, I am sure, exalted by God as friend, beloved daughter and faithful servant.

            Here is to laying down our lives for our friends, known and unknown in actions big and small, all the days of our lives. Go out and live the love that resides in your heart and soul.

                      

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.

The Driven Out

John 9.35-41

           In the early Christian church, the rule was one of inclusiveness and embracing differences. Originally, Jesus came to save the Jewish people but soon he embraced the most radical of positions. Jesus' saving grace, friendship and love was open to women, lepers, Samaritans, Roman soldiers (excuse me 'gay' Roman Centurions) and almost anyone that expressed faith or a willingness to listen. So it was in that early church that salvation was opened (through Paul) to not just the Jews but to the gentiles and the uncircumcised. How radical when Jesus actually proclaimed he came for the Jews. But Jesus' love and actions could not be contained as the Fathers love cannot be contained.

             In today's passage it begins with a cured blind man having been "driven out" of the temple and presumably the community by the Jewish leaders. Those leaders are taking up the role of judges as to who and what is holy, who can receive salvation and ultimately trying to puts mans rules (their own rules) onto God himself. That's crazy talk.

              How can any one judge and how can anyone rightfully drive out anyone that God so eagerly embraces? God embraces us all.  When I 'came out' I began to Google "inclusive churches' because my faith is that important to me. It seems ridiculous now that such a word would be a clarifier for any Christian church, for any church, synagogue, temple or mosque of God. In contrast to man's rules about God, when could you ever imagine a Father (God) turning his back on his child, any child?  What of the example of the prodigal son? 

           At the end of our days it is only God who can judge. As it stands, God embraces everyone and everything unto himself/herself. God is all, God is love. 

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.

I can see clearly now

Isaiah 58:1-12

          As you may have made noted, I am currently taking a month long at-home retreat. One of the things that we are addressing this week is our vision. How do we see things.  I had admitted that I had hoped that during this month I might be able to attain some of the vision that our retreat master has. However, I have come to realize that seeing is very much like listening. Years ago I had taken a course in listening and it is amazing how we listen, how we choose not to listen and what we easily overlook. Listening as it turns out involves much more than our ears. Facial expressions, bodily expressions and certain nuances with words often speaks volumes if we train ourselves to "listen".  What we "see" is not surprisingly very much like listening. We have a whole range of talents as well as hindrances that affect how and what we see (or don't see)

             This is not a new phenomena. Perhaps it is part of the human condition . Perhaps it is the result of that "original sin" when we try to choose our way instead of God's way. We fail to see so very much and sometimes, sometimes, we are quite arrogant over what we think we know or see. 

              Quite some time ago I railed (I am sure) about personal acts of piety that some religious think makes them holier than everyone else.  These acts become a basis for salvation when in fact any act of piety should be solemn and lead you to a deeper faith but certainly not faith by itself. When we assure ourselves of our salvation by what we know or can recite we are woefully mistaken. The days when answering the Baltimore Catechism with all the correct answers never did give you salvation. Just like obeying the ten commandments scrupulously is not he complete answer either. The righteous man who walked away dejected because he obeyed all the laws faithfully but yet was reluctant to give everything of his away as Jesus suggested is a good example too. Today we have televangelists and would be saviors who feeling quoting the word of God, chapter and verse, is what will give them and you salvation. It just ain't so.

        Roughly 600-700 years before Jesus became incarnate, Isaiah spoke of intent and conscience long before Jesus found the need to come and say the same thing. It is not the laws that save you; it is not the fasting that saves you; it is not the circumcision or the un-circumcision that saves you.

        It is simply how you live and love. Do not obscure your vision with the plank of righteousness, ignorance or man made laws. Read Isaiah and see what is written.  Let us pray for clear vision.

Shout out, do not hold back!

   Lift up your voice like a trumpet!

Announce to my people their rebellion,

   to the house of Jacob their sins. 

Yet day after day they seek me

   and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practised righteousness

   and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgements,

   they delight to draw near to God. 

‘Why do we fast, but you do not see?

   Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,

   and oppress all your workers. 

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

   and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today

   will not make your voice heard on high. 

Is such the fast that I choose,

   a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,

   and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,

   a day acceptable to the Lord? 

Is not this the fast that I choose:

   to loose the bonds of injustice,

   to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

   and to break every yoke? 

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

   and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,

   and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

   and your healing shall spring up quickly;

your vindicator shall go before you,

   the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. 

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

   you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. 

If you remove the yoke from among you,

   the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 

if you offer your food to the hungry

   and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,

then your light shall rise in the darkness

   and your gloom be like the noonday. 

The Lord will guide you continually,

   and satisfy your needs in parched places,

   and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

   like a spring of water,

   whose waters never fail. 

Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

   you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

   the restorer of streets to live in.

Desires of the flesh

Galatians 5:16-24

          When we hear of the desires of the flesh we often think about sex. Never too far from being a good subject of thought but that is not what I had in mind here. The flesh itself, those things that are of this world are often at the forefront of our minds and our motivations.

           Today the church recalls the 'martyrs of Japan'.  At any point in time after Jesus died and rose and people began proclaiming the good news, they came across different cultures and different ways of thought. Rather than engage in listening, learning and understanding, people have often acted out of misunderstanding, suspicion and perhaps even jealousy. 

            Rather than speak of sex, we want to control and contain our own lives. Perhaps it is what we consider to be our own comfortable way of life or simply what we understand. Rather than going out of ourselves to learn and listen we have conflict, misunderstanding and even hatred. Think of the times that Christianity was brought to a new area of the globe. What happened to Christianity in Spain, in the Americas, in Japan and even with the introduction of a new and strange religion of Mohammad? So often history has shown us that the introduction resulted in fighting, killing, inquisitions and torture (on both sides).  Not our finest hours as humans. 

       Truth be told we like things the way they are, we often hearken back to "the good old days". The desires of the flesh are so much more than just sex. They are an attachment to this life or a way of life and let the world be damned if we have to try and listen or understand the 'others', whomever they are.

        I think the desires of sexual activity is a God given joy to be embraced and revelled in. It is not the evil this passage speaks of in my mind. Sex has altogether gotten too bad a rap. The evils of the flesh come down to narrow mindedness, selfishness, worldliness and lack of love and understanding.

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Gay marriage, faith and anarchy

Galatians 5:1-15

          Whether we like it or not, the United States was founded on the basis of religious freedom and in particular, the concept and practice of separation of church and state. Far from what some far right religious wingnut may lead you to believe, this is not a Christian country. It certainly is  not a theocracy such as Iran. We believe in freedom of all kinds and religious freedom is paramount, it is why the Pilgrims came to this side of the pond in the first place.

           But freedom does not mean freedom from laws and we are bound to a vast array of laws from religious, to legal to the natural. In today's passage it speaks of laws and salvation and judgement. The colloquial term for circumcision is "cut". Are you cut or uncut?  I suppose our understanding today is based on health. Circumcision is done as a matter of good hygiene and has less to do with religious laws unless of course you are Jewish. But is being cut necessary for salvation? This is just another law (of the religious variety) that we are told in today's passage does not affect our salvation. In fact, if you go by that law, your salvation may very well be linked to the entirety of Jewish law. Paul is saying you are not justified by adherence to the law of circumcision.

           Jesus would also add that he is the fulfillment of the law. You will find him breaking all sorts of laws, 'working' on the Sabbath, touching the unclean, his apostles plucking wheat on the Sabbath, performing miraculous healings on Holy days. Jesus' own examples show his feeling for the law.

            Are we better people, saved and holy by adhering to laws? Abortion is legal in the United States, should we adhere to that law? Will you be saved? What laws are important and which one's can be dismissed? On any given day there is an enormous display of civil disobedience that I witness as countless vehicles fly by on the expressway well beyond the legal speed limit. Are they going to hell? Does Jesus look the other way or does God not love those 'sinners'?

             This all sounds crazy. Where will it end? Is this a black whole of moralizing that allows faith in Jesus to put aside all laws?  Well, we are not immune from the laws of gravity. We can't ignore all laws. We can't simply fly off like Superman. Which to obey, which to dismiss? Some time before my husband and I were legally wed, we read eachother vows of commitment in front of two witnesses. It was totally illegal yet it had real force, it was Sacramental. We invoked God and asked for His blessing. We broke the law!!! 

            Here's the deal: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. Jesus gave us two great commandments so we are not without guidance. Moses received the Ten commandments and the two temper those ten. Finally, when God created each one of us he gave us brains. I know, you'll argue that point but we were in fact given brains and we are to use them. Our brains are a vital part of our God given makeup. This is why conscience plays such a vital role in our life. Something may be legal but be wrong. Something may be illegal and be right. Let The love of Jesus be our guide. Let love be the lens of our actions. This is not anarchy, it's faith.

               

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offence of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!

Knock'n off a little dust

Mark 6:7-13

         I think we are all aware of oil and water - they don't mix. In that same way, we know that there are people that meet each other and have an immediate dislike for each other. I'm not sure of it's a shortcoming or chemistry but I know it occurs. Perhaps it's the polar opposite of love at first sight.

         And so I began to think about this directive to 'shake off the dust'. I think we all have had the experience of meeting someone who simply does not like us, simply cannot understand us or perhaps knows us and does not believe or agree with anything we might say. It happens. 

          How do we react to such people? What do we do in such a situation.  It's very likely that the more you might try to persuade the person to your way of thinking or the harder you try to convince them that you really are a swell person, the more likely it is they would not be so inclined. This might be a case of shaking the dust off.

           What I truly wonder is whether or not the 'sahking off of the dirt' is really so much of a testimony against them as much as it is a respect for wherever they are on their journey. Short of a disagreeable person trying to kill you, I think that everyone is entitled to the respect for their journey as we'd like for our own. 

           I recall many years ago my teenage daughter going on a retreat and coming home filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom and knowledge that was a bit unnatural for her age. She still holds this same wisdom and knowledge. Sadly, our very large extended family was far from agreeable and accepting of her. Perhaps it's that old adage of a 'prophet not being welcome in their own town'.  It has taken decades for some of those relatives to attain what my lovely daughter discovered on that retreat. Some of those relatives may never attain a tenth of what she knows - and lives. That's not a dig though, it's not testimony against them.  They are simply on a different journey. If any fault could be judged - and I am not a position to do so - it might be the lack of respect those relatives meted out.

           I like to think of 'knocking off a little dust as  sign of respect for someone else's journey. Let us witness to people by our lives and our actions and if it is not received, let them alone to respect where they are and to discover their path in their own time. 

He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Slave or free?

John 8:31-36

          When I was a teenager my community changed from a suburban, predominantly white neighborhood to a predominantly black neighborhood. Before my family moved it would change again to a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. Through all these changes I became a minority. My neighbors were all middle class blacks (or Hispanic) and the neighborhood really did not change. Well, the people 'moving in' had a tendency to make the neighborhood better since they apparently had worked quite hard to afford their houses. There was pride of ownership and the neighbors were always nice. Still I was a minority and I felt some pride in the fact that I was not prejudiced about anyone. If someone was a scoundrel, they earned it on their own merits not based on their nationality or the color of their skin.  Fast forward a few decades and I was working with quite a variety of medical residents. Still prideful of me being 'not predjudiced', I had to approach a resident with an Asian background over a clerical issue that I was in charge of. I asked the resident who came to my office to fix it. His response was that it was not his issue but that of another Asian resident and he asked if I thought that they all looked alike. I was mortified. I was prejudiced in a way, even if  it wasn't malicious. Damn.  Sometimes you are slave to things when you would swear that you are free of.

           One thing that I have learned from that incident and from decades of working with such a diverse medical staff as well as my own life experiences and religious training is that we are constantly called to learn and grow.

           It seems almost funny the things that we can become slaves to. It surely isn't simply owning someone although thank God that is recognized and almost completely accepted as a universal human wrong.  We can be slaves to our own ideas and we also can be slaves to 'things'. I would be the first to recognize how we Americans are held captive by materialism. 

           How about keeping the gay community slaves to ancient and antiquated ideas or mistranslations of Scripture? Isn't it ignorance to assume all gays are the same? Isn't it a form of slavery to ones ideals to assume people cannot lead committed loving lives? 

            No matter what your definition of slavery is, no matter what form it takes, Jesus walked the earth to set you free. The command to love, those two great commandments will set you free.  You may not realize the depth of those commandments but your life should be set to grow and learn with each breath and each day how we are to love. We must never become complacent about being a slave and to what extent we need to grow in His love to set us free.

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.

In praise and thanks of Abba

Romans 8:14-21

           The Spirit of God and love is pure gift. I was not raised in a so called traditional home. I was raised in what some might call the beginning of the end of marriage and families as we (thought) we knew it. My Dad moved out when I was 5 years old. My parents were divorced in a time when it was considered by many to be the largest of social taboos. My mother was ostracized from her faith by the 'good' Catholic women who thought she was akin to Mary Magdalene (who was also wrongly accused and was misrepresented by the church as a prostitute.). So my mother, while not a prostitute, lived with the judgements of her church and those of the 'Alter Society' and others that made her feel like a second class citizen. I was no mere child myself. I was "the product of a broken home". That statement clouded my faith for far too long. Even with all that divorce and judgement I was and still am quite a blessed boy, now man.

           Where did I get the idea, the gut knowledge that God was my father, by 'Abba'? Abba means more than father, it would be more akin to 'Daddy'. An intimate and loving word, Abba is how I felt and I knew I was loved - always. This cannot be learned. This is pure gift.

           Can this foundational knowledge that I have, that we share, be taught? Was the Spirit that I exuded my entire life something that I learned in our broken home? God laid forth his love and His gift to me from the earliest moments of my conception in His mind. This is true for all of us if we can get in touch with this knowledge. If we are not too busy and not too distracted. If we stop, we can see we are born to be free, to love, to soar.

           As a witness to my life in the presence of God's love, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. This passage speaks volumes to me. How does it speak to you? Are you free? Are you know you are loved? Can you praise in spite of life's turmoil? Can we judge life by a different yardstick? By God presence and love?

           Today I will be embarking on a month long (at home) retreat. I hope to stop myself from twirling in the world to see what is around me, what is going on and how God is revealing himself / herself to me in the visions I see daily but that I may be too busy to notice. This is part Lenten retreat for me, part gift and praise.

            Perhaps we are getting nearer to the time when we really should step back and look into our own lives and life to recognize how gifted we are and how loved we are.  Seek out time aside from the world. Seek time to be present to yourself, to God and to His love. Welcome to a new month. Always a new opportunity to love and praise.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.