The ultimate arbiter

         Holy Scripture is a real funny thing.  How often have you heard someone speak out with great zeal and authority to quote a section of scripture, chapter and verse, to support their opinion or to condemn individuals?  They might argue that it is not even opinion, that since it is scripture it is fact. And yet in addition to bad translation, taking passages out of context  and being filled with self righteous hypocrisy, there are many other passages that can be read that will essentially convey the exact opposite of what this individual is professing.

          I am of the notion that the final arbiter of scripture is love.  While good translation, context and solid scriptural knowledge is key, the final arbiter is what God wishes to convey to us. Again, that is love.  God is not hate, tyranny, vindictiveness, divisiveness, jealous or any bad attribute.  God is love. I was taught that over and over. After all these years and all the rules and rubrics, the scandals, the circular logic, the insane mental gymnastics to convey what the so called "one true faith' states, the final and only message of import is that God is love. Thankfully, that alone remains as one and true.

         And so we come to this passage which is from the oft quoted Old Testament. The words that contain life, death, prostitutes, and sins of the most grievous proportions but also and crucially, contains messages of God's love alive. Passages of scripture that note committed love of same sex couples, passages that convey heart breaking journeys of faith and wisdom almost beyond human comprehension. The stories of Scripture are stories of a journey of a total love relationship.

        This text of Wisdom speaks such flagrant love and acceptance of ALL of God's created world.  Such knowledge that does not come from tirelessly weaving intellect and creating philosophical treatises but knowledge that one can grasp by simply opening one's eyes to the created world all around us.

        If we acknowledge God as the creator of all that is, no matter what specific religious denomination we are, we are saying that everything that he or she or it created is good. Everything that is created contains at least a seed of the creator. There is a facet of love and beauty in everything for us to recognize and learn from.

        In our self importance, when we think we are actually in control of life, we fail to remember that if God does not love us, we would not be able to take in a single additional breath. We would simply cease to exist. As I often say, God loves each of us with reckless abandon and that God loves us at least as much as God loves every other created being in this universe.

       When we come to know that, through whatever means or whatever journey, we can grasp that even as a single grain of sand in the universe, every strand of hair on our head, every being large and small is loved and cherished by God. When we know this in our heart and hopefully in every fiber of our being, how could we will to act in a contrary manner? How could we hate? How could we cause pain in another by actually using the inspired words of God in a manner that causes divisiveness, pain, hurt or condemnation?

      If love is the final arbiter, isn't God the only one who can judge?  So much information that we create can be used for either good or bad, God is the only one who knows the truth and has the capacity to love that encompasses all. Compassion. Total forgiveness. Inclusiveness. and Love. Always love. Love is the final arbiter. 

Wisdom 11:22-12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance

or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.

But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;

and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.

For you love all things that are

and loathe nothing that you have made;

for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.

And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;

or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?

But you spare all things, because they are yours,

O LORD and lover of souls,

for your imperishable spirit is in all things!

Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,

warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,

that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

The Feast Day of Saint Paulette

     I can't speak for anyone else but I go through life with a sense of wonderment. The twists and turns of life, what brings you to a certain spot, how our lives intertwine all seem a mystery to me. I have often noted how blessed I am at how things have worked out, appreciating the fine details of my life. What role has kismet played? Kharma? Luck? Blessed by God? I can see myself as if I were a child, filled with awe and amazement at life and how it unfolds for us.

      Yesterday I went to a service for the first feast day of Saint Paulette.  Paulette was an Episcopal Priest and the wife of a fine gentleman that I had the pleasure of working with for many years. Here I found myself at this service, on what now seemed to be our very small island because it turns out I knew so many people in the church. Many had played roles in my own life. In fact, Mother Paulette herself had not only attended my Ordination celebration but was quite active in the LGBT community in the those early years of the so called "gay plague" and long before it was fashionable or acceptable for a church person to be ministering to people with AIDS.  I would be remiss not to note though, AIDS seems exactly the kind of disease and the LGBTQ community is exactly the kind of people I know Jesus would reach out to and minister to but I digress.

        In the sermon offered by an old friend of Paulette's, it was noted how beautiful she was as an individual. It was noted that it was not true that she could walk on water. Paulette's talents, generosity and journey were all noted in detail as were some of her faults lets say or perhaps more annoying gifts would be a better way to put it.

          I came away really knowing who Saint Paulette was, a human fully alive. I knew I had been blessed in knowing her. I came away with that sense of awe again in how her life had intertwined with mine. Paulette's life had touched so many people that had touched me as well. I got to thinking how her love had perhaps been doing double duty, affecting my life in ways I never had known or realized. How blessed am I?  How blessed are we all.

        As with many things in life, I had gone to this celebration of Paulette for one reason, to support a man that I worked with and his family. I came away with that same old sense of awe and an ever growing sense of thankfulness.  I came away gifted in a wholly unexpected way.

        I give pause to think of Frank Capra's, It's a Wonderful Life and hum A Different Corner with George Michael ringing in my head.  We go through life so blind and trying to control all the things that happen to us. We plan, God laughs my mother-in-law would say. How often do we really let go and let life unfold before us? How often do we realize the intense and awesome mystery of life that God lays out before us, meeting our one true love, offering us gifts that we never would have received had we not been at a given place at a given time.

        I think all the goodness and gifts of our life are not accidents, not kismet, not kharma or even good luck. There are all examples of God reaching out to us through each other. Can we open our eye's to see these gifts as they unfold before us? When we accept God's love and share that love, fully alive, we are instruments of God, we are clay in her hands. In so doing we become saints like Paulette who so willingly and thoroughly offered her whole being to God. Paulette is a Saint and yesterday was her feast day.

   

Real gay pride

     As a gay man who tries to integrate and celebrate my life with God and Holy Scripture, I am keenly aware of the 'clobber passages' used as weapons and judgments against me and my community. I heard a new one recently, at least to me, about what is so wrong with "those gays". Pride. Perhaps quoting Proverbs (11:2; 16:15) or James 4:10.

     I could easily point in a timely fashion to Donald Trump who is currently at the height of his self inflating, ego centric campaign to crown himself kingpin of the USA. The point is to me is this:  What is the source of one's pride and what do we derive from it? I'd say that pride in our own accomplishments is arrogant, short sighted and plain out fool hearty.

     If we can take pride in anything, it is who we are as children of God. Even then, it cannot be that it is through our own graces that we have achieved anything. Pride is the acknowledgement of who we were created to be and to whatever extent degree possibly for us, how we cooperated with what God created each of us to be.

     In reading 1 Cor. 12:7-11 it would seem prideful arrogance to say or believe that 'my gift' is better than your gift. It would be heresy and sinful to think someone elses' gift of being is not needed or wanted or shouldn't be appreciated.

     As to pride in being gay, it is not pride in some specific action that makes one gay. That is no more a valid argument or opinion than taking pride in being heterosexual by marking notches on your bedpost for how many women you've robbed of their virginity or how many times you've cheated on your spouse.

     So then, what is there to be so prideful of in being gay? Acknowledging who you are as created specifically by God seems to merit some kind of pride. It exalts God. Celebrating who you are and who you are called to be merits some pride. Being the best gay person you can be, loving someone with genuine Godly love and celebrating the gifts afforded to you by God seems a reason for pride.

     When a person is given a desire and talent to be a pianist or a violinist, we can take a certain amount of pride in acknowledging that gift or talent, a God given talent and cooperating with it.

     Overall, perhaps it is more sinful to have the arrogance to have us interpret or determine God's intent so that it fits our own personal agenda. Perhaps the false pride that our position is thee correct and only valid opinion that counts is not really holy at all.

     Maybe reading Scripture with an open mind and heart would be a better call to Christian action than clobbering people. And maybe opening our eyes to the diversity of God's created world would serve us, and more importantly, serve our creator better than making rash, self serving judgments of others that we simply do not yet understand.

   

A second chance

     Did you ever hear the expression, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me?

     The feeling of being hurt, betrayed, judged, wronged or abused leaves a rather fowl taste in ones mouth. Our initial reaction is a judgment, perhaps anger against the perpetrator.  Some might even opt for revenge. We know that this is not an acceptable reaction. Christians are called to offer the other cheek. Most faiths see the merit and wisdom of forgiveness if only because hate is so self destructive and self consuming.

     Then there are the mistakes we make. Lord knows out of ignorance, stupidity, arrogance or whatever, we make an abundance of mistakes. We make bad decisions, selfish decisions. We are easily swayed to the merits of bad behavior.  At this point we are on the receiving end of someone else's judgment, dislike or as I said, hate.

      In love and honesty, as much as I could understand at the time, I married as a young man and began to raise a family. I was graced with two wonderful children, my wards, my joy, an opportunity to mold, love and show them the joys and love of living and hopefully my faith. Actually our faith as I was not really a solo act.  It was not until I was 50 as you may know that I came to the realization that I am gay. This after years of spiritual direction, therapy and prayer.  Needless to say this was a tumultuous time in my life and by extension for my wife , children and anyone who knew me.

       While there was no malice aforethought, no intentions to deceive or no grand design of obfuscation, I found myself on the receiving end of a great amount of judgment, shunning, hate and just plain anger. I can understand that to an extent. I have often said that I can not really expect everyone to understand overnight what basically took me 50 years to discern.  But what does this really have to do with our reading today from Acts?

       It is all about second chances my friend.  I loved the reflection in the Episcopal Cafe today. There are times on whatever side of judgment you seem to be on that bare no resemblance to what we are called to believe. Whether it is turning the other cheek or Jesus' admonition to forgive '70 times 7',  the challenge and opportunity for second chances often seem slim in the reality of our daily lives.

     The act of coming out was a grand second chance for me. I was also graced by God to have met a man who offered me the opportunity to love and be loved, yet another second chance.  While one church abandoned me for 'attempting to marry another gentleman' , another church opened it's arms and embraced me wholly.  These last few years too have been milestones.  A new knee,  the discovery of an almost certainly fatal "widow maker" of an aneurysm,  surviving a perforated appendix, all point to second chances in my own life. I am graced to realize that these second chances have been offered to me. What do I do with that realization?  What did the Apostles do with the concept of second chances?      

     So we are offered second chances in life and it is up to us make the most of them. We need to be thankful for them and we need to offer them to others. As much as we can appreciate second chances that are offered to us, we need to make them available to others in any way we can. That might be by a simple acceptance of an I'm sorry with actual forgiveness. It might be as formidable as offering a leg up to someone in need on any kind of level.

     All I can say for me, for now, is to say thank you heavenly Father and thank you for the people you have placed in my life. Thank you for second chances.

Acts 9:26-27

When he [Paul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 

Of letters and langauge

     Letters seem like such an elegant way to correspond. Long before e-mail and the simple but miraculous telephone, people used flourished words and language to convey thoughts, news, love and concern. These are the things that provoked some thought this morning as I read from Galatians.

      I once found a cache of old letters that my mother had saved. In reading some of them I could not help but notice the exquisite penmanship and the thoughts conveyed so elegantly with words that seem almost abandoned today.  Communication today seems relegated to emojis and sound bytes. Hidden in these letters was an excellent lesson involving words. There had been a mention of thanks in this particular letter, a notation of a birthday gathering which apparently was great fun. 'There was coke and everyone was so gay'. One might think Granny was a coke fiend and that in spite of being a lesbian, she managed to create a wonderful family for us. Only the latter is true however, we have a wonderful family. There was no cocaine (coke) and being gay was a notation of happiness, perhaps giddiness and a genuine good time.

       Such is a lesson taken from a mere 100 years ago when words we use now can convey such a different meaning than it had such a short time ago.  One needs to look at the historical context of the letter writer. The times and phrases can mete out radically different meanings than we suppose. We need to step back with our minds eye.

       This lesson is never more true or important than with Holy Scripture. I often note the inclusiveness, love and generosity of Jesus in curing the Roman Centurions'  'pais'. What is a pais? How was that word translated and retranslated and interpreted and re-interpreted with a specific agenda and hopefully some amount of linguistic skills. Pais, at the time, was easily and acceptably a junior same sex lover.  A pais was a loved member of the Centurions household. Not a prostitute. Not a slave. He was a younger lover.  Is that how you learned it to be translated?  What up tight religious agenda was used to whitewash the word 'pais'?  

        How often are we mislead by letters and language, misused and guided by an agenda?  Care needs to be taken. In today's world of google, texting and emojis we can easily lament the loss of elegance in writing letters to one another or the speed of snail-mail. But what google and modern technology can counter with is the speed and thoroughness with which we can research and study scripture and what it can offer us with relative ease. Resources formerly known only to scholars are at our finger tips. Scriptural study and knowledge is not just the domain of a few lofty religious men and women.

           We can lament the lack of letters but we should learn the true meanings of words and always emulate the love, inclusiveness and purity of Jesus' love above all, no matter what Scripture appears to say 

Galatians 4:12-20

Friends, I beg you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you; though my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me, but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them. It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you.My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

The center of the Universe

          Let's face it, literalism of any kind can cause really big problems.  Lack of understanding, lack of education and not using the brains the good God gave us has caused incredible evil. One need only look at some of religious fanatics in the middle east and around the world. The United States has been no stranger to literal fanatics either.

          When speaking against biblical literalism I have always noted how God speaks to us in ways we can understand - at a given point in human history.  The ancients would be have absolutely no comprehension of particle physics for example. The ancients fully believed that we lived under a dome as described in Genesis.  I mention this today because it is the day in the church's calendar when we honour the holy men of Kepler and Copernicus.  They delivered such seemingly wild and anti-establishment ideas from their intellect and reason. It is shocking that the state of education in the United Sates still yields a good number of people that still believe that the Earth is the center of the universe.  Yes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste!

          The larger issue though is things that we fail to comprehend and so we make it into an evil. How often does this happen? Well in Jesus' time when someone was blind or lame as in today's passage, people would ask whose fault was it? The sin of the person or the sin of the parents? Is this not ridiculous. Would we believe that today?  Moving forward in history though, when you'd think we might be more enlightened. How many nuns would force children to be right handed because being left handed was 'of the devil'. How ignorant.  The list goes on.  What did people say about black people that they simply did not understand or whom they had never experienced before. We still have not emerged fully from the shadow of this racial nightmare.

            Today so many of the right wingnuts who thrive on literalism have been railing against the LGBTQ community. They misquote, cherry pick and take passages in the most literal terms  and far out of context to boot. The ignorance of mankind is sadly not new.

            While Jesus did not speak one or the other about being gay ( maybe because the term would not be invented for another 1800 years? ), he did heal the Centurion's male lover, "pais".  What we should know about Jesus though is that he embraced his humanity.  As God created us, we are inquisitive, capable of learning and thirsty for knowledge of Him and His universe.  When we observe the world, learn and use our brains we are less likely to be arrogant, rude, mean spirited and ignorant. 

         It is astounding that the church, and by that I mean the Roman Church, has stood so firmly against all sorts of education, advancement and learning.  How was Galileo treated? When was he pardoned? Try 1992 !  Like I said, astounding.

         Education, learning and embracing knowledge is a key to our humanity, a key to being fully human and what God created us to be.  If we are on some scale higher than other animals, we will not reach our God given potential by acting like  things that we do not understand are evil, of the devil or some kind of voo-doo. 

Matthew 12:22-32

Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Can this be the Son of David?’ But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.’ ²He knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property, without first tying up the strong man? Then indeed the house can be plundered. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Gay - be; You - be; it - be, just be.

         Can we be still enough to just be?  I confess that most often I am only content when I am moving along. Not too fast, not crazy busy, but also not too slow. I don't want to be bored.  I know I am capable of listening. I know I can take time  to sit and be. Does it have to be the Triduum to do so? Does it have to be some special occasion for me to just sit and observe, to try and be one with nature, to be one with God? Can I sit and be who God made me to be, a gay man, a happy soul, a loving, comforting, caring soul? Can, can, we do any of these things and just be?

          All too often we get lost in the cacophony of the world whizzing around us.  We take an active part in the insanity that we so often complain of. Our hearts long for unity, purpose and calm. Today's passage from  Sirach offers us some wisdom. 

          Yesterday we took some time to bicycle around a small section of our island.  We eschewed the gym in favor of a more wholesome, natural form of exercise.  Just getting out smelling the fields, the freshly tilled soil, the animals, the sweet fragrances of spring.  Still I felt the need to pause further. I pulled off the road to see bursts of red fronds among the tall grasses of the field. Take time to smell the roses? Take time to see God bursting forth, nature being what it so easily just IS.

           I gives me pause to think of what I am missing when I even casually cruise by in a car as I did just the day before when on a relaxing drive with my husband, hypermiling away in our latest wheels. So casual a ride and yet so much still missed. 

           I learned long ago the expression "knowing what, one knows not, is in a sense , omniscience".  What is it I do not know? Do I even search for the unknown or do I busy myself all day long placating myself with a mere slowing down. Can I stop and just be. Rest. Relax. Just be.

           Can I contemplate God, myself and just existence and love. What more is there, really?

        Sirach 42:15-45

I will now call to mind the works of the Lord,

   and will declare what I have seen.

By the word of the Lord his works are made;

   and all his creatures do his will. 

The sun looks down on everything with its light,

   and the work of the Lord is full of his glory. 

The Lord has not empowered even his holy ones

   to recount all his marvellous works,

which the Lord the Almighty has established

   so that the universe may stand firm in his glory. 

He searches out the abyss and the human heart;

   he understands their innermost secrets.

For the Most High knows all that may be known;

   he sees from of old the things that are to come. 

He discloses what has been and what is to be,

   and he reveals the traces of hidden things. 

No thought escapes him,

   and nothing is hidden from him. 

He has set in order the splendours of his wisdom;

   he is from all eternity one and the same.

Nothing can be added or taken away,

   and he needs no one to be his counsellor. 

How desirable are all his works,

   and how sparkling they are to see!

All these things live and remain for ever;

   each creature is preserved to meet a particular need. 

All things come in pairs, one opposite to the other,

   and he has made nothing incomplete. 

Each supplements the virtues of the other.

   Who could ever tire of seeing his glory? 

Every little bit of queer

            It must have been a science fiction tale but the idea of the Earth as a jail came up.  The earth was a dumping ground for all the misfits. All the groups that couldn't get along with their own kind were sent to our magnificent blue orb. Yes the earth was all the same because it consisted of a set of peoples that were all different.  The outcasts. The misfits. The queer ones.

           I've been letting that term roll around in my head lately. Queer folk, not Queer As Folk, that interesting TV series (2000-2005).  We had discussed this at length in our gay spirituality group some years back too, we are all queer. Queer. QUEER. No longer a term of degradation but a term of pride. Now a days it might be easily noted that it is a term of recognition of the differences we all have. We are all queer in one way or another, all different with exetricities, personal habits, talents, history, genetic makeup, orientation(s). I suppose there is no limit to what makes each one of us queer.  We may have ideas based on so called societal 'norms' but it really extends in every aspect of our being.

          This week has seen several friends and acquaintances having to deal with family illnesses and parental death.  Every person handles it differently. One is introverted and silent, walling off everyone concerned. Effectively walling off help in the process. Someone dealing with the fact that his Mom died on Mothers day morning. This is a guy whom I consider a brother. And while I know he is not a biologic brother we now share the death of our mothers on auspicious days, mine having died on my birthday ( followed by my brother on the same day several years later).  I could try to play one upmanship couldn't I ?  In our differences though, he black, me white, he young, me old, etc., etc., there is an opportunity for love and support. I could use my queerness and my similarities to hold him in my heart, if not my arms, to show my caring and concern and not leave someone out in the cold focusing on the differences between us. 

           I do believe we are all queer,  now more than ever. I also believe we have similarities that should never be dismissed. We are all human. We are all children of God. We are all called to help each other while recognizing and yes, celebrating our differences. Could we argue which color of the rainbow is best?  I may like blue but lets celebrate the entire rainbow and all our queerness. Can our queerness be used to celebrate and support rather than separate and segregate?

                               

Ezekiel 36:22-27

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I display my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.

Jesus: going down to the depths

          We celebrate Jesus rising from the dead, ascending to the Father. It is the basis of our faith, the resurrection of Jesus. That singular act, nay, that living act is what gives us hope, makes us royal heirs and grants us eternal life. Heavy stuff. 

           Equally as heavy is the life Jesus lived as a human. This is a source of even more hope. 

Jesus,  "The Way" , showed us how to live as a real flesh and blood human. Jesus showed us what we are capable of in fulfilling our destiny. Always filled with love but Jesus was quite the rebel.  Railing against the status quo. Doing dangerous and unheard of things. Challenging the Temple elite, speaking with a Samaritan woman! Jesus broke so many "rules". Jesus befriended some of the worst people imaginable for the time, lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes and the like.  It seemed his loving open arms had no limits. Why he even cured the "pais" of the Roman Centurion. That is, the homosexual lover of someone occupying his very own country. What's with that? When will the 'insanity' of Jesus' love stop? How far will Jesus go?

            To the ends of the earth my friends, to the ends of the earth. There are no limits to Jesus' love and by extension so neither should we (have any limits). Something jumped out to me from this passage. It not only speaks of Jesus ascending, it also speaks of Jesus DE-scending. Did Jesus go to the depths of hell before he rose? Was this a little side trip before heading home to Abba, Father?

            I once read a book called Good Goats. One of the suggestions is that if indeed Hell exists at all, that there might actually be redemption beyond death. Did Jesus go to the depths of Hell to give hope even to the condemned? Is this where Mother Theresa gets the idea of embracing the worst of the worst in a  rat infested, disease ridden Calcutta?  Is this why Pope John Paul embraced the man who tried to kill him? If we think of the worst of the worst, the most condemned of our society today, could we embrace them, hold them and love them as Jesus has shown us? Can we do so without judgment? Can we love as a parent would love their own child? 

        Can we realize that in all of God's creations, God loves "them" at least as much as God loves us? That God would, has and does go to any length to secure our hope, freedom and salvation from the tyranny of sin and hopelessness? 

Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,

‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;

   he gave gifts to his people.’ 

(When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Hurricanes that can break you

          Growing up I recall a few hurricanes that came rolling through our area. As a child we were taught that when it got very calm outside we should remain indoors because it was the eye of the storm passing over.  Turbulence would soon re-emerge and we should remain protected. It seemed so odd to have that oasis of peace in the midst of a raging hurricane. 

           One of the most turbulent times in my life was when I began to realize I was gay.  I could not even utter the words to myself. I had hints and a great amount of fear.  I tried to maintain calm and my spiritual training helped a great deal. Still I saw a sea of hurt, turmoil and intense mental anguish all around me. I know what it is like to think that suicide might be an option.  Every turn seems full of negative possibilities. 

          Around this time, in the midst of therapy and prayer, I reached out for more guidance and for role models that might know what it was I was going through. It is thus that I began to see the hero of Bishop Gene Robinson.  He too had gone through a storm of sorts, much worse than mine. His book In the Eye of the Storm was very calming to me.

           I wonder what allows us to have any semblance of calm in the midst of life's adversities.  Had it not been for role models and my deep faith, I might easily have succumbed to the evil temptation that suicide was a viable answer for me.  The fact was, while I could see the turbulence all around me in a way I may never be able to fully explain, it would have been much worse had I not the faith in Christ.

           So the Apostles are terrified at the storm and Jesus remains totally calm ( asleep even! ) in the midst of the storm.  Jesus commands even the winds, the storm around them. Can we command the storms too? I would dare say yes in Christ's name. 

            If faith does not take away the storms, faith at the very least puts things into perspective. You realize what is truly important and what is smoke and mirrors around us.  Hurricanes, personal or otherwise are pretty extreme examples of life's ill winds. Can we see stop our spinning in the much simpler things that befall us on a daily basis? What is truly important? What really matters and can we put the nonsense aside knowing what truly matters?

Matthew 8:18-27

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’ 

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’

Plenty of meat here

         Today's reading encompasses some of my favorite passages. There is so much meat in these lines that counters so much of the dribble foisted on us by the Roman church. While we also remember a doctor of the church today as well, I am quick to point out the folly of historical bias (read: tradition) and policy preferences of that Church based on human decisions rather than scripture or the Spirit.

         So let's hit the ground running. I've written about this previously ( years ago actually ). The first story here is a Roman centurion and his "pais". Yes, pais is the original word not servant. While servant is a really nice word it none the less does a miserable job of conveying who this 'servant' was. A "pais" was more than a servant, it was more like a young lover which would be quite normal for a Roman officer. What is stranger, that the Roman church has subverted the translation by dumbing down the translation to suit their own desires? Or how truly astonishing it is that a Roman Centurion seek out this itinerant Jewish preacher to heal his young lover. Jesus knows who he is, he is at least an officer of the occupying army! Jesus also knows what a "pais" is and yet, Jesus recognizes the Centurion's  faith and cures the young lover. The messages about Jesus come thundering through to me!  Jesus is a rebel of the highest order, a forgiver and healer.  What has the church done to this message of involving tacit approval of a same sex relationship?

          Let's move on to another point. Jesus is in Peter's house (Peter, first 'Pope' if you will, even if that term had not been invented yet) Peter who would deny Jesus three times and left in charge of the church when Jesus ascends. Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. If Peter has a mother in law, Peter is married. Yet, do the Romans allow married priests? Yet another perversion. The exceptions are rare and exist but the policy of married priests is totally fabricated out of an agenda. That is, male domination, euro-centricity, etc.  It is sadly comical that such a policy is one of the contributing factors of the church's current sex scandals. 

         Two of my favorite topics.  I'll leave it to you to do further research. What are we to do though?  If the truth is not born out in the churches, what are we to do as faithful. We must speak up, be counter cultural as Jesus was and witness to alternative lives born of love and true faith.

Matthew 8:5-17

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’ The centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.

When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’

The Gay calling

          In today's passage from scripiture I see the calling of Moses. You might be familiar with the term. Although perhaps a bit outdated now, the term for someone entering the priesthood would be that "he heard the calling" or "he had the calling". It can't help but think how we are all called.

          If you can think back to the sixties when everyone was trying  find themselves, the real question was who am I and what are my gifts? What am I supposed to do with my life? The question to me translates roughly to who am I as a person (that God made so carefully) and how can I cooperate with God's plan. How am I to gift myself to the world as God planned? When you look at it that way, it seems pretty heavy.  I think we all have that innate knowledge that we are someone unique and special.  Inside we know that there is some gift or talent that will make us happy and that cooperates with some master plan even when we no idea what that big plan might be.

            While we like to think of people having callings to something like the priesthood or as a physician, we might fail to recognize other callings that we all have. The answer is just as important to each and every one of us. 

           I thought I had "the calling" to ministry and while it hasn't gone quite as I thought it would, I practice my faith and witness as best I can. But the biggest calling I didn't realize until I was about 50 years old. I realized I am gay. This 'discovery' , acknowledgement to myself and embracing it has been one of the happiest most fulfilling things in my life.  In cooperating in this way, the way God made me, I am fulfilled and have been so blessed in a spouse, in the people around me and the opportunity to witness to other gay people how they too are called to be gay and holy.  Your wholeness in every way is part of your being holy.  Wow. 

              Your calling is a cooperation of the plans God has for you which is part of what makes you - you! Failure to cooperate is often seen in people who are never happy, always seeking the next 'thing' spiritually or materially. The key is to find out as much as you can about yourself. Be fully human. Be fully alive. Be you.  Once you do all that, congratulations! You have 'the calling!'

             

        

Exodus 3:1-12

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’

Plain speak'n

        In the course of my job and ministry as a Deacon, I have witnessed and listened to many people. There are several that come to mind that have had extraordinarily brutal things happen to them or a family member.  Like many horrific things, they go beyond our ability to reason. We simply cannot understand why such a thing would happen to such nice people. ( May I suggest a good read: When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner‎ ). Anyway the anguish seems almost monumental.  When it happens it is difficult to ask God why.  Why all powerful God did you let this happen to my son,  husband or whomever? I know that it comes with the territory of free will. If we want free will we cannot have God intervening in everything. I also think we bring many of these things on ourselves, not individually, but societally. In any event discussion with God is nixed. The person has a justifiable anger and God is the target. 

        One of the things I tell people in whatever state they find themselves in, talk to God as he would find you. If you need to , tell, God you are mad as hell. This goes to speaking plainly.  God knows what is in your heart and Jesus certainly knows the anguish of the human condition, of losing a friend, of having to say goodbye to people you adore and love.  This goes to the heart of speaking plainly.

      So many people sugar coat, bend the truth or give broad smiles at all the right moments except when they are alone. God sees it all, God knows it all, God wants to hear from you good, bad or indifferent.  

      Many so called believers these days praise God on Sunday and are some of the most hateful ignorant people I have ever seen. It reminds me of some plain speaking I saw on a church sign recently. I would imagine if Jesus returned today he might a bit of plain speaking to do some people and some of the faithful might have some 'splaining' to do  as Ricky Ricardo might say.

          Whether you are speaking to God, a therapist or anyone else, honesty and plain speaking is key. I'm not taking about rude 'honesty' or judgemental' honesty or arrogant 'honesty'. Plain speaking honesty with God always works. I am sure God would appreciate hearing from each one of us.

John 16:23-28

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. 

‘I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.’

Jonathan & David : Same sex Biblical love story

          The term homosexual did not come into existence until about 1869, quite a few years after this passage was written. It seems only modern man has a penchant for tightly defining and placing everything and everyone into cubbyholes.  While some would have you believe that gay loving relationships are a modern perversion, here is a text right from scripture that gives witness to a loving committed same sex relationship. Far from sex and lust and tawdry 'lifestyles', here we have an example of genuine love.

           This is one of passages that my husband and I used in our wedding ceremony several years ago.  It was a ceremony of Judeo-Christian origin, celebration and consecration. We have taken our vows to love each other as seriously as any other couple, perhaps more so.  I love him and he loves me. My family is his family and his family is mine. It harkens to yet another great gay love story in scripture, that of Ruth and Naomi. We (the gay community) did not just make this stuff up or switch some words around to support our cause or agenda. 

          The idea or ideal of two becoming one and finding a soul mate is right out of Genesis, it is a God given aspect of our being, our existence.  It would seem only in modern times do we have the arrogance to dismiss history and stupidity to try and define humanity in neat little boxes that supposedly has never changed or varied.  

        Today I celebrate couples and love and the grace of God who blesses us and keeps us. I celebrate myself and my husband and the love we share, foster and witness in our daily lives.  Thank you God for the gift of each other and our willingness to embrace a love long sought.     

1 Samuel 18

As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.  And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

Wing 'man'

          I am with you always, to the end of the age. I truly love and truly beleieve that God is with us always. So much happens to us in this life both good and bad, and God is with us every step of the way. Comfort, love and understanding.  But then there is that last part, to the end of the age.’

         I am certain there are people out there who fixate on that. When indeed is the end of the age? How long do I have? I know many people have tried to figure it out. Of course it's there so what does it mean? Is it to be taken literally? What did the writer intend in placing it there? What were the original texts and what might they really mean? Is there a possible alternative meaning than the seemingly obvious?

         With not much else to go on, it almost seems like a test.  You can sit there thinking about 'the end times' and totally miss the note that God is always with you. Talk about distraction. That is really something to think about!

          As I am pretty much on the road today, I thought it might be a good time to let my mind wander to 'things that have happened in my life' and what it meant to have God by my side. In many cases God held me up instead of me keeling over. In some instances God actually elevated me and held me high. Sometimes God wept with me, understanding the loss of a loved one oh too well himself. Sometimes God laughed with me, sometimes at me and sometimes shook his head in disbeleief at me

         One thing is certain though, God is always at my side. My wing man

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

He's my Daddy and he loves me.

              When you are witnessing to people about Christ, whether it's in some formal way or by your daily life, you really want it to be eloquent and straightforward.  I'm not one for the loud and in your face style I've witnessed at train stations where a preachers screams "You're a sinner" and "repent!"

               The question then is how to get across the message that you are a beloved child of God, that everyone is a beloved child of God.  Jesus was the best, from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. But we really didn't need this one passage to convince us of that.   No, if you are given the gift of preaching, you should do that. If you have not been so gifted, live your life as a witness so that others will see that in your living, in what you do every day, your bear witness to the love and peace of Christ.

           When I was a bit younger and was still teaching religion classes in my parish I had a way in which I tried to highlight for these children how much they are loved. It worked for me and still does. What I would do is ask each child in my class their name. The'd say Johnny, or Bill, or Heather  or some such. I would then ask them, "are you sure?" I would get the "duh!" Yes, that's my name!  I would explain to these kids that as sure as they know that teir name is Johnny or Sally or Bill, that they should be equally as quick and sure that when someone asks "does God love me?" the answer should be a snappy and resounding "yes!".  There should never be even a small amount of doubt in the answer just like there was no hesitation and doubt when I asked for their name. 

         Did my small exercise work? That I do not know for certain. I am not even certain where I got the idea from. Perhaps it was from inside my own gut. I know the answer to both  with lightening speed.  I know it so much so that the comfort of God's love for me has seen me through a great deal of adversity, even when I was perhaps not deserving of it by my actions. I knew I was always loved. I know I am loved.

          Other than that small gift I tried to give those children so long ago, my eloquence I hope will be spoken loudly in the actions of my life and the love I have shared. I have no desire to be someone I am not. I am blessed to be just whom God made me to be. 

          How do you witness? ( this is a 'go out and do' exercise, no a tell me exercise )

Matthew 22:41-46

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, 

“The Lord said to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand,

   until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”? 

If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Mary on a half shell

         This would be the truncated version of today's (apparently obligatory) reading from Leviticus. There are chunks of stuff there in Leviticus. It is truly astounding how people have chosen that text for batter passages when there is so much more there that really makes everyone look quite hypocritical.

         Anyway, I am driving down one of our million farm roads here on this picturesque island and I see a statue of Mary and cannot help but make some comments about 'Mary on the half shell'. My husband is not familiar with this kind of commentary at all. It evolves into a commentary (again) about the Roman church and their practises involving all sorts of statues.  He's having trouble containing himself as I regale him with stories about religiosity and apparent statue worship. He loses it almost completely when I get into burying statues of Joseph upside down in your yard to guarantee that your property sells.

         If there is a medium ground to be found in this lecture on how we can possibly use statues as sources of mediation and prayer it is lost on how far flung the worship practises of the Roman church have gone in 'almost' defying' chunks of concrete and idol worship. 

       What part of this passage from Leviticus is lost on the Roman church, on anyone who sees fit to transfer devotion to Christ on a relative or follower of Christ so as to elevate that person to the same level as Christ himself? It is a curious phenomena that we have been clearly been warned of.

        Having said that and I feel justified in saying say especially since I've already risked my eternal soul by "attempting to marry another gentleman" (poking fun at the Romans again).  In all honesty there is merit in solemn Marian respect, worship is another thing though. 

       I have always noted what strength there was in Mary. More than strength really, it is strength of faith, guts, maybe even ballzy. Here is a young Jewish girl betrothed to an older obviously Jewish man. Visions of Lazer Wolf and Tzietel might come to mind.  Asked to carry the God child while in this social situation is precarius at best. What she is almost asking for is certain a broken engagement and a good possibility of being stoned to death.  The faith of this young girl is astounding and certainly can be emulated. Elevated to almost dietific status? Mais non!  

         Whoever said 'everything in moderation' would have a field day here.  We tread dangerously in glorifying objects close to God but that are not in fact God.  Guides, aids, objet d'art but not rising to the status of worship.  We tread this fine line with Saints. Examples of holy living, graced lives and ones to be emulated but not worshiped and certainly not as an intercessory to God.  No intermediary to God is necessary, not Mary nor anyone else.

Leviticus 26:1-2

You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your land, to worship at them; for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

Legal, non-resident alien

           If you read the scriptures each day, as I try to do, you might be getting a bit weary of Leviticus. Heck, Leviticus is wearying to just the most casual of readers what with all the laws and strictures, abominations such as they are and apparent daily stonings of wrongdoers.  What we've been hearing a great deal about though is aliens and all sorts of 'laws' pertaining to how to treat them. I wrote a bit about that just the other day (29/4/16).

         What strikes me now is that there must have been a lot of these aliens around. I mean, people must have moved around a great deal.  Whether for trade, political unrest, famine or whatever - there seems to have been a lot of travel.

          This week is my fourth anniversary and we spent our honeymoon in France, a magical place for numerous reasons. We were warned that the French were rude and obnoxious. We found no such thing. In our experience the French were lovely, engaging, friendly and welcomed us with open arms. But frankly we are quite the couple. As cute as two peas in a pod. Uh-dorable.

            I wonder why such a difference in experience between us and some other people we know.   Well I think I have something there. When you travel, do you travel like you are in a zoo or do you engage people?  Some people look at foreigners and go to other countries to see them ( who ever they are ). There are other people who go to experience a culture. Meet people, experience their lives, eat with them, share their joys; actually live among the people. I believe my husband and I are the latter. When we enter a patisserie, we inhale the aroma, we smile, we say hello, good day, Bonjour!  In my broken French I make an effort to acknowledge the magnificent aroma and that the pastries look divine.  We are courteous. We want to know the people and see the sights. We want to understand the sights, whether we are in Banff, Brussels or Botswana. We are legal, non-resident aliens and we are charming and the French were charming to us.

           So with all these people in Leviticus traveling about, the rules are spelled out how to behave. One might think we'd have this travel and courtesy thing down pat after  a few thousand years.  But alas, 'Americans' ( US citizens, I mean ) often have an arrogance, a built in  superiority complex that I don't know where it comes from. These type people should read history books and read scripture more.  We are all children of the same God no matter what we call him....or her.

         Sometimes I think the problems of the world would be solved if we travelled more, tried to understand each other better and realized we all have gifts to offer. Let's hear more about non-resident aliens. I'd heartily approve. 

Leviticus 25:35-55

If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens. Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you. You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.

If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves. They shall remain with you as hired or bound labourers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God. As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves. You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness.

If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien’s family, after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them, or their uncle or their uncle’s son may redeem them, or anyone of their family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if they prosper they may redeem themselves. They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired labourer. If many years remain, they shall pay for their redemption in proportion to the purchase price; and if few years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute thus: according to the years involved they shall make payment for their redemption. As a labourer hired by the year they shall be under the alien’s authority, who shall not, however, rule with harshness over them in your sight. And if they have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children with them shall go free in the jubilee year. For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

One sided balancing act

      I'm not sure where I heard this piece of advice but I know it was in my travels yesterday. Someone told me that that the only time we really have is the present. I know this.  I know we can cannot live in the past without missing the present. I know we cannot live in the now if we are always looking toward the future. So now is the time.

      I always looked at living in the moment as a balancing act. You want to live like there is no tomorrow but you certainly have to plan like there will be a tomorrow.  So many people put things off till tomorrow with great plans like the man in Jesus parable today only to find out they are dying or that they wind up getting hit by a bus.  For the most part our concerns apply to the expenditure of money or saving money. 

       There is however one thing we can never be stingy with in the now. We can never put off love.  We can't say 'I'll put off that volunteer work until I can afford to do so'.  We just cannot. We can't say I will work to all hours to the detriment of my family. The family will be missed. No one ever laid on their death bed saying 'I wish I'd spent more time at work'. The needs of love are always right here in the now.  Love cannot wait. Love does not require money, if it does it's called something else but definitely not love.  The great thing is that love is something everyone can afford to give. 

        My mother in law says we make plans, God laughs. The designs of our lives are so intricate and most often far from what we may have thought they'd be. Planning seems senseless. The opportunity to love is always there and always brightens and expands our future. Amassing money for the future without love is cold and empty.  Money can be a wonderful thing but it never can replace love in the heart or love offered freely.

         For today and everyday, keep your eyes wide open and look for the myriad ways to love. The only plan should be to be open to love and the opportunity to love.

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

Evil seeds

          When I was in my last year of seminary before ordination, the phrase "the devil's year" was bantered about. The thought was that the devil would do anything within his power to get you to abandon what you were truly called to do.  Further, his plans were so insidious that he would use whatever tools available to accomplish his plans. Like espionage, the plan really involves using your own weaknesses as a wedge against you. What are your personal weaknesses? that is, what the devil would use as a lever to tip you away from your calling.

            When I think of "false prophets" that is what I think of. Using your weaknesses against you.  It is not unlike Donald Trump who says all the things you want to hear even in your immaturity like building walls and sending every immigrant 'back home'. Mr Trump plays into your worst feelings and fears and exploits them, not unlike the devil, and tells you it's ok to feel that way. Your worst attributes are justified! He is insidious.  Perhaps it is Mr Trump that is "lucifer in the flesh" and not Mr. Cruz as  John Boehner suggests.  Or perhaps Ted and Donald are twins!

              Politics aside though, we are dealing with more that the election of the next President of the United States, we are dealing with our immortal souls.  Life is much more robust than dealing with a new President, no matter how powerful he may be. 

             What about the religious leaders of our day?  It was easy to track down pictures of some of 

 the 'homes' of some televangelists. Wow. No vow of poverty here, eh?  I have to say that between the car and the architecture, this is how the devil might tempt me. How about that shack by the seaside? (right) I could be tempted. Really though, whether we are talking seaside resorts, elegant cars or ginormous pools, the temptation is pretty obvious.  It would seem more insidious if you did tremendous works, preached peace and love all the while molesting children and using your sizable influence to cover the whole affair up. THAT is evil. The Pope runs around in a Fiat, there is no hiding the Rolls in the picture above (left).

            

A large villa not your cup of tea? Little kids really not your weakness? Perhaps you might settle for a weekend away at the picture to the left which looks more like a resort than someone's home. 

My point is this, most of us are not tempted by enormous wealth. We are tempted by the gentle breeze of a suggestion that our bad thoughts are good ideas. We are lead astray by giving in to the notion that " I deserve that " as if we have done something extra special to merit just a little selfishness.  In so doing we have judged that we deserve something more than some one else, that they have not done something as good and we have have done something more or better.  From there it is a slippery slope. The devil has gotcha!

              Perhaps it would be better if we just woke up each day and gave a resounding round of applause to God. A sincere thank you, a large serving of gratefulness instead of grapefruit. Perhaps we could wake up with the realization that we have new day, a new opportunity to love others, to spread the Good News. We can be the the good fruit in today's scripture passage. This is what God created us for. Love and living in joy.

Matthew 7:13-21

‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. 

‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Aliens among us

        There seems to be a visceral reaction by many in this country to illegal aliens. That is especially true when the hate mongering and lack of compassion comes from religious right wing nuts. The viciousness and lies have even been trumpeted by leading presidential candidates in a far from presidential way.  I have been thinking quite a bit about the reading below which is actually from yesterday. You may note there was no fresh blog entry for yesterday.  The line that strikes me to the core is in the second to last paragraph of the passage ( Lev.19:35 ), the section that specifically speaks about aliens among us.  

        It seems quite telling that Hebrew scripture would have the Israelites be kind to aliens. The Hebrews were often aliens themselves. Perhaps while it was fresh in their collective memory it was reduced to 'paper' so that no Jew would ever forget what it is like to be a stranger in a foreign land, an alien, an illegal. They were slaves to other countries not unlike the pseudo-slavery illegals in the United States of America are living today. Indeed, look at Greece or Italy or any one of the European countries trying to  come to grips with mass immigration, legal and otherwise.

          This seems like such a timely passage to me.  How is it that so many can so easily dismiss such a blatant and powerful admonition on how we should treat a stranger? This is certainly not the only passage in Hebrew scripture that deals with hospitality to strangers.  The story of Lot and the two angels, often used as a batter passage against gays is actually a story about God taking retribution on Sodom and Gomorrah for their lack of hospitality. Indeed, raping people is certainly far in excess of mere inhospitality. This interpretation of the clobber passage of Lot is born out by all the earliest Rabbi's and hermeneutics.

            How about we approach this in broader terms then since many people seem to have collective amnesia or cherry pick passages so to ignore others that might cause them to be ashamed of their behaviour. How do we decide how to act towards our brothers and sisters in any given situation? Most especially though, ones where we can choose by biblical means to act one way or another. 

         Certainly we can try to act on God's behalf. We can make judgements based on what we want to read into scripture or based on some flawed exegesis. That is precisely what many religious right wing nuts do. Heck, that's what the Roman church does all the time. I don't think we are only talking here about aliens, illegals from Mexico or other countries of South America; Not even simply Syria or Lebanon or any place where people flee tyranny, oppression and war. If only that were the limits.  People are aliens in their own lands, people born here but born 'different'. That encompasses anyone in the LGBTQ community. Blacks. Asians.  Native Americans. Challenged people. What is our stance on rights for everyone, for welcoming everyone?

        If we are people of faith as Christians ( or any other faith ), how do we determine our course of action when our religious texts can give us options. I might say, we have an option to dismiss, justify, segregate, abuse or enshrine inequality. How do we decide? When facing opposing viewpoints in scripture, the course of action has to be the highest order of love we can come to and the most loving action we can muster. Love is the final arbiter. It's almost as if Jesus knew this kind of scriptural dichotomy exists or had the possibility of existing. Maybe that is what the Pharisees did all the time.  Jesus gave us a higher commandment and that has always been to love.

        Now what is the loving course of action towards 'aliens'?   

Leviticus 19:26-37

You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practise augury or witchcraft. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.

Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land may not become prostituted and full of depravity. You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

You shall rise before the aged, and defer to the old; and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

You shall not cheat in measuring length, weight, or quantity. You shall have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and observe them: I am the Lord.