Spic and Span

       Yesterday, in speaking about elevating the Bible as a source of wisdom, truth and love, I noted Bible belters. I also, in a somewhat derogatory manner, refer to many as Bible Thumpers. These are people that can routinely quote chapter and verse of scripture for almost any occasion to support their cause, agenda and way of life. Scriptures are used as weapons more than for evangelizing. Often, that way of life is like the Pharisees in today's passage from Luke. The appearances and cleanliness of the words on the outside, but not so clean on the inside. Anyone after all can quote scripture from rote, compile a list of cherry picked passages to support their cause and neglect the heart of the matter, loving one's neighbor and living a life worthy of the life that was sacrificed for them. 

       I can think of the beautiful people that dress finely, are concerned with good looks and can quote scripture until the cows come home but never would you find them acting in such finery as to get their clothes dirtied or creased by the hard ardent labours of love.

       How often have we read the story of a holy man ( or woman ) who is found to be a profound sinner? Drug addict, pedophile, adulterer. Wasn't it just last month ago that a televangelist proclaimed he needed more money for yet a fourth jet so he could carry the good news further than his measly old smaller jets could go? Finery is acceptable, the pomp and circumstance of religions is not an evil unto itself. What is wrong for anyone is to have a hollowness that makes the outside seem holy while the inside is empty or rotten.

           Just like no one knows from smiling faces what hidden burdens each of us carry, so too there is no one that can judge what emptiness is inside while the outside lusters. Except that is, God and yourself. Can we, do we, take time to affirm our personal faith? Do we perform our own scan to make sure we measure up with what we profess outwardly?  Appearances will not get you into heaven. We need to be sure that we are spic and span, inside as well as out. 

Luke 11:37-52

 While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.

 ‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the market-places. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.’

 One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.’ And he said, ‘Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute”, so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.’

Bibles open please.

      If going by the FaceBook page of my elementary school is an accurate representation, growing up and attending a Roman Catholic grammar school was quite an experience.  We had Nuns with rulers and paddles galore. Nuns that drove huge land yachts far exceeding posted speed limits, candy sold from a supply closet and stories way too numerous to even mention - or perhaps believed for that matter. One thing we did not do and we were never taught - how to read the Bible. That was a no-no for Catholics in my youth.

       While evangelicals and Bible-belters were learning to quote scripture as if their lives depended on it, cherub faced little Catholics were reciting the Rosary with hands at precisely the right angle for our prayers to reach God. We were Bible ignorant by way of absence. The Evangelicals were ignorant by way of slanted interpretations and cherry-picking scriptures to suit their own agendas

       The solution is not to throw out the Bible. You don't throw out the baby with the bath water. What is needed is a refreshing and  enlightening resumption of earnest biblical scholarship. As elder teen Catholics we would call upon a Study Bible, an official Catholic translation with commentaries.  What is needed is even more than that though. I have an entire set of books in my office that rivals the encyclopedia Britannica, each volume on a single book of the New Testament.  We need to study all those texts, plus originals and more to discover new and hidden truths that lay in the words that are at our finger tips.  While it is true you can read scripture at different points in your life and get a different message, there is certainly the need to have accurate translations.  

        Where is all this coming from?  In today's passage it speaks of putting a lamp on a lamp stand. The days are long gone ( I pray ) when the 'family bible' as it was called is kept on a bottom shelf of an end table or worse, in a cabinet with other family heirlooms. We need to elevate Scripture and with it good scholarship which reveals even more than we might imagine, the light and love of God for each ad every one of us. 

          Elevate Scripture, bibles open please.

Luke 11:27-36

 While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’

 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgement with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!

 ‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.’

Crack open your Bibles

       Here is a reading that you don't see every day - from Sirach, sounds more like a book from Vulcan Scripture. Be that as it may, this passage attests to something wonderful about Scripture - it is timeliness.

         While I have no illusions that anyone from the far right is reading my blog except for perhaps Russian hackers, this passage speaks to everyone. There is pearl here for every single person to take to heart. If everyone did, perhaps we might begin to see the world  emerge from the miasma of hate we seem now engulfed in. That of course presumes that the reader has good intent and that they are reading with an open heart and mind.  How often do we see Scripture taken apart piece by piece and out of context to subvert the Word and bolster one's own agenda?

         If I could ask for anything, I guess at this moment it would be that we are all willing to listen and truly hear the words of God, to be open to the movement of the Spirit which is hope, wisdom and enlightenment.

        Certainly cracking open Scripture is the best start, itself a sign of one's willingness to be open to God. 

         

Sirach 19:4-17

One who trusts others too quickly has a shallow mind,
   and one who sins does wrong to himself. 
One who rejoices in wickedness will be condemned, 
   but one who hates gossip has less evil. 
Never repeat a conversation,
   and you will lose nothing at all. 
With friend or foe do not report it,
   and unless it would be a sin for you, do not reveal it; 
for someone may have heard you and watched you,
   and in time will hate you. 
Have you heard something? Let it die with you.
   Be brave, it will not make you burst! 
Having heard something, the fool suffers birth-pangs
   like a woman in labour with a child. 
Like an arrow stuck in a person’s thigh,
   so is gossip inside a fool. 

Question a friend; perhaps he did not do it;
   or if he did, so that he may not do it again. 
Question a neighbour; perhaps he did not say it;
   or if he said it, so that he may not repeat it. 
Question a friend, for often it is slander;
   so do not believe everything you hear. 
A person may make a slip without intending it.
   Who has not sinned with his tongue? 
Question your neighbour before you threaten him;
   and let the law of the Most High take its course. 

I'm convinced

        A long time ago I fell in love with the notion of a particular car, a van actually.  I have loved cars since before I can remember - I think two years old.  This particular van was the cream of the crop - top of the line, every option. It was a luxury turnpike cruiser par excellence and left no options unchecked. It was a real beauty and so was the price tag. I had convinced myself it was worth every penny and I justified it even more by saying I would be able to drive my Mom around in it. She was in a nursing home.  As it turned out, all the convincing and good intention are not enough to fill a gas tank. While not quite a gas pig, it was not frugal either and it was very, very expensive to run. So much so that I found that I was limiting my travels because I could not afford it. There were several good lessons learned there, not the least of which is what we can convince ourselves of.

          I suppose this is one of the benefits of a good marriage. The balance, the play, the 'other voice' of reason is a welcome one.  That alternate voice of reason, whether through marriage, faith or friendship is what today's passage from Matthew speaks of.

         Since we are capable of convincing ourselves of so many things in life, it is nice to know that there are voices of reason we can speak to. I can still recall the voice of Goliath in his husky drawn voice saying ' Day-vee, I don't think we should be doing this - Day-vee'.  Loved that show. Call it a conscience, a friend who asks you if you are stupid, or someone who informs us that we are plain wrong about something, I welcome it.

         It may come across as corrective actions, intrusions or unwelcome advice, but the fact of the matter is, we make mistakes. Are we willing to accept advice or help? Are we strong enough to accept that we are wrong, forget about some wrong sense of pride and make corrective actions in our lives?

         It seems there is a certain amount of personal maturity and faith that is required to  accept failures and bad judgment of ourselves and move forward especially when pointed out by someone else.  It's much better when it is our own idea. As relational beings, we must accept our interdependence with others and the role they can play in helping us on our journey to wholeness and holiness.

Matthew 18:15-20

 ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

Octopi people

        I was recently catching an episode of a show called Young Sheldon. The brilliant youngster was in church and menacing the minister with his logic and questions about salvation. Did Jesus come to save the whole world? The Universe? If there is an alien race of 'Octopi people' would God Jesus come to save them too as an Octopus person? Whom did Jesus come to save?

          The short and easy answer is to save the lost people of Israel.  Nope, not everyone.  Jesus, raised as a nice Jewish boy, had that reference ingrained in him. I don't think it was too long in Jesus' young life or ministry that Jesus begins to see love for all of creation. How could God create and not love? And so then, Jesus begins to love, cure, mingle and cavort with everyone. Sinners, women, the Roman Centurion, lepers and the like. Paul is the one who extends it even further at God's command.  If we don't believe in that fundamental leap of Paul, then the only really hopeful people would have to at least convert to Judaism to achieve salvation. Interesting thought, eh?  It might not be such a bad idea to be well versed in the religion of our Savior anyway.

        But the question raised is about who is saved?  The question might be if ( or when ) we make first contact, will 'they' be as loved and saved as we are? Even if they are Octopi people. Even if you find the thought of Octopi people silly, the first line of the Lord's prayer is Father, or "Our Father" and we need to let that sink in really deeply into our heart, mind and soul. 

         In the times we live in, when labelling oneself a Christian is seen as a blanket of freedom to abuse, ignore and look down upon others, let us think clearly and deeply that God looks 'down' on all of us. Yet God deemed it fit to become like us and God loves every one of us, every human, every being, every animal, every curve of every rock and every molecule of existence.

        OUR Father. All of us. Every one

Luke 11:1-13

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
   Your kingdom come. 
   Give us each day our daily bread. 
   And forgive us our sins,
     for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
   And do not bring us to the time of trial.’

 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.”And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

Women, Paul and Jesus

        What are we to do when there is a seeming conspiracy to control women by use of errant Scripture translation? What seems so bad here is that this is coming from Paul. Things are not how they seem however since 'silence and submissive' could easily and likely mean listen/be still and be attentive to the will of God.  Then everyone can argue about what 'the will of God' is.

       We really have to be quite attentive to the writer, the exact ancient words, the recipient of the message, the times, the communities involved and finally, that this is Paul speaking. Paul, a human, with a background of his own and perhaps even an agenda of his own.

        What I think holds more weight is whether Jesus might have had something to say on the subject himself. It seems to me, His word would hold more weight.  Women in fact held  very responsible positions in the early church especially in the ministry of Jesus. While I do not want to paint the early church women as gossipy, they were far from silent in very important ways not the least of which was that women were the first to be witnesses to the Resurrection. Jesus speaking, conversing with a Samaritan woman at the well. Imagine that, a woman! And a Samaritan woman to boot!   The evidence suggests and the Scriptures speak loudly to women intimately involved in God's ministry in both Hebrew and Christian Scriptures.

       In today's passage we have an age old dilemma, one still being waged today. What is a woman's role?  What is anyone’s role? Is there a specific role? Are there limits to what God can do and whom God can call?   Martha was distracted by her many tasks. Men should listen well to Jesus' answer to Martha: Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’  Wow! Jesus has made that pretty clear. 

           To each is given gifts and tasks and it is not up to us to limit God's plans or God's designs for anyone.  We are not to hold anyone back from the sacred tasks gifted and entrusted to them, no matter who they are.
             

Luke 10:38-42

 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

A neighbor went for a long walk

         I absolutely love, love, love this succinct edition of what is required for salvation by Jesus himself. As if railing against the hypocritical religious elite was not enough, Jesus spells out salvation without the happy horse shit man conjures up.          

         Jesus: my hero!

         You might say that only a lawyer could come up with further questions, like Bill Clinton asking what the definition of "is" is. We can be so devious in defense of our actions.  Be that as it may, The Lawyer asks his question: ‘And who is my neighbour?’ 

         Dare I say if you substitute Honduras for Jerusalem and United States for Jericho you have a rather indicting answer to who is my neighbor. Certainly these immigrants or aliens are all our brothers and sisters. The entirety of Judeo-Christian scripture speaks to fare and loving treatment of aliens, our brothers and sisters from foreign lands. To mistreat any of these people is contrary to scripture and places the darkest shadow over ones claim to being a Christian of any sort. 

       Once again the social outcast of the set, the Samaritan, is the one who lives more to the values and love of God than the Priest or the Levite. Compassion, love, a willingness to use one's gifts ($$) to help a neighbor in time of need, all these the Samaritan exhibits. He certainly would get a nod from us over the Priest or the Levite if he had not been so loving and generous.

       Jesus here in this passage gives us the unadulterated lo-down on salvation and how we should act. It speaks to our hypocrisies, our failures and gets to the nitty-gritty of how we should live and how we can achieve salvation.  It is not by letting someone else press the elevator button for us on the Sabbath, it is not by dipping our fingers in holy water, abstaining from meat or denying the essence of who we are as God created us. It certainly is not by our judgments of others. We cannot say that the traveler from Jerusalem to Jericho was well dressed and therefore invited being robbed and beaten.

      Read the passage carefully, know what Jesus is saying and expects of us, of you.

Luke 10:25-37

 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

A call to faithful responsibility

       I am going to return to that story of the man trapped in a flood. The man refused numerous attempts to save him claiming trust in the Lord. At the pearly gates the man is downcast that God did not save him where upon God enumerates the opportunities he had been given to be saved.

         Sometimes we look for God by simply going to church, that is wrong. Many people find fault with organized religion and abstain from church to 'find God' out in the world absent of those formal services, that is equally wrong. The fact is we are communal beings and as such we need a combination of communal services (Sacraments) with a capital "S". But as communal beings we also have to move forward in the world to find God in our fellow man and creations of God in other sacramental ways (small "s"). We cannot at any point deny that we are living in a physical , material world and God is as much alive there as in any church or formal service.

           God has given us enormous authority over ourselves and his created world.  I heard one poor soul deny climate change noting that God could easily fix it. Certainly true, God could. But God will not intervene in such a way as to take away our free will.  Our actions in life are perhaps more important that our actions in a pew.  God calls us to action, to use our brains and to be Her hands here on earth as a faithful people. We must be practical and intelligent in our faith and in our lives.  So you get it? This is a call to action. What am I calling you to do as a faithful person in the real world in light of our faith?

        Vote. God has give us a grace and an authority to live a life in a way consistent with the life of Christ. It is not hate, lies or misogyny. It is welcoming, loving the marginalized, KNOWING that all people are created equal and equally loved by God.  Take those notions and vote for the people that you feel will live up to our faithly goals. Do not shirk your responsibility and authority. Vote like you lives depend on it because the lives of many, if not your own, do count on it.

           There are no excuses, don't be the person at the pearly gates with that dumb quizzical look and say I didn't know or I didn't realize how important it was. Go out and Vote!

Luke 10:17-24

 The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

 Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’

Taking stock

       I was not always close with my Pop since he had moved out when I was 5 years old. However, in his later years we were blessed to have a very close relationship, speaking almost every day. It seems ironic how much more I miss him than my Mom who was my primary caretaker and parent. I cherished many of the pieces of wisdom and stories he told. I repeat them quite often. One of many such tidbits involved friendship. He noted that a true friend was someone who would respond to a call from you in the middle of the night and come to your aid without knowing what the circumstances were. Of course, you would do the same if the situation were reversed. Your friend would always be there and he stressed, if you have one person like that in your entire life, you are a blessed person. Friends are treasures for sure. True friends - priceless.

           Many years after Pop had passed, I came to the inkling that I was gay ( I am ). It was a torturous episode in my life. Coming out is never easy and for me the route was quite circuitous and complicated. One of the problems is, it is such a dramatic change to people who know and love you and you really have no real way of knowing how they will react. Parents have abandon children, children disowned and friends have turned their backs on people. You never know.  People that I suspected would be supportive merely tolerated me. There are family that claimed to love me and  dropped me quickly like a hot latke. My own children were the most supportive ( a real blessing ) and people who were merely acquaintances become my staunchest allies.  New friends emerged and the circuit of God's love for me was not diminished one bit.

          The question that arises from today's Scripture passage has a great deal to do with friends. Who they are, how they are revealed, what a true friend is.  As people are the conduit of God's love for us, it isn't such a bad idea to take stock of those who we are grateful for, those who are friends, perhaps even those who were friends and are no longer.

           Just as the route to my realization that I am gay was quite a circuitous one, so is the love of God a mystery beyond our comprehension. People come and go, gracing our lives for all of our journey or part of our journey.  Can we be thankful for the graces of people and friends that have been bestowed in our lives?  A morning meditation.

Sirach 6:5-17

Pleasant speech multiplies friends,
   and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies. 
Let those who are friendly with you be many,
   but let your advisers be one in a thousand. 
When you gain friends, gain them through testing,
   and do not trust them hastily. 
For there are friends who are such when it suits them,
   but they will not stand by you in time of trouble. 
And there are friends who change into enemies,
   and tell of the quarrel to your disgrace. 
And there are friends who sit at your table,
   but they will not stand by you in time of trouble. 
When you are prosperous, they become your second self,
   and lord it over your servants; 
but if you are brought low, they turn against you,
   and hide themselves from you. 
Keep away from your enemies,
   and be on guard with your friends. 

Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter:
   whoever finds one has found a treasure. 
Faithful friends are beyond price;
   no amount can balance their worth. 
Faithful friends are life-saving medicine;
   and those who fear the Lord will find them. 
Those who fear the Lord direct their friendship aright,
   for as they are, so are their neighbours also.

Been there and not again

       I know someone who laments every single thing in their life. Everything is a problem, everything centered around them. Stories are repeated time and time again. It really is quite tiresome to listen to this person.  It's not that bad things have not happened, they have but at some point you have embrace goodness and move forward or forever be damned as a whining, self centered complainer.

        I have had some horrific things happen in my life, haven't we all?  I also had some great times. Recently I was at work and was discussing a conference I went to for 20 straight years. It involved learning but the best was the fun surrounding the conference.  I had great times, made great friends. I am no longer willing to spend the time, the money and the travel. I am getting too old for the young shenanigans. I could lament that.  My view is that I had a great 20 year run. The memories cannot be taken away, nor can the good times. It is now time to move on with those wonderful memories intact.

       Living in the past of any kind is not a good idea, good times or bad. It serves no useful purpose to rehash the past especially when they are bad, and we all have had those bad times.

       In today's passage we are given spectacularly excellent advice from Jesus. ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’  God is all about love, the present and the future. If we believe we have hope and we look towards the future, not to the past.

Luke 9:51-62

 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘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.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

In the miasma of petulance and sin

       The hurricane season will be coming to a close soon here but not before delivering some horrible storms that have left scores dead, property obliterated and flooding that has even now yet to abate. With the storms there have been proclamations by alleged 'preachers of Christianity' that this storm or that one was because of the the gays, the vote on Kavanaugh (yeah or ney?) or any reason that seems to fit their desired agenda. I double-dog-dare-you to find any section or snippet of scripture that can spell out such a link. 

         At the same time we have here in this passage from Corinthians a notation of the things that God was unhappy about and how the Israelites suffered so. They too were given the answer and the resultant denials and straying was met with their own demise in many ways.  I think God may very well have a great deal to be unhappy with us about. We too were given the answer in The Way, Jesus Christ.  How is that going for us?  It is easy to point fingers at people you think have strayed or at least have strayed worse than you. We are after all, sinners, every one of us.  Who is to say which sin is worse?  Who is to say you are even right about another persons actions?  Yet we do and blame the marginalized, those that do not agree with us, don't follow our own plan or vision of salvation. And yet we are all mired in the same miasma of our own petulance and sin.

         God has set forth a magnificent creation in no simplistic manner, no matter how you look at it. God also gave us free will, a conscience, a soul and the ability if not penchant to love.  I a firm believer that God does not mete down his beloved creations with punishments for actions we have taken, for lives we have perhaps so errantly lived. We make our own punishments by our own choices and not punishments administered by some faux televangelist seeking money for his 4th jet to 'proclaim the good news of salvation'.  We are in command of what happens to us, no need or desire for God to punish us.  If we create a green house world by our collective actions and inaction's, it is not God who brings the superstorms that kill us, it is ourselves. If we live by Madison avenue and a never ending quest for the next best thing and fulfillment through objects, we will die not fulfilled one iota of divine destiny.  God does not punish us but we punish by whom or what we place on thrones in place of our Creator.

          Before we start blaming others for their sins, perhaps we need to seek what it is about ourselves that needs to be addressed.  Matthew 7:4 says it so well. God, I  believe, is more concerned about your own actions and not your concerns about your neighbors actions.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Hunky Jesus syndrome

       As a gay man, who wouldn't love the Hunky Jesus Contest in San Francisco?  Blue eyed, blond hair, ripped, gorgeous. Steamy Jesus, right? Perhaps in Hollywood but in reality - not so much. In fact, not at all.

       Let's try to imagine the most typical Jew or Palestinian that we can, that person is more like Jesus than anyone we might think of off the cuff. Short, oily skinned, dark, Arabesque and dirty and dusty. Let's not forget that part. He walked in sandals in a toga in a awfully dirty dusty locale, what would we expect?  And - he was Jewish, devoutly so, raised in the law, taught Judaism and Holy Scripture in Synagogues. There was no New Testament yet. It was 'the Law'  and himself. That is all.  If you take scripture and compare it to what we believe as Christians, about Justice, forgiveness and compassion, we are probably in for yet another bam! We have such erroneous images of Jesus. We need to do our research, and get over and on with it.

         Paul is also a Jew, again, devoutly so. Christianity was a sect of Judaism for as long as anyone could remember.  Gentiles? We are the Johnny comes lately ones. 

          What is the message? How can we so easily screw up a picture because it is comfortable or makes our faith more cozy and comfy? Yeah, that's it. Don't bore me with facts, Jesus was a white, blond, blue eyed savior. Except - He is not. At all. Not. at. all.

            If we are having trouble seeing such an important thing as Jesus, how are we going to handle seeing Jesus in others?  There is your starting point. Acceptance of the problem and trying as hard as we can to see God in everyone. Now think of all those people who are not the favoured, blue eyed blond type and see that those are the ones we are to love.

          Challenge accepted? 

Acts 28:17-31

 Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, ‘Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my nation. For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.’ They replied, ‘We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.’

 After they had fixed a day to meet him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: ‘The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, 
“Go to this people and say,
You will indeed listen, but never understand,
   and you will indeed look, but never perceive. 
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
   and their ears are hard of hearing,
     and they have shut their eyes;
     so that they might not look with their eyes,
   and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
   and I would heal them.” 
Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.’

 He lived there for two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Belligerant

      Once again we look back thousands of years to see that we have progressed very little. Shouting, confusion, bedlam and in the name of what?   I wonder how God views all this. Twitter, FaceBook, print media, cable, family and friends, all rallying for their cause, jockeying for position - to proclaim how right we are!

       I wonder what God does think of all this. I am not sure it rises to the tears God must shed when we kill each other, but close. Surely, God did not create us to fight and belligerent to anyone.  I think the phrase was, love your neighbor as yourself? There is no mention of exceptions. God made your neighbor with love and  hope just as much as you. So, what are we to do. Gather more, chant louder? 

       The answer I think is blind love, listening more instead of barging forward in arrogance.

Not sure where this is all leading, I just know we have to stop and love more.

Acts 19:21-41

 Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, ‘After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.’ So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.

 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, ‘Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.’

 When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ The city was filled with the confusion; and peoplerushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travelling-companions. Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defence before the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ But when the town clerk had quietened the crowd, he said, ‘Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple-keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven? Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. You have brought these men here who are neither temple-robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another. If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.’ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Deliverance

         Did you ever meet a reformed drunkard? Smoker? Sinner?  Isn't it interesting the intensity of their response?  They are likely to sing of their salvation from the mountaintops, preach to anyone that will listen, celebrate their redemption.

       Yesterday I was talking about the maelstrom or the turbulent times in our lives. God always delivers us from those times. What was your response? Jonah's response was to obey God by walking across Ninevah ( a 3 day stroll ) to proclaim God's message. Jonah was truly thankful.

        For myself, I alluded to some horrific times in my own life. One of those was me as a married Catholic man, a father,  a man of the cloth with some standing in the community coming to the realization that I am gay.   No solution seemed correct. Every choice seemed wrong and there were no avenue of escape. Dark times. What to do? Prayer of course, heavy on the prayer, but also therapy, lots of therapy and soul searching and listening to what God was asking of me. Tough times. I confess to contemplating suicide but like I said yesterday, permanent solution for a temporary problem. For myself and for the love of God who made me as I am and has loved and supported me all my life, I came out. I moved forward.

        I did not come out to convert the world about the joys of being gay. I didn't try to convert anyone and I was not about to share the joys of anything except for the joys of a loving relationship when you have found someone you love. I did not go on a crusade.  What my response was, and still is, is to live the best life I can, to be the best me I can be to reflect God's love and let my life be a thankful journey towards my own wholeness and holiness. Perhaps be an example for others of God's abiding and more than generous love. Maybe that is a crusade of sorts. I also write this blog and do many of the things I did 'when I was straight', volunteer, work, learn, read, love. 

          Are you a thankful receiver of deliverance?  What is your response to God's love in your life? What did you do when you survived walking through the valley of the shadow of death? (Psalm 23:4)

          

Jonah 3:1-10,4:1-11

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across.Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.’

 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.

 The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’

 But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?’

Maelstrom

       Modern knowledge leaves one to doubt even the possibility that a human being could be swallowed by a whale, be alive for 3 days and then be 'spit out' to live and tell the tale. As the Bible is a mish mosh of different literary styles and story tellers, I don't have too much trouble dwelling on the veracity of the tale and getting to the heart of the matter.

       Any of us could tell their tale of woe. The details are undoubtedly etched in our brains, every moment of whatever torment we had to live through. Some of us seem to thrive on recounting the details and making ourselves the center of the maelstrom that life often delivers. Woe is me! WOE is me!  The truth of our feeling would likely be that Jonah lucked out that his torment only lasted three days. Whatever it is that we have gone through in life, it rarely would last only three days. But again, that is not the heart of the truth. Taken literally, we each have had it much worse perhaps than even Jonah. What we do know is a kinship in life itself. That's the crux of the matter.

       So what is it that the author of the Jonah story wishes us to see and know? That God is always with us no matter what tragedies seem to prevail in our lives.  No matter what the problem or what unthinkable length of time it prevails, God is by our side. Most importantly, God will prevail and we will be delivered. Always trust in God. Even in the darkness of the belly of the beast, God will always be with us and deliver us. 

        How important that information is when we are going through torment. What a relief that is when we ponder our own permanent solutions to temporary situations. If we can only know in our heart and soul that God will deliver us and that the sun will shine again on us.

Jonah 1:17-2:10

 But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,
‘I called to the Lord out of my distress,
   and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
   and you heard my voice. 
You cast me into the deep,
   into the heart of the seas,
   and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
   passed over me. 
Then I said, “I am driven away
   from your sight;
how shall I look again
   upon your holy temple?” 
The waters closed in over me;
   the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head 
   at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
   whose bars closed upon me for ever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit,
   O Lord my God. 
As my life was ebbing away,
   I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to you,
   into your holy temple. 
Those who worship vain idols
   forsake their true loyalty. 
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
   will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
   Deliverance belongs to the Lord!’ 
Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land. 

Travelogues

       One of things that my husband and I like to do is post pictures of places we visit. It's like a travelogue. More often than not it will be the picture of some exquisite meal we have indulged in. It is our practice to eat breakfast like a pauper and eat local food like a king. We try, we have fun. It's all a journey.

        The story of Paul today is all about his journey to Rome. It's quite a little travelogue. I noted that he is quite aware of the winds being for or against them during certain portions of the trip. Paul is making note of different stops precipitated by the changing winds and different ships he is on. Not a great read but one that reminds us of our own journeys. If not real travels, what is our life journey like?

            Have you ever take the time to look back at your life to see how your life journey went? What changes in course have there been? What unexpected 'destinations' have you experienced? And perhaps the most important reflection and realization is, where are you headed? Closer to God? Further from God? All great questions and great things to think about from time to time.

             I know that if you had asked me at age 11 or even 20 where my life would be at age 60, I could not have even grasped the magnificence of life but perhaps more importantly, that I would be married, legally and sacramentally, to another man!  One constant in my life has been my devotion to God and my intense desire to be in relationship with my Creator. Other than that, I try to be open to the journey, listening, cooperating, living and loving. I am not as concerned with the path as some might be as long as God is with me. Certainly there have been some horrific things in my life but so long as God is with me, I sail forward in God's care.

         How is your life's journey?

   

Acts 26:24-27:8

 While he was making this defence, Festus exclaimed, ‘You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!’ But Paul said, ‘I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.’ Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?’ Paul replied, ‘Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.’

 Then the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them; and as they were leaving, they said to one another, ‘This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.’ Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor.’

When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius. Embarking on a ship of Adramyttium that was about to set sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. Putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. After we had sailed across the sea that is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Sailing past it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.