Lent - Day 26

       When my children were quite young we lived in small 2 bedroom house which I heated with a coal stove. If you know anything about such stoves you will recognize right away that it burns much hotter than a wood stove. In fact when it was 20 below outside we often wound up cranking open a window a bit to cool things off.  Of course with a toddler around there is a practical danger that they might trip and touch the stove or simply reach out and touch the darn thing ending up with a very nasty burn.  In my attempts to prevent this, I would scream quite loudly at my daughter as she approached the stove. I was a screamer too for many years about that and many things but I digress. If my daughter was traumatized over the yelling she at least would not be burned and any required therapy later on would be well worth it. The point is we do not really give kids anything they want or seem to want.  A live pony would not be very practical in a two bedroom flat even if we do live in a 'pony country'.

        As time goes on and the kids develop a brain, common sense and can judge things on their own, we may be quite a bit more lenient and let them learn from their mistakes - so long as they aren't liable to be fatal ones.  We give them what they want as best we can without spoiling them lest they think happiness comes in 'things'.

       In today's passage there are two adult young men and a father. One son asks for his inheritance and the father obliges. The son promptly leaves, makes waste of the inheritance in dissolute living and eventually comes to his senses. Sort of.  He still wants all the material stuff but has the coolness to see that it lies back at home with his dear old dad. The wisdom is to return and accept whatever he is judged as due for his behaviour, make amends and move on at home.  The young man is smart in that way.

        The big story here though is the dad. The big story here is our heavenly father. He has the wisdom, knowledge and complete unabashed love to realize the money was never an issue. Hopefully the kids ( both of them ) will learn this. The father forgives and is thrilled to have his son back home. God is the same. By making this an issue about squandering money and dissolute living we make an earthly and un-godly judgment about what is important. Even the killing of the fatted calf is misconstrued. None of the father's actions are about money, things. What is paramount is unity, love and relationship. The family is back together as one. Let us celebrate!

        Years ago I borrowed my Dad's car to drive to the Army-Navy football game. On the long ride home, tired and not as attentive as I should have been, I got into an accident. A minor fender bender for sure but an accident none the less. My dad's first response was, is everyone ok?  Nothing about the car. He later noted at my laments over the damage that cars can be fixed and replaced, I could not be replaced.  I was the returning prodigal son and the father, my father, showed me the same love that the 'prodigal son' received.

        Love and life, not things and strife are what is truly important. We need to learn that and have it etched into our being.  God loves us with reckless abandon. God gives us infinitely more than we could ever imagine but even that is not important. It is the love with which it is given to us and then it is the love with which we share and pass it on. THAT is the crux of this passage.

Luke 15:1-3,11-32

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

 So he told them this parable:

 Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.

 ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’

Lent - Day 25

       The sexual revolution of the 60's coupled with the movement of free sexual expression of the 70's, 80's and 90's seems to have contributed ( in my mind ) to the horrific plague of AIDS. Of course it is not as simplistic as that but a fairly good generalization. Some would voice that AIDS was God's punishment.  I would argue most forcefully that it is the result of our single mindedness and penchant for things of this world. That is, sin.

        Sexual expression is a glorious acknowledgement of one of God's most magnificent and transcendent gifts to us. What we do with that knowledge is what makes all the difference. Yesterday I spoke of avoiding mindless sex and reaching rightly for mindful sex and then perhaps even to mind blowing sex.

        As dualistic creatures, humans have both a physical and spiritual nature. As living creatures on earth, we cannot attain the wholly spiritual state and inheritance that comes in this plane of existence. But we can attain glimpses of that holiness. Our sexuality is one of the ways in which we can share and join the two pieces of our nature, physical and spiritual.

      So when St. Paul speaks of passion in this passage today, we can enjoy the passion of love in every aspect as long as we do not let those passions rule us. There is a balance and dignity it respecting all the parts of who we are but not letting one dominate over the other. 

We can easily see the results of being more attuned to the physical world than our spiritual nature. If you look at any f the problems of the world, dare I say all of them are the result of a single mindedness, and errant  balance of who we are.  Like the bumper sticker that proclaims "Whoever dies with the most toys wins", it is a heresy of faith in God.  If we are graced with wealth the balance is what we do with that wealth to further the kingdom.  If we are graced with a person with whom you share the most intimate of secrets, love, trust, fears and life, then sexuality is a gift to be revelled in. Sexuality as continual acts with faceless  people without heart or soul is another heresy of faith in God.

           I began speaking about the gift that sexuality is but the essence of my thoughts today are of an equilibrium of our natures, not one over the other but a cooperative balance of physical and spiritual. Limiting that to sexuality would be wrong also but it is a fine example of the transcendent nature of our life.

      For careful consideration of our daily lives and for the gift of our transcendental nature, we pray. 

Romans 6:12-23

 Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.

 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Lent - Day 24 ( gay times for sure )

       My husband and I seem to have lived parallel lives until we met. We have such a rich repertoire between us and seem to have experienced so many of the same things before we actually met each other. One huge difference though is when each of us came to the realization that we are gay. He in his mid twenties and me, good 'ol Catholic boy that I was, did not fully grasp and accept the fact that I am gay until I was about 50 years old.

         When I read this passage today it explains in my mind some of the fervent behaviour I had when I came out. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior you are entering into His life and death. There is no escaping the joys and sorrows of being fully human. The crux of the matter is entering fully into being human and perhaps more importantly, accepting, cooperating and being the person that God made you to be. For a gay person that surely means being the best gay person you can be. Fully human, fully engaged, filled with love. 

It means embracing whom God made you to be so I was ready willing and able to explore fully all things gay. I wanted to be one with my peeps. This was not so true of my husband but he relented. We went to gay expo's, read gay literature, went to gay pride in NYC and we wound up marching a few years later with the governor of New York as a newly married couple. Woo-hoo! Fun times. 

           I have given you some ideas but what does it mean to embrace the totality of who you are as a gay person? If Lent is a time to cooperate with all that God has created you to be and to be fully human as Jesus was, then being gay should be one heck of a good time!

It does not involve reckless and mindless sex. It could mean mindful and mind blowing sex though. It surely does involve our sexuality, loving ourselves and embracing the uniqueness that being gay affords us. Exciting times.

       As gay people, we are graced with a unique perspective about what it means to be fully human and to embrace the cross we take up in Jesus.  Still exciting times.  Are we also aware though that carrying our cross means we will intimately understand when people do not accept us?  Our perspective for humanity is varied, different and very blessed. We have so much to offer humanity and in fact, we have been integral part of so much of the arts and advancements of mankind over the millennia.

         When we spend time in Lent to becoming fully human, know that embracing the fullness of being gay is part of that. The possibility that Jesus himself was gay is not out of the realm of possibility.  There are Scripture scholars that point to some convincing evidence that it was so.  If so, all the more reason to embrace Jesus  and the fullness of humanity that he lived.

     Go in love. Go and love.

Romans 6:1-11

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Lent - Day 23

       The Bible is chock full of thoroughly human stories. Part of truthiness of Hebrew Scripture is the earthiness, humanness and frankness of life. These are stories that relay the message of God and humans does not try to cover up or deny how we are capable of acting. Intermixed with the love story of the Jewish nation and God are sometimes even horrific stories of murder, war, explicit violence and vengeance.  There are also stories of adultery, rape, concubines and templates for life we really do not want to emulate.

        The fundamental message however is one of the love of God for mankind and all creation. The Bible is full of stories of love promised and love fulfilled. When we read Hebrew scripture we can see that Jesus was a promise made by God. Jesus incarnate is a fulfillment of the love story. All the other utterly human behaviour that is dispersed into the lives of mankind are not so much a message themselves but a yearning for a full relationship and a holiness that we are destined to if we say yes to God.

         If we were to take the story of my life , or your life, undoubtedly there would be a few mistakes. Perhaps a few diversions from the way we are called to act. Mistakes and even sins. Like the sins and violence in the Bible, I hope my life points to an overall picture of my desire to be in relationship with God and a holiness that I am called to by a holy inheritance. I pray that no one will look at my life, like so many errant episodes of Scripture, and judge me based on a moment or episode of my life. I have made numerous mistakes, been stiff necked and perhaps even belligerent. I don't want God to see those actions as my defining moments. I don't think God does. God's love for me and you is greater and wiser than that.

       Whenever we take time, and especially in Lent, to look inward and assess our lives and our journey to wholeness and holiness, I hope we can filter out the bad stuff and see how well we have done. Our life is a journey, a calling, a path to God. Sidetracks are honest human diversions that we must understand are not defining moments. We must appreciate as God does, that we are as much on an imperfect journey as the Bible portrays in all the missteps and doubt it portrays.

       Let us see that the over-arching message and definition of our lives is towards God in love and faith. Focus on the good stuff of our lives and certainly forgive ourselves as God forgives and loves each one of us.

Romans 5:12-21

 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lent - Day 22 ( Zip! )

       

Zip!

       I can vividly recall a class in Organic Chemistry that required regurgitating page upon page of one chemical synthesis or another. There was thought involved, it wasn't just memorization but it was voluminous. The not so funny thing is that with one simple mistake, the professor would take his red marker an write "Zip" across the entire page. No partial credit - the patient either lived or died as he would say. The uncurved average was about a 27 ( out of 100 ).  I am not a big fan of tests.

        How is it then that I am here thinking of this passage and proposing some kind of test? This will not be curved and undoubtedly, everyone will fail. That however is not the point. No one will die but hopefully we will have a richer understanding of the depth of God's love. God's love for each one of us is so deep that we can't really grasp the full extent of it. Be that as it may, Jesus came to us as a fully human man and was willing to experience everything that we do and then submit to the Crucifixion for you.

        Here's the test. Ready?  Think of the most unlikely, unsaved person you can think of.  Think of someone in the news or some other rapscallion or evil seed but preferably someone that you really know. Think of someone that you would consider, perhaps everyone would consider, despicable. Think of someone who feels that they are the saved and think that you are the evil seed. The religiously arrogant, the hypocrite. You get the idea? I have my choice set. Got yours?

       Christ died for that person. Christ would do it again too if he hadn't already.  God knows everything and God would still live and die for us, love and suffer for us but especially for that person. How do you feel about that?

       It is easy to love the loved. It is easy to be nice to the nice. I'd give some great leeway to those who have made huge mistakes because their heart seems in the right spot or they show that they are trying. I am sure that God understands that.  I am not talking about that. God loves those that seem incorrigible, unrepentant and unworthy.

       What credit do we get for loving the lovable?  Yes, God died for everyone but know that it was also, perhaps especially, for those that seem not worthy.  Jesus' life bears strong, fervent and committed witness to associating with, loving and forgiving those that were the worst of society. The sinners, the un-chosen. The outcasts.

         Who are the lepers of today to you? Who are the unrepentant sinners? What is there that God so loved every human, even them, that he was willing to submit to the cross?

         How did you do on your test today?

Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Lent - Day 21

          Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that he was the source of living water. It is such a poetic image. It is an image that we can think about and feel deeply in our heart and soul. Water is the source of all life. Water is at the heart of the destruction of the world if the flood stories of so many civilizations and religions are to be believed. I think water could even be likened to the Spirit, it permeates every fiber and the essence of our being. Every cell, every living thing on this planet needs water to live. Without water we surely would all die.

           Is it any different than with God? Can we survive a single moment without the love and sustenance of our Creator?  These are such fundamental thoughts. Can we think about how we are all joined, all dependent on and cleansed by water? No one is different, no one can escape this aspect of creation.

           Let us look into our world and see how we handle water? Is it as freely given as God's love? Has water been weaponized?  If humanity and creation have certain rights, should not water be one of them?  

           Our thoughts and prayers are not enough to equalize and assure the world that water is a God given right. How do we handle companies that restrict and profit off such a  required aspect of life? It is not unheard of that people buy bottled water for it's purity and quenching properties at a value even higher than that of gasoline.  And yet, what value do we place on the water of Flint Michigan? Do we love our brothers and sisters that live there? What value do we put on the water of the oceans polluted with our miasma of 'progress' and 'civilization' ? How much trash and waste do we generate and spoil our own existence with? 

        If water is so fundamental to life and is so infused into our daily and Sacramental lives, how do we honour that essence?  The living water which Jesus offers is not only a spiritual  truth and offer, it is a reminder of a fundamental truth which we seem to forget or dismiss.

         How can we avail ourselves of this living water?  How can we show love and respect for all of God's creation as an integral part of that respect?

         For living water. We pray.

John 7:37-52

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

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

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

Lent - Day 20 ( from June 2014 )

               Wow. In today's passage my head was spinning a bit trying to follow the logic, well, follow what Paul is saying about circumcision, non-circumcision, uncircumcised, physically uncircumcised, etc. Who could follow that? Sounds reminiscent of some of the circular logic the Roman Catholic church uses to justify some of their existing positions from birth control to celibacy to marriage equality. Come to think of it,  the common thread might be the preoccupation with genitalia and how to respect and deal with a God given gift. There are a great number of uptight people who really have trouble with their genitalia. Consequently if they have problems they make problems for the rest of us. In addition, the gay community as a general rule celebrates their bodies and that is very threatening to the up-tights as well.

             What truly is great though, snuck in there, is the  real story, it  is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. For all those literalists out there, a great lesson, it is all about the spiritual. It's what's in your heart. As Bishop Gene Robinson once said so wisely, 'it's about hearts, not parts'. Amen.

Of course, enjoy the 'parts' but the spiritual is the most important.

            This whole issue is not unlike fulfillment of the law. Jesus did not do away with the law but in the same way he made a point of stating what the two great commandments are. And the basis of all the laws, even those two great commandments is love. 

         So, circumcision, non-circumcision, uncircumcised, physically uncircumcised, whatever, it's what is in your heart. Similarly obeying the laws and rules will not make you holy. It's how you live and love.

           It is how you live

                  and love.

 Romans 2:25-3:8                      

Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you that have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written,
‘So that you may be justified in your words,
   and prevail in your judging.’
But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), ‘Let us do evil so that good may come’? Their condemnation is deserved!

Lent - Day 19

       I can think of so many different ways that this passage could be taken. Myriad homilies and reflections. I can also think that this passage might easily have been the starting point for some doctrines of a church. Could you argue for total celibacy of the faithful? Then that would be the downfall of the human race and well, that seems contrary to God's plan even if we believe that the end 'will come in our lifetime' as the early church believed. I can also come back to a recent writing about our bodies being temples, that fits here too.

        Then I am thinking of the entire faithful as the body of Christ to be respected and loved. This isn't an original thought of mine. In addition, it is something I have already been thinking of because of the writings of Chris Glaser ( https://chrisglaser.blogspot.com ), always a good read, thought provoking and insightful. 

        I argue strongly for introspection and solitude at any time of the year but I especially think it is important during Lent. Look inside yourself and leave some quiet time to listen to God who always calls each one of us by name. In moderns terms, I might say that God calls us by our very own unique DNA since God created us individually, purpose built and enormously loved. Loved beyond comprehension really. So it might seem counter to my beliefs when I stress the fact that we are also one part of the entire body of Christ. One of the faithful.

        How do we honour and respect that? How do we grow during this Lenten season while cooperating with the God's body as church? It is still a time for introspection and listening but it is not solitary. It is not just me and God; it is me, God and the entire faithful. Sometimes in the dynamic of our own personal relationship with God we diminish the importance of our own role in community. We know we cannot be faithful without everyone else but do we really respect and honour our own position in the church proper?  We have a role to play as witness, as role model and as student when it comes down to it. We can't do that on our own. We must value the gift of ourselves to others in church and indeed, in the world. This is a big truth about ourselves and the world we live in.

       Honour and respect ourselves and the gift we are in community. Let us not deprive the church, formal or informal, of our presence.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

 ‘All things are lawful for me’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful for me’, but I will not be dominated by anything. ‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’, and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, ‘The two shall be one flesh.’ But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

Lent - Day 18 ( Passion of the Christ )

     So what of boasting? I am a Christian! I am saved! I am forgiven!  I have the one true faith! I suppose all these things might have some truth but they are contrary to the very beliefs that they proclaim. It is like so many Christians in the United States that wish to force their views on everyone else. Even worse perhaps, they have bastardized the Scriptures and their actions reveal a faith that is warped and contorted almost beyond recognition. It is not unlike the moralizing and rubrics that the Roman church does on one hand, while scrupulously covering up the indecent and horrific actions of some of the clergy.  The words of Mahatma Gandhi ring so very true, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

       Of course we can all obey the rules. There are the ten commandments which, taken without love or faith are rather easy to follow. That was the literalistic view of Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus saw fit to clarify his own faith by noting the two great commandments.

       No longer are we judged by what faith we are born into. It matters little whether you are circumcised or not. Every "rule" must be tempered with the lens of love. Is this "law"? No, not law as we have a penchant for. Tougher, it is faith in action. It is love. It is passion and respect for self, for others, for everyone, for all of creation. When you are concerned about loving, there is no room to boast or any other of the wicked and deceitful interpretations that we try to foist on others for control, submission and shaming. God does not work that way. What a revelation to think God never did and that is why Jesus walked as a human. To save us from our own sinful and "lawful" ways.

        May I be ever so mindful of the unrelenting and boundless love of God for all of us. May I reflect on God's love for me and for everyone, we pray.

Romans 3:19-31

 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For ‘no human being will be justified in his sight’ by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Lent - Day 17

       This is such an extraordinarily rich passage. While it certainly has an incredible amount of useful information and thoughts as to our daily lives, how does it help us as we travel through Lent? 

       How many of us will immerse ourselves in quaint religious practises of religiosity to prepare for Lent?  No meat today that's for sure.  Fasting perhaps?  Stations of the cross, Lenten soup meals, a few extra items for the church pantry perhaps? Would it help if we splashed ourselves a bit more with holy water?  How about total immersion? Yay or nay?

       From the dawn of written history man has tried to capture who God is. If you read Hebrew scriptures, you get a rather scary view of people mowing down each other, multiple wives, concubines, slavery, incest and even perhaps the first act of a 'suicide bomber' , aka Sampson. ( you should read it, truly. He kills himself while he kills all his enemies by destroying the temple that he and his enemies stand under. Wow. ) Be that as it may, what is the truth about God's nature and our nature of divine service, worship and a real relationship with our Creator?

        God's nature is not changed by any human expression of our love. God's nature is not captured by any human written legends or expressions of faith. So too, nothing we do, signs of the cross, circumcisions, or personal acts of piety can adequately or fully express the truth about God.  All of these 'historical facts' of the Bible, all our actions, writings, and even beliefs are null and void in the eyes of God if we think we can define God or that such 'things' give a full, real and adequate description of God. They can only allude to a truth, point us in the right direction.

       A very fine example of such is the use of incense in churches. The smells of 'bells and smells' if you will, what the Episcopal church uses and only second to the Roman church in such traditions. Does it make one holier? No. But the essence of a permeating smell, rising to the rafters with a pleasing aromatic essence calls us to the human feelings and stirrings of how we rise to God in holiness. It is a peculiar and human remembrance.  The incense is not God but helps us get a feeling for God and our relationship.  

      This reading today calls us to feel the richness of traditions and actions. It also calls us to realize that they unto themselves do not make us holy. It goes further to note that the many we might call 'religiously insufficient' , the 'uncircumcisezd' can easily be holier than those that follow all those rules and traditions.

      The answer for me is to approach God with openness, a pure heart filled with awe for the Creator that loves me with reckless abandon. Know that you are loved, not judged by any human standard and with a pure heart and good intent, holier than any human expression can ever fully possess. The closest fully human expression of God is love.

Romans 2:25-3:18

 Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you that have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written,
‘So that you may be justified in your words,
   and prevail in your judging.’ 
But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not say (as some people slander us by saying that we say), ‘Let us do evil so that good may come’? Their condemnation is deserved!

 What then? Are we any better off? No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written:
‘There is no one who is righteous, not even one; 
   there is no one who has understanding,
     there is no one who seeks God. 
All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
   there is no one who shows kindness,
     there is not even one.’ 
‘Their throats are opened graves;
   they use their tongues to deceive.’
‘The venom of vipers is under their lips.’ 
   ‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’ 
‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; 
   ruin and misery are in their paths, 
and the way of peace they have not known.’ 
   ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’

Lent - Day 16

       I always think of Lent as an introspective time. A time for us to get our heads and hearts in order. One of my favorite Easter memories is having been able to spend most of the Holy days in a monastery in silent retreat. Just God and me in silence that would allow for some serious listening on my part. Is it wrong to confess that the world and people get in the way of my listening most of the time? Yes, I do think that is wrong.

       If this reading from John tells us anything it speaks to the very nature of who we are. It is all about relationships. If we are created in the image and likeness of God, well God's essence is all about relationship. As "Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise." Wow, Jesus can do nothing on his own! This is something crucial to our existence, our faith and our salvation. We cannot achieve anything by ourselves. Everything is tied up with God and others. 

       This is some really heady stuff to think about. Whatever value there may be in sequestering yourself off to listen to God, as so many people have done and still do, our salvation and  the perfection of who we are is wrapped up in relationships. Love of self of course, love of God, love of spouse, love of others, love of world. Holiness and wholeness cannot be separated out from our relationships with others. In somewhat lame terms, it would be a carpenter without wood, an artist without canvas.

        In practical terms, it is the one claims a spirituality that does not involve common worship, does not perhaps even leave their house or move out of themselves to meet and interact with the 'other'.   If we are created in the relational definition of God as today's reading notes, all our salvation and growth is tied inextricably to our relationship with everyone else. We are not alone. 

       For reaching out and living in the world, touching others in love and pain, n joy and sorrow, getting all pruny with life and God, we pray.

      

John 5:19-29

 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Fatherdoes, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes.The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Anyone who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.

 ‘Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voiceand will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Lent - Day 15 ( John Boswell )

        Jesus was such a nice Jewish boy. How could he not be? Raised Jewish, nice Jewish mom, hard working carpenter Jewish pop, he knew all the laws, rules, rubrics. And yet, something was amiss. Not only did Jesus literally rail against the Pharisees and such but he needled them in other ways as well.  Make no mistake, Jesus was a real rebel in his message and how it was delivered.

         In this passage from John, Jesus is once again curing someone, a man ill for 38 years. Not content to just going around curing willy nilly, Jesus does this on the Sabbath, once again gathering the ire and condemnation of those Temple elite that he has never ceased criticizing. Go get'm Jesus!

       We are all called to be like Jesus. Jesus is supposed to have shown us the way. Jesus is The Way. The truth. The light. Jesus'  message in words as well as in his life was one of action, prophesy, praise and witness to the Father's love. We are called to do the same. This is not just a call to good behaviour. We really don't get some kind of extra credit for doing what we are supposed to do and how we are supposed to act in the first place. No bonus points for not killing someone or for not committing adultery. We are also called though to be conduits and proclaimers. How we do that is intimately and intricately intertwined with who we are. As a unique creation, each one of us will witness to God's love in our own way.

         Today I cannot help but think of sainted, John Boswell.  He died in 1994 and he would have been 72 years old today. He died much too young.  John Boswell was a preeminent witness to the love of God especially as it pertains to the gay community. His books and life witnessed to being a gay Christian and the fact that such a statement is not mutually exclusive as some would suggest.  John Boswell was a prophet of knowledge and hope and he laid some of the foundation for the gay rights movement and decency we see and witness in our lives.  I can thank John in part for the legal and sanctified marriage that I have with my husband today.  

           That I recall John today and consider him a saint for doing what God entrusted to him by his God given intellect and faith is a reminder to all of us that we are called to be a witness, each in our way.  We may not cure the lame or perhaps we will if so gifted and our faith allows. What we can also do is be that cured ill man from today's reading and spread the Good News, encourage others and live a life of love we were meant to live.

John 5:1-18

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in HebrewBeth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.’ But he answered them, ‘The man who made me well said to me, “Take up your mat and walk.” ’ They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Take it up and walk”?’ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is still working, and I also am working.’ For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

Lent - Day 14

       Here's a question I hope you'll embrace. For me this is more than a theoretical exercise. Before being laicized ( for being an 'active' homosexual ), I was a Roman Catholic cleric. I fessed up and owned it, in pure honesty, who God mad me to be. There should have been and there was not anything to hide.  But here is the question. Had I known the extent of decay and moral abandonment, would I still have allowed myself to be ordained, serving honestly and fully? The entire Roman church of course is not rotten. The lay people and a majority of the clergy are decent, loving and faithful servants of God. It is sad that the entire Church though gets the taint of the hierarchy which reeks of the miasma of abuse, cover ups and utter hypocrisy. Would I walk willingly into the face of abuse and public scorn, labelled as one of 'them'? At least being gay is an honorable and God given gift. The actions of the Church proper have strayed from the path, lost apparently forever without hope of the Spirit that is sadly ignored but pounding on the door for attention.

        Today we have Joseph who by appearance is marrying a cheater. That is what Mary seems to be but Joseph is a faithful and loving man. Joseph responds to God's call even in the face of possible derision. Mary is often credited for saying 'yes' to God, for allowing herself to be into a position for which she could have been stoned to death. Joseph, while not subject to stoning could easily have played the fool and portrayed as the fool. And yet, Joseph said yes.

        The real question then today is to what extent are we willing to play the fool for God? When we are asked to honour ourselves at risk, to honor our faith at risk or any array of actions that are not quite 'convenient', what do we do?   

       For saying yes to God, faithful service and our conversion in Lent, we pray.

Matthew 1:18-25

 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.