The wisdom of Aunt Jeanne

     I sometimes wonder what my own father ( Pop ) would say knowing that I am gay.  Knowing all that I know about the man, he might easily be one that would have dismissed me into oblivion. At the same time, he was quite learned, read the Koran as well as his own Bible and was a voracious reader. Perhaps he would understand. Or perhaps he would be like my 80 year old aunt Jeanne who said, 'I don't understand these things, but I know you are a good person' and said that she loved me.  In reference to this passage today from Luke, I think there a great many things that we have 'funny' ideas about here on earth. We convince ourselves of so many "truths" and tenets of religion that we fail to see the real truths God tries to convey in Scripture and in creation. I like to think that when we die we will have an 'aha' moment when things come into a sharper focus, like getting a new pair of glasses. Of course we don't really have any idea about what the afterlife is like, our state of knowledge or consciousness. We may get to the pearly gates and laugh our asses off at what we had considered important in our earthly life.

       One thing that I do know is that Jesus was telling us how important love is. I think the point was really, Jesus showed us that he loved us so much that he died for us like a gigantic exclamation point on his own life. Love is truly the most important thing and it is the arbiter of all things, especially Scripture. Holy Scripture of all religions are so varied. In the case of Judeo-Christian scripture, there are many conflicting messages, contradictions and downright evil actions seemingly taking place in the name of God.  Vengeance, hate and violence are not the message God is trying to convey. I think it is more possibly a reflection of a people trying desperately to live a life in accord with God while they lived in violent times, under harsh conditions and among hostile peoples. How do you, how does anyone, find God's presence in the midst of violence, war and Godlessness? That would be the subject for another blog entry.  It does speak to our opportunity if not penchant for taking Scripture literally or simply misinterpreting for our own agendas. What ensues is "religion" and a whole array of rules and rubrics and slants on creation that God never intended. As I said, the arbiter and defining element of life is love. 

            Perhaps we could approach all of life and indeed all religions as ' I don't understand these things, but I know the intent is love'. When we reach the pearly gates, and I believe that we all will, we may find out that all the stuff we found so important on earth are not nearly as important in the eyes, heart and mind of our Creator. I suspect we may find some souls in heaven who we will be shocked to find. If we can accept that, 'come on in and join the party'. If not, the shore of Hades awaits. Our choice, not God's. It will all depend, as does all of life, on how we are willing to love.

        For loving others and accepting God's love of ourselves, we pray. 

       

Luke 20:27-38

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’
Jesus said to them, ‘Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’

The sure thing

       If you had asked me about my future at the age of 40 or even 50, I certainly would not have imagined being married to "another gentleman" as the Roman church said in such an indicting manner in my dismissal letter. I noted in my response that not only had I attempted to marry another gentleman but succeeded, doing so legally and Sacramentally. Take that!  For the purposes of this reflection, I am focusing on the certainty with which we know things. I never would have imagined such bliss, happiness and completeness in God from embracing being gay and celebrating that, elevating that, by my marriage to my husband.  There may have been a few that said "it's about time" when I came out but it was totally lost on me for decades and dare I note, my wife as well. What are your certainties? Any sure bets?

       The invitation to God's table is highlighted today. What I am sad to say is that I am painfully aware of how many of us, right, left, and people of all different denominations seem certain who the real flamers will be. Oh, I am not talking about being gay now, I mean those we are certain will be turned away at the pearly gates to the unquenchable fires of damnation. From "God hates fags" to the self righteous hypocrites of the conservative right to the liberal loving religious left, there are many that are certain they are saved and the 'other' are going to hell in a hand basket. Certain, absolutely certain. There is certainty, arrogance, judgment, hatred and even a snootiness that I'll be saved and you're not. Nanna nanna nah-nah!  

     History is replete with things we were certain of though. As a Roman Catholic growing up I was certain of such things as the Assumption and Limbo. I was certain of what was a mortal sin, a venial sin and who was not being saved. We were the 'one true church' after all.  That same church was certain that the earth was the center of the universe. I had to be so, it bolstered all they believed as true and right. How long did they hold onto that in the face of revealed truth? When was the certainty of Limbo abandoned?

       Just so you know, God dos not work that way I think. The Spirit is alive and well and revealing truths all the time, at least as we can understand them - or as we are willing to understand them. One of the joys of creation is how God reveals Herself to us simply by looking around. Again, if we care to actually look and see.  We discover there is rarely a black and white but shadows of gray, white, black, browns and a rainbow of diversity in creation. 

        As part of creation, we too are a part of that diversity. Mother nature holds no bounds, respects no sociological boundaries man has created.  We really need to be careful of our edicts, certainties, assumptions and judgments.  Many, actually most times, these sure things come around to bite us in the ass, and not in a good way.

            For openness to change, less certainty on our part, to placing value on diversity and openness to God's plans for every person, I pray.

Luke 14:15-24

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

"I love flowers" - Loretta Castorini ( Cher )

       I have to confess that I have done some unnecessary worrying over saving money for retirement. Will I have enough money to last my entire life? Will I wind up a WalMart greeter at 85 because I am broke? "Hi, welcome to WalMart!" I am a firm believer of doing all that you can with the tools we are given, prudence, patience, wisdom.  But the worrying is what is the focus of today's passage. Will any amount of worry make me more money to last? And even if it did and I accrued great wealth, what good would it be if I died tomorrow crossing the street or struck down by a hidden aortic aneurysm. I had one of those, so that example is always on my mind.

          What today's passage is telling me is to cooperate with God's plan. We of course have no way of knowing nor do we have the possibility of seeing clearly all that is in the mind of God. What we do have control over is how we respond to the gifts God has given us. Those gifts are none of the material goods we see each day. It is not the new Apple ear buds or i-phone XI. It is not a bigger house in a nicer place, a finer school that carries more cache, or the newest car or anything else we so often tend to strive for.  It is a gross miscalculation on our part if these things we often seek are veiwed as gifts from God because we are 'worthy'. Are we more worthy than someone else? Really?? At best, they are tools to foster the kingdom of God and perhaps at worst, tools of the devil to estrange us from the present and what is truly important. Even if we do in fact use our 'gifts' to cooperate with God's plan of love, that is an imperfect and hollow gift back to God.

       What is not hollow and shines brightly for all to see are the things of today's passage.  That is, to be exactly the glorious creation you were made to be. To cooperate with who God created you to be is the most glorious and brilliant sign of God in the world.  Just as the Lillie's or some songful bird gracing a bough outside our window, our beauty is in accepting and cooperating with who we are. 

        There is a unique and undefilable beauty in accepting and elevating all that God created you to be. For me, gay man, spiritual man, artist, writer, father, lover, comforter, friend - all this and more yet to be discovered about myself - is the glory of God revealed. This is the whole and holy gift we offer to creation and back to God. No things could ever amount to anything near to the gift of ourselves - to the magnificence of our creation.

          All one need do is look around and see the magnificent diversity of creation to know that our wholeness and holiness is not found in a wrote set of rules or singular 'plan' for salvation. No religion can synthesize salvation to rubrics that encompass all of creation and God's individualistic plan for each and every one of us. 

       Rules can be tools, 'things' can be tools but the object of our salvation and purpose of being created in the first place is the totality of who we our in our uniqueness and glory.

For diversity and it's divine beauty, we gift thanks and pray this day.

Luke 12:22-31

He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

The jerk in the MAGA hat

Luke 10:25-37

      It is easy to love the ones you love. Hebrew Scriptures are mixed on who your neighbor is. The prevalent thought put forth in Jesus' time seemed to be that a neighbor could be a stranger but always someone within the fold, that is, still a real Jew. 

     I can't help but think of how we act today in our horribly polarized society.  I would probably not attempt to strike up a conversation with someone wearing a MAGA hat. The fact that they wear it seems like a boast or pride in their own stupidity. And that is the rub, the judgment I have made and my barriers going up.  

      The message this morning in Luke seems to be a reminder not to close off our minds, to remain open, however difficult it is for us to stretch or discomfort. If we wish to have our share in the imperishable inheritance of eternal life, we must see that everyone is our neighbor. From the seeming loser wearing the MAGA hat, the jackass that just made a right turn from the 3rd lane over on the left, to the bombastic preacher railing ignorantly at your sinfulness for simply being gay. Neighbors one and all.

       Will we have a tendency to flock together with those that share similar beliefs, passions and interests? Of course we will. But let us not get too comfy. Let us not cross to the other side of the road as the Priest and Levite did to avoid seeing and caring. We need to see and allow our neighbors in. Ignorance or closing ones eyes to what is going on is no excuse. I really don't believe God will accept our excuse of 'I didn't know'. We should have known, we should know and if we are accepting our calling to love we would get better glasses so we can be sure we see it all, warts and all. 

       We are not called to a particularly easy task in life if we choose to love as Christ did. Loving our neighbor, empathy, caring, concern all demand energy and openness. For our willingness to be open and love in radical abundance, we pray.

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.’

Bacon on Fridays

      I love a good rule breaker. I have lamented so far as to say that I am praying for Hester to win one more "A".  Of course there are times I find it terribly amusing as well. There are strictly kosher households out there which have a shelf in their refrigerator ( lined with aluminum foil ?  ) for items that are treyf. Or people who keep a scrupulously kosher home but feel it is acceptable to eat shrimp or bacon in a restaurant. I find it equally laughable when speaking of fasting and meatless Fridays. At one time it was a 'mortal' sin to eat meat on Fridays. Now, not so much. The rules are to be strictly observed only in Lent. However, if St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday in Lent, well - can you say "dispensation" boys and girls?  I note all these minor hypocrisies not as a judgment so much as a notation about the nature of rules.  One of the things that Jesus railed about a great deal was the number of rules and strictures that the Pharisees held over the faithful making them 'twice as fit for hell, as they are themself'.

         A few years back I read an excellent book called God vs. Gay by Jay Michaelson. One of my take aways was probably not fully intended by the author, especially as it applies to rules and rubrics of which I speak.  Mr. Michaelson noted the many contradictions and questionable translations of Scripture that leads some people to be over zealous in their interpretation and judgment of others.  Mr. Michaelson argues that whenever there is a question regarding Scriptures, the final arbiter of such questions must always be love.  That is what God is and that is God's intent in creating us. Love, pure and simple.

          To the question of the Apostles plucking grain or corn on the sabbath? Clearly a sin some might say. Jesus however puts the answer to question quite simply in today's passage from Matthew. It is so easy to follow rules with scrupulosity, that is why the two great commandments are infinitely more complex and hard to follow that the Ten we all learned as kids.  Love is the arbiter for all things and if we wielded love as easily as we use passages to clobber people with we would be far, far better off.  Let us not focus on the rules so much as love.

          For good old bacon and infinite acts of love, I pray. 

           

Matthew 12:1-14

At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’ He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’

Of lepers and foreigners

      Quite a fascinating read. Jesus, with very little inducement, heals ten leper’s. To us today we would accept that without question. Jesus did this. Jesus is acting in accordance with his own character. It is a sign of how we too are to act. If not actually healing, then by accepting faults and forgiving. 

     That Brings me to another bold point. In regards to forgiveness ( healing ) Jesus had something to say about it in yet another passage of Scripture. When questioned about how many times we should forgive, “up to Seven times?”, he said ‘not seven times, but seventy times seven times’ (Mt. 18:21-22). In other words, an infinite number of times. Jesus doesn’t even say a ‘reasonable’ amount, he says 70x7 times. Jesus is equally generous in His healing in our reading today. Ten leper’s healed. 

      And as if to zing us, who is the one that comes back? The Samaritan, the one that the observant Jew or Temple elite would label as a sinner, a less-than-Jew and other unflattering names. It’s why the story of the Good Samaritan is so powerful. Yet here we are zinged again as the translation of the Samaritan is a “foreigner”. Seems very timely to us to speak of foreigners, healing and forgiving. But let’s be real, there are a lot of foreigners or immigrants. Too many? What would Jesus do?  Certainly, welcome the foreigners. After all, ‘we were foreigners and captives ourselves’ as Jews. There are numerous references admonishing us to not only welcome the foreigner but to treat them as one of our own. But shouldn’t we be reasonable about this? Remember how Jesus cured the ten lepers? What about forgiving 70x7? Is that reasonable?

      It seems that Jesus is trying to let us know that God’s love is unlimited, inclusive, boundless, infinite. Are we not called then to act the same way? It seems counter intuitive and counter cultural this mass and total embrace of foreigners, of sinners, outcasts and the marginalized. Yet that is exactly what Jesus teaches us to do.

      For Forgiving ourselves, forgiving and embracing the ‘other’ among us, in Christ’s name, we pray.

Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean.Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

Impurity and boundless love

       There is a lot to unpack here in this passage from Luke. The two things that strike me most are a reaffirmation of Jesus' humanity / compassion and secondly, how that compassion drives him to do the unthinkable for his time - touch a dead body. 

       There were so many rules that the Jews were required to follow to stay holy and ritually pure. The fact is, many of those rules were meant more to prevent illness or to just make life survivable in the hostile environment of the desert. They may not have known the technical details of Trichinella spiralis but they sure as hell knew about what it meant. No wonder pork was forbidden. The concepts of refrigeration, preserving foods etc were far away into the future. Some rules made eminent sense for their time.

         I suppose touching a dead body could be a source of illness too but Jesus will have none of that. Jesus' compassion drives him to do extraordinary things and far beyond what we as mere mortals judge as good and bad, black or white. The list of times and circumstances when Jesus broke or shattered rules is legendary and legion. His behavior is such that we must use that information as a witness to how we should act and think.

         There are some other remarkable stories of people who put their own lives at risk for the sake of compassion and faith. The stories of Father Damien or Mother Theresa are real life, honest to God, legends, truthful and holy. Those are only two of the notable examples of people who challenged what would make someone untouchable or ritually impure.

         Perhaps we need to look at what really, truly makes people impure. Question everything we are told. Hold fast to that which is true and holy.  That process is often at odds with institutional religion. We are called beyond any institution and to be like the man, Jesus. Provocative? Are we called to emulate the original Provocateur, Jesus?

          In all this talk of what makes one ritually impure I cannot help but note that Jesus did not take the ritually acceptable train of thought on a variety of issues. Jesus surely did not hate anyone and his actions are a witness to his ever expanding, inclusive love.

          Question what is impure, be compassionate, loving and all embracing. That is what Jesus tried to teach us in his daily life, a life he surrendered for each and every one of us, pure and 'impure'. 

       

Luke 7:11-17

Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’ The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.