Spirit speaking, we are all blessed.

Matthew 5:1-12

          Preachers like to think that they are scintillating speakers and that they touch each one's heart with every word they utter. It just isn't so. I took several courses in preaching in the seminary and have read several books on the subject as well as a course in writing. All of this does not mean I speak or write terribly well. It also doesn't mean I will touch any one's heart or mind when I speak. One thing I do believe is that good preaching is really the Spirit speaking through you as a person. You take your life, your experiences and who you are and allow the Spirit to convey the subject at hand. So if you have all sorts of training and all you wish to do is say what you want to say, you probably will fail miserably. You really need to cooperate, empty yourself and allow yourself to be used by the Spirit.

          One of things that I could not get out of my mind after reading this passage was an interesting reference in the second to last line. The word falsely. Some texts just don't have that word.  So it reads ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you on my account. I don't know how the original text read, what the word was in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek or even the Latin to which it eventually was translated. I've spoken before about how translational errors pose a large problem to those who wish to take the Bible literally - in English, perhaps the 4th or 5th language it was translated into. I am sure it wasn't done in a haphazard manner but I am sure you see how things could get caught in a translational quagmire.

            So where am I going? I suppose I think the Spirit will lead me and I also think it may have something to do with me being called to rail against the literalist's. But what of this passage itself?

            Many people note how blessed I am. I know that I am incredibly blessed and perhaps I don't even know the half of it. I do take time though to actually think and pray about all the miraculous things in my life and how blessed I am. This is a practice open to all. It's actually pretty easy to do with the eyes of faith and a small amount of appreciation. It takes a thankful heart, a praising heart and eyes and mind raised to God.

             What gets some people in trouble is placing your focus on other people and things. Some focus on how bad their life is and are always saying "woe is me". Others feel the need to judge others in almost everything and in so doing try to convince themselves that they themselves are worthy, if only by default.

            This passage puts a twist on everything by noting some of things in life that may not be considered as blessings to some. These are things you get beaten up for, if not literally, then societally. The meek are weak. Mercy is lost on so many. Hunger is an act of laziness. Peacemakers? Let's send troops or bomb - better yet, send a drone. And all those people who are marginalized, unrepresented and forced by society or laws into dark corners and made to feel less than loved? Well they are the ones Jesus is calling to. Jesus is saying, to them is the victory. They are all blessed in God's eyes.

           Whether or not there is a need to add the word "falsely" into a sentence that may or may not have had it becomes almost irrelevant. This kind of linguistical game only obfuscates the true message which is that we are all blessed and all loved. Be more concerned with praising God for the ways in which you have been blessed. Spend less time, nay, spend no time thinking about others in a derogatory manner simply to try and raise yourself up. Don't bother, God sees all and we are all blessed, all equally loved in God's eyes.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Saintly people

Colossians 1:1-14

            What is a saint? In the Roman Catholic church there are seemingly thousands, their lives examples of living the life of Christ, of showing us how it actually can be done, models of good living, faith and love.  I believe in the Episcopal church the remembrance of a 'saint' is a bit less formal. But what of this line from Colossians, we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints? Were there saints then too?  Certainly there was no formal analysis as there is today, no "devils advocate" and no hugely enormous bureaucratic formula to be fulfilled. Life was not so complex in the early church. What was their standard?

              As we mature in life, we know that we must live our lives to our own beat. We have a conscience and we answer to no one save our creator. No one knows what is in our heart. No one knows our pains, sufferings and reasons for how we live and make decisions. We certainly cannot say with any certainty at all what someone else's motivations are.  We live a faithful life as best we can. Some who might be judged less than perfect may have in fact achieved greatness in the eyes of God because we are not privy to what they live with, what that person sees, feels and has experienced.

             Perhaps in our own way, we are all saints. As faithful people we walk the walk, each in our own way. Respect for each others' journey yields the premise that we perhaps are all saints in God's eyes. 

             I once knew a woman I known as "Miss Anna". She was a schoolteacher of some import, having been recognized by Fiorello LaGuardia (Mayor of New York City and the namesake of LaGuardia airport). Miss Anna lived a good life and a holy life. She was a convert to Catholicism in a family that likely did not appreciate it. Still that family cared for her when she became an invalid and was bed bound for many, many years. Miss Anna prayed and journaled every day. She was faithful and did not put her sufferings on display to induce sympathy from others. She was a true suffering servant. She was in my eyes and without hesitation, a saint. Certainly not canonized, she went through no lengthy process of examination but she was, none the less, a saint. 

               Saying someone is a saint may elicit visions of martyrdom or miracles but life itself is a miracle. Life lived faithfully is all God asks and is itself a sign and example of God's love. Are we not all saints in our own way?

             I trust I may never know the silent sufferings of so many people but I know that God loves each and every one of us and lives through each and every one of us, uses each and every one of us to reveal His love and compassion.  Let us be mindful of our journeys and know we are all trying to live a holy life with the tools given us. We are all saintly people.

            

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Day by Day.

Godspel : Day by Day

         Yesterday at the Friary one of the brothers preached and about how we are each loved, individually by God. As with any true love relationship it is a two way street and it requires conversation, listening and respect. The psalm we read was the one used for this song from the Broadway play, Godspel. It says a great deal about our own relationship with God.

          I was so touched hearing this song that originally touched me so many years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to listen to it, read it and really meditate on it. That is my offering to you today.

         Some people may tell you otherwise, some people may treat like it isn't true but know this: God so loved the world he sent his only son and created another person so unique and loved that he sent that person in the world as well. That is, You. You are that loved child of God and she is reaching out to you.

Day by day

Day by day

Oh Dear Lord

Three things I pray

To see thee more clearly

Love thee more dearly

Follow thee more nearly

Day by day

Day by day 

Day by day

Oh Dear Lord

Three things I pray

To see thee more clearly

Love thee more dearly

Follow thee more nearly

Day by day

Light and dark

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

          I read a very interesting and thoughtful blog the other day entitled Darkness is not Dark. Today's passage speaks of the The true light, which enlightens everyone , that is, Jesus.  We have such defined ideas about darkness and light though. Sometimes we get caught up in the polar expressions that we get confused and insist on things being categorized in one way or another, black, white, right, wrong, good, evil. While I know somethings are actually black, others actually white, that there is in fact evil in the world and there is love, I can see that with the light of love we need not be so bound by finite and constricting parameters.

            Many years ago in the span of one week, both of my parents had strokes. My father recovered easily from his mild stroke. My mother however lingered for 10 years suffering through the hospitalization, treatments and eventual nursing home. I often described that period as the 10 worst years of my life, the darkest 10 years of my life. Aside from watching this fine woman transformed into someone almost unrecognizable, I too went through transformations as did my siblings. It is horrible to watch someone in pain and transformed, nay, contorted into another being.  There were constant visits to the hospital, consultations, insurance  issues and bills to pay, governmental agencies to deal with and banks. I hated it all and endured that willingly for ten years while my mother endured her maladies.  Now though, in the light of love I see something a bit different. While I can still see how we all felt at that time, I can also see the fragility and grace of life. I can see the love, the concern, the caring of not just us, but of countless others that prayed, cared for ministered to all of us. It would seem that on reflection, the darkest ten years of my life were not so dark after all. Someone once said that life is not what happens to you but how you react to what happens to you.  I am not sure how well I rose to the occasion when my Mom and Dad needed me most, that is for God to decide. I know my siblings appreciate what I did as I hope they know how much I appreciated how difficult it was for them being so far away and not being able to do the things they wanted to do to help. I do know that every minute of those ten years were graced moments. Not party moments for sure but graced moments none the less. They were light and glorious moments filled with down in the trenches love, caring, support, and struggling for meaning in events that we may never fully understand on this side of the grave.

            I have a coworker who seems very dark. Not goth dark, but she has an affinity for darker clothes and darker scenes. She is loving, caring and a great nurse and great person. Who would know if you judged her by some of her face book pictures.  We can be fixated on darkness thinking there is no light there when there is light and love that perhaps we are not privy to.

           I am amazed sometimes that our beloved cat trots around in the darkness so sure footed and with little if no effort. His vision is not as limited as we humans. He sees clearly where we see darkness.  Just one more reason to appreciate my most wonderful 'boy'.

           We buy into so many definitives. In defining things sometimes we find ourselves railing against things that we perpetuate ourselves. If we are to see clearly we will never be able to do so with human eyes. We will never have feline eyes. The only way we will ever be able to see clearly is with the light of faith and love. Jesus gives us this light because he is the light. Perhaps it would be a good time to re-read this Gospel passage for today. Lets just think about light and dark and gray and the subtleties of light and love.

           

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being

in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,

who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

(John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'")

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

Your welcome

Luke 14:15-23

         There is an episode of the original Star Trek that featured Frank Gorshin as a (vertically) half white - half black man ( think  black and white cookies ). His name was Bele and the target of his anger was another half black - half white man named Loci. Loci had the misfortune of being inferior if not evil by virtue of the fact that his colors were reversed from that of Bele (and the reverse of most of the others of Bele's race). It was a groundbreaking episode.

          I recall a friend of mine who celebrated with great joy with me when marriage equality in New York was achieved. When the subject of equal rights for the "BT&Q" of LGBTQ was brought up, it seemed to be a repulsive topic. Not them! The energy for equality wained in my friend even though there is quite a bit of work and effort that needs to be expended to achieve universal equality.

           They say Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian Denomination in the United states, followed immediately by the second largest which is non - practicing Catholics. Have you ever run across a Roman Catholic who would look down ferociously at someone who isn't as scrupulous about every aspect of their faith? A pastor of mine was brought to task once for a rather small infraction involving the consecration. Back in the day the celebrants hands had to be at specific angles (pitch and yaw) to allow the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. I suppose it was not unlike the nuns back in the day who admonished us kids to form perfectly formed hands when we prayed in order that the prayers reach God.

           I am certain there are millions of examples of people who even among their own little clique, have reasons to look down on someone or even a group. Some are disliked for factual reasons while others are disliked for trumped up reasons or outright bigotry.  We see it all the time. If you don't, it's time to take a step back and think about it at length. That's why the Bele-Loci episode of Star Trek was so ground breaking. It heightened awareness and raised conscienceness.

          In todya's passage the host welcomed all the right people as any of us would do when holding a party. We come up with a guest list of those that we like or wish to celebrate with.  When Jesus walked the earth he came for the redemption of Israel. He quickly expanded that to all sorts of people. Probably those people would not be the ones we would be inviting to our own party either. God welcomes everyone. In this passage God is envisioned as compelling people to come in, as in total strangers. Lord! What kind of riff raff will show up!

           Here's a chance to think of all the riff raff, the faulty Catholics, The Loci's of the world, the gays, Muslims, Jews and any array of sinners. The will be welcome, scratch that. They are welcome at God's table.  It is up to us to welcome them. 

           

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.

The sun going down on anger

Ephesians 4:17-32

           This passage reminds me about my parents when it says do not let the sun go down on your anger. My parents were divorced, my father moving out of the family home when I was five years old. I know that this affected my siblings even more than it did me. I was able to maintain a relationship with both parents and eventually found a great friend in my father for many years before he passed.  I had the unique vantage point to see each of them and how they reacted to each other. Clearly there were some strong emotional problems that might have been worked out but they were not minor ones. What I noticed is that the love they had never diminished even though they had separated.  The problems they each had may have been too much for them to work at or more than than they were willing to work at, who knows, but the love remained. It's a curious thing to me.

             In the ensuing years after their separation, each made life decisions as is necessary for simply living but the result was that those decisions took them farther and farther apart. Reconciliation, though attempted several times, was made virtually impossible. Still the spark of love and concern remained.  Why do I write this? It has less to do with being specifically a gay person as I would usually write about but has everything to do with any loving person, any relationship and specifically this passage. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Make up before you go to sleep. Do not hold onto anger. All this anger is poison to a relationship to the point that eventually it overtakes the possibility of reconciliation like a scab that leaves the skin forever marred.

                There are so many messages one could take from this passage, I chose the message of love and forgiveness that is universal to all humanity. It is necessary for life, relationships and continued growth. I saw a couple in love grow further and further apart with every choice made and never the need to say "I am sorry".  Our pride perhaps or unwillingness to take a tough step forward.  Loving thy neighbor as self is not easy but is what we are called to do in life, with friends, spouses and everyone.

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart. They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practise every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ! For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Bentley's and Beemers and Lexus, oh my!

Luke 9:46-50

          Here's another clue about me,  I drive a Prius as my daily driver but alas, there is also a very nice Lexus in my stable as well. Judging by the number of Lexuses (Lexi?) in some of the more affluent areas around here, I'd say it could be considered a snooty car. The Island on which I live is loaded with Beemers, Mercs, Rolls' and Porsche's galore.  It seems everyone tries to outdo the next fellow either to display their wealth or how much they deserve it.  To me it's a bit like arguing who is the greatest and you get to vote with the car you drive. Automobiles are a challenge for me. I have loved them since childhood and I have had quite a variety in my life. Still, I know that what I drive has almost no bearing on who I am and whether I deserve it or not. It certainly does not make me better than anyone else. To the contrary, I often find the well healed drive the best cars and are the worst drives, perhaps even rude and dangerous.

            So what pearl do I have to drop about who is the greatest? Pope Francis was quite right when he encouraged Priests (and people) to live modestly. 'Things' do not make you any greater than anyone else. It reminds me of the saying, 'live simply so others may simply live'. What makes you great is how you love. Even in that regard I will not admit to being any greater than anyone else. I am blessed with a wonderful husband, a great cat, wonderful children and grandchildren. If I love it is often because it is so easy to do. No merit in that really.

             So the call is to live more simply and to love. Pope Francis has it correct. Our challenge is to try and balance it all. Our call is to look deep inside ourselves and make hard decisions about what we want to do and who we want to be. If you love freely and openly; if you can afford to help your fellow man and still afford the so called finer things in life, I am sure God is thrilled. 

            The challenge though is to make honest assessments of ourselves. A great way to start the new year.

An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.’

John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’