Luke 5:33-39

       Think Fast

             33 And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink." 34 And Jesus said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days." 36 He told them a parable also: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, `The old is good.'"

            I'd like to add to the well known Ecclesiastes reading that says "to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens...a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot". I'd like to add to that, there is a time to fast and a time to feast.

          I don't think there are many people who enjoy good food and eating more than me. Our honeymoon in Paris was focused on food, I offer my own critiques on my face book page of restaurants that hit the mark and those that sink miserably. We enjoy good food. Feasting is good. I don't mean gorging - we never go to a buffet. I mean appreciating talent (chefs), gifts (food) and the treasure (that allows us to dine as we like). It really isn't a focal point of our life but we do enjoy eating.

          How does that square with it's 'the time to fast'. Fasting is an ancient tradition and has many admirable goals, it can achieve many things. For one, you learn to appreciate the food you do have, the gifts you have been given. It is cleansing. With the inequities that exist in this world as it does, it allows you some small semblance of unity with people in this world who have no food or little food to eat.  It also helps me to realize that it is not food that sustains me. As much as I like good food, it is God that sustains me.  You will find many biblical references to this idea of being sustained by God and not by food alone. Almost every religion has some form of fasting. Some forms of religious fasting seem farcical while others are intensely serious.

         Since I already have written about the fact that God wants us to feast, party, have a good time, I am going to suggest that we set aside a day or a period of time to fast. I would not want anyone to risk their health but to do so if it's at all  possible. Fast and see how you feel. See how it feels in your gut, your soul. Realize how others may feel that are not fasting as an option. Perhaps you could take the money you would have spent for the day on food (breakfast, Starbucks, lunch, snacks, dinner, dessert, drinks, etc) and donate it to some worthy cause. Perhaps check with the local food pantry and see what they need and buy it.

        Think fast, 'fast' and then think slow, meditate on how it feels.

Luke 5:1-11
   A Jewish carpenter  went fishing...

          1 While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennes'aret. 2 And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, 7 they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zeb'edee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. 

          I think a common thread of mine is the fact that we need to always be listening, to God, each other and to our surroundings. Another common thread that people who follow me will note is the theme of growth. We need to be constantly growing, stretching, being reborn. When you fail to listen or fail to grow, you really are dying. Your body may live to 80 but you can die at 50.

           Here is a reading that speaks of listening and the rewards that are yours if you do. Picture it, Sicily,  err, Gennes'aret 32AD. Peter the fisherman has been at it all night and caught nothing. Along comes Jesus, a carpenter, and he says, cast your nets over again.  A carpenter telling a fisherman how to fish. Really? Still, Peter does as Jesus suggests and the catch is so big, the boats are almost to the point of sinking. 

            It just goes to show, you never know where the answer to your problems are going to come from. And similarly, you don't know where the source of your great fortune will come from either. I put my trust in that Jewish carpenter fellow. What I think that is worth thinking hard about is the listening aspect. Perhaps we'd all be better off if we listened to the other chap, try very hard to see what he sees and hear what he hears. It may be an eye opener, or a heart opener, or a mind opener. 

            Let's not be arrogant enough to think that only we can supply the answers or that our answers can't come at a moments notice from a totally unexpected source.

            Anybody up for some fishing ?

Luke 4:38-44

          12 year tradition or Peter's mother-in-law

          38 And he arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought him for her. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she rose and served them. 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on  every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew  that he was the Christ. 42 And when it was day he departed and went into a lonely place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving  them; 43 but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose." 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

          This blog is such a wonderful thing. It has given me new discipline and  a vibrancy to my spiritual life. And today, it gives me license to comment on scriptures the way many a good Roman Catholic would like to but do so only in the safe haven of their own thoughts or private conversation.

          I would like to make comments on the fact that Peter, the Rock, the head of the church, our first Pope (although that title had not yet been created), the vicar of Christ here on earth  - was married. A holy man for sure but, you know,  a heterosexual, get down and dirty, married man.  A human for God's sake.

           The fact is, in sifting through Church history, we find an extensive list of married Priests, Bishops and Deacons (and even, Heaven forbid, women Priests, that will remain for another blog). This unholy  arrangement (of men and women together as God created them) was allowed, then discouraged and eventually banned in the Roman Catholic Church about the year 1000 AD. Hmmm. So if you balance the first 1000 years against the second thousand years, the 'tradition' of celibacy is a very rich 12 years old. But lets sift through some of the information we have. Even when it was 'outlawed', many a Priest, Bishop and Pope had not only wives, but concubines and mistresses.  

          The history is truly rich, here's a small sampling. The Council of Elvira, Spain in the year 306, decree #43: a priest who sleeps with his wife the night before Mass will lose his job. Really? How about St. Augustine in 401 AD, he wrote, “Nothing is so powerful in drawing the spirit of a man downwards as the caresses of a woman.” This is from a man who clearly had many sexual issues. And note, this seems counter to, uh, the creation story where God created man and woman to be together. One of my favorites is Pope Urban II (1095 AD), Urban II had priests’ wives sold into slavery, children were abandoned. So very Christian, I'm sure this is what Jesus had in mind all along. I hope you get the sarcasm because it really isn't funny. The history of Priests, Bishops and Popes who were married or who themselves were the child of a Pope, Bishop or Priest is  legion. I could go on but to what end?

           Two last points. The Roman Catholic church, which itself has a tremendous history of holy men with sexual dysfunctions and liaisons of all sorts is hardly in a position to speak to anyone about morals and what constitutes normal. Their fixation on homosexuality only alludes to more disfunction on their part as well as institutionalized ignorance.  Perhaps the idea of  committed loving relationships that actually work is what disturbs them, who knows.

            My last point, perhaps a bit late, is a statement about the clergy of the Roman Catholic church. Even though I have been generous heaping criticism on the Church, I would not want to dismiss the good work and faith of the so, so many wonderful Priests and Bishops that live spectacularly holy and wonderful lives. Furthermore, I would acknowledge that there is a gift or a calling to celibacy but it should never be a mandate or prerequisite to serve. It was certainly not to Jesus. It is still not a requirement in many of the Eastern Rite churches.

          Let's just leave it at this - remember that Peter had a mother-in-law. End of story.

       

          

Luke 4:31-37

        Listen

        31 And he went down to Caper'na-um, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 "Ah! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy  us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." 37 And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

       My daughter is wonderful. When she was a just an small child, we had a coal burning stove in the living room to heat our home. One day she started to walk over towards it and in a panic I screamed at her to stop! I really screamed at her. She cried and was afraid to go near the stove again. I suspect I may have scared some demons out of her that day and she may have needed a diaper change as well. This wonderful little girl listened to what I had to say even if it involved some level of fear.  Thank God she did listen.

       The demons in this reading listened to Jesus as well.  I am sure there would be something said about him curing a man on the sabbath or some such nonsense but I'd like to focus on the listening.

        You probably already know how I feel about stopping to listen to those around you and the subtle (and not so subtle) messages that God sends us all day long.

         While I am certainly not even close to the definitive word  when it comes to God's word, I know that I am a voice. I also know that the Bible, indeed, all holy scriptures are not the definitive word either. While certainly inspired by God, they are open to interpretation and certainly mis-interpretation. One thing is certain, they do contain truths about our lives and how we are supposed to live. They do contain stories of a love affair between God and his people, between people and their God.

          As such, do we listen to holy scripture? Do we try to read them and understand them? Perhaps a bible study group is in order. Perhaps we could get a study bible that has notes in it that will help us understand, the context, the original wording etc. It isn't enough to say any ancient texts are holy. They need to be read, understood and listened to. When we do, I feel countless demons of every sort will be exercised.

          Listen, hear God's word. 

  Luke 4:16-30

                 Hard hearted

           16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day. And he stood up  to read; 17 and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 20 And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22 And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" 23 And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, `Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at Caper'na-um, do here also in your own country.'" 24 And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Eli'jah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; 26 and Eli'jah was sent to none of them but only to Zar'ephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli'sha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Na'aman the Syrian." 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. 30 But passing through the midst of them he went away.

       I can't help but think of the politics that are going on right now, what with the Presidential election not too far off. Without trying to incite anyone, I am reminded of the recently concluded Republican convention. So many words were spoken and the reaction was fairly swift - all lies! I am sure the same thing will happen when the Democrats have their convention. There will be demonstrations and analysis from the usual rabid 'news' organizations.

       The other observation from this reading is that we are quite often skeptical of answers, advice or solutions if it doesn't come from a source that we deem acceptable. Does one have to have a PhD to solve one of life's problems or mysteries? Can the simplicity and love of a child have the insight into something we find too complex to handle?

        Does anybody listen to each other any more? Did they ever? Why is it that we refuse to listen? 

       Lastly and most importantly, are we as hard hearted with God as we are with everyone else in our lives. I would find it hard to believe that we  are not.

         A wise person once advised me, God gave us two ears and only one mouth for a reason.

        We would be wise to spend a great deal more time listening and less time being hard hearted.  

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
      American Pharisees

         

7:1 - 7:8  Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines. 'You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."

7:14 -7:15 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand:

there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."

7:21 - 7:23  For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.

All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

      Jesus spoke out against the Pharisees in the harshest of terms. He set the groundwork for a new church, a new vision. It is ironic that the church founded on diatribes against the Pharisees is now guilty of many of the same things that Jesus was railing against. This is not just true of the Roman Catholic church but many churches here in the United States and around the world. One only needs to read this scripture passage to get a vision of what they are like. It is not unlike the Taliban and it is here in the hearts, the preaching and actions of some churches; unthinking, unloving, unforgiving, rules oriented at the expense of the true message Jesus spoke and lived by. Based in or guilty of the avarice, wickedness, deceit, slander, pride and folly. Lord knows I could go on.

       It might be terribly interesting to go through this scripture reading line by line and write commentaries on each one but that would take way too long for a daily blog entry.

       Let me focus on some of the sexually related issues that Jesus spoke of since that is what many churches are fixated on. Fornication and Adultery. Neither one of these pertains to gay sexual activity by themselves. They would apply equally to heterosexuals as much to homosexuals.  Fornication would never be used to describe sexual relations between a married couple. Now that marriage equality is here in New York State, gay people can be guilty of adultery but that certainly wasn't so in Jesus' time. Although Jesus was aware of same sex relationships as part of the normal social construct of his time, and although Hebrew scripture speaks of love between same sex couples, Jesus did not rail against it at all. I do not understand then how any church or any person can rail against gays today if they don't in the very same breath rail against fornication in straight people. No one group is more guilty than another. 

        This does not seem to be as much of the spirituality, meditation based entry that I would prefer to set down on paper. I am comforted though by the fact that even Jesus recognized these problems and it upset him too. I can imagine a very angry Jesus who has no desire in his heart to be angry. It troubled him as it troubles me as it should trouble you. 

       Today, Sunday morning, I feel the need to pray, to meditate on how to move forward; what actions are called for when the very church He created is so patently wrong.

        

        

Matthew 25:14-30
         Standing still is actually moving backwards

14 "For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. 17 So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, `Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I  have made five talents more.' 21 His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the  joy of your master.' 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, `Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' 23 His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the  joy of your master.' 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, `Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and  gathering where you did not winnow; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' 26 But his master answered him, `You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not  winnowed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken  away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' 

       Interesting reading isn't it? What's this? I can get in trouble for not being industrious enough or not going the extra mile? It's not good enough to simply do the correct thing?
   
        The short answer is no, it's not good enough.  I recall the story of the man who was being chastised at the pearly gates for the state of his marriage. The man argued that he had never been unfaithful, never cheated on his spouse. Of course the answer came right back at him. You are not merely supposed to remain faithful, you are supposed to love , a verb, it's not a passive statement. 

          Then there is my most wonderful son. We were told when he was very young that he was gifted. This boy knew it in his own terms already. It was probably came as a surprise  to him that his mother and I told him more would therefore be expected of him. Say what?  To those who are given more, more is expected.   

            We know this concept, it's rooted in this scripture reading. It means we simply can't accept the status quo. With whatever we have we are called to action, to love, to do more. This is how we grow in love and faith and character. If we do not, we are shrinking in character, shriveling in our potential to be what created us to be. After all, God created you to be a perfect fit into the jigsaw puzzle of his creation.

         God gives us so very much and like the wheat in the field, we are to grow, stretch  and reach toward the son.