Maintain our humility, proceed in love.

Philippians 2:1-4

              There is an Native American expression that tries to convey the evil of being judgemental, it says that before we judge someone, we should first walk a mile in their moccasins. That's clearly not an exact quote but you get the idea. The notion of not being judgemental is not necessarily a Christian one but it is a universal one. In judging others to build ourselves higher, we actually diminish ourselves with a truly false sense of quality.  We are never to judge. As Pope Francis stated, "who am I to judge?" How beautiful.

              I recall that my mother had a similar journey to me although she died way too soon to know. As a good and faithful Catholic woman, she was tormented by the fact that she had sought a divorce from her husband.  Not only was there internal torment, there was judgement and abuse at the hands of the 'holy women' of the church.  She was marginalized and kicked to the curb as unworthy, sinful and not in line with Catholic doctrine. She was anathema to many. She was a hero to her children.

              Little did my mother know that her sweet young son fought his own internal torment even if it took decades to identify in a coherent way; even if it took decades to formulate and say aloud to himself. I too was anathema and struggled to be a good and faithful servant while knowing that God was on my side and that God loved me no matter what. I not only failed to realize that I was gay but I failed to separate the punitive and wrong hearted doctrines of my faith from the love and charity of my creator. I sought the former, found an uneasy bond and then found complete joy in the latter.

                I find a great deal of anger in my heart at times for the Roman church and the actions of the humans that run it or people who profess their allegiance to it. This would then be a form of confession for my own judgement of them.  We all are human and prone to sin by emulating worldly paradigms instead of the love and peace of God. The church would be no different even if I choose to think they should be better. Even if they proclaim themselves to be better. We are all human. The Roman church is in reality no better and especially, no better loved than anyone else. We are all loved equally.

               Our journeys cannot progress lamenting the past or wallowing in self pity for being wronged or by laying blame for this or that. We must cast others journey's aside because after all, it is their journey. We must not judge any one's journey and we must appreciate the difficulty they must have while always continuing on our own. 

                I pray that we find encouragement in Christ and in the love of God, certainly not in someone else's stumble or fall. We are all certain to fall at one point or another, in one way or another. Let us maintain our humility and proceed in love.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

On respect for each person

John 1:1-7,19-20,29-34

          I may have noted this before but my parents were divorced, my Dad moving out when I was 5 years old.  Before you let loose any Awww's, let me assure you it was a great thing. It certainly was good for each of them and it was good for us kids who no longer had to witness the hostility, anger and act as non combatants or collateral damage in the middle of a war. Best of all, my parents were actually very good people, always went out of their way to love us as if 'the other' was somehow not. I know that I feel I got more loving than most of my friends coming from non 'broken' homes.  One of things that my Dad did for me was he'd buy me books that he thought might interest me or help me in some formative way. I still remember each of them from Johnathan Livingston Seagull to A Remarkable Medicine Has Been Overlooked and The Power of your Subconscious Mind. I love my Dad even though he has been gone now for twenty years.

             In the last book i'd note that I was initiated into the thought that we are many times what we are told or worse, what we tell ourselves. Our subconscious mind listens all to well to what is being said, whether it's a bad parent saying 'you're a stupid kid' or a bad teacher who informs student 'you're good for nothing. 'You'll never amount to anything'. Of course we listen to many voices but we do listen to repetitive messages from outside and within. Oh how very much I wish we could all realize how much we are loved, how much value we hold just by ourselves and just how special God created us when he initialled envisioned our coming into existence. 

           In today's passage we have a story in which John was quite clear about who he was himself. That is, not Messiah. He did know who he was, his role and his value. When Jesus comes along and is baptized, God proclaims who Jesus is and his worth. He is God's beloved son 'in whom he is well pleased'. Whenever I taught religion and in my personal relationships to this day, I always try to show respect and instill the feeling that everyone has a unique self worth as imagined and then created by God. I always thought how wonderful it would be if I could get the children in my class to realize just how loved they are, how special they are, how gifted they are.

           It is with intense sadness that I see people demeaned, marginalized or whose character is besmirched simply for accepting their God created qualities. Of special interest to me are the kids who are gay and have to deal with the torment of classmates, the rejection of parents and family members.  How can we not weep at how Leelah Alcorn was treated by her parents and just as worse, their "religion".  I am sure God weeps in heaven for all of us and welcomed Leelah with open arms and a warm embrace. 

          Of course it is our job to be the best we can be, acknowledge our gifts and talents and use it all for God's glory. Equally as certain is that we should honour each others journey even if we do not understand it. No religion can have validity if it does not recognize this fact. It is one of the reasons so many people are flocking away from organized religion and why Face Book is filled with so many non-sectarian spiritual bouquets. 

         I pray we are gentler with ourselves and everyone else. People hear and listen to what we say.

           

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.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’

The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

Je Suis Charlie

Galatians 3:23-29, 4:4-7

          Each day I receive an inspirational thought in an e-mail. An acquaintance of mine arranged this and I am forever grateful for an additional tool to start the day on a thoughtful, appreciative and prayerful note. I find that how I start my day is a fairly good barometer of how I will focus, view and handle life during the next 24 hours. That's me. Today's message was "If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance." (Orville Wright, 1871-1948)

           Three things came to my mind with today's passage and this quote. One is simply a sign I saw yesterday,  Je Suis Charlie. It offered solidarity and a message about the recent barbarism and religious lunacy that occurred in France.  What religious fanatics do ( and have done over the centuries ) is shameful, demonic and absolutely has no bearing on any message God wishes to reveal to mankind. Je Suis Charlie was posted in solidarity by a person who posted information, not unlike myself that was often challenging and counter to many accepted beliefs. To promote thought and to question the status quo should not be something that endangers one's life. Yet what happened in Paris shows us the extent to which warped ideologies can infect and inflame people to horrific actions. It is intensely sad that such lessons are still being learned after humanity has lived through similar 'infections' such as the Nazi's, the Inquisition, various Pogrums and the Crusades. Are we destined to never learn from our errors?  The right wingnuts in this country spreading hate, lies and misinformation about the LGBTQ community run the risk of creating similar hateful and misguided actions here. In fact, hate crimes against gays inspired and provoked by these hateful "Evangelicals" and self righteous religious wingnuts occur daily. A simple act of defiance (read: affection, love, companionship) such as hold hands or a simple kiss is enough to incur beatings and even death.

          So here I am each day, writing what I hope are prayerful reflections but often rants against the power elite and status quo. I write sometime challenging notions that might make some people a bit squirmy. Little did I know I was writing many times in the vein of Orville Wright.  Challenging assumptions and hoping to advance knowledge, love, fellowship and faith.  This could get me killed though so I too should say Je suis Charlie!

           My third point and perhaps the most important of all because it based on scripture is today's passage. When Christianity was spreading far from Jerusalem and into cultures quite different from Judaism, certain problems arose. Different cultures among other things requires respect of the other and a desire to learn. One of the problems about that learning process is that different cultures have different views on things and often have much different ways of expressing things. Such is the case when Christianity began to come to Greek areas.  So much was different. Philosophies, ways of expression. The Greeks did not have the foundation of ancient Judaism or their scripture and in fact had their own history and deeply embedded culture.  In many ways this is the age old issue of unknown cultures cultures clashing. Not so different from East and West, Blacks and Whites and many other culture clashes in human history.  What this passage is trying to address is that because of Jesus There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female. If the passage were written today it might easily have read, no gay or straight, no Muslim or Christian or Jew. The passage is trying to focus on the fact that we are all children of God. We all call God "Abba" (read: Daddy). We are all His children.

         As children of God we are called to learn ad grow, but also respect each other and part of the learning is from each other. There is a tension in learning because it does challenge us. But for those who do the challenging, whether it is satirical comic in France, or a blogger sitting on a little island in the Atlantic or Orville Wright, we must not raise our hackles and inspire hate and vengeance in response.

      We are all children of the same God. If we raise our hackles, it should be against fantiscism, hate and fear mongering and to stop violence, brother against brother.

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Not just cookie cutter kitsch!

Romans 12:6-13

          It's said that we are a nation of people that strives for the best. Never to be outdone, we are always looking to one-up, do one better, be the best than we can be. **

          I go to the gym on a regular basis. I not a 'gym rat' or a 'no neck' by any stretch of the imagination, those people in my estimation are trying to be the best 'something'. They are buying into a paradigm that says the best body makes you a better person, more desirable or better looking. None of those goals fit with mine which is to make myself healthier and stronger in that it contributes to me being a better person as part of many other fine attributes.

           I think we are called to be the best person we can be but not to extremus, not one aspect overshadowing another and certainly not at the risk of demeaning others. Discover all of who you are, some of the attributes mentioned in today's passage, love who you are, embrace and share who you are. Those are goals worth working hard for.  When we love who we are we can offer others the great gift that God gave us and that we have unwrapped.

           Today I'd like  to honor Jeanne Manford who started PFLAG. If you don't know what that organization is, I urge you to explore and support it. But who is Jeanne Manford? She is simply a mother who embraced her gay son. She loved him, embraced who he was and celebrated it. Just as we should accept our talents, gifts and abilities, we should accept who we are and embrace it. Gay, Straight, Bi, white, black, Asian, Indian, whomever; embrace who you are. As Lola says in Kinky Boots, "I'm your cocoa butter bitch, not just cookie cutter kitsch! Be who you are and celebrate it, revel in it, love it. 

           You are a gift from God to everyone, not in embracing the whims, attitudes or judgements of society but be being exactly who you are with all your gifts and offering them up to your fellow man and thereby to God.

We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

** for a nation that supposedly strives to be the best we are far from it in almost every way. Lower in education, generosity, caring, forgiveness, and countless other Gospel based goals. We do excell in violence, hate, misinformation and waging war. :(

A women's place

Romans 16:1-2

          Women in the church. I suppose it all comes down to what church one is speaking of. Some denominations have been more faithful to true tradition and gospel teachings than others. A few days ago I quoted Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride who said "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” The role of women (or absence thereof) in some churches does not come down to misuse of words. They are not mistranslating a word like Inigo tells Vezzini.

           Today's passage is short and sweet and it points to a great contradiction in the churches, Roman and otherwise, that fail to recognize the role of women, their abilities and gifts that God has so graced them with. It is that good'ol euro-centric male domination that has bastardized what once was open to women. If there is any question in today's passage, it is not that Phoebe was a deaconess of the early church, it is that she may have been more than a deaconess, perhaps a priest.  What divine purpose is promulgated by the denial of a women's calling to serve God in any manner GOD sees fit to call her? Who are these staunch defenders of pseudo tradition?

          Although the new Pope, Frances might have us think their are wholesale changes afoot, it was all too recently that good Sister (servants) were called on the carpet for not kowtowing to the whims and desires of what the men want them to do or be limited to. The scene is appalling and an affront to God.

         Today the Episcopal church remembers Deaconess (and missionary) Harriet Bedell.  Harriett was called by God, responded and her call was recognized. If I may be permitted to say so, her service far exceeds the cushy lives most priests and bishops live in their stately McMansions.

          It is an oddity and horribly ironic that a church that seems to elevate Jesus' mother to almost deity status denies the broad spectrum of gifts women have to offer. Yet, in that church they are relegated to submissive roles or bound to the kitchen with children. While many women serve God joyfully and excel in the roles they have been limited to, the denial of anyone's abilities is nothing short of sinful, misguided and patently not based on God's intent, word or tradition.  There is no denying there was a Phoebe and yet there can no longer be any new Phoebe's. How demoralizing, sad and sinful.

           It is this kind of demoralization and subjugation that gave rise to women's rights, the suffrage movement and the movement for rights, recognition and equal pay that continues today.  If we truly look at the role Mary, Martha, Phoebe and Harriett and countless others who played vital roles in spreading and living the Gospel of Christ, we would have melted hearts such that we would embrace all God's gifts and callings, no matter who has received it..

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.

The Marriage of John and Jesus?

John 2:1-11

          I recently read a piece that suggested the mere possibility that the wedding feast at Cana may have actually been the wedding feast of John and Jesus. A seemingly scandalous assertion but I do know that the paradigm of one man and one woman in relationship is not the uniform way it always was. That is pure revisionist history. The Bible itself points to a good number of same sex committed relationships that we might today be considered married. We simply cannot super impose our paradigms, thought patterns and modern knowledge onto any other time or culture. At some point I would love to delve into the texts and translations that might lead one to believe that Cana was the celebration of John and Jesus.

          It might seem easy to simply point to the 'water into wine thing' as the miraculous event and Jesus' first public miracle. Another miraculous event that this is pointing to, no matter who the married parties were, is the actual wedding. In the book of Genesis, a story from God that tells of the fundamentals of our existence and meaning, a major part is the creation and bond of Adam and Eve. As a symbolic story, which it surely is, it relates our human need for another, for companionship and wholeness through others. We are not solitary being by any means. We are communal creatures and at the heart of this is our relationship and commitment to another. It clearly is less important whether that is a man and woman, a man and a man or a woman and a woman. The message is clear, that two becoming one is a construct that God intended for mutual support, love and completion of our meaning in life. It is a goal we strive for and always have. It is an innate part of our being. 

             When you think about the myriad people in the world, the different races, personalities and makeups, is there really anything less miraculous than finding your soul mate? For some it is possible that their soul mate or completion can be in relationship totally with God as in 'married to Jesus' as many religious profess. I would suggest further that this may be the goal of all of us in life and even into death and into eternal life.  Who knows where each of us is on such a journey? I do know how wonderful and miraculous it is to find someone who 'completes you', who seems to have existed even in absentia to finally find each other and and find happiness. This is how I feel about my own husband. It offers life, meaning, wholeness, an opportunity for total love, selflessness and growth. These are all things God created us for.

            As for Jesus and John ( 'the beloved disciple' ) who knows what their relationship was. It merits interest and research for sure. I will say this, the preliminary evidence is there. To be singled out as 'the beloved disciple'. To be immortalized laying his head on Jesus' chest in scripture, paintings and lore. To have Jesus publicly hand John over to His mother at his crucifixion and to have Jesus tell his mother 'this is your son'. (John 19:26) Well, wow! What is the likelihood of a Jewish man of 33 being single during that time in history? Even today there would be talk. Thirty-three and single? Is he gay?   I spoke of Jesus being as sexual as any one of us, the possibility of being gay is just an extension of that. Note: being gay does not equal being primiscuous. 

        No matter what, the joining of two souls is a gift from God and to be lived and appreciated.  

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him

Al and Inigo

Matthew 12:14-21

          There once was a man named Al. He woke up as usual and as was his habit, started to read the daily paper. One of the things he always checked was the obituaries and to his surprise his name was there! True story. It turns out Al's brother had died and the paper for whatever reason, picked Al's obituary and printed that instead. Al was an extremely wealthy and an important man. He had made a fortune in industry and specifically in armaments. Al was overwhelmed at seeing his own in the obituary though and he had what we might call an 'epiphany'. He turned his life completely around dedicating his life to peaceful causes and using his wealth in peaceful ways. You may have heard of him, his name is Alfred Nobel and he created what we know as the Nobel Peace Prize.

         So today's passage has perhaps less to do with the actual passage of scripture and more about the fact that the church celebrates the Epiphany on this day. The idea of having an epiphany is what came to my mind and to my daily meditation. Still, I was struck by the last line of this passage that "in his name the Gentiles will hope". 

          There are far too many people who have taken it upon themselves to say who is saved and who is not. Originally Jesus came to save the Jews. Jesus himself is a Jew.  But I think even Jesus may have had an epiphany of sorts. His love and the love of the Father (Creator God) could not be contained. The message of salvation is open to everyone. So you find Jesus proclaiming salvation to the most unlikely people according to the 'rules'.  Today there are so many who are marginalized by both society and religions. These people will not be saved according to televangelists, evangelicals, much of the hierarchy of the Catholic church, select Imams and so many others who look to holy scriptures with a jaundiced eye. In their view they know who is saved, who is condemned, who is 'intrinsically dissordered' and who is an infidel. 

             But I am reminded of a line from the movie The Princess Bride. The character Vezzini keeps using the word "inconceivable!" to which Inigo Montoya says "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

            Well, here is an epiphany. People quote the Bible from cherry picked lines to support what they want to say about God's love, salvation and judgement. They're very quick on the judgement, very slow on the intent which is love, compassion, inclusiveness, forgiveness. The Epiphany is very much that those who are saved may very well not be the ones that they think are saved. Those words you toss like weapons and grenades to destroy human spirit and lives are not the words or will of God. 

            It came as quite a shock to Al realizing what his life really amounted to when he read it unadulterated in his obituary. It was his Epiphany and his wake up call. What does it take for each one of us to realize in our hearts and minds the universal message of love that God has for every single one of us, ( yes, even us ). As for holy scripture used as weapons, 

'You keep using those words. I do not think they mean what you think they mean.'

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 

‘Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,

   my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my Spirit upon him,

   and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 

He will not wrangle or cry aloud,

   nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 

He will not break a bruised reed

   or quench a smouldering wick

until he brings justice to victory. 

And in his name the Gentiles will hope.’