The Driven Out

John 9.35-41

           In the early Christian church, the rule was one of inclusiveness and embracing differences. Originally, Jesus came to save the Jewish people but soon he embraced the most radical of positions. Jesus' saving grace, friendship and love was open to women, lepers, Samaritans, Roman soldiers (excuse me 'gay' Roman Centurions) and almost anyone that expressed faith or a willingness to listen. So it was in that early church that salvation was opened (through Paul) to not just the Jews but to the gentiles and the uncircumcised. How radical when Jesus actually proclaimed he came for the Jews. But Jesus' love and actions could not be contained as the Fathers love cannot be contained.

             In today's passage it begins with a cured blind man having been "driven out" of the temple and presumably the community by the Jewish leaders. Those leaders are taking up the role of judges as to who and what is holy, who can receive salvation and ultimately trying to puts mans rules (their own rules) onto God himself. That's crazy talk.

              How can any one judge and how can anyone rightfully drive out anyone that God so eagerly embraces? God embraces us all.  When I 'came out' I began to Google "inclusive churches' because my faith is that important to me. It seems ridiculous now that such a word would be a clarifier for any Christian church, for any church, synagogue, temple or mosque of God. In contrast to man's rules about God, when could you ever imagine a Father (God) turning his back on his child, any child?  What of the example of the prodigal son? 

           At the end of our days it is only God who can judge. As it stands, God embraces everyone and everything unto himself/herself. God is all, God is love. 

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.

I can see clearly now

Isaiah 58:1-12

          As you may have made noted, I am currently taking a month long at-home retreat. One of the things that we are addressing this week is our vision. How do we see things.  I had admitted that I had hoped that during this month I might be able to attain some of the vision that our retreat master has. However, I have come to realize that seeing is very much like listening. Years ago I had taken a course in listening and it is amazing how we listen, how we choose not to listen and what we easily overlook. Listening as it turns out involves much more than our ears. Facial expressions, bodily expressions and certain nuances with words often speaks volumes if we train ourselves to "listen".  What we "see" is not surprisingly very much like listening. We have a whole range of talents as well as hindrances that affect how and what we see (or don't see)

             This is not a new phenomena. Perhaps it is part of the human condition . Perhaps it is the result of that "original sin" when we try to choose our way instead of God's way. We fail to see so very much and sometimes, sometimes, we are quite arrogant over what we think we know or see. 

              Quite some time ago I railed (I am sure) about personal acts of piety that some religious think makes them holier than everyone else.  These acts become a basis for salvation when in fact any act of piety should be solemn and lead you to a deeper faith but certainly not faith by itself. When we assure ourselves of our salvation by what we know or can recite we are woefully mistaken. The days when answering the Baltimore Catechism with all the correct answers never did give you salvation. Just like obeying the ten commandments scrupulously is not he complete answer either. The righteous man who walked away dejected because he obeyed all the laws faithfully but yet was reluctant to give everything of his away as Jesus suggested is a good example too. Today we have televangelists and would be saviors who feeling quoting the word of God, chapter and verse, is what will give them and you salvation. It just ain't so.

        Roughly 600-700 years before Jesus became incarnate, Isaiah spoke of intent and conscience long before Jesus found the need to come and say the same thing. It is not the laws that save you; it is not the fasting that saves you; it is not the circumcision or the un-circumcision that saves you.

        It is simply how you live and love. Do not obscure your vision with the plank of righteousness, ignorance or man made laws. Read Isaiah and see what is written.  Let us pray for clear vision.

Shout out, do not hold back!

   Lift up your voice like a trumpet!

Announce to my people their rebellion,

   to the house of Jacob their sins. 

Yet day after day they seek me

   and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practised righteousness

   and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgements,

   they delight to draw near to God. 

‘Why do we fast, but you do not see?

   Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,

   and oppress all your workers. 

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

   and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today

   will not make your voice heard on high. 

Is such the fast that I choose,

   a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,

   and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,

   a day acceptable to the Lord? 

Is not this the fast that I choose:

   to loose the bonds of injustice,

   to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

   and to break every yoke? 

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

   and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,

   and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

   and your healing shall spring up quickly;

your vindicator shall go before you,

   the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. 

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

   you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. 

If you remove the yoke from among you,

   the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 

if you offer your food to the hungry

   and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,

then your light shall rise in the darkness

   and your gloom be like the noonday. 

The Lord will guide you continually,

   and satisfy your needs in parched places,

   and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

   like a spring of water,

   whose waters never fail. 

Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

   you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

   the restorer of streets to live in.

Desires of the flesh

Galatians 5:16-24

          When we hear of the desires of the flesh we often think about sex. Never too far from being a good subject of thought but that is not what I had in mind here. The flesh itself, those things that are of this world are often at the forefront of our minds and our motivations.

           Today the church recalls the 'martyrs of Japan'.  At any point in time after Jesus died and rose and people began proclaiming the good news, they came across different cultures and different ways of thought. Rather than engage in listening, learning and understanding, people have often acted out of misunderstanding, suspicion and perhaps even jealousy. 

            Rather than speak of sex, we want to control and contain our own lives. Perhaps it is what we consider to be our own comfortable way of life or simply what we understand. Rather than going out of ourselves to learn and listen we have conflict, misunderstanding and even hatred. Think of the times that Christianity was brought to a new area of the globe. What happened to Christianity in Spain, in the Americas, in Japan and even with the introduction of a new and strange religion of Mohammad? So often history has shown us that the introduction resulted in fighting, killing, inquisitions and torture (on both sides).  Not our finest hours as humans. 

       Truth be told we like things the way they are, we often hearken back to "the good old days". The desires of the flesh are so much more than just sex. They are an attachment to this life or a way of life and let the world be damned if we have to try and listen or understand the 'others', whomever they are.

        I think the desires of sexual activity is a God given joy to be embraced and revelled in. It is not the evil this passage speaks of in my mind. Sex has altogether gotten too bad a rap. The evils of the flesh come down to narrow mindedness, selfishness, worldliness and lack of love and understanding.

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Gay marriage, faith and anarchy

Galatians 5:1-15

          Whether we like it or not, the United States was founded on the basis of religious freedom and in particular, the concept and practice of separation of church and state. Far from what some far right religious wingnut may lead you to believe, this is not a Christian country. It certainly is  not a theocracy such as Iran. We believe in freedom of all kinds and religious freedom is paramount, it is why the Pilgrims came to this side of the pond in the first place.

           But freedom does not mean freedom from laws and we are bound to a vast array of laws from religious, to legal to the natural. In today's passage it speaks of laws and salvation and judgement. The colloquial term for circumcision is "cut". Are you cut or uncut?  I suppose our understanding today is based on health. Circumcision is done as a matter of good hygiene and has less to do with religious laws unless of course you are Jewish. But is being cut necessary for salvation? This is just another law (of the religious variety) that we are told in today's passage does not affect our salvation. In fact, if you go by that law, your salvation may very well be linked to the entirety of Jewish law. Paul is saying you are not justified by adherence to the law of circumcision.

           Jesus would also add that he is the fulfillment of the law. You will find him breaking all sorts of laws, 'working' on the Sabbath, touching the unclean, his apostles plucking wheat on the Sabbath, performing miraculous healings on Holy days. Jesus' own examples show his feeling for the law.

            Are we better people, saved and holy by adhering to laws? Abortion is legal in the United States, should we adhere to that law? Will you be saved? What laws are important and which one's can be dismissed? On any given day there is an enormous display of civil disobedience that I witness as countless vehicles fly by on the expressway well beyond the legal speed limit. Are they going to hell? Does Jesus look the other way or does God not love those 'sinners'?

             This all sounds crazy. Where will it end? Is this a black whole of moralizing that allows faith in Jesus to put aside all laws?  Well, we are not immune from the laws of gravity. We can't ignore all laws. We can't simply fly off like Superman. Which to obey, which to dismiss? Some time before my husband and I were legally wed, we read eachother vows of commitment in front of two witnesses. It was totally illegal yet it had real force, it was Sacramental. We invoked God and asked for His blessing. We broke the law!!! 

            Here's the deal: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. Jesus gave us two great commandments so we are not without guidance. Moses received the Ten commandments and the two temper those ten. Finally, when God created each one of us he gave us brains. I know, you'll argue that point but we were in fact given brains and we are to use them. Our brains are a vital part of our God given makeup. This is why conscience plays such a vital role in our life. Something may be legal but be wrong. Something may be illegal and be right. Let The love of Jesus be our guide. Let love be the lens of our actions. This is not anarchy, it's faith.

               

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offence of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!

Knock'n off a little dust

Mark 6:7-13

         I think we are all aware of oil and water - they don't mix. In that same way, we know that there are people that meet each other and have an immediate dislike for each other. I'm not sure of it's a shortcoming or chemistry but I know it occurs. Perhaps it's the polar opposite of love at first sight.

         And so I began to think about this directive to 'shake off the dust'. I think we all have had the experience of meeting someone who simply does not like us, simply cannot understand us or perhaps knows us and does not believe or agree with anything we might say. It happens. 

          How do we react to such people? What do we do in such a situation.  It's very likely that the more you might try to persuade the person to your way of thinking or the harder you try to convince them that you really are a swell person, the more likely it is they would not be so inclined. This might be a case of shaking the dust off.

           What I truly wonder is whether or not the 'sahking off of the dirt' is really so much of a testimony against them as much as it is a respect for wherever they are on their journey. Short of a disagreeable person trying to kill you, I think that everyone is entitled to the respect for their journey as we'd like for our own. 

           I recall many years ago my teenage daughter going on a retreat and coming home filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom and knowledge that was a bit unnatural for her age. She still holds this same wisdom and knowledge. Sadly, our very large extended family was far from agreeable and accepting of her. Perhaps it's that old adage of a 'prophet not being welcome in their own town'.  It has taken decades for some of those relatives to attain what my lovely daughter discovered on that retreat. Some of those relatives may never attain a tenth of what she knows - and lives. That's not a dig though, it's not testimony against them.  They are simply on a different journey. If any fault could be judged - and I am not a position to do so - it might be the lack of respect those relatives meted out.

           I like to think of 'knocking off a little dust as  sign of respect for someone else's journey. Let us witness to people by our lives and our actions and if it is not received, let them alone to respect where they are and to discover their path in their own time. 

He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Slave or free?

John 8:31-36

          When I was a teenager my community changed from a suburban, predominantly white neighborhood to a predominantly black neighborhood. Before my family moved it would change again to a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. Through all these changes I became a minority. My neighbors were all middle class blacks (or Hispanic) and the neighborhood really did not change. Well, the people 'moving in' had a tendency to make the neighborhood better since they apparently had worked quite hard to afford their houses. There was pride of ownership and the neighbors were always nice. Still I was a minority and I felt some pride in the fact that I was not prejudiced about anyone. If someone was a scoundrel, they earned it on their own merits not based on their nationality or the color of their skin.  Fast forward a few decades and I was working with quite a variety of medical residents. Still prideful of me being 'not predjudiced', I had to approach a resident with an Asian background over a clerical issue that I was in charge of. I asked the resident who came to my office to fix it. His response was that it was not his issue but that of another Asian resident and he asked if I thought that they all looked alike. I was mortified. I was prejudiced in a way, even if  it wasn't malicious. Damn.  Sometimes you are slave to things when you would swear that you are free of.

           One thing that I have learned from that incident and from decades of working with such a diverse medical staff as well as my own life experiences and religious training is that we are constantly called to learn and grow.

           It seems almost funny the things that we can become slaves to. It surely isn't simply owning someone although thank God that is recognized and almost completely accepted as a universal human wrong.  We can be slaves to our own ideas and we also can be slaves to 'things'. I would be the first to recognize how we Americans are held captive by materialism. 

           How about keeping the gay community slaves to ancient and antiquated ideas or mistranslations of Scripture? Isn't it ignorance to assume all gays are the same? Isn't it a form of slavery to ones ideals to assume people cannot lead committed loving lives? 

            No matter what your definition of slavery is, no matter what form it takes, Jesus walked the earth to set you free. The command to love, those two great commandments will set you free.  You may not realize the depth of those commandments but your life should be set to grow and learn with each breath and each day how we are to love. We must never become complacent about being a slave and to what extent we need to grow in His love to set us free.

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’

Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

In praise and thanks of Abba

Romans 8:14-21

           The Spirit of God and love is pure gift. I was not raised in a so called traditional home. I was raised in what some might call the beginning of the end of marriage and families as we (thought) we knew it. My Dad moved out when I was 5 years old. My parents were divorced in a time when it was considered by many to be the largest of social taboos. My mother was ostracized from her faith by the 'good' Catholic women who thought she was akin to Mary Magdalene (who was also wrongly accused and was misrepresented by the church as a prostitute.). So my mother, while not a prostitute, lived with the judgements of her church and those of the 'Alter Society' and others that made her feel like a second class citizen. I was no mere child myself. I was "the product of a broken home". That statement clouded my faith for far too long. Even with all that divorce and judgement I was and still am quite a blessed boy, now man.

           Where did I get the idea, the gut knowledge that God was my father, by 'Abba'? Abba means more than father, it would be more akin to 'Daddy'. An intimate and loving word, Abba is how I felt and I knew I was loved - always. This cannot be learned. This is pure gift.

           Can this foundational knowledge that I have, that we share, be taught? Was the Spirit that I exuded my entire life something that I learned in our broken home? God laid forth his love and His gift to me from the earliest moments of my conception in His mind. This is true for all of us if we can get in touch with this knowledge. If we are not too busy and not too distracted. If we stop, we can see we are born to be free, to love, to soar.

           As a witness to my life in the presence of God's love, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. This passage speaks volumes to me. How does it speak to you? Are you free? Are you know you are loved? Can you praise in spite of life's turmoil? Can we judge life by a different yardstick? By God presence and love?

           Today I will be embarking on a month long (at home) retreat. I hope to stop myself from twirling in the world to see what is around me, what is going on and how God is revealing himself / herself to me in the visions I see daily but that I may be too busy to notice. This is part Lenten retreat for me, part gift and praise.

            Perhaps we are getting nearer to the time when we really should step back and look into our own lives and life to recognize how gifted we are and how loved we are.  Seek out time aside from the world. Seek time to be present to yourself, to God and to His love. Welcome to a new month. Always a new opportunity to love and praise.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.