Tastes salty

Mark 9:42-50

          My husband says that some of my best reflections are ones in which I bring in real life stories. When I make it personal and 'real' I succeed in bringing my message across. Every writer, every preacher succeeds only to the extent that they can transport the reader or listener into the scene they are creating.  Imagery is often employed but most often you have to use material the people are already  familiar with. Jesus used parables using references the people of the day could understand, fishing, bread, dirt, disease, death.

           One of the images in today's passage is salt. Salt was probably one of the first preservatives and a flavour enhancer.  To this day, while we have an array of preservatives used in our foods, it is salt that is added as a final touch. "Salt to taste", the last step in any recipe. Salt is the essence of who we are, a stabilizer of life. The beginnings of life as we know it here on earth started in a 'normal saline' (salty) stew of sorts.  So salt is an intimate part of our lives and if you don't have salt, things are bland at best, worthless, tasteless and without any pizazz.

             Our lives and faith are like that too. What is the salt of our life? What makes us tick? What makes each one of us in our own unique way, salty, maybe even peppery so to speak? It is our life goal to find our own salt. The challenge I have placed before us in Lent as believers in Jesus Christ is to find how we relate to everyone and find ourselves fulfilled (saltiness) as humans. The challenge is not so much in how we express our faith, I presume we are faithful people. The challenge is to find out how we are salty by ourselves, in how God created us in our own unique and special way as a human. Everyone is different. Our faith hopefully encourages us to find our answers and helps give ritual thanks for the gifts we know we have and have been graced with. Religion, our faith, should always cooperate with our own personal journey while enriching everyone as a community.  We say thank you and we enrich everyone by our presence, our own saltiness.

               If we don't find our own unique brand of saltiness and offer that freely to the community to which we belong, life will just be a bland and tasteless journey. We need to seriously season our lives with the saltiness that is each and every one of us. 

           

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.^, And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’

Material girl

John 7:37-46

           We all know that Jesus would sometimes go off to pray alone. I think the 40 days in the dessert was an extreme example. Jesus' life is a guide for us and I always encourage people to set aside some legitimate quiet time for themselves. We need time to reflect, time for self assessment and time to speak with our creator or to simply listen. All of this is not very worldly, not really about material things.

           But we all like our night out on the town, the good meal, time with friends, good love and yes, perhaps even some good sex. Is this going against Jesus' message? I don't think so. Jesus was fully human like us and as such lived in a material world. Jesus experienced all we experience and while he did set time aside to pray for sure, he also enjoyed life for sure. Jesus also drew most of his parables from his lived life and observations. In fact, Jesus quite often railed against the very strictures religion put on material things. Jesus seems very judgemental of what religion said about some pointed material things.

        Let's look at Jesus' firs reported miracle, the water into wine, and fine wine it was if scripture holds true. How much more earthy and material can one be than to indulge in 'spirits' at a wedding? This is no Bible Belt temperance leader. Jesus made wine  and I assume for drinking.  Very worldly, very material ( the "best wine" ).

        When you look at the people Jesus associated with, the hemorrhaging woman, the leper, the marginalized, the lame, the sick, the poor, the sinners, all looked down on by the religious of the day but Jesus dove right in. At the risk of being labelled a sinful person himself he delved into the most very human of situations, sick and sinners all. Not very ascetic but perhaps prayerful in a different way.

        When I think of Jesus and his humanity, I cannot help but think about the people he loved as well. We have the disciples of course but also people he was friends with, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Did not Jesus weep when he was told Lazaraus was dead? Is this a detached response or a deeply personal human and earthly response. Perhaps even more so, what of "the disciple whom Jesus loved"? This speaks of a deep emotional attachment if not more. Was not the "beloved disciple" laying his head on Jesus' chest at the last supper?  This does not preclude Jesus' spirituality and his need for 'time away' but it speaks of his humanity, his foundation in his real and true humanity. Jesus did not speak from the theoretical. Jesus was both spiritual, the holiest of course, but also very material, very human.

        So many religions and churches, even today, speak against the material, against sex, against living a passionate life. Passionate living was all about Jesus and Jesus quite often took to task those that tried to vilify human action, human love and human thoughts. No more. They say that money is the rot of all eveil but that is not true. The love of money is the root of all evil. I think Jesus would be one of the first to enjoy money, enjoy eating, drinking, maybe even loving a person in a most intimate of ways, whether that involves sex or not. Who knows. 

        As much as we are called to completeness in our creator, we are here to live a fully human lives as God created us with the material things we have been graced with.  So long as we respect everything and everyone, so long as we are free to love and be loved and as long as we do not let anything own us, we are doing quite well I think. I think Jesus would approve and it is His life that we should emulate.

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’^* But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’

Zen-like, gay-like Jesus

Luke 8:40-56

          There is one line in this passage that seems to jump out at me this morning. When Jesus is in a bustling crowd with people pressing in all around, the haemorrhaging woman reaches out and touches him. Jesus senses this right away. Jesus asks 'who touched me?'  Everyone else seems incredulous at this question but Jesus persists.

         I am in awe of people who are so present and so centered that this kind of awareness is almost second nature. I read a book quite some time ago that I have spoken of before called The Gospel According to Biff. If young (man) Jesus did not travel to the east and experience Zen and some of the other Eastern religions he certainly displays the aura and actions of eastern wisdom.

        In some ways I think gay men have been blessed with such wisdom. As it has been a general rule (although the pendulum is gracefully and thankfully swinging) that gay people have not been accustomed to raising children. The gay spirit, hearts and attentiveness have been able to focus on other things. It some cases that has been totally worldly things but history has shown that gay men and women have been able to focus more on perfection of self, attention to the spiritual realm and the etherial. We have often found the gay community at the heart of art and expression; major contributors to vision, invention and exploring our human depth.

          As I have suggested, I certainly see Lent as a time to try to become more fully human and to become more self aware.  In some ways that would be to practice and be more Zen like. In a similar fashion it would be to be more gay. The gifts of being a gay man or woman is a gift not only to ourselves but to the rest of the world both gay and straight. Many things could be learned by the straight community if they would just enjoy life and self as much as gay people do. 

         I would call upon all people during Lent to be more gay if you are gay and to explore the joys of 'gayness' if you are straight. I cannot say if Jesus was gay or straight but there are indications that he was so gifted. Instead of people going around gay bashing or condemning a 'lifestyle', perhaps it is time to elevate and celebrate ourseleves and most assuredly being gay.

Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying.

As he went, the crowds pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her haemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’ When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’

While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.’When Jesus heard this, he replied, ‘Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved.’ When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, ‘Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and called out, ‘Child, get up!’ Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened. 

Sooner rather than later

John 16:16-24

           One of the quirky things about the religion of my youth , and perhaps several more, is the concept that one can pray to loved ones who have passed and Saints that lived long ago.  To some, speaking to the dead might seem odd at the get go but as with many concepts, (Roman) Catholicism has a rationalization or logical reasoning why it's correct. In this particular case, I bought the goods. Basically, since God is timeless and since all our deceased 'live'' in God's presence we are free to speak to anyone we choose. Furthermore, since they are timeless (that includes our past and our future), these dead people can be spoken to and in some manner perhaps even affect change in our lives. That is, intercede in some way. Who knows.

              So what's with all this dead, past, future, timeless God stuff, what does that mean to us? I cannot say for everyone but there are a whole lot of people out there who want what they want and they want it right away. Madison Avenue does a fine job of inducing want and then convinces us "why shouldn't you have it right now?"  You deserve it! Waiting is not an art or a virtue for Madison Avenue.

              They say Saint Monica waited,  what 17 years?, for the conversion of her son Augustin. Can you imagine waiting 17 years for something? I knew that there was something missing in my life, something unfulfilled or wrong with my life. I  could not identify it until I was 50 or so when I realized I am gay. Wow. Can you imagine waiting for 50 years for such an epiphany? I now feel whole and happy. I have been immensely blessed. How long are we willing to wait for the 'perfect man' or for whatever else it is we seek?

          When Jesus tells his disciples his cryptic words about "a little while", what are they to think? Our reference to time is certainly not God's reference to time. Could that have some clue as to what Jesus was saying? When asked about the end of the world, Jesus said even he did not know that, it was only for the Father to know. We could wind up waiting our whole life for one thing or another. After all, patience is in fact a virtue. We need to exercise some patience or learn to be patient. No matter what we may deserve it is not necessarily for us to serve (ourselves) in spite of what Madison Avenue may have to say.

          If we somehow manage to muster the patience of Monica, it is important to know that in all that waiting and in the 50 years I waited we shouldn't just be sitting on the bench as if we are waiting for a train to arrive. We are called to live and love at every moment in our lives. We may  find that in the loving we do we may find the answer to our prayers sooner rather than later.

‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.’ Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean by saying to us, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”; and “Because I am going to the Father”?’ They said, ‘What does he mean by this “a little while”? We do not know what he is talking about.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, ‘Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me”? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Distractions

Luke 9:2-6

          Several years ago I had to go to an auto parts store for something     

and when I got there I realized I didn't have my cell phone. I nearly panicked. This was long before Facebook, texting or any other social media mania. This was strictly a phone. Even so, I apparently got extremely attached to it and wondered what I would do if something happened. The reaction was so strong I still remember it today.

            Five years ago my husband and I went to France on our honeymoon. We spent a few days exploring the countryside. Having visited Chartre, we were headed to a small Inn outside of Tours when my phone died. My GPS enabled phone was our guide and the recharger apparently broke in the luggage somewhere over the Atlantic.  I'll admit that panic tried to intervene but happiness and clearer heads prevailed. We knew our general direction and we set out with roundabout signs as our guide. We wold drive in circles at those roundabouts until we determined the correct direction and then proceed to the next roundabout, again circling until we decided which way to go. In the end the 3 hour drive took 5 but we had a grand old time. It was an adventure and it reminded me of my youth when we thought nothing of taking off on a road trip with virtually no planning - with no cell phones at all!

              A few days ago I had the extreme pleasure to snorkel and swim with some manatees in Florida. It is clearly a big business shuttling tourists to the area or renting kayaks so you can shuttle yourself to the area where the manatees frequent. My husband and I watched as one Mom paddled feverishly as her daughters (teenagers) sat oblivious to their surroundings attached to their i-phones. What does our future look like? I am scared. 

              I mention all this because this short passage today speaks of taking nothing on their journey, no bag, o bread and no money. Today I wonder if "no cell phone" would be added to that list. I'm honestly not sure what the answer to that question would be. All of this speaks to our society and our attachments.  I am certain we can see that God is often displaced by worship of the 'things' we simply must have, things that we never seem to put down,things that have our attention perhaps even at the expense of face to face human interraction. It is a bit sad.

              On our Lenten journey I have called myself and others to be more human, to get in touch with who they are and be the best of who they are. Part of that call is to set have the time set aside and to be free of attachments that can distract us.  

               My trip to rural France was an adventure par excellence with just my husband and I depending on each other and the goodness of the local residents. It was a pure adventure and a heck of a lot of fun. We got  to see each other and explore each other  and the people without distraction. People are always the most important thing and getting to know yourself ( without distractions ) is key.

and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

Xanax in the water

John 4:27-42

       There is such a richness to the messages I get from the Gospel of John in-spite of some of the passages that seem to eternally elude me and in-spite of the fact that we really did have a course on John's Gospel in the seminary. John's Gospel, and this passage, remind me that what the world needs is a collective dose of Xanax.

        In today's passage we find Jesus talking to a woman, and worse than that, a Samaritan woman. The disciples come along and the scripture points out that no one questioned Jesus about this. I mean, what man, what Holy Man or what Rabbi would talk to, converse or give the time of day to a freeking Samaritan woman? But as if it's the elephant in the room, no one says anything. Do you think Jesus was accomplishing two important tasks here? One of course is to convey (to the woman) that God's love and message is open to all. Second, Jesus is letting the disciples know that no one is untouchable, no one is anathema and everyone is welcome at God's table, even the ones we view as vile or loathsome or 'less than worthy'. This is an incredible message for them but just as much so for us today.

          Today the world seems at war with itself. Everyone has 'thee' message and everyone else is wrong, un-enlightened and unworthy, if not a downright infidel. Religious zealots abound in every religion and political zealots abound as well. We are a world of taliban-esque people and what we all could use is probably a worldwide dose of Xanax or reefer.

          We get so hung up on the minutiae of our religious denominations or political stances or nationalism that we forget we are all brothers and sisters. And yes, some of the biggest disfunction are in families but we are in fact one family. We are all children of God even if we have different 'recollections' of him, or her. What we are seeing in essence are different facets of a diamond if you will. Is any view more valid than the other? We truly need to appreciate diversity and sometimes I really think Xanax in the water would be welcome.

           

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah,can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’

Moving forward

Mark 3:31-4:9

                When I was in my late teens there was a chap I hung out with quite a bit. We were involved in church together, travelled together and had similar friends. Sometimes it almost seemed like a soap opera but that would be another blog or perhaps a book! One of the things we seemed to have a penchant for was to discuss things, debate, converse, challenge each other. We covered a lot of topics. After a few years I grew weary of what began to appear to me to be repetitive arguments. I grew weary of the tension. I knew he was not challenging me and always retreated to a stereotypical religious argument for almost any subject we were discussing. It was tiresome and eventually we grew apart. Rather, I avoided him and then he and his wife and the relationship basically ended.

               Move ahead about 30 years and I came to the joyous discovery that the missing piece in my personality that made me whole is that I am gay. That's an over simplification of course but again, another blog or book. Suffice to say though that simply stating I am gay changed a great many relationships. There are those hat I thought would be as loving and supportive as they had always been that dropped me like a hot potato. To many it made no difference at all, I wa the same decent and loving person I had always been. Many others came out of the woodwork so to speak to embrace me and in some ways I have a 'new family' in addition to the wonderful siblings and my children that have been rocks to me. I cannot even begin to speak about how wonderful my husband is.

                  In today's passage it would be so easy to simply make a historical note that Jesus in fact had brothers and sisters. The point I would make is that Jesus seems to be dissociating himself from his family while broadening the definition of who his family is. To embrace his ministry and be true to who he is Jesus had to be willing to embrace new and varied people ( "family" ) and be willing to put aside the old if necessary. Tough challenges for anyone, even Jesus. We live and love and we are called to do so with power and zest and fullness. When we have to say good bye willingly or through tragedy or death, it hurts. The dissociation hurts, it's just human.

                     But one thing I have learned that is a powerful force in my life from everything both personal and material is that things never really end. The friendship I had with that chap at 17 still resides in my consciousness. The relationship has helped mold me and made me richer for the love and living. The same is true for my parents. While I miss them, the love we shared and that they imparted has not died. The memories are there intact, the love is still vibrant, almost palpable and they live on in me and what we shared.  Strangely enough the same is true about some material things. I once had a Jeep that I had a heck of a good time with, romping in mud troughs, climbing over boulders sharing fellowship with some great people. Every time I see a Jeep riding on mudders with the top off I smile and great memories come flooding back. I no longer have the Jeep but the joy and memories are still alive. 

                   Sometime we are called to 'move on'. We can lament the change or we can come to know that life makes us richer for everything and everyone we know or have known. Embracing and broadening our love, our relationships while maintaining those who brought us where we are and who we are is a joy to thank God for. We are called to always move forward to be the best that we can be, living in the now and (hopefully), joyfully remembering the past.

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters^* are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’ 

Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’