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.’

Unwrapped presents

Romans 15:7-13

          Perhaps it's a predominantly Roman Catholic or American thing to let the secular nature of Christmas overshadow the true meaning of Christmas so if you can't understand the next sentence or two, try to imagine the scene.  A child runs from their bedroom on waking Christmas morning to find a mind numbing array of presents that has appeared miraculously beneath the Christmas tree.  Without much delay, the family gathers and the child or children make no haste in laying into the presents almost ignoring who they are for and wrapping paper, bows and ribbons fly through the air. I'm not making this up.  Inevitably, a child opens a present that is so foreign and so unwanted that it seems to fall out of their hands as if it was a toppling ice cream cone except there is no regret. The item is summarily tossed aside. Either it holds no interest, is not what they asked for or what they wanted.  Aside from all the other problems with this scene, I'd say the present was not appreciated. Even if it was simply a scarf, they didn't care. The caring might be recognized on an intensely cold day, when only then is the lowly scarf appreciated. Then and only then it might actually rise from recognition to appreciation to love. 

            As the Christmas season comes to a close for most I started to think about some of the unwanted, unexpected or even unrecognized gifts I might have received.  I am not quite the religious zealot I once was and so the holidays were filled with a calmness, peace, love, family and a modicum of worship. We escaped the insanity so many experience. We had the best of the best and there was no ribbon throwing, no morning madness.  But still, did I recognize the magnitude of the presents I have received? Did I discard a thought or two that would help me realize how sweet and loving my life truly is?  I like to think I am pretty attentive to life but I also think some things may have escaped me. I am quite certain things escaped the people who did not escape the insanity. That is, buying things for people that don't need them; for people we don't like and with money we don't have. That's a description of the insanity a good parish priest once preached on. That's yet another good definition of the insanity.

          How present ( pun intended ) am I to the fact that Jesus is God and became man for me? Not only did God purpose build me, he allowed himself to be fully human for me ( us ) in a truly vulnerable and innocent way.  Every moment of our life, He would live through. Yesterday I wrote about sexuality but that is far from the totality of our existence.  We love, we feel pain, we suffer, we trip, we fall, we get up again, we learn, we share and so Jesus did as well. Jesus came to us as a baby to grow and live like we did. How great a gift to us? Can we appreciate it? Do we toss such a fact blithely aside like an unappreciated gift? 

            Whatever else we may have unwrapped on Christmas, let us not to forget the greatest present we have been given and let us keep that present in our pockets and in our hearts all year long.

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,

   and sing praises to your name’; 

and again he says,

‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’; 

and again,

‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

   and let all the peoples praise him’; 

and again Isaiah says,

‘The root of Jesse shall come,

   the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;

in him the Gentiles shall hope.’ 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Horny sexy Jesus?

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

        It's not that I am particularly horny and I certainly hope you'll not focus on that word, because you should not. It seems pretty normal and human for anyone, just not perhaps in a scriptural reflection. But maybe it is.  One of the many points of this passage dwells on the humanity of Christ. It seems  juxtaposed to Jesus' divinity. In fact Jesus was fully God and fully human. Human, yes fully human. Horny? I am sure at times. Blasphemous? No. Jesus was fully human. Think about that.

         Somewhere in this passage it speaks of Jesus in the flesh. Flesh might not be a comfortable expression for some either.  I am conjuring pictures of "flesh" and some prissy southern gal 'getting the vapors'.  Some of us may not be comfortable of the thought of our own flesh but nothing seems more natural. Jesus was natural. The body He himself had a hand in designing is what He embraced when He became human. No bad. All good.

          How often do we look at, embrace as holy and good our very own flesh and all that it means. We are sexual, physical beings and yes, God created us that way and God knows how that feels because Jesus embraced humanity to the full. Wow. Shocking perhaps but certainly more enlightening and more exciting I think.

          There are many books out there that embrace the sexuality of Jesus. It is a movement as certain as embracing the Bible for liberation theology, reclaiming the Bible to condemn slavery and a male dominated world. The movement to reclaim (Biblically) the sexuality and humanity of Jesus. How powerful and uplifting with possibility for us. Perhaps something to think about and say thank you for.

        Thank you God. Thank you Jesus.

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

He was in the beginning with God.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transgressors of the law

Luke 13:10-22

     Confession time. I went into the big city yesterday for the first time in  quite a while. I usually don't need much prompting. I love the city as much as I love the quaint life here on our little island - each has its own merits. The only problem that has arisen is how I react to some of the other drivers both in the city and on the extraordinarily long ride home.  It's almost as if I am transformed when I drive through the tunnel into the city. And then there is dealing with the crazies racing along the interstate at the speed of light who weave in and out of traffic as if they were weaving an intricate tapestry. My reaction to these crazies and the dynamic it sets up in our car can get tense. After our last trip I had some good introspection about how I can't change others, only how I react to them.  I am happy to report that the drive yesterday was uneventful and I stayed quite out of harms way. It was peaceful and pleasant. 

        One sure thing I noticed amidst the intense crowds of the city was that the people often seem like barriers to cars in the more congested areas. So when I had waited longer than perhaps most people might feel acceptable and faced with a "no turn" sign when I simply needed to turn and get to my desired location ( in easy sight line ), I made the turn without a flinch. I broke the law!

        I know, I could go on forever but to what point? PLEASE, get to the point! I was thinking this morning about Jesus breaking the 'law' about curing on the sabbath. I was thinking about Jesus not abolishing the law but fulfilling the law. So, what laws are we to adhere to? Are we free to disobey laws? Are the crazies on the road the ones who are correct, perhaps faithful people who feel exempt from the law? Have I been the vile one, the transgressor for reacting and thinking they are lawless savages? Have I been the transgressor all along?

         It is quite impossible to know the hearts and minds of people passing you at the speed of light on an expressway. It is equally impossible to tell the hearts and mind of someone shuffling along the sidewalk in the city next to you or even a person passing you in the hall at work. 

      So after last night's delightful ( if not long ) ride home I have come full circle and today's passage seems to re-enforce that with me. We cannot change how other people act, we can only change how we react to them. This is true for driving of course but also for how many other of life's situations? Can we know what is in someone elses' hearts or minds when they transgress the law or act in any way n which we disagree? Is it my job or yours to intercede and condemn anyone? As I realized before and realized yet again, I cannot change them, I can only change how I react. The only rule or 'law' that is always and most assuredly there for us to obey is..... LOVE. 

        

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. 

He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’

And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.

Vision check

Luke 9:46-50

          I work in a facility that might seem to thrive on the alphabet soup that appears after a persons name or title. The more letters, the more respect I suppose is due you.  You are judged perhaps more intelligent or have more responsibilities.  I know when I needed major surgery recently, one of the things I looked for was someone who was experienced and well educated. The translation might be this: a person with the most alphabet soup after their name. Still, an equally valuable skill is one who has a good bedside manner, is down to earth and can speak volumes in terms I can understand. 

There was someone I used to know quite well who practiced in the cancer field. She was brilliant at what she did and yet, had asked me at one time what day Thanksgiving was on.  Just to be clear, it was not the date, it was which day of the week it fell on. Brilliant at one thing and clueless on a practical matter that almost everyone else seems to grasp.

            The ways in which we judge each other runs  the gamut from the alphabet soup, the clothing one wears, the schools attended, the cars we drive or perhaps simply who we associate with or the neighborhood we live in or come from. How about what one does for a living or what religion one practices? Or that they don't believe at all.

          I would suggest that whatever we use as a basis for judgement, right or wrongly in your mind, take the absolute least person you could imagine and know that God views them as first. Quite an epiphany , eh?

          What we use as judgements is clearly not what God uses as a judgement.  In no matter what realm of life, Gods' view is not even close to what our view is. 

          The answer is not to convince God to see as we do. I am sure our 'vision' is not even close to the all encompassing and understanding view that God has. Among other things, our job in life is to try and align our vision with that of Gd, not the other way around. No matter how we justify our petty and misguided beliefs, ours is the poorer view.

          I am eagerly yet cautiously optimistic when I see Pope Francis trying to herd his faithful, both elite and 'ordinary' , into what is truly important and what beliefs and systems are essentially sinful. Our vision is not be aligned with a dogma per se or rubrics that are man made. Our vision and our completeness is to be found in trying to emulate the Christ and God, our loving and all embracing creator. 

      

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

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