If you have to justify your acts, then you are likely wrong.

       As humans we seem to be able to justify almost any action. Perhaps worst of all, we are able to do the mental gymnastics to contort Scripture and say it is God's will or say that it is actually God doing the justifying. 'I don't want to do this but God says so, it's right here in Vincent 1:23-45'.  How many wars have been justified, the Crusades, burnings, hate and errant thought.

       Many years ago, on a much smaller scale, there was a new car I wanted. Not a car, a van. It was the van of vans. Plush seats, buckets for everyone, all wheel drive, every convenience for it's time. I wanted it.  If I did half the exercise today than the mental exercises I went through to justify purchasing that van, I'd be a much skinnier man.  So, I bought the van of course, paid for with a loan the size of Kilimanjaro for my time. The payments were astronomical for my salary and responsibilities. It was the height of living beyond one's means, a real testament to living to the secular worlds standards.  I was the envy of many. Gas crunches and high payments translated to one huge net effect - I could sometimes not afford o drive the darn thing. The idea that I would use it to drive my bed ridden mother to my home from her nursing home vanished like a wisp. She was so ensconced in her digs she was traumatized when she was moved from her now cozy, comfortable and stable environment.  I quite rarely got to use this beautiful van in any way associated with what I had envisioned or how I justified it's purchase.

          Long story I suppose to note how we justify things in life. The passage from Matthew highlights this message for me and us this morning. The actions of so many evangelicals and Christians that support hate, tyranny and amoral behaviours is astounding. I am certainly not a saint by any means. It is almost entertaining though how whole groups of alleged holy people, religious leaders find justification. I have no way of knowing how one can support what is being done to the least of our brothers and sisters, the children at our borders.  I have no idea what passage it is that allows a philanderer, adulterer and serial liar to be justified by these evangelicals. 

        The message for us in how to act and live by Jesus was not based on the New Testament. It had not been written yet. The early church in it's exponential growth was not based on preaching of the Gospels - it was preaching of the Good News. Faith derived from the life and actions of Christ. It was the message of "The Way" that converted, not quotations and justifications. The Apostles spoke of how Jesus lived, they conveyed the stories of who Jesus spoke to, dined, with, welcomed and forgave. It was the actual life of Jesus and his willingness to die for his lived message that converted people.  It was NOT cute snippets of quoted scripture that justified a human agenda.

       Let it be said correctly, if you need to justify your actions, you are most probably wrong, on the wrong rack and far from what Jesus preached. We can justify anything and it is much worse and damming when we use the inspired words of God to promote an agenda or a set of myopic beliefs.  Just don't do it.

       For clear thought and love without justifications for evil acts, we pray

Matthew 21:23-32

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

The mission is simple, should you decide to accept it.

      I recall when my children were very young and I was busy, busy, busy with all the attendant details of raising them, I had lamented that I no longer had time to do some of the volunteer work that I used to be able to do. I know that I thought about this for quite a while. I also know that I came to the conclusion that raising my kids was a mission and a calling. Raising my kids was a way of changing the world from my little inner circle outwards.  That is one of the facets of Baptism. It is probably what HRC spoke of when she wrote, It Takes A Village.  No grand gestures but we all play a part in changing the world for the better, each in our own small supporting ways. Mine was to raise my kids into faithful servants knowing they are fully loved and graced with special gifts that only they have, given to them by the Creator.

        The trick in all that is not to get swamped in trying to accomplish too much by yourself. Unless that is a specific gift you happen to be graced with, slow down a bit, do what you are being called to do.  Doing too much is a form of arrogance and someone is bound to suffer. Your mission is bound to suffer.

        When I was in the process of Ordination, my then spouse was asked to sign a document that lay out that I was going to be doing enormous works that would possibly        ( and most assuredly did ) take me away from the duties at home and that they were a willing participant in this endeavor. Call it spousal approval for what some have called the Church as the 'other woman' if you will. 

         After I was released from my vows, both clerical and spousal, I met a wonderful man that I came to fall in love with.  At the same time I moved to the Episcopal church as I was probably one all my life anyway. ( I think most Roman Catholics are ). My beliefs and notions more closely aligned with them and dare I say, the teachings and life of Christ.  That only brought up the possibility of me returning to a clerical state by becoming an Episcopal Deacon.  I realized though, as I had with my own children, that my mission, goal, calling and life was to be one of a married man. That means to me, living the life of Christ as a companion and lover solely of my other, my husband. I am active in the church for sure, but I am cognizant that my primary ministry is to love my spouse and be a witness to God's love in so doing.

       This all came flooding back to me as I read today's passage. The fledgling and growing church of the Acts of the Apostles spelled out virtually the same thing I have come to know. The Apostles noted that they should 'not neglect the word of God by waiting on tables'.  And so individuals called to another service was created, the diaconate or diaconia. The Apostles realized that if they did too much or tried to carry out too much by themselves someone would suffer. There is great wisdom in that now just as it was realized back then.

       Sometimes I am amazed at how much I used to do as a Roman Deacon. I ran around for countess hours doing a million things and I know that everyone suffered for my busyness, not the least of which was my family. I have had the time to reflect and know that we often are not called to grand designs, plans and service. Perhaps in our arrogance we think we are being called to such. We are actually called to be the best person we are in the realm we are in. Parent, spouse, uncle, whomever. Be the best we can be, know we are witnesses to God's love in the world. If we all do that, the world would be a much better place. Christians might actually resemble Christ.  Religions might point us towards holiness and wholeness not simply honored and praised abiders of rules and rubrics.

         For our simple missions in life that graces and exalts God and the love bestowed on us, we pray.

Acts 6:1-15

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables.Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’ What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and others of those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated some men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’ They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazarethwill destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.’ And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Dissipation and Drunkeness

        The early Christian church was certain that the end times were within their own lifespan. They fully expected Jesus' return before this 'generation passes away'. That clearly has not been the case. Over 2000 years have passed since His death and resurrection. What is a person to think?

         But there is one thing of which we can be certain, death. Add in taxes if you like. I am more concerned with the fact that we will all die. No one will escape that fate or that moment of transformation, promise and elevation to our heavenly inheritance. The question is always - when? If you read today's passage with the lens of our own mortality, it makes a great deal of sense. If we take this passage to heart it is a reminder of how to live our lives and to not get caught in the trap of complacency. We should not 'forget' God and fall into dissipation and drunkenness. 

       This is not a new message either. Some people will rant and rave about the gays and what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. That is the sin of which we dare not speak.  It is a horribly warped mistranslation of scripture to suit their own warped views of sexuality. Early Rabbinical scholars had it right long before the Roman church co opted and bastardized the intended meaning of the passage of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those early Rabbinical scholars knew that the sin was one of selfishness, power, greed and a lack of hospitality.  If anyone really wants to refute those scholars, you point them to Ezekiel 16:48–50 where the sin is outlined clearly.

          The first reminder for humanity not to be selfish, to welcome 'the stranger' and be good hosts to foreigners, is right there in scripture numerous times and again today in Luke's passage.

         We are reminded that we should all act like today may be our last. We should all act as if Jesus will return today, or at least we may be going to meet him! Do not become complacent in your love, your generosity or your hospitality. Do not fall into dissipation and drunkenness and allow worldly things to replace God in your heart.

          For right focus, love, hospitality and generosity we pray this day.

Luke 21:29-36

Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’

Socialism and sacramental living

      I was so utterly dumbfounded one day in seminary. Our class was presently in a canon law course. This course covers miles and miles of subjects involving Sacraments to vocations and vacations, celibacy and sins. I still recall the emphasis placed on not doing anything that would invite scandal. It seemed that scandal was worse than any sin. That would be a whole other blog entry. One of the things that our Canon Lawyer Priest lecturer noted was that we should not be involved in any unions, as in trade unions, labor unions etc.  I am absolutely sure he saw the contortions in my facial expressions as if my brain was about to burst into a cloud of confetti and dust. This following the segment on scandal just about had me walking out of the room. I belonged to a union myself, the nations largest union of college educators, I was heavily involved and it is my Christian values and beliefs that drove my involvement. Now I was being told not to be involved. I still scratch my head at that one.

          I have a old friend from my childhood and we have reconnected on Facebook. She has recently taken to posts that make digs and lament socialism. While I have no desire to go to some template of socialism that is in any way reminiscent of the days of Hitler and Mussolini, I know that we already have in existence many facets of socialism in this great country. I also know that we are not obliged to use any one as a template if we wish to expand on the concept of socialism here in the United States of America. We have the intelligence and great minds to create a truly great socialist democracy. I wish we could find a way for us to  rehabilitate that word 'socialism' and move forward to a society that respects all citizens and helps all citizens be the best that they can be. Free from the tyranny of worry about medicals bills or housing concerns so that they can be productive and contributing to society in more substantive ways.  Am I a socialist? or a communist?  These beliefs are driven not only from my Christian belief that we are all brothers and sisters, all children of God but it also comes right out of today's passage from Scripture.

             I thoroughly believe that the more you are given, the more responsibility to help you are also given. If we truly see everyone as children of God, our brothers and sisters, it also seems we should want to help everyone. The playing field of life's necessities should be a major thrust of our faith in action. Today's passage from the Acts of the Apostles only seems to confirm that notion.

           For level playing fields, activism and yes, even socialism, I pray this day.

Acts 4:32-5:11

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.‘Ananias,’ Peter asked, ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!’ Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

More reasons to love

       I know that we all have an innate desire to understand things. It is part of our makeup and it is the reason we have advanced in understanding and in the sciences. But there is false reasoning out there too that is so counter to the intelligence that God has given us as to be more akin to voodoo than God's gift of intelligence. The span of such fake reasoning and pseudo intelligence is quite wide.

      In today's passage there is the argument that culminates with the question, David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?’ It's as if they want to understand but they cannot grasp it by using their own limited understanding and intelligence. They cannot seem to get it, they cannot see past their own limited logic.

      It is incredibly sad today to see those faux faithful elite that come out with statements like 'as long as gay rights are pursued, more hurricanes will hit the east coast'. I've read such tripe. It has to be some of the stupidest things I have ever heard. That and such things as tornado's are God's punishment against America for this or that contrived sin.

        I can't just look at just these faux faithful preachers and televangelists either.  Perhaps the bigger sins are whole religions that rely on their spurious reasoning, logic and 'tradition' in their promulgation of rules, rubrics and policies that effect millions of people, God's children.

        For example, I myself do not understand why ( if God even intervenes in such a micro manager way ) some people are born with ambiguous genitals. I don't fully comprehend why it took me almost 50 years to realize I am Gay. I also don't understand why we have massive hurricanes and floods. I would be more likely to attach the actions of humankind and what I call 'social sin' as the root cause of natural disasters. To me it would be man's abuse of nature as a root cause. I am quite sure we may even one day be able to define the science behind it all. Perhaps we already have in the scientific hints of global warming theory and facts.

         The point is, when we try to play God by defining or deciding what God thinks or intends we are being incredibly arrogant and at least insulting God that we of limited intellect could ever understand anything completely and thoroughly.  

       The ancients asked Jesus, whose sin is it, the blind man or his parents' sins that caused the blindness?  What a truly dopey thought. I hope you agree. I think Jesus' answer was quite telling for us even today. It was neither but an opportunity for the blind man and us to be witness to God's kingdom. How does the blind person respond to their challenge? How do we respond in love to that person? The related question then isn't what causes the hurricanes per say, but how do we respond in love and intellect to the fact that they are occurring? Do we support the injured and those traumatized by the storms? Do we see if we are as humans responsible in some way and take action to prevent whatever we are capable of preventing?  Storms will occur, how do we then witness to the kingdom of God in love?

        Knowing answers is nice and wonderful even. But sometimes we are not capable of knowing. We should not then rely on fake reasoning, hate and voodoo to come up with answers. Because we may not understand, it is no reason to hate. Because we don't understand, it may in fact be a reason to love.

Luke 20:41-21:4

Then he said to them, ‘How can they say that the Messiah is David’s son?For David himself says in the book of Psalms,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand, 
   until I make your enemies your footstool.’ ” 
David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?’

In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’

He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’

Rebel Christians

       I have made note numerous times that Jesus was a rebel. Whether it was reaching out to the marginalized, congregating with sinners or calling the religious elite to task, Jesus was a real rebel.  In today's passage Jesus even speaks to the point of separation of church and state - give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God's. It does not stop there though. The Apostles picked up the reigns of his message and brought out even more rebelliousness.  The Apostles opened up the message to all, Jew and Gentile. The Apostles lived in commune, a radical expression of unified love for each other. People sold what they had for the common good and shared everything in common. In today's passage they expressed the early marking of a democratic society by the election (cast lots) for the replacement of Judas and a new twelfth Apostle. Democracy, almost communism, speaking to Samaritan women, consorting with lepers and sinners, Oh my!

         It is amazing that there are so called Christians out there that seem to miss the vast majority of Jesus' message, feigning religiosity and preferring judgment and hate.

       As Christians we are called to a radical expression of love. It is not simple, it is challenging and takes us to the depths of our soul and existence to share all we are with every single person. A radical notion even today, perhaps more so.

       The notions of Democracy and holding things in common is an extension of our recognition and concern that every single human is our brother or sister. Our radical concern for the environment is a recognition and concern for God's created world that has been entrusted to us to use but not to abuse. 

       Today I pray for how I will carry Jesus' extreme message of love into our world. Can I be as rebellious? As inclusive? As blind to societal strata?  I pray for all of us this day.

         

Acts 1:15-26

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people) and said, ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.’(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) ‘For it is written in the book of Psalms,
“Let his homestead become desolate,
   and let there be no one to live in it”;
and
“Let another take his position of overseer.” 
So one of the men who have accompanied us throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.’ So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.Then they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

The arrogance of seeming to know the mind of God

 Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me. Melt me, mold me , fill me, use me.                 Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

       For many years one of my best friends was one of my brothers-in-law.  He was a good man who had an experience as a youth, at the hands of a neighbor, that made him somewhat homophobic. That experience tainted his life a bit. Needless to say, when I came out at the age of 50, he was deeply upset. I am not aware of the depth of his horror but I know for certain we are no longer friends. I thought of that relationship in my life when I read about the story of Marina (Mariam), the monk whom we remember this day. When Marina died and was his body was being dressed for burial, his fellow monks discovered he had been born a woman. I can imagine that their reaction may have been similar to that of my ex brother-in-law. Perhaps a feeling of betrayal, perhaps revulsion. The story goes that a blind monk received sight after having touched the mere corpse of Marina for the burial process.

        One of my role models as I was coming to terms with being gay was Bishop Gene Robinson. I went to simply be in his presence a few times at lectures and  read his book 

In The Eye Of The Storm. One thing Bishop Robinson noted that the battle over equality and gay rights is that "it's about hearts, not parts". How very true that is.  In the case of Marina, his service and dedication to God was not contingent on what sex he was or was not. The Spirit of God in the miracle Marina conveyed was not whom The Church would have chosen. Likely, had it known that Marina was Mariam, the story would have had a decidedly different ending.  The Roman church has the arrogance to think it knows the will of God and has thoroughly convinced itself that their thought processes, treatises, logic and tradition all make them correct. They believe they know the will of God. In fact, they seem to think they are the will of God. Such arrogance will be their continued downfall.

        The mystery of life and of God is not to be revealed to we humans in it's totality. Perhaps we will never know on this side of the grave if at all. God gives us hints in the created wold of the mind of God. God gives us hints as to Her own very nature by the things She created.  The created world cannot be pigeon holed or set into tidy black and white cubicles. To do so insults God and denies the awesome power of God to be ALL things, even the things we fail to understand or refuse to recognize as gray, beige or as in the rainbow.

       In our arrogance and failure to be open to the vast variety of God's creation, we deny the very Spirit that moves us forward. In denying the Advocate promised by Christ, we deny God and hasten our death. By not being open to every single person, especially those in the LGBTQ community, we deny the face of God and we die.

        At several family funerals that I attended, even after separation from that family, I had occasion to see again that ex brother-in-law.  He was a mere shell of his former self. I pray for him as I pray for me and all of society and for that Roman Church that also is dying.  Of all things in life, we must be open to the gifts, graces and diversity of God. If we do not, we stunt ourselves and the growth towards our very wholeness and holiness.  My ex brother-in-law dies daily in his unwillingness or inability to accept and love of even himself, let alone me or others who are 'different'.  The Roman Church dies daily in it's arrogance in thinking it knows the will of God, the mind of God. There is no room for the Spirit there.

           I pray today for the conversion of hearts, not parts. Parts which are far less important and far more difficult to understand or even define. God is so inscrutable. The Spirit gives life and our witness is total and unabashed love for all.

Acts 1:1-14

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son ofJames. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.