Gospel text for The Presentation of Our Lord, Sunday 2 February 2020

Luke 2:22-40        When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles

and for glory to your people Israel.”

And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed-- and a sword will pierce your own soul too."

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Reflection      This past week I attended the Annual Arizona Diocesan Clergy Conference where the topic was Dementia From the Inside Out. The speakers were The Very Rev. Tracey Lind, former dean of an Episcopal Cathedral and active with the the Episcopal Church Pension Fund and her wife Emily who worked in commercial real estate and management. In 2016 at the age of sixty-two Tracey was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). The diagnosis comes with the expectation of loss of memory, language, motor skills, ability to care for yourself and ultimately a dramatically shortened life expectancy.  While grappling with how to live with this diagnosis rather than succumb to focusing on what she was losing, Tracey confronted the roomful of clergy with a question she and others living with dementia grapple. “When I cannot remember God, will God remember me?” *

I have no idea what she said next because along with everyone else in the room my heart nearly stopped as I choked back tears. I suspect every priest in this diocese is preaching Tracey’s question today. “When I cannot remember God, will God remember me?”

Tracey’s question invites us to ask, How do we present ourselves to God? Exactly as we are. As unblemished babes brought to the waters of the baptismal font. As fidgity five year olds, stopping, dropping and rolling. As awkward preteens preoccupied by appearance and longing to fit in. As rapidly changing teenagers developing values and obcessed with body image. As young adults reaching our peak in health, strength and performance. As middle age adults re-examining our life as many physical changes signal aging. As older adults experiencing decline in strength, energy, vision, hearing and balance.

How do we present ourselves to God? As people of God who at any age or any stage may be fit and formidable or may be frail and ailing because our wholeness and our holiness does not depend on us alone. Our wholeness and holiness depend on God with us. Furthermore, our wholeness and holiness does not depend upon us being able to recognize and assert it our selves.

Jesus parents name him Joshua, which means "God saves." At the appointed time in his development Jesus’ parents bring him to the temple and present him to God. Neither action depends on Jesus. Additionally, it is the perspicuity of the two prophets Simeon and Anna who affirm Jesus’ holy stature. First Simeon proclaiming, “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Then Anna who proceeds “to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Returning to Tracey’ heart wrenching question, “When I cannot remember God, will God remember me?” my answer is an unequivocal “Yes.”  “Yes, those of us who surround you and know you will hold you up and present you to God even when you have no memory of God.” And yes, there will come a time in every one of our lives when we cannot remember God due to crushing challenges, loss of faith, impaired cognition, a broken heart or a broken body. That is why we need one another. That is why we are church, the living body meant to surround and present us to God and affirm, “When we can no longer remember God, God will remember us.”

• Learn more at traceylind.com

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Gospel text for Sunday 25 June 2017

Matthew 10:24-39        Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father,  and a daughter against her mother, 

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 

and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Reflection       Surely there is part of each of us that does not like Jesus’ words, “I come not to bring peace, but a sword.” We want Jesus to come like a 1960s peacenik, to love us and assure us that “it is all good.” But, it is not all good. Martin Luther King, Jr. puts it this way, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” It does not serve to put our heads in the sand and be silent. It is up to us to speak out against cruelty and oppression.

The sword that Jesus offers is the instrument for discernment, for separating what is of God from that which is not of God. As people of God, presumably good people, we are to pick up the sword and cut the fat away from the bone. We are to ask the difficult questions. What desires for security, esteem, power and control lead me to act at the expense of others? What customs, traditions or proclivities prevent my generosity? How do my habits, attitudes or humor ignite suspicion, dread or terror? Before we point our finger to villains outside ourselves, we must first examine and admit our own selfish and harmful inclinations. 

And then we get on our knees and pray, “O Lord, come quickly. Guide your sword to cut away all that keeps me afraid; afraid of being the revelation of your love in my thoughts, my words and my actions. Cut away my inordinate desires for security, esteem, power and control. Cut away my attachment to attitudes, moods and mindsets that elevate me at the expense of others. Cut away all that separates me from you and the compassionate care of all people.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. avers,  “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” This week Arizona’s Episcopal Bishop Smith was unequivocal “about the importance of the church taking a stand on moral and ethic(al) issues that affect our country.” He elaborates, “The pending vote on healthcare is now such a time” and invites us to join him adding our names to those opposed to the Senate plan.*

Like Jesus and MLK, Ghandi and Desmond Tutu, we are people of God growing up in a territory preoccupied with the acquisition of security, esteem, power and control regardless of the cost to humanity. Like Jesus and other nonviolent revolutionaries we, the people of God, are intended to be exemplars of life lived with God, facing the inevitable challenges of life in faith not fear, wielding the sword of care and compassion, defending the poor, healing the sick and caring for the vulnerable among us. Act now. 

“Do not be afraid.”

Call, email or fax our senators and thank them for their courage taking the moral stand to maintain healthcare coverage for children, the poor, the disabled, the sick, the aging and the middle class. 

* Senator McCain    

Phone: DC Office (202)224-2235 or Arizona (602)952-2410

Email:    www.mccain.senate.gov; Click on “contact”

Fax:    (855)952-8702

* Senator Flake    

Phone:  DC Office (202)224-4521 or (602)840-1891

Email:    www.flake.senate.gov; Click on “contact"

Fax:    (602)840-4092

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Hebrew Testament reading for Sunday 9 March 2014

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7        The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, `You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, `You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Reflection        Here is the biggest, boldest, most outrageous lie ever told to humanity. “You will not die…” That’s what the serpent said to the woman in the garden when tempting her to eat the forbidden fruit. It is a lie that set humanity on the course of denying, resisting and refusing death. It has not served us well.

Slightly more than half of Medicare dollars are spent on patients who die within two months. 22 million ‘hits’ came up in 35 seconds when I typed anti-aging into my computer’s browser. At the bottom of the recession in 2009, Americans spent $10 billion on cosmetic procedures.  Models’ careers end at “28 if they are lucky, 21 if they don’t age well.”  Every form of media markets youth, vitality, agility and would have us deny the inevitable degeneration of our bodies and our minds. Culture would have us buy the serpent’s lie… “You will not die if you buy my stuff.”

But, for at least one day each year we Christians refuse to be bamboozled. Across the globe on Ash Wednesday priests dip their thumbs in ashes, smear crosses on our foreheads while saying, “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return.” In other words, you are going to die. It doesn’t matter what fruit you juice, what supplements you take, what extreme medical procedures you undergo, you are going to die.

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, a time for calling our the serpent and admitting the lies we tell ourselves. “I cannot help if when I lose my temper, when I judge and speak ill of others, when I take the extra drink, eat when I am not hungry or shop compulsively. I am not good enough to deserve your love, to deserve God’s love. I don’t need help. I can handle this myself. I am not going to change. I am not going to allow things to change around me. I am in control.” These are lies that we tell ourselves. Lies that we tell ourselves to boost our sense of safety and security, to enhance our self image and self esteem, to amplify our feelings of power and control. 

But instead of saving our lives, the lies cause us to fall out of relationship with God, but only until we expose the serpent and purge our lies. This is the hard work of Lent; admitting the lies we tell ourselves and dying a thousand humiliations as we walk through Lent in the hope of the resurrection life of Easter. 

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