Gospel text for Sunday, 9 December 2012

Luke 3:1-6         In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Reflection          “....all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Wow! Isaiah’s unequivocal, all inclusive assurance precedes by about two thousand years another prophet’s words, “And all shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.” Born in England in the middle of the fourteenth century the mystic Dame Julian of Norwich was the first woman to write a book in the English language.   Like Isaiah, Julian turns away from obsession with sickness, corruption and sinfulness and experiences gratitude and joy in God’s unlimited forgiveness and assurance that “...all shall be well.”

What if we really believed the words of Julian and Isaiah? What if we looked at the world and the people of the twenty first century through the eyes of these ancient and medieval prophets who also lived in violent,  corrupt, disease plagued and morally bankrupt times yet did not let their hearts be hardened? Regardless of their circumstance, inside and out, Julian and Isaiah never stopped recognizing God’s compassionate Presence. Might we too encounter God’s limitless compassion and love in the ceaseless suffering of humanity?

When I ask myself, “what keeps me from “seeing” the way Julian and Isaiah see?” the painful truth is this. Judgement. I look at the world around me and I see what is wrong rather than what is well. My heart is hardened and the judgement of my mind says, “We’re going to hell in a handbasket.” And that makes me anxious and so I contract, begin to build walls to keep the world out except my walls bump into your walls and then we have to battle over property rights and human rights, which executes our humanity because we see each other as threats rather than the vulnerable creatures created in the image and likeness of God that we are. On guard rather than in God. 

Oh to see with the eyes of the prophet who looks into the face of corruption and calamity and experiences God’s limitless compassion. In the wilderness of our lives the prophet assures us that everything that is crooked will be made straight, whatever is rough will be made smooth, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” This is how I choose to be, in God rather than on guard. "And all shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well."

Gospel for Sunday 15 July 2012

Mark 6:14-29
King Herod heard of the demons cast out and the many who were anointed and cured, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying,  John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him." But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it." And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Reflection:

Every time I read this story my mind leaps to tick off Herod’s offenses. How could he do it? Herod knew that John the Baptizer “was a righteous and holy man.” He knew there was something about John, it “perplexed him, yet he (Herod) liked to listen to him.” So how in the world could he do it? How could he let himself be manipulated by his wife and swayed by public opinion? Well, just about the time I am ready to bring down the gavel and declare Herod guilty of murder in the first degree a mirror drops out of heaven, and there I am.

 How could you do it Debra? How could you ignore the little voice inside that was niggling at you, telling you to pay attention, get out of that situation before it was too late. You know the one, the one that blew up in your face with lots of collateral damage. Or how could you ignore the inner sense that you ought to call Margaret or Mr. Yang or that person down the street ? You knew it still you did nothing until it was too late. Or how could you chuckle at that joke and go along with the crowd as they scoffed and laughed up their sleeves at the expense of others? It grieved you. In your heart of hearts you knew it was wrong, still you went along with the crowd. How many times have I been Herod?

Over and over again, as I stand in the gap between the way of the world and the Way of God’s kingdom, I choose the way of the lowest common denominator. I don’t want to lose face. It is really hard to follow the perplexing whispers of the niggling little voice inside when the shouts of the crowd seduce me to come along.  Truly I dare not be too quick to lay my verdict upon Herod or I may find my own head lying with his on the chopping block.

Gospel Text for Sunday, August 1st

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

Questions for engaging the text:

- What do I observe" What am I seeing" Does this passage raise questions for me?

- Is anything attracting me, drawing my attention, or repulsing me?

-What response is emerging within me? What is my response to what is attracting me?***

-In what ways might I specifically act on my insights in the world

I really want to hear from you. Thank you for clicking on "Comments" below and adding your responses.

Grace and Peace, Debra

*** 1st three questions taken from The Art of Engaging Holy Scripture curriculum (see resources)