Gospel text for Sunday 16 August 2015

John 6.52-58

Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Reflection       “Those who trōgō (eat) my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.”The Greek trōgō is used as a verb that means chewing, gnawing or crunching with the teeth.  This is not an homogenized message about receiving holy food and drink. This is Jesus’ radical invitation to the disciples and us.  “But the one who eats, gnaws on, chews and crunches my flesh and drinks my blood will live forever.” No wonder the religious Jews balked. They must have been as repulsed as we may be entertaining images of savagery or cannablism. Eat my flesh, chew on it, gnaw on it, crunch it with your teeth then swallow it and you will live forever. 

A long time ago when I began to seriously study the Bible a wise mentor counseled me, “If you really want to encounter Jesus, eat the gospel of Mark. Read it as a story from beginning to end. Do that three times. Then, read it slowly, one sentence, even one word at a time, until it becomes part of you. Eat the gospel of Mark, incorporate this story into your own being.” And Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

I believe the disturbing words and images in today’s gospel text are intended to propel us into something more than a magical relationship with Jesus, the miracle worker who gives us bread when we are hungry.  When we choose to accept Jesus’ invitation, we consciously and conscientiously eat, chew on, assimilate and integrate the flesh and blood of Christ to become the flesh and blood of Christ. As Christians we are not intended to simply memorialize the historical person of Jesus; tell the story and close the book. As Christians we are intended to become the eternal flesh and blood, the hands and feet of Christ. This is Eucharistic, or sacramental eating. Trōgō, chewing, gnawing, crunching with our teeth, wrestling with the words that offend and repulse us until we arrive at the marrow of meaning and remember who and whose we are.

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Gospel test for 2 August 2015

John 6:24-35        The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Reflection         “Dear God, I know that you are with me but still, would you please give me a sign, preferably in neon with fireworks. You know me, the thick hearted one who is never quite sure it really is You.” I have prayed that and similar prayers more times than I like to admit. What I am really asking is, how can I be sure, be sure that God is with me when I run out of bread and my stomach is growling? How can I be sure when I wake up in the morning and “neither Jesus nor his disciples (are) there?” 

It all boils down to wanting certainty, confidence with evidence that does not require faith. That is where miracles come in. The problem is, there can never be enough miracles to really convince me. We never know when we’ve seen the last one. I suspect that is why the disciples keep asking Jesus for more signs. Vats of fine wine, healing a child, feeding five thousand people, walking on water, all those signs are not enough to convince the disciples (and me)  so the disciples ask Jesus, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you?” Can you give us something we can really hold onto? Something we can see and feel and taste, like manna?

Jesus tries to explain. If you receive manna one day you will still be hungry the next… the same way it works with miracles. You can never have enough. But if you would just believe that you already have what you are looking for in me, you would never be hungry again. Apparently Jesus’ words fell on hard hearts. If we fast forward through John’s gospel we experience Jesus giving the disciples and us three more signs so that we would “believe in him whom God has sent;”healing a man born blind and a  paralytic and raising his friend from the dead. Still, when Jesus asks, “Who do the people say that I am…” but I am leaping ahead. 

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I will be taking next week off for vacation. 

Gospel text for 26 July 2015

2015 07 26 John 6:1-21        Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

Reflection       

Who among us has not experienced the howls of a hungry infant or the grumpy ill-temper of a hungry adult? I believe hunger is an expression of our fundamental need and dependence on others. Think of it this way. By the time we swallow a bit of bread thousands of hands have made it possible; clearing the land, planting the seed, tending grain, harvesting, storing, shipping, processing, combining with other ingredients, honey raised by beekeepers, shipped to manufacturers, processed, packaged, shipped again and distributed all before we drive to the market thanks to the thousands of people who made, delivered and service our car, never mind the fuel we need, and finally we buy the loaf of bread.

We do not eat by ourselves. We are always fed by others, even, and perhaps especially the most privileged among us because hunger is at the core of our humanity and depends on the generosity of others to be fed. In her book, The Eucharist and the Hunger of the World, Monika Hellwig, a professor of theology at Georgetown University puts is this way, hunger is “the experience of being created in interdependence with others.” (p9)

The hunger of the starving needs to be fed so they can move beyond the pain of malnutrition and struggling to survive. The rest of us are hungry too; we hunger for meaning and value in our lives. We hunger to be freed from enslavement to power, privilege and stuff, and we hunger to be relieved of our anxiety about losing it.  And so in an interesting twist, the best way to fed our hunger is to gather together, share what we have and feed the hunger of the starving. You see we need to feed the hunger of the starving as much as they need to be fed because in so doing our deepest, truest selves come alive, full of kindness, beauty and truth. 

In today’s gospel text we see Jesus’ grace filled response to the people’s hunger - to our hunger.  The taking, thanking, blessing, breaking and sharing the one small loaf of bread is an outward and visible sign of a much greater spiritual truth. This is the saving action of Jesus, revealing the way of giving ourselves away for the good of one another, sharing what we have to feed the physical and spiritual hunger of our world.

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Gospel text for the Feast of Mary Magdalene observed 19 July 2015

John 20:11-18       Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, `I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Reflection    Instead of running away from the the horrors of the tomb as did the other eleven apostles, instead of burying her head in the sand and denying her love and her excruciating loss, instead of getting busy, going fishing and getting over her post traumatic stress, Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb, she consented to the present moment and allowed herself to experience the depths of her desire and the fullness of her grief.  And in so doing in some mysterious way that our human mentality cannot begin to comprehend, the eyes of Mary’s heart we broken open to see beyond the shadow of death and to experience the ineffable teacher she already had, within. 

When we allow ourselves to truly feel the height and width and depth of our experience, no matter what it is, we are nailed to the present moment and that is precisely where we encounter kindness, beauty and truth, the teacher within, our divine true nature.  We are not separate from God. We are not other than God. Although we are not God, we are not not God either.

When we, like Mary Magdalene, consent to the present moment and allow ourselves to stay at the tomb and experience the fullness of our feelings, regardless of what they are, there is every chance we too will be broken open, turn around, encounter the teacher within, and return to our divine true nature. During the early stages of our spiritual journeys we look for the teacher, we look for God, up there or out there as something or someone to master with our minds and grasp with our senses. This is as it should be until, we, like Mary Magdalene, we allow our hearts to be broken open, until we turn around and realize “What we are seeking we already have.” (Thich Nhat Hanh, The Art of Power )

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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             On June 21st we witnessed a show of love conquering evil in Charleston, South Carolina when the Emmanuel American Methodist Episcopal Church responded to the murder of their senior pastor and eight other church members who were gunned down during a Bible study. Rather than eat the bait of evil and set off riots and a race war, the leaders and people of the AME church, as well as the entire Charleston community, chose to respond with peace and unity which they had the courage to do because they put their faith in God and left no room for evil.

Presiding at the first Emmanuel AME Sunday service just four days after the tragic shooting, Rev. Goff pierced the hearts of the people in the church and across the nation when he preached, “Some wanted to divide the races - black and white and brown - but no weapon formed against us shall prosper.” That same morning outside the doors of the AME church hung a banner that read, “Holy City (Charleston’s nickname because it has churches on virtually every corner) Holy City… let us be the example of love that conquers evil.” 

Which begs the question, what does love that conquers evil look like? I believe it looks like red, brown, black, yellow and white people praying together and refusing to sink to the lowest common denominator, fear, especially fear of the other. By contrast evil that conquers love looks like the fearful King Herod. Although he knew John the Baptizer to be a “righteous and holy man,” when push came to shove and his privilege, pride and power were on the line, Herod was afraid, put his faith in himself and opened the door for evil. Evil works through fearful people to destroy whatever they fear threatens their security, safety, esteem, power and control. Acting out of fear Herod allowed the working of evil to execute John even though he knew John to be holy and righteous. 

Evil arises when we succumb to fear that our safety, security, esteem, power or control is threatened, and our faith is thereby undermined. You see, the opposite of faith is fear. Therefore, the way to overcome fear is faith in God that is Love with us, no matter what. When we are filled with Love there is no room for evil.

Gospel text for Sunday 5 July 2015

Mark 6:1-13        Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Reflection This week thirty-two year old Misty Copeland was named principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three major classical ballet companies in the USA. This news astounded many because Misty does not fit the idea of what a classical ballerina looks like. “The world of elite, professional ballet is tiny, brutal and exacting. It operates within a long history of well-established traditions to define excellence in the industry. In that world, ballet dancers are long, lean, have delicate waists, small busts, lithe legs and are white. And then there’s Misty Copeland: 5’2”, curvy, muscular and black.”* Because Misty does not fit the conceptual ideas about ballerinas many people could not “see” Misty as a principal ballerina for the prestigious ABT. This week many people were astounded by the “unlikely” ballerina.

When our minds are full of concepts about what a person should look, act or be like there is every chance we will not “see” them but rather be blinded by our concepts to who they really are. That is what happened to the people  in Jesus’ hometown who expected him to look, act and be like a carpenter. Instead of being about the business of wood and nails, tables and doorposts Jesus displayed deeds of power and words of wisdom, things that did not belong in the repertoire of a carpenter.  The people who were most familiar with Jesus could not contain him in the conceptual box they had about him and so they “took offense at him.” 

The stories of Misty and Jesus both point to a gap between what we can see and claim to know “about” a person and the mystery of who they truly are. The more familiar a person is or the more we think we know “about” a person the more difficult it is for us to see beyond what we think to what actually is. In other words, we are blinded by our thoughts and our ideas. Paradoxically, it is the people, the roles, the subjects that we claim to know the most about that we are least likely to experience as they truly are. 

Perhaps that is why Jesus said to his unbelieving neighbors, ”Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” Which begs the question, how do we set aside our litany of ideas, concepts and descriptions, our memories and imaginations in order to experience the mystery and gifts of a person as they truly are? I believe the answer is, by learning to be present with another person. 

Being present means consciously paying attention to another person without any judgment or story about them. When we begin to pay attention we notice our minds are constantly leaping ahead, falling behind or making up stories about the person. The invitation is, over and over again, to reel our minds back in, refocus on the present moment and wait to be surprised by the mystery of the person present with us.

*http://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/248015

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Gospel text for Sunday 28 June 2015

Mark 5:21-43        When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." He went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, `Who touched me?'" He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Reflection        What is going on here? A man of position and power bows to Jesus. A powerless woman, cast out of society presumes to touch Jesus. Both of them must have been desperate and both must have over-heard the buzz around the Sea of Galilee. “There is a man named Jesus, a mere carpenter’s son who teaches with great authority, he cleanses lepers, heals the paralyzed and disfigured, eats with tax collectors and other sinners, he even casts out demons! I hear he is coming back to our side of the sea. Let’s go see what he can do.” 

Imagine the hemorrhaging woman hearing all that and being emboldened to break out of her isolation, leave her house in violation of purity code restrictions  and reach out to Jesus? In her desperation the woman did what was unheard of, she boldly touched a man, and”immediately felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” By fearlessly stepping out in faith the woman was restored to fullness of life because to be ‘well’ meant not only to be physically cured but also to fearlessly show up and take her place in the community.

Meanwhile Jairus, the powerful religious leader, is witnessing the healing of the hemorrhaging woman when the other religious leaders deliver the awful news, “Your daughter is dead.” What are we to make of Jesus’ perplexing response, “Do not fear, only believe.” I believe Jesus is inviting Jairus and all of us to stretch, not only to have faith when asking for healing but also to have faith when faced with death. 

Divine life-giving power flows through Jesus, not like a hammer pounding a nail rather as water or blood poured into an open, empty vessel. You see, faith is the interior state of open, empty receptivity. Divinity is the fullness poured into the emptiness. Emptiness and fullness live in mutuality. This makes no sense to the rational mind that understands things by contrast, black or white, broken or fixed, empty or full.

Faith is a disposition of heart and mind that enables us to know God’s Divine Presence with us regardless of the situation. In the throes of an excruciating chronic illness, when we have used all of our resources, tried every medical procedure, and nothing works, we protest, “God is with us.”  When our friends throw up their hands, wail and cry, “All is lost,” we humbly aver, “God is with us.”