Gospel text for Sunday 25 April 2021

 

John 10:11-18        Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

Reflection       How are we to respond to Jesus’ willingness to lay down his life so that we all may be one? How are we to respond to a leader who does not run away or toss us under the bus when all hell breaks loose and life erupts out of control? I believe the answer is simple (not easy). We must do everything we possibly can to affirm our unity with all people.

Doing everything we possibly can begins with remembering who and whose we are. We understand that all people “are made in the image of God,”  and that “we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.” (BCP 845)  Like the Good Shepherd we “have the power to lay our lives down… by our own accord.” In other words, we are free to care for one another. 

Doing everything we possibly can means we respond to Jesus’ call “that we all may be one” by respecting the dignity of every human being and loving our neighbor as ourself. It means we erase the redlines and remove the fences that falsely separate us.  It means doing whatever it takes to insure the assumptions and actions that deny the shared humanity of George Floyd and Dereck Chauvin are dismantled. 

Here I must confess I did not celebrate when I heard the news of Mr. Chauvin’s conviction because one man is dead and another man’s life is destroyed, two families are devastated and our country is divided over who is the trespasser and who the trespassed. 

Yes. Holding a man to account for his actions is imperative and it is not enough to allay the fear of fathers giving their black sons ‘the talk’ about how to protect themselves when confronted by white authority. It is not enough to  quiet the fear of mothers teaching their white daughters how to walk through parking lots and certain places and not be seen as vulnerable. Holding a man to account for his behavior is necessary and not sufficient to transform the consciousness of people who experience one another as threats. 

Secular law holds us accountable for wrongful social behavior.  It judges our up close, personal, blow by blow actions and their consequence. Secular law responds with equivalent retaliation, tit for tat, an eye for an eye.  By contrast, God’s law assumes a hundred thousand feet above the ground perspective. It disarms every appearance of division to declare our shared humanity. In the words of the parable of the Good Shepherd, “so there will be one flock, one shepherd.” 

God’s law demands a reckoning for Mr. Floyd’s killing and Mr. Chauvin’s conviction.  This has nothing to do with counting coup or political advantage. God’s law requires nothing less than the transformation of our individual and collective consciousness.

When we set aside our pride, politics and opinions we are free to rise to the God’s eye point of view.  From the hundred thousand feet above the ground perspective we see that we are “one flock, one shepherd.” With our minds risen to the heights of our hearts we naturally choose to use our freedom to love and live in harmony.  This is the transformation of consciousness God’s law demands as a reckoning for Mr. Floyd’s killing and Mr. Chauvin’s conviction. We must do everything we possibly can to affirm our unity with all people.

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Gospel text for Sunday 18 April 2021

Luke 24:36b-48        Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

Reflection      I must make a confession. Something about the liturgical usage of the words “Peace BE with you,” in the Episcopal tradition has always left me unsatisfied. The risen Christ has already come and stood among us,  has already breathed on us ”Peace that is beyond understanding.” (Phil 4.7) The blessing of peace; of wholeness, completeness, well being and security IS already with us. In the gospel according to John we read Jesus’ words, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives…. (John 14. 27).   In other words, peace IS with us. We do not receive the gift of peace contingent upon who we are, where we come from, what we believe, who we vote for, or anything that we have done or that we have left undone. God’s Peace is present and available to everyone, right now, no matter what is happening inside or outside of us. 

This is startling, this is terrifying, this raises doubts in our hearts. Much like the disciples in Luke’s text,  we want to feel joy but we cannot believe it and we wonder, “How can this be?” We look for peace and instead we see unspeakable brutality, mass shootings and bloodshed. In lieu of completeness we suffer classism, agism, sexism, racism, and every form of partiality. Loss and disadvantage supplant our sense of equity and blessing. Confusion, suspicion and mistrust overthrow our freedom and security.  Peace? What Peace is there for us? 

Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.”… “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” “And he opened their minds to understand.” The Peace of the Lord IS always with you. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 11 April 2021

 John 20:19-31      When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Reflection        Oh Thomas, be careful what you ask for! Do you really want to see and feel Jesus’ wounds? Is having your own personal experience of Jesus’ suffering the only way you will believe? Thomas’ answer is “Yes.” And apparently many people on the planet today would also answer, “Yes.”

Hitting rock bottom is the familiar euphemism for reaching the lowest possible point in our life wherein suffering bears down like a hammer and we seek refuge in our rooms, lock the doors and lament. Then, with our bodies and minds buried in Jesus’ wounds, finally we see beyond seeing and know beyond knowing. We “come to believe.” By allowing ourselves to  experience the immediacy of our suffering we catch ourselves calling out, “My Lord and my God. Help me.” 

When we’ve lost our job, our home, our loved one, or our body is wracked with disease, when our family is falling apart or we simply cannot get out of bed, when we have fallen to the bottom of our personal rabbit hole, whatever that may be, this is when  in a most mysterious way  many of us “come to believe” that there is indeed something more. Pivoting on the head of a pin we see beyond the fallen bricks and mortar of our lives and shout into the darkness, “My Lord and my God.”

Much as the disciples, I have spent time locked inside my fear while locking the rest of the world out. Locked into fear. Locked out of relationships. Apparently this is an unacceptable situation for the risen Christ. By means we cannot wrap our minds around  Jesus breeches the locked door, stands among the terrified disciples and inconceivably delivers the gift of his presence saying, “Peace be with you…. receive the Holy Spirit.” 

When we hit our personal rock bottom, locked in fear with the world locked out, rising from the depths of our darkest wound comes the impossible promise. Peace. God’s Peace. The Holy Spirit of God arrives dispensing the opposite of fear, agitation, disharmony, worry, frustration, hatred and distress. Peace. 

“Peace be with you,” in the depths of your darkest nightmare. “Peace be with you,” in the wounds of your flesh. “Peace be with you,” in your tormented mind. “Peace be with you,” when your friends abandon you and you are locked in fear. “Peace be with you,” so that “you may have life.” The question is, “Do you choose to believe?”

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Gospel for the Great Vigil of Easter Saturday 3 April 2021

Mark 16:1-8        When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Reflection        It is done. Our friend, our teacher, our Jesus is dead. Now the silence, the empty arms, the excruciating waiting,  waiting for the Sabbath to end, waiting for the, “first day of the week, when the sun has risen,” when at last, along with Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome there is something for us to do. The Sabbath is over. Finally we can go to the tomb and anoint Jesus’ body with our fragrant spices. But nothing is as it should be.

The stone protecting the entrance to Jesus’ tomb is rolled back. Instead of finding Jesus’ body inside we see a young man dressed in white, sitting there and saying strange things. “Do not be alarmed, you are for looking Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has been raised.”  And along with Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome we ask, “Now what are we supposed to do?”

There ends the gospel according to Mark. It ends as abruptly as it begins. Remember how is begins? “This is the beginning of the good news of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.” This is the beginning, this is good news.  From the very beginning we know Jesus’ true identity, the Son of God. Nevertheless, all the way through the story, along with the disciples, we forget,  we forget the good news, we forget who Jesus is, and then we remember and begin the story again. We forget, then remember and begin the story again. 

That is the way it is, right down to the wire. We remember who Jesus is at our Thursday evening Passover Supper and then when things get chaotic on Friday we fear for our lives, forget, run away and hide or stand at a safe distance watching Jesus take his last breath. Is it not ironic? The person who in the end “remembers” and announces who Jesus is, is a Roman soldier, one of those who nailed him to the cross?  who boldly proclaims, “Truly this man was God’s Son.” And there we are, beginning again, the beginning of the good news of Jesus the Son of God, who dies on a cross. 

In this very moment we discover the answer to the question, the question that mystified us and the three women just moments ago at Jesus’ vacated cave, “Now what are we supposed to do?” The answer is this. When the Sabbath is over and  “the sun has risen on the first day of the week,” it is time to begin again, to see the new light that has pierced the darkness. It is time for us to go and tell the good news of Jesus the Son of God, the message that has reverberated throughout Mark’s gospel because always, always, always, no matter how dark the darkness, always we begin again.

The incredibly abrupt ending of Mark’s gospel leaves us standing at the empty tomb with Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome. But here is the thing.  The empty tomb is actually not empty. In the new light on the first day of the week we and the three women meet a young man in the tomb who tells us precisely what to do. Go, tell and see. Go into the world. Tell the good news of Jesus the Son of God. See how the risen light of Christ will be there with and for you and everyone else in all the world.

Dear people of God, It is up to each one of us to step into the dark and empty places, walk through our fears and tell the tale of our faith so  to continue this story. If we want the world to know and experience the all-inclusive love of God, it is up to us to live it. If we want food for the hungry, freedom for the oppressed and dignity for all people, it is up to us to find our voices and demand it. If we want peace and reconciliation in our lives and our world, it is up to us to embody it in the words we use and the actions we choose. Of course this means being the light of Christ to people who look and think, act, dress, vote and believe differently than us. It means stepping into uncomfortable places, like empty tombs and borderlands, and seeing the light of Christ right there.

We began our worship this evening lighting the new fire, a fire that each one of us carries into the darkness of the sanctuary that was stripped of all that is holy on Maundy Thursday. Now the outward signs of the Christ light, the candles have been extinguished because the Light of Christ lives in the sanctuary of each one of our hearts. We are the candles meant to bring Christ light into the world, a world that is being brutally stripped of all that is holy. If not us, then who will help creation to begin again?

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You may wish to skip the first 5 minutes of introduction to the Golijov Passion - the music is beyond amazing. Worth a listen! 

 

Psalm for Good Friday 2 April 2021

Psalm 22           My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? *

and are so far from my cry

and from the words of my distress?

2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; *

by night as well, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are the Holy One, *

enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; *

they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 They cried out to you and were delivered; *

they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, *

scorned by all and despised by the people.

7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; *

they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

8 "He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; *

let him rescue him, if he delights in him."

9 Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, *

and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.

10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; *

you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb.

11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, *

and there is none to help.

12 Many young bulls encircle me; *

strong bulls of Bashan surround me.

13 They open wide their jaws at me, *

like a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water;

all my bones are out of joint; *

my heart within my breast is melting wax.

15 My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd;

my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; *

and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.

16 Packs of dogs close me in,

and gangs of evildoers circle around me; *

they pierce my hands and my feet;

I can count all my bones.

17 They stare and gloat over me; *

they divide my garments among them;

they cast lots for my clothing.

18 Be not far away, O Lord; *

you are my strength; hasten to help me.

19 Save me from the sword, *

my life from the power of the dog.

20 Save me from the lion's mouth, *

my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.

21 I will declare your Name to my brethren; *

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.

22 Praise the Lord, you that fear him; *

stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel;

all you of Jacob's line, give glory.

23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty;

neither does he hide his face from them; *

but when they cry to him he hears them.

24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; *

I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied,

and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *

"May your heart live for ever!"

26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *

and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; *

he rules over the nations.

28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *

all who go down to the dust fall before him.

29 My soul shall live for him;

my descendants shall serve him; *

they shall be known as the Lord's for ever.

30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *

the saving deeds that he has done.

Reflection       “ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Do these words not cut to your core and echo in your heart? Have there not been times in your life when they have tumbled off your tongue? There certainly have been times in mine when I cried out, “Where are you God? How could you let this happen to me? Why can I not feel your presence? I cannot take this any more. Why have you abandoned me?“

For a long time I believed that my complaints and anger at God were evidence of my weakness and lack of faith. So I would beat myself up, “How could you even think that way Debra? You say you are faithful; well, this is evidence of your faithlessness.” Feeling even worse I moan on. “No wonder God abandons me, I am nothing but a wretched, faithless “‘worm and not human!’”(Ps 22.6)

And then one day I really heard the words of Psalm 22. (You know how it is, you can hear something one hundred times and then, the one hundred and first time your ears open and you really hear it?) That is what happened for me with Psalm 22, which is sometimes called a “Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility.” 

It was during one of those dark times of my life that I could so relate to the words, “My God…Why are you so far from helping me, …I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. “ Yes, that was exactly how I felt. The thing is, also like the Psalmist, I never stopped calling out and complaining to God, which today I understand as evidence of my faith, not my faithlessness.

You see, as I read Psalm 22 I asked myself, “Why would the Psalmist keep calling out to God even when God seems not to answer? Why bother?” Then it occurred to me that even Jesus utters those excruciating words. He had been hanging on the cross for hours. His hands and feet pierced and stinging, his muscles gripped in spasms as his lungs were filling with fluid as he was slowly suffocating. In that dark hour surely Jesus could not feel God’s presence. Yet, from the depths of his agony Jesus calls out,  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Can you imagine what must  have been going through Jesus’ mind? ”Why have you forgotten me?  I have answered your call on my life. Every day and every night I come to you in prayer and follow your direction. I turn to you in every situation and rely on you in all that I  say and do. This is too much.  I cannot bear this agony. Where are you now? Why have you abandoned me?”

I believe this agonizing scene exposes the true nature of Jesus’ relationship with God just as he describes it to the disciples the gospel according to John when he prays, “The Father and I are one.” (John 10.30) And again, “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may (the disciples) also be in us.” (John 17.21) We are one in the Father. Even when nailed to a cross, nothing separates Jesus (or us) from God, which, by the way is a basic tenant of our faith.

Christianity has evolved over time. Some would say for the better, others would argue, not so much. Either way, the root of our faith is the inseparable relationship between God and humanity. But the root has been wrapped in the clothes of creeds and the tunics of tradition, outer garments that bury rather than lay bare our intimate relationship with God.

But when our “bones are out of joint… our mouth dried up… and we can count all our bones,” our creedal clothes are stripped from us, and also tradition’s tunics. Then in our naked vulnerability we return to the root of our faith and cry, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me,” because we remember the Psalmist’s words,   “Commit your cause to God; let God deliver—
let God rescue the one in whom God delights!” (Ps 22.8) 

                                                                  

And here lies the stunning transition. From the depths of agony comes the recognition of God present. The psalmist continues, 

”From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.”                                                       God is in the midst of our suffering.
“For God did not despise or abhor
   the affliction of the afflicted;
God did not hide God’s face from me,
   but heard when I cried (out).” (Ps 22.23-24)

This is the good news of Good Friday. When we are in so much pain and fear that we cannot see beyond it, when our finances are shattered and our family is in crisis, when a global pandemic has made us afraid of everyone and everything,  when  a deadly disease is decaying our defenseless body, when our nation is shaken and we are not even sure it is safe to go to church, this is the moment we must return to the root of our faith and in our naked vulnerability cry out to God. 

With nothing left except our naked vulnerability, in every cell and every space of our being we must know that Jesus' words are true for us, ”the Father and I are one." This is the good news of Good Friday. 

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The Passion Narrative for Palm Sunday 28 March 2021

 Mark 15.1-39          As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Reflection     Remembering the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, I can almost hear Judas singing,

“Listen, Jesus, do you care for your race?

Don't you see we must keep in our place?

We are occupied; have you forgotten how put down we are?

I am frightened by the crowd.

For we are getting much too loud.

And they'll crush us if we go too far.

If they go too far....

Listen, Jesus, to the warning I give.

Please remember that I want us to live.

But it's sad to see our chances weakening with every hour.

All your followers are blind.

Too much heaven on their minds.”

When Jesus begins his ministry the Jews have long been waiting for a superstar to rescue them from their Roman oppressors.  Even though the homeless Jesus of Nazareth seems  to have no shortage of superpowers to heal, cast out demons and teach with authority, he fails when it comes to miraculously freeing the masses from their afflictions.  So it is not surprising that the same crowd that waves palms and sings “Hosannas” as Jesus enters Jerusalem a mere week later exchanges their praises for the piercing cries, “Crucify him. Crucify him.” 

It is the morning after his donkey ride into Jerusalem when Jesus enters the temple and immediately  “drive(s) out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturn(s) the tables of the moneychangers…” And then Jesus dares to declare, “Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 

Can you hear the people protest? “Jesus, what are you doing? You are making things worse for us? The Temple is the centre of our worship, commerce and national identity. Not only does it house our religious scripture but also the national literature. It is the meeting place of the highest court of Jewish law, the Sanhedrin. Jesus, you are upsetting the chief priests and scribes, making them afraid. Nothing good can come of this.”

Undeterred, the next day Jesus and his disciples return to the temple. Once again Jesus foils both religious and political officials when they plot to entrap him and then in a fate filled turn of tongue he hammers the proverbial nail into his cross when as he leaves the temple he says, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” (Mk 13.2)  

And we hear CAIAPHAS singing.

“Tell the rabble to be quiet, we anticipate a riot. 

This common crowd, is much too loud. 

Tell the mob who sing your song that they are fools and they are wrong. 

They are a curse. They should disperse.”

Jesus is silent.

Realizing it is out of jealousy that the chief priests have handed Jesus over, Pilate asks the crowd, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” Meanwhile, hoping to secure their place of privilege with the Romans the chief priests stir up the crowd. Should such a thing happen today I suspect the instigators would  use social media to incite the crowd. But I digress.

Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” So “Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd… handed Jesus over to be crucified.” 

Here it is tempting to reference the sociology of crowd behavior; how a combination of social conditions that cause people to be frustrated and angry (being occupied and oppressed by the ruling class), a distinctive precipitating event (someone or something is identified to blame, the superstar has failed to save them)  and a lack of social control (no fear of punishment or reprisal for acting out, the officials are actually inciting the crowd), are the ground from which protest and violent collective behavior arise. * 

Returning to our story we see Jesus nailed to a cross. All who pass by him, including the chief priests and scribes, mock him and demand that if indeed he “would destroy the temple and build it in three day,” he should use his superpowers to save himself.  And when Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” we are not surprised that other bystanders call for another superstar, Elijah, to intervene. 

What is surprising is this. A Roman centurion, no doubt the soldier responsible for Jesus’ execution, a man with neither connection nor affection for the Temple or the Jewish God, the centurion is the only person in the crowd who recognizes God in the presence of the crucified Jesus. The centurion is the first person to see, know and believe the paradox of the cross which he declares saying, “Truly this man was God’s son.”

I have no idea what awakened  the centurion. I wonder if it was the dignity with which Jesus faced his accusers. Perhaps Jesus’ courage and composure while enduring unspeakable humiliation broke something open inside him. However we explain this, in some way the soldier was profoundly present. With no personal stake in the outcome he was able to see beyond the chaos of the circumstance to the mysterious presence of God with the suffering Jesus.  

Another surprising thing about this story is the unlikely superstar; a homeless Jewish man who wanders the Judean countryside loving on people, preaching peace and praying, a superstar murdered by political and religious officials who are afraid of his superpower love, a superstar who consents to his life and his death without ever turning away from God. 

Therein hides the secret of  the superstar’s power.  He finds his superpower in God alone.  Which makes me wonder if as Jesus faced Herod, Pilate and all those who mocked, scorned and betrayed him, if he might have been silently singing the words of David’s Psalm? 

^“”For God alone my soul waits in silence… 

 God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; 

I shall never be shaken.” (Ps 62.1-2) 

I wonder if in some mysterious way the centurion heard Jesus’ silent song. Do you?

*Smelser, N. J. (1963). Theory of collective behavior. New York, NY: Free Press.

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Prayer & Hebrew Testament Text for Sunday 21 March 2021

Prayer Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus the Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Reflection        Speaking on behalf of God the prophet Jeremiah declares, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”  This all inclusive, unconditional promise is everything we humans need.  God’s law is written on our hearts. Which is why “God alone brings into order (our) unruly wills and affections…” God alone brings peace and joy into “the swift and varied changes of the world.”

With God’s law written on our hearts why do we have so much difficulty navigating the swift and varied changes of the world?

I believe instead of listening to and acting on our heart inscribed wisdom we are distracted by arguments over the interpretation of laws that are cleverly crafted by humans aligned with their self interest rather than the will of God. Which brings us to the question, “What is the will or the law of God?” 

Not only is it spelled out in the Decalogue given to Moses on Mount Sinai, if we are distracted by arguments over the precise application of the Ten Commandments we can find the heart of the law in Jesus’ response to the scribe who asks him, “What is the most important commandment?” Jesus answers, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mark 12.28-34)

These words are so familiar, surely they are written on our hearts. Still we flounder. How are we to love God ‘with all our heart?’ And what does ‘heart’ mean anyway?  It must be more than a bloody pump delivering oxygen on behalf of the lungs to keep our cheeks rosy. It must be more than emotions delivered on lace trimmed Valentines. 

As early as the third century Christian hermits living in the desert understood the heart to be an organ of perceptivity, the site of engagement with Divine Wisdom. The well respected theologian, Episcopal priest and teacher of nondual Christianity, Cynthia Bourgeault writes, “According to the great Christian, Jewish and Islamic wisdom traditions, the heart is first and foremost an organ of spiritual perception.” (The Heart of Centering Prayer, p54) 

When we turn our minds to read the law written on our hearts we see beneath the surface of things to a deeper reality. Divine wisdom is written on our hearts and every single one of us has direct access to it. Here is the thing. Human access to Divine Wisdom has always been available. But, it has been covered up by religious institution and buried beneath doctrine. Borrowing language from early Eastern Orthodox spiritual writings  Bourgeault counsels us, “Put the mind in the heart…. Put the mind in the heart…. Stand before the Lord with the mind in the heart.”(p53)

If you are rolling your eyes and thinking, “That is great for ancient hermits and really religious folks, but what does this have to do with me?” the answer is, “Everything.”  Everything that has ever been missing, everything you have ever truly desired is written on your heart.”God’s law is written on our hearts and God alone can bring order to our wily wills and swiftly changing lives.  All we have to do is stop and literally put our attention on our hearts ‘where true joy is found.’ 

When we consciously and conscientiously endeavor to “put the mind in the heart” we begin to break through the boundaries and barriers that prevent us from accessing the Wisdom written on our hearts. When we regularly take time to pause and deliberately fix our minds in our hearts we make ourselves available to experience Divine Wisdom. In Jeremiah’s words, “To know the Lord.” 

We have spent a year bombarded by the ‘swift and varied changes of the world.’ Our affections have been disordered, our wills weakened and our patience worn out. Rather than looking for the latest shout out telling us what we ‘need to know’ about coronavirus, the stock market, the moral degradation of leaders, whatever news stirs up emotion and puts cash in the pockets of a few, it is time to put our minds in our hearts, to break through the noise that bars us from directly experiencing the promise Jeremiah made to humanity on behalf of God twenty six hundred years ago, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, (in other words, no longer are we to give priority to rules contrived by humans and the emotional pandering of ceaseless news cycles)… for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord…” 

Listen to Cynthia Bourgeault elaborate on “Radiant Intimacy of the Heart” by clicking on the image at the upper right corner of this post. 

Art by Alex Grey

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