Gospel text for Sunday 5 may 2013

John 14. 23-31     Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

"I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, `I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe."

Reflection     “...the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” Don’t you just love that promise? God’s Spirit will teach us everything.  Doesn’t it just make your heart sing? It sure does mine. It puts everything in a new and transformed perspective. It is almost like putting on corrective glasses for the first time and discovering those large brown sticks with green blobs on top are actually finely textured trees with millions of individual leaves.  I believe there is no better description of this new perspective than the one given by St. John in his Revelation.

John wrote, “In the spirit the angel carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (Rev 21.10, 22) John’s new glasses, his new perspective is the spiritual perspective, which is to say, Wisdom, experienced and known from within.  

Spirit revealed Wisdom to John from the inside out. Wisdom is this. Our understanding of God has come down from heaven. God is not remote and inaccessible. Neither is God confined to the geography of the temple of the holy city Jerusalem. We are the city, the dwelling place of God. “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Rev 21.23) Wisdom is not gleaned by shining our flashlights around us in the dark. Yes, we can weigh and measure, describe and construct all manner of things tangible and conceptual, but that is not Wisdom. Wisdom comes from the inside out. Wisdom is a new state of being. Along with St. John we experience Wisdom as the glory of God inflaming our hearts and illumining our minds, annointing our words and compelling our will. We experience Wisdom from the inside out. This is how the Spirit teaches us. It transforms our state of being. Still, we have a part to play in this.

“...the Advocate, the Holy Spirit... will teach (us) everything...” when we assert an unequivocal “no” to fear. But how, how in the midst of this unstable, iniquitous, brutal and fragil world are we not to be afraid? Remember Jesus’ words? In his final discourse with his disciples Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”(In other words, I do not give you things you cannot depend on such as facts that may be disproven or situations that constantly change and erupt.) “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. “ Jesus leaves his peace with us, peace intended to replace our fear of the dark and murky places, our fear of what we do not know and cannot control.  When we say  “yes” to Jesus’ peace Wisdom swells from the inside out and transforms the state of our being illumining our minds and compelling our will. 

New Testament reading for Sunday 28 April 2013

Revelation 21:1-6           I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away."

And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."

Reflection    Screaming from an enormous flat screen TV were images of a firefight and a paralyzed Watertown, Massachusetts. I passed by quickly as I was leaving a skilled nursing facility where I had just visited a dying woman. All this on the heals of the Marathon bombing. I could not get to the parking lot fast enough. I sat in my hot car and let the tears have their way. 

Tears are grief’s companion. They tug at the pit of emptiness. They seep into the places where words fail and sense is stunned. Tears and questions, that’s all I had. Where is God in all this darkness? When will the new heaven and new earth be realized? And what does that mean anyway? 

I believe the essence of the age to come, the new heaven and new earth, is this. Every person realizes that God is with her or him, no matter what. And, every person recognizes God’s caring and comforting presence in “the other.” There is no one with whom God is not. When we all truly realize this we will have no need to kill one another.

As I read the apostle John’s description of his vision I can almost hear Martin Luther King’s deep gravelly voice proclaiming,”The home of God is with you. Nothing... I say....nothing can seperate you from God. I can seeeeee the new Church. I can seeeee the new Church and it is you. You, the people of God. And I hear a loud voice from heaven saying, “Know me, know me the way the bride and the bridegroom know one another. Know that we are one. Know that no thing, no darkness, no bombings, no firefights, no evil, nothing can seperate you from me in all eternity. You are my people. In you I live and dwell, I Am. It is done.”

This is a mighty truth. The troubles of this time will pass away when we enter the bridal chamber, when we consent to our mystical union in God. God is our intimate companion, partner, beloved. And it is God, the bridegroom, who will wipe away our every tear. “These words are trustworthy and true.”

Gospel text for Sunday 21 April 2013

John 10:22-30       At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."

Reflection        To what shall I dedicate my life? This is a question that has poked and prodded me for decades. This is a question that whispers to me in my dreams and pulls me in and out of relationships. In my most acquisitive phase I must confess that I gave my life in exchange for tokens of security, promises of affection and badges of success. I lived Western culture’s dream, I won and I came out empty handed. Like the stones of the Jews’ first temple, the altars I constructed to my self fell to ruin. Then, like the Jews, I too lived in exile. With a heart full of useless tokens, broken promises and tarnished badges I wandered and wondered, what does it mean to have a dedicated life?

When we dedicate something we set it apart, we consecrate it and make it holy. That’s what the religious Jews did when they rebuilt the destroyed altar to God and then celebrated the festival of the Dedication every year near the winter solstice in Jerusalem. I believe these faithful religious folk quit working too soon.  They thought they were finished when the external work of building the temple was complete, when the outward signs of success were assembled. They failed to do the interior work, the work of the world within, the work that happens in the hidden spaciousness of the holiest of holies.

Jesus alone proceeded from the outward and visible signs that pointed to God to being in dedicated relationship with God whom he called Father. Jesus found his source, his origin in relationship with God who is hidden in the holiest of holy interior spaces. I suspect this is the reason he referred to God as Father. Jesus saw that all the outward signs of authority, success or power manifest through him were gifts that were born of his relationship with God. Jesus did not claim the signs of power, authority or success for himself. He attributed all that he did to his unwavering relationship with God whom he called Father.

And this I believe is the secret of a dedicated life. It is a life lived in committed relationship in both the visible and invisible worlds. It is a life understood as finding meaning and purpose in more than itself. It is a life given to do the work of another for another. It is a life in which each is dedicated to the other because all that is good and righteous is born of relationship. It is a life in which the two are one and the one is two. 

Paul’s words to the Corinthians come to mind.  “Do you know that you are God’s temple and ....God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (3.16-17)

Gospel text Sunday 14 April 2013

John 21:1-19       Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."

Reflection    “...when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” Have you ever visited someone in the hospital, someone who has Parkinson’s disease, ALS, a stroke, severe respiratory issues, or whose body is just plain worn out, and watched as a nurse slips a wide canvas belt aroung their waist, holds onto the free end of the belt then steers the tottering patient for a sluggish lap around the nurses station? Every time I witness this scene Jesus’ admonition to Peter leaps to mind.... “when you grow old...someone else will take you where you do not wish to go.” And I think to myself, yes indeed. And sometimes it happens even before we grow old. 

We are fragil. We never know when life as we know it will change in an instant and someone will be tying a belt around our waist and leading us where we do not wish to go. And so the message I take from this is, live now. Don’t hold back. Throw your nets into the ocean of life. If at first you don’t catch fish, try again. Use the mere snap of life you have to do something worthwhile, like feeding the hungry, finding the lost and sharing Jesus’ invitation to life in abundance for all. Whatever you do, love. Love extravagantly. If you must, tell people three times over that you love them. Build a fire on the beach and love everyone who wanders by. In this way we respond to Jesus' admonition, "Follow me."

Gospel text for Sunday 7 April 2013

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      I imagine the room was stuffy and thick with fear. The disciples pacing, crouching, peeking out a small window opening. They were locked in for fear that they too would be persecuted and crucified for being friends with Jesus, for being part of that stange Jesus movement that was in opposition to the status quo. I wonder if the disciples were also locked in because they were horrified with themselves, mortified that in the end they all abandoned their friend and teacher, Jesus. 

Every year during the Good Friday liturgy when we recall to heart the story of Jesus’ passion and death we sing or hear the haunting lyrics of the old spiritual “Were you there when they crucified my Lord...?” Twelve times we repeat the question... were you there? were you there? Every year I imagine myself standing there, helpless, hopeless, watching. But this year I realized my answer was no, I was not there. I was not there when Jesus was crucified because Jesus is crucified by my absence, not my presence. Jesus is crucified when I, like the disciples deny I know him, fail to proclaim my faith, forget to love my neighbor and hide in my little skin house afraid to allow the fullness of the Light of Christ to shine through me.  So when I read the story of the disciples hiding I can smell the fear and taste the remorse throbbing behind the locked doors of their hearts. The only thing I can imagine that would set them, and me, free are Jesus words, “Peace be with you.” To feel the peace of the Lord in my heart is to know that even though I abandon him, he never abandons me. That is the peace that passes all understanding. That is the peace the risen Lord restored to the broken hearts and troubled minds of the disciples that “evening on that day, the first day of the week, (when) the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear...”

The promise of Easter is fulfilled when the Peace of the Lord arises to set us free, to unlock the door of our hearts and unleash the chains of our minds. Alleluia!

Gospel text for Sunday 31 March 2013

John 20:1-18     Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But 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     Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ devoted friend and disciple. She followed him to Jerusalem, was there for his triumphal entry and humiliating departure. She stood at the foot of his cross and was the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb. When Peter and the other disciple came and confirmed that Jesus’ body was gone, they “returned to their homes.” But Mary, alone, waited outside the empty tomb - weeping.

For Mary everything was lost, still she did not turn away. She allowed herself to stand in the depth and breadth of emptiness. Mary consented to her desolation and succumbed to the anguish of her loss of connection with her beloved teacher and friend. She looked into the emptiness and she wept. I’m afraid I would be more like Peter and the other disciple. “This is too disturbing. I don’t understand and have no idea what to do. I can’t bear this. I just want to get out of here, go home, have a glass of wine and bury my head under a pillow.”

But Mary did not run away from the desolation of the empty tomb. I believe Mary has something to teach us about navigating the inevitable moments of desolation in our lives. Stay with them. Stand in them. Weep and wait and wonder. Look into the emptiness. And wait. Wait and weep and wonder until from the midst of darkness a glimpse of consolation dawns and we encounter the ineffable Presence of God. 

Mary remained at the empty tomb. She did not turn away from the place of desolation. She did not return home, to the way things used to be. Mary waited at the gapping hole of the empty tomb. She waited and wept and wondered until a glance of consolation arose in her emptiness. This I believe; at the heart of desolation is the seed of consolation if only we stay present and alert to recognize it’s Presence. This is what Easter is about, light rising our of the unspeakable darkness.

Gospel text for Sunday 24 March 2013

Hubble image of a dying star

Luke 23:1-49     The assembly of the elders of the people rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king." Then Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He answered, "You say so." Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man." But they were insistent and said, "He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place."

When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him."

Then they all shouted out together, "Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!" (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him." But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; and to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent." And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Reflection       As I read the part of this text about the two criminals and Jesus it occurs to me that this is not a story about how we live. This is a story about how we die, and I come face to face with the question, “How do I want to die?” I don’t want to die angry, deriding others and making outrageous demands as did the first criminal. I’d much prefer to die as the second criminal, turning toward God and asking for blessing. But how can I be sure? How can I prepare myself to die the way of the second criminal? 

I believe the first step is to acknowledge that I will indeed die (unlike the first criminal who continued to imagine a magical rescue even while nailed to a tree). With my inevitable death as a headline in my consciousness I believe the second step is to live my life as if I was going to die tomorrow. (Yes, all things die. even stars). I do not consider my death in a defeated or morose fashion, rather in the delight of cherishing the exquisite jewel of my life which may be mine for an instant or many decades. I want to say yes, yes and be wholly incarnate in my fragile flesh. I want to complete the things I have left undone and welcome every holy moment. I want to see the way the second criminal saw Jesus and the situation wholly/holy, as evidenced when he said to the first criminal, “We indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." 

This story makes me think of all the times when like Pilate I have capitulated to the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd. I come face to face with the times when like Herod I have felt an interior intuition but failed to trust and act on it. Now I wonder how many times I have failed to see Jesus in the people around me, how may times I have failed to ask them to remember me and receive their blessing? But rehearsing my failing is no way to spend the precious pocket of time I have to live. So the third step in preparing myself to die the way of the second criminal is to remember, Jesus is always right next to me, inviting me to reconciled relationship and promising me a share of Paradise.