Gospel text for Christmas 24 December 2017

Luke 2:1-20        In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Reflection      Something happens to us at Christmas when we set aside our need to know and make sense of the facts. “Why did Augustus decree that all should register? Was it to pay taxes? What was the tax rate? Was Jesus actually born on December 25th? Was there an astrophysical event that the shepherds saw? Was it a rocket delivering satellites? Were shepherds living on the fields at that time of year? Seems unlikely.” 

At Christmas time we set aside our demand for answers in favor of believing and welcoming a glimpse of something more, something more that we cannot fact check and comprehend. Perhaps the shepherds in this timeless wisdom tale experience something similar. The light of awareness breaks through the dimness of their minds and they catch a glimpse of something more, something of God that is grand and glorious that they can not understand. It is no wonder they are terrified.

The prospect of God being born and present might not have seemed like good news of great joy to the shepherds. Remember, until this moment the shepherds and all of humanity understand God to be distant, remote, demanding, almighty and most definitely unapproachable. Perhaps this is why the new story of God born, a naked infant wrapped in rags and lying in a feeding trough, continues to reign throughout the centuries. A newborn child is anything but terrifying and intimidating. God born and revealed in humanity as a newborn child offers an unlikely and utterly approachable image of God.

Jesus is born, like a singular star, breaking new ground on the landscape of human consciousness. But it is not enough to proclaim the birth of God in humankind, to light our candles and sing joy to the world then set the moment aside for another year. The light of the star, God born and revealed in humankind, must be recognized and treasured in our hearts and then reflected in our lives.

Each one of us is like a new star coming to light in the empyrean. With each of us is born the prospect of consciousness, the possibility of new light added to transform the night sky into daylight, to transform senseless neglect and  disregard into sense and sensibility, to be the light of hope given for all humanity. At Christmas Eve we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the new light of hope for all. For the next three hundred and sixty four days it is up to us to reflect that light in our lives. 

Merry Christmas!

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Gospel text for Sunday 12 November 2017

Matthew 25:1-13        Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” 

Reflection       Jesus wants us to understand what the kingdom of heaven is like. Apparently his words are not crystal clear as for two thousand years theologians have never agreed regarding the definition of the kingdom of heaven; from the early church expectation that the kingdom would manifest any day to the purely eschatological or wait until the apocalyptic end of time theory, some have identified the kingdom with the visible church and others have insisted it is purely in the realm of grace. Some claim the kingdom is the ideal society characterized by freedom, justice and truth and, in the face of conflict, war and economic crisis others maintain the kingdom is on hold for a happily ever after death experience. 

I wonder if the kingdom of heaven is a state of consciousness paired with readiness to act? Jesus’ first reference to the kingdom of heaven is, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mat 3.2) Repent means turn around, change our mind and change the way we live to reveal the truth that the kingdom of heaven is actually here, right now, “at hand.” When we accept Jesus’ statement as true, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” we are awakened to see what we could not see before, the eyes of our hearts are opened and hopefully we are compelled to act accordingly. 

The kingdom of heaven has always been “at hand,” hiding in plain sight. It is not something outside ourselves that we can find, purchase or borrow from others. It is not delayed payment for a life of obedience. The kingdom of heaven is the light that shines from the center of each one of us.  As we turn around and direct our attention inward the light of our self awareness and our God awareness grows, each igniting the other. Which brings us to the issue of lamp oil.

Many of us really do not like the part of Jesus parable where “the foolish (bridesmaids) said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No!” We recoil, accuse Jesus of encouraging self-interest and greed. But what if Jesus is using lamp oil as a metaphor for human consciousness? 

Each one of us is responsible for turning around (repenting), looking inside and cultivating our own consciousness. We cannot borrow or draw upon someone else’s consciousness. Each of us must listen to Jesus’ teaching, choose to believe it, allow it to transform our minds and behavior, and in so doing the oil for our lamps, our consciousness, becomes a deep reservoir from which we draw light even in the midst of our darkest night.

The kingdom of heaven is fulfilled when each us remembers that we do not take a single breath but that God is drawing that breath through us, that we live every minute of every day as the revelation of God with us. When our oil lamps are full all people see God’s light glowing through us. They see it as we put our faith in God's generosity rather than our own. They see it in our calm assurance that all is well regardless of the fickle tides of time or circumstance.  They see it as we stretch to give away our blessings in thanksgiving to God from whom all blessings come. We are the kingdom of heaven, either bridesmaids in waiting or bridesmaids in fact. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 8 February 2015

Mark 1:29-39        Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Reflection           Punctuating our lives with prayer is not unique to the Episcopal Church (Check out the Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer!). Our Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and monastic sisters and brothers all teach the value of ordering our lives around regular periods of prayer. Still, many of us are more comfortable with one mega dose of prayer each week. But is it enough to sustain us? Is one whopping Sunday of prayer enough to give us the courage to wholeheartedly pray with Jesus saying, “Not my will but your will be done?” 

This is hard and I believe this is the heart of Mark’s gospel text. “In the morning, while it was still very dark, (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” From the fervid frenzy of the night before, everything is quiet. Jesus goes to a deserted place to confirm his direction, strength and healing power in relationship with God who, little more than forty days earlier annointed him  “My son, the beloved.” All that Jesus says and all that Jesus does is a realization of his relationship in God. That is why Jesus goes off to pray alone, to keep conscious his connection to the source of all that flows through him. I believe Jesus understood that his healings and exorcisms, his parables and preaching were outward and visible signs of the power and presence of God with him. And so Jesus never stopped returning to God, the source and sustainance of his life and ministry. Right down to the wire Jesus submitted, “Not my will but your will be done.”

As daughters and sons of God I believe we too must acknowledge our complete and utter dependence on God, God who is closer to us than our own breath, God who is the source and sustainance of all that we say and all that we do God whose will is not other than our own true will.

It takes courage and faith that God really is with us to drop the arms that keep other people and God at a safe distance. It takes courage and faith that God really is with us to take church outside these doors, connect with strangers, lift them up and invite them into the spiritual consciousness of our interconnected, interdependent relationships with one another and God.  It takes courage and faith that God really is with us to lay down our personal preferences and pray, “Not my will but your will be done.”

One mega dose of praying “Your will be done,” is not  sufficient for me to sustain my courage and faith in the One, Holy and Living God with me as I navigate the moment to moment aches and agony, drama and disappointment, intrigue and injustice that constantly accost me. And so I find myself slipping away from the crowd, sometimes early in the morning when it is still dark, to pray. I find my self closing my office door and taking a few minutes to pray. I find myself sitting in my car praying before the next meeting because one mega dose of prayer on Sunday is not enough to sustain me.

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Gospel for Resurrection Sunday April 8, 2012

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.