Gospel text for Sunday 19 March 2017

John 4:5-42

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.  A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

Reflection

When Jesus looked at the woman at Jacob’s well he did not see a foreigner, he did not see an unaccompanied woman, he did not see a sinner.  Jesus saw a woman who had spent her life searching for something to quench her desire, her deep longing for the kind of love that is untouched by the vagaries of time and circumstance. Jesus must have looked into this woman’s eyes and recognized her longing for the eternal love of God. So Jesus offered her just that, a blessing that would become in her “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”

Here is the thing, every day Jesus had to decide to risk his security, safety, esteem, power and control - all of his programs for personal happiness - in order to live in accord with the will of God; to love God with all his “heart, soul, mind and strength…and to love (his) neighbor as himself.”  Every day, every hour, Jesus had to decide to what he would say yes, yes. Would it be yes to his personal privilege, pleasure or protection or would it be yes for the good of others, the benefit of many, for long term gain rather than instant gratification? 

We can only imagine what Jesus must have been feeling in his heart while offering blessing to the woman at Jacob’s well. Perhaps there is a clue in his response to the disciples concern about him having skipped a meal to linger at the well. “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”… “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” The deepest desire of Jesus’ heart is to do the will of God. In doing the will of God Jesus is nourished and sustained.

This is the way of worshipping God in spirit and in truth; acknowledging the deepest desire of our hearts,  encountering God therein and passing on the blessing for the benefit of others. In this we are nourished and sustained. 

Every day, every hour, Jesus had to decide to what he would say yes, yes. Every hour of every day we also must decide to what we will say yes. “What is your heart’s desire? What do you wish for yourself, for your loved ones and for the world? Is it all about me or is it all about we?” Our answers to these questions determine whether we will forever be hungry and thirsty or eternally sustained.  Amen.

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Gospel text for Sunday 10 July 2016

Luke 10:25-37        Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise.”

Reflection      Every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is pray saying, “O God, I love you. I love all of your creation.” I pray for my church and pray the daily office. I am disciplined in my prayer life. But if when I stop saying my prayers and head into the world I do not stop at the side of the road to give water to my dehydrated neighbor I am not loving God. Every Sunday I go to church. I am devoted to reading and studying the scriptures, saying the prayers, receiving the bread and wine made holy. But if I do not go out of my way to help the lost, the lonely and the least among us, I am not loving God. 

Here’s the thing. If I cannot or will not or do not love the people I see right in front of me, how can I possibly love God whom I cannot see at all? Some of you may recall that the great convert Paul established a church for the Gentiles, meaning the non-Jews,  in Corinth and stayed in touch with the new Christians through friends and letters. Apparently Paul was concerned that some of the Corinthian Christians imagined they were better than others; more spiritual, more righteous, more knowledgable. Throughout his letter to these early Christians Paul reminds them that no matter how much they think they know or how good they think they are, if they do not have love, they have nothing at all. In Paul’s words, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (ICor 13.1-3) 

All around us we find opportunities to participate in God’s eternal love; in the hunger of our neighbors, in the loneliness of our friends and parishioners who are unable to join us for worship and play, in dogs and cats who need friends and veterinary care, in strangers or foreigners who need welcome, a bottle of water, a place to live, in the oppressed and the poor who need access to resources, prisoners and addicts and all folks who need hope and another chance. 

The question before us is not, “How are we to inherit eternal life?”  The question before us is, “How are we going to love our neighbors and in so doing love our God?” 

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Gospel Text for Sunday 31 May 2015

John 3:1-17        There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Reflection   “Are you a teacher, yet you do not understand these things?” Of course not. As a traditional teacher Nicodemus is listening to Jesus with the ears of his mind and is seeking a sensible, rational, fleshy explanation of Jesus’ words. That is why the story reports, Nicodemus “came to Jesus by night.” Nicodemus was in the dark. But Jesus is inviting Nicodemus  to open his ears to receive the words of the Spirit, the Vital Spark, the incomprehensible Essence of Life. Jesus is inviting Nicodemus into the light of consciousness expanded beyond the limits of physical life (being born of water) to experience consciousness of spiritual life (being born again of the Spirit). 

At this point in the Jesus narrative Nicodemus’ mind is occupied with the myriad things of the known world. He understands Jesus’ words literally rather than as fingers pointing beyond themselves to the unborn, undying, incomprehensible Unity of All that Is. 

And Jesus says, “Do not be astonished.” Can you almost hear Jesus elaborating? “You are so much more than what your senses perceive. Don’t you see, your good sense and sound judgment will not avail you of the Spirit of Truth? You will not recognize the Presence of God with you if you rely exclusively on your faculties of sense and reason. “You hear the sound of the wind, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” So it is with the Spirit, you experience its effects even though you cannot grasp it with your mind. ”

Jesus is pointing to the Mystery of Eternal life in which we all participate through the Spirit within. By opening our minds to the Mystery within we begin to experience the Mystery Beyond. This is the gateway of Eternal Life. This is being born again of the Spirit. This is participating in the mutual indwelling of the Holy Trinity. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 1 June 2014

John 17:1-11       Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. “

Reflection       Hears, believes, has… this is all present tense. According to John’s gospel eternal life is not about delayed gratification. It is not about post mortem reward. Right here, right now, hearing the Word of God, believing the Word of God, and acting in accord with the Word of God, we have already “passed from death to life.” This new life is eternal life. 

The way it has generally been understood we might envision eternal life as an enormous circle (which of course it is not because it could not possibly have edges). In any case, at some location far below the circle of eternal life is the tiniest of circles. That would be me. Or you. In our relationship to the enormous circle our understanding of eternal life is as something far above and beyond us, and, given my track record, probably inaccessible to me. 

Imagine again the enormous circle of eternal life but this time put our tiny circles inside the circle of eternal life. Our relationship with eternal life is utterly transformed. We are not outside eternal life, bouncing up and down trying to break in. We are always and everywhere intimately part of eternal life. Any sense of separation we may experience is because we are not hearing the Word of God, believing the Word of God or acting in accord with the Word of God. 

When we hear, believe and choose to act in accord with the Word of God we realize that the work of our life is to disentangle ourselves from any concerns that block the flow of Divine Presence. Actions driven to accumulate power, comfort, wealth or any other selfish motive create a false sense of separation between us and God and one another (our little distinguishing circle). But, we can choose to “sell everything,” which is to say,  we can choose to surrender our natural inclination toward selfishness. When we “sell everything” that interferes with the flow of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity and self-control, the insubstantial membrane that seems to separate us from one another dissolves and we experience our lives as the unified whole that they are.  This is the answer to Jesus’ prayer.

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through (the disciples’) word, that they may all be one…  as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one…” (John 17.20,23)

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Image by Alex Grey

Gospel text for Sunday 1 June 2014

John 17:1-11        Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. “

Reflection         Eternal life is now. That is what Jesus tells us in the Gospel according to John; “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5.24)

Hears, believes, has… this is all present tense. According to John’s gospel eternal life is not about delayed gratification. It is not about post mortem reward. Right here, right now, hearing the Word of God, believing the Word of God, and acting in accord with the Word of God, we have already “passed from death to life.” This new life is understood as eternal life. 

In the customary interpretation of Mark, Matthew and Luke’s gospels we might envision eternal life as an enormous circle (which of course it is not because it could not possibly have edges). In any case, at some location far below the circle of eternal life is the tiniest of circles. That would be me. Or you. In our relationship to the enormous circle our understanding of eternal life is as something far above and beyond us, and, given my track record, probably inaccessible to me. 

Imagine again the enormous circle of eternal life but this time put our tiny circles inside the circle of eternal life. Our relationship with eternal life is utterly transformed. We are not outside eternal life, bouncing up and down trying to break in. We are always and everywhere intimately part of eternal life. Any sense of separation we may experience is because we are not hearing the Word of God, believing the Word of God or acting in accord with the Word of God. 

When we do hear, believe and act in accord with the Word of God it is as if the thin membrane that seems to distinguish our individual tiny circles from the enormous circle of eternal life dissolves. For an instant we experience the unborn, undying, always and everywhere Presence of Divinity. We know that we know that we know we are not free-lancing bubbles of being vying for a ticket to paradise. 

When we act in accord with the Word of God we realize that the work of our life is to unentangle ourselves from worldly concerns that block the flows of Divine Presence. Actions driven to accumulate power, comfort, wealth or any other selfish motive create a false sense of separation between us and God and one another. When we choose to “sell everything” that contributes to the oppression of another and choose to surrender our natural inclination toward selfishness and acquisition, the insubstantial membrane that seems to separate us from one another dissolves and we experience our lives as the unified whole that they are.  This is the answer to Jesus’ prayer, “….as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one…” (John 17.23)

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Gospel text for Sunday 29 September 2013

Luke 16:19-31        Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Reflection       Can you hear Abraham calling to the rich man, “ You spent your life and put your faith in sumptuous feasts and fine apparel. You flaunted your privilege and stepped over a man starving at your door. You never even looked at him. You are a Jew, a religious man, you knew better. You knew the words of the prophets, and you did not listen.  But when things got really bad you did not hesitate to call me your father... Abraham. How dare you presume to be favored in God’s family. On the balance sheet of life you chose death because you did not “take hold of the eternal life....a life that really is life.” You did not listen to the prophets. You did not listen to the word of God.”

Before I go on I must say this, I do not believe Jesus’ parable is about what happens after we are dead. I believe Jesus is telling us what is important right now, while we are alive. In this parable even though we may be rich we don’t identify with the unnamed man in purple because he is dead. He made his choices and on the balance sheet of life he came up short. Neither do we identify with Lazarus, though surely each one of us has our share of suffering. Still, we are neither destitute nor are we dead. I believe in this story we are the five brothers. And, if we would listen we might be convinced to “take hold of the eternal life, the life that really is life.” 

Like the five brothers, we have Moses and the prophets. We also have a voice from heaven instructing us...listen to Jesus, the prophet of prophets. You recall the dramatic mountaintop moment earlier in Luke’s gospel when “a voice came out of the cloud saying (to Jesus’ disciples), “This in my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”” (Luke 9.35) Listen to him. 

Are you getting the message? We are supposed to listen. So, what is Jesus saying? Jesus spends much time in Luke’s gospel talking about possessions and money. I do not believe he is saying money or possesions are evil. They are neutral. Rather, evil is when we allow money or possessions to own us and make us blind to the needs and rights of others. Evil is when the power, privilege and pride associated with money and possessions begins to possess us and prevent us from being the living revelation of God’s preferential care for the poor and the suffering.

The bottom line; if we call Abraham our father and claim to be God’s people we need to listen.

We need to listen to the prophets and adjust our lives to bridge the ever widening gap between the rich and the poor. We need to step out of our well meaning and comfortable ruts and adjust the balance sheets of our lives. We need to ask ourselves how will we give a little more of our selves away for the benefit of strangers today? This is the way to be truly rich; to “take hold of the eternal life, life that really is life.” This is the way to be God’s people. 

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