Gospel text for Sunday 8 September 2019

Luke 14:25-33        Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

Reflection        The cost of responding to Jesus’ invitation to discipleship, the cost of actually living the Way of Jesus, insists we break away from the past and from all attachments that would stand between us and living in imitation of Jesus. In his 1937 classic, The Cost of Discipleship,  the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes,

"The price we are having to pay today in the shape of the collapse of the organized church is only the inevitable consequence of our policy of making grace available to all at too low a cost. We gave away the word and sacraments wholesale, we baptized, confirmed, and absolved a whole nation without condition. Our humanitarian sentiment made us give that which was holy to the scornful and unbelieving…  But the call to follow Jesus in the narrow way was hardly ever heard.”**

Which begs the question, what is ‘the narrow way” of following Jesus? I believe it is picking up the cross and imitating the life of Jesus. And what does that mean? It means, like Jesus we must be willing to suffer or sacrifice for the sake of others. You see, Jesus did not come as a warrior king, intent on fighting the purveyors of evil and oppression and winning. Jesus did not come as a politician seeking office to govern the land and legislate change and take over. Jesus did not even come as a stakeholder in Judaism or the Roman Empire. Jesus came as a powerless peasant willing to empty himself of all attachments in order to serve and to suffer for the good of others. This is the cost of discipleship, our whole life.

It is in our willingness to advance benefits for others even at our own expense; to feed the hungry, house the homeless, give refuge to the stranger, comfort the mourning and heal the sick that we are the bodily presence of Christ in the world. If we claim to be disciples of Jesus then we too must empty ourselves of attachments, in Jesus’ words, “hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself,”  in order to serve and to suffer for the good of others. This is the cost of discipleship.

Doing good works has its shadow side too. There is always the temptation to elevate ourselves. “Look at me. Do you see all the good I am doing? I help the homeless at Sr. José, I serve the refugees at Casa Alitas, I help my neighbors, I bring groceries to the food pantry…” The good works that we do are not intended to point to ourselves. They are meant to reveal Divine Presence and fulfill Jesus’ law of love for all people. By our self-emptying, our giving away of ourselves for others, we are the living Body of Christ and we reveal the Way of the cross to the world, and, there is absolutely nothing easy about this. The cost of discipleship is our life.

**Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Macmillan, 1966. BT 380.B66 1966.

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Gospel text for Sunday 13 May 2018

John 17:6-19        Jesus prayed for his disciples, “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. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Reflection        OK, today it is time for a reboot, time to install a new operating system. Our old way of thinking and being in the world is no longer working. One after another of our systems are crashing, our programs are failing, and so today we glue ourselves to Jesus and pray for a new operating system. Which, by the way, is what I believe Jesus was doing two thousand years ago while standing within earshot of the disciples and praying aloud to God affirming that the Word, the truth that he has passed on to the disciples, is  setting them crosswise with the world’s status quo such that they no longer belong and need protection. 

In and of and through his life Jesus passes on the revelation of God’s Incarnate Presence to the disciples and “now they have everything” (a new operating system) that God has given to Jesus. The disciples have received the way and truth and life as incarnated by Jesus. They have heard Jesus’ words, witnessed his compassionate actions and participated in his ministry of healing. The questions now are, “When Jesus is no longer physically present, will the disciples hold fast to the truth they have received? Will they continue to act out of the new operating system? Or will they be vulnerable to a world that hates their way of compassion, community, and common good and revert to the old zero-sum system of competition for power and privilege? When Jesus is no longer physically present, will the disciples (and by extension us) will we succumb to the countervailing forces in the world that promote ill will,  self-worship and separation - the defunct and dysfunctional old operating system?”

Jesus knows all of this and so prays for protection for the disciples, something I imagine he must have done for himself every day when he wandered off by himself to pray. Jesus knows that his life depends on God the Father; it is written into the source code of his operating system. Jesus knows that all he says and does is given to him by the Father, the source. In his words, “Everything you (God) have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them (disciples.)…”

Like Jesus, like the disciples, we are sent into the world and do not belong to the world. When we attempt to go it alone, putting our faith in the old operating system, fighting to assert our individual rights and express our personal powers, we are doomed. But, if like Jesus  we remember our Source and hold fast to our new operating system, like Jesus we will be sanctified, affirmed and set apart to continue Gods’ work in the world. 

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Gospel text for Independence Day 3 July 2016

Matthew 5:43-48        Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”                                                  

Reflection        Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 I believe Martin Luther King, Jr. embodies Jesus’ foundational teaching, “Love is the superpower that prevails over all.” Although to the best of my knowledge neither Jesus nor MLK used the word “superpower” it seems the perfect word to describe the encounter of love with whatever wastes or contributes to the ruin of life. God’s superpower, love prevails. 

God’s love “rains on the evil and on the good…on the righteous and on the unrighteous” because God’s superpower is free of human constructed concepts of right or wrong, good or evil, left or right, friend or foe, Republican or Democrat, Christian or non-Christian. Being free, God’s superpower has the unparalleled ability to transform closed minds and hardened hearts. God’s superpower love wakens life in the midst of destruction and death. God’s superpower prevails.

Which of course is the heart of our Christian narrative. In the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we see that evil is overcome with love.    Being falsely accused, betrayed, beaten and tortured to death did not vanquish Jesus’ love of God, his unfaithful friends or his murderers.  Evil or destruction never has the final word because love prevails. As Paul instructs the Romans, “Nothing will separate us from the love of God…” (Ro 8.38) 

The thing is, God depends on humankind to continue God’s work of subduing evil with love.  Jesus shows The Way, Martin Luther King, Jr. follows. Now the task falls to each of us to deploy God’s superpower with nonpartisan love. The old way of dualistic seeing; friend v foe, ally v enemy, us v them; the old laws commanding an eye for an eye, restitution or defense, must be unequivocally replaced with the New Way of deploying God’s superpower; meeting corruption with decency, engaging vulgarity with restraint and embracing enmity with love. God’s  nonpartisan life-giving love is the superpower that prevails and transforms whatever wastes or contributes to the ruin of life. God's love is with us. Now let us pass it on.

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Gospel text for Sunday 19 June 2016

Luke 8:26-39      Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me" -- for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 

When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 

Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Reflection        When have we encountered people whom we might describe as “demon possessed?” In the intimidation spewed by bullies? in in scare-tactics of the self-serving?  the insolence of the arrogant?  in the heinous acts of the desperate? It is easy to be caught up in the blustery theatrics of these “unclean spirits,” easy to be swept away in a tide of emotion then paralyzed by fear. It is easy to decide to hide rather than confront the ill-willed histrionics.

I believe it would have been easy for Jesus to remain in Galilee, stay close to the Synagogue, continue his teaching and eating with sinners and steer clear of demon possessed territories. But he did not because “The Way” of Jesus is the way of bringing the Spirit of God to bear on the people possessed by the unclean spirit of ill-will and distorted relationships. When Jesus crosses over to the other side to “arrive at the country of the Geresenes” he leaves the safe sanctuary of institutional Jewish religion to engage full on with who or what ever opposes the Spirit of God not because it is easy or comfortable, but because his (and therefore our) mission is to intervene wherever the demonic spirit of ill-will acts out to distort relationships, subvert goodness, take advantage of the innocent or execute the stranger.

As people of The Way of Jesus I believe it is incumbent upon us to do more that worship God in our churches and do our well intended acts of charity. It is time for us to leave our safe church havens and identify the demon possessed. It is time for us to put our faith in the Spirit of God with us and refuse to be intimidated by bullies, refuse to capitulate to would be oppressors, call out the scare-tactics of the self-serving,  descry the incivility of the arrogant.

Reflecting on the relatively meagre response of Episcopal Church leaders to the Orlando tragedy and its underlying issues, in his weekly E-pistle Bishop Kirk Smith wondered if it is time for us to get out of Galilee and take action.” It got me to thinking, what if religious leaders reinstated the “Pax Dei.” What if we said, “Violence, and the means to violence (such as automatic weapons), are forbidden to believers.” What if we made it a policy, “It's your choice, AR-15s or Holy Communion?” What if we banned all guns from church buildings (a few of our Arizona congregations have done so)? What if we bishops wore our clerical collars and had a sit down in the entrance to the NRA headquarters? Maybe by taking such actions, instead of just praying for peace, people would begin to see their church leaders as the conscience of society instead of just chaplains to those in control. Maybe the American public would listen more carefully to what spiritual leaders, and not just entertainers, have to say.”

What if we lived as people of The Way of Jesus, full of faith, and refusing to capitulate to demonic histrionics? What if ….?

Read Bishop Smith’s entire reflection at  http://www.azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3179601 

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Gospel text for Sunday 16 February 2014

Matthew 5:21-37        Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, `You shall not murder'; and `whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, `You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

"It was also said, `Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, `You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be `Yes, Yes' or `No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Reflection     Thousands of years before Roe versus Wade and the social political conversations about a persons “right” to choose,’the Jewish scribe Eliezer ben Sira of Jerusalem wrote the wisdom teachings known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus or Sirach in which he made clear, it is a person’s “obligation” to choose. “If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. (God) has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose. Before each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given.” (Eccl  15.15-20)

It is more than a right. It is our obligation to choose. Do we choose a life driven by externals, by splashes of righteousness and enslavement to the letter of the law? Or do we choose a life upheld by the interior presence of God with us? Do we choose a life consumed by lust for food, drink or sex? Or do we choose a life nourished in the wisdom of God and God’s messengers? Do we choose a life possessed by desire for security, attention, affection or power? Or do we choose a life free to give away the gifts that have been given to us?

Jesus is upping the ante by instructing the disciples and us to choose the more difficult way, the way of knowing our selves and making conscious choices to live our lives in integrity with God’s economy. When we come to church on Sunday our prayers asking God to forgive the “things we have done and the things we have left undone” and our generous plate offerings are not enough if we “harbor anger, jealousy, bitterness, hostility, infidelity or any kind of ill will toward another person.” Jesus tells us, it is what’s inside that counts.  

Coming to worship, asking God to forgive us for our desecrating feelings is not enough. We must choose to grow in self awareness, and this is really hard. It is hard because of who we really are. 

In the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, (I paraphrase) “God created humankind in God’s image… male and female God created them.” (Gen 1.27) This is an outrageous claim that carries with it enormous responsibility. Let me be crystal clear, we are not god, we are godlike. Created in the image and likeness of God, Imago Dei, we are a shadow or  snapshot of God. We are imbued with godlike qualities. The question is, are we choosing to allow our godlike qualities to show? That is the heart of self-awareness and the fruit of conscious choice.

Two questions I choose to reflect during the upcoming Lenten season are; What are my unique godlike qualities? What choices can I make to allow them to show? We are obliged to choose.

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Hello friends,

It is a very good thing that "always we begin again" because for the past week I have been without computer and not attending to hOlybytes. Mea culpa - mea culpa. Now that I have returned to blogsville I promise I will do my best to keep you posted (ooh - that was bad).

So, let us begin again. Below is the passage for Sunday, May 1st.

John 14:6-14

Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."

Questions for engaging the text:

- What do I observe? What am I seeing? Does this passage raise questions for me?

- Is anything attracting me, drawing my attention, or repulsing me?

- What response is emerging within me? What is my response to what is attracting me?***

- In what ways might I specifically act on my insights in the world?

*** First 3 questions taken from The ART of Engaging Holy Scripture curriculum (see resources)

I really want to hear from you. Thank you for clicking on "Comments" below and adding your responses. Debra