Gospel and Hebrew Testament 2 September 2012

Mark 7.1-8, 14-15, 21-23 & Song of Solomon 2.8-13

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching human precepts as doctrines.'

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition."

 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

 Reflection

“Listen to me, all of you, and understand:” God wants our hearts. That’s what Jesus is telling the self- righteous religious folk who keep pestering him with divisive issues of, who is in who is out, who is clean who is unclean, who may be married who may not, who may vote who may not, who is holy who is not, who is right who is wrong.

 Can’t you just see Jesus wringing his hands and shaking his head as he pulls Isaiah’s wisdom from his heart saying, “this people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Can you hear how frustrated Jesus is when he says to the people, to us,  “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:” God wants your heart.” Oh dear – I have no idea how to give my heart to God?

 Thank goodness for the wise ones who went before. Nine hundred years before Jesus was born the writer of Solomon’s love songs knew all about giving his heart to God. And these love songs, these tales of transforming love between God and God’s people, were the wisdom tradition in which Jesus grew up. Who knows how many times he heard Solomon’s songs; on high holy days? maybe even every Friday night? I believe Jesus carried Solomon’s love songs in his heart and they shaped his relationship with God and God’s people.

 Today we join Jesus and reach into this beautiful wisdom tradition to learn about love, God’s love and human love. To hear love call us the beloved, to discover that love is strong as a stag and alive as a gazelle. To hear love’s invitation “come away with me,” and love’s promise of new life, “the vines are in blossom, they give forth fragrance.” Life alone, in darkness, in isolation, alienation, desolation is over       because God is calling to us, the beloveds, “arise my love… and come away with me….with me.” God is calling to us as individuals and as a community. There is new life for us, for all of us because God intends us to live in love with God and one another.

In the early 12th century St. Bernard of Clairvaux described coming away with God this way. “As a drop of water seems to disappear completely in a big quantity of wine, even assuming the wine’s taste and color;  just as red, molten iron becomes so much like fire it seems to lose its primary state… so it is necessary … that all human feelings melt in a mysterious way and flow into the will of God.” Flow into the will of God. How do we flow into the will of God? In what might be the world’s longest sermon series, Bernard wrote 86 sermons on Solomon’s Songs trying to answer that question, how do we flow into the will of God?  In the end I believe it comes to this… love God without measure.

 “Listen to me, all of you, and understand,” God wants your heart.

 Song of Solomon 2:8-13

The voice of my beloved!

Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.

My beloved speaks and says to me:

  “Arise, my love, my fair one,

and come away;
for now the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.”

Gospel Test for Sunday 19 August 2012

John 6:51-58      Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."

Reflection

It seems Jesus had an affinity for gatherings that involved food. We meet him at formal and not so formal dinner parties in all four gospels; the wedding at Cana, dinner with the stranger Zaccheus, meals with the good friends Martha and Mary, picnics with thousands, repasts with sinners and tax collectors, the last intimate supper with his closest friends, and who can imagine how many times he wandered into a town and was invited to break bread with a stranger. During the three years of his itinerant ministry Jesus depended on the generosity of other people for his food and drink; he depended on the work of their flesh to prepare and provide his living sustenance.

 Still Jesus did not get all that he needed from friends and strangers.  He knew that he lived “because of the Father…” and so he chose to believe and be in relationship with God the Father. I like to imagine that each morning when Jesus woke up and went off by himself to pray that at least part of what he prayed was, “Thank you God for sending these women and men to care for my needs. Please bless them as they have blessed me.” I like to think that Jesus knew with his whole being that he was utterly dependent on the grace and goodness of God flowing through the hands and hearts of others to provide for his needs, to give him life, and thus his life overflowed with gratitude. Perhaps this is what prompted him to stand in the synagogue at Capernaum during Passover and make what is arguably the most scandalous statement in the New Testament, “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

 Those are really difficult words to swallow (sorry). How are we supposed to eat “the flesh of the Son of Man?” Frankly, if we take the words literally we imagine scenes of cannibalism and are likely to be repulsed. But Jesus was speaking metaphorically when describing himself as “this living bread that came down from heaven?” God, through Jesus, gives life to the world. That is to say, God works through the flesh of Jesus to give life, life “that will live forever.”

Here is the thing. Although God draws us to God’s own self it is our responsibility to choose to believe or not to believe, to ‘eat’ or to reject these words.  When we eat something we take it in, we digest it and incorporate it in our flesh. When we eat something it becomes the substance of our energy, our growth and our actions. If we choose not to eat earthly bread we will not live physically. If we choose not to eat mystical bread (that is to say, choosing to believe Jesus as Jesus chose to believe God the Father) we will not live spiritually. The life we receive from earthly bread will not last forever. The life we receive from mystical bread is eternal. Now then, do you choose to believe, “to eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood?”  And if you choose to believe, do you also allow God to use your flesh to bless and provide for the life of others?

 On Sunday the 19^th  folks from St. Barnabas will bring food they have prepared to feed folks who are homeless in Phoenix. Might you join them? Call 480 948 5560 for details.

Gospel text for Sunday 12 August 2012

John 6:35, 41-51

Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Reflection

The people with whom Jesus is speaking were among those Jews who received the loaves of bread that fed five thousand. Apparently the next day they were hungry for more so went looking for Jesus. When they found and began to question him, Jesus said to them, ”Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life… (6.27) …my Father gives you the bread from heaven.” (6.32) With just a few words Jesus switched hands from the literal to the metaphorical, “I am the bread of life.” The writer of John’s text wants us to move from seeking the physical (manna, loaves of bread and signs of Jesus’ identity) to seeking the divine (life in the Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Which raises the question for me, “Am I willing to find my life sustaining “bread” in relationship with Jesus and God the Father?"

If I chose to respond to this invitation literally (physically) I would react as did the Jews who “disputed among themselves saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”” (6.52) As the disciples noted, “This teaching is difficult.” (6.60) And that is precisely what faith is about, things that we cannot wrap our minds around. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1) Holding a loaf of bread in my hands I have no need for faith. I can touch and see the weight and substance of the loaf, and it will temporarily relieve my physical hunger. But to experience the life giving qualities of abundance, satisfaction, fulfillment, even joy I must look beyond the physical and find my life in Jesus, that I might live in him and he in me.   

We are all moved by hunger for something more and have oh so creatively contrived means to sate our desires; acquisition of food, wealth, property, power, status, partners, perpetual youth.  This is nothing new to the human condition. You can read about it in the Old Testament in stories of King David, in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times or People Magazine.  The thing is, the deepest desire of our hearts cannot be satisfied by anything physical. The deepest desire of our hearts invites us to discover that which is beyond the physical in the physical, to find divinity in the flesh.

I believe we all have glimpses of divinity in the flesh, moments when the veil between the physical and spiritual realms is pulled aside. For a chef it might happen while holding a sheaf of parsley in his hand, reverently inspecting the curl of the leaves and twists of the stems while rubbing a bit between his tongue and palate. A new parent might get a glimpse sniffing the scent of their fresh bathed infant or a music lover following the decrescendo of a plaintiff melody. It could be the smell of rain on the desert or the look in your dying friend’s eyes. I believe we all have had glimpses of the divine in the flesh.

It is this to which Jesus invites us to find our life, our true and eternal life.  It is the very flesh of this life that draws us  to reach (and taste) something more.  

hOlybytes: Gospel for Feast of the Transfiguration 5 August ...

hOlybytes: Gospel for Feast of the Transfiguration 5 August ...: Luke 9:28-36 About eight days after Jesus had foretold his death and resurrection, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and we...

Gospel for Feast of the Transfiguration 5 August 2012

Luke 9:28-36
About eight days after Jesus had foretold his death and resurrection, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Reflection

Wouldn’t you just love to know God with your whole being? To know God the way you know the sound of a good friend’s footsteps? or the taste of chocolate? or the unspeakable beauty of a spectacular sunset. Wouldn’t you just love to know God the way you know tenderness when watching a young child sleep, the way you know wonder when listening to great music or inspiring words? Wouldn’t you love to know the grandeur of God the way you know the majesty of jagged mountains piercing cobalt skies while waves of wind and dust churn across the desert? Wouldn’t you just love to know God with your whole being?

I believe this is the way Jesus knew God – with his whole being. I believe Jesus desired to know and be in relationship with God with all of his heart, with all of his soul with all of his strength and with all of his mind.  I believe it was Jesus’ desire for God that compelled him to go out of his way, to climb the mountain and reach out to God in prayer with his whole being.  And Jesus was transfigured.

Jesus brought his whole being into relationship with God and his whole being was affected, so much so that even his clothes, that is to say, even the way he was perceived in the world, radiated his intimate knowledge of God.  Jesus was fully, lucidly, beyond any doubt in relationship with God.

I believe this is where all of us are going. We are all going to be transfigured. We are all moving toward the full and intimate knowledge of God that will transform us all the way in and all the way out. We will be changed and it will be noticeable – like dazzling white clothes. And if you happen to be wondering, “How?” A lawyer who was testing Jesus actually hasd the answer, “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind”….And Jesus said to him, “You have given the right answer, do this and you will live.””(Luke 10.27-28)

Gospel text for Sunday 29 July 2012

John 6.1-20
Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world."

 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

 Reflection

Two paragraphs, two miracles. Oh my. The Jesus we meet in this text is extraordinary. His very presence transforms reality in unimaginable ways. I believe that is the point of these miracle tales; to make it crystal clear that being in the presence of Jesus changes everything. Being in relationship with Jesus gives us access to dimensions of reality that are truly beyond reason – in other words - miraculous. For who can reasonably explain satisfying five thousand people’s hunger with a mere five loaves and two fishes? And even a four year old knows that people do not walk on water.  So what is going on here?

 I believe these miracle stories are examples of God working through created nature to reveal a dimension of non-ordinary experience that is aligned with God’s own true and unlimited nature.  And I believe that every human person has access to this non-ordinary experience of reality in relationship with God.  And yes, it is astonishing.

 The thing is when it comes to being in relationship with God we are talking about a kind of experience that surpasses human understanding. We are talking about a kind of experience that is not bound by the laws of general relativity and quantum mechanics, not constrained by the fundamental properties of matter and motion, not explained by the principles of reason and logic. We are talking about astonishing, radical, life changing, consciousness expanding experiences.

 Regardless of whether you read the miracle stories as literally true, as signs, as prophetic revelations or as allegories, the bottom line is this; reason is not sufficient to describe the experience of being in relationship with God.  That said, it is not surprising that the great religious traditions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism all use miracle stories to describe non-ordinary experiences aligned with DIvinity. All of these religious traditions use miracle stories to describe that which reason cannot grasp because at the root of all of these great traditions there is the experience of knowing that which cannot be known.

 ++ The image from the Hubbell Telescope is described:  “Colliding galaxies make love not war.”

Gospel text for Sunday 22 July 2012

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

 Reflection:

I was right there with the disciples sighing relief when Jesus said, “Come away to a deserted place…and rest awhile.”  Like the disciples I too worked hard last week, showed up for lots of people and I was ready to get away from it all, ready for my Sabbath rest. But things did not turn out that way. Even before we could steal a moment of silence and solitude people were gathering, people with needs. I want to say to Jesus and the people, “Look here, I have worked hard and I deserve my Sabbath time.”  I want to put up neon signs that say, “Do not disturb.”

 But Jesus would hear none of that. Instead he “had compassion.” In the New Testament the word compassion is translated from the Greek  word splagchnizomai  and it means  to be ‘moved in the bowel,’ to be with the experience of another human being in the most elemental way, in our very bowels. No days off. No do not disturb signs. Being with and for other human beings is fundamental to being real human beings. And there is no warrant for time off from being real human beings.

 When Jesus invited the apostles to “come away to a deserted place… and rest a while,” he did not invite them to indulge their desire to get away from it all. By extension I presume Jesus is not inviting me to indulge my introverts desire to stake out my Sabbath day with no trespassing signs.  No, I believe Jesus is inviting all of us to “crossover” to another way of being, being with and for one another, most especially those in need; to have compassion.

At the same time I cannot for a moment think that Jesus of compassion is asking me, the disciples or any of us to get burned out. I believe this story from Mark’s gospel intends to remind us that where ever we go there will be people in need. The question is not, how can I get away for them and find my rest. Rather, the question is how may I stay rooted and peaceful in my relationship with God? How may I receive rest and divine nourishment while in the midst of people in need? And of course Jesus shows us the way, the way of compassion, the way of reaching into our bowels and realizing our need and their need are essentially the same. We are all tired and hungry and thirsty and we are all healed when touched by compassion.