Gospel text for Sunday 12 February 2017

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  

You have heard that it is said, “Be polite and do not offend others,” but I say, “It is not enough to be politically correct and say, “I pray for the poor, the disenfranchised, the elderly, the disabled, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, I pray for immigrants and refugees, the specially abled and all those experiencing violence and oppression.” We must set down all of the categories and groups that pigeonhole people in pejorative boxes and see the inherent good and godly nature of every single person. Jesus said to the religious leaders, "You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and wickedness!” (Lk 11.39) It is what is inside that matters.

You have heard that it is said,  “Be good citizens,” but I say, “Voting and paying your taxes is not enough. Look beyond your personal obligation and see your obligation to dignify and care for every human being. As members of God’s community we owe our allegiance to God and are intended to care for all of God’s people.” In Jesus’ words, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12.17) Which of course begs the question, “What exactly belongs to God?”  Only everything.

You have heard that it is said, “Take responsibility for yourself,” but I say, “ life is not about asserting your personal rights and gratifying your personal needs. Life is about fostering community in which all people have access to security, safety, esteem and empowerment.” Again, Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Lk 6.31) Take responsibility for humanity.

Yes I have taken liberties with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount,  but here is the thing. It is all too easy for us to bow to prevailing social norms; to be polite, be good citizens and assume responsibility for our personal welfare. In doing these good things it is easy for us to injure, neglect or discriminate against members of our community. By paying inordinate attention to the outside of our cups,  we fail to remember the blessing we are intended to be for others.

This section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount invites us to look beyond external appearances, to set down categories and groups that divide and denigrate people, and behold the root that lies within each of us. What is the root that lies within us? It is our God given good and godly nature. It is God with us, given that we may be a blessing for all. 

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Text from the Acts of the Apostles 29 January 2017

Acts 26:9-21 Paul said to King Agrippa, "Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

"With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, `Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' I asked, `Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, `I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles-- to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

"After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me."

Reflection     When I hear the story of Saul’s conversion I believe the Spirit of God must have been working overtime within Saul to transform his consciousness until for some incomprehensible reason he reached the tipping point, the asymptote, and the tumblers of the lock fell open as did the eyes of his heart.

Because I believe the Spirit of God is with all people at all times, I believe that even in the midst of Saul’s murderous campaign the Spirit of God must have been winding him up, must have been goading and prodding and stirring him to wonder, “What is it with these Jesus people? Why are they willing to die rather than renounce their dead and disappeared leader? Why do they risk their lives to get together to remember him and tell his stories? Why do they share everything they have? How is it they are so peaceful even when we terrorize, entrap and kill them? What is it about this Jesus that has such a hold on them?”

Here is the thing. Saul did not become someone else that day on the road to Damascus. The clue is in the voice Saul hears speaking in the language of his true self saying, ”Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.” Saul’s inherent trues self, the Spirit of God with him, was goading him, pricking him, encouraging him to pay attention to what he saw and heard and felt in the presence of the disciples. The Spirit of God with Saul was goading him to stop denying his true self by persecuting the followers of Jesus. 

The irony is,  Saul’s inherent capacity for conviction, passion and action, the qualities that made him an exemplary Roman soldier are the same qualities that when channeled through a different understanding of reality made him one of the most effective early apostles spreading Jesus’ message of peace and dignity for all people throughout Asia Minor and Europe.  By channeling the same conviction, passion and action that sought to exterminate the Jesus movement through a different understanding of reality, Saul forever transformed the human experience, founding the first churches and writing letters we still read to counsel and encourage Jesus’ revolutionary first century peace and justice movement.

As we wake up at the dawning of the twenty-first century and realize there are more than a few versions of reality, can we feel the Spirit of God winding us up, goading and prodding, provoking and inciting tears, fears, anger and exasperation? Can we hear the Spirit of God calling us by name, “Debra, Jon, Linda, George, Carol, Frank, Henry, Morgan, (fill in your name), why are you persecuting me? Why are you hurting yourself by refusing to acknowledge my goading and prodding to stand on your feet and embody the version of reality that claims all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social or financial status, political or religious affiliation or lack thereof, all people are welcome and deserve dignity and justice?"  

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Christian Testament for 22 January 2017

1 Corinthians 1:10-18         Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.  For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Reflection       …for it has been reported to me… that there are quarrels among you; fathers and daughters, friends, neighbors, life partners, business partners.  What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Trump,” or “I belong to anti-Trump,” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? … In whose name were you baptized? To what family do you truly belong? “

Yes, I have taken a few liberties with Paul’s words to the Corinthians. But today we are confronted with a similar situation to that which Paul faced in the early church. We, the People of God, are forgetting who and whose we are. We are girding up our loins and gerrymandering our lines, we are defining who is in and who is out and all the while we are afraid. 

We are afraid because we have forgotten who and whose we are. We are afraid because we have forgotten we are sisters and brothers in one family, the family of God.

Today we are faced with divided families, divided friendships, divided communities, a divided nation and divided hearts. In every region of our lives and our world Paul’s words ring true, “There are quarrels among us.” Still, we are good people. We are people of God. Yes we do have different ways of expressing our goodness. Yes we do imagine different ways of extending goodness to all people. But as Paul unequivocally proclaims, we should all be in agreement. There should be no divisions among us because we are “united in the same mind and the same purpose.”

What is this mind in which we are united? It is the Mind of Christ, the mind of inclusivity, compassion and nonviolence. What is the purpose that we share? It is continuing Jesus’ message that began in Galilee, proclaiming the good news to all people on earth. Now we arrive at the difficult part. Like Jesus we must put flesh on the bones of our words (instead of fighting over concepts or ideologies). We cannot only say with our mouths, “We are all sisters and brothers in Christ. We are one in the family of God.” As Jesus did, so must we make our proclamation real by our actions. It is up to each of us to directly touch the lives of the least the lost and the lonely as Jesus touched and healed the leper. It is up to each of us to discover the humanity of our enemy as did Jesus with the Roman soldier pleading with Jesus to cure his slave. It is up to each of us to apply the wisdom of all the law and the prophets and do to others as we would have them do to us. 

It is time for us to stop quarreling about concepts and ideologies and do to others as we would have them do to us. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 15 January 2017

John 1:29-42        John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Reflection        Some of the most heartbreaking moments for me as a priest are when people come to me, head down and eyes diverted explaining, “I was raised Roman Catholic (or Protestant or _______) and no matter what I tell myself I cannot get past the feeling that I am a sinner. Fundamentally something feels wrong with me. I hear you speak of Original Blessing and that each one of us is a unique revelation of Divine presence and want to believe it but I cannot get past the feeling of my unworthiness.”

The delectable film “Chocolat” portrays this dilemma beautifully. The church folks in a rural French town are steeped in moral judgments and repressed desires whereas Vianne, a new woman in town who opens her  Chocolateria at the same time the season of Lent is beginning and invites people to enjoy the sights and smells and tastes of creation is deemed a vulgar sinner to be shunned. It is no wonder so many people leave the institutional church. Who wants to give up chocolate! Who wants to be a sinner!

Historically, well intentioned theologians were faced with trying to explain why Jesus, the Son of God, exemplar of faith and revelation of Divine Presence on earth had to die, particularly, why this utterly innocent man had to suffer and die such a horrific death. Some explanations include; Jesus was the ransom paired to free humanity or satisfy humanity’s debt to God, to Jesus was the perfect substitutionary sacrifice to God for all of humanity’s sins, to Jesus was a scapegoat onto which the sins of humanity was piled and then he alone needed to be sacrificed.

But I say, Jesus is neither a scapegoat nor was he born so that he could die as payment for the sin of humanity. Jesus is the lamb of God come to reveal that God is always with us, even when we turn away or imagine we are separated. To the question, “Should not someone as pure and innocent as Jesus be exempt from the human conditions of suffering and death?” the answer is a resounding, “No.” 

The wise men from the East knew it when they recognized the infant Jesus as human, divine and utterly fragile destined to die and thus offered their revelatory gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. If we adopt the spiritual vision of the wise we too will see that every infant, every person is human, divine and utterly fragile destined to die. Divinity is not separate from humanity. Divinity does not portend absence of suffering and death. Jesus is the lamb of God revealing God is with us regardless of our circumstance. Neither bloody sacrifice nor rigid abstinence from the delights of life is required to be in right relationship with God. In fact, Jesus shows us the way of enjoying good wine with friends and breaking bread with strangers. This is right relationship. 

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Gospel text for Feast of the Epiphany, Sunday 8 January 2017

Matthew 2.1-12        In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: `And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Reflection       “Why do we give one another gifts?” Habit? Duty? Obligation? Guilt? Manipulation? I believe gifts given in the genuine sense of giving are the outward and visible sign of our interior state, our intrinsic good will. Some gifts reveal our sense of gratitude, some extend healing, others communicate our inner desire for reconciliation, still others express our interior state of reverence or love. Given this way, gifts are means by which we make visible our hidden or invisible thoughts and emotions. When we choose the so called perfect gift for someone we are communicating by our choice that we know and value them as the unique person they are. 

Which leads us to the wise men in today’s teaching story. Finding the child Jesus they are “overwhelmed with joy,” they open their treasure chests (their hearts?) and carefully choose the perfect gifts for the infant Jesus, gifts that reveal they know and value the unique person Jesus. The wisdom of the wise is to look beyond appearances of  destitute Jewish parents with a newborn lying in an animal feeding trough, and see a human being, a divine being, a fragile being destined to die.  

As with all good teaching stories, the wisdom is hidden between the lines.  The wisdom of the wise men is hidden in the gifts they bring. Gold represents humanity. Frankincense represents divinity and myrrh is used when preparing bodies for burial. The wise men’s gifts are the outward and visible signs of their interior understanding of the true nature of this child, Jesus. Human, divine and destined to die.

The wise mens’ well chosen gifts communicate, “We see you for who you truly are.” Like the brightness of a star that illumines the entire world, the foreigners’ perspicuity  elevates the exchange of gifts from expressions of mass marketing or mad materialism to a spiritual transaction. 

Celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany we receive the incomprehensible gift given to all of humanity; the revelation that like our brother Jesus we are human beings, divine beings and fragile beings destined to die. There are no foreigners, there are no strangers. There are no “others.” Receiving this news we join the wise men, overwhelmed with joy and reaching into our hearts we search for the perfect gift to communicate we know and value each person we meet for who they uniquely are; human, divine and utterly fragile.

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Gospel text for Sunday 1 January 2017

Luke 2:15-21        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. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Reflection        Two thousand years have passed since we stood in the temple and witnessed the kvatters take the child from Mary and bring him to the mohel who executes the Law of Leviticus 12.2  “On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” it is two thousand years since we heard the infant Jesus’ cries mixed with the mohel’s prayers, “Blessed are You, L‑rd our G‑d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning circumcision.”

Our Jewish sisters and brothers understand that the act of circumcision, marking the completion of the body, is a human act. It teaches that “our spiritual, emotional, moral and ethical perfection requires human effort. G‑d cannot do it for us.” ** During our lifetimes we enter many partnerships, most of which will come to a natural end or be broken. The ritual circumcision, is a symbol of partnership with God. Etched in the body’s flesh, it represents a partnership that will never end and never be forgotten. Humanity is meant to live in partnership with God cultivating our “spiritual, emotional, moral and ethical perfection” without end.

Jesus grew up understanding the ritual of circumcision and that his name was no accident; he was responsible for living in partnership with God. He was named, called Yeshua, to be the saving revelation of God. As we reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus we see what happens when we try to put words around the amazing partnership of humanity and divinity as expressed in and of and as Jesus.

God’s indelible partnership with us is one thing we cannot adequately identify or represent so instead we describe aspects of God with us as revealed in the life of Jesus; brightness of everlasting light, King of glory, prince of peace, pattern of patience, gentle and humble of heart, model of goodness, our refuge, eternal wisdom, teacher of apostles, courage of martyrs, crown of all saints…. there is no end to this litany. 

Here is the thing,  the revelation of God with us does not end with Jesus. It continues in and of and as each of us fulfill our lives in partnership with God. By our baptism we are children of God and as children of God we are sisters and brothers of Jesus, each named to live in and of and as the revelation of God’s saving presence with all of humanity. So, remember your baptism!

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**  http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1472861/jewish/The-Circumcision-Ceremony-in-a-Nutshell.html

Gospel Text for Christmas Eve 24 December 2016

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        Peace and glory, glory and peace, these two are handmaids that tend the birth of peasants as well as nobility.  Peace and glory, glory and peace, this holy couple is the right response of humanity to the birth of a child because peace and glory acknowledge the arrival of light in the depths of darkness, they declare the entrance of hope on the stage of suffering and despair.

And that is the reason ‘this day’ more than two billion Christians around the world are telling the humdrum tale of an impoverished couple and their newborn “child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” We never tire of retelling this story because it is full of peace and full of glory. We replay this saga because it is a story for all people and for all time. We recall this drama because we hunger to be fully alive, which is to say, we long to be full of peace and glory, right here, right now... this day. 

Many of us are exhausted. We have been living life as if we are people in exile; lost, wandering and wondering when we are going to get to some happily ever after state. Here is the thing. Life is not about what is missing. Life is not about waiting for some utopian ideal. Life is about ‘this day,” full of peace and full of glory. 

Of course you may reply, “Really? Have you not heard the news? According to the Global Peace Index of 2016 only ten countries in the entire world are not currently at war and are completely free from conflict.  Have you not heard, currently nearly 1 in 3 children, 1 in 5 Arizonans, and 1 in 7 seniors in Arizona live in poverty? Have you not heard that 40% of the people who receive emergency food assistance are working?*  Have you not heard, some of us have lost our jobs, our health, our loved ones? Where is the peace? Where is the glory?”

This is when the rest of the angel’s message is essential, “Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.” The light that pierces the heart of darkness is here, this day. We do not have to wait until we find the perfect job or place to live. We do not have to wait until our student loans are paid, our tax debt is clear and our retirement plans secure. 

^“This is the day that the Lord has made;   let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118.24)  Let us be glad and grateful purveyors of God's peace and glory for all of humanity, this day. After all, God IS with us and with God nothing is impossible. 

Merry Christmas!

 St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance  www.firstfoodbank.org/learn-more/hunger-statistice-in-arizona. accessed 22 December 2016.

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