Christian Testament Text for Sunday 26 August 2018

Ephesians 6:10-20        Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Reflection      In the spring of 1963 following much nonproductive discourse, civil and otherwise, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized one of the most influential campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement, the Birmingham Campaign. It involved a series of lunch counter sit-ins, marches on City Hall and boycotts on downtown merchants to protest segregation laws in the city of Birmingham. These peaceful demonstrations were responded to by violent attacks involving fire hoses and police dogs. Ultimately President John F. Kennedy wrote,  "The events in Birmingham... have so increased the cries for equality that no city or state or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them." This was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and there is no question, embodying this new reality required engaging in more than polite conversation. It required courage, persistence and peaceful action.

Writing from his cell in the Birmingham jail The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. observed, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice.”

I believe this is our culture’s great failing. Most of us are the moderates and we are conflict averse. We do not want to step on anybodies toes and we do not want to compromise our privileged positions.  We prefer to sit in a shallow spool than swim upstream. Perhaps it is because we forget Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians, “Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness…”  In other words, our struggle is against the keepers of the status quo. Who better than Paul, the reformed persecutor of Jesus’ followers, knows how our struggles to embody the alternate reality of Jesus are condemned and thwarted by the rulers and authorities protecting the current order? 

To embody the alternate reality of Jesus is disruptive because Jesus is a revelation of how God is present and acting in the world; healing the sick, comforting the afflicted…. and…. this is the part we prefer to overlook…. afflicting the comforted. Jesus is a thorn in the side of government and religious officials. He upsets anyone who is inclined to protect the current order at the expense of justice. 

I believe Jesus has the courage to persist with healing the sick, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comforted in the face of pervasive opposition because he finds his strength and power with God.  Empowered with God, Jesus puts on the “whole armor of God,” speaks truth out loud, demands fairness and respect, seeks reconciliation, and “with all of these, (takes) the shield of faith”

“Taking the shield of faith,” means standing in the conviction that God is with us rather than wallowing with uncertainty and cowering in fear of those that resist change. You see, when we put our faith in God with us rather than in our uncertain selves, we have the courage to embody Jesus’ alternate reality; healing the sick, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comforted.

History reminds us that change comes as a result of unsettling the status quo and that tends to require more than persuasive civil discourse. But the majority of folks are indifferent, if not overtly hostile, to conversations about change. Rather than slaving for persuasive civil discourse, perhaps it is time for us to take seriously Jesus’ revelation that actions are more powerful than words. Let me be clear. Jesus is not a proponent of violence. Rather, he exemplifies living for an alternate reality that begets dignity, respect and access to decent lives for all people. 

How can we embody the alternate reality of Jesus? This week we can take time to learn about the candidates running in the primaries. Find out how their behaviors line up with the behaviors exemplified by Jesus; healing the sick, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comforted. Then vote for the candidates we believe best represent Jesus’ values - regardless of whether they are Republican, Democrat, Independent or Green. Rather than capitulate to partisan politics, let us have the courage to live Jesus’ alternate reality using actions that are stronger than words; healing the sick, comforting the afflicted and, yes, when necessary afflicting the comforted. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 19 August 2018

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      Jesus is adding a dimension of nourishment, spiritual nourishment, to our diets. He never says, “Don’t eat bread made with yeast or meat or vegetables.” In fact, his messages is quite the opposite. When your body is hungry, feed it even if it means picking grain on the Sabbath or eating food that is reserved for the priests. Take care of your physical body AND take care of your Spiritual body. 

Everything about the revelation of Jesus is both - and or non-dualistic. First and last, new and old, one and many, body and spirit, mortal and immortal, human and divine. Much as we need to supply nourishment to our bodies so too must we provide nutrition to our Spirits.  

Bread is not a symbol that signifies or represents something else; a cross, star of David, red circle with a diagonal line across it. Bread is a sacrament. Its life sustaining property renders it naturally sacred. When Jesus aligns himself with “living bread” from heaven he is saying, “The message I bring is of a Spiritual nature intended to nourish your Spiritual life.”  

During his final meal with his friends Jesus speaks words that we hear during our celebration of Holy Eucharist. “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this wine, remember me.”  Let us not forget that Jesus blesses, breaks and shares bread in the context of a meal with his friends. Meals are occasions in which we all participate, meals that consist of both the bread of earth and the bread of heaven. Meals are everyday life, the context in which the realization of our Spiritual lives occurs. **

Jesus reveals a way of life that transcends separation of the secular and the sacred. He shows us The Way to live that is essential to our flourishing. Jesus does not instruct us to “Think about this bread and what it means.” He invites us to “eat this bread” because it is not about understanding all of this, it is about doing it. Jesus is inviting us to incorporate the fullness of our divine humanity, our human divinity.

Like Jesus, we are bread made of two ingredients, the physical and the Spiritual. Inevitably our physical beings are challenged, diminish and die. If the only way we find meaning and value is through our effectual actions and avoiding the annihilation of our small selves, well, all that remains for us is to become stale, moldy and disintegrate. Only when we receive, consume and embody the bread as revealed in Jesus are the physical and Spiritual possibilities of life unleashed in us.

If we do not eat, we do not live. That statement is as true with regard to our physical lives as it is for our Spiritual lives.  When we hear John’s Jesus say, “I am the living bread that comes down from heaven…” he is telling us that he brings to us that which we require to nourish our spiritual lives. If we do not eat of this Spiritual bread our Spirits will not flourish. 

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** For more on this nondual perspective listen to Fr. Thomas Keating speaking about “The Little Way of St. Teresa of Liseaux”  at https://youtu.be/7wBBOAORoSY

Gospel text for Sunday 12 August 2018

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            On Sunday morning we gather not only for our personal sustenance and transformation but also for the sake of the world. Each Sunday morning we participate in the liturgy, leitourgia, the Greek word that actually means “work of the people.” It is our work to come together to manifest the presence of the One God much as single grains of wheat are gathered to manifest one loaf of bread. We are the body of Christ that is revealed in the world as the Church. We are sacraments pointing beyond our small selves to something more.

Preaching to the early fifth century Church in North Africa, St. Augustine of Hippo directs our attention to the bread and wine of Holy Eucharist and says, “Be what you see, receive what you are,” (Sermon 272)  Or in other words, “Behold what you are, become what you eat.”  I believe Augustine was trying to articulate the potent reality of  sacraments.  We live in a sacramental world wherein objects can embody meaning that words are insufficient to convey. For example, think about being in love. The way we embody love is by giving gifts, writing poetry, singing love songs, making love. How often do we say to our lover, “Let’s sit down and have a discourse on the meaning of love and how it is embodied?” Neither can we grasp with our mind the meaning of ingesting the sacramental bread and wine.

I hear the echoes of my seminary advisor, the Rev. Dr. Louis Weil, one of the few outstanding liturgists living today. I can see Louis standing at the chapel altar and hear him proclaiming, “Bread and wine are not just symbols we use to remember the historical facts of Jesus’ death (unlike the Protestant reformers). Bread and wine are means by which we participate here and now. Bread and wine are signs that embody a reality. Holy Eucharist is a meal without which we cannot live.” Pausing for emphasis  Louis continues, “People, where else in this world does everyone receive the same gift?”

I believe the reality embodied in our Eucharistic bread and wine is the reality of our oneness with God and our desire to create the social conditions wherein all people are welcome, respected and have access to the resources necessary to reach their fulfillment. When Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven… Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them,” he is inviting us to claim our full inheritance individually and collectively, as sacramental beings imbued with more meaning and value than reason can convey. 

We are bread. We are blessed. We are broken. We are given for the good of all people. See what you are. Become what you eat.

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Hebrew & Gospel Texts for Feast of the Transfiguration Sunday 5 August 2018

Exodus 34:29-35        Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 

When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Luke 9:28-36        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        Bursting through pillars of cloud my plane descended to skirt the snowy ridge of the Washington state Cascade Mountains and the crowning vision of their holy hill, the fourteen thousand foot Mt. St. Helen. Tears of awe and wonder wrung my throat and washed my eyes. Surely it was sunset scenes such as this that tuned Michelangelo’s brushes to paint the hand of God reaching across the sky to touch the hand of humanity. Like many folks who have confessed, “I feel closest to God while admiring the vast night sky, wandering in the wilderness, or inhaling the desert after the rain…” last Sunday evening while peering through the postage stamp plane window, I felt aglow in the presence of God. And when my friend met me in the airport the first thing she said to me was, "Your face looks so bright, full of life." Hummm?

Recently another friend sent me an article written by Robert Barron, a widely respected Roman Catholic Bishop who ministers to people who identify themselves as “Nones,” people affiliated with no religious tradition. Barron argues that to speak effectively to this rapidly growing group of people, (according to a Pew Research survey, fully twenty-five percent of the country or eighty million people), we need to speak more fluently about God. Barron writes, “I would suggest the best biblical image for God is the burning bush - on fire, but not consumed - which appeared to Moses. The closer the true God comes to a creature the more radiant and beautiful the creature becomes. It is not destroyed nor is it obligated to give way; rather it becomes the very best version of itself.” (First Things, January 2018, p33) 

When Moses came down from his encounter with God on Mt. Sinai the skin of his face was shining such that the people who “saw him were afraid to come near him” so Moses covered his face with a veil. When Jesus took “Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray,”  while he was praying “the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.” When people people get close to God they become spiritually illumined, they become the “very best versions of themselves.”

The story of Moses and the burning bush is a story of the radiance and beauty of creation in communion with God. The story of Aaron and the Israelites who saw the skin of Moses’ face shining and were afraid, is a story of the awe inspired radiance and beauty of humanity coming close to God.  The story of Peter, James and John witnessing the dazzling transfiguration of Jesus is a story of the radiance and beauty available to faithful disciples in intimate relationship with God. Each of these is a story of the radiance and beauty available to anyone who is open to receive spiritual illumination and be changed, transfigured. 

Here is what I believe about transfiguration. A real event happens in the physical world, toward which we turn, pause and pay attention and through which the hand of God reaches to touch and transform us. Should we long for such an experience all that is required is our willingness to pause, pay attention and be surprised by God. The illumination we receive freely.  “The closer the true God comes to a creature the more radiant and beautiful the creature becomes… it becomes the very best version of itself.” I believe this is transfiguration, available to all of us.

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Hebrew Testament text for Sunday 29 July 2018

2 Samuel 11:1-15        In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house, and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”

Reflection        From the Biblical perspective, life unfolds in history in the ongoing relationship of humankind with God. God is always present and humans are always free to choose whether they turn toward or away from God.  Within this landscape, sometimes David turns toward God and sometimes he turns away. In the later case David inevitably experiences the consequences of his choices. Bathsheba’s baby dies. David’s sons adopt the misguided ways of their father; brother raping daughter, daughter becoming victim of incest, brother murdering other brother,  and son leading a coup d’etat against his father. (We think we have family issues!) David’s house is undone. His ill conceived behavior has galvanized waves of after-shock.  

As Rabbi Sachs, a British Orthodox rabbi, philosopher and theologian, succinctly states, “The future is not pre-scripted. The prophet warns – not predicts – of the future that will happen if we do not heed the danger and mend our ways. The future depends on us and the choices we make.”

The youngest of eight sons of Jesse, David rises from the status of a mere shepherd boy to great power through a series of unprecedented events. Even when jealousy turns King Saul against him, rather than kill his would-be persecutor, David chooses to respect the King and seek reconciliation.

David is a beacon of light and hope for all people. And, his series of choices to act toward the good did not preclude his succumbing to self-serving gratification and digging ever deeper into the wounds of moral turpitude. As people of God we believe we have freedom of choice and our choices have real consequences. Returning to the wisdom of Rabbi Sachs, “If the people keep faith with God and one another, no force on earth can defeat them. If they do not, no force can save them.”*  

Much as King David did,  I believe the United States ascended to the heights of great power by being a beacon of light and hope for all people; by extending compassionate aid, engaging in liberal commerce and fostering respectful diplomacy. At the risk of being exceedingly simplistic, also much like King David, I believe the United States is vulnerable to self-serving interests and is unwittingly tumbling down the black hole of moral turpitude. 

Every breaking news moment  we hear of “corruption and abominable acts,” we witness the downward spiral of entertainment, media, public figures and officials into scandalous social, sexual and political exploitations.  Every hour breeds more excuses and cover-ups of the preceding hours’ faux pas. Do we choose to tumble down this slippery slope or do we choose to turn toward good?

As people who find our identity in our “with God life,” how are our choices moving us toward God and one another? As people who live in a country singularly identified with the words inscribed at the foot of the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!,” How are we doing? What shall we choose?

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*  https://mailchi.mp/rabbisacks/listening-to-the-prophetic-voice-a-thought-for-tisha-bav?e=b849e08f60

Hebrew Testament text for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene observed 22 July 2018

Judith 9:1,11-14        Judith prostrated herself, put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing. At the very time when the evening incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and said, “Your strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might on the powerful. But you are the God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed, upholder of the weak, protector of the forsaken, savior of those without hope. Please, please, God of my father, God of the heritage of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all your creation, hear my prayer! Make my deceitful words bring wound and bruise on those who have planned cruel things against your covenant, and against your sacred house, and against Mount Zion, and against the house your children possess. Let your whole nation and every tribe know and understand that you are God, the God of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but you alone!”

Reflection        When facing a foreign power that is bent on conquering the people, sometimes we hear a Biblical prophet instruct the people of God to await the intrusion of a supernatural savior. This is not the message Judith is delivering. Judith is calling the people to put their faith in God and join her in taking decisive action against their oppressors. 

“There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,

    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

    a time to kill and a time to heal,

    a time to tear down and a time to build,

    a time to weep and a time to laugh,

    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

    a time to search and a time to give up,

    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

    a time to tear and a time to mend,

    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

    a time to love and a time to hate,

    a time for war and a time for peace.” (Eccl 3.1-8)

In other words, sometimes we are called to be still and sometimes we are called to action. Judith rises from the ashes of mourning the death of her husband to beguile the would be oppressor King Holofernes with her  beauty and“deceitful words” and then, chop off his head. This terrifies Holofernes Assyrian army that immediately beats a hasty retreat and ”No one ever again spread terror among the Israelites during the lifetime of Judith.” (Jth 16.25) 

Judith's faith is audacious, devoted to her God and to her people. She uses her particular gifts of beauty and wit to defeat the king and army who would oppress the people, destroy their temple and demand they give up their religion. 

What does this ancient story have to say to us today? There is a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to be still and a time to act. I believe it is time to join the ranks of Judith,  first raising our voices in devotion to God with us and then acting with audacious faith to use whatever gifts, charms or wit we each have to disarm anyone who would oppress, disrespect or deny the dignity of any human being.  

Deliverance is the purview of God working in ways that never cease to ignite our wonder, love and praise. And, each and every one of us can participate in God’s deliverance through our audacious faith and uncanny wit. In the words Rabbi Sachs, "If the people keep faith with God and one another, no force on earth can defeat them. If they do not, no force can save them."   https://mailchi.mp/rabbisacks/listening-to-the-prophetic-voice-a-thought-for-tisha-bav?e=b849e08f60

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Gospel text for Sunday 15 July 2018

Mark 6:14-29        King Herod heard of Jesus and his disciples, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

      

Reflection      Here is an interesting twist. Both men in this story know truth. John knows Jewish law forbids a man from marrying his brother’s wife. Herod knows John is a righteous and holy man and even likes listening to him speak. What distinguishes John from Herod is not their access to truth but rather their willingness to act on it.

When we dig deep down to the bottom of our souls we know what is right, what it true, even though sometimes we must plow through dung and dross to get there. So the question is, “What does it take to stand up, speak and act on truth?” I believe it requires two things. First we put our faith in God with us rather than in ourselves. If I believed doing this life was up to me alone I would wrap myself in cotton and lock me in a closet. But thanks be to God I know, God is with me no matter what. Second, as people of God we acknowledge there are standards by which we measure our behavior. Does our behavior demonstrate love of God, our neighbor, our enemy? Do our words and our actions lead us toward greater or lesser good for all people? 

Speaking and acting on truth is not neutral. Regardless that social, political and religious  pundits proclaim we live in a “post-truth” context, not all perspectives, positions or actions proceed toward good. As Christians we understand truth is both deeply personal and broadly communal.  Deeply personal because the deepest truth of our self is not other than that of Divine Presence with us. AND  Broadly communal because we affirm the interconnected, interdependence of all creatures and creation. Life is about me and life is about more than me.

It take courage to change not only our minds, but also to act decisively to change the course of events. In a grandstanding moment Herod made a regrettable and ill conceived promise. Full of himself he failed to see his vulnerability to Herodias’ special interest.  Then refusing to appear handled, he chose to act against what he knew was true, and was “deeply grieved.” 

John the Baptizer also faced a choice. Would he keep his mouth shut about Herod’s adulterous relationship and thus protect himself or would he speak truth to power? John chose the latter and we know where it got him because acting on truth exposes human failings and upsets the status quo. 

We dare not get so cynical or news weary, discouraged or afraid that we exchange our standards of truth and right action for the handling and false promises of special interest groups or self-serving governors. It takes courage to speak and act on truth, courage to change the course of events because when we do there is every chance, we will be handed our heads on a platter. So act now!

If you found this post interesting you may want to attend 

“Moving Prayer into Action,”

a forum at Church of the Apostles, on Sunday July 15th at 10:45 am where we will hear stories of oppression, persecution and marginalization from our Muslim, Mexican, Sikh, and Holocaust Surviving neighbors and learn about ways we can put our prayers into action to change the course of events. 

All are welcome to attend. 12111 N La Cholla Blvd, Oro Valley, AZ 

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