Gospel text for Sunday 17 March 2013

John 12:1-8       Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Reflection      The ritual practice of anointing has occurred across diverse cultures for thousands of years for several purposes. Since ancient times smearing oil, scented water, melted butter or perfume on a prophet, priest or king ceremonially imbued them with God’s Holy Spirit so to do their given work. In other words, the ritual had a transformative dimension which ‘empowered’ them to execute their vocation. By contrast, when Mary extravagantly anointed Jesus’ feet not only did she expresss her overflowing affection but she also disclosed her recognition of Jesus as the Christ, Khristós, the man who was already the anointed one.  Mary’s ceremonial action was not efficacious in the sense of being associated with the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Rather, she identified the Divinity of Jesus already present. Jesus interpreted Mary’s anointing in yet another fashion; in ritual preparation for his burial. It was Jewish custom for women to wash and anoint a body with oil and spices as part of ancient funerary rites. Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet foreshadowed his death.

Today in the Episcopal Church we use chrism, which is oil that has been consecrated for the purpose of anointing, during baptisms and in the pastoral office of anointing of the sick. During Baptism the bishop or priest makes the sign of the cross on the newly baptized person’s forehead saying, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and maked as Christ’s own forever. Amen.” In other words, in the context of Baptism, anointing identifies who (and whose) the newly baptized person is. In the Laying on of Hands and Anointing of the Sick, the priest or deacon makes the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead praying the person be filled with grace, healing power and be restored to wholeness and peace.  In this usage anointing expresses a transformative dimension and evocation of God’s of Holy Presence.

As a priest given the privilege of anointing let me just say this. Whether I am placing a myrrh scented sign of the cross on an infant’s pristine forehead or an elder’s furrowed brow the compliment of touch, and smell, and prayer arouses Divine Presence and reaches beyond time. 

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32        All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."  So Jesus told them this parable:

"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.

"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"

Reflection       Jesus tells the story of the prodigal father and his two sons to the tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees and scribes. That includes just about everyone. The sinners and the self righteous are equally implicated. Regardless in which group you may find yourself I believe Jesus intends this story for every one of us. As the author of the First Epistle of John proclaims, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us....”(1 John 1:8) We are all sinners. We have all left home and turned away from God, and we are “dying of hunger.”

And here’s the thing. Although we have sinned, there is no need to beat ourselves up, to sling mud at ourselves and eat with the pigs. Shame and self-loathing do nothing but keep us away from God. When we change our minds and remember God’s prodigal love, we are at the starting place for reconciliation. As soon as we turn our minds (and hearts) toward God, God, like the prodigal father who is aggrieved by his son’s seperation, reaches out to us and plants the kiss of peace on our necks.

Although we may expect to be humiliated, to grovel and be punished and to make reparations, God’s prodigal love leaps ahead of us and restores our relationship with God and one another. This is reconciliation. It is not the way of the world that demands an account of our transgressions, executes judgment and requires reparation. The way of living and moving and finding our being in God is the way of being in love.

Still, something is expected of us. Our right response to God’s prodigal love is to take responsibility for our actions. And in so doing we must join St. Paul and admit, “ For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (R0 7.19)  Changing our minds and living in love we, much as the younger son, must not only acknowledge God’s prodigal love but also admit our utter dependence upon it. 

Gospel text for Sunday 3 March 2013

Luke 13:1-9        There were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Reflection     Why do bad things happen to good people? Could it be that they deserved what they got? Jesus wants nothing to do with this kind of questioning. Essentially he says, “Stop talking and repent. Stop looking at other people and speculating about their situation. Look at yourself and your own life. How are you connected to God and your neighbor? How well are you living out God’s will for you? Is it time for you to change?”  I suspect most of us would have to answer, “Yes” to that last question.

When we turn our minds around and stop focusing on other people we remember that we, like fig trees, are intended to bear fruit. If we are not bearing fruit then something needs to change. A little digging here, a little manure there. It is up to us to spend the time (perhaps a year) to do whatever it takes to amend the soil of our lives and bear fruit. 

What is the fruit we are intended to bear? It is the embodiment of God’s love on earth. It is the outward and visibile expression of God’s always and everywhere Presence. It is God’s love revealed in all of our words, actions and relationships.  

The season of Lent is a time for self-examination and repentence. Why not stop and examine the past twenty-four hours of you life. First note all the times you expressed God’s love in your words, actions and relationships. Write them down. Then honestly note all the times you have not. Write them down too. Now here is the thing. Realize, without the intervention of the gardener, that is to say, without the grace of God, there is little hope that you will actually be able to amend your soil and change your ways. So, for the sake of heaven on earth pray for the grace to bear good fruit.

Gospel text for Sunday 24 February 2013

                   In this ancient Byzantine Greek icon, we see Sophia, the feminine aspect of God, with her three daughters, 
                                                                                         Faith, Hope, and Love

Luke 13:31-35          Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

“How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” This is Jesus, fully human and fully male, describing himself in a profoundly feminine experience... as a hen gathering her chicks. In order to utter these words I believe Jesus must have had the personal experience of cradling, protecting and nurturing.  Jesus must have personally experienced a mother’s piercing desire to heal and cure, care for and protect her children.  And no doubt, Jesus was aware of the many times his Jewish ancestors recorded in the Hebrew Testament (Old Testament) feminine images, metaphors and language to describe their experiences of God. 

God is described as a protective mother eagle (Dt. 32:10-11), a fierce mother bear (Hosea 13:8), and a mother giving birth (Is. 42:14) and breast-feeding her child (Is. 49:15). God “loves the stranger whom He provides with food and clothing” (Deut. 10:18).Speaking for God the Prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, .... even when you turn grey I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” (Is 46.3-4) 

Both Testaments of the Bible are replete with masculine images of God. Lukes passage reminds us that Jesus himself also used a feminine image to describe himself, and in so doing he was also describing the One God, the Father, who sent him. The God of power and might is also kindhearted, gentle and humane.

Judaism and Christianity are both radically monotheistic. We believe in the ONE holy and living God. The One God who assures the divine origin of both male and female. The One God who reveals an inclusive understanding of Divine presence and action that transcends all distinctions, including male and female. 

Luke 4:1-13          Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Reflection          The devil “departed from (Jesus) until an opportune time.” Hummm. I prefer to think that once Jesus made it through his ordeal in the wilderness, what St. John of the Cross would call a dark night of the soul, that he was free. That he was free from the devil, which is to say, free from vulnerablity to temptation. But Luke’s text in unequivocal. Jesus was free only until “an oportune time” when the devil would return to bait, invite or incite him. 

A sure and certain example of the devil’s return occurred immediately following Peter’s identifying Jesus as “The Christ” in Mark 8.29 and Matthew 16.16. Jesus was explaining to the disciples that he would suffer, die and rise in three days when Peter “began to rebuke him” and Jesus returned the rebuke saying, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God but on the side of men.” (Mark 8.32-33) This makes me wonder if Peter represents Jesus’ interior experience of vulnerability to the temptation of the power, privilege and esteem of being identified as “the Christ?” And if this is so it makes me love Jesus even more because over and over again Jesus chose to be on the side of God rather than on the side of men. 

Jesus was fully human and subject to the devil who would tempt him at any “oportune time” to use his identity as “the Christ” for his own gain or ambition. But Jesus consistently chose to be on the side of God. Jesus was faithful to his identity as the Son of God. He did not presume to be God nor to use the healing, teaching and life transforming powers that flowed through him for his own benefit. Although he was tempted Jesus did not turn away from his relationship of dependency on God. The way we say this in theological language is, Jesus did not sin. 

Like Jesus, we also find our identity as the children of God. And like Jesus we are tempted at every “opportune time” to misuse our God given gifts.  As we enter the season of Lent and take time to review our lives and choices let me suggest that the question before each of us is, “In all that I say and all that I do, am I choosing to be on the side of God or on the side of humankind? Am I using my God given gifts and power for the good of my community or am I using them for my own ambition and gain?”

Luke 5:1-11         Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, ²he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. ⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ ⁵Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ ⁶When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. ⁷So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ ⁹For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; ¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ ¹¹When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Reflection     How did that work? The crowd is pressing in on Jesus “to hear the word of God.” Jesus responds by getting in a boat and pullling away from the shore where the people are left standing? When I get caught up in the logistics of that moment and imagine myself standing in the midst of the crowd, warm bodies and rough clothes pressing in on me, I wonder if I could even hear Jesus’ voice? I wonder if I could “hear the word of God?” The thing is, as long as I am preoccuppied with the mechanics of acoustics there is very little chance I will “hear the word of God.” 

This story must be about that other kind of hearing, the kind that “catches” the word, or in the idiom of this story, the kind of hearing that “catches the fish.”  With the first kind of hearing we are taught, we hear the words of a lesson or sermon but nothing really changes unless we do precisely what Jesus instructed Simon to do, “put into the deeper water”...(wait) for a catch. 

Receiving the “word of God” is at least a three step process. 1. Hearing the word, 2. allowing the word to penetrate our depths (read - allow the word to effect us) and 3. waiting for the word to emerge from our depths, bringing to us more than we ever imagined. This is the way to cooperate with God’s abundant grace. This is the way of being transformed by and with and in God’s word.

Gospel for Sunday 3 February 2013

Luke 4:21-30        In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and began to say, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Reflection        Fickle. That’s the word that leaps to mind as I read Luke’s text. One minute the Nazarene people wax on about Jesus’ gracious words then the wind changes and so do their minds and behavior. As long as the people from his hometown imagined that Jesus came to bestow special blessings on them, God’s chosen people, he was top of their hit parade. But when Jesus reminded them of how God uses God’s people for the benefit of outsiders, the Gentiles, not only did his hometown “friends” run him out of town, they set their sights on killing him. An excellent example of the arbitrary and capricious nature of the human mind and behavior. 

Stable. That’s the word that comes to mind when I read the last sentence of Luke’s text. “But he (Jesus) passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” Unmoved by the changing tide of human sentiment and behavior, Jesus maintained his calm. He sustained his presence, and “went on his way.” Jesus did not react to the Nazarenes. He remained constant in his faith and reliable in his mission. 

Fickle or stable. Driven by the ever changing tides of circumstance and impulsive behavior or constant in self awareness and reliable behavior. I don’t know about you but I face the choice between fickle and stable on a regular basis. Will I put my faith in the One who sent me and be reliable in my given mission to love the Gentiles in my world? Or will I react to the whims and rumors and prodding of the mercurial voice of the people and lose my way? I believe this is the quandry Luke’s text leaves with us. Fickle or stable. What shall we be?