April 13, 2010
back to work
Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John and two others are sitting on the dock of the bay... wasting time. John is clear that this is the third time Jesus has appeared to his disciples post-resurrection, and yet they still are wandering, blindly, unsure what to do next.
Peter, for one, decides to resume the routine and go back to work, and the rest follow suit. As the story plays out, however, Jesus' plan has nothing to do with fishing and everything to do with shepherding. Jesus wants Peter and the rest to get back to work, but this work is feeding lambs, this work is tending sheep, this work is preaching, teaching, and healing.
When we aren't living into our call as disciples, all we are doing is wasting time, but if we love God, follow his commands, and go to work; well, then all things are possible.
April 12, 2010
feed, tend, feed
The restoration of Simon Peter is a beautiful albeit puzzling post-resurrection scene. It is lumped in with a miraculous catch story and, at least in Year C, lies alongside the story of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.
What strikes me at first glance this morning is Jesus' tasking Peter three times.
1- Feed my lambs
2- Tend my sheep
3- Feed my sheep
As the rock upon which the Church is built, it seems to me that this three-fold call to ministry is, for us, a lesson in lifestyle. As so there are many questions left in this peculiar interaction.
Is there, in Jesus' mind, a difference between lambs and sheep?
What is the difference between feeding and tending?
Or, is the only thing that really matters the last thing Jesus says in this pericope?
"Follow me."
What strikes me at first glance this morning is Jesus' tasking Peter three times.
1- Feed my lambs
2- Tend my sheep
3- Feed my sheep
As the rock upon which the Church is built, it seems to me that this three-fold call to ministry is, for us, a lesson in lifestyle. As so there are many questions left in this peculiar interaction.
Is there, in Jesus' mind, a difference between lambs and sheep?
What is the difference between feeding and tending?
Or, is the only thing that really matters the last thing Jesus says in this pericope?
"Follow me."
April 6, 2010
let everything that has breath praise the Lord
If you know me at all, you know I have a strong dislike of "Contemporary Christian Music." Its production value is usually lame. Its style is at least five years behind. Its system is no different than the big studios. Its artists are pretty and busty and unless they are really really good, there isn't an ugo among them. But mostly, I dislike CCM because it is lazy; its metaphors are lazy, the repetition is lazy, if you are going to praise God then you darn well better do it to the best of your God given abilities.
There are some exceptions. Just about any CC song based on a Psalm falls into my exception category. The Psalms were written to be sung. They were written with to be sung with strong emotion. They were not written to be plainsong to death or chanted by a tired, slovenly music director or read in somber unison by a parish eager to move onto the the sermon.
Psalm 150 can not be read with sadness. Psalm 150 can not be sung as a dirge. Psalm 150 tells you that as it begins with Hallelujah! and ends with "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."
This might prove both sides to my point, but here's a CCM attempt to live into Psalm 150.
There are some exceptions. Just about any CC song based on a Psalm falls into my exception category. The Psalms were written to be sung. They were written with to be sung with strong emotion. They were not written to be plainsong to death or chanted by a tired, slovenly music director or read in somber unison by a parish eager to move onto the the sermon.
Psalm 150 can not be read with sadness. Psalm 150 can not be sung as a dirge. Psalm 150 tells you that as it begins with Hallelujah! and ends with "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."
This might prove both sides to my point, but here's a CCM attempt to live into Psalm 150.
April 5, 2010
an idle tale
Yesterday, we heard in the Easter Gospel that the disciples did not believe the women; they thought their story to be an idle tale. Keith named, very helpfully I might add, that there were some in the pews on Easter Day that thought the same thing, this Jesus stuff is just foolishness.
I think the feeling that Jesus has nothing to do with our lives continues to exist because so many of his followers, myself included, fall short of the prayer for Easter 2 by not showing forth in our lives what we profess by our faith.
Believing the Gospel is hard, but living it is near impossible. I want to think of me first. I want to succeed. I want others to pick themselves up. I want to live on easy street. And just about everything I want is completely counter to a faith in a God who allowed his only Son to take on human flesh and die at the hands of the powers that be.
But when we don't live that life, when we say we believe but don't live it out, we make the Gospel foolishness, an idle tale. Grant, Almighty God, that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith.
I think the feeling that Jesus has nothing to do with our lives continues to exist because so many of his followers, myself included, fall short of the prayer for Easter 2 by not showing forth in our lives what we profess by our faith.
Believing the Gospel is hard, but living it is near impossible. I want to think of me first. I want to succeed. I want others to pick themselves up. I want to live on easy street. And just about everything I want is completely counter to a faith in a God who allowed his only Son to take on human flesh and die at the hands of the powers that be.
But when we don't live that life, when we say we believe but don't live it out, we make the Gospel foolishness, an idle tale. Grant, Almighty God, that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith.
April 2, 2010
Alone - Good Friday
Have you ever asked God for something and never heard a response? Have you every lifted your voice to God in prayer only to have it feel like it hit the ceiling and bounced back to you? Have you ever felt like God was far, far away?
I have. It sucks. It is a very lonely feeling.
I am both an introvert and kind of nerdy, so there were times in high school when it felt like the only one I had was God, and when even He was unavailable, when it was just me, floating in the universe, the feeling was very, very lonely.
This is, I think, the feeling Jesus had in the Garden. I think he felt more alone there then even on the cross. I think the wee hours of Thursday and into very early Friday morning was Jesus' return to the wilderness; the devil's ultimate opportune time.
As we prepare for the death of God, we must prepare for some very lonely times. From noon Friday until early Sunday morning the disciples were completely lost, completely alone, even in the midst of the group.
So too should we, if we are really walking the way of his suffering this week, feel the loneliness of Good Friday. Own it. Know the sadness. Sit in the pain. Its Friday, and though we know Sunday's comin', it ain't here yet.
I have. It sucks. It is a very lonely feeling.
I am both an introvert and kind of nerdy, so there were times in high school when it felt like the only one I had was God, and when even He was unavailable, when it was just me, floating in the universe, the feeling was very, very lonely.
This is, I think, the feeling Jesus had in the Garden. I think he felt more alone there then even on the cross. I think the wee hours of Thursday and into very early Friday morning was Jesus' return to the wilderness; the devil's ultimate opportune time.
As we prepare for the death of God, we must prepare for some very lonely times. From noon Friday until early Sunday morning the disciples were completely lost, completely alone, even in the midst of the group.
So too should we, if we are really walking the way of his suffering this week, feel the loneliness of Good Friday. Own it. Know the sadness. Sit in the pain. Its Friday, and though we know Sunday's comin', it ain't here yet.
April 1, 2010
Homily for Wednesday in Holy Week
I don't know anything about sheep, and neither it seems, does Bishop Tom Wright, but he at least knows people who know about sheep. A priest near Cambridge reported to Bishop Wright that when sheep are take to be killed, they know instinctively that the slaughterhouse is a bad place. They can smell or sense something which warns of danger. The truck carrying them stops, the gangplank is put down, and the sheep refuse to move. But those who are paid to kill sheep are crafty, and they devised a way of getting around the problem of wise and stubborn animals. Slaughterhouses keep a sheep on the premises, who is used to the place and does mind it any more. They take it up the plan and into the truck, and then it walks down again quite happily. The other sheep, seeing one of their own leading the way, will follow. The slaughterhouse workers call this sheep 'Judas.'
Satan wanted the Son of God dead. Satan wanted his final victory, but the people were stubborn. Jesus entered the Holy City to cries of "Hosanna!" He had been to the Temple and left it a wreck; literally turning upside down everything the people thought they knew about relationship with God. He taught his disciples that they could move mountains, that whatever they prayed for they could get, BUT that in order to receive forgiveness they first had to forgive. And the people didn't get whipped up into a frenzy. They didn't get angry at his blasphemy. They didn't try to kill him themselves. Instead, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us, they were amazed at his teaching. So much so that even the chief priests and the scribes knew they couldn't touch him out of fear that the crow would riot.
Satan is crafty. He had his Judas on the inside. Satan knew that the only way to get to Jesus would be to get someone from his inner circle, one who would know when Jesus had stolen away for a few minutes alone, to turn him over to them. And once Judas went down the ramp, once Judas, one of the twelve, chose darkness over light; well then the rest would follow. And follow they did. The crowd that was amazed on Monday was, by early Friday morning, crying out "Crucify him!" And it only took one person to get the ball rolling, Judas.
Satan is crafty, but God is craftier. God is the craftiest because John's text does not end at verse 30, "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night." The story does not end in darkness. Without skipping a beat, it seems, Jesus is back to shining the light. He knows what the next four days are going to look like. He knows about the Garden, where even his closest friends will fail him by falling asleep. He knows about his arrest. He knows about the late-night passing of the buck. He knows that Friday will bring with it whips and wood and wailing, but ultimately, Jesus knows that Friday will not be a "Bad Friday." Friday will indeed be a "Good Friday."
When Judas was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him." Now God's plan for salvation is made complete. Now Satan's prideful trap has been set. The Son of God will die, but death will not be the end. The light will shine even in the midst of deep darkness. Satan is crafty, but God is good. It only took one man to get the ball rolling toward the Cross. It only took one man to take make that Cross reveal God's glory and and turn it into a symbol of God's great triumph. As we continue to walk with Jesus along the road of his suffering, may we remember that the devil prowls at every turn, but God's victory has been secured. May we not fall into the trap of Judas and follow instead our Savior to his glory. Amen.
Satan wanted the Son of God dead. Satan wanted his final victory, but the people were stubborn. Jesus entered the Holy City to cries of "Hosanna!" He had been to the Temple and left it a wreck; literally turning upside down everything the people thought they knew about relationship with God. He taught his disciples that they could move mountains, that whatever they prayed for they could get, BUT that in order to receive forgiveness they first had to forgive. And the people didn't get whipped up into a frenzy. They didn't get angry at his blasphemy. They didn't try to kill him themselves. Instead, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us, they were amazed at his teaching. So much so that even the chief priests and the scribes knew they couldn't touch him out of fear that the crow would riot.
Satan is crafty. He had his Judas on the inside. Satan knew that the only way to get to Jesus would be to get someone from his inner circle, one who would know when Jesus had stolen away for a few minutes alone, to turn him over to them. And once Judas went down the ramp, once Judas, one of the twelve, chose darkness over light; well then the rest would follow. And follow they did. The crowd that was amazed on Monday was, by early Friday morning, crying out "Crucify him!" And it only took one person to get the ball rolling, Judas.
Satan is crafty, but God is craftier. God is the craftiest because John's text does not end at verse 30, "As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night." The story does not end in darkness. Without skipping a beat, it seems, Jesus is back to shining the light. He knows what the next four days are going to look like. He knows about the Garden, where even his closest friends will fail him by falling asleep. He knows about his arrest. He knows about the late-night passing of the buck. He knows that Friday will bring with it whips and wood and wailing, but ultimately, Jesus knows that Friday will not be a "Bad Friday." Friday will indeed be a "Good Friday."
When Judas was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him." Now God's plan for salvation is made complete. Now Satan's prideful trap has been set. The Son of God will die, but death will not be the end. The light will shine even in the midst of deep darkness. Satan is crafty, but God is good. It only took one man to get the ball rolling toward the Cross. It only took one man to take make that Cross reveal God's glory and and turn it into a symbol of God's great triumph. As we continue to walk with Jesus along the road of his suffering, may we remember that the devil prowls at every turn, but God's victory has been secured. May we not fall into the trap of Judas and follow instead our Savior to his glory. Amen.
Mandate Thursday
"Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."
"Drink this, all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."
"If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."
Maundy Thursday is, quite possibly, the most counter-cultural day in the Church year. Even the most skeptical will bear with us as we eat the bread and drink the cup. They might roll they're eyes as we pray, but its what Christians do. When we talk of the Spirit and how she moves and leads, they'll talk of fate or the universe.
But when we wash each other's feet - that's serious. Feet were gross in Jesus time. Feet are gross now. And yet, once a year, we live into the Mandate of Christ, "If I've done it, you also ought to do it." We set aside all our pride, all our dignity and stoop down to wash the dirty, stinky feet of one who we might only know in passing. It is hugely counter-cultural and the central message of Jesus - we are servants.
When we serve one another, we serve God, and tonight, as we wash each other's feet, we are both Christ doing the washing and Christ being washed. May we take seriously this day Christ's mandate to serve, even to the point of washing one another's feet.
"Drink this, all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."
"If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."
Maundy Thursday is, quite possibly, the most counter-cultural day in the Church year. Even the most skeptical will bear with us as we eat the bread and drink the cup. They might roll they're eyes as we pray, but its what Christians do. When we talk of the Spirit and how she moves and leads, they'll talk of fate or the universe.
But when we wash each other's feet - that's serious. Feet were gross in Jesus time. Feet are gross now. And yet, once a year, we live into the Mandate of Christ, "If I've done it, you also ought to do it." We set aside all our pride, all our dignity and stoop down to wash the dirty, stinky feet of one who we might only know in passing. It is hugely counter-cultural and the central message of Jesus - we are servants.
When we serve one another, we serve God, and tonight, as we wash each other's feet, we are both Christ doing the washing and Christ being washed. May we take seriously this day Christ's mandate to serve, even to the point of washing one another's feet.
March 31, 2010
The First Believer - Wednesday in Holy Week
As we continue our journey with Jesus to the Cross, today, we hear the story of the unnamed woman (at least in Mark's account) who anointed Jesus. We've taken our chronology from Crossin and Borg's "The Last Week" and I've found their reflection on Wednesday in Holy Week to be quite helpful both as I prepare to preach at noon today on John's version of Judas' betrayal and as I ponder this extravagant act by the woman at the home of Simon the Leper.
Borg and Crossin see Mark's Holy Week tale as one of epic failure on the part of the 12, all 12 of them. Judas, of course, will fail the worst, but Peter won't do much better and the other 10, well they aren't exactly standing in Pilate's courtyard yelling, "No! This man is the King of the Jews! Release Jesus of Nazareth."
Contrast this with the woman, the only one it seems who gets it. Jesus has told them three times that he would die and rise again. And she believed him. And so, as Borg and Crossin posit, her conclusion is this, "Since (not it) you are going to die and rise, I must anoint you now beforehand, because I will never have a chance to do it afterward." (p104)
She is the first believer. Long before the empty tomb (which this year, in Luke's version we receive with disbelief) she believes. She is the first Christian, the model disciple, and we have no name for her (in Mark.)
Today, I wonder where I fall on the discipleship spectrum. Am I like the woman, ready to serve no matter the cost? Or am I like the 12, wanting it to be my way first before I'll sign on?
Lord, make me like this woman that I might serve you at all times and in all places. Amen.
Borg and Crossin see Mark's Holy Week tale as one of epic failure on the part of the 12, all 12 of them. Judas, of course, will fail the worst, but Peter won't do much better and the other 10, well they aren't exactly standing in Pilate's courtyard yelling, "No! This man is the King of the Jews! Release Jesus of Nazareth."
Contrast this with the woman, the only one it seems who gets it. Jesus has told them three times that he would die and rise again. And she believed him. And so, as Borg and Crossin posit, her conclusion is this, "Since (not it) you are going to die and rise, I must anoint you now beforehand, because I will never have a chance to do it afterward." (p104)
She is the first believer. Long before the empty tomb (which this year, in Luke's version we receive with disbelief) she believes. She is the first Christian, the model disciple, and we have no name for her (in Mark.)
Today, I wonder where I fall on the discipleship spectrum. Am I like the woman, ready to serve no matter the cost? Or am I like the 12, wanting it to be my way first before I'll sign on?
Lord, make me like this woman that I might serve you at all times and in all places. Amen.
March 30, 2010
forgiveness
"When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
In three days Jesus will be hanging on a cross and ask God to "forgive them for they know not what they do." Even in the midst of torture; beaten, bloody, struggling for breath - Jesus is in the business of forgiveness. He forgives even his enemies so that our Father in heaven might forgive us our sins.
How seldom I really think of forgiveness. I mean, I say "I'm sorry" a lot, but that rarely is my seeking forgiveness. Or when another says, "I'm sorry" to me, I usually blow it off and so, "don't worry about it," or "no problem," or "its cool." But very rarely do I actually seek true forgiveness from another, and even less often do I seek to forgive.
How I hamper my own redemption by my lack of forgiveness. Father, forgive me, for often I know not what I do.
In three days Jesus will be hanging on a cross and ask God to "forgive them for they know not what they do." Even in the midst of torture; beaten, bloody, struggling for breath - Jesus is in the business of forgiveness. He forgives even his enemies so that our Father in heaven might forgive us our sins.
How seldom I really think of forgiveness. I mean, I say "I'm sorry" a lot, but that rarely is my seeking forgiveness. Or when another says, "I'm sorry" to me, I usually blow it off and so, "don't worry about it," or "no problem," or "its cool." But very rarely do I actually seek true forgiveness from another, and even less often do I seek to forgive.
How I hamper my own redemption by my lack of forgiveness. Father, forgive me, for often I know not what I do.
March 29, 2010
Monday in Holy Week
St. Paul's is walking the Way of the Cross this week with an Email arriving early in the morning. Each day there is a lesson from the Gospels and the Collect inviting everyone to a moment of reflection on Jesus' journey to the Cross. The lessons for most of the week are based on Marcus Borg and John Crossin's book "The Last Week."
Today's lesson is Mark 11.12-19, Jesus overturning the temple.
What strikes me this morning is the response of the authorities: They looked for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
On Palm Sunday the whole crowd ostensibly ignored Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, but today they were amazed. What changed? Why were they amazed at his teaching and not royally ticked off at his violent reaction to their long held religious system? This fickle crowd will not be enamored with Jesus for long, and today is the first time we see Jesus' disciples start to move to the background as the whole crowd asserts its mob rule. This is important. This is pivotal. This is Monday.
Today's lesson is Mark 11.12-19, Jesus overturning the temple.
What strikes me this morning is the response of the authorities: They looked for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
On Palm Sunday the whole crowd ostensibly ignored Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, but today they were amazed. What changed? Why were they amazed at his teaching and not royally ticked off at his violent reaction to their long held religious system? This fickle crowd will not be enamored with Jesus for long, and today is the first time we see Jesus' disciples start to move to the background as the whole crowd asserts its mob rule. This is important. This is pivotal. This is Monday.
Sermon for Palm Sunday, Year C
Last week, Cassie, Eliza and I had the luxury of spending some time in Kissimmee, FL for Cassie's cousin's wedding. The save the date notice for the March 19th wedding arrived in Cassie's inbox on August 19, 2009 so we had exactly seven months to plan and prepare for the trip to central Florida. Flights were researched. Driving routes were looked over. Hotel reviews were read, but not necessarily paid attention to. Reservations were made. Discounts were secured. And a way to carry all of Eliza's stuff in our CRV was carefully discerned. We headed East at about 1PM on March 14th but the trip started long long before that.
Today we remember Jesus' triumphant entrance into the holy city of Jerusalem. We hear the familiar story of his mounting a donkey and leaving Bethany and Bethpage on a two mile westward journey down the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley and up to the gates of the Great City. Jesus left Bethany on Sunday, but the journey began long long before that.
"Go into the village ahead of you," he told two of his disciples, "and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'" We can only guess whose donkey Jesus is telling his disciples to take, but one can't help but wonder if his dear friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus have found this never-before-ridden beast for him. There has been some planning, maybe a lot of planning, that has gone into this seemingly spontaneous entrance into Jerusalem. It has been a long road since Jesus "set his face for Jerusalem" in chapter nine. And today, as he begins the final week of his life, Jesus will ride a donkey, a lowly beast of burden not fit for royalty, into one of the Great City's lesser gates.
This donkey is special. This donkey has never been ridden. This donkey has been set aside; never ridden, never worked. It has been set aside for sacred use according to the ritual laws of Numbers and Deuteronomy. This donkey, tied up in the next village up the road isn't there out of coincidence, it is there because Jesus has planned it. Jesus, the king of peace, will ride this donkey set aside for sacred use into the Holy City as the whole multitude of his disciples shout praises to God, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!" Jesus, the King of Peace is riding as a sacrifice into the Holy City for the Passover.
Today, however, we stop at the gates of the city. Despite the prescription in the Prayer Book to follow the Liturgy of the Palms with the reading of the Passion Gospel, we are not there yet. Holy Week begins today, but the journey toward the cross started long-long before now. It has been planned and worked and reworked in the hope that each of us will have the chance to walk with Jesus in the way of his suffering. Each morning this week you will receive by email a special E-Pistle taking you through the last days of Jesus' life. We will leave this place singing "All glory, laud and honor" and tomorrow find ourselves with an angry Jesus turning the tables in the Temple. As the week goes on, you will have the chance to encounter Jesus and the withered fig tree. On Wednesday, we'll read of Jesus' anointing at Bethany, and at noon I will preach on the betrayal of Judas. For Maundy Thursday we will experience the Lord's Supper and on Friday we will find ourselves swept up in the rapid, sordid, and late night events surrounding Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion. And then, on Saturday, we will wait.
Today, however, we rejoice. We know what the week will bring, but we join with the disciples in shouting our praises to God for his mighty works because that is where we find ourselves on the journey. We are just outside the Holy City, probably far enough away that the Roman soldiers can't hear us, proclaiming our guy as the Lord, the King of Peace, hopeful for what that means. We hear the angry grumbling of the fearful Pharisees. They should be worried. With a new king in place their ties with Rome will no doubt spell their doom. But that isn't their concern. They are more worried about what will happen right now if the soliders hear the shouts. The foot of Rome will be at the neck all of Isreal. It is Passover. The time to remember the great deliverance of the Hebrews out of Egypt. A time of great nationalistic pride. A time when a crowd can easily get whipped up into riots and attempted coups. "Not now Jesus, don't let your people say this now. Don't cause trouble now."
But we rejoice anyway. If we did't do it, the stones would rise up to fill our silence. We rejoice because we have no other option but to sing praises to God. We sing praises on Palm Sunday knowing what Holy Week will bring. We sing praises everyday, knowing that suffering goes on in the world around us. We sing praises even when we are suffering. Or if the suffering becomes too great and we can't, we trust the stones to open their mouths and fill our silence. Our rejoicing leads us further down the path, through the gates into the valley that is Holy Week and I hope that you will walk it with us in its entirety. Don't leave this place with the high happy feeling of Palm Sunday and return here only for the high happy feeling of Easter. We know the awfulness ahead of us, and we must walk with Jesus the whole way to the Cross and grave. We must walk in the way of his suffering so that we can share in the true joy of his resurrection; life overcoming death.
Holy Week 2010 is a brand new journey for you, but it began long long ago. Walk with Jesus this week, not just in the highs of today and Easter Day, but through the valley of death so that you and the whole world might hail Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.
Today we remember Jesus' triumphant entrance into the holy city of Jerusalem. We hear the familiar story of his mounting a donkey and leaving Bethany and Bethpage on a two mile westward journey down the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley and up to the gates of the Great City. Jesus left Bethany on Sunday, but the journey began long long before that.
"Go into the village ahead of you," he told two of his disciples, "and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'" We can only guess whose donkey Jesus is telling his disciples to take, but one can't help but wonder if his dear friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus have found this never-before-ridden beast for him. There has been some planning, maybe a lot of planning, that has gone into this seemingly spontaneous entrance into Jerusalem. It has been a long road since Jesus "set his face for Jerusalem" in chapter nine. And today, as he begins the final week of his life, Jesus will ride a donkey, a lowly beast of burden not fit for royalty, into one of the Great City's lesser gates.
This donkey is special. This donkey has never been ridden. This donkey has been set aside; never ridden, never worked. It has been set aside for sacred use according to the ritual laws of Numbers and Deuteronomy. This donkey, tied up in the next village up the road isn't there out of coincidence, it is there because Jesus has planned it. Jesus, the king of peace, will ride this donkey set aside for sacred use into the Holy City as the whole multitude of his disciples shout praises to God, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!" Jesus, the King of Peace is riding as a sacrifice into the Holy City for the Passover.
Today, however, we stop at the gates of the city. Despite the prescription in the Prayer Book to follow the Liturgy of the Palms with the reading of the Passion Gospel, we are not there yet. Holy Week begins today, but the journey toward the cross started long-long before now. It has been planned and worked and reworked in the hope that each of us will have the chance to walk with Jesus in the way of his suffering. Each morning this week you will receive by email a special E-Pistle taking you through the last days of Jesus' life. We will leave this place singing "All glory, laud and honor" and tomorrow find ourselves with an angry Jesus turning the tables in the Temple. As the week goes on, you will have the chance to encounter Jesus and the withered fig tree. On Wednesday, we'll read of Jesus' anointing at Bethany, and at noon I will preach on the betrayal of Judas. For Maundy Thursday we will experience the Lord's Supper and on Friday we will find ourselves swept up in the rapid, sordid, and late night events surrounding Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion. And then, on Saturday, we will wait.
Today, however, we rejoice. We know what the week will bring, but we join with the disciples in shouting our praises to God for his mighty works because that is where we find ourselves on the journey. We are just outside the Holy City, probably far enough away that the Roman soldiers can't hear us, proclaiming our guy as the Lord, the King of Peace, hopeful for what that means. We hear the angry grumbling of the fearful Pharisees. They should be worried. With a new king in place their ties with Rome will no doubt spell their doom. But that isn't their concern. They are more worried about what will happen right now if the soliders hear the shouts. The foot of Rome will be at the neck all of Isreal. It is Passover. The time to remember the great deliverance of the Hebrews out of Egypt. A time of great nationalistic pride. A time when a crowd can easily get whipped up into riots and attempted coups. "Not now Jesus, don't let your people say this now. Don't cause trouble now."
But we rejoice anyway. If we did't do it, the stones would rise up to fill our silence. We rejoice because we have no other option but to sing praises to God. We sing praises on Palm Sunday knowing what Holy Week will bring. We sing praises everyday, knowing that suffering goes on in the world around us. We sing praises even when we are suffering. Or if the suffering becomes too great and we can't, we trust the stones to open their mouths and fill our silence. Our rejoicing leads us further down the path, through the gates into the valley that is Holy Week and I hope that you will walk it with us in its entirety. Don't leave this place with the high happy feeling of Palm Sunday and return here only for the high happy feeling of Easter. We know the awfulness ahead of us, and we must walk with Jesus the whole way to the Cross and grave. We must walk in the way of his suffering so that we can share in the true joy of his resurrection; life overcoming death.
Holy Week 2010 is a brand new journey for you, but it began long long ago. Walk with Jesus this week, not just in the highs of today and Easter Day, but through the valley of death so that you and the whole world might hail Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.
March 25, 2010
the same mind
Baldwin County is full of debate these days. Nationally, people are concerned with Health Care Reform. Locally, Tuesday was a special election on a three-year 1% sales tax for education. Some were for both. Some were against both. Some thought one was good and the other bad. Some broke long held party lines to vote for a tax, but government expansion into healthcare is way too much. Baldwin County is full of debate these days, and St. Paul's is no exception.
Our congregation is made up of libertarians, Karl Rove Republicans, centrist republicans, moderates, centrist democrats, Nancy Pelosi Democrats, and those who you can't pin down, and we all live together under the same roof.
Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi and admonished them to "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." This verse often gets read as "agree on everything," but that most certainly is not the case. I mean look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane - he was not in agreement with himself as he struggled between running away from the cup and drinking from it.
Having the same mind as Christ does not mean agreeing with each other on everything. Thinking Christians hold vastly differing opinions on such things as human sexuality, social justice, taxes, and yes, even Scripture.
Having the same mind as Christ means loving each other despite our differences. It means feeling comfortable sharing opinions knowing that another has different ideas. It means respecting one another realizing that thoughtful, prayerful, discipleship went into the forming of one's opinions.
Having the same mind as Christ means living a life of humility.
Baldwin County is full of debate these days. The tendency is to allow debate to flow into vitriol, but those of us who call ourselves disciples live by a different standard; humility.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Our congregation is made up of libertarians, Karl Rove Republicans, centrist republicans, moderates, centrist democrats, Nancy Pelosi Democrats, and those who you can't pin down, and we all live together under the same roof.
Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi and admonished them to "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." This verse often gets read as "agree on everything," but that most certainly is not the case. I mean look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane - he was not in agreement with himself as he struggled between running away from the cup and drinking from it.
Having the same mind as Christ does not mean agreeing with each other on everything. Thinking Christians hold vastly differing opinions on such things as human sexuality, social justice, taxes, and yes, even Scripture.
Having the same mind as Christ means loving each other despite our differences. It means feeling comfortable sharing opinions knowing that another has different ideas. It means respecting one another realizing that thoughtful, prayerful, discipleship went into the forming of one's opinions.
Having the same mind as Christ means living a life of humility.
Baldwin County is full of debate these days. The tendency is to allow debate to flow into vitriol, but those of us who call ourselves disciples live by a different standard; humility.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
March 24, 2010
Homily for Oscar Romero
Today the Church remembers Oscar Romero, Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador who was assassinated on this day in 1980. He is remembered alongside the many other martyrs of El Salvador who died during the Salvadorian twelve year long Salvadorian Civil War. The politics are complicated as Marxists and Capitalists lined up against one another while liberationists from the Roman Catholic Church rallied against and suffered at the hands of both sides. What matters to us and the reason we remember Archbishop Romero is not his politics but his heart.
For most of his ordained ministry, Romero was considered to be a rather conservative clergyman. But on March 12, 1977 his whole world changed as his close friend Father Rutillio Grande was assassinated for his attempt to create groups for the poor to become self-reliant. "When I looked at Rutillio lying there dead," Romero later said, "I thought, 'If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path.'"1
From that day on Archbishop Romero began to speak openly against poverty, social injustice, political violence, and torture. His focus, of course, was on the persecution of the Church. On February 2, 1980, Romero spoke at a University in Beligium and denounced what he saw clearly as persecution. "In less than three years [from 1977 to 1980], more than fifty priests have been attacked, threatened and slandered. Six of them are martyrs, having been assassinated; various others have been tortured, and others expelled from the country. Religious women have also been the object of persecution. The archdiocesan radio station, Catholic educational institutions and Christian religious institutions have been constantly attacked, menaced, threatened with bombs [, and v]arious parish convents have been sacked."
As power changed hands back and forth, Archbishop Romero did not in dear himself to either side, and on March 24, 1980 as he elevated the chalice at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer in a small hospital chapel an assassin with an M-16 assault rifle shot him dead, spilling his blood on the altar. More than two-hundred-fifty-thousand mourners showed up for his funeral mass and army gunmen opened fire from rooftops around the square killing more than 30. Romero was buried in a crypt beneath the sanctuary of the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador as the gunfire continued.
1980 was only thirty years ago, but for some it is a lifetime. Too long to remember the bloody events in and around Central America. But just this morning, I received an email from the Anglican Communion News Service detailing the attempted assassination of Anglican Bishop of El Salvador, Martin Barahona just last week. It ended with a plea for prayer that "hope of a different El Salvador is not lost and that his event is not a sign of persecution of the church."3
The Second Century Theologian, Tertullian, is credited with coining the phrase, "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church" a phrase that Jesus seems to affirm in our Gospel lesson today. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Obviously most of us will not be called to literally die for our faith as Archbishop Romero and many others have, but each of us has a responsibility to live into our prayer for today and "without fear or favor witness to God's Word who abides, God's Word who is Life, Jesus Christ our Lord." We do that by following the example of Romero and the Salvadorian marytrs and giving voice to the voiceless poor, or as the prophet Isiah writes, "Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun."
Even in their darkest hour as gunshot rang out during the funeral of their beloved Archbishop, the Church in El Salvador saw a light shining like the noonday sun. As violence threatens to overtake the Church again, their prayer is for hope; for light in the midst of darkness. May we shine that light by remembering the example of Oscar Romero and by offering help to those in need. Amen.
1-http://www.infed.org/thinkers/oscar_romero.htm
2- Speech at Lovaine University, Belgium, (Feb. 2, 1980).
3- ACNS4693
For most of his ordained ministry, Romero was considered to be a rather conservative clergyman. But on March 12, 1977 his whole world changed as his close friend Father Rutillio Grande was assassinated for his attempt to create groups for the poor to become self-reliant. "When I looked at Rutillio lying there dead," Romero later said, "I thought, 'If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path.'"1
From that day on Archbishop Romero began to speak openly against poverty, social injustice, political violence, and torture. His focus, of course, was on the persecution of the Church. On February 2, 1980, Romero spoke at a University in Beligium and denounced what he saw clearly as persecution. "In less than three years [from 1977 to 1980], more than fifty priests have been attacked, threatened and slandered. Six of them are martyrs, having been assassinated; various others have been tortured, and others expelled from the country. Religious women have also been the object of persecution. The archdiocesan radio station, Catholic educational institutions and Christian religious institutions have been constantly attacked, menaced, threatened with bombs [, and v]arious parish convents have been sacked."
As power changed hands back and forth, Archbishop Romero did not in dear himself to either side, and on March 24, 1980 as he elevated the chalice at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer in a small hospital chapel an assassin with an M-16 assault rifle shot him dead, spilling his blood on the altar. More than two-hundred-fifty-thousand mourners showed up for his funeral mass and army gunmen opened fire from rooftops around the square killing more than 30. Romero was buried in a crypt beneath the sanctuary of the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador as the gunfire continued.
1980 was only thirty years ago, but for some it is a lifetime. Too long to remember the bloody events in and around Central America. But just this morning, I received an email from the Anglican Communion News Service detailing the attempted assassination of Anglican Bishop of El Salvador, Martin Barahona just last week. It ended with a plea for prayer that "hope of a different El Salvador is not lost and that his event is not a sign of persecution of the church."3
The Second Century Theologian, Tertullian, is credited with coining the phrase, "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church" a phrase that Jesus seems to affirm in our Gospel lesson today. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Obviously most of us will not be called to literally die for our faith as Archbishop Romero and many others have, but each of us has a responsibility to live into our prayer for today and "without fear or favor witness to God's Word who abides, God's Word who is Life, Jesus Christ our Lord." We do that by following the example of Romero and the Salvadorian marytrs and giving voice to the voiceless poor, or as the prophet Isiah writes, "Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun."
Even in their darkest hour as gunshot rang out during the funeral of their beloved Archbishop, the Church in El Salvador saw a light shining like the noonday sun. As violence threatens to overtake the Church again, their prayer is for hope; for light in the midst of darkness. May we shine that light by remembering the example of Oscar Romero and by offering help to those in need. Amen.
1-http://www.infed.org/thinkers/oscar_romero.htm
2- Speech at Lovaine University, Belgium, (Feb. 2, 1980).
3- ACNS4693
empty
My twitter/facebook status yesterday was stolen directly from Nadia Bolz-Weber who found a quote from Martin Luther that says, "God created the world out of nothing, and so long as we are nothing, God can make something out of us."
So good.
And it lines up really well with the Epistle test for Palm Sunday. Jesus, as our perfect example of Godly living, was able to empty himself fully. He didn't exploit the fact that he was God. As Holy Week will show us he didn't put on a miracle show for Herod and he didn't hop off the cross and save himself, instead, he gave it all up. Any reason he could have given to those who wouldn't believe, he gave up. In five short days he went from "Hosanna" to "Crucify him" and he didn't do anything to stop it.
He didn't do anything because God requires nothing to make something. Had Jesus' pride gotten in the way and he filled himself up with himself, God's plan for salvation would have once again hit a wall, but Jesus showed us how to live as one who is empty, one who trusts fully.
May we empty ourselves. May we pour out our pride. May we become nothing so that God can make something out of us.
So good.
And it lines up really well with the Epistle test for Palm Sunday. Jesus, as our perfect example of Godly living, was able to empty himself fully. He didn't exploit the fact that he was God. As Holy Week will show us he didn't put on a miracle show for Herod and he didn't hop off the cross and save himself, instead, he gave it all up. Any reason he could have given to those who wouldn't believe, he gave up. In five short days he went from "Hosanna" to "Crucify him" and he didn't do anything to stop it.
He didn't do anything because God requires nothing to make something. Had Jesus' pride gotten in the way and he filled himself up with himself, God's plan for salvation would have once again hit a wall, but Jesus showed us how to live as one who is empty, one who trusts fully.
May we empty ourselves. May we pour out our pride. May we become nothing so that God can make something out of us.
March 23, 2010
Lent 4c five15 convo
Click here to find the .pdf version of the Lent 4c five15 conversation slideshow.
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