Veteran's Day 2023

 This weekend we mark 105 years since “the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month” or Veterans Day – “the end of the war to end all wars”…   Now we know that the end of that war only paved the way for the next war to come.  And on and on it goes.  That’s actually why the name was changed in 1954 to Veterans’ Day – to mourn and to give thanks for all the lives lost to war – because clearly war had not ceased in our world. 

 

There is a lot to mourn right now – the staggering loss of life, the constant barrage of insults hurled at whoever doesn’t see things the way I do or you do or he/she does.  One thing I do know…  violence begets violence.  Just as the outcome of WW1 set the stage for WW2 which pushed us into Korea, the cold war, Vietnam, Kosovo, Granada, Iraq, Afghanistan and dozens of other places – violence between gangs, political groups, family members, countries, religious groups – all that violence sets the stage for even more violence.  “You kill my child and I’ll kill two of yours”   “You attack my land and I will blow up yours”.  The only way I can imagine for that cycle to stop is for someone to say “enough is enough, I am grieving, but I will not strike back”  I believe with all my heart that Jesus is saying to us that forgiveness driven by compassion is the only way to overcome hatred driven by fear.  But, Lordy, who is willing to be first?   I want to share a portion of an op ed sent to me by a prayer buddy…

 

 The United States Congress declared that the date “should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations.”

A day of thanksgiving: for the service of veterans, living and dead; for the service of  caregivers...

A day of prayer: for people of all faiths (or no faith at all), a time of prayer, meditation, or reflection on the stillness of armistice…

 

A day of exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations: …

  

...To  sing with our ancestors  that  we,  too,  will lay down our swords and shields, “down by the riverside, and study  war no more”  —

 

May God’s peace be with you on this Veterans Day, this Armistice Day, and may we lay down all of our arms, all of our burdens, in God’s great Shalom rising up even now, like soldiers climbing out of trenches  a century ago.

Excerpted from ~ The Salt Project, www.saltproject.org, 11/3/2020

Conflict! Quarrels! Division!

 

Conflict!  Quarrels!  Division!  It is tough to praise God if you are busy passing judgment on other people.   At least that is what the apostle Paul seems to be saying in this passage from Romans, in which he exhorts the community of Christians in Rome to avoid fighting over theologically non-essential matters like dietary laws and festival celebrations.

If you have spent much time in or around churches you know that conflict is often a part of congregational dynamics – at all levels of church life – small churches, large congregations and great cathedrals – conflict is always in the undercurrent milieu.  Paul suggests in the letter to Christians in Rome that conflict is not just about a difference in opinion or menu preference – conflict is often rooted in power struggle.  Who is weak and who is strong?  Who is a charismatic speaker and who resides on the sidelines?  Who is strong and committed in their faith and who is more reticent and perhaps more easily swayed?

On Wednesday evenings we are discussing Chris Yaw’s book, Jesus was an Episcopalian.  It is tongue in cheek for sure and our discussions are not really concerned with denominational difference – but in fact all churches today are just as vulnerable to power differentials as was the church in Rome.  Then the struggle involved the observance of dietary laws.  Today our struggles are more likely to be about use of space, the wording of the Lord’s prayer or the creed or perhaps what our outreach should be in our community.  Underneath the quarrel are often deeply held beliefs or spiritual practices or opinions on how this community might best serve others.  If you listen at coffee hour or in the parking lot you know that the fodder for conflict is always present. 

And I’ll be honest with you it festers in clergy circles just as much or more that in the lay community.  And that is not always a bad thing.  Differing opinions and liturgical observances are healthy for the church.  It keeps us from becoming stale and worn out.  But problems arise when differences in opinion result in judgment and the refusal to listen or to consider the opinions of others.   Listening to each other, respecting the differences of opinion, and honoring the value of each child of God can and will lay the groundwork for spiritual growth and the richness of diversity.

At the time this letter was written there was an ongoing influx of Jews – some Christian converts and some not - who had returned from exile to live in Rome.  The converts often were ritually observant.  Paul is not trying to address some trivial matter in Romans 14.  To observe or not to observe dietary restrictions had the potential to divide and to disrupt the entire church in Rome.  Paul’s answer to this potential schism and to the churches struggles today with homosexuality, abortion, evolution, climate change, the authority of scripture – the list goes on and on….  Paul’s answer is that the one loving and forgiving God redeems all of humankind through the one man Jesus Christ and that we all have access to that redemption – not through our own actions or practices or whatever else we proclaim from our soapbox..,  redemption Paul says is through faith.  That is, in the end, what matters most are not these particular piety practices, but rather the relationship of God with all believers.

At its core, the issue here is each sparring partner setting itself over and above the other, claiming the high moral ground for its particular practices and opinions. From the first century until now, it seems, people manage to develop self-righteous attitudes toward those with whom they disagree.  If you or I have ever seen controversy of any kind dividing the church as a reason to pull away from the community  - whatever side we might be on – if we see the controversy as a reason to pull out of or even away from the fellowship of the community – then perhaps we should reread Paul's letter to the church in Rome.

If the only community we are part of is the one where all are in agreement then we miss the opportunity to be challenged by new ideas and the wonder of diversity.  We become stuck and stagnate in our ways and we miss the opportunity for vitality and growth.  We limit the power of transformation that the Gospel invites us to experience.

This reading from Romans is not an easy one.  Neither is the Gospel lesson from Matthew.  Peter’s question “how often must I forgive the one who hurts me?” is one that plagues us just about all of our lives.  Forgiveness is integral to the life of faithful Christians and to the life of the church as we all seek ways to be faithful Jesus’ teachings and welcoming to those with whom we are in conflict. 

I think Jesus’ talk of forgiveness comes from a place of love of all of creation and the knowledge that unforgiveness is toxic to the individuals and to the communities who hold onto the pain.  There are multitudes of situations in our world, our community, churches, families, and our friends that can – if not talked out and forgiven – can fester in bitterness and cause deep, purulent wounds.

That sounds to me an awful lot like a Gospel truth, we are human, we turn away from God and do some awful things, but it is the character of God to be merciful and forgiving and since we are created in God’s image it is in our character also.  Without the gift of forgiveness, we would not be able to maintain our relationships with each other. 

But forgiveness is not forgetting.  Rather it is the hospitality of receiving each other and ourselves as the beloved of God.  The extraordinary hospitality of God - that was so squandered by that servant in our lesson today who was unwilling to forgive others, that hospitality is the mercy of God -  being accepted and loved whether we’re right or wrong. In this parable told in outrageous hyperbole, Jesus tells us that mercy will always trump retribution.  It may not seem right. It may not agree with our sensibilities, but that’s the deal.  And Jesus tells us we are to go and do likewise.  Forgiveness softens our hearts and makes it possible for us not to forget but to move on and live. 

To let our hearts be full of God’s love is to recognize that each of us falls way short most of the time and what we desperately need is to be accepted and loved, to receive mercy and compassion. Here we are the broken and the blessed, the fractured and the forgiven. Can we do anything less than to forgive the debts of others just as God has forgiven ours?

Amen

Courageous Proclamation

      “Who do people say that I am?”  That’s a familiar passage and Peter’s answer is one of the fundamental beliefs of Christian faith.  But the question is more complicated than appears at first glance because it has implications that go beyond just identification.  Who I am today - is a direct outcome of how I answer Jesus’ question.  Who we are as a community…  is a direct result of how we answer that question together through our hospitality, our outreach, and our proclamation.  Today I want to focus on how we answer the question as a community of faith.

“For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. “

Each one of us is a part or – a “member” of lots of bodies.  I am a member of the tennis community.  Garry, Theresa, Jason, and Jon are members of the choral community and we are all members of the Body of Christ.  Each one of us has a multitude of relationships, roles, and responsibilities within the “bodies” to which we belong.  The harmony of the Chorale or the success of the tennis league is dependent on each one of the members bringing their own skills and knowledge to the table and coordinating their efforts with the other members of the body.  For us as members of the Body of Christ it is how we answer Jesus’ question that matters, because how we answer and what we believe shapes the ministry and the mission of not only our own faith, but also the substance of what it means to be a Christ-centered community. 

Every third Sunday of the month the Vestry meets to make financial and missional decisions about our community.  We begin as we always do with the words: “A sacramental community inviting and welcoming all to grow in Christ’s love through fellowship and service”.  On the front of our bulletin we boldly state:  “We are an inclusive and intentionally affirming parish, dedicated to growing in faith, spirit, and community.”   In corporate terms these are “statements of mission”.  But what is also true is that mission statements do not mean much unless they are embodied within the physical and spiritual lives of the people who make that body up.  In other words in order for us to fully be the “Body of Christ” we must invest time and energy into understanding who we are, what we bring, and how we are called to live and move and have our being in order to build the Reign of God.   

So what do we mean when we say we are an “intentionally affirming Christian community”.  What it doesn’t mean is refusing to acknowledge difference.  Without difference we would all bring the same gifts to the table.  But, if we limit our understanding of difference to acceptance or tolerance then we are setting up a hierarchy of gifts.  Professor of religion at Colgate and noted Womanist theologian, Clarice Martin writes “If there were not diversity in the body, and all members were the same or nearly the same, the body would be an unrecognizable non-functional entity.”  

Look back at the reading again.  “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”  Each according to the measure that God has assigned.  I am not the creator of gifts – God is.  And when a God given gift is offered, affirmed, and included – then the Body of Christ is whole. 

To intentionally affirm another’s gifts is to commit to the deliberate practice of making sure we are fully open, supported by, and led into the world by all those who pass through these doors.  And I’m not just talking about on Sunday morning.  I heard a term NPR this week that struck home.  “Courageous proclamation”  That’s what intentional affirmation is… It’s courageous proclamation of God’s love.

Whether it is the families who receive the school supplies we collect, the seekers who visit our booth at Pride and Equality Fest, the children who struggle with adapting to loud and unfamiliar places, the folks who feel cut off from God’s Love and Grace, or perhaps the folks who will walk these halls in a few weeks with white tipped canes.  Each and every one of the Beloved of God bring gifts to this place.  Gifts that God has given to them and there is no gift that is more important than any other.   The Body of Christ is not whole until the people who are unseen actors and unheard voices are proactively included and recognized as contributing members.

Each one of us has to figure out for themselves what that means for them.  I have been thinking about how we can do some tangible things to include and recognize our tenants who are visually impaired.  How about remembering not to leave chairs out in the middle of the shared space, treating the lawn to get rid of fire ant beds, making the driveway easier to walk on.  At the risk of criticism for being “woke”, I was reading an article in the Post last week that discussed how we refer to someone – like pronouns they use…  the gist of the article was that we should ask them.  Don’t just assume you know.  And not just pronouns….  What about names that are not straightforward to pronounce…  It is just simple courtesy to ask rather than to mis-pronounce someone’s name.  And in our own fellowship – making sure there are snacks that meet the dietary needs of each person or asking before touching someone who might not like a bear hug, and the reverse - being sure to smile and offer the peace to others.  

The reason we do these things is because when Jesus asks us “Who do you say that I am?” we answer, you are God with us, beloved of God, Son of God, our teacher, our healer, our comforter, our friend - who says to us “Love one another as I have loved you” 

“Love one another as I have loved you”  Pretty simple. 

“For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.”  Amen

An Episcopal Look at Evangelism

       I have a poster on the wall in my study that says “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words.”  Most times that maxim is attributed to St Francis of Assisi, but who knows.  The message of course is that actions speak louder than words and possibly that how I live my life day to day says more about my faith than the words I offer from this pulpit.  .  What is the quote from the Epistle of James, “Faith without works is dead”.    I think that Paul might have taken exception to that though.  Because today Paul seems to be bent on directing the early church to get out and tell their neighbors about their faith.  “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  Paul is calling the church to evangelism. 

That is not a very Episcopal word - at least not until recently.  Evangelism is something that Episcopalians just don’t do.  I mean until just a few years ago it was hard to get anyone to offer the peace past their own pew…  Much less talk about their faith to a stranger.  But I think our reticence to open proselytizing has more to do with uncertainty about our faith than it does with being unwilling to share the value of being in a Christian community.  I think we struggle with what to say because we know that when it comes to words like faith, belief, and salvation there seem to be more questions than answers.

I grew up and I suspect many of you did too immersed in loud and intrusive preaching.  “Pulpit bangers” Anna Lou called them.  They seemed to be so sure about what they were saying.  Often the message was do abc and you will live in heaven with Jesus – do xyz and you will be doomed for eternity where there will be gnashing of teeth.  Somehow that just never sat well with me.  If I’m truthful it doesn’t sit well with me today either.  For me faith is not just right or wrong acting, faith is not adhering to some ecclesiastical doctrine or creed.  Evangelism is not climbing up on a soapbox proclaiming my opinions in order to scare passersby into belief in something or someone. 

Faith is for me at least, a lot more about confidence.  Confidence in the goodness of God and confidence about the beauty and holiness of creation.  Faith is about feeling deep compassion for those who suffer loss or pain – compassion for our earth as it groans under the abuse of uncaring stewards.  Faith is about trust that God is present in our lives and in the lives of others.  Faith is the willingness to trust that when the turmoil is greatest and the waves overcome me, Jesus will reach out a hand and steady me.

Romans is one of Paul’s most developed theological statements.  Paul is wrestling today with whether we cling to the Law, the Torah, and act our way into salvation or whether it is through our faith in God and belief in Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law that we enter God’s reign.  Simply put Paul is addressing the struggle of what it is that makes us God’s Beloved children.  Is it our faith in Jesus or is it our adherence to the Law or some other code of conduct?   And Holy Moly we are still trying to sort that out over 2000 years later. 

Paul was a Jew through and through.  He was raised to center his whole being around the Law.  He was not taught to wander around from town to town converting folks to Judaism.  But when Paul encountered Jesus on that road to Damascus all that changed for him.  Paul had come to be aware of God’s immediate presence in his life and his role – Paul’s role - in waking folks up to the goodness of God as it is manifested in Jesus.   Paul woke up to the importance of not only caring for the injured traveler, but also to sharing his experience and his knowledge of Jesus with everyone he met. 

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?”

When I was doing my clinical pastoral education unit in seminary, my supervisor – a very wise Irish nun – reminded us before every shift that “we would not be bringing Jesus with us on our rounds, because he was already in the room waiting for us.”  Evangelism, whether it is accomplished through word or deed, is not about us saving the world.  God in Jesus has already done that.  It is up to us to have faith in the inherent truth of God’s love as it is revealed in Jesus and to live our lives in that faith.  ….We cannot save others by our actions or by our words regardless how eloquent.  In fact we cannot even save ourselves. 

Some of us find comfort in sitting back and letting God do the work of salvation.  Others will not be content in their faith without finding practical ways to make a difference in the world.  Faith vs works.  Athanasius argued with Augustine – Luther argued with the Catholic Church.  Baptists argue with Methodists.  And Episcopalians…  Well….. we try to find the middle road. 

But, I think Paul is reaching for a new paradigm here - particularly for the Jews to whom he was preaching and perhaps for us middle of the way folks.  The community of believers was no longer to be confined to the boundaries of the “Law”.  Nor were believers to sit idly by.  Instead the community of believers is called to live with the confidence that at the center of our faith is Jesus Christ and we are bound by our call to spread that knowledge through word and deed.   

Evangelism is not about determining who is in and who is out.  It’s not about converting someone to our particular doctrine or our particular agenda.  Evangelism is about beginning with the One who calls us as His own, redeems us, forgives us and loves us without limits or boundaries and preaching that Gospel message with both word and deed.  This kind of evangelism demands that we live our own lives in the truth that God’s love is for each of us – no matter who we are or how we look or how we are called to be.  The One at the center, Jesus Christ, spreads limitless ripples of compassion and forgiveness, it is an infinite, undulating web of love.   Creation is filled with the abundance of God’s Love and all of us are called to ensure that others know that abundance, too.   

 How are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard.  Evangelism is not a dirty word – it is about turning our faces into the wind as God drives our boat and inviting others to join us by witnessing in word and deed to the saving grace, mercy and love of Jesus Christ.  We are not responsible for the outcome of the introduction.  That is left to Jesus.  We invite others by living out those promises we made at our baptism.  By standing for justice, by loving others as ourselves, by prayer and by service and yes by proclamation.  That is how the church grows, that is how our world is changed, that is how our lives are transformed by God. 

Buen Camino!!!

Overcoming the familiarity

 

During Lent we gathered as a group on Wednesday evenings to share a simple meal and to reflect on the most familiar of Christian prayers.  We took this Lord’s Prayer line by line and reflected on what each petition means to us and how we might better incorporate the words into our lives.  The conversations were rich and flowed easily. 

Our curriculum was one provided by the Society of St John the Evangelist in Cambridge MA.  Each week one of the brothers offered a reflection from which we would begin.  Unexpectedly, in one reflection there was a rendering of the Lord’s Prayer that really resonated with us.  Br Sean Glenn, SSJE wrote, “…as with anything we hold in close proximity, the very familiarity of these words can sometimes obscure the prayer’s true power to transform us, and can dull the challenge by which it seeks to summon us beyond our illusory sense of self-dependence…” 

Familiarity can be the death knell for creativity unless we stop and really consider what we are saying.  One way that resonated with us we changing the wording of the prayer.  Now if experience has taught me anything it is that the liturgist can mess with anything on Sunday morning EXCEPT the Lord’s Prayer.  So it is with great trepidation that I agreed with the group to use a new version of the prayer during the Easter season.  So heads up St Patrick’s there is uncharted road ahead.  Here’s a sneak peak…

Holy One, our only home,
Blessed be your name,
May your day dawn,
Your will be done,
Here, as in heaven,
 Feed us today and forgive us,
As we forgive each other,
Do not forsake us at the test,
But deliver us from evil,
For the glory, the power,
And the mercy are yours
Now and forever.  Amen

 Buen Camino

Mother Jane

Easter is Lurking

 Alleluia, Christ has risen!

Image attribution: JESUS MAFA. Easter - Christ appears to Mary, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48389 [retrieved April 6, 2023]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).

The Lord is risen indeed!

I know, not quite yet, but the lilies will soon lurk in the side foyer, the bulletins are ready, and spring is upon us. The promise of new life and new possibilities abound. On Easter Sunday we will bring out the alleluias for all to proclaim. It will be a glorious celebration and I truly hope that you will choose to come and rejoice with us at St Patrick’s—with your church. I pray that this Easter will be a time of awakening, in each of us, the hope and the promise of the Resurrection of Christ.

Church is the people of God. Church is the people at work welcoming the stranger, filling the soup bowls, teaching the music, making the palm crosses, and hiding the Easter Eggs. It is the person hanging the banner on the sign, polishing the brass, singing the songs, telling the stories, leading the Bible study, ironing the linens. It is the person who stops to help—even though no one is looking and there will be no reward for doing so except a glad and grateful heart. And yes, “church” is also the congregation gathered in that “building” to sing and to pray, to ask forgiveness, to give thanks, and to worship God. 

Up from the grave... John 11

             John 11 is a familiar story.  We hear it a lot at funerals.  Lazarus, Jesus’ friend has died unexpectedly and Jesus – perhaps fearing for his own life delays in traveling to Bethany for the funeral.  When he does finally arrive, Martha and then Mary come to meet him and all of those people who were there to console the sisters came with them.  Jesus was their teacher, their rabbi, their friend.  He was the one who they expected would make sense of all of this horrible grief that consumed them. 

Martha’s grief turns to rage and she accuses Jesus of being uncaring.  Jesus, in what is for me one of the most poignant revelations of God’s nature, is overcome by grief himself and begins to weep.  But he doesn’t make excuses for his tardiness.  Instead he turns the conversation into one that is grounded in faith.  He reassures Martha that in fact death is not the ultimate outcome of life and he gently and lovingly recalls the mystery of his relationship with God and the hope for salvation that comes from that mystery.  And then he instructs the crowd to roll away the stone.  Once again Martha chides him.  “But Lord it has been 4 days – there will be a stench.”  Jesus insists and then with the authority of one who knows that with God there is always the opportunity for renewal - he calls Lazarus forth out of the tomb.  

It is short-sighted to see this as just a story about Lazarus coming back to life.  Salvation is about transformation in this life.  Transformation of self and more expansively transformation of a very broken world in this life – not salvation as preparation for the next.  This lesson invites us to imagine the possibility of resurrected lives all around us – in ourselves, our families, our community and the world.  Resurrection for those who desperately need it right now. 

William Barclay, a 20^th century theologian from Scotland said that the miracle stories of the Bible are symbols of what God can do today.  He was severely criticized for his expansive understanding, but it certainly resonates with me.  How we live into these stories of God’s action in our world will determine whether or not the church becomes a 21^st century prophetic voice or whether it becomes tired and obsolete and simply fades away into oblivion.  We cannot sit back and wish that young people appreciated the music and liturgy that molded our childhood.  We who believe that with God all things are possible, including new life from dead and buried souls, must affirm our beliefs with our actions.

Today John invites us to stand at the tomb of Lazarus and to imagine a possibility beyond the stench of a decaying body.  To dream about the possibilities for transformation of our lives and the lives of those around us in unfettered and limitless dimensions.  To listen for the voice of Jesus calling us to come out of our blindness, our captivity, our lifelessness and to experience the joy of a resurrected life.

Let us pray:  Gracious and loving God, give us ears to hear you when you call to us, eyes to imagine the possibilities of a life lived in You, and the willingness to step up and unbind those whom you awaken this day.  Amen