Ascension Day

I love the images of the Ascension especially the ones where Jesus' feet hang out of the sky. When I think about the Ascension, the image of Glinda the Good Witch leaving the Munchkins comes into my mind - I can hear them saying "good-bye, good-bye" and waving, excited by her visit and sad to see her leave but sure she will return again. Here are a few favorites:

5 Easter

Readings are here.

Notes towards a sermon. I have gone back to my previous practice of notes instead of text since I rarely preach the totality of what I write. This week thought about Way, Truth, Life in light of living in a pluralistic society. As we follow Jesus (what he asks us to do) he shows us the Way, he embodies Truth and wherever he goes he spreads Life. As a holy people, a royal priesthood we are called to the same, putting away the stones used to kill the body and soul and return to love.

Being grounded and steady in our faith we can encounter other faiths and non-faiths with an open heart and mind, not apologizing for the differences but celebrating them. When I was at school we had many traditions and tried to have common worship each week. When we tried to meld it all together and use the least controversial bits of our traditions - it was bland and boring. When we offered the fullness of our worship and each participated as invited or able to participate -- it was rich and satisfying.

And as this was the week of the predicted Rapture - a thought from Facebook:

The world is not ending today, it is just being rebooted. Please be sure your security software is up to date. Run a full scan of your life and remove any malicious files which may be damaging your joy, stealing your hope, or slowing down your blessings. If you need more instructions, please refer to the user's manual, or put your hands together, bow your head and contact technical support.

3 Easter

Readings are here.

Notes toward a sermon:

A couple is returning home from the heady days of their past week. Last week they had left the garrison town of Emmaus where they work for the Roman legions, stationed there. They had gone for the festival days of Passover. Making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They had been caught up in the crowds flocking to hear this man, Jesus. So kind, so embracing - healing just to be in his presence. They had seen his shocking confrontation in the Temple - turning over the tables of the money changers and sellers of birds and goats for sacrifice. They had shared meals with the other followers of Jesus - breaking the barley bread, drinking the rough wine. Full of hopes and dreams of a new world - a place where all can live in abundance and fullness of life.

Then the shocking end. Death as a criminal, on a cross, so awful. Now they scuff the dirt of the road as they return to their old life of daily serving the soldiers. It is a good job, the soldiers welcome their work, other peoples' sons stationed far from home, some seem to appreciate them almost like grandparents, a few are arrogant and abusive - but most are just like young men everywhere.

But the heaviness of heart - the joy destroyed - of hopes dashed. Will they ever know joy and hope again?

Now a stranger walking with them. Doesn't he know but now he is answering all their questions. Hearts on fire as he speaks. It is getting to be night time - they invite him into their home for the night. They are all hungry and tired from the walking and talking. It is dangerous on the roads at night. Hospitality is still the highest virtue in their faith. Welcome the stranger is the code of their ancestors from Abraham and Sarah to this night.

The woman lays out the bread and the wine on the table. They all sit as she lights the candles and says the prayers. They serve him first as is only proper - he breaks the bread.

Suddenly - there in the midst of the dailyness of life - the Lord of Hope and Joy - alive. Jesus is in their midst just as he promised whenever 2 or 3 are gathered. No fancy clothes or rituals -- just the everyday evening meal with strangers and family and friends. Always.

Emmaus

This captures that moment of the breaking of the bread among the strangers at Emmaus for me. h/t to Kwok Pui Lan

John O’Donohue’s “Beannacht.”

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.

2 Easter

Readings are here.

Every year, the first Sunday after Easter, the church reads this Gospel. It is a challenge to say anything new about the appearance to the disciples who are hiding in terror from the religious authorities and the soldiers of the Roman Empire. Are any of the women followers of Jesus with them? Is it just the 11? Hard to tell from the word "disciples," because in Greek if there is even one man in a group the male plural is used to describe the group. One wonders why Thomas was not with the group? Was he not afraid? Did they send him out for food or to see if the streets were safe for them. Was he tired of living in the atmosphere of fear? It was evening of the same day when Magdalene had been the first to see Jesus in the garden. Peter and the others had gone home after seeing the empty tomb. He and most of the disciples had run off after Jesus was sentenced to death on Thursday so it was Sunday evening when those in the locked room had experienced Jesus alive in their midst.

Now it is a week later. Thomas has resisted their story all week - saying - I have to see him with his wounds to believe you. Thomas appears 3 times in the Gospel of John. The first time is when Jesus insists on going so near Jerusalem after the death of Lazarus, when the sisters send for Jesus. While most of the disciples say it is not safe and they should stay where they are until things calm down, Jesus is determined to go. At that point Thomas says, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (John 11:16)

Thomas appears again in John 14. Jesus is telling the disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father's house and that they already know the way. Thomas says to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Thomas may not understand what Jesus is saying at that moment but in our Gospel to day he finds out.

So today we find our selves in that locked room with Thomas, with an unbelievable story that the a man has returned from death, is able to come into our midst regardless of the solid doors and locks we have built between believing and unbelieving. For that is what is being explored. The Greek does not say doubt. It speaks of two states of being - being believing and being not believing. Doubt, in its way, is part of believing - it is saying "maybe" "maybe not" - having a part of oneself that is open to the possibility. Thomas is not believing - there is no room in his heart or mind to accept what happened to Magdalene, the other women, nor those in the locked room. He is not doubting at all - he knows. Jesus is dead. This is not a Lazarus story - Jesus is dead and buried and gone.

Now the door is locked once again and Thomas has locked out everything his friends are saying. And yet - still - suddenly - Jesus is there. Does Thomas even need to touch the wounds that Jesus shows him? He "gets it" -- and even more so than the others - he declares "my Lord and my God" -- the answer Jesus gave him to his question of John 14 is standing before him - Thomas sees God in the wounded One. The way to God is through looking at the wounded of this world. We will see God when we present to wounded-ness - our own wounds and the wounds of the world.

Jesus says in Matthew 25 - that when we help the "least of these" - those who are hungry, sick, imprisoned, without clothing, thirsty, or the stranger we will be helping Christ. That is what our Gospel shows us today. When we don't hide our wounds or hide from others who are wounded - we will be on the Way, the way that leads to God.

Joy after the wedding

A verger cartwheels in the Abbey after the ceremony -- how I feel after an excellent liturgy!!

The Wedding

Of course I got up at o'dark thirty to see it all. It was fun and silly and grand - and reminds me of why I love being an Anglican/Episcopalian. Here is the whole service for your watching pleasure. Wedding sermons are notoriously hard to preach - what to say that has not been said? This one is just right and the quote from Catherine of Sienna - good for all our days. The prayers at the end were written by the bride and groom.

God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage.
In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy. Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. (Copyright of St James's Palace) Amen.

The Rutter piece commissioned for this was lovely. Hope you enjoyed the day -- may all of us live in hope always.

"You are rewarded not according to your work or your time but according to the measure of your love."~Catherine of Sienna

Easter

It is early Sunday morning, it is still dark, a dark that is only lit by Magdalene's oil lamp and the stars spread out across the sky. The dew is thick in the garden, the smell of the grass and the dirt and the trees fills the air. The stones are cold, all the heat of the day gone out of them. Her feet carefully pick their way along the path. The silence of that Sabbath is heavy in her heart. It has been more than a whole day since the one they all loved had been so brutally killed. The one in whom they had placed so much hope, who made their hearts leap with joy, who healed and taught and loved them with such abundance, dead and buried here in a new grave. Covered with a stone so heavy only several men could move it. Magdalene comes to grieve - to be close to him once again, even it is just his linen wrapped body behind a stone. She goes to the place where she last saw him before they placed him there, rolled the stone over the opening and the soldiers appeared to chase away any followers who might show up. All seems lost. Empty. Gone.

But, what's this? The stone has been moved, the soldiers are gone! She runs to tell Peter and the others. They run to the tomb and see that Jesus is not there - they believe Magdalene now - so return home. Once again it is just the woman - alone. She bends down and looks in the tomb and sees 2 angels. They ask her why she is weeping. Why wouldn't she be weeping - not only is the one who called them his beloved, the one who had healed her of her torment - 7 demons they had called it - and whom they loved is not only dead - his body is gone- there is nothing left. And then another person asking "why are you weeping? who do you seek?" I can almost hear her voice rising in a sobbed plea - "where is his body? what have you done?" And then, and then, the answer -- her name. Called by name. Like all those places in the stories of her faith and her people that she had heard all her life -- where God calls the people by name, each named by the Holy One. Called into life, into fullness of being. You no longer have to cling to things or your fears or to your past - anything that keeps you from really living -you can let go - you can live because I live and have shown you how to live and how to love one another so that all can live.

Today we heard the story of Peter - he has been confronted by Paul who says that Gentiles can become Christians without the rituals that Jewish men have to undergo. Now you know Peter is a leader in this new religious movement - and he knows how things should be - after all he was there at the beginning and knows the way we have always done things. What Paul is saying is NOT how it should be. Good grief - if you let Gentiles join without doing it in the correct way and with only a few rules - pretty soon anyone will be joining and who knows where that will lead? Peter is invited to eat at Cornelius' house - he "knows" that is wrong. But these people seem to be following in Jesus' Way. A dilemma

But then he has a dream - where Peter is shown more of what Jesus had been trying to teach him. In the dream food is spread out and God invites him to eat -- but some of the food is ritually unclean (bacon, shrimp, etc) - Peter is horrified, gags at the sight of it, even. But God commands him to eat - saying nothing in creation is unclean. It is all holy. This is where our lesson today starts - just after this dream. Now Peter understands -- Christ came for all people - not just a small band of followers - but for all who want to follow Christ. Over and over the church has had to rediscover this teaching - at one time the church has thought some were beyond the love of God - could not be seen as fully human--slaves, Native Americans, women, gays and lesbians, people with certain diseases, those who had sinned and not repented or paid for their sins. And over and over God has revealed the Holy in each of these --showing up in the most surprising places.

When we seek the things that are above - as the letter to the Colossians says -- we see God everywhere - we see LIFE everywhere - even in unlikely people, even though they have it deeply hidden behind their fears and their deeds. If we only see with our own eyes - we often just see brokenness and death and emptiness. When we look with Christ's eyes- we see the heart. We know the compassion that is offered to each of us no matter what and we want to offer that to others.

The other day I received a note from a friend who is a priest in the LA area - who some of you may know as he was a candidate your previous Bishop election- Howard Anderson. A close friend, mentor and bishop of his is dying of pancreatic cancer - his name is Bob Anderson. A bishop who was not afraid to stand up against the abuse of children, women and men by clergy in the Episcopal Church. A bishop who through this work brought many back from the dead to new life - death of the soul from abuse in the church. My friend writes:

We had just embraced, both of us in tears. It had been a good visit, even knowing that this would be the last time I saw him alive. Bishop Bob Anderson has been so much more than my ordaining Bishop. He has been mentor, cheer leader, promoter and wise counselor. The term clergy used to use for Bishops, “Father in God,” was more than appropriate for the relationship we have had over the years. As I opened the door to leave, I looked back, the frail, rail thin man who sat in his chair still looked to me to be the 6’2” 195 pound basketball player that I first met 34 years ago. That’s kind of what happens when we see with the eyes of love. I waved, and he threw me a kiss, and said, “See you on the other side!” He said that with such steadiness, such certainty, that I will never, ever forget the feeling I had. In the midst of Lent, I had an Easter, alleluia, moment!

And now we are in that Alleluia moment - in fact, are always in that moment because Jesus showed us that death has no power. Not the every day deaths we feel when in despair or struggle or falling short - nor the death that will come to us all one day. There is no power in these things - we need not cling to them or fear them -- the power of love and self sacrifice and compassion will win out. That is the Alleluia of Easter. or as I like it in Spanish ¡Aleluya!

Maundy Thursday

Last Supper by Piasecki

Maundy Thursday

Here is the liturgy we will use for Maundy Thursday. It is from the materials of Education for Ministry from the University of the South:

Sanctuary set up for dinner

People bring Middle Eastern or Mediterreanean food and place it on table

2nd Century Eucharist - Rite of Hippolytus
The Liturgy of the Word

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before
he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy
mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.

Psalm 78:14-20, 23-25
Epistle 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (27-32)
Gospel John 13:1-15
The kiss of peace (a handshake, embrace, or kiss on the cheek;
time should be allowed for all to greet one another)

The Liturgy of the Table
The offertory (A deacon spreads a cloth on the table while other deacons collect the gifts of bread and wine from the congregation. The bread should be in small loaves, preferably home-baked; wine should be brought in its original bottle. A deacon places a sufficient amount of bread and wine on the table and puts the rest aside on another convenient table. The president and the presbyters gather about the table and place their hands momentarily on the elements.)

The Eucharistic Prayer
President: The Lord be with you. People: And with your spirit. President: Lift up your hearts. People: They are lifted to the Lord. President: Let us give thanks to the Lord. People: It is worthy and just.
President: We give you thanks, O God, through your beloved Child Jesus Christ, whom in the last times you sent to us, a Savior and Redeemer and Messenger of your will, who is your Word, inseparable from you; through whom you made all things and whom, in your good pleasure, you sent from heaven into the womb of a virgin, and who, conceived within her, was made flesh, and was manifested as your Son, born of the Holy Spirit and a virgin; who, fulfilling your will, and winning for you a holy people, spread out his hands when he suffered, that by his passion he might set free those who believe in you; who, when he was given over to his voluntary suffering, that he might destroy death and break the bonds of the devil, and tread hell under foot, and enlighten the righteous, and set up a boundary post, and manifest the resurrection, taking bread and giving thanks to you said, Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. In the same manner, also, the cup, saying, This is my blood, which is poured out for you. When you do this, you make anamnesis of me.

Therefore, remembering his death and resurrection, we offer to you the bread and the cup, giving thanks to you because you have counted us worthy to stand before you and to minister as priests to you.

And we pray you to send your Holy Spirit upon the oblation of the holy church, gathering into one all who receive the holy [mysteries], that we may be filled with Holy Spirit, to the confirmation of faith in truth, that we may praise and glorify you, through your Child Jesus Christ, through whom be glory and honor to you, with the Holy Spirit in the holy church, both now and world without end. Amen.
[Blessing of cheese and olives: Sanctify this milk which has solidified, and solidify us in your love, and let not your sweetness depart from this fruit of the olive tree, which is a type of your mercy which you caused to flow from the Tree for life to those who hope in you. Glory to you, Father and Son with the Holy Spirit in the holy church both now and always and world without end. Amen.]

The breaking of the bread The receiving of communion

Dinner

Footwashing

Ubi Caritas - Choir

The Lord Jesus, after he had supped with his disciples and
had washed their feet, said to them, “Do you know what I,
your Lord and Master, have done to you? I have given you
an example, that you should do as I have done.”

Washing ceremony

Peace is my last gift to you, my own peace I now leave with
you; peace which the world cannot give, I give to you.

I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have
loved you.

Peace is my last gift to you, my own peace I now leave with
you; peace which the world cannot give, I give to you.

By this shall the world know that you are my disciples: That
you have love for one another.

Stripping of the Altar

vigil for those who wish to stay

Palm/Passion Sunday

Readings are here.

The streets are packed with people coming to the city for the Holy Days. The Roman legions are everywhere- nervous young soldiers sent to reinforce the regulars in the notoriously difficult place. Probably they are wondering about the Jews and their commitment to one God. Wondering why they can't just worship like everyone else - giving worship to the emperor, making offering to the gods of Rome? You can't even see their God - in fact they have a rule about not making images of their God even have to have the Roman money changed to use it for their offerings to this God

The religious leaders are nervous - this is the time of year when every sect comes to the city. Some come just to worship but some come with trouble on their minds. The Essenes are okay - usually just spend time out in the desert in their caves but those Zealots - plotting the overthrow of Rome - bringing trouble to all of us. The religious leaders try to make everyone keep a low profile - don't attract the attention of Rome. Survival of the people is uppermost in their minds.

Into this roiling mass of humanity - a man comes riding into Jerusalem - on a donkey no less, embodying the prophecy in Zechariah:

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Soldiers and religious leaders thinking -- Just what is not needed - someone claiming to be the king - and the crowds - going beserk - throwing down their outer covering - their cloaks - standing half naked in just their coats - shouting Hosanna! Cutting branches to place on the road. A mob - so easily influenced - moods that can swing from joy to anger to violence in a moment.

But maybe this is the one? Could it be? The king who will free us? Where is his army? All our hopes of Messiah - the one to give us back our lives - could it be?

So many expectations placed on the man on the donkey.

This is where we leave our first Gospel today. At the end of our service we will read Matthew's version of the Passion - the death of Jesus. As we read it you will be asked to read the parts where Jesus speaks to remind all of us that we are the body of Christ in the world today. But we are also all the others in the story. So often in our history - Christians have used the words of this Gospel to accuse Jews of terrible things - to excuse violence against Jewish people. But remember that Matthew is writing to Jews, he is a Jew, Jesus was a Jew -- it was written in a time of division among people who were all the same - like family -brothers and sisters in the faith. Each side had a different view of the meaning of Jesus, was he the Messiah of prophecy or not? There was a controversy and the Roman state killed Jesus. Crucifixion was the way the Roman Empire carried out executions. The Jews did not have this power. Matthew is writing to warn the early Christians of how easily they can become the same as their enemies - taking up violence instead of following the non-violent ways of Christ. The church is the Jews in Matthew's Gospel - the warnings are to the leaders of the early organizations of Christians.

We are also the ones in the crowd - the ones who easily turn from adulation to calling for crucifixion. We know this from our own experience of putting someone up on a pedestal - a politician or other leader - only to relish their fall from on high. We are Pilate - washing our hands of the issues of the day - not recognizing whey we have played a part in whatever goes on by not speaking up, by walking away from things we can change. We are the disciples (we pray not Judas) who fell asleep or denied Christ - when no one knows that we are Christians - even by our actions if not our words. We are Simon of Cyrene - doing the right thing - hefting the cross and carrying it for another. Whenever we help another - go the extra mile to make sure someone has what they need for a better life. And we are the faithful women and friends who did follow all the way to the cross. Who stand and watch and wait - those who stand vigil against oppression and violence, who serve in the community and around the world to save others from death - who minister to those in prison, the stranger - the immigrant, those who are hungry and without shelter -- all who risk their own well being to be present for others so those can also have the abundant life that God promises.

As we read the Passion Gospel at the end of the service and you go out in silence -- meditate on the various people you hear speaking in the Gospel. And remember that we are the Body of Christ - as you speak his words in the reading- think about how it must have been for him - and how does what he says and does continue in us today.

Let us pray in the words of this prayer found in A New Zealand Prayer Book:

Jesus, when you rode into Jerusalem
the people waved palms
with shouts of acclamation.
Grant that when the shouting dies
we may still walk beside you even to a cross.

And may the cross carry you through whatever pain and suffering assails you.
May you go forward with courage in the faith of Christ,
May Christ the crucified convince you that God loves you and has forgiven you,
May you find in the cross a sure ground for faith
and a firm support for hope.

And a thought from John Stendahl on Facebook - for pondering:

But it surprises me, indeed amazes me, that I hardly ever hear any comment on the profound irony of this image. The blood is of course not only guilt but atonement, the blood Moses throws upon the people, the blood of the lamb, the blood that strangely cleanses rather than only stains. How could Matthew have written that phrase without hearing that resonance, and how can we read the words without hearing it?

Image from Romare Bearden

Lent 5

Readings are here.

This week in our Bible Study we looked at the various characters in the Gospel. We thought about what it would have been like for each of them and we were like or unlike each one. As we read the story again this morning, did any of them stand out for you? What did you wonder about each one? The sisters are mourning - each in her own way - Mary sitting beside Lazarus, Martha busy with greeting neighbors who come to mourn with them. The disciples are afraid, except for Thomas. Lazarus is dying and then dead and buried. Jesus moves with confidence through the scene but even he is caught up in the grief and weeps. Any of us who have been through the death of a loved one can recognize all these people and their feelings and actions. Who I wonder about most is Lazarus.

Perhaps it is because of the lessons that come before the Gospel in today's readings. The dry bones are called back to life, the psalmist cries out for hope where he feels there is no hope, Paul in his letter to the Romans offers life in the midst of death. Lazarus embodies all these themes.

The people of Israel think they might as well be dead - they have no hope, they have no temple, their leadership is dispersed, they have fallen from power and nationhood to conquered victims. What could symbolize their status more than a field of bones. The psalmist echoes their cry -- "out of the depths" - what is deeper than the grave? How can there be any hope? How will they be restored? Yet like a lonely sparrow singing for its flock on a housetop - the psalmist sings that they can hope again.

Paul talks about the sort of death that comes from separation from each other and God - sin, that chasm that seemingly opens when we are cut off from one another or cut ourselves off from God. In some ways this is the worst death - a living death.

I see Lazarus in a place like this. Cut off from family and friends, bound up first in his illness and then bound by the wrappings in grave. Entangled in death. Once he sat at table with his sisters and Jesus, a place bright with conversation, sustained by the bread and wine shared. Now cut off from them by death.

I wonder how we become cut off from family and friends, how can tables of friendship become empty and forlorn? What parts of our selves are dead to hope and joy? Where in our lives are we bound by expectations of ourselves and others. Where do we feel like something within us has died. Places where we feel I might as well give up?

In Lander I used to have tea with a woman who certainly could have felt this way. She was quite old, had health issues, was almost blind, her husband had divorced her and married a younger woman after she had used her money and ideas to help him live his dreams. But she did not lay down and die though many days were hard. The things that sustained her were her faith - worshipping regularly even on those days when she felt like God was far from her, seeing friends and being a friend - I never visited her that I did not come away energized by being with her, and her joy of being alive. I still remember the day she told me that she had had two fruit trees planted in the back yard. She told me her friends thought she was silly as she could not see them and she would not live long enough to enjoy their fruit. But she did not stay bound by their ideas of what she could NOT do - she was doing it for a sign of her hope and belief in the future - even one she might not see.

This is how I see this story in the Gospel of John. Jesus is that kind of hope - the one who breaks through our daily deaths, and promises life, who calls us to break bread and drink wine that we might consume that hope he incarnates - brings into the world. Death has no power, what we have done with our lives until this moment is not the point - the point is choosing life now. We can leave behind those things that separate us from one another. And God promises that nothing we have done nor is done to us can separate us from God. And each time we take communion - we affirm that truth - we take the bread and the wine and know that God dwells within us each time - it is sacrament - making holy - acknowledging that we are the dwelling place of the Most High God. Jesus calls Lazarus from his isolation and separation - "come out" -- come out and live fully as you were created to be. And he expects the community will follow up, saying, "unbind him" -- for so often the binding has come from outside - the messages that we are not worthy enough, have the wrong sort of whatever - all the things that people use to build themselves up by tearing others down. Jesus confronts the isolation and separation -whether of our own or others making - and says - do something about this. Don't take it laying down. Do not stay dead, do not allow others to stay dead.


Image by William Blake