tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28855421773295262642024-03-18T06:55:56.171-07:00Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGBe.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.comBlogger220125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-84146657520978222262024-03-17T10:11:00.000-07:002024-03-17T10:11:28.235-07:00Hearts and Treasure 5 Lent 2024<p> The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">One of my favorite passages in scripture concludes
with Jesus saying, “Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” So
on this 5th Sunday in Lent, when some of us celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and
our family celebrates the 5th birthdays of my twin grandsons, Peter and
Nathaniel, we hear the prophet Jeremiah tell us that God has written God’s
covenant within our hearts. All of this begs some questions for me today. Where
is our treasure and what is the condition of our hearts today?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In all of our human
relationships, our hearts are routinely affected. Our hearts get dirty and need
to be cleaned. Our hearts get clogged and need to be opened. Our hearts sputter
and fail and occasionally need to be jump-started. They are vulnerable and need
to be protected. Weakened, broken, or hardened by human sin, they require a
healing touch; for in them we hold many treasures. Too often, we may find our
hearts wandering in the wilderness looking for love in all the wrong places.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Paul and I have had
many houses in our decades of marriage together. Our homes have contained many
memories and treasures, both painful and happy ones, accumulated along the way.
In these houses we have survived various diseases; we have experienced multiple
griefs. We have treasured each other, although truth be told, we often took
much for granted. That is until suffering and pain came knocking on our doors.
That is until our hearts were broken, and we repeatedly broke the heart of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And so the prophet Jeremiah claimed that God wrote
God’s covenant in our hearts so that it could not be broken. Indeed this
portion from the book of Jeremiah follows 30 chapters of Jeremiah’s warnings
that God’s people had broken their covenant with God repeatedly because their
hearts had been hardened. And so today’s reading in Jeremiah is called The
Little Book of Comfort. In it God offers God’s forgiveness and love. In it our
relationship with God is restored. Through it our hearts are healed continuously
and eternally by God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There is a common
phrase that we have used frequently in our culture for many years. “I see you”
we say to someone, showing them that we recognize what they are doing, and that
their conduct has not gone unnoticed. Now God sees us fully for who we are, in
all our good and bad behaviors, in all our beauty and ugliness, even when we
cannot see the truth about ourselves, and certainly not the truth about other
people. God sees us fully, both in our sin and in our glory, and loves us even
still.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Apparently, some Greeks had arrived in Jerusalem to
celebrate the festival of Passover; and yet they wanted to see Jesus. Perhaps
they had heard about him, and they wanted to check him out for themselves. Was
he the real deal? Was he just being another rabble rouser, a protester at
political rallies, overturning tables in the temple, and someone who religious
and political leaders came to fear? Was Jesus just being Jesus for his own
personal notoriety, someone who wanted to get a lot of clicks on social media?
Or was Jesus something else? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“We wish to see
Jesus,” these Greek visitors said to Philip. And like a protective friend, a
secret service agent, or a hired bodyguard, Philip ran it by Andrew first, and
then the two of them went to see Jesus after that. But rather than Jesus being
delighted by these foreigners’ interest in Him, Jesus launched into a soliloquy
about his upcoming death. He was telling them what was about to happen to him
in Jerusalem, and what it would mean for them to be one of his disciples. It’s
not what you think, He said, nor probably even what you want.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Referring to his
impending death, Jesus told his disciples that his soul was deeply troubled.
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with
loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death.” But
Jesus said, “And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is
for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it,
and I will glorify it again.” Jesus said that this message was not for him,
however, but rather for us. If you want to live, you must recognize your own
mortality. If you want to live, you must die to your over-inflated ego. If you
want to live, you must give up the treasures that you have accumulated for your
own self-protection. And if you want to follow me, you must serve me by loving
others as I have loved you. Yourself and enemies included. No easy assignments
there!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Today, we hear his voice in
scripture and see Jesus in the various images all around us. Stained glass
windows show him as a vulnerable baby, a boy in the temple, a man being
baptized, a rabbi who teaches, an exorcist who casts out demons, a powerful healer,
a political adversary, a faithful Jew, and the beloved child of God. And we see
Jesus as the One who suffers on the cross not only for our sakes but for the
sins of the whole world. Lifted high up on that wooden T-bar, Jesus suffered
just like one of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The gospel of John helps us to see
Jesus differently from the other three gospels. Gone is the Jesus from Mark and
Matthew who cries out to God from the cross, “Why have you forsaken me?” Gone
is the Jesus in St. Luke’s gospel where we see him hanging between two
criminals, offering forgiveness, and promising the kingdom of heaven to one of
them. Rather, we see a suffering servant who paradoxically reveals the power of
God. We see a man who has fulfilled his mission.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Frank
G. Honeycutt claims that our greatest struggle as human beings is when we see
meaningless suffering. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Xian
Century, 3/11/20)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> You know, when
violence erupts and we can’t pin the blame on anyone; or when someone dies and
we can’t point to the reason or we may say “it’s just too soon for them to
die.” Meaningless suffering appears to be unfair, unjust, and inexplicable to
our human hearts and minds. So why did Jesus, the Son of God, have to suffer
and die on the cross? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Jesus doesn’t explain suffering,”
Honeycutt wrote. “Rather He faces it. He walks right into it. God sent us a
“sufferer” to be our Savior.” Jesus shows us that while suffering is a reality
of human life, and death is our earthly end game, Jesus also shows us that it
is not the end of our story. He was lifted high upon the cross for all to see
death, but Jesus was also lifted up from the grave, for all to see
resurrection. In Jesus, we see the wideness of God’s mercy and the fullness of
God’s heart. We see ourselves as the beloved treasures of God. And we come to
believe that God’s mission of redeeming love was fulfilled in Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Much has been made about the past
life and death of Alexei Nevalny. Writing from his prison cell in Siberia for
over three years, he described his suffering in heart-breaking detail.
Occasionally showing a lightness of Spirit, he would make jokes about his
circumstances in the face of his oppressors. Having survived an attempt upon
his life outside his own country, he knowingly returned to Russia, aware that
it might cause the end of his life, unwilling to refrain from speaking the
truth. Once an atheist, who later became a Christian, he didn’t ask God to save
him from that hour. Rather in Nevalney, we see a Christian who was a suffering
servant. Who faced death, and walked right into it, knowing that God was with
him..<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus sees us. He knows what it is
like to live and die as one of us. He knows about the powers that corrupt and
destroy the creatures of God and God’s creation. And while our suffering and
sacrifices won’t be as notable nor as significant as people like Jesus and
Nevalny, challenges will still come to us in our daily lives. Will we speak the
truth with love? Will we make the right choices? Will we resist temptations,
and turn to God for help with our pain? Will we keep our faith, hope, and love
alive in the face of suffering?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">All of which begs those questions
for me once again. Where is my treasure? And in what kind of condition is my
heart? How can I faithfully follow Jesus to the cross? Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jeremiah
31:31-34 </span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hebrews
5:5-10 </span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">John
12:20-33 Psalm </span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">51:1-13</span></b></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-77213666448015424562024-02-18T03:34:00.000-08:002024-02-18T03:34:25.694-08:00Rainbows<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1 Lent<span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Church of the Redeemer<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
thought I might focus on the beginning of our salvation story with the book of
Genesis. Not only is it a popular story for all ages but it is vivid in its
imagery. It tells the story of our creation, our humanity, and our relationship
with God from many perspectives. Top down, we hear about the galaxies, the sun,
the moon, and the planets in their courses. Bottom up, we hear how we are
formed from dust, and during Lent we are reminded that it is to dust that we
shall return.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
is much talk about the chaos in our world today. Our women’s Bible study group
is currently reflecting upon the last book in the Bible, the book of
Revelation, and in it, we hear echoes of the Genesis story. On these “throwback
Thursday mornings” we read about the tree of life in Revelation, which mirrors
the tree of life in the garden of Eden. Old and new prophets encourage their
followers to change their behavior before it’s too late. Repent and return to
the Lord is a recurring refrain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Throughout our scripture stories
we hear that the world was created by God and yet human beings are destroying
it daily. Prophets point to changes in the climate, the violence of wars and
crime, plagues and diseases, and the deterioration of organized religion. And
yet God promised that, despite our sinful behavior and guilt, God would not
destroy God’s creation. God promised us a new beginning and gave us a sign for
all future generations, the rainbow in Genesis. Indeed, the author of
Revelation writes about a new heaven and a new earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Have
you ever heard that phrase, “just wait until your father gets home”? Perhaps
not as prevalent today in child-rearing practices, that threat was more common
in the days of June and Ward Cleaver. The good wife at home, wearing heels and
an apron, supervised their children’s behavior throughout the day, while
preparing the perfect dinner and a martini for her hard-working husband. Upon
his arrival home from his hard day at the office, he would be greeted with his
pipe, his slippers, and the daily paper. If the children ever got “out of hand”
before that time, Momma would utter those words, “Just wait until your father
gets home.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now what Daddy did
when he arrived home may have varied with the person. Unlike today, “time-outs”
of silence and reflection upon sinful behavior was not the “rigueur du jour.”
Pauses for peace didn’t occur. No, more likely, Daddy may have pulled off his
belt for some behavior modification. Banishment to one’s room with no supper
may have been a kinder and gentler response. Or a little washing out of the
mouth with some soap reminded children about their speech. Often quoting from
the Bible, the parents thought that if they spared the rod they would spoil
their child. And who would want that? After all, a spoiled child is like spilt
milk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Some of us have
commented during our Bible study of the book of Revelation, how relevant the
imagery and the warnings in the Bible seem for us today. St. John’s visions in
Revelation are vivid; the end-times will include warnings of impending
judgment. There will be earthquakes, fires, and floods. Pestilence and plagues.
Unceasing wars and terrorists. Rogue dictators and emperors. “Who can stand
during these times of great tribulation?” St. John wrote to the new fledgling
churches in Asia Minor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, while there are
many flood stories that are common in religious traditions of all faiths, the
Jewish flood story in the book of Genesis was written notably by three, if not
more, authors. And it was written during much of the time that the Israelites
were in exile in and around the 6th century. They had been routinely invaded by
countries all around them; Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Greece, and Rome. Not
unlike today in the middle east, they were in the crossroads of other countries
for trade and power, and therefore they often were in the cross hairs of their
neighbors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For the Jews who fled
to Egypt, the Jews who had been exiled to Babylon, and the Jews who had
remained in their own country, they experienced great chaos during this time in
their lives. They underwent the demise of their government; and their temple
and religious establishments were destroyed.They abandoned their cultures and
traditions while living in foreign lands, and their faith in God was severely
tested. Perhaps these realities are equally true today for many people
throughout our world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It was a time for the Jews of great sadness and loss.
Prophets had warned them that their great Daddy, the Father of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, the Father of all people, was coming to them in Judgment, but they
had ignored their warnings. They had not changed their behaviors. And, when
Daddy came home to them in Jerusalem and in their country of Israel, it was
painful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The story of Genesis
offered the Jews some comfort and hope. And the rainbow was the sign of God’s
promise for all people. God promises us life, not death; and God, our Creator,
will recreate us as often as it takes. Here is my sign for you for all ages, a
bow in the clouds that spans all nations and all generations. This rainbow is a
sign that includes all colors, covenants, and countries. My bow reminds you of
my power that is far greater than yours, much higher than the mountains, and
much deeper than the caverns of the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Indeed the gospel of Mark tells us
that Jesus is our rainbow; and the time of our judgment was fulfilled in Him.
For Christians, the kingdom of God had arrived, and was revealed in the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus. “Who is this?” the disciples had asked
themselves, that even the winds and the waves obey Him?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
friend recently sent me a story about monks. “A young monk arrives at the
monastery and is assigned to help the other monks in copying the old canons and
laws of the church by hand. He notices, however, that all of the monks are
copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to
the old Abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small
error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would
be continued in all of the subsequent copies.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“The head monk, says, "We
have been copying<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">from the copies for centuries, but you make a
good point, my son." He goes down into the dark caves underneath the
monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives, in a locked
vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody
sees the old Abbot.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“So, the young monk gets worried
and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall
and wailing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">"We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the bloody R!"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he
is crying uncontrollably. The young monk asks the old Abbot, "What's
wrong, father?" With a choking voice, the old Abbot replies, "The
word was CELEBRATE!” (Not Celibate)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Our own salvation story has not
omitted the “R’s” in the original manuscripts. While judgment and punishment
was part of the retribution when Daddy came home, Christians will claim that
sin and death were destroyed on the cross. In Jesus, we are promised many
“R’s”: rebirth and the renewal of our relationships. We are restored to health
and wholeness. We are reconciled to God, promised a resurrected life, and the
recreation of a garden where there is eternal rest, and the Tree of Life still
stands.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lent
is the 40 days of wilderness when we join Jesus in resisting the temptations
that tear us down. Repent and return to the Lord, St. John reminded the
churches in Asia Minor. “Repent, and believe in the good news,” Jesus said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Today, there is a rainbow in the
clouds even for us. And the good news of St. Mark is that when Daddy comes
home, we will know that our sins are forgiven; we will know God’s gracious
love, unmerited and undeserved. This is God’s revelation for us to remember
throughout our Lenten journey!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>People
of the Redeemer, remember the “R’s”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Genesis
9:8-17 </span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark 1:9-15</span></b></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-59605051950647352722024-02-14T06:14:00.000-08:002024-02-14T06:14:51.403-08:00Secrets<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ash
Wednesday<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Church of the Redeemer<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In our Eucharistic liturgy throughout the year, we
begin the service with a prayer, which is called a Collect for Purity. In it we
claim that before God, no secrets are hid, and all desires are known. Now such
claims can make some people nervous. I have heard some people actually appalled
by this thought, thinking “Oh my God” God knows what I think, as well as my
secret desires, and it’s not good. In contrast, other people have confessed
that they find comfort in this knowledge. That God knows everything about them
and it’s still OK. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Members
of my family have struggled with a variety of addictions over their lifetimes,
and as a grateful member of Al-anon, I like the saying, “You are only as sick
as your secrets.” Acknowledging that alcoholism is a family disease that feeds
on the denial of the illness, while hurting its members, then “coming out of
the closet” about what’s really going on inside your own soul and your family
is important. Admitting that there is a problem is always a good first step.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
Ash Wednesday service is our liturgy for coming out of the closet, even if it
only means that we go into the privacy of our own rooms and confess to God the
truth about ourselves. We acknowledge that our new year’s resolutions have
faded like yesterday’s news, we’ve done those things which we ought not to have
done, and we’re ready to give it another try. On a very basic level, we admit
that we are dust and it is to dust that we shall return. Indeed, Ash Wednesday
has been called the day when we attend our own funerals, and there is no
denying our mortality. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Feasting,
p21)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The late Rev. Marilyn McCord Adams
said it best, “Lent grapples with the fact that our human denial systems are
very strong. Most of the time we need to think, and we need others to think, we
are decent people. The Ash Wednesday liturgy stage-manages us into public
exposure; we are not what we seem. Deliberately disobeying the gospel by
receiving ashes is a way of coming out of the closet; we are people who are not
pure in heart, who do not love God with all we have.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(p24, Feasting)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Today, we publicly confess our sins in a very long litany of
penitence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, in all fairness, we want
people to see us as decent human beings, and we are. However, we all have
various wounds and baggage that weigh us down and prevent us from living fully
into the beloved children of God that we are. Rather than thriving like a well
oiled machine, we survive. And so we need to shake off some of that rust that
corrodes our beauty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Physical temptations come in a
variety of shapes and sizes. We may admit that we have been digging our own
graves by overindulgence in food and drink, in process addictions like gambling
and pornography, for cheating on our partners and on our taxes, for lying to
ourselves and to others. We have erred and strayed like lost sheep away from
the best version of ourselves and we’re ready to get back on the treadmill, one
day at a time, one step at a time!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
are two other sayings in the twelve step community that are relevant for
today’s service. “Fake it until you make it” we say, encouraging better
behavior. And yet this is a very different injunction from what Jesus is saying
in the gospel of Matthew. He warned the crowd around him, “Do not become like
those hypocrites” (read religious leaders). Don’t be a fake, he cautioned them!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Apparently, the Greek word
“hypocrite” used by St. Matthew is translated as “stage actors.” When we fake
it, we are acting on a public stage to pretend to be a better version of
ourselves. We put on masks and too often, when we are play-acting, or managing
our stage performances, we will secretly hide our true selves from others.
Maybe even from our very own selves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As actors on the stage of real life, we can
fake it until we make it in good ways. We can pretend to behave better until we
do. We can act lovingly even when we hate. We can behave peacefully and speak
respectfully, when we really want to tear someone apart. We can give generously
even when we’re afraid to let go and let God. We can fast from negativity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The other saying in the twelve
step community is similar. We are encouraged to “act as if.” Hidden behind this
pithy little statement are three words that point to the possibility of
transformation. Act as if you are a Christian because you are one. Act as if
you are a good and decent human being, because you are one. Act as if until you
are a better version of yourself until you are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Transformation involves a process.
It’s never a “one and done” kind of affair. When we act as if we love God and
our neighbors as ourselves, eventually, over time, and with faithful
application to that process, we will change for the better. We will shed our
bad habits like the COVID virus, and we will become contagious to others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Lent is our season for
self-examination, repentance, confession, and amendment of life. Now “giving
things up” during Lent has been the standard operating procedure. We give up
tonic but not the gin. We give up chocolate but not the desserts. We give up swearing
but not the gossip. And if we stay on that very superficial level, we will miss
the point. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The idea of resolutions and Lenten
disciplines is not an exercise in self-flagellation or a temporary amendment of
life. Rather, Lent is a time to recognize the truth of our humanity and
reorient ourselves to God. We are coming out of the closet and coming clean
about our humanity, knowing that we can do better, while putting God back into
the center of our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So over time, many people have
focused on the positive disciplines of Lent, that is taking on spiritual
practices instead of giving up what we consider to be negative drags on our
lives. Do it in order to reconnect your life with God, not to show off your
holiness or decency to others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Routinely, there is the age-old
argument of whether or not we keep the ashes on our foreheads visible after we
leave church. Even before the COVID lockdowns, some clergy had started offering
ashes “to go” at train stations, or right in the middle of the market square,
claiming it as an evangelism tool. Others argued it was only an inappropriate
marketing strategy that was disconnected from the church community and
therefore just a “shiny new object” in search of new members. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So what arguments do we make for
being public about those smudges on our foreheads? Should we wash them away as
soon as we can? Barbara Brown Taylor raises some interesting points. “Whereas
St. Matthew presumably wrote for a culture in which religious observance was
common, obligatory, and relatively uniform, western Christians today inhabit a
culture in which religious observance is peculiar, optional, and decidedly
pluralistic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Therefore, in Matthew’s world, keeping one’s
religious practice to oneself would have been countercultural.” And so, keeping
ashes visible today would be our new counter-cultural response.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Similarly, Brown makes the point
that during the time that St. Matthew wrote his gospel, being a hypocrite meant
that one made a big deal about their religious practices, showing off in the
market squares how holy and faithful they were. Today however, Brown suggests
that the word “hypocrite” bears reexamination. “Detractors of religion now use
the same word to describe someone whose practice appears to be nonexistent. In
such a changed cultural context, might there be something to be said for
wearing an ash cross to the grocery store?” she wondered. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(p23, Feasting</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">) In an increasingly secular and non-religious society, we are not
showing off but rather witnessing to our faith publicly. We are coming out of
the closet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So, here are three practical
suggestions for you today. Be counter-cultural. Don’t wash off the ashes until
you are ready for bed tonight. Let people see you as a Christian, however proud
or uncomfortable it makes you feel. Confess to God a little secret or a big
secret in the privacy of your own room. And if you’re really bold, tell another
person whom you trust, knowing that from God no secrets are hid and all desires
are known. Finally, take on some sort of positive spiritual discipline, like
starting your day in prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This Lent, fake it until you make
it and act as if you are a Christian because you are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Matthew
6:1-6,16-21<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-30919805677066571852024-01-28T03:39:00.000-08:002024-01-28T03:39:08.648-08:00Demons, Diseases, and the Devil<p> <b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Right
from the jump, in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is showing us that he has power. He
casts out the unclean spirit of a man who showed up in the synagogue, heals
Simon’s mother-in-law in the privacy of her home, and finally returns to the
wilderness, where he had once battled wild beasts, faced temptations, and
confronted Satan. There he restored a leper to wholeness, enabling him to
return to his community. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark is suggesting early on in his
gospel story that Jesus’ healing power is successful regardless of the location
or the opponent. “Mark, more than any other gospel writer, emphasizes Jesus’
miraculous power to heal and to exorcize demons. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Feasting on the Word, p310, P.C. Enness)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Witnessing his power, the crowd also reported that Jesus taught with
great authority. “What is this?” they asked in amazement. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, according to William Barclay,
the scribes had three duties. First “out of the great moral principles of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Torah</i>, they were to extract rules and
regulations for every possible situation in life.” Think of our National Church
and its General Convention. We elect delegates and give them the authority to
create and revise our canon laws and the constitution of the Episcopal Church
every three years. We decide about our saints.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Second, “It was the task of the
scribes to transmit and to teach this law and its development.” Think of the
leaders and teachers in our parishes, here at Redeemer and throughout the
world, who follow and teach the guidelines of our faith. And third, “the
scribes had the duty of giving judgment in individual cases.” Think of our
disciplinary board members who adjudicate cases of clergy misconduct. Elected,
they are given the authority to address the misuses of power.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">No scribe ever gave a decision on
his own, and the scribes would always refer to the Jewish traditions and their
religious laws as the reason for their decisions. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Barclay p.32)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> And yet, according to St. Mark, Jesus steps into the synagogue and
speaks with an authority that was not given to him by his leaders, nor by the
community around him. He clearly has power and yet he acts alone and with
authority. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">How was Jesus different from the
scribes? He spoke with a personal authority that came from within him, not from
the people around him. And St. Mark suggests that He acted with a power that
came from above and beyond him, with a clean spirit, that is with God’s Holy
Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. Mark recalls that a man, who clearly was
“out of his mind” with an unclean spirit, suddenly shows up in the synagogue.
Now Jesus didn’t call the synagogue bouncers (read ushers) to remove him from
the scene. Nor did he call the local paddy wagon to return him to the desert
where the other sick, homeless, and criminal people presumably belonged. Nope,
Jesus claims his authority and acts immediately, using his God-given power, to
help and to heal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>People
with demons and mental illnesses can be scary and sometimes downright
dangerous. Given power to roam freely and without consequences to their
behaviors and their diseases, these people can create chaos. They not only hurt
themselves but also others around them because they are neither coerced by a
power greater than themselves nor are they responding with respect to the
authorities in their lives. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mentally ill people may believe
the voices in their heads that encourage them to do harm. Caught in their own
cycles of illness, ever growing deeper and stronger, they may live lives of
quiet desperation. Misunderstood by family members and friends, they may seek a
crowd of similar folks, creating camps of unhealthy degradation and tolerance.
They abuse the kindness of others or they isolate themselves from the very
people who can help them. They often fall prey to those who abuse them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
increase in what seems to be mental illnesses is on the rise and for various
reasons. So too is the use of the word “evil.” At the time that Jesus lived,
according to Barclay, “the Jews, indeed the whole ancient world, believed
strongly in demons and devils. Apparently, in many ancient cemeteries, skulls
were found which had been trepanned. That is to say, a hole had been bored into
the skull during their life to allow the demon to escape from the body of the
man.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(p.34-35, Barclay)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Many years ago a psychiatrist
named Dr. Scott Peck wrote a book that became very popular called “People of
the Lie.” In it he attempts to understand human evil from a clinical
perspective. “After years of interacting with a slew of clients, the author could
not escape the observation that some of them are fundamentally committed to the
destruction of the lives of those around them in a way that goes beyond normal
human misbehavior,” wrote Pastor Matt Herndon. “Dr. Peck builds a psychology of
evil, noting its unique characteristics as a mental condition.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(smatteriings.net 6/14/2019)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Today we can point to what seem to
be evil groups of people, as well as individuals, who behave in ways that
boggle our minds. We may wonder if there really are evil spirits operating in
and around us. Is the Devil and his army still using their powers to coerce the
harmful actions of humans? Why are there so many books and movies about
exorcisms? And why do we have such a strong desire for super powers?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to surveys, more than
three-quarters of Americans hold at least one supernatural or paranormal
belief: The most common is ghosts and “haunting spirits” and the belief that
“Satan causes the most evil in the world.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 7.0pt;">(Wikipedia)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Evil is a powerful word that
commands our respect. In our own baptismal covenants, we ask candidates if they
“renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against
God.” Do they “renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy
the creatures of God.” And will they, with God’s help, “persevere in resisting
evil, and, whenever they fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(BCP p.302, 304)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the gospel of Mark, Jesus is
portrayed as both an exorcist and a physician. Jesus uses his power to rebuke,
not the man, but the unclean spirit, demanding that it come out of the man. Or
as Pastor Matt wrote in his book report, “Jesus didn’t try talk therapy with
these people. Using both his power and his authority—which the demons somehow
recognized—he lovingly but forcefully ordered them freed.”</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> (smatterings.net (6/14/2019) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">St. Mark claims that the man was
convulsed, an outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual battle. If
you have ever known anyone who has battled unclean spirits and demons, or
illnesses of any kind, the battle is real. And the battle is not only physical
and mental but emotional and spiritual as well. Healing is not a simple
process. Indeed it never is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark is subtle but from the very
beginning of his gospel story he suggests that Jesus is fighting a battle that
is going on between him and Satan. Jesus’ war was not just with the little
demons and diseases that inhabit our human lives. No, Mark paints a much larger
picture of Jesus. He not only resisted Satan in the wilderness at the beginning
of his ministry but He also finally defeated death and Satan on the cross. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The goal here in all this devilish
talk of mine, and the purpose of St. Mark’s gospel in general, is to point to a
Higher Power that is greater than Satan and his minions. Using both the power
and authority given to Him by God, Jesus was restoring the health and salvation
of all God’s beloved children, once and for all. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rev. Peter Marty claims that
“what the people see in Jesus is more than raw power.” In Jesus, “They
witnessed the power of love.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Peter Marty, Xian Century, 6/22/2016)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For
St. Mark tells us that Jesus incarnated both the power and the authority of
God’s gracious love as a teacher, a healer, a physician, and an exorcist. And
his power is successful regardless of the location or the opponent. Good news
for us today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark
1:21-28<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-80878538887697782342023-12-31T08:58:00.000-08:002023-12-31T08:58:48.889-08:00Who is Jesus?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1st Sunday after Christmas<span> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling </span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">John 1:1-18</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who is Jesus to you? I’ve heard
this question posed by a variety of people in a variety of contexts throughout
my life. Who is Jesus to you? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Asked another way, have you ever wondered about Jesus?
I mean really wrestled with the question about who He was, who He is for you,
and who He will be in the age to come? People in the first few centuries asked
questions about Him, as I do now. Who was Jesus? Was he human or divine? Was he
man or was He God? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Unlike the other three gospels,
the gospel of John is quite clear. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word became flesh and lived among us
in the person of Jesus. The fourth gospel claims that God entered into human
history in the person of Jesus to make God known through his words and deeds.
Jesus wasn’t just a babe in the manger, born of the Virgin Mary, however.
According to John, Jesus also was the pre-existent Word of God, the One who
created life with the Father and the One who lived, died, and rose from the
dead “so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal
life.” (3:16) Do you believe this?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
didn’t. At least I didn’t until I too, like John, had experienced Jesus as the
way, the truth, and the life. I was baptized as a baby and grew up in the
Congregational Church, now called the United Church of Christ. As a child, I
remember the wonder of Christmas eve services, hustling out to our car in the
bitter cold, shielding the light of my candle with my hand against the wind,
using the light of Christ to dispel my darkness. I didn’t wonder in doubt back
then; I only wondered in awe. I believed as only a child can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
many of you know, in my teens, when we lived in Atlanta, my family worshiped in
the Presbyterian Church. At that time in my life I wondered so much about God
and Jesus that I chose not to be confirmed. And then later on, when I was off
to college in Massachusetts, I wondered even more. I became a confirmed
agnostic, although during a particularly difficult time in my freshman year, I
found myself on my knees in the dark, outside the college chapel, asking God
for help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Married at a young age, and once
again living in Atlanta, I remember asking my next-door neighbor why she
attended mass every Sunday. I wondered why she bothered to go to church,
especially since our group of “married without kids” often spent Saturday nights
enjoying life and adult beverages far into the night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Moving
once again, back to Massachuestts, where our two children were born, Paul and I
wondered in awe at God’s creation of these two little human beings, and so we
returned to faithful and active worship in the Episcopal Church. Like Mary, we
discovered that babies can bring you to your knees in wonder and awe. Not
knowing what it meant, but knowing it was part of both of our families
traditions, we baptized our two children into the life of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After
we settled in Newtown, Connecticut, my wondering about Jesus began in earnest.
I wanted answers; and so I began to attend Bible study at the Episcopal Church
on the hill. I joined the vestry, and got involved with outreach and pastoral
care. Still wondering but growing in my knowledge, I took a 4 year course
called Education for Ministry and learned that the early church held three
different beliefs about Jesus; and they argued about them for centuries. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The catholic (little c) position
claimed that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. Our Anglican
tradition affirms this belief as stated in our Nicene and Apostles’ creeds. The
Ebionites believed that Jesus was the Messiah, born of the Virgin Mary and
raised from the dead, but that he was not divine. And the Docetists denied the
Incarnation, that Jesus only appeared to be human, but was really just fully
divine. He looked like us but He wasn’t created like us. Today, these various
beliefs about Jesus remain. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The battle raging in and amongst
the early Jewish and Christian communities has also raged within my own heart.
Who was Jesus and who was He for me? If Jesus was not divine, then why did I
worship Him? If Jesus was not human, then how could he understand me? And if
Jesus was both human and divine - how could that be, and what was the point?
Who was I worshiping anyway? Jesus? God? Both? My wondering had me wandering
all over the place. And then one day I heard the words of John the Baptist in
our gospel lesson today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
declared to me that he knew Jesus. He claimed that this human Jesus, who came
before John, also ranked ahead of him because Jesus was there before the world
began. John the Baptist testified that no one has ever seen God but that Jesus
was the Son of God, who was close to His Father’s heart, and made God known to
us by becoming a human being. It was from Jesus’ fullness of grace and truth
that we receive grace upon grace, and through Him, we are given power to become
the beloved children of God. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Even so, until I became like John
the Baptist myself, I could not and did not believe what the gospel of John
said about Jesus. I discovered once again in another difficult time in my life
that I needed to become like the voice of one crying out in the wilderness -
first as one who suffered, then as one who questioned, and then as one who
proclaimed as a witness. My journey of faith, perhaps like yours as adults,
became a life-long process of suffering, questioning, wondering and
proclamation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Over the years, like many of you,
I have become acquainted with suffering and grief. Frequently, I wrestled with
questions about the meaning of life and if there is life after death. As a wife
and mother, I discovered that as babies and marriages grow older, they not only
bring you to your knees in wonder and awe but also in wonder and doubt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I also wondered about the
suffering in our world. As someone who has watched family members, friends, and
people struggle with issues of life and death, addictions, and mental illness I
wondered as well about Jesus. Although he ate and drank with sinners, did he
really know the struggles of humanity? Had he not died in his early 30’s, never
having been married, raised children, nor faced the challenges of his mother’s
old age, let alone his own? Wasn’t Jesus the one who at his death passed the
care of his mother along to his disciple John, and then confidently proclaimed,
“It is finished” leaving us all to wonder what he meant? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And who among us has not wondered
recently about God and Jesus with news reports around the world. There is
suffering and violence in all corners of our globe that are beyond our human
understanding and experience. What happened to that other voice of Jesus, who
cried out from the cross “My, God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">How is it then that my voice,
crying out in the wilderness, has become a voice of one who also proclaims
“make straight the way of the Lord”? Quite simply, through the Church. It is in
Church that I began to know that the Word became flesh and lived among us, in
you and me. It is through the Body of Christ, people like you at Redeemer, and
the witness of faith communities everywhere, that I have come to know the true
light of Christ, a “light which shines in the darkness, and the darkness does
not overcome it.” It is through the Church and the power of the Holy Spirit
that I have seen His face, heard His voice, and felt His healing touch. I have
heard the promise of our salvation in the Word of God spoken in the voice of
Jesus in scripture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who is Jesus? He is
the Living Word of God, who speaks to us daily, sometimes shouting, sometimes
whispering, sometimes silent. He is the Bread of Life and the Cup of our
Salvation, who feeds our hungry hearts and quenches our thirst for justice and
mercy. Who is Jesus? He is the Good Shepherd, who loves us beyond measure, and
guides us along the right pathways, even through the valley and shadow of death
. He is the Son of God, who made us all the beloved children of God, worthy to
stand before Him, and through Him we become heirs of his eternal kingdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Coming to know
Jesus, I am a child, once again, who can walk through the cold and bitter
nights of winter, carrying my candle in front of me, knowing that the Light of
the world will dispel the darkness of the world. Who is Jesus? He is the Word
of God, not only telling us about God, but also showing us the Way of Love and
the Will of His Father. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Who is Jesus? He is
the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of our
salvation.“Believe in God. Believe also in me,” Jesus said. And with the help
of the Holy Spirit, we can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-24181868630163470312023-11-26T03:37:00.000-08:002023-11-26T03:37:35.951-08:00 Sheep and Goats, Christ the King Sunday<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-8ff0c244-7fff-517a-1b3a-7f4af642d4f8"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So here we are, at the end of another liturgical season in our church. Having started one year ago we end this long green season with what we call “Christ the King Sunday,” the Last Sunday after the Pentecost, or in more secular terms, the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Next Sunday we will begin our season of Advent in the run-up to Christmas, and although the stores have been advertising Christmas long before Halloween, we still try to stay within our liturgical lanes in the church, maybe even in our own homes. And just to be clear, our green season has nothing to do with the Celtics basketball team.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When we choose the name of this Sunday as Christ the King Sunday we are identifying Jesus as our King of kings and Lord of lords. As Jesus the Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the world, He rules heaven and earth alongside God and the Holy Spirit. We also know Jesus by other names. For instance, the Son of Man, the Son of God, a rabbi, and our friend. Most often we know him as the Good Shepherd who will separate the sheep and the goats on that Judgment day. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I’m always fascinated by animals and so I wondered why Jesus might identify his followers, or the crowd who is listening to him, as being either sheep or goats. Tempted to think only along current day, non-agrarian, cultural lines, I decided to investigate. What did the audience around Jesus think when he told them this parable? Clearly, this passage might suggest that we all would prefer to be identified as a sheep rather than a goat, right?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to the Cultural Dictionary of the Bible, by John J. Pilch, “imposing on these texts our Western understandings of sheep and goats is grossly inconsiderate and inappropriate.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(p140).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Sheep and goats represented the core values of honor and shame that permeated the Mediterranean culture at that time. Sheep were primarily men’s animals and kept outside, whereas goats belonged to the women, who kept them in the house, providing the family with daily milk and cheese. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Men were expected to assert, protect, and if possible augment the family’s honor. And women were most vulnerable to bringing shame to a family. “The common assumption is that women are, like goats, lascivious and unprincipled creatures. They are ever on the prowl, untrustworthy, and the weakest links in every family. Because women are the most vulnerable to attacks on family honor, they must always be under the watchful eye and care of a male.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (p136-7) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now before you join me in my feminist outrage, let me tell you what Pilch says about the great judgment scene we hear in today’s gospel story. “Those people assigned to the right side, to the sheep gathering, are those who practiced hospitality, which in the Mediterranean world is extended </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">mainly</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> by men and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">solely </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">to complete strangers. Those assigned to the left side, the goat gathering, are those who failed to practice hospitality.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(p139) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So this parable is judging men who have not practiced hospitality to strangers. They are the goats.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Such an understanding about Mediterranean culture, about shame and honor, about men and women, and about goats and sheep raise fundamental questions for us today. Do you bring shame or honor to yourself, your family, your church, your work or your school, and your community by your behavior in general? How do you practice hospitality to any stranger that crosses your path, whether they are male or female, sick or well, on the street or in your church, a Republican or a Democrat? Who is the stranger to you?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Rev. Chris Wendell recently wrote, “Only about 55 to 60 of the people on the Mayflower were Pilgrims. The other 40 or so weren't part of the English settlement in Holland from which the Pilgrim community had come, and they were not there for religious reasons. The Compact was necessary because the individuals in the group had differing world views, values, dispositions, religious beliefs, and motivations. They did not all trust each other. In fact, the Pilgrims called the non-Pilgrims "the strangers.” And yet, they knew they had to become one community or they would perish.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The gospel of Matthew, as you may well know, was written probably between 80-90 A.D., after the birth of Jesus. It was written after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and during a time when Christians were persecuted not only by Roman emperors but also by Jews and Gentiles who found their behavior and their beliefs to be strange. Accused of immorality, cannibalism and insurrection, and people who encouraged the destruction of the hierarchical status quo, they were persecuted and killed. Hiding in houses, with fish symbols to point the way to their hidden communities, they worshiped God together, slaves, women, children, and men, even strangers who suddenly appeared. Occasionally at their own peril if they welcomed them. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There was common speculation by these new Christians as to who would be judged when the great Judgment Day occurred, and for what reasons someone would rise to heaven or spend eternity in hell, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yes, Matthew emphasized with visual clarity what hell would look like, and it was not pretty.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“The gospel of Matthew is known for its sharp moral stringency and apocalyptic severity.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(HarperCollins study Bible p1858) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And apparently there were great divisions even within the new church communities themselves, with certain members being judged as good or bad, depending upon what they believed. It was not always what they did or did not do, but also what they believed!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Predictions of the end times and judgment are frequent in the gospel of Matthew. Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (5:20) He also said, “I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”(5:22) “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged,” he warned. (7:1)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Jesus also tells parables about division. “At harvest time, I will tell the reapers, ‘Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (13:30) There will be good fish and bad fish caught in the net. “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (13:49-50)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As Jesus approached his own judgment time, his death upon the cross in Jerusalem, his denunciation of human behavior became sharper in the gospel Matthew. “Woe to you, who does this or that,” Jesus repeated to the crowds around him. His description of the end times became clearer. There will be suffering and persecutions throughout the world. There will be wars, earthquakes and volcanoes, and our days will be cut short. Even so, the faithful slaves will be found working, the wise bridesmaids will be prepared, and the good stewards will be found trustworthy. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">So are you shaking in your boots just yet? Are you trying to align yourself with the sheep, the good fish, the wise bridesmaid, and the good steward? Will you be found lacking in your faithful hospitality toward the stranger? We, who judge others, because their mistakes and actions are so much more egregious than our own? And we, who want others to be cast into the eternal fires, while we ascend in our heavenly robes, leaving them all behind?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“Jesus said, ‘When all the nations will be gathered before him, he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” And yet Jesus also frequently argued that he had come to save the sinners and not the righteous.To forgive and not punish. A house divided, like yours and mine, like our nation and our world, cannot stand, he warned them. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sin is often described as separation, within ourselves and from God and from other people. So maybe, just maybe, the ultimate mission of Jesus was one of reconciliation. Maybe, just maybe, Jesus wanted all of God’s beloved children and beautiful creation to be united with God forever. As our King of kings, and Lord of lords, perhaps Jesus will come again to unite us in power and great glory, not to divide and conquer us like some rulers today.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In truth, we all fail to extend hospitality to the stranger. In truth we all fail to see Jesus today. And so, we all stand judged and condemned. However, just as a good shepherd might return errant goats to the house for protection at night, so too might the good shepherd enclose the sheep in the pen, laying down his body by the gate for their protection. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We are not “either/or” people but rather “both/and” people. As Barbara Brown Taylor once wrote, Jesus is not only our Good Shepherd but also our Good Goatherd. As our King of kings, and Lord of lords, Jesus the Christ rules, even today!</span></p><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Matthew 25:31-46</span></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-14707131170953431822023-10-29T03:45:00.002-07:002023-10-29T03:45:48.880-07:00Love<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s
easy to forget that Jesus was a faithful and orthodox Jew. He knows his
scripture and refers to it specifically and frequently when confronted by
members of his own religious party. And when it comes to love, Jesus “refuses
to identify love of God with rigid religious requirements or to identify
faithfulness to himself with loyalty to a particular community of people,”
wrote Tim Beach-Verhey. (</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol 4, p 216 </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">) Said another way, it’s all
about God and God’s love, not about me or my party, Jesus taught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You may also remember that St. Paul, like Jesus, was a
faithful and orthodox Jew and a member of the Pharisees, who rigorously applied
the Jewish law to everyday life. Better than lawlessness, wouldn’t you say?
However, Paul had been so zealous about his religious beliefs that initially he
had actively pursued Jewish Christians, persecuting them for their belief in
Jesus as the Messiah, even to the point of killing them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Paul thought he was doing God’s work; that he was being a
faithful minister in God’s holy name. It was on the road to Damascus, in hot
pursuit of other Christians, that our Lord spoke to him and not only corrected
his thinking, but also changed his behavior. Soon after that intervention, Paul
became a follower of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Terrorist
groups and individuals, not necessarily members of any particular religious
community, country, or party have caused mass murders that have been inflicted
in various ways around our globe, and most recently in Israel and Maine this
past month. Brutality and cruelty, and a seeming indifference to the sanctity
of human life, appear evident. Words like “evil” and “heinous” are used to
describe their actions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Haters and zealots
come in all colors, cults, and countries and they have traveled down the
centuries throughout our history. These people are given to unconscionable
behavior, and surface unexpectedly with stunning violence. They arrive on foot,
in the sky, on land, and at sea. They use various weapons and justify their
actions. In “almost 3000 years of history there have been less than 130 years
where there has not been a war raging somewhere” and the recent Maine shooting
raises questions once again about gun violence and mental illness in America. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Mark’s gospel, Barclay,
p357-8)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hate crimes are on the uptick, pundits say. Sometimes
inflamed by our social media or disinformation, people will speak and act
without knowing the full truth, often the first casualty of war. Hiding behind
masks and going underground, these bad actors often have no accountability.
Filled with anger, they may feel justified in lashing out with violence. Filled
with hate, they’ve lost their moral compass. Sick, they wound others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hate is love that arises in people who have despaired of a
solution. It surfaces in people who are so filled with rage about a situation
that they resort to violence. And hate is love that has grown so stone-cold
that it results in actions that seem unfathomable to most human beings.
Instead, the opposite of love is “indifference.” Those words “I don’t care” can
cut very deep, and can lead us to tolerate the intolerable. It eschews
consequences for bad behavior. It avoids action because of the chaos and confusion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Who said love would be easy? In truth, love is complicated.
Love is multidimensional and multi-generational. Love is incarnational; showing
up in our bodies, hearts, minds, and souls, and shared in various languages.
Love can be taught! So too can hate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our Presiding Bishop is known for his frequent refrain that
God is love. Such simple statements can roll off our tongues with ease, as if
saying it will change our behaviors. But you and I know that it’s not that
easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Love God first and foremost above all else, Jesus told the
lawyer. Quoting their scriptures, he recalled the first commandment given by
God to Moses and then he tacked on the Levitical law, to love your neighbor as
yourself. You’ve been liberated for a reason, Jesus said! Do these three things
and you will not be far from the kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Easier said than done. And so we quibble with definitions,
like the man who once asked Jesus, who is my neighbor? How does someone offer
love when they are attacked by their neighbors? How do we destroy evil without
harming the innocent? How do we forgive and forget, when memories cannot be
erased from our harddrives, and praying for our enemies seems like an anemic
response?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many years ago, Brian Doyle, wrote an article
about loving our neighbors. He wrote, “Aw, it’s easy to love Mr. C., as he’s
the guy who cheerfully lends his tools to everyone on the street and gives away
handfuls of fresh redolent tomatoes from his garden. It’s just stone-cold <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">not</b> easy to love the guy down the
street who parks his huge vehicles in front of everyone else's house and was
caught dumping motor oil in the creek.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Or what about those arrogant thugs like Osama bin Laden, who
murdered three of my friends (after 9-11)? The man who roasted children on the
airplanes, fomented murder, and was responsible for thousands of innocent
people being blown apart? How can I love a preening twisted coward like that
guy?” Doyle demanded. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Christian Century, Jan. 22, 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How
do we love our neighbors in the midst of such faceless acts of evil, brutality,
and immorality? How do we love the current day versions of those very same
people, only now with different names and coming from different countries? Or
indeed from our very own towns? First and foremost, we can turn our hearts,
souls, bodies, and minds to God, Jesus reminds us. Point yourself in that
direction first, he told the lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s like taking that first step, admitting that we are
powerless over people and things, including even ourselves at times. We can
hand over our “big emotions” and turn to God for guidance before we speak or
act. Practically, we can write a check for humanitarian aid. We can bring food
to Fuel and build Habitat houses. We can support someone who is struggling or
grieving or lonely with words of comfort and encouragement. We can teach the
next generations about God’s love. And they can teach us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And so, once we have dumped our own crude oil of anger and
hate into God’s lap, and filled our empty tanks with God’s love, we can
remember to share that love with others. “We cannot love God without loving
what God loves. We cannot love God and oppress or exclude any of God’s
creatures - even one’s enemies,” wrote Tim Beach-Verhey. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol 4,
p214) </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“That is the incredible illogical unreasonable
genius of it. Christianity is about loving those people you hate and would
happily imprison or execute. It is about knowing that they are your brothers
and sisters (because God created them like you and me in God’s own image) and
you are not at all like them, with murderous splinters in your own hearts.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God commands us to love, period. And Jesus reminds us that
Love calls us to take action. To sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others,
which sometimes may even mean joining the military, or giving ourselves in an
act of sacrificial love. Love means that we confront the evil and immoral
actions of others, standing up or standing down when it is required, despite
the personal cost. It means we uphold our civil, moral, and religious laws that
protect and benefit human lives. It means that we stay in the game, when we
most want to quit; and we forgive when we most want to punish. It means we can
pray for our enemies without condoning their behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As Christians, we remember that Jesus loved Judas despite his
betrayal. He loved Peter, despite his denials, and even his friends and family
who deserted him. He loved the political and religious authorities who
condemned him to death and the crowds who yelled “crucify him.” Beaten and
bleeding, feeling abandoned and forsaken, he suffered a most violent death and
yet even upon the cross, he testified to the breadth and depth of God’s
love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pray for your enemies, he said,
and “forgive them, for they know not what they do.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica, soon after
he had “suffered and been shamefully mistreated in Philippi.” In spite of great
opposition, he did not respond to them with hate. Nor was he indifferent to
them; but rather he faithfully carried on his own mission of proclaiming the
good news of Jesus Christ. Despite what he had endured, St. Paul continued to
offer himself “like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.” Apparently
he had been transformed by the love of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, Jesus was a revolutionary leader, and a threat to the
Roman government and the religious hierarchy. Yes, Jesus was a prophet and
teacher in his own right like Mohammad and Moses. And Yes, He was the one upon
whom all the laws and the prophets would hang their hats. But Jesus, in
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>end, was so much more than that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As Christians we claim that after his resurrection Jesus
became our Messiah, whose Father in heaven said, “Come, sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.” For those words, I hope that God’s
love and God’s power will ultimately prevail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: 1.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1 Thessalonians 2:1-8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Matthew 22:34-46<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-32294440224909868582023-10-01T10:18:00.000-07:002023-10-01T10:18:18.260-07:00Practice What We Preach<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Barbara Brown Taylor wrote a
sermon many years ago on this parable told by Jesus. She called it “The Yes and
No Brothers.” Now I imagine that most of you will say “yes” to a request and
actually carry through with your intentions. Or sometimes you will say “no”
because you cannot or do not want to respond to someone’s “ask” for very good
reasons. Both responses have integrity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And then Jesus tells us this
parable about those two brothers' responses to their father. One says, “yes”
but doesn’t follow through in his actions. The other says “no” but eventually
changes his mind and goes to work in the vineyard. What’s going on here? What
point is Jesus actually trying to make?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps you remember that famous
quote? “Practice what you preach”? Which begs the question. How can we live out
our faith with integrity? Now, if we say “yes” all the time, we may become an
easy target or the proverbial doormat. If we say “no” all the time, we are
accused of being curmudgeons and selfish. And then if we say one thing and do
another, we become liars or hypocrites. Never mind that there may be good
reasons for changing our minds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In her sermon “The Yes and No
Brothers” Barbara Brown Taylor refers to a book by Isak Dinesen entitled Out of
Africa. “In it, she tells the story of a young Kikuyu boy named Kitau who
appeared at her door in Nairobi one day to ask if he might work for her. She
said yes and he turned out to be a fine servant; but just after three months he
came to ask her for a letter of recommendation to Sheik Ali bin Salim, a Muslim
in Mombasa. Upset at the thought of losing him, she offered to raise Kitau's
pay, but he was firm about leaving.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“He had decided he would become
either a Christian or a Muslim, he explained, and his whole purpose in coming
to live with her had been to see the ways and habits of Christians up close.
Next he would go live for three months with Sheik Ali to see how Muslims
behaved and then he would make up his mind. Aghast, Dinesen wrote, ‘I believe
that even an Archbishop, when he had these facts laid before him, would have
said, or at least thought as I did, ‘Good God, Kitau, you might have told me
that when you came to work for me.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For the most part, we intend to do
good, to be responsive to people’s requests for help, to be faithful, and to
follow through with what we’ve agreed to do, but then for one reason or
another, we may change our minds. We fail to carry through with our good
intentions. And even so, our good intentions don’t always translate into good
actions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">First, let me be clear. Today,
when I’m talking about changing our minds, I’m talking about our
decision-making process and the resulting actions. Are they true, good, loving
and kind? Are they helpful or harmful and to whom? And does our stubborn pride
or human arrogance prevent us from changing our minds?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
what about those two brothers in today’s parable? Presumably their father needs
some help at work and so he turns to his sons with a request. One son responds
to his father’s “ask” by saying that he will go, but then he doesn’t. The other
brother says “no” but then later changes his mind. So Jesus asks the crowd,
“which of the two did the will of his father?” It’s an easy answer right? It’s
not about what the brothers said, Jesus suggests, but rather what they actually
did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
spent a few days in early September in the Adirondack mountains at the home of
one of our best friends. Every year for the last several decades, Paul and I
have gathered with a small community of friends to share food, hiking,
conversation, and prayers. At the end of our visit together, we gather in the
chapel for Holy Eucharist and reflection upon scripture. This year we talked
about “changing our minds.” Why do we change our minds? And does God ever
change God’s mind? we wondered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Examples surfaced. President
Zelensky decided to change his mind about his defense minister and then fired
his six deputies, feeling the need for a new approach to the on-going war
against Russia, and changing what some people claimed was a corrupt system.
Recently the leaders of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute unexpectedly changed their
minds, and plan to realign their organization with Beth Israel Hospital after
decades of a relationship with Mass General Brigham. Reasons varied. Getting
closer to home, our conversation turned to the upcoming election for our new
president. How and when and why do leaders and voters change their minds?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Which led our group into a
conversation about the difference between being a leader and having authority.
Leaders who are hired or elected are given authority to make changes in
organized institutions, businesses, and democratic societies. Not so, with
Jesus. He had no religious authority when he walked into that temple to teach
people about the kingdom of God. Indeed he might have been accused of having
chutzpah when he was confronted by the chief priests and elders about his
teaching. Never mind that only days before Jesus had overturned tables and
cleansed the Temple.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“By what authority are you doing
these things, and who gave you this authority?” they demanded. Typical of Jesus
and common to rabbis in his day, he answered their questions with one of his
own. “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” he
asked them. When they would not answer, because they were afraid, he told them
this parable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
often hear that people who choose not to go to church will point to the
hypocrisy of Christians. And while we can argue that all people are
hypocritical at times, that is we will say yes when we mean no, or we will
behave contrary to our standard moral guidelines, our actions may belie our
stated beliefs. There is an obvious lack of integrity. And this is why Jesus
told the parable to the chief priests and elders. Unlike them, He was using his
authority from God to do good for God’s people not to maintain his own personal
power and privilege. He was a leader of and for and by the people. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In fact, that was the point that
Jesus was making to the religious leaders of his time. They weren’t practicing
what they preached. Nor were they interested in who Jesus was nor willing to
consider any changes to their liturgy, laws, and life. Maybe you answered
correctly, he was saying to them, but you are not behaving according to the
will of God. Indeed, despite your great authority in our religious tradition,
those who you consider to be the worst sinners of all will enter the kingdom of
God ahead of you!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Parents
jokingly will say to their children, “Do as I say, not as I do” and children,
like Jesus, have a way of calling us out with our inconsistencies. My
granddaughter and I were sitting in the back seat of our truck on Cape Cod this
summer when we began fastening our seat belts. I struggled with mine so I
decided to hold it down in the cracks between the seats and pretend that I was buckled
in. Elia looked over at me and said, “NanaGoose, I know what you are doing!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s
not always easy to make faithful decisions, to say “yes” or “no” or even to
change our minds about long-held and established traditions and beliefs. It’s
not always easy to follow through with our good intentions. In truth, we may do
things we shouldn’t and we will fail at our attempts to do good. We will miss
the mark despite what we think is our clear aim. And so we sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And thankfully, God did change
God’s mind about us. According to our salvation story, after the flood, God
promised Noah that God would never take that action again. Then after the
crucifixion of Jesus, God promised that our sins would be forgiven once and for
all people. Recently, I saw a young man wearing a t-shirt that said, “If you
bring up my past you should know that Jesus dropped all the charges.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Does
that let us off the hook for our daily behavior? No. Like that ever popular
phrase, “We can do better.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can seek
to know the will of God and to follow Jesus in the Way of love. We can say
“yes” to God even when it means that loving others is hard work. And we can say
“no” without any guilt. We can ask ourselves that question “what would Jesus
do?” and then do it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Barbara
Brown Taylor ended her sermon with these words: “To quote Soren Kierkegaard,
Jesus wants followers, not admirers. Whether we say yes or no to him is
apparently less important to him than what we actually do. To tell which
brother you are, - look in the mirror. What is moving? Your mouth or your
feet?” Or as Benjamin Franklin once said, ““Well done is better than well
said.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Each
day is a new beginning; and we can do better, because God helps us. As St. Paul
once wrote to the Philippians “for it is God who is at work in (us), enabling
(us) to both will and work for his good pleasure.” Today may we practice what
we preach. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Philippians 2:1-13<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Matthew 21:23-32<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-30450839900505222582023-08-27T05:17:00.003-07:002023-08-27T05:17:21.870-07:00Identity<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span>Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span> </span><span> </span></b></div><p><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span> <span> </span><span> </span> </span>Identity is important. It helps us
to clarify who we are, what we believe, and how we may speak and act. For
instance, we can identify ourselves by our family relationships. I am the
daughter of Keith and Louise, the sister of Keith and Libby, the wife of Paul,
the mother of Megan and Brian, and the grandmother of Elia, Peter, Nathaniel,
and Liliana. I may identify myself as an Episcopal priest, a member of Christ’s
Body, the Church, or a passionate Boston Celtics fan. Maybe we will claim our
identity in politics, race, or by our gender. Perhaps we're ‘proud to be an
American.’ Or maybe not.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In an article written by Kevin
Harrish, on August 2 of this year, he reported that people were furious at some
of the women on the United States Soccer team for not singing our national
anthem before each world cup game. “Throughout the 2023 FIFA Women’s
World Cup, the United States Women’s National Team has taken a lot of criticism
as the majority of the players on the team have chosen not to sing along while
the national anthem is played before matches. Those players once again remained
silent ahead of Tuesday’s match against Portugal, and they are once again
facing criticism.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“As the New York Post points out, the majority of the
team – with the exception of a few players – remained silent while The Star
Spangled Banner played during the pre-match ceremony on Tuesday. In keeping
with the trend of the tournament, Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz and Lindsey Horan
were seen on camera singing along, though most of their teammates did not. The
coaching staff also stayed silent, the New York Post reported.”</span><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Critics claimed that the team no
longer had an identity but rather had become a group of individuals who cared
more about themselves than their team or their country. While some fans
supported their rights to free speech, indeed encouraging them to even take a
knee before the game, others were dropping like flies in their outrage. Some
people hoped they would lose; and they did. Earliest exit ever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s easy to lose our identities
in a culture and a world that is constantly competing for our attention and our
allegiance. We disparage people who claim a certain political identity
different from our own. Interestingly, there was a disagreement by some
Republican candidates for president at their recent debate about whether or not
our nation has lost its identity. We may affirm or challenge our gender
identities and flock to movies like Barbie. Indeed, our identities can shift
depending upon many factors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In all three synoptic gospels,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we find a recurring question about Jesus’ identity.
Who was this guy? Was he a prophet, a rabbi, a revolutionary politician, or the
charismatic leader of a particular religious group? Was he the Son of Man, the
Son of David, and the Messiah? As he spoke and acted in various settings, I
imagine people would look at him and wonder, “Who are you?” And yet the
demoniacs, coming out of the tombs, recognized him at once and cried out, “What
have you to do with us, Son of God?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps Jesus had some identity
issues himself. And so today we hear him ask his disciples for some clarity and
feedback. Who do people say that the Son of Man is?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Many years ago I started my
sabbatical with time away by attending a two week course in Israel at St.
George’s College in Jerusalem. We followed in the footsteps of Jesus from his
birth in Bethlehem, up north to Nazareth, where he began his ministry in the
many towns of Galilee, and beyond that into gentile territory. As you heard
last week in Mike's sermon, Jesus traveled as far north as Tyre and Sidon,
Syro-Phoenician towns that were home to pagans and gentiles who worshiped
various gods. Today, Jesus takes his disciples to Caesarea Phillipi, a town in
gentile territory and known similarly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Now recall that Israel had been occupied by
people from various countries all around it, and so they worshiped many gods
who were identified by different names. Caesarea Philippi actually began as a
pagan holy site in ancient times. Located there was a lovely grotto, which had
a dark cave, with a deep spring of water in the back. Because the grotto
inspired awe and mystery with so many people, it was believed to be sacred, and
people would come from all around to worship their gods. These pagan gods were called
Baal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Now sometime after the death of Jesus, St.
Paul had written to the Christians in Rome telling them to “present themselves
as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which (would be) their
spiritual worship.” Centuries earlier, however, the worshippers of Baal took
this suggestion literally. They would throw human beings, presumably ones who
had offered themselves for this service or infants who had no voice, into the
deep pool at the back of the cave. If the body disappeared, they believed their
sacrifice was accepted by their god. If the body or blood rose to the surface,
they believed their sacrifice had been rejected, and the worshippers would try
again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When the territory around Caesarea
Philippi later became occupied by Alexander the Great from Greece, an altar was
erected to the Greek god named Pan, who was part human and part goat. Known as
the god of shepherds and flocks, hunting and music, Pan represented the beauty
of nature and the arts, and goats were considered their sacred animal. This
grotto then became the “holy of holies” for Greek worshippers where fresh air
and dancing were the activities of the pilgrims. Worshippers didn’t throw
bodies into the water but would leave gifts of food, wine, and flowers on the
altar to Pan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now during the Roman occupation,
Herod the Great built a temple of white marble to honor Caesar Augustus as the
supreme Roman god. When Herod’s son Philip began to rule over this territory,
he enlarged the town and renamed it Caesarea Philippi. Still honoring the Roman
emperor Caesar as a god, Philip also wanted the town to be identified with him.
And it was into this place that Jesus brought his disciples, and asked them that
question. Who do people say that I am?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Clearly
the answers varied. Some identified Jesus as John the Baptist, who had been
killed by Philip’s brother Herod Archelaus, and was seeking revenge through
Jesus. Others claimed Jesus was the prophet Elijah who was signaling that the
end of the ages was coming, and the day of the Lord was imminent. And still
others claimed that like the prophet Jeremiah, Jesus was reminding the
Israelites to worship the one and only true God named Yahweh. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In
today’s passage from the gospel of Matthew, Peter names Jesus as the Messiah,
the son of the living God. For the Israelites, their messiah would be their new
king, and a religious leader who would save God’s people from the oppression
and discrimination of foreign governments. Looking for a political
revolutionary, they did not understand that their salvation would come in a
different way. Jesus’ power was not steeped in political, economic, or military
might. He used God’s power for healing and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Last week, the
gospel of Matthew claimed that Jesus began to understand his mission
differently, expanding it beyond the lost sheep of Israel. And today’s passage
represents yet another turning point in the life of Jesus. After stopping in
Caesarea Philippi, Jesus heads towards Jerusalem, and “from that time on, Jesus
began to show his disciples that he must undergo great suffering at the hands
of the religious and political leaders.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“It will be me,”
Jesus was saying to his disciples, “who will be thrown into that cave. Although
you will see my body and blood on the cross, you will not have to try again,
for my sacrifice will be once and for all people. I am your GOAT, an acronym
for ‘Greatest Of All Time.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> On
that day in Caesarea Philippi long ago, when I was on my sabbatical, our group
of pilgrims reflected upon this passage in that particular location. In the
trickling waters that flowed down from Mount Hermon into the Jordan River, in
the current day Golan Heights, we renewed our baptismal covenants. Identifying
ourselves as Christians, people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the
Son of the Living God, who came for the salvation of all God’s people, we
offered ourselves once again as living sacrifices, to carry on the ministry
that he began long ago. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So how is it that
we can present ourselves as living sacrifices to the one we claim as our
Messiah? St. Paul offers his advice. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the
will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">St. Paul reminds us
that we are a team, that is we are One Body in Christ, with various gifts to
offer by the grace given to us by God. We can sing songs of praise, and take a
knee for our Lord, during our worship services. Then, after we leave this
place, we can hope that people will identify us as Christians, that they will
know that we are Christians by our love.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><b>Romans 12:1-8<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Matthew 16:13-20</span></b></p><div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 48px;"><br /></div>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-7491117890646084972023-07-30T04:15:00.001-07:002023-07-30T04:15:17.305-07:00Good Fish Bad Fish<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></b><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">One of the Boston Sports writers
once described his feelings about a certain Celtics basketball player as a
binary flip flop between love and hate. This player was inconsistent and
erratic, and therefore frustrating to watch at times. His amazing defensive
plays were followed by bonehead offensive shots. But he was also known as the
heart and soul of the team, and more importantly he was beloved in the
community for helping kids with cancer. He was someone who gave it his all, who
left everything on the court.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now you may think I’m a little
tiresome with my Celtics basketball analogies. “Oh, no, here she goes again,” I
can hear you say. But Jesus constantly invited us to think about the realities
of life to help us imagine what the kingdom of heaven may be like. Using five
short parables, Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of heaven is like” and
then He described quite ordinary professions: a farmer, a woman baking bread, a
merchant, and a fisherman. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">He also described real landscapes.
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows into a large tree where
birds can build nests and create new life. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that leavens the woman’s bread. It’s a treasure in a field, and a pearl that
has great value. It’s like a net that is thrown into the sea, and later, when
the boat returns to home port, angels will come and separate the good fish from
the bad. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">At that point, I imagine the crowd
around Jesus beginning to murmur. They may wonder if the decision of God’s
angels is a binary choice. Do good fish go to heaven and bad fish burn in hell?
Will the truly evil people in our world face the consequences of their heinous
actions? And will good fish like you and me go elsewhere? Where is our hope in
a landscape that at times seems filled with violence and hate?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“God has a purpose,” St Paul
declares in his letter to the Romans. Everything will work out in the end, and
it will be for the good. We are destined for the kingdom of heaven, he claims;
for we have been conformed into the image of Jesus, like bread that has been
well kneaded by our suffering and pain. We will be justified, that is we will
be made righteous, and then glorified by God because of Jesus. Or as Talitha J.
Arnold once wrote, “Jesus transforms human life not by scaring the hell out of
people, but by helping them see the heaven (that is) close at hand. “(</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">Feasting on the Word, p.286) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Not so fast, you might protest.
What about that judgment issue that Jesus describes in the last of these five
parables today? Will those people get their comeuppance in the end, their time
in the fiery furnace, for the choices they’ve made? Will those murderers,
shooters, bad actors, and bad fish finally pay for the deeds they have done?
And what exactly will the judgment of God look like for you and me and them?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, the judgment of God is often
defined as a fiery furnace; however, it can also be interpreted as a moment of
clarity, when the truth of who we are and what we’ve done is revealed to us. Or
when the truth of a situation and a person is understood in new and different
ways. We humans are good at judging others without ever knowing the fullness
and the truth of a situation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">People who have had near death
experiences have claimed that they have seen their whole lives pass before them
in the presence of a loving God. Burning off the dross of their lives, they see
themselves pass through a tunnel of light into the loving embrace of God’s
arms. For some who have committed acts worthy of our condemnation and judgment
such an experience has been life-altering. And yet, who wants to sit next to
that so-called evil person at the great feast in heaven? While God may have
condemned and then forgiven them, and indeed maybe even changed them for good,
we’re not so sure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rev. Alexis Vaughn recently
reviewed a book called “The Light We Give” by Sikh educator and activist Simran
Jeet Singh. She entitled her review “Can People be Evil?” and while the author
of this book says “No” Vaughn says, “I’m not so sure.” Singh rejects the idea
of a binary choice between people being either good or evil after “seven Sikhs
were massacred as they worshiped together in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in 2012.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“While grappling with his personal
anger and sadness following this massacre, Singh felt the need to speak to
diverse audiences about the Sikh faith and the implications of hate for
American society. He traveled to a summer camp to speak to Sikh children
immediately after the massacre, and asked the children if they knew what had
happened. A young girl responded, “A bad, bad man came and killed a bunch of
us. He was evil.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Singh wrestled with how to
respond because he found something unsettling about naming Wade Michael Page,
the shooter, as evil. He explained: ‘On the one hand, I preferred this framing
because it helped make sense of a seemingly senseless massacre. But on the
other hand, hearing a child say these words out loud revealed a truth that
upset me. I took comfort in seeing him as evil. But I don’t believe in evil as
a reality of our world, and I certainly don’t believe that people are evil.
Damaged and destructive, yes. But evil, no.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now you and I know that I can name
a litany of stories about the evil actions of people throughout our world. We
hear about binary acts of love and hate, good and evil, on a daily basis.
Unlike Singh, however, I believe that evil is a reality of our world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But I also believe that people are
not binary, that is 100% good or 100% evil. And so, the remaining ultimate
question for me is whether or not there is a small seed, that is a kernel of
God’s goodness, that lies at the very center of every human being. And if there
is that seed, it can never be destroyed, and indeed it can even grow. Furthermore,
I wonder if any evil person or action can exist in the kingdom of heaven. Has
all evil and all evil actions been burned away in the fiery furnace, leaving
only goodness and God to remain? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Today’s fifth parable by Jesus
reminds us that we are accountable to God for our behavior. He reminds us that
God oversees that great Dragnet that will eventually gather all of us, good
fish and bad fish alike, into God’s loving presence. No one condemns except
God. No one can eternally save except God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Parables also beg questions about
our Creator. If God has created all those fishes in the deep blue sea like you
and me, then is it not God who oversees all eternal judgments? And if so, will
God create a new heavenly rest for everyone where evil acts can no longer
exist?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where we can all build nests and
create new life safely?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">St. Paul acknowledges that we are
weak at times and in need of help; and so, he names the Holy Spirit as our
intercessor, who Steven D. Paulson calls our “personal groaner.” When we cannot
pray or do not know how to pray or when we are appalled at the evil and hateful
actions of others, or ourselves for that matter, we can turn to our “personal
groaner” to intercede for us. We can ask God for help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And St. Paul reminds us that God
has not only given us a “personal groaner” called the Holy Spirit but also
God’s very own Son who will intercede for us. In the end St. Paul offers us
hope. “If God is for us, (then) who is against us?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who indeed will separate us from the love of
God. Nothing, St. Paul professes. For St. Paul himself, a convicted murderer,
and a religious zealot, was converted from a hater of Christians to a lover of
Jesus. He flipped! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">St. Paul became convinced, and
then was convicted, that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.” All people, once separated by divisions, hate, and
violence, are reconciled to God through Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The first four parables today also
give us hope. Jesus can be the leaven in our daily bread, the treasure that can
be found in our fields at home, work, school, or in the community. He is the
pearl of great price, which Jesus bought with his very own blood, and is now
ours forever. In the kingdom of heaven, He is the Tree of Eternal Life, a place
where birds from all nations can build nests and create new life. And for us
Christians, He has become the heart and soul of our team, and the Son of God
who left it all on the court for our sakes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That being said, I still wonder,
can people be evil? Like the Rev. Alexis Vaughn, some days I’m not so sure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Romans 8:26-39<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Matthew 13:31-33,44-52</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The Light We Give<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life<span> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">By Simran Jeet
Singh</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">A book review by Alexis Vaughan entitled “Can People Be Evil?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Alexis Vaughan, a Disciples of
Christ minister, serves as director of racial equity initiatives at Interfaith
America. <span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Published on July 6, 2023
Christian Century</span></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-81126628403474647522023-07-16T03:56:00.000-07:002023-07-16T03:56:35.277-07:00The Sower of Seeds<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Church
of the Redeemer<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>The Rev. Nancy
E. Gossling<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The women’s Bible study group that
meets on Thursday mornings recently has been working our way through the gospel
of Mark. Presumed to be the first gospel written after the death and
resurrection of Jesus, Mark describes Jesus as an action figure. Implicitly
suggesting that Jesus has divine power, Mark tells us that Jesus was someone
who healed the sick, cast out demons, and challenged his religious leaders
straight from the jump. Then he began his teaching ministry by telling
parables.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now
recall that people in those days didn’t have church bulletins in which every
word was printed. In fact, in those days, many people didn’t know how to read,
and so religion was an oral tradition. Pointing to the obvious activity in
front of them, whether he’s inside or outside a house, whether he’s in the city
of Jerusalem or the countryside of Galilee, whether he’s in Jewish or Gentile
territory, on land or at sea, in a synagogue, a boat, or on the plains, Jesus
repeatedly told the crowd around him to “Look.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you are not blind to the spiritual realities of your lives, then you
will see the kingdom of heaven right there in front of you. God is at work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus also said, “Listen.” If your
ears are willing to disconnect from the latest political dramas, the talk that
sabotages your well-being, or fears that burden you, then you will hear the
good news of God. Just “look” and “listen” Jesus told his followers. The
kingdom of heaven is right here in front of you. Can you see it? Can you hear
the good news of God in the cacophony of voices that is surrounding you? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Apparently
Jesus often used parables to invite his listeners into a deeper and wider
understanding of God and our responses to God and others.Today’s parable about
the sower, the seeds, and the soil is famously entitled “The Parable of the
Sower” for that’s where it all begins. “Who is the Sower of these seeds,” we
may well ask? Is it God? Is it Jesus? Is St. Matthew? Is it me in this pulpit
today? Or perhaps, more importantly, is it you?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
know there are many gardeners here at Redeemer, and let me confess right away
that I am not one of them. While I may have a green thumb as a Celtics fan, I
tend to kill plants. In fact, I have never carefully placed any little seeds
into a small patch of soil in order to watch it grow. A plant whisperer, I am
not; and while I appreciate the hard work of gardeners, I don’t like gardening.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Indeed if I were a sower of seeds,
I would be like the one Jesus described in today’s parable. I would throw my
seeds carelessly everywhere, wherever I walked, disregarding the terrain, and
not caring, nor even seeing where the seeds have landed. And so, I wondered,
why would Jesus portray such an irresponsible sower, someone who is like me, as
a lesson for his listeners?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Every time I hear this parable, I
remember my short-lived occupation as a sower of seeds which I have told
frequently. Paul and I had just moved to Glastonbury, Connecticut, a town which
is known for its many farms that produce berries, corn, fresh vegetables,
pumpkins, and Christmas trees. Oftentimes you can pick your own products in the
fields on their farms or buy them fresh off the shelf at their shops along the
roadside.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When we began looking for a house,
our realtor wisely guided us away from a new housing development on land which
had previously grown tobacco. Chemicals were known to infiltrate the water
systems and could be harmful to your health. Despite the flat terrain, the
beautiful red drying barns that populated the landscape, and the very green
grass that was growing around these new houses, this location was not a good
place to raise children nor to grow organic fruits and vegetables.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
Paul and I bought a home that had been owned by two professionals, a
pediatrician and a teacher, who were also environmentalists. They loved to
create gardens and grow plants, flowers, and vegetables on their property. In
one corner they had created a garden for vegetables, enclosed by a fence, where
the sun and shade were well balanced. Paul was excited to sustain this garden,
planting his own vegetables of tomatoes, green peppers, and squash.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, truth be told, I was not. Initially, I
didn’t want to become involved in this gardening endeavor; for I knew my
history and track record with gardening. Besides I was starting a new job as
the rector of a parish and I was excited to plant my spiritual seeds of love
there. When Paul asked me why I wouldn’t want to be engaged with God’s creation
at our home, I responded arrogantly. “I care for the seeds of new life in God’s
garden at the parish all day long, and I’m too tired when I get home.” And yet,
Paul, who also worked long days in his own job, responded, “But so do I.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
so I agreed to participate, albeit reluctantly, and certainly not
whole-heartedly. I was wary of some history between us. He would start projects
and I would finish them. He is an entrepreneur and I am a day laborer. So I
decided to start my own garden, on a much smaller scale and closer to our
house. I wanted the boundaries, responsibilities, and the ownership of our gardens
to be crystal clear. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I placed my plants in a raised bed
next to our side door, on the sunny side of our house, right next to the water
hose. Trying to minimize my labor, I planted only green beans. Unprotected by a
fence, my green beans became a feast for the rabbits. Because I was closer to
the garden hose, I thought that I would be more attentive to watering my
plants, but I didn’t. The sun scorched my green beans. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In passive aggressive resistance,
I did nothing with my own garden. Sure I sowed those new seeds; but I didn’t
water them, weed them, or protect them. I trusted that God and Mother Nature
would do all the work; and secretly, I hoped to eat the fruits of Paul’s garden
and his good labors, unwilling to put in the hard work, or the daily care that
was required for my own. My heart wasn’t really in it, and my actions betrayed
my words.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Truth
be told, we both learned from our Sowing Seeds ministry. The busyness of our
day jobs became the hard path upon which our good seeds fell; and so nothing
grew in certain spots of both our gardens. Neither of us, in our haste, had
prepared the soil well. There was too little soil in mine and his soil had been
overused and was lacking in nutrients. Weeds, pests, thorny roots, not to
mention New England rocks, hidden below the surface, often crowded out or
strangled our plants.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Look and listen, Jesus told his
followers. We are busy, rocky, thorny, shallow people; and so God’s seeds don’t
always land on the best of our soils. At various times in our lives, at
different stages in our growth, whether we’re at home, at work, at school, in
our parish or the community at large, we will find ourselves tired, hurting,
struggling, and less than enthusiastic about caring for our gardens.
Preoccupied with physical, mental, and emotional challenges, we may let our
spiritual lives languish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
reminds us that God is the Sower of all seeds, perhaps irresponsibly, but
surely God sows God’s seeds of love extravagantly, indiscriminately, and indeed
even with radical generosity. Unworried about where they land, God knows that
even if they die, these seeds will rise again in ways that we cannot see, nor
even imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When life gets too hard, when the
sun gets too hot, the rain seems relentless, creatures appear to be dangerous,
and the weeds overpower us in our daily lives, it’s time for us to turn back to
God, to remember that Jesus is our Master Gardener, and the Holy Spirit is always
at work, even when we’re asleep. No matter what path we’re on, or in which part
of God’s garden we live, God will always plant new seeds of faith, hope, and
love to sustain us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So trust the Sower of the Seeds.
And then sow a little of your own with that very same Spirit: extravagantly,
indiscriminately, and perhaps even with radical generosity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Romans
8:1-11 </span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Matthew
13:1-9,18-23</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-19533000403652361572023-05-14T03:20:00.002-07:002023-05-14T03:20:12.410-07:00Our Unknown God<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">6 Easter<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Church of the Redeemer<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></b><span lang="EN"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">During a time of personal and professional transition,
I served as a consultant at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland for
three months. I lived in the city close to the Cathedral and within walking
distance of everything I needed. During my free time, without a car, I explored
every inch of Dublin on foot. Oftentimes the tears of my grief over the recent
losses in my life were co-mingled with the rain. After that, I walked the
streets of Barcelona during a 6 week Spanish immersion, and then walked the
last 100 Kilometers on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. And so it
began: my new prayer practice of walking as a way to connect with God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I arrived and
settled in Boston some years later, I began walking the streets here in this
city. Like St. Paul in Athens, I “went through the city and looked carefully at
the objects of our worship.” Like the earliest Christian communities, I was
searching for God, perhaps even groping for God, as I tried to make sense of my
life, the culture in which I lived, and what Jesus had to do with it. There
were a lot of unknowns in my life at that time and I was looking for some
answers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At the center of our
city is the Boston Common, a place where people of all ages, colors, nations,
and socio-economic levels gather for various reasons, our common humanity in
full display. There, like in Athens, we can see signs of life and death all
around us. In the flowers and animals, in the beggars and street vendors, in
the protesters and prophets. Memorials to people and events are both old and
new. Recently added is a sculpture called The Embrace. It is a testimonial to
the loving sacrifices and religious witness of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his
wife Coretta.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Indeed, we have many shrines to our unknown God
throughout the city; for God is a holy mystery, and quite frankly, never fully
known to us in this life. But, there are always signs of God’s presence,
provision, and power all around us, if we only have eyes to see them. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Periodically we will look, maybe even grope for God,
oftentimes at different inflection points throughout our lives, most often when
we are troubled, in transition, or grieving. Or maybe when we are struck by
grace and aware of how blessed we are, and then we become incredibly grateful
for certain people, places, and events. We can find joy in sacred moments like
this morning, when we celebrate the gift of new life in baptism, when we
remember our God, known to us in the sacrificial love of Jesus. And in that
grace-filled love of His, and the promise of new life, we place our faith, and
hang on to our hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">In today’s gospel passage, Jesus is giving his
disciples hope; for without hope our lives become meaningless, rudderless, and
lacking in direction and purpose. Without hope, when people we love and see no
longer disappear from our earthly lives, we may find our grief too difficult to
bear. And yet, although Jesus was about to disappear from their lives, Jesus
gave them hope in what has come to be called his “Farewell Discourse.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Barbara Brown Taylor once wrote, “If you read the
gospel of John straight through, things slow to a crawl around chapter
fourteen. The last supper is over. Judas has left the room like a hive of
yellow jackets were after him. Everyone’s feet are clean and Jesus’ hands are still
puckered from washing their feet when he begins to talk.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8pt;">(Gospel Medicine, pp 86-87) </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, as
you may recall in the gospel of St. John, Jesus talks and prays, and prays and
talks, as he walks the Way of Love to the end of his own earthly journey. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Last Sunday, Jesus assured his disciples that He was
going to prepare a place for them in the home of God. It is a place where there
are enough rooms for everyone. There are no tent cities for the homeless. No
addictions. No broken political, religious, educational, and financial systems.
No diseases of any kind. It is a place where there is enough food for everyone
and plenty of left-overs. So do not let your hearts be troubled, Jesus told
them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today He makes
some promises. “No worries.” He tells them. “I’ll talk to your God and my God
and we won’t leave you orphaned. I’ll still be with you and you will see me.
And when you don’t see me, the Holy Spirit will be with you. And because I
live, you also will live.” Now there’s some hope in which we can place our
faith and our trust!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">As Christians, we believe that our unknown God
revealed God’s sacrificial love in the person of Jesus. Jesus modeled that
loving behavior to his disciples, giving them a new commandment, to love others
as he had loved them. Similarly Jesus reminded them to obey God’s commandments;
the first and second commandments being the greatest. To love God with all our
hearts, souls, minds, and strength. To love our neighbors as ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is fond of saying,
“God is love.” Internationally, Bishop Curry became known for his sermon at the
wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In it he talked about the
transformative power of love, not only for individuals and families but also
for the whole world. “There's power in love,” he preached. “There's power in
love to help and heal when nothing else can. There's power in love, to lift up
and liberate when nothing else will. There's power in love to show us the way
to live,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">And like every love story over time, from the
beginning to the end of our salvation story, in the public drama of famous
people, and in our own personal relationships, there is both brokenness and
reconciliation, there is division and unity, there is ugliness and beauty.
Indeed we see love throughout our world and when love is a verb it is a labor
that is messy, costly, complicated, sacrificial and like Jesus, both human and
divine. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">St. Paul told the Athenians that, “the God who made
the world, who you claim to be your unknown god, is not far from each one of
us.” He reminds them that in God we live and move and have our being. Our
unknown God is revealed to us in the myriad ways of human life, in the highs
and lows of our relationships, and in the beauty and the brokenness of our world.
Where there is love, God is there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">And so St. Paul invites us to open our eyes to see
God’s hand at work in the world about us. In the arts and in our culture. In
creation and in all creatures, great and small. In newborn babies, in toddlers
and teens, in young adults and old ladies like me. Purposefully and lovingly,
God reveals God’s presence, provision, and power in every generation, in the
good, the bad, and the ugly; for God is love, and God’s love never ends. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">When we open our eyes to see God at work in the world
around us, we will see hands that do not hit nor harm. We will see hands that
feed, pray, and heal like Jesus did. We will see hands that reach out with arms
of love in order to embrace another person, to lift someone up, to be an
advocate, to build and not tear down. These hands are God’s hands, scarred by
human violence and hard work, and yet hands that offer forgiveness and a peace
that the world does not yet understand. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">After Jesus said farewell to his disciples and before
He ascended into heaven, Jesus asked God to give us an Advocate who would be
with us forever. This Advocate will abide with us, defend us, guide us, comfort
us, and empower us to love as Jesus loves us. When we pray and talk, and talk
and pray, when we walk the talk in the Way of Love, we reveal the power of Love
to other people. We become God’s hands enfolding others in a warm embrace.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">I like to think that our hearts are broken on our
earthly journeys so that the love of God and the light of Christ can enter into
them. I like to think that God reveals God’s self in those hands that are
begging for love as well as the hands that are embracing it. I like to think
that someday, my own broken heart, scarred by a lifetime of little cracks and a
million little pieces, will be finally and fully healed by the grace of God.
Grace, the unmerited, undeserved, and unconditional love of God. Grace, the
love of God, given for me, for you, and for all God’s beloved offspring. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">So today, look for those signs of love everywhere; and
you will see our unknown God!<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt;">Acts 17:22-31 </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John 14:15-21</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-80368464127659214892023-04-15T05:08:00.000-07:002023-04-15T05:08:17.840-07:00Came to Believe<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">2 Easter<span> </span><span> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Church of the Redeemer<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Came to believe</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">First I came</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Then I came to<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Then I came to believe<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">An Episcopal priest named Heidi Havercamp wrote,
"Before I went to seminary I dated an atheist for a few months. He was a
doctoral student in philosophy at the University of Chicago, specializing in
ethics. He did not believe in God and thought religion was a joke. But the man
couldn’t stay away from church. In fact, I met him at an inquirer's class at
our local Episcopal parish.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“He told me he was
endlessly fascinated that people whom he deeply respected, who were clearly
highly intelligent, believed in things he could not. He felt there was
something good about church people - a goodness he felt drawn to. He said he
had no capacity for faith or belief, but it haunted him all the same.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Christian Century, April 2023, p27) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Resurrection faith is a hard nut to crack, especially
on this low Sunday after the great feast of Easter, when the sugar high of
chocolate has worn off. Easter brings joy but nothing like the twelve days of
Christmas. Rather than talking about babies and Jesus’ birthday, we try to explain
what happened to Jesus after he died or we avoid it altogether. Frederick
Buechner claimed that we will “deflect, defuse, and dispose of resurrection
explanations in as many ways as there are sermons preached on Easter Sunday.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">How so, you might ask? Well, we may talk about the
Easter bunny rather than a real human being who lived and died as one of us. We
may point to the lilies of the field and how daffodils are now pushing through
the dirt, and so we remain stuck in an endless loop of springtime flowers. Or
we talk about Jesus as one of those many people in our history, whom we loved
and see no longer, but have no expectation of ever seeing them or Him again.
Confusing resurrection with resuscitation and reincarnation, we deny the
possibility that something far greater, more mysterious, and even downright
miraculous may be a part of our future. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus showed up in that locked room, not once but
twice, and invited doubting Thomas, as he later came to be called, to look at
his hands that were scarred. “Touch my side,” Jesus said, pointing to the place
where He had been pierced. I like that Jesus showed up in that locked room. I
like that Jesus had scars and was willing to reveal them. Rather than putting a
crown on his head and sitting down on a throne next to his heavenly Father, in
a place of supreme privilege, Jesus appeared before the disciples who had
betrayed him, who had run away from him, and were now in hiding.The resurrected
Jesus steps into our locked rooms and meets us where we are, more often than
not at our lowest points. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus’ faith seemed unwavering throughout his life;
and yet, at the risk of being struck down in this pulpit today, I can’t always
identify with his humanity. He wasn’t married. He had no children; and He had
plenty of people attending to his needs. He was a man in a man’s world. And
while I don’t want to minimize the painful realities of his crucifixion, he
suffered for only three hours. He never faced the challenges of old age,
dementia, or a life diminished by addictions, demons, chronic diseases, or a
mental illness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">This Sunday after Easter is often called Low Sunday, a
day when the fewest people show up in church; but low Sunday may also reflect
the truth of our lives at any particular moment in time. Like gun violence erupting
suddenly and unexpectedly. Or tornadoes leveling our towns with hardly a
warning. Security breaches and artificial intelligence challenge our peace of
mind. And today, social media and the news tells us about these low points with
lightning speed and gruesome clarity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Easter isn’t fun the way Christmas is. Who cares about
our Easter hymnody and anthems, when we can have catchy Hallmark tunes not just
for the twelve days of Christmas but for a season that often begins long before
Thanksgiving? Who cares about a crucified 33 year old Jew when you can have a
jolly old man who never dies? Or a newborn baby whose life is as fresh as the
morning dew? Whose life has not yet been marred by sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Frederica Matthewes-Green had a Jewish friend named
Mitch whose “encounters with suffering during medical training led him to doubt
whether there even is a God. Yet one Christmas he wrote to her, saying ‘Looking
at the Christmas thing as a Jewish man, the big celebration in Christianity
should be Easter. No Easter, no Christianity.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Or as Frederica wrote, “Mitch has a point. If Jesus
didn’t rise from the dead, who cares whether he was born in a manger, or in a
7-Eleven? If he didn’t rise from the dead, then Christmas is meaningless too.”
At least, I would add, for people of our Christian faith. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Bread and Wine, pp 267-8) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And so, our Easter celebration demands adult
conversations about death and life. Frederica wrote, “Easter tells us of
something children cannot understand, because it addresses things they don’t
yet have to know: the weariness of life, the pain, the profound loneliness and
hovering fear of meaninglessness.Yet in the midst of this desolation we find
Jesus, triumphant over death and still shockingly alive, present to us in ways
we cannot understand, much less explain.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Which is why, back in August, I was drawn to an
article written by Debie Thomas, an Episcopal priest in California. Her title?
“Resurrecting Heaven.” Her opening sentence was “I need heaven to be real. In
many circles today, the belief in an afterlife, a literal resurrection, and a
literal heaven has fallen out of favor.” And I would add, so too has church.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Like so many people today, she has watched her family
members struggle with physical, financial, and mental illnesses to the point of
questioning life itself. Throwing our hands up into the air in despair, we may <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">come to believe</b> that God is indifferent
and therefore missing in action. Or maybe that God is even non-existent, and
not worthy of our time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Conversely, cynical and apathetic, we may sit on our
hands and do nothing, placing all our spiritual cards in the hope of heaven.
Unfortunately, Debie Thomas writes, "when we have an overemphasis on the
hereafter, why bother with addressing any injustice that plagues humanity, if
the earth is just a giant ‘waiting room’ for heaven?” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 8.0pt;">(Christian Century, August 10, 2022)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She concludes that she “worries that if the church
loses its belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to
come, we will also lose both the ferocity of our hope, and the holy
restlessness that leads us to action, the commitment to justice that fuels our
prophetic lament, solidarity, resilience, and courage.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It takes courage to unlock the doors of your minds and
hearts and let Jesus come into your own locked rooms of anxiety, doubt, and
fear. It takes courage to believe in the unbelievable. And yet, if we come to
believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come,
then Easter becomes a joyful celebration, not just on Easter Sunday, but on
each and every Sunday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In short, when we gather as a church, we are witnesses
of our Christian hope in the Resurrection. “Although we have not seen him, we
love him; and even though we do not see him now, we believe in him,” wrote St.
Peter in the 1st century. And that living hope fuels our individual actions,
and our prayers, however small they may feel. Yes, Resurrection faith is a hard
nut to crack; and yet Resurrection faith is a gift more precious than gold, an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Or as St. John wrote, “Now Jesus did many other signs
in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these
are written so that you may <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">come to
believe </b>that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I am a witness to that good news today. Because first
I came, then I came to, and then I came to believe.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1
Peter 1:3-9<span> </span><span> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">John
20:19-31</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-51953061336571923112023-02-26T10:18:00.001-08:002023-02-26T10:18:32.712-08:001 Lent 2023<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1 Lent, February 26, 2023<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut
Hill<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<span> </span><span> </span></span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Matthew 4:1-11</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Transitions are not easy. Case in point has been our
past few years living into and then out of the Covid pandemic. In times of
transition, we are all vulnerable. We cannot see what lies ahead, what’s around
the corner, or even in the air. Doubts will seep into our brains like fog; and
then disoriented, we may head off in the wrong direction. Or maybe we find
ourselves wandering aimlessly in circles of confusion. We begin to grow
accustomed to isolation where sin can grow like weeds in a garden. Our fears trump
our faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Transitions are
invariably known as times of temptation. And today’s lessons from scripture
offer us plenty of examples. You remember how it all began in the garden,
right? With good fruit, and an apple? You remember how it was in the beginning,
before your relationships went south, your job became a grind, and life became
a burden? Remember the good old days when you fastened those kids into a
carseat and didn’t worry about them behind the wheel? When no one wore masks
and your loved ones were still alive? When love was in the air and the garden
was in full bloom?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Death reports seem to dominate our news lately,
whether it’s a natural disaster like the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, mass
murders brought on by war, or even cases of domestic violence. Little microbes
of evil cross our borders, like spy balloons floating across our country,
cancer cells multiplying inside our bodies, or chemicals spilling into our
groundwater.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t touch that tree,” God warned Adam and Eve. Not
because God didn’t want them to enjoy life; God just didn’t want them to
die.Truth be told, I have a fear of snakes. Even seeing pictures of them gives
me the “willies.” So when the author of the book of Genesis had a snake slither
into the Adam and Eve story, I was ready for “bad things” to happen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">At first, the snake’s questions seemed reasonable
enough. “Don’t you want to be just like God?” the serpent asked. After all,
forewarned is forearmed, right? Why would we not want to know what is good and
evil? Why would we not want to know what God knows? Apparently Eve thought so
too. So she ate the apple and then being a good sharer and a considerate
partner, she offered some to Adam. “Try this, you’ll like it,” she said. And
isn’t that how the slippery slope into bad behavior often begins?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, this serpent was
very crafty, just like our temptations. They sneak up behind us and whisper
into our ears, “Doesn’t that new person, new job, new “whatever” look really
good? Like a brightly polished apple, or a shiny new penny, we want it. Now.
After all, we deserve it; we’re entitled to it; and we can take it. It’s within
our reach, and our free will gives us permission to do as we please. After all,
it’s our 1st amendment right! .<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sometimes our temptations invite our complacency and
even our isolation. “No sense fixing what isn’t broken,” we tell ourselves.
“Change is overrated, don’t you think?” And so our unjust systems remain just
that, unjust. Our communication narrows to the range of our cell phones, and
our intimacy suffers. We think that if we just stay inside our own little tree
house, then nothing bad will ever happen. And then the rain begins to fall on
the just and unjust alike, and Noah begins building his boat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I’ve learned that masks aren’t only physical. To
protect our images, we put fig leaves over certain parts of our lives so that
no one can see what really happens behind closed doors. Dark thoughts cloud our
thinking; and life loses its luster, meaning, and purpose. We become cynical
and depressed. We lose our trust in God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">At times like these we may wonder if the beauty of the
Garden is gone forever, that it has become so overrun by serpents and devils
and viruses and violence that we can no longer see the inherent goodness of our
humanity. We forget that apples come in various colors, that the seeds of life
are at its core, and all blood runs red. Unless, of course, you are a Celtics
fan, and then it bleeds green!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With the serpent whispering in my ear, I take a bite
of that apple. “This world is going to hell in a handbasket,” I tell others,
and then I add. “A new creation is needed.” Pointing my finger, not at the
serpent or at Eve or at any of our leaders, I point my finger at God and say,
“You created us. You fix us!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now hubris comes in many forms, and like Adam and Eve,
my eyes are suddenly opened. I begin to see very clearly how I’ve been
listening to the wrong people and voices. I have forgotten that many truths
come from various perspectives. I am embarrassed by some of my thoughts, and
even some of my words and actions. Feeling naked before God, I drop to my knees
literally and figuratively, and confess that I have erred and strayed like a
lost sheep. In 12 step language, we call this “hitting bottom.” In the season
of Lent, we call it Ash Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In a meditation by Kate Maynard, she talks about the
witness of St. Francis from the Middle Ages. “According to tradition, whenever
his habit needed repair, St. Francis sewed patches on the outside of his habit
because he wanted people to see that life wasn’t about appearances or
pretenses. His faith was in God and he believed that trying to hide and cover
up our flaws and weaknesses actually distance us from Christ and from others.” </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(Cathedral St. Paul, Burlington, VT, Feb 4,
2020)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Our salvation story from Genesis to Revelation reminds
us that our temptations didn’t disappear with Adam and Eve. Not even the Son of
God could avoid them. Right from the jump in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus was
driven into the wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted by the devil.
And so, yes, we can blame God’s Spirit for the temptations that Jesus endured,
and perhaps even those of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam and Eve!
And yet, God had a purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">God’s purpose was to create and preserve life, and
presumably, testing is part of that. After all, testing can help us get clear
about our priorities. They can help us grow stronger and reorient our lives.
Testing can help us repent and return to the One who gave us life, and who does
not want us to die. And yet, while Adam and Eve and all of us have failed our
tests, Jesus did not. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus was not well
fed. Facing endless days and nights of sun and sand, Jesus was not surrounded
by shade trees and low-hanging fruit. He was not cuddled up with a partner; for
Jesus was alone, isolated from others. And this time the tempter was not a
serpent, but someone who looked just like him. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">No, the tempter in today’s gospel passage is not
slithering on the ground towards Jesus, but walking towards him, smiling, and
making reasonable suggestions. “Lonely?” the devil asks. “I’m here to help.” So
give me your allegiance and we’ll create a glorious partnership together. We’ll
be world leaders. In fact, take a selfie with me as your bestie and I’ll post
it on Tik Tok for everyone to envy. Besides, where is that God of yours
anyway?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Then he invited Jesus to flex his godly muscles. “Turn
this stone into bread,” the devil said. “I know you’re hungry; and it will
strengthen you for your journey. Besides, I'll give you all these lovely apples
to eat as well. Let’s call them sinful pleasures, shall we?” Then piling it on,
the devil said, “You know that God doesn’t want you to die, so let God save
you. Just jump, you’ll see. Why don’t you show everyone how special and
powerful you are?” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Unlike the snake who is crafty and subtle, this
tempter is bold. The devil doesn’t offer shades of truth while throwing shade
at our Creator. No, the devil tempts Jesus with clarity, offering him black and
white solutions in a garden that is filled with complexity and nuance. Dangling
his divinity in front of him, the devil wants Jesus to deny his humanity. “You
be you,” the devil encourages him. “After all, you are God’s beloved Son! You
deserve these things. You’re entitled to them! Take what is rightfully yours!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Our human temptation is to want to be like God. 100%
free and without discipline or responsibility to others. We want the triple P’s
of power, possessions, and privilege. With our overinflated EGOs, an acronym
for “easing God out”, we put ourselves in the middle of the garden; and we no
longer listen to the Voice of the One who created us. Or the One who redeemed
us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We begin our season of Lent by pointing the finger
back at ourselves and confessing our sins; for if we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. No longer ashamed of who we are,
we can drop our masks. We can admit our guilt. We can renew our trust in God,
who will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John
1:8,9) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, we’ve touched the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil. And yes, we have consumed forbidden fruit; and yet God does not want
us to die but to live, now and forever. In Christ, we become a new creation;
and in the end, as it was in the beginning, the Garden awaits us all. At its
center is the Tree of Eternal Life. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-20779290704302996542023-01-29T03:35:00.004-08:002023-01-29T03:35:49.503-08:00Blessings<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">4 Epiphany<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> <span> </span><span> </span></o:p></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Charles James Cook once wrote
“Whenever we hear the Beatitudes, we are struck with their poetic beauty and,
at the same time, overwhelmed by their perceived impracticality for the world
in which we live. To be poor in spirit, peaceful, merciful, and meek will get
you nowhere in a culture grounded in competition and fear. Who can survive in
attempting to live into the spirit of the Beatitudes?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I often hear from parishioners a
variety of reasons for why they come to Church. Perhaps this is a community in
which you grew up or one similar to it, and now you want your own children to
learn about our Christian faith. Maybe you like the people here, and can relate
to them on a variety of issues. Some of you may find a common passion in
feeding the hungry, serving in our worship, or offering Christian formation to
young and old people alike. Maybe you’re someone who is just looking for
comfort, or hope, or just how to be a better person and a faithful Christian in
a “culture grounded in competition and fear.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When I first began exploring the
Bible as a lay person, I liked the gospel of Matthew more than the other three,
Mark, Luke, and John, because Matthew gave me so many examples of what Jesus
had taught his disciples. His language was specific and prescriptive. This is
what you say, this is what you do, and this is how you act if you want to be a
faithful member of our Jewish community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Today’s gospel passage from
Matthew, Chapter 5 verses 1-12, is called the Beatitudes, that is the
Blessings, and these verses are the beginning of what is called the Sermon on
the Mount which comprises chapters 5-7 of the gospel of Matthew. Jesus’ sermon
was three chapters long, unlike mine today, for Jesus said, “blessed are the
merciful; for they shall receive mercy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now imagine that Jesus had just
finished being baptized by John in the River Jordan. According to Matthew he
was then driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, where he fasted for 40 days
and 40 nights, was tempted by the devil, and placed on a very high mountain, where
he was offered all the kingdoms of the world. Cultures filled with competition
and fear. And what does Jesus say? Nope, no thank you, not today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Then according to Matthew, Jesus
left the Jordan River and withdrew to Galilee after his cousin John was arrested.
There, rather than being part of a duck-boat parade as the favorite Son of
Nazareth, Jesus was rejected by his hometown crowd who tried to throw him off a
cliff because of his teaching. So Jesus decided to make his home in Capernaum
where he set up camp near the Sea of Galilee. There he called his first
disciples. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus’ fame for teaching,
preaching, and healing spread like wildfire and soon enough crowds from Syria,
Galilee, Jerusalem, Decapolis, Judea and from beyond the Jordan River began to
follow him. And so, Matthew spends chapter after chapter telling us about
Jesus’ five teaching discourses that covered as many as 20 chapters in this
gospel. His first teaching discourse was the three chapters called the Sermon
on the Mount.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">If this were the rabbi’s syllabus,
the second part of class is called the missionary teachings of Jesus, when he
tells his disciples how to go out into the world and behave like him. The third
group of lessons includes parables about the kingdom of heaven and after that,
the fourth group of chapters tells us how to live together in community. Jesus’
fifth teaching discourse, before his final exam in Jerusalem, was
eschatological in nature, that is, Jesus describes what the end times will look
like.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now if you are one of those people
who wants instructions on how to be a better person or a more faithful disciple
of Jesus, I suggest you skip ahead and read the gospel of Matthew at home. He
offers plenty of descriptions on what things look like and prescriptions on how
to behave, which can be as simple as the prophet Micah suggests: do justice,
love kindness, and walk humbly with God. But, if you’re anything like me, you
want more specificity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In chapters 5 through 25, Jesus
does just that. Matthew portrays Jesus as a rabbi, who is teaching the crowds
on what to do and how to speak as a person of faith. Do this Jesus said: love
your enemies; give alms; pray, fast, and follow the golden rule. Don’t do this,
Jesus warned. Don’t murder, commit adultery, retaliate, serve two masters, judge
others, or profane the holy. So how about that for impracticality in our world?
How do the Ukrainian people feel about being peaceful, merciful, and meek,
loving their enemy and not retaliating when their country is being destroyed in
front of their very eyes? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As much as we may like these
specific instructions about how to live faithfully, it’s easy to become
overwhelmed by the do’s and don’ts and their perceived impracticality for the
world in which we live. It’s hard to behave faithfully as Christians in a
culture grounded in competition and fear. We swim in these waters; we breathe
this kind of air. We know the reality of human sin and evil.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So Jesus, who was sitting atop his
own little mountain, surveying the kingdom before him, was teaching the crowd
about a different kind of kingdom. Indeed, he was being counter-cultural. In
stark comparison to a “culture that is grounded in competition and fear” the
kingdom of God is different, he told them. It’s not like the Roman government,
your own religious and political institutions, or maybe even your own hometown.
It’s spiritual in nature. And it’s beyond our reach but not beyond our vision.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In these Beatitudes, Jesus isn’t
being prescriptive. He’s not giving us advice about how to behave like today’s
psalmist.“There is nothing about them that remotely suggests Jesus was telling
anyone what he thought they should do,” Barbara Brown Taylor wrote. “When Jesus
is giving advice, it is hard to miss. (It is) one imperative after the other,
with no distinction between rich or poor, hungry or well-fed. It is the same
list for all of them, whether they happen to be weeping or bent over with
laughter.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus’ words today are descriptive
of our humanity, of you and me, of all of us. And they are intended to provide
comfort, encouragement, and hope. I know that some of you may be feeling like
this, Jesus told them; and yet you are blessed by God. If you are poor in
spirit, the kingdom of heaven is yours. If you are hungry and thirsty for
righteousness, you will be filled. If you are grieving, you will be comforted,
and when you are pure in heart, you will see God. These are God’s promises and
blessings given to us by Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Beatitudes speak to us not
only as individuals, however, but also as people living in various cultures
that are grounded in competition and fear. We may be hungering for changes in
the ways in which our communities currently operate. Perhaps you are mourning
the loss of ethical behavior in our country and throughout our world. Maybe you
have concerns about our climate, violence, mental illnesses, and the value of
human life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Barbara Brown Taylor describes our
roller coaster of life like being on God’s Ferris Wheel. “The Ferris Wheel will
go around, so that those who are swaying at the top, with the wind in their
hair and all the world’s lights at their feet, will have their turn at the
bottom, while those who are down there right now, where all they can see are
candy wrappers in the sawdust, will have their chance to touch the stars.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As Jesus stood behind his own
little pulpit, and was preaching his Sermon on the Mount, he began by telling
us about God and God’s kingdom, a culture that is not grounded in competition
and fear. It is a culture in which all God’s beloved children are blessed. It
is a culture grounded in justice, kindness, and humility. In God’s kingdom the
lamb and the lion lay down together. No one is oppressed or persecuted; and
violence is no more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Just because things are bad right
now, doesn’t mean it will always be that way,” Taylor reminds us. For in the
end, Jesus taught us that the ferris wheel and the roller coaster of life all
belong to God. And in the end God reigns, Love wins, and there is a great
reward in heaven. Eternal life is forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Today, Jesus gave us these blessings,
because we are God’s blessed people. We don’t live into the spirit of the
Beatitudes. We are the beatitudes. And so, go, be a blessing and then bless the
Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: .5in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Class dismissed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Micah
6:1-8 </span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Matthew 5:1-12 </span></b><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Psalm 15</span></b></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-31857951463473040722023-01-08T03:45:00.004-08:002023-01-08T12:01:37.307-08:00Two Baptisms<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 Epiphany<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Church of the Redeemer<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<span> </span></span></b><b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew 3:13-17</b></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">The
great preacher named Barbara Brown Taylor once wrote, “The Christian Church has
never been comfortable with the baptism of Jesus. Compare the accounts in each
of the four gospels and you cannot miss the unease of the authors,” she said.
So I did some comparisons.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Barbara
Brown Taylor has a way of helping us to visualize the scene. She writes,
“Matthew elaborates on Mark’s story by adding that John tried to talk Jesus out
of being baptized, and Luke will not even say it was John who did it. The
fourth gospel is the most ticklish of all. In it John bears witness that he saw
the Spirit descend like a dove upon Jesus, but he does not mention anything
about a baptism at all. Scholars say that this embarrassment by the story
writers is our surest proof that Jesus really was baptized by John.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">There are smaller
differences in the gospel stories as well. Things that are seen and heard come
from various perspectives. For example, both Mark and Luke say that the voice
from heaven said, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
Matthew, on the other hand, writes that the voice from heaven said, “This is my
Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” In the first case, the voice is
speaking directly to Jesus. In the second case, the voice is speaking to the
crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">Taylor then turns the
spotlight on Jesus, arguing that quote “if Jesus had listened to his public
relations people, his handlers would never, ever have allowed him to be
baptized. He could have stood on shore and offered words of encouragement to
those going into the water. He could have held out his hand to those who
struggled out of the river in their heavy wet clothes; but he could not under
any circumstances have gone into the water himself, unless it was to tap John
on the shoulder and say, ‘Hey, you go rest. I’ll take over for a while.’” I’ve
got this. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">In
a comparison of the synoptic gospels, that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Matthew
is the only one who addresses the question of why Jesus needed to be baptized.
After all, if John is baptizing people as a cleansing ritual, as a way to
forgive a person’s sins, and if Jesus, presumably is the Son of God who was
without sin, then why did he need to be baptized?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN"> Matthew suggests that
John knows the true identity of Jesus, which is why he questions Jesus’ request
for his baptism. “I need to be baptized by you, Jesus, not the other way
around,” John protests. And so, Jesus explains to John, and presumably to us,
why it should happen. It’s a matter of “letting it be for now” without your
full understanding. It’s a matter of doing the right thing, and a matter of
righteousness. It’s part of fulfilling God’s plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">In Anglican moral
theology, a sin is a sin is a sin. And we are all sinners, full stop. Some of
us are more egregious sinners than others. Some of us even get caught. But all
of us, I would argue, have public relations efforts that help us to put our
best feet forward. We have handlers to handle our messes. We keep sinning; but
deep down, none of us have any illusions of our pure innocence. And if we do,
that’s a problem and a sin, in and of itself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">As Barbara Brown
Taylor describes it, the River Jordan was “teeming with sinners - faulty,
sorry, guilty human beings - who hoped against hope that John could clean them
up and turn their lives around. Some were notorious sinners, and some were
there for crimes of the heart known only to themselves.” And so, like those who
gathered at the River Jordan on that day, we seek John’s type of baptism even
now. We confess to God and to others that we have made a mess in some parts of
our lives; and that we want to feel clean and forgiven once again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">There
is a difference between John’s baptism and our baptism into the life of Christ,
however. John’s baptism was a repeatable event; whereas in the tradition of the
Episcopal Church, indeed even in our New Testament stories, baptism into the
life of Christ is a one-time sacrament. It’s a one and done kind of affair. It
can happen anytime throughout our lives, at any age, but only once in our lifetime.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">In a story told by
the Rev. Hill Riddle, “a young couple came up to him and said, ‘You baptized
our child last year.’ ‘Yes, I remember,’ he replied. ‘Well,’ they said, ‘we
would like you to do it again. We don’t think it took. His behavior is awful.’”
The Rev. Riddle went on to say that “people have been misunderstanding baptism
for a long time. In fact, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 312
A.D. but he waited to be baptized on his deathbed in case he should sin again.
He thought the forgiveness of God was good for one time only."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">I
was in my 30’s when I decided that I wanted to explore my Christian faith head
on, having been baptized as an infant, and having chosen not to be confirmed as
a teenager. To say that I had a great deal of challenging issues going on in my
life and in my family at that time is an understatement. I felt guilty and
confused and at times even hopeless. I knew about sin but I didn’t know about
grace.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">I
had started attending Bible study and a Eucharist during the week which I found
helpful. It was more personal and intimate than the hustle and bustle of Sunday
mornings, when getting to church on time with two toddlers was a never-ending
challenge that only grew with their ages. The voices within me and all around
me only stoked my fear of living and dying, and they could not be hushed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">I will never forget
our study of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, and his words, “Do you not know
that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in the newness of life.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">And there it was for
me. A three-fold promise of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I began to see
death only as a blip on my eternal screen, that I could share in the
Resurrection through Christ, and that I could also walk in the newness of life
every day. Yes, as Rev. Riddle reminds us, “God always forgives. But getting in
touch with this truth makes us want to improve our lives.” Through the Spirit
and surrounded by a faithful community, I know I can do better.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">“People who are
baptized are to live a different life. They tell the truth in a world that
lies, give in a world that takes, love in a world that lusts, make peace in a
world that fights, serve in a world that wants to be served, and pray in a
world that waits to be entertained.” wrote Brett Younger</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">(www.d365.org, January 9, 2016)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">I also began to see
baptism as a holy mystery, a sacrament like the Eucharist, in which it is an
outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace given to us by
Christ. I began to see eternal life as both/and events: us being forgiven right
now and also not yet. I began to see baptism and death not only as cleansing
rituals but also as birthing events, matters of the heart and not of the mind.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">Why be baptized?
Because, as Jesus explained to John, it’s a matter of “letting it be for now”
without our full understanding. It’s a matter of being part of a Church
community, and a matter of righteousness. It’s part of fulfilling God’s plan;
for Jesus is the only One without sin, and the truly innocent Son of God, who
took upon himself not only the sins of me and you but also the sins of the
whole world. No wonder God was pleased with His Son!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">Knowing that baptism
into Christ is a sign of our belovedness as children of God has brought me
comfort in my despair, strength in my weakness, light in my darkness, hope that
springs eternal. It has brought me into communities of faithful people like you
who have gathered at the river, or at the baptismal font for multiple
generations. It has helped me to hear the voice of God speaking to the crowd.
To you. And to me. This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.
Believe in me; believe also in Him. And receive the gift of my Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN">Today I know grace as
well as sin; for the grace of God descended not only upon Him but also upon us.
We are the crowd; and we can receive God’s forgiveness and grace each and every
day of our lives and even beyond that: full stop. Thanks be to Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-51025457994300466042022-12-11T03:40:00.000-08:002022-12-11T03:40:13.318-08:00Barking Dogs<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-734b967a-7fff-26d6-1ded-b94a9c9610a4"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Priests love to talk about how this third Sunday in Advent is called “Stir-Up” Sunday, when our liturgy begins with the words “Stir up your power, O Lord, and with your great might come among us.” Lord knows, we’ve been stirred up a lot lately in our nation and throughout our world. Lord knows, I’ve been personally stirred up in many ways as well. Perhaps you have been too.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A parishioner frequently reminded me that she had the devil sitting on one shoulder, and the angel of God on the other. Forces that lie in and all around us may come from God or they may come from our own pain, sin, and human suffering. Maybe they even come from “forces unknown.” As we journey on that highway, the Holy Way of God, to the manger in Bethlehem, we will have options, each and every day of our lives. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Which way we look and to whom and to what we will listen is our choice. As Brother Jack, from SSJE, recently wrote, “We do not have the power to reform other people’s behavior, but we do have the power to choose our attitude in responding to other people’s behavior. Jesus had patience, but he wasn’t afraid to confront someone if their behavior wasn’t good for the whole. We have to live in a tricky balance of patience and honesty, with the same mind that Jesus had.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Brother Give us a Word, Dec 2 2022, Br. Jack Crowley)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The author of the letter of James raises the issue of patience. Now I wish I had a nickel for every time someone asked me to pray for them so that they might become more patient. And truth be told, I’d be a richer woman today if I had just a penny for every time I prayed for patience for myself. I find that frequently these requests for prayer are made at times of illness and worry, when temptations abound. When we become impatient we can make bad choices. We can take wrong turns. We can listen to the voice of fear. We often bark at other people.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many years ago, there was a story in the Anglican Digest, written by John F. Waldron, about his father who was a priest. He wrote, “I recall my father preaching on the importance of being “stirred up” for righteousness’ sake and the constant need for new and dynamic “stirrers” in life and in the church.” Of course, he noted that stirrers can vary in their extremes, both for good and for ill.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John remembers his father’s story about their dog, a lovable, red Dachshund, who had survived World War 2 and who answered to the name of Adolph. His father spoke about going downstairs at 6 o’clock on Sunday mornings and letting the dog out into their fenced back yard. The dog would then begin his ministry of stirring.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Adolph hurried to the farthest corner, and facing the rear of Paul Wilkerson’s Funeral Home, began to slowly bark. He barked faster and louder until he had Wilkerson’s hunting dogs up, and barking in their pens. He then padded over to the south end of the yard and repeated the same procedure, for the benefit of the alley dogs that lived behind Starr Avenue.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Once they were sufficiently disturbed, Adolph moved along the fence to its west side, and barked toward the Parlett house, until old Wally came out of his box and joined the wailing chorus. Finally, Adolph did the business he was sent out to do, and then scratched the door to be let back into the nice, warm kitchen. Our dog had “stirred up” every dog in the neighborhood and for no good reason. And so, for his shameful performance of willful and noisy arousal, my father declared that Adolph suffered from “CAS or Chronic Agitation Syndrome.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can think of many reasons why I have been stirred up recently; and I have come to realize that I have many barking dogs in all corners of my life. Sometimes I hear them howling in the middle of the night. They often wake me up with the morning news. Holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving can stir up my dogs, who previously had been sleeping quietly at my feet by the fire. Wake up, the dogs will bark at me. Can’t you see that something is wrong? Isn’t it time for you to speak up? Or to do something about this?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John the Baptist and Jesus, like Isaiah, were barking dogs. They were chronic agitators, which begs some questions. Are you a chronic agitator for the good of the whole or merely someone engaged in the noisy and willful arousal of others? Are there good reasons for your agitating words and actions, or are you a chronic complainer, unhappy with your own lot in life? Do you speak words of fear or words of faith, hope, and love? Are your actions kind and prophetic or shameful and self-indulgent?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John the Baptist had been imprisoned by King Herod because he was a chronic agitator for the good of the whole. Herod had worked for the Roman government, wore soft clothes, abused his power, and took advantage of his privileges. He was disconnected from the people he was called to serve, often making decisions that benefitted only himself. John had publicly rebuked Herod for moral improprieties and Herod didn’t like it. So Herod used his power to presumably shut him up.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John the Baptist’s imprisonment didn’t stop him from stirring up the people however. John didn’t wait passively in prison for his personal release, whiling away his time with resentment, or changing his tune for his own benefit. Instead, he sent word by his disciples to Jesus, asking Him if He was the one to come, or should they wait for another? John was both patient and persistent in his barking, relying upon the power of God to make things right. Like the prophet Isaiah, he believed that God would eventually come and save them.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will hear the news about viruses and violence, about politics and privileges, about injustice and injury, and I get agitated. I can hear those dogs barking from every corner of our world. And for what purpose we might ask ourselves? Is this the voice of a dog named Adolph or a prophet like John the Baptist? Is this the voice of a prophet like Isaiah or a king like Herod? Is this the voice of God, or someone who just wants attention? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chronic agitation syndrome seems to be the new normal, and yet, most of us just want to find a nice warm kitchen, in which we can lie down by the fire, and find some peace. Or pulling the covers back over our heads, we just want to go back to sleep, and ignore the painful realities of our lives, or those fears that go bump in the night.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wake up, the prophet Isaiah said to the people in Jerusalem, warning the Israelites that if they didn’t start paying attention to God, then their lives, their homes, and their beloved city would come to ruin. If they did not stand firm in their faith, they would not stand at all. So don’t wait passively on your spiritual journey to Bethlehem. Pay attention to the quiet voice of God who sits on your shoulder, and will guide you on what you are to say and what you are to do. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At times like these, and especially during the season of Advent, we look for hope, as the world literally and figuratively darkens around us. And Isaiah paints us a visual picture of hope. Your knees will become firm, and your hands will be strengthened. Creation, like flowers in a dry land, will bloom and blossom. Waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams will flow in the desert. The lame shall leap like a dear and the haunt of jackals will become a swamp. Everlasting joy will be upon our heads; sorrow and sighing will flee away.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In words later echoed by Jesus, the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Or as Mary once sang magnificently, the proud will be scattered in their conceit and the mighty will be cast down from their thrones. The cry of distress and barking dogs will no longer be heard in our land. Our souls will proclaim the greatness of the Lord.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dog spelled backwards is God, who is scratching at the door of our hearts, even now. Jesus wants to come in, offering us a peace that passes all understanding, showing us how to speak and how to act in the Way of Love. And the fire of God’s Holy Spirit will stir us up to be messengers of God’s amazing grace. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So bark less and wag your tails more often. Then wait patiently, actively, and persistently; for the love of God will soon arrive in human flesh. And we will know Christmas joy even in our pain.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-16301685330518010892022-11-20T12:11:00.000-08:002022-11-20T12:11:10.491-08:00Do Good<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Evensong, Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5f2e817a-7fff-bdc3-6038-a90d81e828c8"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I find early Christian history to be fascinating. Our women’s Bible study group has been reading St. Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia, which was written around 50 AD and well before the Christian churches were officially organized and recognized. And so I was curious about tonight’s reading from the 1st letter of Peter. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First of all, despite the attribution to his name, St. Peter did not write this letter. It is believed to have been written sometime between 70 and 90 AD many decades after St. Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians. And thanks to St. Paul’s faithful and passionate missionary work, Christianity was now widespread throughout Asia Minor. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The author of the 1st letter of St. Peter was apparently writing from Rome and to the five Roman provinces in Asia Minor. Throughout this time in history we hear about various conflicts going on in these regions. There were cultural clashes between Romans, Greeks, Jews, and Gentiles. There was tension between men and women, slave and free, the rich and poor. The conflict between Jesus and his religious leaders was escalating, and his entrance into Jerusalem only heightened it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now the first letter of Peter tells us to imitate Christ by “doing good and not retaliating against those who slander their community.” So how is it then that we can justify the behavior of Jesus in today’s lesson from Matthew when he overturned tables and drove out the money-changers? Certainly his actions seemed neither gentle nor reverent!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is Jesus doing good or is He retaliating against members of his own community? Does he need a class in anger management? Or is he acting according to God’s will and suffering for doing what is right? Should we imitate Jesus and walk through Redeemer’s upcoming Christmas market, overturning tables of wreaths and greens, demanding that our church be a house of prayer and not a den of robbers? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Long ago, when I was involved with a transitional living facility for homeless women and their children in Connecticut, I invited the residents to our Christmas holiday party at Church. It was painful. There was them and there was us. They sat at one table and we sat at another. They were black and we were white. We were rich and they were poor. Later in the week, I bewailed my experience of the party to their executive director, who reminded me that while the impact of this event was difficult for everyone, our intentions were good. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the case of Jesus, his religious leaders were presumably appalled at his seemingly destructive and irreverent behavior in the temple. In what is described by some as his righteous anger, Jesus is “zealous for doing what is right.” And as the author of 1st Peter suggests, there is no harm in doing that. The money changers have been taking advantage of the poor, who are required to make sacrifices in the temple, as part of being a faithful Jew. With little money to spare, the poor are being price-gouged by their religious leaders.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, let me be very clear, I am not accusing Redeemer’s leaders of doing anything wrong, irreverent, or even price-gouging. In fact, both their intentions and their impact are for the good; for the proceeds from this Christmas market actually benefit the poor. This event is about “doing good” in the name of Christ, and where is the harm in that? So too is your current involvement with Habitat for Humanity and the many and various ways in which you imitate Christ in your homes, at work, and throughout your communities and the world. Thank you for all that you do in the name of Christ with your time, talents, and treasure.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this same time in history, Roman political leaders were becoming increasingly nervous about the spread of Christianity, and its potential threat to their power. Soon after the letter of 1st Peter was written, if Christians did not make sacrifices to the emperor in Rome, they were condemned to death. Those who refused to renounce their belief in Christ and the hope that was in them were killed and then called martyrs by their fellow Christians. Understandably, Christians would hide their religious identities; and their leaders began arguing about what it meant to be faithful. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile families struggled with divided loyalties and the changes in the patriarchal structures of their culture. According to my HarperCollins Study Bible, “Roman society included the fear that conversion would reverse the established hierarchical relationships and cause women to misbehave. They thought that Christianity caused immorality, especially adultery, insubordination within the household, and sedition against the state.” And so, Jesus began the liberation movement with his entry into Jerusalem where “he died for sins once for all, setting free all the people of God so that he might bring us to God.” As St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians, in Christ, there is no longer slave nor free, male nor female, Jew nor Gentile. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tonight we remember St. Cecilia, “that” woman who was martyred in Rome sometime in the early 3rd century. According to A Great Cloud of Witnesses, “she was of noble birth and betrothed to a pagan, who along with his brother, converted to Christianity. Because of their conversion they were martyred and, while broken-hearted St. Cecilia was burying them, she was also arrested. After several failed attempts to put her to death, she died from injuries sustained by her ordeal. Much later, in the 14th century, she was remembered for her passion with which she sang the praises of God; and so she became the patron saint of singers, organ builders, musicians and poets.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The author of 1st Peter recognizes that when we do good in the face of evil and hate, prejudice and oppression, it may cause us suffering and pain. He claims, however, that it is better to “suffer for doing right, if that should be God’s will, than for doing wrong.” And yet, that begs the question, how do we know? We may think we’re helping someone; and yet in truth we’re enabling their disease. We may make a decision to follow a certain path and soon discover that it leads us down the road to regret. Or we make a commitment and then are filled with 2nd thoughts. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep your conscience clear, the author reminds us. Know what you are doing and why. In community, we can always ask ourselves, as well as others, if what we are doing seems good. We can pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we can focus only upon our intentions and then leave the rest to God. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In all things, we can imitate Jesus, trusting that the cosmic Christ, our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will be victorious in the end. For as Bishop Desmond Tutu once said, ‘Good is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death. Victory is ours, through him who loves us.’</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And, I would add, Jesus loves us, this we know, for the Bible tells us so. Amen.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 Peter 3: 13-22</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew 21: 1-13</span></p><br /></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-2056185620752497812022-11-13T03:44:00.000-08:002022-11-13T03:44:11.100-08:00Keep Swimming<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill<span> </span><span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1efb5e02-7fff-8e72-de98-a563356da818"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 Thessalonians 3:6-13</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 21:5-19</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately,” Jesus said to his followers. “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.” This was Jesus speaking to his followers many centuries ago and even to us today.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We live in terrifying times.There are threats of nuclear attacks; and at times, public figures and celebrities seem to have no boundaries. The self-appointed moral police oppress others in the name of God; people lose control of their bodies, minds, and souls and commit unspeakable acts of violence. Conspiracy theories abound through social platforms; and then, there’s Mother Nature, wiping out vulnerable people with torrential rains and devastating mudslides. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be honest, I’m tired of the news and the destruction all around our world. I’m tired of looking for people who speak the truth without hidden agendas, or refuse to speak up in support of others, because they fear their own personal consequences. “Beware of false prophets,” Jesus warned us. And false promises, I might add. And so I find myself in times like these looking for ways for us to “endure to the end” so that we gain “our souls.” I mean, isn’t that the end game for us all?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I just arrived back in Massachusetts yesterday, having spent the last 3 days in Nashville, Tennessee, celebrating the blessing of a marriage between two young adults. The love that they share for one another, their families, and their friends is admirable. After preparing this couple by zoom over the past year, I was deeply impressed by their diversity and the loyalty they promised to one another. At the foundation of their lives, they share some very basic core values. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To say that it was a mixed crowd at the wedding in politics, age, class, socio-economics, and religion is an understatement. And yet the two of them stood there, exhorting and encouraging all of us with these words from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans; “hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We frequently tend to hang out with people who are similar to us and for certain activities and relationships that is a good thing. And yet, regardless of our choices, I dare say that most of us are disgusted by the disrespectful dialogue, the dishonesty, and the lack of civility that is evident in our discourses. Our refusal to engage in honest but difficult conversations and debates is worrisome. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many of us have become distrustful about what is being reported and what is being promised by our political leaders. Some of us are fearful about the future of our country and indeed even our world. We feel guilty about our privileges and frustrated with our inability to help. And most of us feel that it will take a very long time for us to heal and to reconcile such deep and bitter divisions among us and around the world. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right,” wrote St. Paul to the Christian community in Thessalonica. And yet, I wonder, is our current time any different from those historical times long ago? Reflecting back over the ages, and how history repeats itself, no wonder we are weary!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps you’re familiar with this story. While serving our country in World War 2, before he was elected president of the United States, John F. Kennedy had to swim 3 miles to shore after his PT boat was destroyed by the enemy. With words that were sometimes encouraging, and at other times demanding, Kennedy exhorted his companions to keep on swimming, and not give up. They could see the distant land; and they hoped that they could make it. But first, they had their work cut out for them. They had to swim.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a more recent but equally compelling story, three childhood friends had gone fishing when their 24 foot boat sank in the Gulf of Mexico, after winds and waters escalated without warning. With just life vests and coolers to stay afloat, as the storm washed them away from the oil rig to which their boat had been tied, they attempted to SOS the coast guard. Their phone battery had drained to 5% when they saw a shrimp boat in the distance. One man decided to swim alone towards it, as their last shot for a rescue. Before he left, he gave one of his life vests to his friend whose own vest was failing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The two friends who were left behind soon began to endure shark attacks. Their life vests were ripped apart, and their ice chests began to sink. Meanwhile, the shrimp boat suddenly powered off in the opposite direction of the man who was swimming towards it. As a last ditch effort, he took a screenshot of his location and texted it to a friend on shore before his phone cut off. All three men prepared to die as they continued to fight for their lives. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately, the text was received and the Coast Guard rescued all three of them. With deep gratitude, one man exclaimed, “Oh, man. That feeling of getting pulled out of the water was the best feeling ever. I was like “I can stop swimming. I can stop. I could really stop now.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At times of high stress and transition, it is easy to lose our focus, or to panic, and forget the basics of how to swim in cold waters. We all know the end game will eventually come but it often takes a crisis to remind us. It may feel easier to tear things apart and to drag people down rather than doing the next right thing to make it better. “Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right,” wrote St. Paul, which means we will share our life vests. We will exhort and encourage others to keep on swimming. We will hold fast to our core values. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know it’s hard to endure losses, life’s disappointments, or deep divisions within our own families and our country. It’s hard to watch wars and poverty from a distance and feel helpless. Yes, there will be dark nights that crowd out our distant hopes, and threats of death may encircle us in deep waters. Sometimes the Promised Land will seem very far off. Then, it appears far too close, and we feel as if we will surely drown in our own tears.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Regardless of our political party, our race or gender identity, our socio-economic or marital status, regardless of our positions within our own families, communities, businesses or church, we are very much like those 1st Christian communities. We too can see the unjust political, economic, and religious systems that are crushing hard-working and faithful people. Like the people in Thessalonica, it can be tempting for us to become mere busybodies, all talk and no action. It is easy to become weary. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So when we’re feeling as if our lifeboats are too small, and we’ve lost the energy to keep on swimming, we can remember to keep it simple. We can focus on doing the next right thing, remembering that Jesus is our ultimate life-jacket, and the Spirit of God’s power will keep us afloat.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The day that Jesus claims is coming belongs to God alone. And that time is both now and not yet. “Do not be terrified,” Jesus said. “Not a hair on your head will perish; and by your endurance you will gain your souls.” Stones and temples and churches and buildings, indeed even our relationships, may crumble but the Master Architect has the blueprints to our life and saving our souls is part of God’s plan.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The promises of God are eternal.The presence of God is everlasting. We have been tied to an oil rig that will not sink. If anyone asks you about the challenges that we face, that will be your opportunity to testify that God is with us, swimming one stroke at a time, one breath at a time, until we reach that distant shore. So keep on swimming dear friends in Christ until Jesus pulls you out of the water. Then and only then can you stop swimming.</span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-63177447102217260312022-11-11T19:00:00.000-08:002022-11-11T19:00:30.795-08:00Sacred Dance of Love<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Wedding Ceremony for Zachary Grano Gordon and Maura Elizabeth Kean</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nashville, Tennessee</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Romans 12: 9-13</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ad996028-7fff-02cd-ade0-b96de1e6141e"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good evening, family and friends of Zach and Maura! We are delighted that you are here to celebrate the blessing of their marriage and their love for you and for each other. My name is Nancy Gossling, and I have been a priest in the Episcopal Church for over 20 years. I am honored and deeply humbled to have been invited into the lives of Maura and Zach this past year, as I prepared them for this day and for their marriage in the years to come. As they make their vows to one another today, they have also invited God to be part of their union. It is no longer a two-for but a 1 + 2 = 3.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Music is important to both Zach and Maura, and in the Sound of Music, the nuns sing a song about Maria, how hard it is to “pin her down.” That was my problem with both Zach and Maura. He writes songs like the Irish and she cooks pasta like an Italian. He chops veggies with meticulous precision while she creates a gingerbread house in minutes. Maura can sit down at the piano, read the notes, and begin to play, while Zach just needs to hear the melody.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No less important to Zach and Maura is dancing. Concentrating on getting the steps to the foxtrot just right, Zach has taken his dance lessons seriously, while Maura is a girl who, in the words of Zach, “just wants to have fun.” She can line dance with the best of them and he can cover the runway, with spins and dips like a twirling dervish. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Admirably, they encourage each other to dance to their own music and to sing their own songs while maintaining a solid foundation. Their home has been built upon shared values, honest conversations, and love. Side by side, dance partners for life, they create beautiful music together. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a term in ancient Christian history called perichoresis which is also used for a typical Greek wedding dance. In this dance, there are not two dancers, but at least three.They start to go in circles, weaving in and out, faster and faster, while staying in perfect rhythm with each other.They are dancing so quickly, yet effortlessly, that they become a blur; all the while maintaining their individual identities. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Church fathers described the Trinity as a perichoresis, a holy and harmonious relationship in which there is mutual giving and receiving between the three persons of the Trinity. This is God’s sacred dance of love. So, “let your love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While today may seem like a blur, and the dancing may leave you breathless at times, Zach and Maura, you will have each other, your families and friends, and God to sustain you in the years to come. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a song about Jesus called Lord of the Dance with a refrain that goes like this: "Dance, dance, wherever you may be! I am the Lord of the Dance," said He. "I'll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I'll lead you all in the Dance," said He.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear Maura and Zach, when you’ve forgotten your love song or the steps to your own sacred dance, or the needle keeps skipping on the vinyl, don’t forget that the Lord of the Dance will lead you, wherever you may be. And the sound of music will echo once again in your ears. Amen.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-52253959027917111252022-10-30T10:15:00.000-07:002022-10-30T10:15:04.762-07:00Habakkuk<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Church of the Redeemer</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chestnut Hill The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-65f67ac3-7fff-89cd-8b9c-f8561e762256"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Habakkuk, who lived during the height of Babylonian power, most likely in the decade around 600 B.C, was a prophet who is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all who claim Abraham as the father of their faith, and through whom God’s promises would be fulfilled. Almost all information about Habakkuk is drawn from the book of the Bible bearing his name, with no biographical details provided other than his title, which was ‘the prophet.’</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scholars have concluded that Habakkuk lived in Jerusalem at the time he wrote his prophecy. He is considered unusual among the prophets because he openly questions the working of God, confronting the profoundly disturbing problem of why a just God is “silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they.” He sees the injustice among his people and asks why God does not take action. "O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?"</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Does God care about you and me? Does God care about us and the injustice in our world? Has God turned off God’s hearing aid, tired of listening to our never-ending complaints and laments? Or is our sound system in need of repair? Do we feel as if God has turned God’s back upon us, and that we no longer live under God's protection and care? That God is a Deist watch-maker, creating us and then allowing us to wind down over time? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wonder if, at the depth of the prophet’s cry, there is a feeling of worthlessness, a concern that his life and the lives of the Israelites are of no value to God. For in the history of Israel, in one of the most memorable and profound acts of loss and terror, was the time when the Babylonians, or current day Iraq, attacked the country of Israel, destroyed their capital city of Jerusalem, and exiled the Israelites into foreign lands. Habakkuk wrote his words in the aftermath of this national tragedy.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In an endless loop of lament, Habakkuk prays, “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous—and therefore judgment comes forth perverted.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wonder if this is how the Ukrainians feel today. Does God care that their country has been invaded, property and lives have been destroyed, and parts of their country have been illegally annexed by Russia? Is this how members of any small country feel when a “super-power” casts its long shadow across their borders? Fire missiles over their territory or suppress the rights of their own people within it? Is this how Floridians feel, after enduring the cruel and violent winds and waters of hurricane Ian? Or perhaps, closer to home, is this how you feel after the loss of a loved one? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so like Habakkuk, we too may cry out to God in our pain and fear, wondering where God is, if God is even aware of our turmoil, and whether God cares? Indeed, we may wonder if we have any value just by our very existence or only by our productivity and power?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now the issue of our worth, to God, to ourselves and to others, is an age-old problem; and the value of human life is an oft-repeated ethical question. When confronted with things like war, abortion, and violence of any kind, the sanctity of life becomes a focus in the debate. After enduring the loss of our health, our relationships, or perhaps even our jobs, we may question our value. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like Habakkuk, we may call upon God and one another to make things right. Repair us, we beg! Restore justice, we demand. It’s time to build and rebuild our nation, we exhort one another. Redeem us in your mercy, we plead with God.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My husband Paul once gave me a meditation book many years ago entitled, “Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much.” With a loving note attached, he said that of course he wasn’t suggesting anything to me in particular, but he thought that I might find this book helpful in my work. Responding to him that there was a similar companion book for men, I graciously thanked him for his gift. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I looked up the word “unworthiness” in this book and found this quote: “Workaholism is the addiction of choice for those who feel unworthy.” Now such seeds of unworthiness are planted in our childhood, often unintentionally by well-meaning parents, teachers, bosses, and clergy, who suggest that our value is measured by what and how much we do. I once saw a bumper sticker that said, “Get busy. Jesus is coming.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps filled with shame, for things that we have done or left undone, like the tax collector last week and Zacchaeus this morning, we know that we are sinners. Guilty, yes, but “shame is the belief that you don't deserve happiness, that you're fundamentally flawed and unlovable,” wrote Beverly Conyers, “and that nothing you do can ever make you worthy of love. And when you feed off of shame, it destroys hope.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(November 12, 2021: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: How to Find Peace and Acceptance as a Family Member)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year our women’s Bible study group is reading St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which was written sometime around 50 A.D. St. Paul is clearly angry with the members of this newly formed Christian community because some leaders have argued that they must obey the Torah in its entirety, be circumcised, and observe their dietary laws or they will not be saved. St. Paul, a liberal and radical Jew, who had become an apostle of Jesus, taught them otherwise. “You are saved by the grace of God,” he claimed; “have faith and put your trust in the love of God and the redeeming work of Jesus.” Full stop.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We may question our own worth at times, but God does not. Yes, we may err and stray like lost sheep, but we are made worthy by the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Guilty and yet forgiven, we believe that we are renewed, restored, repaired, redeemed and reconciled to God by the death and resurrection of Jesus. And we have inherent value as the beloved children of God, created by love and for love from the very beginning of time. Full stop.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we are feeling distant from God, and wondering about our worth and our world, we can ask that age old question, “Who moved?” Like Zaccheus, who was searching for something more, something better, and something different from the life that he was leading, we can climb that tree and look for Jesus. Or we can post ourselves on that rampart and become sentinels like Habakkuk, looking for the vision of God to come.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, we are saved by grace; and yet our belief in God’s saving work also invites our response. We can pray, move our feet, and open our mouths. It means we will be faithful witnesses to God’s everlasting love and dedicated to the ministry of reconciliation. It means we will accompany others who are suffering, trusting in God’s presence, praying on their behalf, and offering them words of hope. It means we will respond with grateful generosity just like Zacchaeus. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Habakkuk waited and the Lord answered. “There is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry,” the Lord said, “wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This vision eventually did become clear many decades later after Habakkuk lived. It was written on that tablet, on that tree known as the cross, for all the world to see. “This is Jesus, Savior and Redeemer of the World.” It was also spoken by Him for all the world to hear. “Salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told Zacchaeus, “for the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you’re feeling lost, lonely, and worthless, listen to Jesus. Climb a tree or a rampart and look for God; and then wait for the Lord to answer. For, as Habakkuk once said, “the righteous live by faith.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 19:1-10</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-41069239301990107342022-09-18T03:46:00.002-07:002022-09-18T03:46:27.718-07:00Anger<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Choral Evensong, Church of the Redeemer</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-cf9f1691-7fff-ce1b-3db6-9792f941793e"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If anyone thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is in vain.” James 1:19-27</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I beg to differ. I have to admit, I get a little crazy when I hear scripture lessons telling me to be slow to anger and bridle my tongue. Perhaps you have been told repeatedly that anger is sinful. That ladies especially need to bridle their tongues. Put a bit into our mouths so that whoever is riding our horses can pull us this way or that, without a complaint, despite the harm that is being done; otherwise our religion is worthless; and our efforts at piety are in vain.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last Sunday morning, as I was driving to Redeemer for our worship service, I listened to reporters talking about the tragic events of 9-11. I heard one ex-Marine, who lost both his legs in a war against terrorists, claim that he didn’t have hate in his heart but he still had anger in his soul. Every day! And then last Sunday, later in the day, in his powerful sermon at Evensong, I heard our rector ask for personal and communal forgiveness for the anger unleashed on our world from that event on 9-11. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The gospel passage came from Matthew last Sunday evening, in which Jesus said, “You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you”, Jesus continued, ‘that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.’” This evening’s passage from the letter of James, who is believed to be the brother of Jesus, seems tame in comparison. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a group of friends from Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown, Connecticut, who now live in different parts of our country. Once a year we gather in the Adirondacks for conversation, community worship, and fun. During our time together this year, we realized that many of us are angry, and that we are angry about a variety of things. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are angry about the injustices in our world. Angry about diseases that have claimed the lives of loved ones. Angry about unbridled tongues that spew hate, offer conspiracy theories, and encourage division. Angry about the betrayals of our bodies and the losses we’ve endured. Angry that inflation hurts the poor and that some of the wealthiest people in our country waste it unnecessarily. Angry with our political leaders, with our institutional Church, and some of us are even angry with God. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both as a lay person and as a priest I have been to many retreats in many places throughout our country. One of the very first retreats I attended was in 1995 at Holy Cross Monastery, which is a Benedictine community of men located in West Park, New York. The retreat was entitled “Seeking God in Your Anger” and was led by a married couple from Connecticut, the Rev’d Lyn Brakeman and her husband, the Rev’d Richard Simeone. In it, they explored the spirituality and theology of anger.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In her article entitled “The Healing Power of God’s Wrath” Lyn claims that “relational honesty must include wrath. God’s and ours. Holy anger,” she argues,” is fuel for justice, for creating necessary changes, for ministry, and for healing by confronting evil.” (Mundi Medicina, June 1994)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It has always been confusing to me how Jesus condemns anger out of one side of his mouth, as he did last week in the scripture lesson from Matthew, and then acts out his own anger throughout the gospels. In righteous anger, He overturns tables in the temple. He rages against the Pharisees, and threatens and warns everyone about God’s impending judgment, no less than the prophets of old, or even some of the prophets today. “What’s up with that?” I keep asking myself, if I am to take Jesus seriously, as our rector has reminded us. And “what exactly am I supposed to do with my anger?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In another article entitled “The Power of Anger in the Work of Love,” by Beverly Wildung Harrison, the Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in 1981, she wrote that “Christians have come very close to killing love precisely because we have understood anger to be a deadly sin. Anger is not the opposite of love. It is a vivid form of caring. It signals something amiss in our relationships and is a signal that change is called for, that transformation in (our relationships) is required.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This ex-Marine, who fought in a war against terrorists, confessed that he does not have hate in his heart but anger in his soul, every day. And we often hear those two words of anger and hate intertwined. Unfairly so, I believe. For the absence of love is not hate but indifference. Or as the great theologian, Martin Buber, once claimed: direct hatred is anger that has turned rigid, fixated, cold, or deadened, and it is actually closer to love than the absence of feeling.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Several years ago, more recently than 1995, I went on a silent 8 day retreat to Eastren Point, a Jesuit community of men in Gloucester Massachusetts. It was during a time of personal transition for me once again. I was angry with how events in my life had unfolded and systems that seemed unjust. Each day I would meet with a spiritual director who told me that I had to walk straight into my anger. That I couldn’t just push a button and let it go. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now this letting go of our anger is not like pulling the trigger on a gun or detonating a bomb, or even hurling words or fists at another human being; rather, it is letting go of our strong feelings of hate and anger, and giving them to God. She told me that I had to face my anger directly before I could “move on '' to a place of peace in my heart, in my soul, and in my relationships. She suggested that I talk directly to Jesus.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve frequently been told that underneath our anger lies wounds that have not yet healed and a deep sadness that has not been fully grieved. So I considered my anger in the silence of this retreat, and like many times before, I realized how much I had been hurt. How deeply sad I was about some losses. Feeling guilty about being angry, I had denied, rationalized, and explained away the reality of my feelings without acknowledging their truth for me. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so, I realized that I needed first to address those deep wounds. I had to acknowledge the ways in which I had felt diminished, passed over, and ignored, regardless of whether or not someone’s actions were intentional. I had to acknowledge my sadness in lost relationships. I had to turn the power of my anger to the work of love that God was calling me to share. To walk in love as Christ loves us. To be angry but not sin.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I went outside to walk the stations of the cross and to talk to Jesus about my anger, my wounds, and my grief. I went outside to verbalize my hurt in the silence of the forest; and then I suddenly came upon a station of the cross. With tears streaming down my cheeks, and angry words spewing out of my mouth, I told Jesus how deeply I felt. And there on the cross, Jesus showed me his hands and pointed to his side. He said, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it on my side.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I looked at the cross, I saw a human being. Certainly he had been hated, ignored, diminished, saddened, and hurt. Certainly He had been angry enough to overturn tables and call people hypocrites. Certainly he had been killed, not by a bomb or a bullet, but rather by a corrupt political and religious system, and an angry mob. His sentence of death was unjustified; and it came by crucifixion, which was intended to shame and humiliate the one who was suffering. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And yet, Jesus’ anger, his righteous anger, called for peace; His sadness was not for himself but for the poor, the sick, the lost, and the lonely. He argued passionately for those who had been persecuted, oppressed, and diminished by unjust systems and abuses of power. Feeling forsaken, He had cried out to His Father in heaven, while forgiving us in the process.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“So why doesn’t God intervene now?” cried my friend in the Adirondacks. “Why doesn’t God stop this madness?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, I offer two responses from that retreat long ago. The first is that God’s wrath is for goodness’ sake, and it works for healing through God’s people, for personal and systemic change. We use our anger to transform our lives.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second response is an image of God, offered by the Rev. Lyn Brakeman. “I think for Christians, the Resurrection of Jesus is an expression of the healing power of God’s transcendent wrath,” she wrote. “Sometimes I imagine it like this; “the great Godmother Resurrection rages and roars down from the mountains of heaven with immeasurable speed to her son’s tomb.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She hurls aside the giant boulder as if it were a strand of straw, then reaches carefully into the darkness of the stone prison to scoop up the body of her son. Cradling him in her arms, she bellows a thunderous, a sundering, “NO! NO! This is NOT MY WILL. THIS IS NOT MY WILL. My will is for life, for life everlasting!”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a mother and a grandmother, and as a disciple of Jesus, I can relate.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-57737529585459478932022-09-04T03:28:00.000-07:002022-09-04T03:28:01.121-07:00Duty and Love<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-0ebf2a24-7fff-cd00-d573-9f87d5fe0ac7"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The letter of St. Paul to Philemon can easily be glossed over in the writings of the New Testament. Tucked between Titus and the letter to the Hebrews, Philemon is only one page and 25 verses long. Would be that my sermons could be so short!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The late Phillips Brooks was an Episcopal bishop, noted preacher, and author, who once served as the Rector of Trinity Church here in Boston. Known for his writing of the lyrics of the hymn "O Little Town of Bethlehem" Bishop Brooks once said, “Duty makes us do things well. Love makes us do things beautifully.” On this Labor Day weekend, I often think not only about the duties of our human labors but also about the labors of our Christian love.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Duty and love are the twin forces of appeal that St. Paul uses in his letter to Philemon. For those of you who are not familiar with this letter, or need some refreshment, here it is. St. Paul, not to be confused with my husband Paul, has been imprisoned once again, not for his bad behavior but presumably for his enthusiasm for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. His message was not welcome in many circles and so he was often accused of breaking both the religious and civil laws wherever he went. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Obedient to his duty as an apostle, and his labor of love for telling others about Jesus, St. Paul often found himself in difficult positions. In a pickle, my husband is fond of saying. Or, because St. Paul finds himself in prison once again, he is labeled as a repeat offender, a term we use in our criminal justice system.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this particular time in his life, some religious leaders were understandably suspicious of the sudden changes in St. Paul’s behavior. Known for persecuting Christians, he felt that it was his duty to respond with violence to protect the integrity of his religious beliefs. But then suddenly, on the road to Damascus, St. Paul was blinded by the light of Christ. He heard the voice of Jesus speaking directly to him; and subsequently, in a reversal of fortune so to speak, St. Paul became a man who could not stop talking about Jesus.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Paul was a dutiful and loving Jewish leader who became a dutiful and loving follower of Jesus. In his letters, St. Paul felt that it was his duty to proclaim that in Christ, and through Christ, and with Christ, we are all God’s beloved children, and therefore we are united by grace rather than by our affiliation with a political or religious party. We are united, then, now, and forever in an unbreakable chain of faith in God’s redeeming love revealed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Indeed, in his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul wrote that in Christ, “there is no longer Jew nor Greek, there is no longer slave nor free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Paul soon became known as an evangelist and missionary, a preacher and pastor, establishing new communities of faith wherever he traveled, and often writing letters to them for their discipline and encouragement. He is known for his way with words, sometimes too verbose, sometimes too direct, occasionally manipulative, and other times he masterfully persuades people with delicacy, diplomacy, and nuance. Not my strong suit!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In his letter to the Galations, perhaps the earliest letter recorded in our New Testament writings, St. Paul chastises them. “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” he wrote. “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly crucified! Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Somehow, and somewhere, St. Paul apparently converted to Christianity, both a slave named Onesimus, and his master named Philemon. St. Paul reminds Philemon that he has a duty to listen to him as an apostle of Christ and reminds him about the labor of love that was once offered to all people by Jesus. He calls Philemon his brother, his partner, his friend and co-worker, while professing confidence in his obedience to do even more than St. Paul is requesting of him.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now St. Paul does not address the general question of slavery as a social institution directly, nor does he discuss whether or not Onesimus should be set free. In fact, it is believed that Onesimus had actually set himself free, that is that he had run away, amidst speculation that he may have even stolen some money from his master, Philemon. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A slave, who had deserted his master, could be severely punished and even put to death based upon Roman laws at that time; Jewish law, on the other hand, encouraged forgiveness and freedom since the Jews had been set free from slavery in Egypt, and all who entered the promised land were therefore assured of their freedom. (HCSB, p314) It is unclear, however, whether Philemon or Onesimus are Roman, Jewish, or pagan citizens who had become Christians.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In St. Paul’s letter to Philemon, which Onesimus was given to carry back to his master personally, St. Paul asks Philemon to accept Onesimus as a free man and a beloved brother in Christ. St. Paul wants Onesimus to be welcomed into Philemons’s house church, not as a slave, but rather as another beloved child of God, and an equally free family member in Christ. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clearly Onesimus’s duty to carry out the delivery of this letter was fraught with danger. Knowing that there may have been some financial losses for Philemon, either because of stolen money or because of lost property, for slaves were considered to be the chattel of their masters, St. Paul tells Philemon that if Onesimus “has wronged him in any way, or owes him anything, then charge that to his account.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Paul’s appeal is different in his letter to Philemon than the one that he sent to the Galatians. He affirms Philemon’s “love for all the saints and his faith toward the Lord Jesus.” He refers to duty but allows for Philemon to make his own free choice “Though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love,” he wrote to Philemon. He wants “that Philemon’s good deed might be voluntary and not something forced.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At a church fair long ago, I saw a man wearing a T-shirt that had only two words on its front. In bold, dark, black letters, it said,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes dear.” So I said to him, “I wish my husband would wear one of those.” And yet, truth be told, my husband would say the very same thing about me. In all our relationships that are truly free, there are both “yes dears” and “no dears” involved. There are both duties to be done and labors of love to be offered. So it is for us as citizens of our country, members of our families, co-workers, and as followers of Jesus Christ.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How then do I understand what Jesus said in today’s gospel passage from Luke, when it seems to me that Jesus exaggerates the dutiful aspects of following Him. He declares that we must hate members of our own families and even life itself, if we want to be his disciples, and claims that we must give up all of our possessions. According to my HarperCollins Study Bible, “these verses use prophetic hyperbole for the uncompromising loyalty required toward Jesus and the need for his disciples to maintain their firm loyalty to him.” (p 1989) But as you and I both know, they failed, St. Paul failed; and indeed we all fail.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Only Jesus was perfectly loyal and faithful to God throughout his life. He was dutiful in his own labor of sacrificial love, offering us freedom from the fear of death, and the forgiveness of our sins. Indeed he gave it his all in perfect obedience and loyalty to God. If anything is owed, He said to His Father in heaven, charge that debt to me. And set them free.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Duty makes us do things well. Love makes us do things beautifully,” Bishop Brooks once wrote. As disciples of Jesus, it is our duty and our labor of love to treat all God’s beloved children as equal members of the Body of Christ. Do it well. Do it beautifully. Do it with love.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Philemon 1-21</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 14:25-33</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-58584638356950065922022-08-14T03:36:00.000-07:002022-08-14T03:36:07.617-07:00Saving Grace<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 700; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b142b96e-7fff-b93f-0bab-87627abc8e58"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division,” Jesus said on his way to Jerusalem. When people claim that Jesus is more peaceful and loving than the folks in the Old Testament, I point to passages like this one. Quite frankly, given today’s gospel lesson, I would not quote Jesus when my family, church, city, or nation began dividing into bitter camps! Good Christians don’t fight. It’s all about peace and love, isn’t it?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In her book entitled Saving Grace, Kirsten Powers writes, “Perhaps one of the greatest misconceptions about grace is that it means being passive, or not standing up for your beliefs or not confronting people about problematic or harmful behavior. The image too many people have of a ‘graceful’ person is of someone who just lets others do and say whatever they want and eschews accountability. They envision a person who doesn’t get angry and who, rather than speaking up about behavior that is causing harm, suffers quietly or allows others to suffer.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (p161)</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bible is full of stories about conflict; and our present time is no different. Pick a subject, any subject, pick a country, any country, pick a political party, or a religious system, and you will find various levels of conflict. Some are creative and constructive; disagreements are easily resolved and compromises are quickly found. Other conflicts are soul destroying, like the war in Ukraine, hate crimes, turf battles, and bitter divorces.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the time when Jesus lived, there are signs of political, social, religious, moral, and economic conflict throughout our world. Troubles are brewing everywhere and thanks to social media we hear about them pretty quickly. The recent visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi stirred the pot with China. Political rhetoric is heating up with the FBI actions taken at Mar-a-Lago this week, legal decisions about abortion, and the on-going issues of immigration. Israel and Palestine remain on the brink of war and our recent Lambeth Conference highlighted the continuing conflict over sexuality and marriage throughout the Anglican Communion. “From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided,” Jesus warned the crowd.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conflict, whether you like it or not, is a way of life. Too much of it and life is miserable. Too little of it and life is stagnant. And if you deny it, you can see the blazing sun and the falling rain but you can’t admit that conflict is all around you. “Hypocrites” is what Jesus called the Pharisees. He claims that they point to the specks in other people’s eyes without first removing the logs in their own. Jesus was warning the Pharisees that there was conflict between the rich and the poor, between the Jews and Romans, between their religious leaders and their people, and between heaven and earth. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When trouble is brewing, denial is not a river in Egypt, as the saying goes, but a temptation that enables unhealthy systems and harmful behaviors to continue.There is a need for sameness, and a decreased tolerance for differences. Some call it herding; others naively suggest “that we all just get along.” We comfort ourselves with narratives that support our own beliefs, closing our minds to people who don’t share our perspectives. We look for quick fixes and simple answers.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conflict creates anxiety, and as our anxiety increases, we become more reactive, less able to step back and reflect, less able to respond appropriately. We hurt others with our words and actions; and our protests may turn violent. As conflicts escalate, we demoralize, degrade, and dehumanize each other, forgetting that we are all the beloved children of God, even when our thinking is misguided and our behavior is abhorrent. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conflicts, however, are actually great opportunities to learn about ourselves, other people, and God. They raise the possibility that no one is necessarily right or wrong - just different; and so listening to God and to others becomes especially important. Do we see life only from our position of power or class or age or gender? Are we caught in cycles of anger, victimhood, and resentment? Do we justify our behavior without a pause, or a temporary cease-fire? Do we forget that God’s love for us is not a zero-sum game?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In any relationship where free speech is healthy, we can express ourselves, saying what we think, what we feel, what we believe, and what we need without fear. We also know that we may not always get the responses that we want. In a good and fair fight, we can respectfully disagree with each other, without aggressively attacking the other person personally, or passively denying our reality. Truth can take many paths up God’s holy mountain; and unfortunately it is also the first casualty of war. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taken alone, this gospel passage from Luke might lead you to believe that Jesus was a combative and divisive leader, whose style was to draw blood by forcing his desires and beliefs upon others. Was he another prophet in their long line of religious history, who was filled with righteous anger, who wanted to scorch the earth with God’s divine judgment and without mercy?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus doesn’t withdraw from conflict; nor does He smooth it over to appease the crowd. Neither a victim, nor a doormat, Jesus uses the “I” word. “I have come for a specific purpose,” He said. “I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under because of it.” Jesus is talking about the baptism of his death; for He was on a mission to end the conflict between heaven and earth. He was on a mission to reconcile all people to God and to one another in a sacrificial act of love. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If our world were nothing but a place of created goodness and profound beauty, then Jesus’s challenge would be deeply troubling,” wrote Teresa Berger. “If, on the other hand, our world is deeply scarred, with systems that are exploitative, then redemption can come only when those systems are shattered and consumed by fire. Jesus comes not to disturb a nice world but to shatter the systems that stifle life.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Christian Century, August 10, 2004)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love Luke’s gospel lessons because it shows Jesus not only as the Prince of Peace but also as the King of Division. And discernment means division, coming from the Latin word which means “to cut.” Sometimes, our assets need to be divided so that more people can share their benefits. Cells split in order to multiply and create new life. Power divided is power shared. And sometimes the real divisions among us must be acknowledged before true peace can come. Perhaps it is only through conflict that we are able to discern new ways to move forward.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby released a series of five short films about “Faith in a Conflicted World.” Welby said, ‘I believe with all my heart that reconciliation is the call on every human being. We all know that we live in a world that is divided, conflicted, and hurting, and though many of us long for our faith to make a difference, it can be hard to know where to start. The world cries out for people committed to reconciliation whose actions and words show that a new and better way is possible. Welby suggests three things: being present, being curious, and reimagining new possibilities in the places where we hope to see change.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Living Church, Mark Michael, April 27, 2021)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus was nearby. He wasn’t sitting up in a heavenly throne, or on a mountaintop far removed from the crowds, or even in a jail cell writing letters to his followers. He was right there in the midst of the crowds, surrounded by his family and friends, by religious and political leaders, claiming that he came to “bring fire to the earth and division.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His fiery message was not just about destruction and division, however. No, God’s fire is also a purifying flame, naturally cleaning up our messes, warming our souls, shedding light in times of darkness, showing us the way forward, empowering us for loving action, and bringing new life into the world. The fiery message of the cross proclaimed resurrection life. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As “Mediator in Chief” Jesus came to restore our relationships with God and each other, offering help to those who are caught up in soul-destroying conflicts. Not afraid to interpret the troubling signs of his time He challenged the leaders and the people of his country to change, as he continued his walk to Jerusalem. There, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, so that he could fulfill God’s mission of reconciliation. “Forgive them,” He said, “for they know not what they do.” We call that Saving Grace.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isaiah 5:1-7</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 12:49-56</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2885542177329526264.post-40239192210643422452022-07-31T03:59:00.002-07:002022-07-31T03:59:33.264-07:00Today<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Dorchester</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-95281fb6-7fff-2ef0-e27f-236c3f76418b"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m grateful to be with you this morning and to your rector for his invitation to preach and preside at Eucharist today. I’ve known Edwin in a variety of capacities throughout our diocese beginning when I first moved to Massachusetts and became involved with the Life Together community. Life Together is a leadership development fellowship, training the next generation of prayerful and prophetic leaders in the contemplative, communal, and prophetic arts for the church and for the world.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I must confess to you that I am particularly fond of the minor prophets. Hosea was a prophet in his hometown in the northern kingdom of Israel. He accused his people of their unfaithfulness in their religious and political life. In their anxious search for prosperity, for kings and allies who would save them from the dangers that threatened their national existence, the Israelites forged various foreign alliances and resorted to a culture of violence and social upheaval. They did not trust in their Lord. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(HCSB intro)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hosea used the metaphors of whoredom and adultery, portraying the Lord as the aggrieved husband of a faithless wife. Living in a country of virtual anarchy, the Israelites saw four of their kings assassinated within the 14 years of their country’s defeat by the Assyrians (current day Iran). Imagine Hosea in Ukraine. Imagine Hosea in Sri Lanka or Myanmar. Imagine Hosea in many of the countries in our Global South. Imagine Hosea in our own country, perhaps even in your hometown.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be honest, at times like these, I have hoped for God’s judgment to rain down like fire upon the earth. When I see the injustices in our world, the wars that rage on, the power grabs that benefit only a few people, and the never ending dramas in our courtrooms and politics, it makes me wonder about justice. And so like a child having a temper tantrum, I cry out, “But that’s not fair!” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the man in today’s gospel, I ask Jesus to be the judge and arbitrator of our material and human resources. Secretly, I want God to publicly shame those people who are guilty of greed. ”Take care!” Jesus told them and us. “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” And then I remember Hosea.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hosea felt called by God to speak not only about the judgment of God but also of God’s mercy. Hosea had married a prostitute named Gomer, who bore three children; none of whom were presumed to be his, and then she left him, perhaps to return to her life of prostitution. Hosea didn’t wallow in the self-pity of victimhood, nor did he succumb to the temptation of domestic violence. Hosea went after Gomer. Not to stalk her, or kill her, or shame her, but rather Hosea brought her back into his life to forgive her and love her. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hosea claimed that God is a god of divine compassion, forgiveness, and unrelenting mercy. God will never let us go, despite our infidelity; for our God is eternally faithful to God’s covenant, even to the point of death upon the cross. At the heart of Hosea’s preaching is a gospel message of redeeming love. No matter what we do or what we have done, God will never forsake us nor abandon us. In the end, God will restore us. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As one of God’s beloved children, from all tribes, languages, people, and nations, Hosea proclaimed that God will take us into God’s arms, heal us, and hold us with cords of human kindness. God is like a loving parent who will lift us up to God’s cheeks and then feed us with the bread of life and the sippy cup of our salvation.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the Israelites, in times of social, political, and economic instability, we may disavow our trust in the Lord. The pandemic of COVID, the challenges of inflation, gun violence, and the shortages of certain essentials like baby formula have raised our anxiety levels to new heights. We may find ourselves stockpiling more than we need, and hoarding material goods for a future rainy day. We may think, incorrectly, that if we just have enough of this or that, then we can eventually kick back, relax, and make merry. Hoarding makes everyone poorer; giving makes everyone richer.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God calls the man in today’s gospel a fool; for who knows what tomorrow will bring? We may plan a long awaited trip and have a medical emergency in a foreign country. We may be walking home from work or the playground one night, minding our own business, when someone opens fire with a gun. A nagging cough becomes a lung cancer diagnosis and we enter into a health care system where the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you reach a certain age, imagine scarcity rather than abundance, when you are overcome by fear and anxiety, the end times become more real. Truth be told, for whatever reason it is, you’re suddenly aware of the fragility of life, the short span of history, and that the arc of justice is long indeed. Fools are we who deny that we’re all on the same journey to a common destination.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if God said to us today, like God said to that rich man in today’s parable, `You fool! Tonight your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' Who will get my stuff? I wonder. And will that stuff be a burden or a blessing? What legacy will I leave behind me? Is it one of faith or fear?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a song entitled “What If” Matthew West wrote, “I've heard 'em say before - to live just like you're dying. What if today's the only day I got? I don't wanna waste it if it's my last shot.” I think this is what Jesus was saying to the people gathered around him. Material things will not save your soul nor your life, but God will. So be rich towards God and you will have treasures in heaven.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus spoke words of comfort to the crowd in the following verses of Luke’s gospel. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Consider the ravens and the lilies. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will God clothe you—you of little faith!”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive first for the kingdom of God, and these things will be given to you as well.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Luke 12:28-34)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The story has been told of a man who came to church late one Sunday morning. Slipping into the back pew, he asked the usher, ‘Is the sermon done?’ And she replied, ‘No, the sermon was preached; it is yet to be done!’“</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Word Live, Scripture Union, Author: Tanya Ferdinandusz) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, God’s judgment of our behavior becomes clearer in times like these. We see what we have done and left undone. We see where our priorities lie, and who and what we hold dear. Today, do what you need to do. Say what you need to say. Store up riches in heaven, and have no regrets, no worries, no ‘what ifs.’ Trust in the justice and mercy of God, who has promised that the family inheritance will be ours in the end. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As today’s psalmist once said, “Let us give thanks to the Lord for God’s mercy. For God satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Whoever is wise will ponder these things.” Amen.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hosea 11:1-11</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalm 107:1-9, 43</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 12:13-21</span></p><br /><br /></span>Be.Loved.Of.God. BLOGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06478667718983802370noreply@blogger.com0