Friday, September 22, 2006

Upside Down Worlds

Friday, September 22, 2006 -- Week of Proper 19 (Philander Chase)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 985)
Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38 (morning) // 73 (evening)
Esther 1:1-4, 10-19 or Judith 4:1-15
Acts 17:1-15
John 12:36b-43

In John today we pick up a theme that appears elsewhere as well. The early church explained the lack of belief in Jesus as a blindness caused by the prince or god of this world. The generous and compassionate commandment of love which characterizes the gospel is indeed contrary to much of the worldly spirit that fills our world today. We live with competing authorities.

Those competing "lords" are especially apparent in the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles. In previous days we read of Silas and Paul's difficulties in Philippi where they stirred up opposition when they exorcised a spirit of divination from a slave-girl. Like the famous oracle at Delphi, such an oracle was a source of economic wealth, religious energy and community pride. Their interference with the "state religion" landed Paul and Silas in jail in Philippi.

Today we read of the pair inciting a violent reaction in Thessalonica. Paul regularly provoked conflict from the synagogue. His evangelism strategy was to speak to the synagogue arguing that Jesus is the Messiah. His primary target audience was the congregation of non-Jewish Gentile "god-fearers" who were attracted to the high Jewish ethic and its monotheism. Paul made it easier for them to follow this path by removing the obstacles of circumcision, kosher practice and the complex Jewish law. Often the Gentile god-fearers were wealthy and powerful citizens, important resources for the synagogues' status and protection.

The charge that Paul's attackers raise when they attack his host Jason's home church and drag the group before the city authorities is especially interesting. "These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also... They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus."

Dom Crossan's recent book "In Search of Paul" makes a compelling case that Paul's gospel was indeed a radical challenge to the powerful state religion begun by Augustus and continued by the Caesars. The emperors developed a patriotic cult of emperor worship which tied political power, military security and economic prosperity into a vigorous celebration of the "Pax Romana" delivered by the divine Caesars. The claim that Jesus is Lord was a challenge to the emperor, not only as king but also as god. It was like turning the Roman world upside down. And it was at least subversive if not treasonous.

Politics and God always compete for authority.

Lowell
___________________________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St.
Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Limits of Wisdom

Thursday, September 21, 2006 -- Week of Proper 19 (St. Matthew)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office
Either (for Thursday of Proper 19, p. 985)
Psalm [70], 71 (morning) // 74 (evening)
Job 28:1-28
Acts 16:25-40
John 12:27-36a

or (for the Feast of St. Matthew, p. 999)
Morning Prayer: Psalm 119:41-64; Isaiah 8:11-20; Romans 10:1-15
Evening Prayer: Psalms 19, 112; Job 28:12-28; Matthew 13:44-52

(I read the lections for Thursday of Pr. 19)
Those of us with a deep respect for scholarship may enjoy a delightful irony today. In the 1970's when the compilers of the new Book of Common Prayer were creating the two year Daily Office lectionary, the consensus of biblical scholarship regarded Job chapter 28 as an anonymous poem that had been awkwardly inserted into the original text of Job by a later editor/redactor. The poem has a thematic connection with the story of Job because it proclaims that true wisdom is beyond human means. Wisdom resides only with God, and therefore, the "fear of the Lord" is the only human access to wisdom.

We competed the lectionary cycle of the reading of Job yesterday. Like a postscript, today we have chapter 28, separated from the narrative according to the scholarly consensus of the 1970's so that it would not interrupt the "original."

But... Today's scholarly opinion leans toward the opinion that Job 28 is indeed original to Job. It functions in the story by slowing the action and thus raising the drama, and it raises important questions that point toward the climax of the divine response at the end of the narrative. The scholars have changed their minds, but our lectionary still reflects the former thinking.

That fact is a delightful irony since the point of the poem in Job 28 is that the wisdom of human beings is very limited. It is a beautiful psalm, opening with a compelling image of the wonders of mining deep within the earth to discover precious metals and jewels. Such a prologue seems like a fitting beginning for a maxim about doing the deep work of study and faithfulness that will reward the seeker with wisdom. Not so.

"But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living." We may be able to dig where no falcon's eye can see and where no lion has trod, but the most precious gem -- wisdom -- is beyond our reach. Wisdom dwells with God alone. Awesome reverence toward God is humanity's only access. That's the message of the psalm.

As one who tends to give great weight to scholarship, this psalm is a delightful rejoinder. And the fact that its place, or lack of place, in the Job narrative has been a subject of scholarly debate and reversed opinion is a reminder of the modest limits of our knowing.

I'm still likely to defer to the best thoughts of the most researched minds, but it's good to remember, they don't know everything either. It is true wisdom to hold what we think we know with a gentle grip.

Lowell
________________________________




To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

The Limits of Wisdom

Thursday, September 21, 2006 -- Week of Proper 19 (St. Matthew)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Discussion Blog: To comment on today's reflection or readings, go to http://lowellsblog.blogspot.com, find today's reading, click "comment" at the bottom of the reading, and post your thoughts.

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
Either (for Thursday of Proper 19, p. 985)
Psalm [70], 71 (morning) // 74 (evening)
Job 28:1-28
Acts 16:25-40
John 12:27-36a

or (for the Feast of St. Matthew, p. 999)
Morning Prayer: Psalm 119:41-64; Isaiah 8:11-20; Romans 10:1-15
Evening Prayer: Psalms 19, 112; Job 28:12-28; Matthew 13:44-52

(I read the lections for Thursday of Pr. 19)
Those of us with a deep respect for scholarship may enjoy a delightful irony today. In the 1970's when the compilers of the new Book of Common Prayer were creating the two year Daily Office lectionary, the consensus of biblical scholarship regarded Job chapter 28 as an anonymous poem that had been awkwardly inserted into the original text of Job by a later editor/redactor. The poem has a thematic connection with the story of Job because it proclaims that true wisdom is beyond human means. Wisdom resides only with God, and therefore, the "fear of the Lord" is the only human access to wisdom.

We competed the lectionary cycle of the reading of Job yesterday. Like a postscript, today we have chapter 28, separated from the narrative according to the scholarly consensus of the 1970's so that it would not interrupt the "original."

But... Today's scholarly opinion leans toward the opinion that Job 28 is indeed original to Job. It functions in the story by slowing the action and thus raising the drama, and it raises important questions that point toward the climax of the divine response at the end of the narrative. The scholars have changed their minds, but our lectionary still reflects the former thinking.

That fact is a delightful irony since the point of the poem in Job 28 is that the wisdom of human beings is very limited. It is a beautiful psalm, opening with a compelling image of the wonders of mining deep within the earth to discover precious metals and jewels. Such a prologue seems like a fitting beginning for a maxim about doing the deep work of study and faithfulness that will reward the seeker with wisdom. Not so.

"But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Mortals do not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living." We may be able to dig where no falcon's eye can see and where no lion has trod, but the most precious gem -- wisdom -- is beyond our reach. Wisdom dwells with God alone. Awesome reverence toward God is humanity's only access. That's the message of the psalm.

As one who tends to give great weight to scholarship, this psalm is a delightful rejoinder. And the fact that its place, or lack of place, in the Job narrative has been a subject of scholarly debate and reversed opinion is a reminder of the modest limits of our knowing.

I'm still likely to defer to the best thoughts of the most researched minds, but it's good to remember, they don't know everything either. It is true wisdom to hold what we think we know with a gentle grip.

Lowell
________________________________




To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The End of Job

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 -- Week of Proper 19 (John Coleridge Patteson)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 985)
Psalm 72 (morning) // 119:73-96 (evening)
Job 42:1-17
Acts 16:16-24
John 12:20-26

I'm convinced that for most of us, just knowing about God is not enough. Most people have a hunger to know God, to experience God.

Throughout the narrative, Job has demanded to see God. His friends cautioned him and told him about God. Their words were unsatisfying. The Job had an experience of God "out of the whirlwind." God doesn't offer any satisfying logic or argument about the questions of suffering and justice. God shows Job a small part of the whole. It is enough. Job says, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you."

Job intuits that he had "uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." In a sense, he doesn't have "an answer" for his questions about suffering and injustice. Instead he has an experience which transcends them.

His final phrase is ambiguous. Scholars have debated its meaning. In the original Hebrew, there is no object for the first verb. The phrase "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" could be rendered "Therefore I despise and turn around in dust and ashes" or "Therefore I retract and give up my dust and ashes." Job abandons his lawsuit. He does not necessarily admit he was wrong, however.

In the prose epilogue God scolds Job's friends for their poor theological counsel. Job intercedes for the friends and God accepts Job's prayer. Then Job is restored. The final scene is one of harmony, healing and reconciliation.

The "Job" in me finds much to ponder. On one hand, I've had experiences of knowing God that transcend knowing about God. I trust in a felt way that is different from trusting in a "knowing" way. But I also find myself unsatisfied in the presence of great suffering and injustice that finds no happy ending.

I trust in the tradition of Job that God honors our honest complaint. I can contend with God. I can also dissolve before the Mystery. I find comfort having intuited a vastness that relativises all that is in a whole which reconciles. But I am more comforted by the personal presence of God in our suffering and injustice revealed in the story of Jesus. Jesus offers his pain and the evil his cross to God in trust, and look what God does with that offering. That is personal. We can also offer our experience of suffering and evil to God and ask that God use our offering as well for the healing and reconciliation of the world. Resurrection is more, ultimately, than restoration.

Lowell
__________________________________________________________________________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

The Messianic Entrance

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 -- Week of Proper 19 (Theodore of Tarsus)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 985)
Psalm 61, 62 (morning) // 68:1-20 (21-23) 24-36 (evening)
Job 40:1, 41:1-11
Acts 16:6-15
John 12:9-19

The tension tightens in John's version of Jesus' passion. The raising of Lazarus has been the tipping point for the Jewish authorities. They intend to find a way to kill Jesus. In today's reading we hear that they have added Lazarus to their death list. But the crowds are becoming excited about this new rabbi. There are probably 100,000 people in Jerusalem for the Passover. They meet him with Messianic cries, waving palm branches, symbols of national triumph and victory, not unlike a national flag. Their greeting is from Psalm 118, a psalm used at major festivals. The cry "Hosanna!" means "save us." For many, the rest of the unspoken sentence is "...from the Romans." They bless coming of "the king of Israel." This is nationalistic and messianic fever.

Jesus does something to confirm their hopes. He rides a young donkey into the city. He is acting out the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9-10: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." The rest of the prophecy continues to promise liberation of Israel's prisoners and the appearance of God who will lead Israel in battle to save his people. Then, "grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women."

Such greeting and acclamation helps explain the reversal of the crowd's affections just a few days later. Jesus simply did not live up to their expectations. He did not call for the overthrow of Israel's occupiers, the Romans. He did not lead Israel in battle. His humble message of peace was not what the itching nationalistic ears of the people wanted to hear. They wanted war, holy war, not this vulnerable man of gentle love.

This boisterous militant greeting was short lived. Such solutions often are. It takes greater courage to stand as Jesus did before Pilate, the authorities, and even the crowd in nonviolent resistance. He never betrayed his sole allegiance to the Reign of God. And he never stooped to violence to promote it. His will be the lasting victory. Today Rome is the center of his largest church.

Lowell
______________________



To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

Monday, September 18, 2006

Humanity's Place in the Scheme of Things

Monday, September 18, 2006 -- Week of Proper 19 (Edward Bouverie Pusey)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 985)
Psalm 56, 57, [58] (morning) // 64, 65 (evening)
Job 40:1-24
Acts 15:36 - 16:5
John 11:55 - 12:8

Saturday and Sunday we read the first address of God to Job. Job had charged God with creating a universe without design where random suffering abounds. God speaks of a design that is beyond human knowing, intentional and purposeful. The universe was created for God's inscrutable purpose. Humans beings are not the center of the universe. "Where were you when I created all this?" ask God of Job, the challenger. Job has no answer.

Today we begin the second speech of God, responding to Job's accusation that God is unjust -- God allows the wicked to prosper and the innocent to suffer. God's answer is to describe two mythical beasts, Behemoth (today) and Leviathan (tomorrow's reading). These beasts seem to represent ultimate cosmic evil. Like the desert and the ocean, these beasts are entirely under God's mastering hand. What can human beings do before them? God declares divine control over these fearsome powers that are beyond our understanding, but God's control is not exercised for the immediate benefit of human beings. These beasts cannot be tamed to serve humanity. The world is God's, not Job's. The world and its apparent power and chaos serve God's purposes, not humans.

The mysterious, powerful and autonomous God that confronts Job speaks a truth that seems poignant for us today. We seem to have exercised human control over so much of creation. We overcome deserts and earth boundaries with irrigation and airplanes. We search the depths of the sea and defeat great monsters. Yet nature has its own purposes and its powerful truths that we challenge at our peril. Human exploitation and pollution of the planet now threatens humanity. The human heart has not evolved such that we can create justice and wisdom.

We are not the center of the universe. Life does not revolve around us. We confront Behemoth and Leviathan at our own peril. Can we repent and live humbly in our place?
______

There is an odd moment in the continuing story from Acts. We just heard in Acts 15 about the pivotal decision to allow Gentiles into the Christian community without their having to become Jews -- they will not have to follow Torah or to be circumcised. This is Paul's great victory. His passion for freedom in Christ -- freedom from the law and all of its anxiety -- is a centerpiece of his gospel. His opposition to circumcision as a sign of the law is fierce.

Yet before setting out on a missionary journey with a new partner Timothy, Paul circumcises him so that Timothy won't give offense to Jews. Paul's strategy for evangelization is to enter the synagogue in each town, to preach his gospel, and to focus on the appeal of that message to the non-Jewish "godfearers", Gentiles who are drawn to Judaism but are not members. The circumcision of Timothy is a strategic act designed to give Timothy access to the synagogue where he and Paul will argue that circumcision is unnecessary and contrary to God's will. Interesting.

Lowell
______________________


To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Friday, September 15, 2006

The Apostolic Council

Friday, September 15, 2006 -- Week of Proper 18

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 983)
Psalm 40, 54 (morning) // 51 (evening)
Job 29:1, 31:24-40
Acts 15:12-21
John 11:30-44

To my mind, the Apostolic Council of Acts 15 is the most important event of early Church history prior to Constantine. It is a critical turning point that allowed the church to evolve beyond its identity as a Jewish reform movement into a world-wide religion.

Jesus and all of the twelve were Jewish. Jesus was proclaimed as the Jewish Messiah by those who followed him and witnessed to his resurrection. As Paul and his associates traveled through Asia Minor, they spoke in Jewish synagogues, telling the story of Jesus the Messiah. They found a particularly receptive audience among the Gentiles who attended the Jewish prayer services but were not Jews themselves. They were called "god-fearers." Paul and Barnabas witnessed the authenticity of the faith of these Gentiles and they baptized them into the fellowship of the followers of Jesus.

Paul's experience of the risen Lord had opened this possibility to him. Like Martin Luther centuries later, Paul had been burdened with guilt in his struggles to live up to the demands of the Jewish law. He experienced great anxiety. Trying to live up to every jot and tittle of the law trapped him in self-absorption, doubt and performance anxiety. How am I doing? he asked continually. The revelation of Jesus on the Damascus Road freed him from that anxiety. His acceptance from God was a gift. A gift pure and simple. All he had to do was accept the gift. Justification by grace through faith. Christ freed him from the law.

Not all Jewish Christians agreed with Paul's gospel. They held the traditional position that Jesus' movement was part of Judaism. It was a purification and reform of Judaism, they said. Anyone who wished to be part of the Church, must be baptized, yes. But if they are Gentiles, they must also become Jewish. They must be circumcised and instructed in the Torah. They must follow the ancient law given by God to Moses. These Jewish Christians based their position on the scripture and the ancient traditions of their people.

They bring the case before the apostles in Jerusalem. James, the brother of the Lord, is now the leader of the Jerusalem church. Paul and Barnabas tell what they have seen of the response of the Gentiles. Jewish Christians debate them defending the tradition. Peter weighs in on Paul's side with his story of his vision and the conversion of Cornelius.

James speaks for the Council. He finds a passage from Amos that repeats the promise that Israel will be a blessing to the Gentiles. The decision is that Gentiles may indeed become part of the Christian movement without becoming Jews, without circumcision and the following of the Torah. He articulates four qualifications, probably the Gentile practices that would have been most offensive to Jewish Christians. It is the Magna Carta of the Church. Gentiles are welcomed.

It took great courage to embrace such a decision. It changed the church. Essentially the experience of witnessing the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the contemporary Gentile believers was the grounds upon which James and the council decided. The weight of scripture and tradition fell on the other side. Obedience to Torah and circumcision had been the marks of God's people for centuries. This was a courageous and pivotal decision that changed the church and brought it new life.

In so many ways I see our church facing a similar decision. Today's Paul and Baranbas and Peter are witnessing the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives and relationships of gay Christians. Other faithful leaders debate, defending the traditions. How will the world wide church, Anglican and otherwise, decide. I hope they will follow the brave tradition of James and the apostles as recounted in Acts 15.

Lowell

________________

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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St
.
Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Cross

Thursday, September 14, 2006 -- Week of Proper 18 (HOLY CROSS DAY)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office

either
the readings for Thursday or Proper 19 (p. 983)
Psalm 119:49-72 (morning) // 49, [53] (evening)
Job 29:1, 30:1-2, 16-31
Acts 14:19-28
John 11:1-16

or the readings for Holy Cross Day (p. 999)
Morning: Psalm 99; Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:11-17
Evening: Psalm 118; Genesis 3:1-15; 1 Peter 3:17-22

The Cross

Before the less "sanitary" practice of lethal injections, executions of capital criminals more typically was handled in the electric chair. When I was a kid and parents were less squeamish about these things, the visitor tours of state government sites included access to the electric chair, or at least the window where witnesses observed executions. School textbooks often included a picture of a chair with its straps and wires. It was an object of fascination for vivid elementary imaginations.

In Fort Smith we have the gallows where criminals from the Indian lands faced judgment in the process of taming the West. Town squares were the sites for occasional public hangings. I know where a temporary gallows was set up on the square in my home town. I heard the story of the last hanging. People brought picnic baskets, some dressed up, there were concessions, speeches, music.

After a spate of executions in Mississippi, I asked in a sermon what reaction might it bring for to see someone wearing a gold electric chair around a chain on their neck, finely bejeweled and elegantly wrought. (One of my court reporter members wore a t-shirt the next Sunday reading "How do you like yours? Regular or extra crispy?" There was an electric chair under the words.)

Such is the scandal of the cross. It was an instrument of public execution. Its design is such that death is slow, painful, public and certain. That is the primary symbol of our faith.

Though we have masked its horror with familiarity and art, the cross is a powerful symbol of what we say about God. The image of an innocent person experiencing such fatal torment is an image of how bad it can get. Anyone who has ever suffered profoundly can relate somehow to the suffering of Jesus on the cross.

We say, look carefully at the cross. Look carefully at every situation that bears a likeness to the cross. If you have eyes to see, you will see God present. This is where God is. In and with and under the deepest sorrow and suffering of humanity. God in Jesus embraces the cross. God in Jesus embraces our suffering. Even unto death.

What God brings forth from such horror is resurrection. New life explodes out of such horror. That's what God is up to.

In every place and time, any suffering, injustice and pain can be nailed to the cross and offered to God with the prayer that God will use this grief to bring resurrection and new life to a suffering world. God can use your pain and mine just like God used Jesus cross. There is nothing God does better. It is who God is -- the One who brings life out of death.

Lowell
________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "
Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St
.
Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Why?

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 -- Week of Proper 18 (Cyprian of Carthage)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 983)
Psalm 119:49-72 (morning) // 49, [53] (evening)
Job 29:1, 30:1-2, 16-31
Acts 14:19-28
John 11:1-16

Job's despair is among the most poignant passages that I know of. His suffering is total. There is the worldly anguish of having fallen from a place of respect to a place of ridicule and dishonor. There is the constant, unrelenting physical pain. There is the spiritual question, "Why?" He cries out to God for help, but hears only silence. He notes the irony. Throughout his life whenever he saw anyone in need, Job responded with generous compassion. Now as he cries for compassion and justice, God is silent.

I have known people to be broken by such unmitigated suffering. Yesterday I got word of the death of an old friend. He was a person who had endured more physical pain than anyone I have known. In his thirties he developed chronic back degeneration. He was disabled. By the time I moved away, he had endured a dozen back surgeries. Pain medications were either ineffective or addictive. His life was so constricted. I admired his courage and perseverance so much. I often wondered how he endured. I got word yesterday that he had taken his life. I believe he was in his mid 50's.

Although I recognize God is working to bring universal reconciliation and healing, God's timing is not mine, and I grieve for the collateral damage. In today's gospel reading, Jesus hears of Lazarus' deathly illness. Jesus postpones going to Lazarus for two days longer. Lazarus dies. Jesus will be greeted with, "If you were here, he wouldn't have died." We'll read over the next two days the anguished drama that leads to the resuscitation of Lazarus from death. Ironically, this event becomes the motivation for Jesus' enemies. From this moment, they determine to kill him. He will be hounded, tortured, and eventually crucified.

I don't understand the "why" of it all. Why do some people suffer so profoundly? Why is there no relief? Why no answer from God? Why no justice? In these dark mysteries I am often silenced. Some of that silence is grief and respect for those who carry such awful burdens. Some of that silence is raw hope that God will use such suffering as God used the cross of Jesus to bring resurrection and healing to the world, beyond our knowing. Some of that silence is the unknowing "why."

Lowell

________________

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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St
.
Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Life is Hard

Tuesday, September 12, 2006 -- Week of Proper 18 (John Henry Hobart)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 983)
Psalm 45 (morning) // 47, 48 (evening)
Job 29:1-20
Acts 14:1-18
John 10:31-42

Life is hard. And complicated. You do good, and you may not prosper for it. You give your best, and others still don't understand. It's not fair.

Job thinks back to the way it was. He was a good and just man, respected by all. He was one of those who helped the weak and poor and who challenged the unjust. Now look at him. Sick, childless, miserable. What good is God if God can't be as just and fair as you have been?

Paul and Barnabas come to another town where they enter the synagogue and start to tell their gospel. People are divided about them. It devolves into a plot to stone them. They flee. In the next town, Paul heals a man who had been crippled from birth. Everybody is wowed. They acclaim the strangers. The local priest sees an opportunity for some good publicity for the temple. He tells them Zeus and Hermes have visited them, and he gets ready to kick off a huge sacrifice (read big party). It will give rank to the temple and be great fun for the city. No! You don't understand, cry Paul and Barnabas. That stuff is worthless. We are people, just like you. Then the guys that are still mad from the previous town show up. Gotta go.

Jesus is doing good things -- healing, feeding, making wine from water. He points to those and says this is the presence of God with us. He tries to tell them of his intimacy with God. ...of their intimacy with God. He quotes Psalm 82 -- "you are all gods and children of the most high." The scrupulous hear blasphemy. Bad theology. He's claiming to be equal to God. Can't go there. Jesus asks them to look at the works. Look at what he's been doing. It's good stuff. He asks them to consider the possibility that he is one with the Father and the Father is one with him. If they'll give him a chance he'll tell them that they can be one with the Father and one with him. They want to arrest him, so he has to escape into Gentile territory.

These are our heroes of the faith. They did life about as well as life can be done. Their lives were hard. And complicated. They did good and did not prosper for it. They did their best toward others, and the others didn't understand. It wasn't fair.

So, why do we think we ought to have it any better?

Lowell

________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St.
Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Monday, September 11, 2006

Claiming too much

Monday, September 11, 2006 -- Week of Proper 18

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 983)
Psalm 41, 52 (morning) // 44 (evening)
Job 32:1-10, 19 - 33:1, 19-28
Acts 13:44-52
John 10:19-30

What is claiming too much?

In Job we have a little comic relief that serves some dramatic purpose to postpone the cosmic encounter with God. Elihu serves the part of the fool. He claims to know more than the others (that's always a mark of a fool in ancient literature). He describes his heart as "like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins, it is ready to burst." He's something of a blowhard. But he is certain. And he is certain of his certainties. He speaks with confident boldness. But he doesn't make much sense.

In the portion we read today, Elihu's speech is the kind of talk that makes you want to pull somebody's hair out, preferably his. He is so sure that if you are a good person and you pray to God, even from the edge of death, God will heal you. I've known people like that. People who speak to one who is ill, and speak with such confidence. "If you just believe enough... If you'll just pray to God, pray hard enough..."

I've known remarkable healings. I've seen healing miracles. I've seen people restored from the brink of death. But, it is a mystery. It's not about us believing enough. I've known those who believed truly and prayed earnestly, and did not get well. Visitors like Elihu tended to make them feel doubly cursed -- not only for the suffering of their illness, but also for the implied responsibility that it was their fault that the didn't get well. It can be confusing. "I believed with all my heart, didn't I? I prayed so hard. Why didn't I get well? It is my fault?"

Elihu is the bad answer to that profound question. The mysterious epiphany of God to Job is the better answer to that question. Elihu claims way too much.

Jesus is threatened with stoning for claiming too much in today's reading from John. He points to his works. He is doing the work of God. That is his testimony. Then he says, "The Father and I are one." To his listeners, that was claiming too much. They took up stones to stop his blasphemy. The conversation will continue tomorrow. Jesus will point to hints in the Hebrew scripture that imply that those who were given God's word are all gods and children of the Most High. He'll claim a lot, for himself and for anyone who can hear this word.

Finally, Paul claims too much for the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia (in today's central Turkey). Antioch was a very Romanized city, with state built aqueducts, baths, and a thriving imperial cult to honor the Caesars. Among those who attended the synagogue would have been Jews of the Diaspora, but also "god fearers," Gentiles who were attracted to the teaching and ethics of Judaism. Paul's primary target audience for his mission was to these god-fearers. He offered them a message of great hope, an ethic of virtue, without the impediments of circumcision and other Jewish customs. Almost like the porridge of the baby bear in the children's story of The Three Bears, Paul's offering was "just right." The religion of the Jews was "too hot;" the religion of the Romans was "too cold." But the religion of Jesus that Paul taught was "just right."

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Oppression and Exultation: Two Paths


Wednesday, September 6, 2006 -- Week of Proper 17

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 983)
Psalm 38 (morning) // 119:25-48 (evening)
Job 12:1, 14:1-22
Acts 12:18-25
John 8:47-59

In today's readings we have a contrast between a religion of oppression and a religion of exultation. It is the contrast between the words of Job and the words of Jesus. (Ultimately, Job's experience of the presence of God reconciles him and takes him into a religion of exultation. But not today.)

Today Job speaks of a God who is a distant and impeccable judge. Job wonders why God would even concern the divine self with something as insignificant as a human. We live short, brutal lives; we die; we are no more. Job yearns for the impossibility of some sort of resurrection. But the only picture is of an impassive God who brings fierce judgment upon humans, miserable sinners that they are. Job would speak to God, but God is beyond human knowing. Distant. Silent. Impassive at best. When active, God simply destroys in judgment. Such an oppressive God creates oppressive religion.

Gerald May says, "In all my experience as a psychiatrist and as a human being, the deepest, most pervasive pathology I have seen is the incredible harshness we have towards ourselves." Some of the fault lies with religious education, he says. "Religious condemnation and moral guilt have been used for child-rearing and political control. ...The more cruel we are to ourselves, the more likely we are to be mean to others."

In my experience, the meanest forms of Christianity are those that picture God as a distant judge declaring sentence upon a completely guilty and sinful humanity. The weight of such a God bears down upon us, miserable offenders. Job's words apply. How do you live up to perfection? In those forms of Christianity, Jesus is our escape clause from God's judgment. But so much of the focus remains on our sin and our character as hopeless and fallen sinners.

In John's Gospel, Jesus offers an alternative vision. It is grounded in an organic union with God, in love. His picture of God is of a loving, intimate Parent-God who glorifies us and frees us for eternal life here and now. Jesus offers an exalted, hopeful vision that sees us united in the very life of God.

The footnotes to the Access Bible trace the conversation between Jesus and his opponents. "The argument with the Jewish leaders elicits an escalating series of claims from Jesus: 'I honor my Father; whoever keeps my word will never see death; it is my Father who glorifies me; I know the Father and I keep his word; Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; before Abraham was, I am.' The opponents remain at the literal, earthbound level: 'You are a Samaritan and have a demon; Abraham died; the prophets died; you are not yet fifty years old.' "

We see the contrast between two forms of religion: judgment or grace, bondage or freedom, oppression or exultation. Actually, both paths can lead to God. If we travel the path of judgment, bondage and oppression, our despair can ultimately throw us into the arms of God. Yet, always available at any moment is the path of grace, freedom and exultation. Either way, Job's way or Jesus' way, all paths can lead ultimately to God.

Lowell
________________


To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html


The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St.
Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Freedom

Tuesday, September 5, 2006 -- Week of Proper 17

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 983)
Psalm 26, 28 (morning) // 36, 39 (evening)
Job 12:1, 13:3-17, 21-27
Acts 12:1-17
John 8:33-47

Jesus' argument with the religious authorities escalates throughout this section of John's gospel. At this point, there is a dispute over Abraham. "We are descendants of Abraham," say the authorities. "You're not acting like Abraham," says Jesus. At stake is their freedom. If they knew the truth, if they truly followed Abraham, they would be free.

I can imagine a similar conversation today. "We are descendants of Jesus." "You're not acting like Jesus." Freedom is still the stakes.

The Christian gospel, especially in John, asserts that we are one with God. We are one with Christ who is one with God. We are all wrapped up into the very life of the divinity. Our freedom is bound up with our accepting that status.

Nothing need be done. Simply be who you are. You are one with God. That's the message.

Since God loves us so much, can't we love ourselves and our neighbors? That love is a gentle love. It means loving even our weaknesses and failures. Accepting all of it. Then, within that vast acceptance of what is, God will guide and lead us into freedom.

In a way, Peter's story of release from Herod's prison is a wonderful metaphor for the freedom that we hear about from John's gospel. Like Peter, we are also bound and imprisoned by the powers and principalities of our own day. We lie helpless before the symbols of authority, the trappings of power, the control of wealth and so many kinds of aggression. Violence of various kinds threatens us. We live within gates and bars that seem to limit our freedom. We are separated from our community.

Underneath us the church prays fervently to God (v. 5). Peter, bound and guarded, sleeps. Though it seems like a vision or a dream, Peter feels a tap on the side, the chains fall off, he walks out the gate into his freedom.

It's like that for us as well. We are one with God, heirs with Christ of divine life. When we rest into that reality, it is like waking up with the chains off and the bars opened. We really are free. And there was nothing we had to do to earn it. It simply is the way it is. God's gift is our freedom as God's children. Simply be who you are.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Proof Texts

Friday, September 1, 2006 -- Week of Proper 16 (David Pendleton Okerhater)

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html



Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 981)
Psalm 16, 17 (morning) // 22 (evening)
Job 9:1-15, 32-35
Acts 10:34-48
John 7:37-52

Proof Texts

When the crowds heard Jesus their hearts were moved. The goodness of his words and deeds were evident. Naturally, the question arose. Is this the Messiah?

Most who were familiar with the messianic prophecies of scripture rejected Jesus. He could not be the Messiah because he did not fulfill the expectations of scripture. In today's gospel we read one of these stories of rejection. Jesus can't be the Messiah or a prophet because he is from Galilee, a Gentile-influenced region in the extreme north of Israel. The Bible says that the Messiah comes from Bethlehem in Judea, far south of Galilee. Search the Scripture, they say. Nowhere does it say that even a prophet is to arise from Galilee. Biblical proof text. Jesus can't be the Messiah.

We have a story that Matthew and Luke offer placing Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Scholars are divided about these stories. It may indeed be historical fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. Nazareth was a town settled by a branch of the family of David. There was a census near the time when Jesus could have been born, but several historical facts don't quite line up. Some scholars believe that some of the stories like Jesus' birth in Bethlehem were created later as legends that became attached to the saga. Many of those stories evolved, say these scholars, as the church proclaimed Jesus to be the fulfillment of the prophets. Those scholars see stories like the Bethlehem birth as prophecy historicized rather than history remembered.

It's obvious that the people arguing about Jesus' Messiahship in today's passage knew nothing of a Bethlehem connection. They debated about Jesus of Nazareth. No prophet or Messiah is to come from Galilee, says the Bible, so Jesus can't be the one.

Job's situation has some parallels. Bildad has just argued that God is just. God always upholds the innocent and punishes the guilty. That is religious orthodoxy. Therefore, he tells Job, you and your children must have sinned. Your punishment is the evidence. Yet Job insists. I am innocent. But what court can hear his complaint? None. Job is stuck. His experience is contrary to what everyone knows from scripture and tradition.

Peter finds himself in a similar dilemma in our story from Acts 10. Peter knows that Gentiles are unclean. The scripture says so. Scripture and tradition provided careful boundaries between Gentile and Jew. But Peter's trust in those ancient boundaries has just been challenged by a vision. He believes God has told him that certain animals designated by scripture as unclean are not actually unclean. Now that vision is being extended to people. He sees the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Gentiles of the Roman officer Cornelius' house. Peter baptizes them. He accepts the witness of the Spirit to reinterpret the witness of Scripture.

I find these stories ironic proof texts. They tell us that if you try to interpret the scripture literally, you are likely to miss what God is actually doing. These scriptures are cautioning us about scripture. Messiahs can come from Galilee. Innocent people suffer unjustly. Those thought to be unclean may be God's people too.

Lowell

_________________

To Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the "Morning Reflections" email list, go to our Subscriptions page -- http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id137.html

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St
.
Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR