Meaning Well; Doing Wrong

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 -- Week of 6 Epiphany; Year One (Absalom Jones)

"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 (p. 948)
Psalms 97, 99, [100] (morning) // 94, [95] (evening)
Isaiah 63:7-14
1 Timothy 1:18 - 2:8
Mark 11:12-26

There are so many ways for us to do things wrongly despite our good intentions. The officials of the Jerusalem Temple believed themselves to be stewards of the holiest site of Jewish faith. They were very conscientious in their intention to keep God's Temple holy. A lucrative industry evolved around providing services on behalf of the Temple.

Out of respect for God, in order to assure that animals given to God in sacrifice were whole and unblemished, the Temple authorities established an inspection and supply process for all offerings. To certify that no unclean coinage with the image of the Emperor was received as part of the peoples' offering to God, moneychangers turned Roman coins into more appropriate Temple coinage. The purpose of these services was to keep temple worship and offerings pure and holy. A side effect was that these services made worship more expensive, particularly for peasants. Unblemished animals were more expensive (and the inspection process could be rigid toward household animals); there was a service fee for the exchange of coins.

Jesus took great exception to the Temple practices. He objected to anything that tended to separate people from direct access to their God and to God's forgiveness. He decried the religious commerce as unjust. The cursing of the fig tree in our Gospel account today is a symbolic image of the withering of the holy city and its Temple.

The temple officials thought they were doing right. They believed they were protecting God's holiness.

We see a similar concern in 1 Timothy, especially in the verses 11-15 which are omitted from the Daily Office readings in our prayer book. (They were also skipped in the 1928 Prayer Book.) We know from 1 Corinthians that women prayed and prophesied publicly in worship in Paul's churches. We know that women held remarkably egalitarian status in Paul's churches as well as among Jesus' followers. But later generations qualified that model of inclusion. Writing in the name of Paul, the author of 1 Timothy sternly silences women and places them in a secondary position. No doubt, the author believed himself to be protecting the holiness of the church and to be following God's will.

What practices do we see in our contemporary church that may be well intentioned but actually compromise the full freedom of worship and praise from God's people? Maybe more importantly, what practices do we not see because we have inherited them as our norms? Jesus was particularly effective at breaking down these unnecessary barriers while maintaining a Spirit of holiness. He was able to do so because he looked with new eyes focused on the presence of God. His "reforms" were not well received by those in authority. We do not have such a good record at receiving such reforms in our worship either.

Today is the feast of Absalom Jones, the first African-American priest of the Episcopal Church. He was born a slave. He taught himself to read out of the New Testament and in a school run by Quakers. He was the property of good, Christian people. He purchased his wife's freedom at age 20. It took 18 more years for him to purchase his own. Jones was such an effective evangelist that he increased the Black membership of the church he attended in Philadelphia to the point that an alarmed vestry decided to segregate the Black members into the balcony one Sunday. Jones led them to walk out of the church.

Eventually, the congregation that Absalom Jones led was received into the Episcopal Church and he was ordained deacon and later priest. It is a sad yet inspiring story. From our perspective we can see the injustice of slavery and racial prejudice. But I'm sure at the time everyone was doing what they thought was best. It usually takes a great conflict of values to bring changes that expand the full freedom of worship and praise from God's people.

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

The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Our Rule of Life:
We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.