Friday, April 27, 2007

Restoration, Forgiveness & Freedom

Friday, April 27, 2007 -- Week of 3 Easter

"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. 960)
Psalms 105:1-22 (morning) 105:23-45 (evening)
Daniel 6:1-15
2 John 1-13
Luke 5:12-26

This story in Luke's gospel seems like a rich one for meditation. Jesus heals a man "covered with leprosy" and a paralyzed man on a bed.

Some thoughts about their conditions. The word translated "leprosy" includes a variety of diseases other than the one we know today as Hansen's disease. Chapters 13 and 14 of Leviticus outline a number of skin conditions that would render a person unclean, requiring their exclusion from the community, including their immediate family. They were impure spiritually, physically and socially. It really is worth the time to read Leviticus 13-14 to see the conditions and diagnosis of leprous disease as well as the three purification rituals that could allow one's return to the community.

It is remarkable that Jesus reached out and touched this man. To do so would make Jesus ritually unclean according to Leviticus. Jesus heals him, and tells him to go to the priest to undertake the proscribed eight-day purification rituals in order to be restored. The impact of this healing was not merely to cure a disease, but to allow him to become part of the community again.

Jesus also heals a paralytic. But Jesus doesn't just address his physical condition. When Jesus addresses him, Jesus says, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you." To speak so would be considered blasphemy. Only God may forgive sins. His words prompt a religious dispute with the authorities. Jesus answers, "So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." -- and Jesus tells the paralyzed man to stand up. He does.

The term "Son of Man" is an ambiguous one. It could refer to the Son of Man that the book of Daniel describes in apocalyptic language as coming on the clouds of heaven. It could also be a generic reference to a human being, much as C.S. Lewis uses in his Narnia series when he speaks of "Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve." In Matthew's version of this healing, the people leave with awe and glorify God "who had given such authority to human beings."

For me these stories are narrative pictures of how Jesus can restore us to health and community. When we feel unclean or when we have been shunned or excluded from community, we need the cleansing compassionate touch of Jesus, who reaches beyond our social boundaries to create community. When we feel stuck, unable to move or decide, trapped and unable to live freely, Jesus liberates us so that we can walk again, taking away anything that may burden our conscience. He gives us freedom and forgiveness.

For those of us with too many obligations or too few choices, or for those of us with high control needs or problems bigger than the solutions at hand, hearing these words can lighten our load and give us freedom to move. "Friend, you sins are forgiven you... I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home." For me, taking up your bed is picking up whatever you've been lying on frozen. Going home is returning to that relationship of peace and trust which is our home in Christ.

This is the work of Jesus. To restore community; to cleanse and liberate so that we can be truly alive again. He touches us and we are clean; he speaks and we are liberated.

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Mortal & Venial Sins

Thursday, April 26, 2007 -- Week of 3 Easter

"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. 960)
Psalms 37:1-18 (morning) 37:19-42 (evening)
Daniel 5:13-30
1 John 5:13-20 (21)
Luke 5:1-11

There is a passage in today's epistle that has spawned much speculation and debate. "If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask and God will give life to such a one -- to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal."

In the context of 1 John, and the polemic we have already read in this epistle about those who have separated from the community, it is likely that the writer's vision of mortal sin is related to the behavior of the opponents he has been addressing as "antichrists." These are former members who have left the community. It is not entirely clear what the issues of conflict were, but the best guess is that those who left were docetists who denied the full humanity of Christ. They accepted that the divine came to earth appearing like a human in the life of Jesus, but they insisted that God could not suffer pain and death. The epistle of 1 John and the canonical writings insisted that Jesus was fully human. For 1 John it would be a mortal sin if one "denies the Father and the Son" (2:22)

Mark's gospel has a passage that is unique to Mark which speaks of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as "an eternal sin." Hebrews 10:26 says, "if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin."

These three passages have prompted a great deal of writing. The category of mortal and non-mortal or venial sin has energized much theological debate. What is a mortal sin and what is a venial sin?

Thomas Aquinas laid the traditional Catholic foundations about mortal sin. A mortal sin is one which must meet three conditions:
1. Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter.
2. Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the sinner.
3. Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the sinner.

In other words you can't accidentally commit mortal sin; it is premeditated and deliberate. I think these are helpful distinctions. But the devil is always in the details.

If you have ever read treatises on categories of sin, you may find as I have that they can become pretty bizarre. Deliberately missing on Sunday and masturbation can get into the same lists as murder and incest. The theologians don't mean to say they are of the same weight, but the categories and reasoning get knotty. Why would male prostitution be singled out without any reference to female prostitution?

However, I find these studies to be helpful in three ways.

First, there are degrees of seriousness in our sins. (I've always thought it helpful that traditional Catholic categories consider spiritual sins more serious than carnal sins.)

Second, these lists help underline the seriousness and ubiquitousness of our sin. I've used a sin list as preparation before Ash Wednesday or for making my own confession. If you can't think of very many bad things and thoughts you've committed, the list will jog your memory and your conscience.

Third, though it almost feels like a footnote in some tracts, traditional theology always reminds us that we may be forgiven for our sins and offers us a path to forgiveness and renewal.

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The Ministry of Healing

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 -- Week of 3 Easter
Feast of St. Mark

"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
Readings for Wednesday of 3 Easter (p. 960)
Psalms 38 (morning) 119:25-48 (evening)
Daniel 5:1-12
1 John 5:1-12
Luke 4:38-44

OR
Readings for St. Mark's Day (p. 997)
Morning Prayer: Psalm 145 Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11 Acts 12:25-13:3
Evening Prayer: Psalms 67, 96 Isaiah 62:6-12 Timothy 4:1-11

(I used the readings for 3 Easter)

As we see the opening of Jesus' ministry in Luke's account, we see the centrality of healing as a focus of his work. He first heals Peter's mother-in-law (presumably on the sabbath -- again a violation of the traditional interpretation of the 4th Commandment). Then as the sun sets and the next day begins, according to Jewish reckoning, he continues his work of healing the sick.

In response to this tradition it has been a focus of Christian ministry to promote healing and health care. Throughout the world, many hospitals have their origins in the work of churches or Christian groups. I did my Clinical Pastoral Education in an Episcopal hospital, St. Luke's on the upper west side of Manhattan. In Fort Smith where I formerly served, Sparks Hospital had its start as St. John's Hospital when the Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church saw a need for medical care, especially when a dock worker was hurt on the Arkansas River. The other hospital is still administered by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy. Our congregation and diocese here began the St. Francis House to offer medical and dental care to people without insurance or with bars to access. That ministry has grown into an expanding $5-million a year clinic that is our region's largest clinic serving the medically underserved.

When Medicare was created to insure coverage for elderly Americans and when Medicaid increased care for the poor, many of the people who supported such legislation did so out of religious conviction. Many church-related individuals and groups are among those who are urging our legislators to create some form of universal access to basic medical care for our nation. The partnership between committed Christians and the healing professions has been a consistent and natural one.

I am also increasingly moved by the wonder and effectiveness of prayer and the church's healing ministry of intercession. Our growing Healing Touch ministry at St. Paul's is having a tremendous impact, especially for people who live with chronic pain. In my 27 years of ministry I have seen the same kinds of healing that we read about from the ministry of Jesus. One of the ways we remain faithful to the Spirit of Jesus is in our activities of healing.
____

Just a quick background note as we start the story of Belshazzar's feast in Daniel. One of the motivations for the writing of Daniel was the sacrilege of Antiochus IV who sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Jerusalem Temple and tried to force Jewish men to eat it. Pork is an unclean meat and swine is unclean according to the Jewish purity code. When the Jews refused to eat, he had their tongues cut out, scalped them, cut off their hands and feet and had them burned on the Temple altar. His actions provoked the successful revolt of Judas Maccabeaus. The book of Daniel was written between the time of Antiochus' sacrilege and the rededication of the Temple in 164 BCE, commemorated today in the festival of Hanukkah.

In the Daniel story, Belshazzar has a feast using the gold and silver vessels taken from the Jerusalem Temple by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. There is a supernatural response from God to Belshazzar's sacrilege. (Historical note: Belshazzar was not king of Babylon, but served as its regent in place of his father Nabonidus (556-539 BCE). For a while Nabonidus lived in an oasis in the desert of Arabia while his son ruled in his place. It is thought that the story in chapter 4 of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar -- "let his lot be with the animals of the field in the grass of the earth" -- may have historical roots in the absentee reign of Nabonidus.)

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

God is Love

Tuesday, April 24, 2007, -- Week of 3 Easter

"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. 960)
Psalms 26, 28 (morning) 36, 39 (evening)
Daniel 4:28-37
1 John 4:7-21
Luke 4:31-37

This passage in 1 John is among the most exquisite in all of scripture. It presents God's love for us as being utterly foundational. "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him... God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them... There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear... We love because he first loved us."

God is love. God loves us. To abide in love is to abide in God. God's love is so full and so perfect, that we can fear nothing. (This is the context for another maxim: "If God is for us, who can be against us?") We see God's love manifested concretely for us in the incarnation of Jesus. This is what God's love looks like in human life.

The gospel reading today gives us a nice glimpse of John's theology in a story. Jesus is in the synagogue, and there is an encounter of opposites. A man "who had the spirit of an unclean demon" shouts at Jesus, "Let us alone! ...I know who you are, the Holy One of God." From the perspective of the purity code, an unclean demon is the exact opposite of the Holy One of God.

Jesus rebukes the spirit which leaves the man unharmed. Perfect love has cast out fear.

Yet, there is some hangover from this encounter. Saving this man leaves Jesus vulnerable to the charge that Jesus has violated the sabbath. Further, if Jesus confirms the proclamation of the man -- "you are the Holy One of God" -- he will be vulnerable to the charge of blasphemy. Jesus will be accused of breaking the commandments of the Biblical law; Jesus will be accused of blasphemy. From a legalistic religious perspective, those charges will stick, and he will be condemned.

We have a hard time expanding our consciousness to realize the wonder of this God of love. God is love, and love transcends and crosses boundaries of religious law and commandment. When love is manifest, it is the manifestation of God. the commandments must stretch to welcome unexpected love. And when love is present and active within and among human life, it is the presence of the Holy One of God within and among us. "Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God... God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them..."

The encounter in the synagogue and its consequences serve as a reminder to us, to religious people, that our perspective can be too limited toward God. We do not have a monopoly on God. Wherever love is, there is God. Don't oppose that.

And, when you think about it, has there ever been a human life that did not receive and give love in some sense? Has there ever been a human who did not respond to love with love in some form? Love is ubiquitous; universal. Those who follow Jesus, who listen to his voice, will rejoice wherever love is manifest. Even on the sabbath; even outside our faith tradition or our theology. Whoever receives love or gives love lives in God and is one with God. Do not condemn love. Do not be afraid.

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Monday, April 23, 2007

When our hearts accuse us

Monday, April 23, 2007 -- Week of 3 Easter

"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. 960)
Psalms 25 (morning) 9, 15 (evening)
Daniel 4:19-27
1 John 3:19 - 4:6
Luke 4:14-30


Two things strike me today particularly.

First, 1 John writes that our hearts may be reassured before God "whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and [God] knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God..."

Gerald May is one of my favorite authors and spiritual directors. He says that in all his experience as a psychiatrist and as a human being, the most pervasive pathology he has seen is the incredible harshness we have toward ourselves. He is convinced it is at the core of so many of our troubles. Some of us are meaner than others, but he says he has yet to meet a person in modern Western culture who was not in some way cruelly self-abusive.

The more cruel we are to ourselves, the more likely we are to be mean to others.
May suggests that if we want a more loving life, we need to be a whole lot gentler toward ourselves.

Here's a technique that might help: You know what tenderness is. Think of something that makes you feel that way -- perhaps being with a loved one who is suffering, or seeing a small child asleep -- whatever calls forth from you a feeling of warmth and tenderness or just simple caring. Feel that feeling. You can do that, almost without trying. It's a very familiar feeling, well known to you. Can you now, just for a moment, feel that way toward yourself? Simply bring a little kindness toward yourself from time to time. (But, for God's sake, do not throw upon yourself the extra burden of having to feel kindly toward yourself.)

God, who is love, "is greater than our hearts, and [God] knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God..."

Well, I've written enough for one Reflection, but I was struck by Jesus' visit to his hometown synagogue. Everyone was fine with his words until he spoke with such generosity toward outsiders. Jesus did no miraculous act for them. Instead he reminded them of Elijah's kindness toward a foreign woman during the drought and Elisha's healing of a Syrian leper. Three illustrations of caring for the foreigner even before taking care of own's own. That's what made the locals angry. I wonder what that says about our priorities -- foreign aid, MDG's, etc.

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Friday, April 20, 2007

Memories

Friday, April 20, 2007 -- Week of 2 Easter

"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. 958)
Psalms 16, 17 (morning) 134, 135 (evening)
Daniel 3:1-18
1 John 3:1-10
Luke 3:15-22

The story of Nebuchadnezzar (7th century BCE) is a perfect vehicle for the author of Daniel to comment on the crisis provoked by Antiochus IV (175-163) when he placed a statue of Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple and demanded that Jews worship or be killed. In the cultural context of Greece and Rome, such an act was a sign of loyalty, not unlike standing for the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem. When observant Jews refused to worship many were persecuted. The book of Daniel is written to encourage them.

Whenever I read Daniel I am also reminded of my past. My earliest familiarity with the Bible was reading a Bible story book at my grandparents' home. Daniel and the Lion's Den was my favorite story. I read it over and over. I can still see the black-and-white illustration of Daniel serenely standing among the lions. He looked young; not much older than I was. Maybe I could be like Daniel.

But the story of the three men being put into the fiery furnace was more troubling. I could imagine the lions' story, but the fire was too scary. I did enjoy learning to pronounce their names, however -- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. (I remember playing some fun with that in later life -- something about a dinner serving shad roe, Michelob and a beer-to-go.)

The other memory that always returns is the giggling that inevitably happens whenever today's passage is read out-loud at Morning Prayer. The repitition of the lists invites either embarassed tounge stammering or wonder and drama from the oral reader -- "the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the couselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province" and "the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble." A bit like Arlo Guthrie's 60's classic Alice's Restaurant -- "Thirty-four 8 by 10 color glossy pictures with circle and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us." So many good stories have wonderful repititious phrases. It's a reminder that the Bible was intended to be read out loud and listened to with the ear, not just read silently.

One more little reminder from my past. I remember being curious about 1 John. In 1:8 he writes, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us... If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." Then in today's reading he says, "No one abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ...Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God's seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God." It's one of a number of contradictions we find in scripture. (I once had a letter from someone listing 36 pairs of passages like this.) Like Jesus, the Bible is fully divine and fully human. It is written by human beings and it reveals God. We are part of the conversation too as we read, interpret and internalize its gifts.

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Conflicts

Thursday, April 19, 2007 -- Week of 2 Easter
[Aphege of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012]

"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. 958)
Psalms 18:1-20 (morning) 18:21-50 (evening)
Daniel 2:31-49
1 John 2:18-29
Luke 3:1-14

By the time of the writing or final editing of 1 John, the Christian community it addresses has long separated from the Jewish synagogue. They have given up hope of reconciling or of successfully convincing Jews that Jesus is the promised Messiah. The language of the Johannine school toward the Jews is among the most polemical of our New Testament.

But 1 John reveals a different kind of conflict within the Gentile Christian community. Docetism is the teaching that Jesus was not really human, but rather was a divine apparition who took on the appearance of a human in order to bring true knowledge of God -- Jesus the heavenly figure who speaks divine Wisdom. When combined with Gnostic sensitivities, this true knowledge gave believers the keys necessary to escape from the futility of material existence with its inevitable decay and to ascend into the realm of the eternal spirit. Spirit, good; matter bad.

1 John is written to a community that has insisted that Jesus is the man from heaven, the heavenly human. He is fully human -- flesh and blood. This belief has proved unacceptable to some and they have left. 1 John is a statement of encouragement for those who continue in the community, and a statement of polemic about those who have left. "Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. ...They went out from us, but they did not belong to us." Some see 1 John as a response to other writings from the early church such as the Gospel of Thomas.

Docetism continues in some contemporary expressions of Christianity. When Jesus is described in colors of such full divinity that the notion that he might have human limitations seems scandalous, that way of proclaiming the gospel shares some docetic qualities.
____________________

The Book of Daniel was composed between 167 and 164 BCE in the time of the occupation of the Seleucid Syrian ruler Antiochus IV who desecrated the Jerusalem Temple, prompting the revolt of Judas Maccabeaus. The story we read today is a legend set in the second year of the famous Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar (603 BCE).

The dream that Daniel interprets describes a Colossi -- a giant statue of a god or ruler. Such statues were symbols of Greek power throughout the Hellenistic world when this book was written. The five parts of the statue represent the succession of empires that would rule Judea between 600 and 164 BCE -- Babylon (gold), Media (silver), Persia (bronze), Greece (iron), and the mixed dynasties of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid rulers (iron and clay). Note the decreasing values of the materials, symbolizing an historical decline.

The stone which destroys this Colossi is "cut out, not by human hands." It is an act of God, and the stone "became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed." Daniel articulates the dream of an independent Jewish state under God's rule. Such a vision motivated the Maccabean revolt. After the demise of the Maccabeas, this became one of the passages treasured as a prophecy of an eventual eschatological kingdom of 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

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

That we all may be one

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 -- Week of 2 Easter

"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. 958)
Psalms 119:1-24 (morning) 12, 13, 14 (evening)
Daniel 2:17-30
1 John 2:12-17
John 17:20-26

Jesus closes his declaratory prayer with a beautiful petition "that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us." We are invited to live within the very life of the Holy Trinity. Furthermore, Jesus gives to us the very same divine glory that he has received from the Father, "so that they may be one, as we are one. I am them and you in me, that they may be completely one." Jesus prays his desire "that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, ...so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

These are the words which correspond to the actions and symbolism of the Eucharist. In the Eucharist we are made one with Christ and each other, feeding on the food which is the life and presence of Christ, who is one with God. We are constituted by the Eucharist. Our participation gives us communion with God and union with one another. Mortals eat the bread of the divine.

Jesus prays that the union that God gives may be for the sake of the world, "so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." Our dismissal from the Eucharist reminds us that we have been nourished, blessed, and united to go into the world and be Christ's hands and heart and voice. It has often been said, "You may be the only Christ that someone else may know." What an awesome gift and responsibility.

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Living in the World

Tuesday, April 17, 2007 -- Week of 2 Easter

"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. 958)
Psalms 5, 6 (morning) 10, 11 (evening)
Daniel 2:1-16
1 John 2:1-11
John 17:12-19

Unlike the other gospels and the message of Paul, John is not so much concerned with sin as ethical failure or personal wrongdoing. For John, there is a cosmic problem. We live in a state of blindness -- an alienation from God which leaves us dead in darkness. Jesus came to bring light and life into the dark world. His was a cosmic mission. The cross is the glorification of God through Jesus, who, when he is "lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

So we who are drawn to Jesus receive new life from Christ through his indwelling Spirit -- we are branches of the vine. Living in this life and light, ethical sin can be eradicated because we live by the "new commandment" to love one another.

John uses the language of contrast to make his point, especially through the contrast of light and darkness. The "world" is his symbol for this state of cosmic alienation. But God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Those who recognize him will live in the light, experience divine joy, and act in love. They will share the glory of the Father and the Son.

Yet, they remain living in the world but not of the world. In the context of the struggle and tribulation of a surrounding darkness, they may yet experience joy because their life is organically united with God through Christ in the Spirit.

John's imagery and theology speaks powerfully in the presence of a stunning act of darkness such as what happened yesterday at Virginia Tech University. We see the depths of darkness; a darkness that leaves us stunned and horrified. Yet we remember that Jesus has come into this world and absorbed such violence and evil into his life and overcome it with the light of resurrection.

In services last night we offered these prayers at both St. Paul's and St. Martin's as a context for our horror:

Lord of Life, you trampled death under your feet so that we might come alive in your eternal light. We remember before you those who have suffered violence this day at our sister campus of Virginia Tech University. In our anger and confusion, we need your help to find our way.

When your own child, Jesus, suffered violent death, you acted through it to redeem the world. Help us to live into that knowledge as we remember those who have died and who now live because of that great gift of your love. Help us to release them to you. Protect and heal those who have been injured. Grant us strength, and the Spirit of healing and peace so that we may labor for your just and peaceable Kingdom, where all your children live in safety and fulfillment, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Monday, April 16, 2007

Living Faithfully

Monday, April 16, 2007 -- Week of 2 Easter

"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. 958)
Psalms 1, 2, 3, (morning) 4, 7 (evening)
Daniel 1:1-21
1 John 1:1-10
John 17:1-11

As we enter the weeks of Easter, there is an encouraging correspondence in the lectionary readings. We will read the opening stories of Daniel 1-6 which give us six tales of Daniel and his friends set in the days of Israel's exile. We will see the wise man Daniel who lives faithfully, observing the ancient traditions, in the difficulties of the Babylonian exile. The stories invite recommitment to God's ways and our deepest identity as God's servants, especially in the presence of struggle. And we will read the 3 epistles of John, initially alongside the Great Declaratory Prayer of John's gospel, and then in companionship with Luke.

John's gospel stresses the presence of God in Jesus. 1 John stresses the reality and significance of the humanity of Jesus. We are invited to walk in the light through an obedience manifested as love.

In the first story from Daniel, we find him with his companions serving among the counselors and wise men of the king's court. Will they compromise their identity and eat the non-kosher royal rations of food and wine? A sympathetic palace master (literally "chief eunuch") arranges a test proposed by Daniel, and the young men eat only vegetables and water for ten days. "At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating royal rations." The theme is introduced: God will uphold those who are faithful.

The Great 50 Days of Easter is a good season for reestablishing healthy habits of prayer and action. We have just experienced the austerities of Lent. We have walked the way of the cross during Holy Week. And we have greeted the light of the resurrection with joyful Alleluias. The earth around us awakens from its winter slumber with color and new life. All creation seems newly energized and grateful.

With energized and grateful hearts we can recommit ourselves to the stewardship of our bodies with faithful diet and exercise.

We can recommit ourselves to our baptismal promises:
* to continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers
* to persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repentance and return to the Lord
* to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ
* to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourself
* to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being

Our collect for this week (2 Easter) seems to voice this theme nicely:
Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant ofreconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Friday, April 13, 2007

No Other Name?

Friday, April 13, 2007 -- Friday in Easter Week

"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. 958)
Psalms 136 (morning) 118 (evening)
Daniel 12:1-4, 13
Acts 4:1-12
John 16:1-15

Today Peter utters one of the most exclusivist claims of the New Testament as he speaks passionately in his witness for Jesus: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." There are two or three other similar passages in our scripture. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

I remember taking great pride and comfort in these claims during a time when it felt important to be right. All of us go thorough a stage of maturation that Thomas Keating calls our "mythic membership" period. My primary sense of identity then was through my association with groups that were bigger than I. Bumper stickers seemed an important way to proclaim my belonging and identity. I was an American; an Episcopalian; an Ole Miss Rebel. The claims of these groups were pretty absolute, as was my loyalty and sense of identity. Sometimes I would earnestly engage in witness as to the superiority of my associations -- America is the greatest country in the world; the Episcopal Church is the best denomination in Christianity; the Rebel's are #1. In a different way, I could say that I had the best Mom in the world, and once I met Kathy, I knew, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

There is a sense in which these claims are all true. But if taken literally, they raise some issues. If the name of Jesus is the only route of salvation, then some gross injustice must ensue. What of the person who never hears of Jesus? What of the person who hears of Jesus, but from an inferior form of witness that is only worthy of censure? What of the good person of strong ethic and holy deportment who lives to the highest vision of that person's inherited culture? I remember when I was a self-centered and unformed little brat, hearing someone tell me that because I was a Christian I was going to heaven, while all of those Hindus and Moslems and Buddhists were going to hell. I wondered about the scandal of luck that I enjoyed having been born in a Christian culture. What if I had been born in India? Wouldn't I be the same person? I would probably adopt the faith of my native culture there just as I have here. Would I be worthy of hell? Why am I qualified for heaven just because I'm here not there? When I read of the holy lives of Gandhi and the Dalai Lama and considered how I would be eternally rewarded while they eternally tortured, the notion made God unjust. Human beings have better morals than that. God is, at least, better than we are. There is nothing in the life of Jesus and his relationships with people of other faiths that would lead us to think God was that way. This was not the God of Jesus.

I don't believe those exclusivist, imperialistic claims any more. I can understand their origins -- when you experience something powerful and meaningful, you tend to universalize your experience; you desire the same good for everyone. I wish everyone could love the Rebels the way I do or have such a good mother.

Happily, in our scriptural tradition there are also other more universal sentiments. "Anyone who is not against me is for me." "I have other sheep who are not of this fold." When we look at Jesus we see that he made no distinction between believer and unbeliever, insider and outsider in his ministry. Part of the early teaching of the Church was that just as in Adam's fall all humans were condemned to die, so in Jesus' resurrection, all will be made alive. I believe that God's triumph will be complete. My own experience of God is so compelling, that it seems impossible to me that any human will can resist such love forever.

I also take comfort in the Doctrine of the Trinity. Wherever God is revealed, it is the work and activity of the eternal Word, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity through who all things were made. Christians name the Second Person, Jesus. Wherever any goodness or truth or beauty has breath, it is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The exclusivist God is too small. God's saving presence is universal. So often when I have talked with mature people of a different faith about their own spiritual experience and practice, it has resonance with my experience of Jesus. Just like when I see how much some of my friends love the Hogs. It's like my love of the Rebels. There is a love of school that transcends the exclusive claims of one school.

The universal presence and saving activity of God transcends just the name of Jesus, though I give that name to the work of God in creation as I have known God in the Trinity and the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus, who carries my absolute love and identity.


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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Raised from Ignorance to Life

Thursday, April 12, 2007 -- Thursday of Easter Week

"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. 958)
Psalms 146, 147 (morning) 148, 149 (evening)
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Acts 3:11-26
John 15:12-27


Peter has caused quite a stir in the Temple region with the healing of a man who was born lame. Now this man is restored not only to health, but also to the praying community, for the law of Leviticus prohibited anyone who was lame or otherwise handicapped from joining the prayers. Peter declares that it is by the power of Jesus that this man has been healed, the same Jesus who was crucified. Peter tells them that this Jesus whom they crucified was God's Messiah, and that God has raised him from the dead.

"And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers." Peter's words echo Jesus from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." They also pick up on a familiar refrain repeated today in John's Gospel where Jesus speaks over and over of those who "do not know him who sent me."

So much of the Biblical account speaks of our ignorance and the devastating consequences of our acting out of ignorance. The leaders and people did not recognize that Jesus was the Messiah sent from God, and thinking they were doing God's will, they crucified him. Or, in John's language, the world does not know the Father, and therefore does not know the Son.

What God does in the face of our ignorance is resurrection. "You killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dad," says Peter. "To this we are witnesses." Our first lesson offers one of the most compelling images of God's resurrection activity. The hand of the Lord takes the prophet Ezekiel to a valley which is filled with bones. "Mortal, can the bones live?" God tells Ezekiel to "Prophesy to these bones." Tell the bones that God will cause breath/wind/spirit to enter into them and they will live. The dramatic vision ensues, with noisy bones rattling, reforming with sinew and flesh and skin. But there is no breath in them. Then God sends the breath/wind/spirit into them and they rise from the dead. "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel." God promises to bring Israel back, "And you shall know that I am the Lord."

There is a connection between knowing God and resurrection. The enlightenment which overcomes ignorance brings life.

I have shared the story of Suzanne Simon with our congregation when teaching about forgiveness. Her story of healing and enlightenment is a story about her recovery from being sexually abused by her father from age six to eleven. She looked at all the ways that her dysfunctional coping with her pain had messed up her life for years. Part of her breakthrough came when she realized that throughout that time, she was doing the best she could, for the most part. She looked at the painful ignorance that had haunted her life and she realized that "for the most part, each and every one of us is doing the best we can with the insight, resources, and emotional nourishment available to us. If we had more conscious awareness of what makes us tick, more information and alternatives available to us, different life experiences more love, support, and encouragement, we could have done better. And we would have."

Her breakthrough came when she realized what was true for her was also true for her father. He also was a broken and ignorant person. He had been injured at work and was permanently disabled, unemployed, depressed. What he did to her was wrong and incredibly damaging. He shouldn't have done it. But, if he had more insight, resources, and emotional nourishment, more love, support and encouragement, he would have done better. Her acceptance of his wounded ignorance became the gate opening her to the possibility of granting forgiveness to him, which became her liberation. It was resurrection for her.

God's answer to the curse of our ignorance and the awful things we do is the forgiveness that brings resurrection. Dry bones can live again.

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 -- Wednesday of Easter Week

"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. 958)
Psalms 97, 99 (morning) 115 (evening)
Micah 7:7-15
Acts 3:1-10
John 15:1-11


"He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

In one short verse, Micah summarizes the message of the prophets. Their message is consistent with the teaching of Jesus. The prophetic call is based on three important Hebrew words.

"Mishpat" -- justice -- is the foundational value that the prophets demand in the name of God governing the social and economic relationships among God's people. Justice demands fairness and equality, especially on behalf of the weak and the poor.

"Hesed" -- kindness -- is sometimes translated mercy or steadfast love. It describes the loyalty and integrity of a person who fulfills one's social obligations responsibly.

"Hatsnea' lekhet" -- to walk humbly -- contrasts with exploiting power in order to abuse or cheat or oppress another. Micah like the other prophets decry the corruption, greed and injustice that destroy the integrity of a society.

This is the social, economic and political agenda of the prophets -- do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly. Usually they address their complain toward the powerful and the wealthy who most commonly in history use their power to pursue their own ends selfishly -- ignoring the demands of justice, kindness, and humility.

In John's gospel we see Jesus using the word "love" to summarize these expectations. "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." If we abide in love, we will fulfill the values of the ancient prophets -- we will do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. And Jesus tell us we will have joy: "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete."

In the Acts of the Apostles we see the effect of this abiding in love in action. Peter and John are entering the Temple for one of the daily hours of prayer. At the gate is a man who was born lame. He is excluded from the Temple prayers: "For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long, or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or a man with a blemish in his eyes or and each team disease or scabs are crushed testicles" may enter the sanctuaries ( Leviticus 21:18f). The lame man begs at the temple entrance because the Torah commands almsgiving from God's congregation.

Traditionally, in Mediterranean culture one would offer one's eyes from looking upon someone with the listed conditions. These were people who were regarded as sinners, afflicted by evil on account of sin and wrongdoing. To look at them would be to risk contamination by whatever evil punishes them.

"Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, 'Look at us.'" That is a remarkable moment. How much of our energy do we spend looking away from what is uncomfortable? ...averting our attention from suffering and poverty? Defying custom, Peter and John look at the lame man and offer him healing in the name of Jesus. For the first time in his life he is able to enter the Temple, join the prayers, and praise God, like everybody else. This is the active form of love which does justice, loves kindness, and walks humbly.
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 Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Living in the Spirit

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 -- Tuesday in Easter Week

"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. 958)
Psalms 103 (morning) 111, 114 (evening)
Isaiah 30:18-21
Acts 2:36-41 (42-47)
John 14:15-31

What wonderful readings we have today!

Isaiah speaks of a way of walking in the presence of God. There is an intuitive sense within which can guide us faithfully. "When you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'"

And Jesus' discourse from John's Gospel elaborates on this intimate presence of God. "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth..."

Jesus speaks of our living within the dynamic life of love which characterizes the very being of God the Holy Trinity. "Those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them... The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you."

Jesus teaches that this kind of living in the Spirit brings peace. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you."

Peter's Pentecost speech also lays out some fundamentals. When those who are listening are convinced that Jesus is the crucified and risen Lord and Messiah, they ask Peter, "What should we do?" The answer: repent and be baptized. The results: forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. A multitude respond and were baptized. Acts 2:42 nicely summarizes the rule of life that they adopted: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." That phrase is part of our Baptismal Covenant.

It is interesting to note the practice of the early church to hold all material "things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." Except for monastic communities, Christians have largely abandoned this practice. I remember during my childhood while growing up in the Cold War, a particularly confrontational interpreter cited this passage as Biblical warrant for some form of communism or socialism. He poignantly challenged us to defend the greed-centered economics of capitalism. I felt pretty intimidated.

The other descriptions of the church's common life included daily prayer in the Temple and some form of Eucharist or eating together in homes. In some periods of church history it was customary for worshippers to take home enough bread from the Sunday Eucharist to be able to break bread daily in a domestic eucharistic ritual.

These readings bring to mind two norms of Christian living:

(1) The nurture of our constant awareness of God, living moment to moment in relationship with God's Spirit.

(2) The practice of a rule of life which includes some disciplines of prayer, service, fellowship, and stewardship.

At St. Paul's we like to encourage everyone to "worship weekly, pray daily, learn constantly, serve joyfully, and give generously."

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Monday, April 09, 2007

Greater Things Than These

Monday, April 9, 2007 -- Monday of Easter Week

"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. 958)
Psalms 93, 98 (morning) 66 (evening)
Jonah 2:1-9
Acts 2:14, 22-32
John 14:1-14


"Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, we'll do greater works than these, because I am going to the father."

As I read those words this morning, it struck me how they have come true. Through millions of compassionate disciples, wonderful good works have been accomplished in the name of Jesus. All of the wonderful acts of healing, feeding, restoring, and uniting have happened in the amplified quantities through the church and its institutions and through individual Christians living out their ministries.

Jesus fed the multitudes; Christian ministries have brought food to millions. Jesus was best known as a healer; Christian hospitals and doctors have brought healing ministries around the world. Jesus touched lepers; leprosy and so many other dread diseases have been overcome and limited; Christians are taking leading roles in addressing both the stigma and the care for persons living with AIDS. Jesus practiced a radical hospitality, especially toward outsiders, and offered gracious compassion to the poor; compassionate ministries and kind actions by his followers abound throughout the world. Jesus taught using illustrations from nature, showing a caring alertness toward plants, weather, birds and fish; Christian environmentalists are at the forefront of advocacy for our planet. Jesus taught people about a loving, gracious God whose forgiveness and compassion is without bound; the church proclaims the goodness of God, although our history is riddled with moments when we have been unable to embrace a God who is as loving as the One whom Jesus pictures. Jesus raised the dead to life; I have seen many who have found new life through Jesus and the ministries in his name, and I have seen a few who were physically dead rise and live again through medicine and mysteries beyond medicine.

Life in the resurrection is a life that seeks to imitate Jesus. Whenever that happens, his Spirit is present to accomplish the same reconciliation and healing that happened during Jesus' earthly ministry. "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." When we act in a manner that is consistent with Jesus' Spirit, the same wonders happen.


Lowell
______________________

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

Friday, April 06, 2007

Following Death

Friday, April 6, 2007 -- Good Friday

"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. 956)
Psalms 95* & 22 (morning) 40:1-14 (15-19), 54 (evening)
* for the Invitatory
Wisdom 1:16 - 2:1, 12-22 or Genesis 22:1-14
(Wisdom is found in the Apocrypha)
1 Peter 1:10-20
John 13:36-38 (morning prayer)
John 19:38-42 (evening prayer)

[I read lesson from Wisdom and both John readings]

The readings from John frame the passion of Christ. We begin with Peter's confident good intentions to follow Christ, even to lay down his life for him. "Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times." Jesus knows, we know: Peter will fail. We are all Peter.

After the damage is done -- Jesus has been convicted, tortured, and brutally executed with public humiliation -- two men of status come forward. Up until now they have been afraid to risk open association with Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea had been a secret disciple. Now he petitions Pilate for possession of the dead body of Jesus. It is a bold and risky request. Nicodemus had come to Jesus under cover of darkness to have a dialogue about being born from above. He had spoken up on behalf of Jesus unsuccessfully in the Sanhedrin. He brings an extravagant quantity of spices for wrapping the body.

Each of these three -- Peter, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus -- has his own experience of crucifixion and resurrection.

At the crucial moment, Peter fails the most important person in his life. He denies Jesus three times. It is the kind of failure that can break a person. When his companion Judas discover the consequences of his failure, he could not live with himself. Peter might have reacted in the same way. Later, when Peter learns of the appearance of the risen Lord, he could have been frozen with such guilt and shame that he might have been afraid or unable to respond to such a possibility.

Instead, Peter is humble enough to encounter the risen Jesus and to allow the Lord to ask him three times, "Peter, do you love me?" Three times -- with painful memory of his denials, no doubt -- he affirms, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He is commissioned to tend and feed Jesus' lambs. Peter experiences resurrection. He is healed.

Nicodemus and Joseph are powerful men. Nicodemus sits on the ruling Jewish Sanhedrin. Joseph is wealthy, and he has enough standing with the governor Pilate that he could ask for and receive the remains of a condemned capital criminal. According to the accounts, each of them has been drawn to Jesus. Each of them wanted to respond faithfully to something that they experienced in his being and in his ministry. But they guarded their privileges. They did not risk too much in their association with Jesus. When conflict accelerated, they either did not or could not use their power and influence to save Jesus from this tragedy.

Each of them might have been so overwhelmed with remorse or failure or impotence that each might have become stuck in their own darkness. Or they might have become fearful, seeing that the one they work attracted to has been ousted as an enemy of the state and the religion. They might have shrunk away relieved that they had not been caught up as victims of the vengeance of the day. Neither of them has lived up to his highest ideals. The whole project of Jesus is a failure. They could have cut their losses and backed away.

Instead, each of these men uses some of their power and substance to do what they can after the fact. They provide for a decent, respectful burial. It is a good thing to do. It will be enough. They will be remembered forever.

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 Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
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