Friday, February 27, 2009

Slaves and the Bible

Friday, February 27, 2009 -- Week of Last Epiphany, Year One
Lent
George Herbert, Priest, 1633

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 95* and 31 (morning) 35 (evening)
Deuteronomy 7:12-16
Titus 2:1-15
John 1:35-42

"Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to talk back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior." Titus 2:9-10

These were important words from scripture in a previous era of U. S. history. While some Christians called for an abolition to the institution of slavery, others pointed to this scripture passage, and many more, that seem to accept slavery as a given part of the social fabric, acceptable to God, even ordained by God for orderly life. There are quite a few passages in the Bible that discuss the management of slaves in a more or less humane manner. Pro-slavery Christians had abundant texts to site which treated slavery as normative.

Abolitionists had to look beyond a concordance word-study of the term "slavery." Otherwise they got cited to death. Abolitionists had to look past these slave-management passages to the core of the Biblical message. First they had to make the claim that slaves were fully human -- a claim that many challenged. Then they had to look at the macro-story of the scripture that tells us that God's purpose for human beings is free, abundant life -- Exodus and Resurrection. To live as property is inconsistent with God's greater purpose for human beings.

It was a long and uphill struggle. Not only did abolitionists have to overcome the Biblical interpreters, they also faced powerful economic and business opponents. Much of America's power, wealth and economic production was linked to slavery and believed itself to be dependent upon slave labor. They fought powerfully to silence and overcome the voices of freedom. Many were willing to go to war to protect their "way of life" and their "investments." They believed their cause was right. It was ancient and traditional; it was condoned by Scripture, and thus by God.

Today, we so clearly understand slavery to be oppressive and contrary to God's will that it is scandalous to Christian people. It is hard for us even to enter the mindset of our ancestors and what was for them conventional wisdom.

I see obvious parallels in contemporary debates about gay people. One happy difference, those who would defend the domination system of heterosexism have far fewer verses to throw at the defenders of freedom and equality.

There is a place of deep anxiety, however, for many contentious Christians who find themselves in a hard place. They have been taught that the scripture is the Word of God, infallible and trustworthy and inspired in a particular literal way. They might like to embrace a more equitable and charitable view, but feel constrained by what they understand to be the authoritative words from scripture.

It is helpful to reflect on old conflicts, like the fight over slavery. Christians then were able to promote a more central Biblical theme in such a way that its teaching transcended and qualified the slavery instructions so as to drain them of their oppressive power.

It is even more helpful to recognize that scripture itself is in conversation and debate with itself. Today's reading articulates a principle dogma for the author of Deuteronomy. If you are good, if you follow God's will, you will be blessed by God. (The opposite is also true for the Deuteronomic author -- if you are unjust, God will move actively to punish you.) Deuteronomy speaks this belief primarily in a corporate setting; Proverbs outlines the same doctrine for individuals.

I've just finished reading Job with a group of teens. Job is written to dispute and challenge the beliefs articulated in Deuteronomy and Proverbs. The book of Job asserts that it is not always true that God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. His three friends defend that traditional, conventional view, and at the end of Job, God tell them "you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done." (It is always amusing to me when I hear a preacher say, "Let's see what the Word of God says," and quotes a passage from one of these three friends as though it is true just because it is in the Bible. In their context within the book of Job, what these friends say is false or folly.)

The point: the Bible is a human book, written by human beings. It is our story of God's revealing God's divine life and truth to us, but it is not appropriate to treat it as if it were magic. The author of Titus (who is NOT Paul) is short-sighted about slavery and many other things concerning authority; the author of Deuteronomy has a simplistic view of justice that doesn't hold to the realities of God's creation.

Read the Bible every day. Read the Bible with deep devotion and respect. But don't abuse it, or use it to abuse God's creatures.

Lowell

_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Thursday, February 26, 2009

God's Choice: Love

Thursday, February 26, 2009 -- Week of Last Epiphany, Year One
Lent

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 37:1-18 (morning) 37:19-42 (evening)
Deuteronomy 7:6-11
Titus 1:1-16
John 1:29-34

One of the themes that runs through scripture is that God chooses to love us. God loves us because God chooses to do so. We are not particularly lovable or impressive. Nevertheless, God chooses to give God's love and life to us.

It sounds like a love story. There are lots of love stories that include a moment of realization, when one person recognizes that the other really does love them. The beloved responds with ecstatic joy, returning that love and promising to live faithfully out of the exquisite energy that is unique between lovers. We want to live up to the hopes of our lover. We want to be loved; we want to return love; we want to live in love. That's a simple description of the Holy Trinity. God enraptures humanity into the divine love that moves the cosmos.

Why did you fall in love with me? the beloved asks. The writer of Deuteronomy tells Israel, "It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you -- for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you..."

Love is its own excuse and its own end. Love is the means to its own end. God promises "steadfast love," "covenant loyalty" to us, because God loves us. God invites us to live in the same Spirit. To love God, to love our neighbors, to love ourselves.

In the sacrament of marriage, a couple promises to be faithful to one another. Faithfulness is the appropriate response between lovers.

To be faithful to God would be to love God and to love what God loves. God loves us. God loves what God creates: the earth, its creatures and people. When you look into the mirror, you see God's beloved. Rejoice. Beam with the joy of the beloved. Each person you see today is someone that God loves. Look upon the beloved. How fortunate and significant that person is. That one is the beloved of God. (Shh. Sometimes it almost seems like a secret. Look at so-and-so. Guess what. They've got a lover. I know who is in love with them.)

In a way, religion is nothing more than expansions on a theme. God loves us. God invites us into love. Therefore, be in love.

Lowell
____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit 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, February 24, 2009

Presumption

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 -- Week of Last Epiphany, Year One
Ash Wednesday


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 32, 143 (morning) 102, 130 (evening)

Jonah 3:1 - 4:11

Hebrews 12:1-14
Luke 18:9-14

The readings for Ash Wednesday warn us against presumption. Beware of unearned privilege. Standing and status account for nothing. God expects us to be people of humility, discipline and compassion.

What a treat it is to read the heart of that wonderful short story "Jonah." We remember the part about his trying to escape God's call by going in the opposite direction and getting caught by the whale. Great fun. But now that God has Jonah's attention, a second time God calls him to his mission: "Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."


Niniveh is the enemy. These are the bad guys. Get up Jonah, go to the Taliban, and proclaim to them what I tell you. Get the message to Al Qaeda.


"You've got to be kidding," Jonah says. (Maybe we do too.) These people are only worth killing. No wonder Jonah fled. But now he's trapped. The reluctant prophet.


But maybe he's not that worried, after all, Israel and Judah almost never respond to God's prophets. They are always shutting their ears to the prophets' message. What could you expect from the Taliban?


So Jonah goes into the city, a day's walk: "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" I'll bet his heart wasn't really in it. Unless he spoke with the relish of one who couldn't wait for the SOB's to get their just deserts.


Surprise! Nineveh repents. The king declares a fast, and includes the animals in it. "All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind." And God does. God lets Al Qaeda and the Taliban off the hook.


Jonah is ticked. This is what he was afraid of, why he fled. He wanted hellfire and brimstone to fall on the wicked, not forgiveness. He fumes and wants to die. And we get the funny story of the bush. It grows and shades him, and then it dies and he is miserable. He feels more for the bush than he does for the alien and once-lost city of Ninevah. He can't imagine the extent of God's compassion. He's so far from God's heart.


A bit like the Pharisee in the temple. He prays thankfully. I am glad I am not like those others.


But the tax collector -- a traitor and cheat -- has no standing. He knows he is compromised and stained. He is empty handed. "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"


Jesus tells them that the tax collector went to his home justified before God. The Pharisee goes home out of favor. But the text doesn't tell us whether either of them were aware of it. The Pharisee may have left the temple as proud and self-satisfied as he arrived. The tax collector may have left feeling as lost and desolate as he arrived. It doesn't say they knew that God had connected with the tax collector and accepted him. It doesn't say they knew that the presumptive religious person was still seriously lacking.


We enter the forty days of Lent. It is a time to shed our presumptions and be humble before God. We are terminally ill -- "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." God's compassion is abundant and beyond our knowing. Our need is deep and subtle.

It is time to surrender. Let God be God. If God sees the tax collectors and Ninevehites as worthy of God's best attention, somehow we've got to find a way to be humble enough to rejoice in that. After all, we follow a capital criminal. There's a lot of humility and compassion that is necessary here.


Lowell

_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Prepare for the Journey

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 -- Week of Last Epiphany, Year One
St. Matthias the Apostle
Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 26, 28 (morning) 36, 39 (evening)
Deuteronomy 6:16-25
Hebrews 2:1-10
John 1:19-28

John the Baptist tells the people that his job is to call them to preparation. From the wilderness he cries, "Make straight the way of the Lord." Right now, he tells them, he is baptizing with water. He is calling people to transform their lives, to purify themselves. His is a baptism of repentance and forgiveness. Another baptism is coming.

We begin this day on the cusp of Lent, the church's journey into the wilderness. We are preparing. For forty days we will prepare for the transforming gift of resurrection -- new life, empowered by God's Spirit. Tomorrow we will "make a right beginning" on a day of penitence -- Ash Wednesday. We will make a serious confession of our sins and hear the comforting words of absolution. We will be reminded of our deaths even as we make straight the way of the Lord on the road to repentance. We will prepare through fasting, prayer and almsgiving. The gift is coming. Get ready.

Hebrews talks about this amazing gift. The gift is Jesus, "who for a little while was made lower than the angels." Who suffered death with us and for us. Now he is "crowned with glory and honor." He has tasted death for everyone so that we might be freed from it. We are invited into the same pilgrimage. We have been created "for a little while lower than the angels," so that we may follow the example of Jesus through our own suffering and be brought to glory with him.

Deuteronomy reminds us that we are always just one generation away from extinction. We must teach our children about the gifts God has given us. God has loved us so greatly. We must pass along the story to the children. Once we were slaves -- oppressed, compulsive, driven, trapped, stuck, miserable. Then God "displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders" -- the Exodus; the Resurrection. We are invited into a new land. It is the land of freedom, given to us out of love.

We are about to embark again on that journey from bondage to freedom. The path is through the wilderness, where we face ourselves and our own undisciplined, destructive ways. We will have to learn to trust God for our food and substance. We will have to learn to become intimate with the divine. We will be given food for the journey. But we will have to die. All that is still stuck in the slavery of Egypt will have to be stripped away and sacrificed. But the promised land, the life of glory, is just over the horizon. Spirit-filled new life is beckoning to us from the future. It's time to walk.

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Monday, February 23, 2009

Divine Word and Heart

Monday, February 23, 2009 -- Week of Last Epiphany, Year One
Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr of Smyrna, 156

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 25 (morning) 9, 15 (evening)
Deuteronomy 6:10-15
Hebrews 1:1-14
John 1:1-18

Within a few decades, the early Church was very comfortable with some remarkable language and claims about Jesus. While insisting that Jesus lived among us as a human being who ate and drank and slept, and who was shamefully killed by public crucifixion, they also exalted him with words reserved only for God.

Hebrews says that through Jesus, God "created the worlds." Jesus "is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word." Hebrews imagines Jesus enthroned "at the right hand of the Majesty on high," exalted above the angels.

The book of Hebrews opens with a series of biblical citations applied to Jesus to make the argument that Jesus is God's Son, worshiped by angels, the eternal ruler who created all things and who lives forever. Jesus will establish God's just and eternal reign, and will defeat God's enemies. That's a big claim for a crucified Palestinian peasant.

John's Gospel begins with echoes of Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth...) by placing Jesus, the Word, into the original creative process. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being." Jesus is the Word made flesh. The world is the stage for the appearance of Jesus, the Word of God, who is the light which overcomes darkness -- "full of grace and truth... From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace... It is God's only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known." Jesus is the Heart of God.

Tradition holds that a young man named Polycarp was a student of John the disciple identified with the Gospel of that name. We have a trustworthy account of his martyrdom on this day probably in the year 156 in the amphitheater at Smyrna. When the proconsul asked Polycarp to curse Jesus, Polycarp replied, "Eighty-six years I have served him, and he never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" Although the magistrate was moved by the gentle, old man, he consented to the mob's insistence that Polycarp be killed along with other Christians that day.

According to the ancient account, before being burned at the stake, Polycarp is reported to have prayed: "Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed child Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and hosts and all creation, and of the whole race of the upright who live in your presence, I bless you that you have thought me worthy of this day and hour, to be numbered among the martyrs and share in the cup of Christ, for resurrection to eternal life, for soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. Among them may I be accepted before you today, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice just as you, the faithful and true God, have prepared and foreshown and brought about. For this reason and for all things I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved child, through whom be glory to you, with him and the Holy Spirit, now and for the ages to come. Amen."

Marcus Borg writes that "one of the defining characteristics of Christianity is that we find the revelation of God primarily in a person... Jesus is what can be seen of God embodied in a human life. He is the revelation, the incarnation, of God's character and passion -- of what God is like and of what God is most passionate about. He shows us the heart of God." (from The Heart of Christianity, p. 80-81)

Through Jesus, we have an intimate, personal relationship with the God who created all things and pours divine life into being. We are incorporated into God's divine life through Jesus who makes himself one with us in his Spirit. Thus, the exalted claims for Jesus become our claims as well. We share Polycarp's confidence that we "may be accepted before [God] today" and "share in the cup of Christ, for resurrection to eternal life."

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Self-Examination

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 -- Week of 6 Epiphany, Year One
Martin Luther, Reformer, 1546

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30 (morning) 119:121-144 (evening)
Isaiah 63:15 - 64:9
1 Timothy 3:1-16
Mark 11:27 - 12:12

Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Several of our readings today are the products of critical examination.

Jesus offers a parable that picks up on imagery from Isaiah 5 which speaks of Israel as a vineyard. Jesus uses the imagery to accuse Israel of unfaithfulness and violence toward God and God's servants. The leaders realize that his story is about them.

The reading from 3 Isaiah mourns the conditions of the post-exile community having returned to its home but failed to establish a community of justice, faithfulness and security. The prophet longs for God's dramatic action while recognizing how far away from their calling God's people have fallen.

Psalm 101 is a declaration of a person's highest intent to live a blameless and sincere life. Yet he sounds rather smug and arrogant in his claim to innocence. Psalm 109 is the aggressive lament of one who has been injured and wishes for God to curse those who "did not remember to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy and sought to kill the brokenhearted." The writer places suffering and injustice before God and asks God to act.

Finally 1 Timothy, which is concerned for establishing proper behavior in the local church admonishes bishops and deacons to lead ethical and exemplary lives.

The tradition of Ignatian spirituality encourages us to have what it calls a Daily Examen. It is a traditional practice at bedtime, and some people practice at noon as well. In the context of recalling the presence of God, we first thank God for all of the concrete gifts of the day. Next we invoke the Holy Spirit to help us look at our actions, attitudes, and motives with honesty and patience. Then we review the day: look at your actions; examine your heart's condition at each moment of the day -- was your heart divided or coherent? It is not a time to dwell on your shortcomings, but rather to look gently at how you responded to God's gifts. Grow more familiar with your spirit and become more aware of God's promptings within you. Let God speak, challenge, encourage and teach you, so that Christ can awaken your love of self and neighbor. The final step is a heart-to-heart talk with Jesus. Share with Jesus your reflection on your thoughts, actions, attitudes, feelings and interactions during the day. Let God's compassion flow within you. Express whatever regret, thankfulness and praise that seems right. Resolve with Jesus to move forward with future action. You might close with the Lord's prayer.

Here is the text of a little bookmark that outlines the process for the Daily Examen. It is a strong, helpful practice for living an examined life.

Praying the Jesuit
Examination of
Conscience

1. Thanksgiving
Lord, I realize that all, even
myself, is a gift from you.
- Today, for what things am
I most grateful?

2. Intention
Lord, open my eyes and ears
to be more honest with myself.
- Today, what do I really
want for myself?

3. Examination
Lord, show me what has been
happening to me and in me this
day.
- Today, in what ways have
I experienced your love?

4. Contrition
Lord, I am still learning to grow
in your love.
- Today, what choices have
been inadequate
responses to your love?

5. Hope
Lord, let me look with longing
toward the future.
- Today, how will I let you
lead me to a brighter
tomorrow?

Adapted from Through All the Days of Life, a collection
of prayers compiled by Fr. Nick Schiro, S.J.


Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Fig Tree

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 -- Week of 6 Epiphany, Year One
Janani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda, and Martyr, 1977

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 97, 99, 100 (morning) 94, [95] (evening)
Isaiah 63:7-14
1 Timothy 1:18 - 2:8
Mark 11:12-26

Interpretations vary about the meaning of the story of Jesus' cursing of the fig tree. I can recall some bewilderment as a child that Jesus would do something like this. Why would he harm an innocent fig tree, after all, it wasn't the season for figs, so why would Jesus curse it when it had none?

Since that time I've learned that these kinds of stories are almost always metaphorical stories. The fig tree stands for something else. There are at least three possibilities: Israel, Jerusalem, and/or the Temple. There is another parable about a tree that fails to bear fruit. When the owner tells the farmer to cut it down, the farmer begs for one more year, so he can dig a trench, fertilize and water the tree. That is a parable of warning. This is an image that says that the time for escape has passed. Catastrophe is inevitable. The tree is cursed. It will wither from the roots.

The story of the fig tree frames Jesus' re-entry into Jerusalem and its Temple. It is a momentous visit. Jesus finds the money changers and those who sell doves for sacrifice. Jesus overturns the tables and stops the Temple commerce. He will not allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. He echos the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers."

Several things are happening. First, Jesus stops some commerce that victimizes the poor. The money changers, not unlike today's payday lenders, take advantage of the poor who have no access to approved Jewish coinage. They must change their unclean Roman coins for Temple money which does not carry any image of the Emperor. The money changers charge for the exchange, and the Temple aristocracy has a monopoly on the production of the acceptable coinage. Like so many financial systems, it is structured to favor the wealthy and powerful and to take advantage of the needs of the poor.

Second, Jesus overturns the seats of those selling doves and allows no one to carry anything through the Temple. Once again he is challenging the Temple monopoly, this time he challenges the monopoly over forgiveness, redemption of sins, and restoration of a pure relationship with God. Leaders taught that it was necessary to sacrifice at the Temple in order to receive God's favor for certain things. Again the poor are victimized. They must use their meager resources to bring a domestic animal to offer for sacrifice, often to have it rejected because it was judged blemished or imperfect. The Temple conducted sales of inspected, pure animals that could be purchased for sacrifice.

Among Jesus' most radical teachings was that God's forgiveness is free and inexaustable. Jesus said that God loved to forgive God's people and stands ready to do so at the moment our hearts turn toward God. No sacrifice is necessary. By making forgiveness and restoration freely available, Jesus challenges the Temple monopoly on sacrifice. By blocking anyone from carrying anything through the Temple he invites people to pray empty handed, and be accepted.

This is an act that will provoke sharp reaction. He has attacked powerful and wealthy interests, and he has challenged major sources of their power and wealth. He has attacked an entire system. It is the domination system of the Temple, the city and the state. The whole thing is corrupt and unjust, especially toward the poor. Its roots are cursed.

They will respond. This is the kind of act that can get you killed.

But, just about the time that Mark's gospel is written, Rome responded to a Jewish uprising, destroying the Temple and much of Jerusalem. This story serves Mark's readers as an explanation for the catastrophe they have witnessed.

It is a powerful story for us as well. Years of financial shenanigans, much which abused the needs and dreams of the poor, have created great injustice in our nation. For years there has been a transfer of wealth, concentrating increasing proportions into the hands of the wealthy. We have had a growing class of super-wealthy, while the middle class and poor have made few gains or gone backwards. More and more people have lost access to health insurance. The minimum wage is less in real terms now than it was when I took my first job at minimum wage. The government has promoted tax cuts that favor the wealthy while spending irresponsibly and creating massive national debt. We reacted to the attack of a small, marginalized cell of criminals by elevating them into a movement capable of war and we created wars that have stretched our military and our economy into failure. We have compromised our regulations and looked aside at greed so long that a credit crises has sent our economy into freefall. Unemployment surges. And we have polluted our planet so thoroughly that we are tipping its environment toward unknown and potentially catastrophic changes. The domination system is corrupt at its roots.

Some curses are unavoidable. Some aren't.

How might Jesus turn over the tables and restore integrity and justice in our time? Like Jerusalem, it is too late to save some things. What can we yet restore?

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Monday, February 16, 2009

Blood, Wine and Messiah

Monday, February 16, 2009 -- Week of 6 Epiphany, Year One

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 948)
Psalms 89:1-18 (morning) 89:19-52 (evening)
Isaiah 63:1-6
1 Timothy 1:1-17
Mark 11:1-11

We have an interesting contrast today between Isaiah 63 and Mark 11. In Isaiah we have a frightening image of God acting alone with violence to impose peace and justice upon the nations because they have been unwilling to do so themselves. God's robes are splattered, presumably with blood, like someone who had been trampling a wine press. No human has been involved in this act of vengeance. It is God alone who acts in wrath, saying, "I trampled down people in my anger, I crushed them in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth." Since no humans had acted to create justice and peace, the prophet shows God acting to do so in troubling and violent images.

We switch to Mark and we see the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus plans the entrance carefully, instructing his disciples to retrieve "a colt that has never been ridden." His act is intended to recall the messianic prophesy of Zechariah (9:9): "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, you king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." In ancient tradition, a donkey is the traditional transportation for gods and kings.

The people understand the imagery. They throw cloaks and leafy branches along the road to make a royal path. They cry, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" Jesus goes into the temple, looks around, and returns to Bethany with the twelve. He has acted out a claim to the messianic kingship of David.

Great expectations come with that claim. The next verse in Zechariah's prophecy says that this humble, victorious king "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." (9:10) For most people in Jerusalem that day, that hope could only be accomplished with the forceful expulsion of the Romans and their Legions. They expect the king to be a warrior as Zechariah describes. "For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will arouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword. Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the trumpet and march forth..., and they shall devour and tread down the slingers; they shall drink their blood like wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar." (13-15)

Yet Jesus does not become a military warrior, and the only blood that is shed will be his own. It is his body that soaks up the violence and his lifeblood poured out on the earth. Later the vision of John's Revelation will return to Isaiah's imagery of the wine press and the kingly messiah Jesus, and describe a universal triumph in eucharistic imagery. There is no earthly battle in Revelation, but rather a divine victory, where the blood that flows like wine from the wine press is the blood of Christ poured out in the eucharistic feast to bring God's longed for peace and justice to God's people.

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Monday, February 09, 2009

No Morning Reflection

Kathy's dad died early Sunday morning, so we are attending to his funeral.

I won't be sending Morning Reflections this week.

Thanks for your prayers,
Lowell

Friday, February 06, 2009

Inclusion and Tolerance

Friday, February 6, 2009 -- Week of 4 Epiphany, Year One

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 946)
Psalms 69:1-23(24-30)31-38 (morning) 73 (evening)
Isaiah 56:1-8
Galatians 5:16-24
Mark 9:2-13

Isaiah 56:1-8 reads like a contemporary letter to the editor. It is a clarion call for inclusion and tolerance.

We've just shifted voices and decades. Isaiah 40-55 comes from a prophet of the exile who anticipates the defeat of Babylon (which happened in 538 BCE) and the return of the people to Israel which followed. We've been reading from that section which is often called Second Isaiah, a message of comfort, hope and encouragement.

Chapters 56-66 belong to the period after the first stages of the return and restoration of Judah, around 520-500 BCE, or maybe later. Things haven't worked out as wonderfully as Second Isaiah had hoped.

Although Second Isaiah issued an open invitation to everyone to "come to the waters" and to "seek the Lord while he may be found" and "return to the Lord," old traditions about who is part of God's family have reappeared and been used to exclude some.

There are those who are excluding the eunuchs from the community and from its prayers, citing Deuteronomy 23. There are those who are excluding foreigners. (There always are, it seems.)

Isaiah 56 is a clarion call for inclusion and tolerance. "For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbath, ...I will give in my house and within my walls, ...an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ...these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer..." (Some call this section, chapters 56-66, Third Isaiah.)

These words sound very similar to the calls for inclusion and tolerance for gay people in today's church and community. These words sound like contemporary appeals for hospitality and a road to citizenship for our undocumented aliens.

"For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples," the prophet speaks in the name of God. No exclusion, no prejudice, no intolerance.

"Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered." Open doors; open hearts. I remember when Ed Browning was elected Presiding Bishop (two PB's ago), he opened his term with the stirring motto, "There shall be no outcasts" in the Episcopal Church. He spoke in the spirit of Isaiah 56.

Paul's voice in his letter to the Galatians is also a voice of inclusion. The entire letter is a passionate appeal for the inclusion of uncircumcised Gentiles into the family of God. Paul insists that they be included, and that they not be expected to follow the Jewish Law and its many exclusive customs. In this section of Galatians 5 we read today one of his most eloquent statements. To those who would exclude those "others," Paul asserts that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." (my emphasis)

If eunuchs or foreigners, gay people or aliens manifest the fruits of the spirit, we dare not exclude them by our customs and laws. There is no law against such people.

The Biblical witness for inclusion and tolerance is a strong tradition, and the parts of the church who articulate that call in our time follow in the spirit of Isaiah and Paul, ...and Jesus.

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Key Messages

Thursday, February 5, 2009 -- Week of 4 Epiphany, Year One
The Martyrs of Japan

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 946)
Psalms [70], 71 (morning) 74 (evening)
Isaiah 55:1-13
Galatians 5:1-16
Mark 8:27 - 9:1

We have wonderful and amazing readings today.

Isaiah 55 is one of the most beautiful and significant chapters in all of scripture. This chapter ends the work of the anonymous prophet of the return from exile, the author of Isaiah 40-55. It summarizes the message of deliverance and hope.

To a people who have lived under Babylonian exile and oppression, the prophet announces liberation, abundance, stability, joy and peace. This will be God's doing -- it is mysterious and certain, says the prophet.

"Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!"

"I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David." These are words that became very important in later years as part of Israel's yearning for a Messiah.

"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near, ...for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. ...For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

"For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

What an inspiring message this is. It has comforted and strengthened God's people from generation to generation.

In a way, we also get a summary of Paul's theology in the passage that we read today from his letter to the Galatians. "For freedom Christ has set us free. ...For in Christ Jesus, ...the only thing that counts is faith working through love." (or, alternative translation, "faith made effective through love.") ...For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The essence of Paul's teaching is that our justification -- our right relationship with God -- is a free, unqualified gift from God. God loves and accepts us, just as we are. Simply accept the gift in faith. Accept the fact that you are accepted. That's faith. Then, out of the joy and freedom that your divine gift of acceptance gives you, let your faith be made active through love. Love your neighbor as yourself. You are already loved, so you are free to love. That's it.

And many have said that Mark's entire gospel hinges on chapter 8 which we conclude today. Jesus explains that his Messiahship is accomplished through suffering. He tells us that we are to follow his example of servanthood. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it." Death and resurrection. Let it begin now. That is central to Mark's gospel.

Cosmic blessing. Divine acceptance made effective through love. Surrender that brings life. This is seminal stuff.

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Allegory

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 -- Week of 4 Epiphany, Year One
Cornelius the Centurion

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 946)
Psalms 72 (morning) 119:73-96 (evening)
Isaiah 54:1-10(11-17)
Galatians 4:21-31
Mark 8:11-26

We get a great chance to experience an ancient and traditional practice of interpretation of sacred texts today. Paul teaches by an allegory. The story is the Genesis story of Hagar and Sarah, two wives of Abraham. Hagar was Sarah's slave. When Sarah was unable to bear children, she gave Hagar to Abraham to bear children for her. Abraham's first son Ishmael was conceived through Hagar.

Years later Sarah was able to bear a son, Isaac. There was conflict between the two women. Sarah demanded that Hagar and Ishmael be banished, saying, "Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman." God told Abraham to do as Sarah demanded, and promised that God would make a nation from Ishmael's descendants. Tradition traces the Arab peoples through Ishmael and the Jewish people through Isaac.

But notice how Paul makes his allegory. The two women are the two covenants, one covenant of slavery and one covenant of freedom. Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia where Moses received the Law, which is now practiced in Jerusalem. Sarah is the "Jerusalem above," and Paul says to the Church, she is our mother. Hagar was born of the flesh, he says. Sarah was born "according to the Spirit," a miraculous gift from God when Sarah was beyond the years of child-bearing. In Paul's allegory the law is the illegitimate offspring of the flesh, but Christ is Abraham's promised offspring through the Spirit. We inherit the promises of Abraham as a gift accepted through faith, and that is freedom. The other path -- to observe the Law -- is slavery, Paul says. "Drive out the slave (Hagar) and her child (the Law); for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance (freedom) with the child of the free woman (Christ)."

(This is an allegory which would have really ticked off most Jews and rabbis. After all, the Jewish people trace their ancestry through Sarah's child Isaac.)

This section of Galatians shows us something important about Biblical interpretation, however. The predominate style of interpretation throughout history has been to use the stories of scripture as allegories, metaphors, or symbols. Elevating literal interpretation to a preferred status is a modern invention, influenced primarily by the rise of science. When Biblical literalists twist and tie the Bible into their fantastic knots, they are essentially caving in to a science-oriented paradigm. They are abandoning the traditional faith and practice of our ancestors who preferred to let scripture speak in allegory, metaphor and symbol.

In fact, the power of the lyrical Isaiah 54 that we read today is entirely metaphorical. The prophet sings to the barren woman (Israel) to enlarge her tent, for she shall have many offspring. (It's a nice conjunction today that Paul quotes in Galatians the same reading we have in Isaiah.) Isaiah announces in the name of God: No more fear; no more shame or disgrace, "but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you."

In the name of the church, Paul sees these wonderful promises fulfilled in Christ. "For freedom Christ has set us free."

What a fine set of readings for the feast day of Cornelius the Centurion, the first Gentile Christian. Though he was uncircumcised and was not part of the tribe of Israel, God manifested the gifts of the Spirit in Cornelius, and Peter recognized that Cornelius was "clean." He and his household were baptized as children of the Spirit, without having to become Jewish or to adopt the practice of the Law. His inclusion marks a turning point in the history of the Church.

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Solving Problems

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 -- Week of 4 Epiphany, Year One
Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 946)
Psalms 61, 62 (morning) 68:1-20(21-23)24-36 (evening)
Isaiah 52:1-12
Galatians 4:12-20
Mark 8:1-10

Some problems look overwhelming. The worldwide economic depression seems beyond management. Have we moved past the tipping point of climate change so that powers beyond our influence will take our planet toward catastrophe? If not, what can we do to restore earth's balance? Animosities simmer in the Middle East and threaten to expand into worldwide religious conflict. Population increases strain the water and agriculture on which life depends. Vast areas of grinding poverty doom repeated generations to continued misery and suffering. Millions in this country and elsewhere have no dependable access to the basics of health care. The oceans' pollution threatens corals, wetlands and other vulnerable ecosystems. Nuclear weapons and other means of massive violence are becoming more available and less contained. The lure of materialism drains the spiritual depth from whole cultures. The earth -- its people, lands, air, water, creatures, and spirit -- is starving and faint.

The first step in solving problems is awareness -- naming the problem. For three days a crowd of four thousand Gentiles had been with Jesus and his disciples in an isolated wilderness. They had run out of food. If they were to disperse now, they would leave hungry, and likely to faint before reaching their homes. "How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?"

The second step is to bring to bear whatever resources are available. Jesus asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven."

There we are. Seven loaves. Four thousand hungry people.

That's usually where it stops. With hand wringing and blame. Fear kicks in. Usually some violence. The ones who have the precious loaves feel they must protect them. They'll fight, if necessary. If the masses get too desperate, they can turn ugly. All it takes is fear or resentment plus one or two hotheads to make a mob. Time to divide the "haves" from the "have-nots." Spend whatever bread is necessary to get the armaments to protect the rest of the bread. Just hope that the starving will do so quietly, without making a fuss.

But Jesus offers a different way. He creates community. He has the crowd sit down on the ground.

He makes Eucharist -- Thanksgiving. He takes the seven loaves, and gives thanks for them.

Then he breaks them up. The precious loaves. He starts tearing and breaking them apart so that they can be shared. That's where the church comes in -- the disciples, the followers. He gives the broken pieces of bread to them. They are to distribute the bread. Seven loaves; four thousand people.

Then we hear about a few fish. Same process. Take. Bless. Give.

Something happens. The whole economy of the situation changes. "They ate and were filled." And there was abundance -- leftovers.

Some people act like this is some kind of magic. Jesus exercised some kind of powers to make bread out of nothing. Isn't Jesus great! If that's the case, who cares. It's an entertaining story, I guess. At least for children. But it is meaningless. Cute story about Jesus. No help now. Sure, some people may be satisfied to sit around hoping for magic and talking about how great Jesus is, but that seems pretty pathetic to me.

I think something else happened. I think that the real "magic" is the creation of community and thanksgiving and sacrifice. I think that Jesus sat people down together, so that they were one-to-one, face-to-face -- real people encountering real people -- community. They couldn't look away and ignore each other's hungers. Then there was offering -- sacrifice. Someone began by giving their substance away. Seven loaves in the middle of famine. They gave it up.

The whole spirit is imbued with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for the people. Thanksgiving for the gifts. Thanksgiving for the bread. Thanksgiving for abundance.

Something's got to be broken. You can't keep the whole loaf -- safe, protected and pure. They started breaking it up. And thankful, joyful people began to give it away, passing it out with gratitude, with thanksgiving.

I think something loosed up then. They started caring. They started taking care of each other. Maybe somebody looked at the gracious gift of precious bread as a disciple reached out to present it to them -- bread being offered so freely, so lovingly, so trusting, with no strings attached. And they smiled appreciatively, declining the offer, reaching into some hidden place, to bring out some of their own protected stash, turning to some neighbors, and offering to share their bread with others too. With growing smiles. If there was magic, it was the magic of contagious, loving generosity. Maybe some people found they weren't as hungry as they thought. Maybe some decided they didn't need so much. Others found that loving their neighbor as themselves was more satisfying.

When communion, offering, thanksgiving, breaking and giving was done, all were filled and there was abundance. My hunch is that there's not a problem in the world that couldn't be solved that way.

Lowell

Monday, February 02, 2009

Light and Warmth

Monday, February 2, 2009 -- Week of 4 Epiphany, Year One
The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer)

EITHER the readings for Monday of 4 Epiphany (p. 946)
Psalms 56, 57, [58] (morning) 64, 65 (evening)
Isaiah 51:17-23
Galatians 4:1-11
Mark 7:24-37

OR the readings for The Presentation (p. 997)
Morning: Psalms 42, 43 / 1 Samuel 2:1-10 / John 8:31-36
Evening: Psalms 48, 87 / Haggai 2:1-9 / 1 John 3:1-8

I chose the readings for the Presentation

Yesterday we chose to take the opportunity to transfer today's feast of the Presentation for our Sunday observance. Part of our motivation was so we could bless some new candlesticks for our altar, given in memory of Harrison Butler and Marshall Carlisle by the team who shared ushering duties with them. The feast of the Presentation is also known as "Candlemas," because of the words of old man Simeon, who took Jesus into his arms at the Temple and said that Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles." It is a traditional day for the blessing of candles.

After a week when most of our area was darkened by an ice storm that cut off electricity for most people, the images of candle and light are particularly significant. For a few nights our illumination was entirely by candelight; for a few days our source of warmth was entirely by fire. It is easier to feel in our bones the meaning of phrases about bringing light into the dark and warmth into the cold.

I thought about many of the people I often have lunch with at Community Meals and who I meet through our Seven Hills homeless ministry. Some of them live in the woods nearby in tents and under tarps. It takes great energy and some ingenuity to thrive in such conditions. Several times I remembered a five-day period in Mississippi when the city water system froze. That was much harder.

In some ways, the storm and electrical shut down was not much of a change for the homeless. It wasn't as cold or wet as lots of winter storms. It would have been very threatening to be under trees, however, when limbs are breaking. I remember several of the thuds that landed on our roof. What would that do to tents, plywood and tarps? A number of the homeless found places in the temporary shelters. I hear that caused a bit of anxiety because that's not the clientele that the temporary shelters intended to serve. They expected to help people who couldn't stay in their homes. I got a call from one of the good people working in one of those temporary services; he was wondering about how to approach the problem of the chronically homeless taking advantage of the shelter services that were intended for the temporarily homeless.

How do we find light in our darkness; warmth in our cold? Over an over the scripture uses those images to describe God's relationship with us in Christ. Christ is the light of the world; the light overcomes the darkness. God's Holy Spirit is a flaming fire that brings energy and life; the Spirit warms our cold and frozen hearts.

But it's more than sweetness and light. The Song of Hannah which the Daily Office gives us to read on this feast of the Presentation is a piece of revolutionary politics. It is a psalm that expects a reversal of power, when "the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil." It is a psalm that celebrates a God who "raises up the poor from the dust ...to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor." Historically the self-sufficient have tended to need God's light and strength less than those who are desperate.

Our hope is for light and warmth for all. Maybe the experience of dark and coldness will warm our hearts and enlighten our minds to do the work of community necessary to see that all are cared for.

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
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


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

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas