Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Knowledge and Love

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 -- Week of Proper 21, Year One
Jerome, Priest and Monk of Bethlehem, 420

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 986)
Psalms 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30 (morning) 119:121-144 (evening)
2 Kings 18:9-25
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Matthew 7:13-21

I leave in the morning tomorrow for a trip to visit my son Gray in China. I'll be away for a couple of weeks. I'll send emails daily through an automatic program to pass along the Daily Office readings. But I won't have cell phone or computer there. (I don't have a way to send the readings to my blog. But the Office is always on line at www.missionstclare.com)

"Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him."

Scientists know that as researchers solve one mystery or problem in the quest for full understanding, new questions always emerge. Knowledge is a receding horizon.

Even what we think we know is always open to amendment and reinterpretation. I think I can recall the quote correctly: A friend of mine tells about something that one of his professors always says to the incoming class at Medical School. "Half of what you learn here will be obsolete by the time you finish your practice. We just don't know which half."

Knowledge is a good thing, a share of the truth. But we must always hold our knowledge with humility. There is always more to learn. What we know is always subject to change. Although the accumulation of great knowledge is a privileged exercise that often gives certain privilege to the knower, it is best held humbly.

But love is available in abundant depth to all. God is love, and God is pouring love upon us constantly. Whenever we respond to love in any degree, we are living in divine energy. When we love, we know God and God knows us.

I used to direct summer camps for mentally challenged adults. I was often awed by their love and courage. I knew people in that camp who had very limited capacity for knowledge, who would never be able to graduate from high school or understand a theology text. But they had a deep capacity for love and an open appreciation of life. They were profoundly in touch with mystery, and they knew God. I could tell that many of my friends at that camp had a much more intimate and developed relationship with God than I did. My thoughts and my complicated inhibitions blocked me from what they could run to with abandon. You do not have to have a high IQ or graduate degrees to love.

Killian Noe runs a recovery program for urban addicts in Washington, D.C., at the Church of the Savior. She is fond of saying to people whose lives have descended into the depths of bondage and despair, "No one is ever too far gone to find their way home." She welcomes addicted street prostitutes into a residential community that is grounded in spiritual principles and supports spiritual practices like Centering Prayer to help addicts find their way home. Graduates from her program have a remarkable 96% drug free rate.

At the heart of the spiritual principles that they teach at the Church of the Savior is this from Killian Noe: "What is most true about each of us is that we are loved, and that God's love abides in us, just as surely as a peach pit is at the core of every peach, love is at the core of every human being."

Love is foundational. It is the core of our being. At the center of our being is love. It is God's love, God's presence. Loving us into being. That is the most important and most true thing about us.

Love is ubiquitous. Everyone has access to love; everyone has capacity to love. Love builds up.

What if we worked as hard and practiced as hard to learn love and tp apply love as we work and practice to gain knowledge? For knowledge I went to school full time for over sixteen years. What if I had spent as many years working full time for love.

In a way we do live and work and study love full time, always. That's another way of describing life. When we are conscious of love, we are aware that we are God's beloved. When we are unconscious of love, we are still being loved into being, we are still God's beloved -- we are just asleep to reality.

"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." The problems of our generation will be solved most truly by love more than by knowledge. And every one of us has abundant access to love, abundant capacity for love. So, let us love one another as Christ has taught us.

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, September 29, 2009

Whales and Glory

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 -- Week of Proper 21, Year One
Saint Michael and All Angels

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

EITHER the readings for Tuesday of Proper 21, p. 986)
Psalms 89:1-18 (morning) 89:19-52 (evening)
2 Kings 17:24-41
1 Corinthians 7:25-31
Matthew 6:25-34

OR the readings for St. Michael and All Angels, p. 999
Morning Prayer: Psalms 9, 148; Job 38:1-7; Hebrews 1:1-14
Evening Prayer: Psalms 34, 150 or 104
Daniel 12:1-13 or 2 Kings 6:8-17
Mark 13:21-27 or Revelation 5:1-14

I chose the readings for St. Michael and All Angels

I woke up with a vivid memory of a dream. So I wrote that before doing my reading and Morning Reflection. The dream was about seeing and encountering some whales. One whale -- a smaller, pale green one -- came up to the beach and let me snuggle it, putting its snout into my arm and shoulder socket and letting me hold it, lying on the sand. Another -- a larger, round rainbow colored one -- rolled over me a couple of times on the beach. There were lots of whales all around, and a local told about a place nearby where there were even more, very large whales. He had dived with them.

So Psalm 148 with its praise of God's creation resounded with special vividness as I read it. "Alleluia! Praise God from the heavens; sing praise in the heights. Praise God, all you angels; sing praise, all the heavenly host. Praise God, sun and moon; sing praise all you shining stars. ...Praise God from the earth, you sea-monsters and all deeps..."

And the Job reading is the beginning of God's answer to Job from the whirlwind: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ...Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?..."

I know I have often read this and felt some of the sense of terror and intimidation (maybe even bullying) that I might imagine Job experiencing. But after the dream with the whales, it was a delightful speech, a glorious and wonderful manifestation of God's loving glory and God's care for the creation. I kept reading beyond verse 7. "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb? -- when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped'?" And I was back on the beach in my dream, marveling in the wonder of the sea, it's boundaries and the wonderful frolic of the whales. (One of Kathy's favorite verses is "...and there is that Leviathan whom you made for the sport of it." Psalm 104:26)

And the opening of Hebrews speaks in joyful celebration of the incarnation of God's Son. "He 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." The Son is greater than the angels, says the author of Hebrews. "For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you'?"

We have been made one with the Son. We too are heirs of Christ and children of God. We have been raised to the intimacy and glory of the divine. God invites us to share the divine life and fellowship, and God's Spirit dwells in us. We share the power of the sustaining word. We are frolicking with whales, singing with the angels, blown wonderfully by the whirlwind, sharing in God's delight and creativity. It is God's gift to us to be friends of God, children of God, heirs of God, incarnations of Christ's Body, filled with the Spirit and made one with the divine. That's one whale of a life God gives us.

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, September 28, 2009

Three Good Readings

Monday, September 28, 2009 -- Week of Proper 21, Year One
Sergius, Abbot of Holy Trinity, Moscow, 1392

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 986)
Psalms 89:1-18 (morning) 89:19-52 (evening)
2 Kings 17:24-41
1 Corinthians 7:25-31
Matthew 6:25-34

This is one of those days when all three of the readings seem particularly stimulating to me.

In 2 Kings we see some of the origin of the bitter animosity between Jews and Samaritans that we see reflected several places in the Gospels. It is a sad story. The northern kingdom of Israel was invaded and defeated by Assyria. The capital city Samaria held out under siege for three years. Imagine the courage and suffering behind that story.

Then the Assyrians deported the people of Israel to cities near the Assyrian homeland and resettled captives from other lands into Israel. When lions began threatening the settlers, the Assyrians retrieved one of the exiled priests and returned him to the shrine at Bethel to placate "the god of the land," as the Assyrians referred to the God of Israel. The Jewish priest "taught (the settlers) how they should worship the Lord." But those who had been exiled into Israel also brought their own religious customs and worship with them. The deuteronomic editor concludes, "So they worshiped the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away."

It seems that another Biblical editor disagreed with the deuteronomic editor. "They do not worship the Lord and they do not follow the statues or the ordinances or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel." The section 34b-40 stands out as an insertion from a later scribe who had more stringent views about the heresy of the Samaritans than did the deuteronomic author. In verse 41 we return to the familiar voice of the deuteronomic editor: "So these nations worshiped the Lord, but also served their carved images; to this day their children and their children's children continue to do as their ancestors did."

By the time of Jesus, the animosity between Samaritans and Jews was bitter and extreme. Yet Jesus reached out compassionately, visiting with a Samaritan woman at a well and offering her living water, and telling a parable using the generosity of a Samaritan to illustrate our responsibility to our neighbor. Jesus' example is illustrative today as a guide for us as some Americans are reacting with considerable prejudice against our Abrahamic brothers and sisters who practice Islam.
__________

Paul's quip that "those who marry will experience distress in this life" is often quoted in mirth. But the passage we read today is a good example of an interim ethic. Expecting the imminent return of Jesus and its accompanying social and cosmic upheaval, Paul has a sense of urgency that changes relationships -- domestic, personal, and economic. "For the present form of this world is passing away."

One of the biggest challenges of the early church was the growing delay of the expected return of the Lord. We see the church's adaptation as we move from Paul's early letters, influenced by immediate expectations of a climactic return, and the later letters of the Pastoral epistles -- 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus -- more concerned with establishing long-lasting systems.

There are some Christians who combine an expectation of the second coming with the command in Genesis to have dominion over the earth as a justification for a fundamentally exploitative attitude toward the environment. They ignore the New Testament images that insist that Jesus' return is to the earth and his call is for an earthly reign of justice and peace. Christians who pursue a more Biblically grounded tradition of stewardship for the earth, for the earth is the Lord's, have been troubled by politicians like the Reagan administration Interior Secretary James Watt and by Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin ("drill, baby, drill") who seem to follow an interim ethic -- use and abuse the earth; Jesus is coming soon and he'll destroy it anyway. Happily for the future of the church, early Christians did not universally follow Paul's advice, or there would not have been another generation of Christians to continue the faith.
__________

Well, I've used up most of my time and words, but the best reading was today's Gospel. "Do not worry about your life..." "Look at the bird of the air..." "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?" "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

The day is starting. Time to relax.

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, September 22, 2009

Sex Talk

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 -- Week of Proper 20, Year One
Philander Chase, Bishop of Ohio, and of Illinois, 1852

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 984)
Psalms 78:1-39 (morning) 78:40-72 (evening)
2 Kings 5:19-27
1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Matthew 5:27-37

Although the essence of Paul's theology is that in Christ we are freed from the anxiety of trying to live up to the commandments of the law, he consistently demands faithfulness in sexual relationships. There is something profound and vulnerable about the particular love that is expressed through physical intimacy. Paul expects those who live in Christ to protect such intimacy within the bonds of exclusive faithfulness. In today's reading he scolds the congregation in Corinth because they have tolerated a sexual scandal. He expects them to act to correct an incestuous relationship. The health of the congregation and the wholeness of the offender are both at stake, he says.

We hear Jesus address a similar issue in Matthew's account today. Part of Jesus' expectation is the guarding of the mind and the imagination. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart." That has been a disheartening verse since adolescence for me.

In my sermon Sunday, I talked about how we distort and exaggerate simple emotions by adding our commentary and tapes to create inflated and sometimes overwhelming emotional states. Feelings just are. Emotions happen. Deep in our DNA is an appreciation for beauty and the corresponding energy of sexual attraction. We can simply observe the emotion of sexual energy that arises from deep within, below our consciousness of choice.

But we don't have to act on any of our emotions. We can simply observe them. In Jesus' language, we may look at a woman and be moved. If we simply observe that, with a bit of appreciation for the wonder of beauty, all is well. But if we add to that simple emotion the extra energy of lustful imagination, and if we begin to "commit adultery with her in our heart," we have violated that person's dignity and created a potentially dangerous temptation in our soul.

Jesus uses exaggerated language to urge us to guard our thoughts and actions. Do not let the imagination of even one eye or the sideways act of one hand lead you into danger. Or as my roommate Bubba used to say when he saw me beginning to launch into an opinionated tirade, "Nip it! Nip it in the bud."

Paul uses the metaphor of leaven. Traditionally yeast is an image of corruption. "A little yeast leavens the whole batch." It doesn't take much contamination to defile or dishonor something good and pure. Paul uses the imagery of Passover. "Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened."

The thought of Passover, and the Passover duty of removing all leaven from the household, moves Paul to a memorable phrase that has found its way into centuries of liturgy. "For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Sincerity and truth. That is an antidote to our afflictive emotional temptations. If we are sincere and singularly dedicated to the truth, we will guard our eyes and thoughts and hands.

Matthew ends with a similar sentiment. Jesus tells his disciples, "Let your word be, 'Yes, Yes,' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one." Sounds simple. Sincerity and truth. A simple "Yes" or "No." When we get much more complicated, we usually start rationalizing. That's often the path to catastrophe.

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, September 21, 2009

Humiliated Authority

Monday, September 21, 2009 -- Week of Proper 20, Year One
Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

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

EITHER, the readings for Monday of Proper 20, p. 984
Psalms 80 (morning) 77, 79 (evening)
2 Kings 5:1-19
1 Corinthians 4:8-21
Matthew 5:21-26

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

I chose the readings for Monday of Proper 20

Paul's voice is full of irony today. He is probably writing from Ephesus -- an ocean away from the congregation he had founded in Corinth. Word has come to him of divisions and conflicts. His authority has been challenged. There are some "spiritual people" who claim to have superior wisdom. They are acting arrogantly and claiming authority and power within the congregation.

At the heart of Paul's vision for the church is an attitude of equality. In Christ we are all equal, he insists. In Christ, all divisions are broken down. In Christ, we all imitate his example of humility. We are to be slaves and servants to one another.

But these who challenge Paul in his absence are putting on airs and projecting an inflated self-image. They act like kings, Paul taunts. Paul contrasts their self-image with his own standing. Paul is an apostle. He stands in the Christian community on an equal footing with Peter and the other founding disciples. Yet he says, "I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals."

Paul taunts his challengers, "We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our hands." There are several accounts which reinforce the representation of Paul living in miserable circumstances and working to exhaustion.

He continues to pour it on. "When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day."

That is Paul's self-definition. He sees himself as walking in imitation of Christ, who poured out his life for others also.

Then Paul exerts his authority. "I am your father in Christ," he says. He founded the church in Corinth. There may be many who might exercise authority as "guardians" of the congregation, but they have only one father -- Paul. So like an angry father, Paul tells them -- I'm sending Timothy. You'd better listen to him. But if you don't... Well, what do you want? "Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?" ("Don't make me spank you!")

I think what has most angered Paul is the boasting and prideful behavior. Egalitarianism and servanthood are cornerstone characteristics of life in Christ. We are equal and we are all one in Christ, Paul insists. And it is an equality in humility. Often he uses the word "slave" to describe our demeanor toward others. We are to enslave ourselves to our neighbors. Paul really hates displays of pride or arrogance.

But he knows about power. He exercises power. Deeds of power. It is Christ's power being manifest through him. We assume this includes the power to heal. It is also the power to speak authoritatively of life in Christ.

So this father in the faith will continue to write. He will instruct the congregation with authority. But he does so from a life that is under constant threat and which looks a lot like disreputable misery. He invites us to live by his example. But he does so only because he is living following the example of Christ, the humiliated disreputable Savior.

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

Friday, September 18, 2009

Pusey's Suspension

Friday, September 18, 2009 -- Week of Proper 19, Year One
Edward Bouverie Pusey, Priest, 1882

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 984)
Psalms 69:1-23(24-30)31-38 (morning) 73 (evening)
2 Kings 1:2-17
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Matthew 5:11-16

What struck me today was a note from the biographical sketch on Edward Bouverie Pusey in "Lesser Feasts and Fasts," our resource for the daily observations in our Church Calendar. Pusey was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement which renewed High Church, Anglo-Catholic theology and piety in England starting with the first publications of the "Tracts for the Times" (1833-1841).

Pusey was the Regius Professor of Hebrew and Canon of Christ Church at Oxford. He was the acknowledged leader of the movement, along with John Keble, John Henry Newman and others. Pusey was best known, however, for his preaching. He was a zealous preacher, effective in communicating the catholic heritage of the church.

In 1843 Pusey preached a sermon at Oxford titled "The Holy Eucharist, a Comfort to the Penitent." At the heart of the sermon was a reclaiming of the tradition that Christ is truly present in the elements of bread and wine. He argued that the Eucharist is not merely a memorial or remembrance, but a sacramental participation in the body and blood of Christ. Pusey articulated the doctrine of Real Presence, not just a symbolic or figurative presence, in the Eucharist.

In secret proceedings that did not allow Pusey to defend himself, he was charged with heresy and suspended from preaching for two years. That's the thing that grabbed my attention this morning.

What Pusey did best and obviously loved; what he was most noted for -- was preaching. In an arbitrary act, without process, that ministry was taken away from him. How devastating that must have seemed to him.

Yet the records show that Pusey bore his judgment with great patience. There is no record of his complaint or bitterness. Indeed, he embodied the virtues that he taught, exhibiting penitence, humility, and submission. He was described as a man of simplicity and self-denial, and was known for his acts of charity, including the establishment of churches for the poor and the first monastic houses for Anglican nuns founded since the Reformation. He accepted his suspension from preaching with humble disinterest, and continued in his other works and ministries. He is a model for all of us in times of disappointment or injustice.

The irony of his suspension was that it created such a stir that his controversial sermon sold more than 18,000 copies and made Pusey the most influential person in the Anglican Church for the next twenty-five years.

Thanks to the Oxford Movement, the Anglican Church reclaimed many of the catholic traditions that are normative today but had been lost in the post-Reformation period. The centrality of the Eucharist, sacramental confession, vestments, candles and ceremonial, and a theological and spiritual continuity with the whole of Christian history.

We read today in the gospel: "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they prosecuted the prophets who were before you. ...You are the light of the world. ...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."

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, September 17, 2009

The Beatitudes

Thursday, September 17, 2009 -- Week of Proper 19, Year One
Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen and Mystic, 1179

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 984)
Psalms [70], 71 (morning) 74 (evening)
1 Kings 22:29-45
1 Corinthians 2:14 - 3:15
Matthew 5:1-10

Many people are outraged that courts have ruled, in the spirit of the non-establishment clause of the Constitution, that it is inappropriate for public spaces to display the Ten Commandments, since they are an expression from a particular religion. The rhetoric of affront can get downright apocalyptic.

Some pundits have suggested to insulted Christians that their advocacy of religious material in public spaces would be better represented by the Beatitudes. Matthew would agree.

In many ways, Matthew's gospel intentionally intends to create a new Torah. There are many parallels between the Jewish Torah and Matthew's outline of Jesus' life. In chapter five, Jesus goes up a mountain like Moses, and brings down a teaching much like Moses. For Matthew the Beatitudes are the foundation of the new law of Jesus.

Imagine a brass monument of the Beatitudes placed above a judge's bench or in front of a court house: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

The Beatitudes set a fascinating context for legal judgments and political priorities. What if our governmental and judicial structures were weighed in favor of the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and so forth? What if being merciful, pure in heart, and engaging actively in peacemaking were the default policies of our leaders? How different might our nation and world be?

The contrast between Jesus' words and our structures wasn't lost on the satire of Monty Python's Sermon on the Mount scene from "Life of Brian." From the edge of the crowd an annoying woman quips, "He said, 'Blessed are the meek.' Oh that's nice, isn't it? That they're finally getting something; they have a 'ell of a time."

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, September 16, 2009

Micaiah and the 400 Prophets

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 -- Week of Proper 19, Year One
Ninian, Bishop in Galloway, c. 430

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 984)
Psalms 72 (morning) 119:73-96 (evening)
1 Kings 22:1-28
1 Corinthians 2:1-13
Matthew 4:18-25

The story in 1 Kings has a modern ring to it. The king of Judah comes to the king of Israel to urge him to join him in war against an adjoining kingdom in order to reclaim some disputed territory. They seek the advice of prophets.

There are 400 court prophets whose work is to advise the king. Their livelihood is supported by the king. Their money and food comes from the royal coffers. When the two kings ask their opinion, the prophets speak encouragement about the war: "Go up; for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." It is worthless advice.

The word of the court prophets sounds very familiar. It is the kind of advice our leaders get whenever they listen to those who have vested interests in the "royal coffers."

I was listening to a radio interview yesterday about the failures of our banking and financial systems. Letting the industry be self-disciplining and self-regulating has been an obvious disaster, the pundits observed. The interviewer then asked what controls or regulations need to be in place to promote a healthy system.

Before the conversation could become constructive, with ideas for healthy reform, the interviewee explained why it is unlikely that any truly effective regulatory system would be adopted. He said that the congressional body which creates the regulations is a huge committee -- more than 70 members. It is too big to be able to function effectively. Why is it so big? Both political parties want it that way. Why? Because they both send their members who are in potentially vulnerable races to be on that committee where they will be the beneficiaries of sizable donations from the banking and financial industries. For politicians, those industries are cash cows. The financial industries make large donations to the political system to prevent regulation. The committee of 70+ is a great place to fill the campaign war chest. The 400 court prophets know what to say to keep themselves in power and comfort.

The 400 court prophets have mobilized to advise our rulers about health care as well. The insurance and pharmaceutical industries in particular are cashing in on the brokenness of our current system. They're working hard to keep the status quo. Their court prophets are particularly skilled at manipulating the reservoir of anti-government suspicion that so many people have. Thomas Frank's book "What's the Matter With Kansas?" elaborates how middle-Americans are voting against their own populist self-interests, being manipulated by the wealthy and powerful who use wedge issues like abortion and gay-rights to inflame anti-liberal passions so that populist reform becomes impossible. Add a touch of racism against a black president, and the entrenched system becomes further entrenched.

We always have the 400 prophets who speak from nepotism rather than truth. But there are always true prophets as well. Micaiah son of Imlah does not join the chorus of 400. The powerful king Ahab doesn't want to listen to him. "I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster." The entrenched industries of the 400 prophets hate Micaiah also. Micaiah will speak the truth, regardless of its consequences.

The norms of the 400 prophets are the norms of power, wealth and control. The norms of the true prophets are oriented toward the values of God. Our psalm appointed for this morning, Psalm 72, is one of the Biblical accounts describing an ideal ruler. Godly government, according to the psalm, (1) embraces justice and (2) orients itself toward the needs of the poor.

"Give the King your justice, O God, ...that he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice; ...for he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress and the oppressed who has no helper. He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy."

In the midst of the noise of the prophets telling us what we should do about finance and banking or about health care and insurance, how will we know the voice of Micaiah son of Imlah? It will be the voice that demands justice -- fair dealing with all regardless of power and status. It will be the voice that upholds the needs of the poor.

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, September 15, 2009

Wisdom and Power

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 -- Week of Proper 19, Year One
Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage, 258

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 984)
Psalms 61, 62 (morning) 68:1-20(21-23)24-36 (evening)
1 Kings 21:17-29
1 Corinthians 1:20-31
Matthew 4:12-17

"For God alone my soul in silence waits; from God comes my salvation... Those of high degree are but a fleeting breath; even those of low estate cannot be trusted. Put no trust in extortion; in robbery take no empty pride; though wealth increase, set not your heart upon it. God has spoken once, twice have I heard it, that power belongs to God." (from Psalm 62)

Paul opens his first letter to the Corinthians by bringing up the problem of division within the congregation. His appeal for unity focuses on the cross. The cross subverts the usual causes of division. People usually anchor conflict in struggles over power or disagreements of understanding. Paul says the cross is weakness and foolishness which becomes God's means of ultimate power and wisdom. The cross is an image of shame and defeat. But God uses the cross to overturn our usual ways of thinking about power and wisdom. "For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength."

We see a display of arrogant power in our story from 1 Kings. Ahab's princess Jezebel abused royal power by victimizing Naboth with false testimony. After Naboth is stoned, Ahab took control of his ancestral vineyard that Ahab coveted. Elijah speaks the Word of the Lord to him, prophesying the fall of the Omri/Ahab dynasty.

Although part of Elijah's word against Jezebel eventually was fulfilled in her death during Jehu's rebellion, Ahab had a long, significant reign and two of his sons followed on the throne. A later editor, more sympathetic toward Ahab than the writer of 1 Kings, probably added verses 27-29 crediting Ahab with a repentance that postponed Elijah's curse.

In American Colonial days, Roger Williams who founded Rhode Island and helped start the Baptist Church, used the story of Naboth as an example of bad civil government abusing its religious power through force. His book "The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for the Cause of Conscience" powerfully argued for a "wall of separation" between church and state and for state toleration of religion. Williams urged civil authority to give up customary powers to establish state religion, a stand that many thought weak and foolish in the mid-seventeenth century.

In the Gospel story we see another example of civil abuse. Jesus learns that John the Baptist has been arrested by Herod. Jesus withdraws. He goes to Galilee, a borderland, heavily influenced by Gentile and Greek presence. "Galilee of the Gentiles," as Isaiah called it. The people there "sat in darkness" said the prophet. There, in Capernaum, Jesus sets up the headquarters for his ministry.

Archeologist Charles Page has argued that Jesus' move from Nazareth to Capernaum was a dramatic shift. He says that Nazareth was a strict Jewish sect, not unlike today's Hasidic movement -- rather rigid and separatist. Capernaum was a town whose synagogue was aligned with the more liberal reform movement of Hillel. It was also a more cosmopolitan town, near a major highway, open to non-Jewish relationships. (Charles has led some of the digging in Capernaum.)

We also remember St. Cyprian today, whose feast is moved from September 13 to the 15th in the new proposed calendar. Cyprian is known for his compassion, exercised in his moderate position regarding the reconciliation of Christians who had lapsed during persecution. The rigorist faction of Novation led a group into schism, demanding a purer church than Cyprian allowed. (Not unlike the factions now leaving the Episcopal Church, creating schism in the name of purity.)

Where is wisdom? Where is power? Our stories today have several flavors of misuse of power and certainty. Those stories are contrasted with Paul's call to cross-like humility -- the open vulnerability of trust in God rather than in our own power or certainties. "For God alone my soul in silence waits; from God comes my salvation." "For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength."

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, September 14, 2009

Temptations

Monday, September 14, 2009 -- Week of Proper 19, Year One
Holy Cross Day

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

EITHER the readings for Monday of Proper 19, p. 984
Psalms 56, 57, [58] (morning) 64, 65 (evening)
1 Kings 21:1-16
1 Corinthians 1:1-19
Matthew 4:1-11

OR the readings for Holy Cross Day, p. 999
Morning Prayer: Psalm 66; Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:11-17
Evening Prayer: Psalm 118; Genesis 3:1-15; 1 Peter 3:17-22

I did the readings for Monday of Proper 19

The story of the temptation begins in a moment of vulnerability. Jesus has been in the wilderness. He has been fasting forty days and forty nights. He is famished.

When we are tired and vulnerable, afraid for our security and survival, we can become desperate. In our desperation, it is easy to rationalize -- violate our conscience for the sake of relief and safety.

What's so bad about turning stones to bread? Judging from Jesus' response, it must have something to do with the source of motivation and action. We don't live in a closed material universe, where our actions are determined primarily by our power to act. Our actions must be consistent with the "word that comes from the mouth of God" for them to be authentic. For Jesus, there must have been something contrary to his sense of God's will for him to act in such a way to solve his hunger. It must have violated his sense of integrity and relationship with God. So, despite his hunger, the obvious need before him, he refrained from acting. The motivation did not spring from God.

So the devil quotes the Bible at him. It is a quote that might look like an invitation to faith. Trust God and trust God's word -- the angels will "bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone."

What's so bad about following God's word? Judging from Jesus' response, motivation is again in question. We are to trust God, but not put God to the test. The invitation to throw oneself from the pinnacle of the temple is an invitation to do something that is spectacular, powerful and showy. The story of Jesus will be the story of union with God through the cross, not through showy exhibitions of power. Using the Bible to justify a public spectacle is to put God to the test. Do not quote the Bible in pride, but in humble service.

The final temptation asks us to follow God rather than the splendor and power of the world. It sounds like a pretty straightforward offer, but our eyesight can be nearsighted and our power of rationalization strong when we see something tantalizing within our grasp.

Somehow Jesus maintains his fundamental orientation toward God and God's will. Despite his vulnerability, he continues to trust God for his security, his esteem and his power. Maintaining his obedience to God, he ends up receiving what the worldly temptations had offered him falsely -- the angels do come and minister to him.

Holding on to what you know is right even when you feel so vulnerable and when quick relief appears at hand... It is hard. Tempting. And God's timing is rarely consistent with ours. But we have a companion along the way. Jesus has been there. He knows what it feels like. He can help us.

Twelve-step spirituality has a lot of slogans for the territory of temptation in weakness: let go and let God; take it easy; one day at a time; first things first; this too shall pass; expect miracles; turn it over; willingness is the key.

On Holy Cross Day, Christian spirituality invites us to take up our cross and follow Jesus. It can look scary and intimidating, but he promises his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

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, September 09, 2009

I am away at a meeting

I won't be able to write Morning Reflections for the rest of the week.
Here are the readings:

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 -- Week of Proper 18, Year One
Constance, Nun, and Her Companions, 1898

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 982)
Psalms 119:49-72 (morning) 47, 48 (evening)
1 Kings 17:1-24
Philippians 2:1-11
Matthew 2:1-12
______________

Thursday, September 10, 2009 -- Week of Proper 18, Year One
Alexander Crummell, Priest, Missionary, and Educator,1898

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 982)
Psalms 50 (morning) [59, 60] or 93, 96 (evening)
1 Kings 18:1-19
Philippians 2:12-30
Matthew 2:13-23
______________

Friday, September 11, 2009 -- Week of Proper 18, Year One
Harry Thacker Burleigh, Composer, 1949

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 982)
Psalms 40, 54 (morning) 51 (evening)
1 Kings 18:20-40
Philippians 3:1-16
Matthew 3:1-12

We have a new observance today:
Harry Thacker Burleigh [1866-September 12, 1949] Composer. The grandson of slaves, with a highly educated mother who nonetheless was obliged to work as a maid, Burleigh sang in churches and attended the National Conservatory of Music, supporting himself as a baritone soloist at St. Georges Episcopal Church in NYC. Strongly influenced by Anton Dvoøák, he became interested in black American folksongs and spirituals, preserving much African-American music (including Go Down Moses and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot) that would otherwise have been lost. He is the composer of Deep River, Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child, Nobody Knows and many other beloved songs. (Sept. 11)

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, September 08, 2009

Omri and Some Notes

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 -- Week of Proper 18, Year One
Nikolai Grundtvig, Bishop and Hymnwriter, 1872

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 982)
Psalms 45 (morning) 47, 48 (evening)
1 Kings 16:23-34
Philippians 1:12-30
Mark 16:1-8(9-20)

Omri is a metaphor for why we read the scriptures more for their theological content than for their historical content. Although the Bible is remarkably accurate in many of its historical details, the passage that we read today reminds us that writing history was not the primary motivation for the biblical writers, including those who wrote books such as 1 & 2nd Kings which look like history. Theology and teaching always trump factual history for this writer or team of writers, sometimes called the Deuteronomic author.

In the Hebrew Scriptures Omri gets seven verses. Yet his legacy in history rivals and possibly transcends David's. Just as David founded Jerusalem as the capital of Judah and he eventually reunited much of the dispersed tribe of Israel, Omri founded Samaria as the capital of Israel, as the Northern Kingdom was known. He was able to end nearly fifty years of civil war in Israel, and establish a dynasty that lasted about forty years, passing the crown to his son Ahab (reigned around 20 years) and several other successors. In several archeological records, Israel is referred to as the House of Omri long after his death.

Omri and his son Ahab oversaw a massive building campaign and reigned over extensive boundaries comparable to Solomon's. Ahab led a powerful army that was involved in several significant wars and battles. Like David's son Solomon, Omri's son Ahab had extensive international relationships and trade. Traditionalists, such as the Deuteronomic editor and the prophet Elijah, criticized the foreign influences and Ahab's Phoenician Queen Jezabel, just as the same editor faulted Solomon for his entanglement with foreign wives, concubines and religions. After the Northern Kingdom was defeated by Assyria in 722, the former land of Israel that Omri's dynasty ruled eventually became known as Samaria, named for the capital that Omri founded. Judah became a small vassal state of Assyria around 722, and has its own history which included reclaiming the name "Israel."

Though the mention of Omri claims only seven verses in the Hebrew Scripture, from the perspective of Middle Eastern history, he is among the most significant of all Jewish leaders, comparable to David.
_____

There is a paragraph that stood out to me today from Paul's letter to the Philippians. Paul sites divisions and contrary motivations among the Christian leaders of his day. "Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill." He is especially critical of anyone who would seek their personal elevation over another. For Paul, the key to harmony within the congregation is a consistent attitude of deference in equality, grounded in identity as the inheritors of Christ's glory (see yesterday's Morning Reflection). Paul mentions that some who "proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition" intend to increase Paul's suffering in his imprisonment.

But then, in a remarkable expression of equanimity, Paul's says, "What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice." Paul can be thankful even when Christian leaders misrepresent or distort the gospel. He is glad that they proclaim Christ nonetheless.

He's given us a good model for our contemporary conflicts in the church. We can disagree with one another and our theologies, but we can also rejoice that we all proclaim and follow Christ. Paul's next sentence after that paragraph is, "Yes, and I will continue to rejoice..."
_____

One last note. Our optional reading in Mark includes some later alternative conclusions that editors added to the Gospel because they were unhappy with the way the original apparently ended. The original final verse about the women at the tomb -- "So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." -- make sense as a conclusion when we look at the rest of Mark's gospel. Throughout his book, Mark emphasizes the suffering of Christ as his glory and minimizes the significance of his signs and wonders, except as they point to the call to service and suffering. The disciples never seem to understand.

It is likely that Mark is writing to a threatened congregation that needs examples from their past. Or maybe he is writing to a comfortable, elitist congregation that sees Jesus as a path to glory rather than a way to the cross. Regardless of audience, the oldest ending (vs. 8) seems most consistent with the rest of the Gospel.
_____

Today's new observance from Holy Women, Holy Men:
Nikolai Fredrik Severin Grundtvig [1783-September 3, 1872] Danish theologian and hymn writer who helped reform the Danish Lutheran 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

Monday, September 07, 2009

Equal Honor

Monday, September 7, 2009 -- Week of Proper 18, Year One
Labor Day
Elie Naud, Huguenot Witness to the Faith, 1722

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 982)
Psalms 41, 52 (morning) 44 (evening)
1 Kings 13:1-10
Philippians 1:1-11
Mark 15:40-47

We begin today Paul's delightful letter to the church in Philippi. This congregation was the first that Paul established in Macedonia (the first church in Europe). It began in the home of Lydia, a wealthy merchant, and the first convert in Philippi. We know from archeological remains that women were often leaders of worship in the Greek public rituals in the city. It would not have been strange in Philippi for a new Christian group to be led by a woman.

Philippi was a Roman colony founded on a major east-west highway. Many retired Roman soldiers and war veterans were given retirement homes there. All of the names mentioned in Paul's letter to the Philippians are Greek names.

This is a joyful and optimistic letter. We can feel Paul's affection for the congregation and his friendship for its members. He opens his letter, "Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus..." He is confident that "the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." He speaks of his heart's longing for his friends, and he prays that their "love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight."

One of the primary themes is Paul's treatment of the important issue of honor -- status, distinctions, prestige. The Mediterranean world was largely an honor culture. In an honor culture, society is stratified into different layers, each accorded its separate status. Every person is born into his or her family's status. A good person will live according to the values of their status, and leave the family in its same place, passing on the same good name to one's descendants. One can be shamed either by dishonoring and losing one's family's status, or by pride and greed, dishonoring one's family by trying to raise one's family's status. It was regarded as disrespectful for one to raise or expand one's honor, because, it was believed, honor is a zero-based quantity -- for you to gain honor, someone must lose honor. It is shameful to intentionally participate in the dishonoring of another for your own gain. An honor culture is very stable and rigidly structured. (Many of the complexities we experience in our dealings with the Middle East and other regions stem from our misunderstanding of their motivations as people living in honor cultures.)

Paul's churches proposed something socially radical. Paul insisted that all honor belongs to Christ, and that Christians share equally in Christ's honor. The most real thing in our lives is that we will be given Christ's glory as our inheritance at the end-time.

Paul insists that the church live today in a way consistent with this end-time orientation. Do not be intimidated by the world outside, which may demean or devalue us by its own honor code. But especially, Paul says, do not allow for any divisions or distinctions among ourselves within the church. There are no status distinctions within the church, Paul insists. We are all equal before God, therefore we are all equal toward one another.

Our basic understanding therefore, is that we are to seek each others interests for the glory of God. We are each to be slaves toward one another, in imitation of Christ's servanthood. The key to harmony within the congregation is this attitude of deference in equality, grounded in identity as the inheritors of Christ's glory.

Philippians is a good letter to begin on Labor Day. With Paul's themes of service and of equal honor, he offers a lens for us to see our interdependency in our work and service. He invites us to adopt a sense of concern and compassion for our neighbors, giving equal honor and respect toward all regardless of the form of their labor. He would call us to advocacy on behalf of all who do not enjoy privilege or status because of their work, and he would call all who might be in places of privilege or status to adopt a servant's humility. We are all equal in Christ, and we are called to treat one another from the perspective of that ultimate vision.

It is a nice coincidence that this Labor Day is also our first commemoration for Elie Daud who was deeply committed to the education of slaves and Native Americans and, despite much opposition, opened a school for them in New York City.

A Collect for Labor Day
Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
______

A note about our new feast day:
Elie Naud (or Neau) [1661- September 7, 1722] A Huguenot passionate about
Christiany, Naud was exiled from his native France under the Edict of Nantes. He moved
to Boston, and commanded a ship. Captured by the French, he was condemned to the
galleys, and eventually incarcerated in the infamous Chateau dIf. He could have been
freed merely by conforming to Catholicism, yet refused. After twenty-two months of
imprisonment, he returned to New York City where he attended the Huguenot parish,
Saint Esprit (now part of the Episcopal Diocese of New York). Naud became a catechist
for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and conformed to the Church of
England in 1705. He worked for ecumenical cooperation among the churches of the area,
and was a missioner among slaves. He opened a school for the children of
slaves and Native Americans. He is a much-loved poet among Froncophones, and the
author of fifty-two hymns in French.

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