Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Visitations

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 -- Week of 6 Easter, Year One
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgical.wordiness.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer)
EITHER the readings for Tuesday of 6 Easter, p. 962
Psalms 78:1-39 (morning)      78:40-72 (evening)
Deuteronomy 8:11-20
James 1:16-27
Luke 11:1-13

OR the readings for the Visitation, p. 997
Morning Prayer - Psalm 72 / 1 Samuel 1:1-20 / Hebrews 3:1-6
Evening Prayer - Psalms 146, 147 / Zechariah 2:10-13 / John 3:25-30

I chose the readings for the Visitation


The Feast of the Visitation is a celebration of anticipation and hope, yet within the celebration there is a shadow, anticipating how what is coming into being will interact with the threats and challenges of the present time to bring hope and deliverance.

Although in the Daily Office we don't read the story of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56), we do have the option to use the Magnificat as one of our canticles.  Within the pastoral scene of two expectant women enjoying their shared joys of motherhood, Mary speaks a prophetic poem of revolutionary reversals.  As she contemplates the gestating child she imagines God working to scatter the proud and put down the mighty, to lift up the lowly and fill the hungry with good things, leaving the rich empty.  Like generations of peasants, Mary longs for God's justice to reverse the roles of power and wealth.  She prays that her child will be God's means to fulfill that promise.

In our first reading, we have another biblical story of a barren woman.  So often in the scriptural narrative, God works through the offspring of a woman who has mourned her infertility.  Like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and the unnamed mother of Samson, Hannah is barren, a sad burden, particularly in a culture that equates a woman's fecundity with her blessing and worth.  During the family's annual pilgrimage to the temple at Shiloh, Hannah pours out her heart in fervent prayer to God.  Foreshadowing the story of his impotence, the priest Eli cannot tell the sacred from the profane, and thinks she is drunk.  But God hears her prayer and blesses her with a child whom she will dedicate as a Nazirite.  Hew child Samuel will become Israel's first prophet, and he will participate in the fall of the house of Eli as well as the anointing of Saul and David. 

Our reading from Hebrews speaks of Jesus' glory as God's son, a glory greater than that of Moses.  Jesus shares the divine glory as the inheritor of God's house, and Hebrews says, "we are his house if we hold firm the confidence and the pride that belong to hope."  We are to understand ourselves as the very temple of God's dwelling, an understanding that brings confidence and hope.  Yet woven within this passage is the dark, coming conflict between Christian and Jew, in the assertion of Jesus' superiority to Moses.  We know in the future that those who follow Jesus as their Messiah will be expelled from their family house, from synagogue and temple.  We know of future horrors of retribution that Christians will commit toward the children of Moses and his house. 

What is coming to birth?  In all of these stories it is something wonderful and hopeful.  Yet there is also a hint of conflict and political upheaval.  When God does a new thing, God is often acting to overthrow an old order.  In each of these anticipated births there is the hope of reversal of injustice, growth of power and justice for God's people.  The new order will bring salvation and deliverance from exterior threats and from the political and economic injustice that oppresses the weak and the poor. 

The Visitation is the feast of fellowship and camaraderie among allies for the new vision.  Elizabeth and Mary meet like underground insurgents, they dream and plan for a new world, a world where the weak and the poor are raised up and the oppression of the rich and powerful is unraveled.  They dream of a movement, and they anticipate that God is moving within their wombs to raise up leaders to restore justice and hope. 

Whenever a small committee gathers to plan a new way, a group convenes to commit to a greater vision, friends join in prayer and hope for the coming of God's will, especially on behalf of the poor and burdened -- there is the quality of the Visitation.  The Holy Spirit joins imaginative hearts in anticipation, and something wonderfully new  grows silently hidden in the quiet womb of hope. 

May there be many meetings of Visitation today and in our generation, to bring about new hope, new justice for our future.  May the seed of our deliverance be coming to birth in homes and laboratories, in friendships and digital Magnificats, in fervent prayer answered.  "To shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."

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 missionstclare.com -- Click for online Daily Office
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 --  Click for Divine Hours

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

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

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

Friday, May 27, 2011

Happiness and Pleasure

Friday, May 27, 2011 -- Week of 5 Easter, Year One
Bertha and Ethelbert, Queen and King of Kent, 616
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgical.wordiness.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 962)
Psalms 106:1-18 (morning)      106:19-48 (evening)
Wisdom of Solomon* 16:15 - 17:1
Romans 14:13-23
Luke 8:40-56
            * found in the Apocrypha

Happy are they who act with justice *
     and always do what is right!  (Psalm 106:3)

You gave them what they asked, *
     but sent leanness into their soul.  (Psalm 106:15)

Here is a thought experiment.  What if science discovered a way to stimulate the brain so that you would never again experience the feelings of sadness or pain, but rather only pleasure?  What if, by artificial means, there was a technique that insured that the areas of your brain which create the experience of pleasure would be stimulated constantly and the areas of your brain that send impulses of sadness and pain would be blocked?  Your life would be a constant experience of pleasure and enjoyment, never clouded by sadness or pain.  Would you choose that life over the life you have now?

When offered that thought experiment, most people say "No." 

It seems that we sense that there is something intrinsically valuable and real about the struggle between pain and pleasure.  There is something intrinsically wrong about pleasures that are not grounded in something deeper.  One researcher says that our highest happiness is a happiness that we have somehow earned because we have struggled for it or we have practiced some form of virtue which gives us a sense of satisfaction or gratification.  Gratification is more satisfying than mere pleasure, he says.

"Happy are they who act with justice and always do what is right!" says the Psalmist.  Our happiness is intrinsically corporate.  It is tied to our relationship with others, grounded in justice.  For justice has to do with the corporate expression of love.  Justice is the core value of loving my neighbor as myself.  I forget who I first heard say it, but some thinker could not imagine being able to enjoy the bliss of heaven while knowing any of his fellow humans would be simultaneously suffering the agonies of hell. 

Our deepest satisfaction comes from the deep wells of wisdom.  It comes from our own practice of the virtues.  We find our bliss with the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge, the practice of courage and love, a commitment to humanity and justice, a life of temperance, a connection with spirituality and transcendence.  These are the wells of true happiness. 

Mere pleasure only opens up the neurological pathways of addiction.  The shortcuts to feeling good -- drugs, chocolate, loveless sex, shopping, money, shallow entertainments -- do not satisfy us at our deepest levels.  The Psalmist recognizes their emptiness, "You gave them what they asked, but sent leanness into their soul." 

At my Sunday School class last week I told about a college class experiment.  The professor assigned homework to each student.  For the next class, engage in one pleasurable activity and one philanthropic activity, and write about both.  The teacher said that the results were life-changing.  "The afterglow of the 'pleasurable' activity (hanging out with friends, or watching a movie, or eating a hot fudge sundae) paled in comparison with the effects of the kind action."  (Martin Seligman, "Authentic Happiness," p. 9)

True happiness is something deeper than having our desires met.  It has something to do with the exercise of our strengths and qualities in the pursuit of meaningful good.  "Happy are they who act with justice and always do what is right!"  Virtue is its own reward.  Joy.

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 missionstclare.com -- Click for online Daily Office
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 --  Click for Divine Hours

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

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

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

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Unity in Diversity

Thursday, May 26, 2011 -- Week of 5 Easter, Year One
Augustine, First Archbishop of Canterbury, 605
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgical.wordiness.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 962)
Psalms [70], 71 (morning)       74 (evening)
Wisdom of Solomon* 14:27 - 15:3
Romans 14:1-12
Luke 8:26-38
            * found in the Apocrypha

Faithful people may hold very different convictions and practices.

"Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike.  Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.  Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord.  Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God."  Romans 14:5-6

Pope Gregory the Great to Augustine, First Archbishop of Canterbury:  "If you have found customs, whether in the Roman, Gallican, or any other Churches that may be more acceptable to God, I wish you to make a careful selection of them, and teach the Church of the English, which is still young in the faith, whatever you can profitably learn from the various Churches.  For things should not be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things."

Paul wrote to a mixed community of Christians who came from different backgrounds and who had strongly held opinions.  The major conflict in Paul's churches was between Jewish and Gentile Christians.  Jewish Christians observed the sabbath and the kosher laws of their tradition and of the Hebrew scriptures.  For Gentile Christians, every day was a workday, the sabbath was no better than another day. 

Gentile Christians did not observe kosher dietary laws.  However, for some Gentile Christians, their conscience was bothered by meat sold in the public market, for that was meat that had been dedicated to Apollo or one of the gods that they formerly followed.  For others, there was no bother because they now believed there was no such thing as idols. 

"Let all be fully convinced in their own minds," said Paul.  Diversity in many of these beliefs is fine.  Everyone does not have to come to the same conclusion about everything.  Honor your conscience, and live together in unity with charity toward one another, Paul advised.  "Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord.  Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God....  So then, each of us will be accountable to God."

Pope Gregory gave Augustine great flexibility when dealing with the various traditions that he encountered when he arrived as "Archbishop of the English Nation."  Augustine was not charged with enforcing Roman customs on the indigenous Celtic churches, but rather he was to honor whatever he could "profitably learn from the various Churches."  People are more important than things.

Later in Romans we will see Paul urge those whom he calls the "strong" to be especially flexible with those whom he calls the "weak."  He urges those who have a more mature freedom in the faith -- those whose consciences are not bothered by kosher laws or scruples about meat from the public markets -- to be charitable toward their more scrupulous brothers and sisters.  When you are eating at home among your own family, feel free to eat what you wish.  But when you are eating among the scrupulous, the "weak," refrain from eating what might trouble their conscience, even though your conscience is free.

Yet elsewhere, Paul does draw some strong lines.  Especially over circumcision.  Jewish Christians, following their tradition and the requirements of the Hebrew scripture, were certain that circumcision was a required sign and practice for those who would be acknowledged as God's people.  They pointed to the testimony of scripture and tradition, and demanded that uncircumcised Gentiles be circumcised in order to be incorporated into the community of the church.  Paul was vehement in his opposition.  "No!," he said.  Life in Christ was liberation from such legalistic traditions.  Jewish Christians could not require circumcision from their Gentile brothers and sisters, regardless of their convictions, their traditions, scriptures or beliefs.  For Gentiles to do so would nullify the glorious freedom that Christ has gained for us through the cross. 

Paul did not say that Jewish Christians should refrain from circumcising in their own families, nor did he say that they should remove the signs of circumcision, as some Hellenized Jews did.  But he also did not say that the Gentiles should be "flexible" with regard to the scruples of their Jewish Christian neighbors a be circumcised themselves for the sake of the scruples and conscience of their brothers and sisters.

I think these discussions and controversies are helpful guides for the present church and our own Archbishop of Canterbury.  We are in a discussion in the Anglican Communion over the scruples of those whose consciences are troubled by the grace and fruitfulness that others have found in the faithful committed relationships of their gay brothers and sisters.  "Let all be fully convinced in their own minds," seems like good counsel from St. Paul. 

Those of us who recognize God's blessing in gay relationships may believe that heterosexual marriage is "no better than" the lifelong commitments of those of homosexual orientation, while other parts of the church may not.  Let those who observe their commitments, observe them in honor of the Lord.  Let those who are strong, whose scruples are not troubled by heterosexism, be charitable toward those whose consciences are troubled by the freedom Christ gives us.  We need not require an acknowledgment that violates their consciences.

But, there is a line, as Paul insisted in the controversy about circumcision.  Those who have scruples about their tradition of heterosexual-only relationships may not require "circumcision" of their gay brothers and sisters.  They must not force their gay brothers and sisters to be circumcised "like them" in order to be welcome in the church's fellowship.  Heterosexually oriented Christians cannot demand of homosexually oriented Christians to be either celibate or married unnaturally to someone of the opposite sex in order to be part of the Christian fellowship.  To do so would nullify the glorious freedom that Christ has gained for us through the cross.  To do so would ignore the fruits of the Spirit that we recognize in the committed, loving relationships of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.  "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against such things."  (Galatians 5:22-23)

Today, as in earlier generations, we seek unity in diversity.  The church seeks to unite peoples of various customs and convictions.  "Let all be fully convinced in their own minds."  Let charity and generosity abound.  But where legalists would impose their scruples upon others' conscience, as the Jewish Christians attempted to do upon their Gentile neighbors, we must stand with Paul and say, "No!"  Let those who observe their traditions, observe them in honor of the Lord, and let all be fully convinced in their own minds.

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 missionstclare.com -- Click for online Daily Office
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 --  Click for Divine Hours

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

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

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

Tuesday, May 24, 2011


Tuesday, May 25, 2011 -- Week of 5 Easter, Year One  
Bede the Venerable, Priest and Monk of Jarrow, 735 
To read about our daily commemorations, go to the Holy Women, Holy Men blog

Psalms 72 (morning)       119:73-96 (evening)
Wisdom of Solomon* 13:1-9
Romans 13:1-14
Luke 8:16-25
            * found in the Apocrypha

I'll be away at a meeting in Little Rock tomorrow.  Here are the readings.

Lowell

The Divine Feminine

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 -- Week of 5 Easter, Year One
Jackson Kemper, First Missionary Bishop in the United States, 1870
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgical.wordiness.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 962)
Psalms 61, 62 (morning)       68:1-20(21-23)24-36 (evening)
Wisdom of Solomon* 10:1-4(5-12)13-21
Romans 12:1-21
Luke 8:1-15
            * found in the Apocrypha

I am struck again today at the divine feminine imagery that the author of Wisdom uses so lyrically to express the presence of God in the lives of so many of Israel's notable ancestors.  Today's chapter speaks of Sophia's role in guiding Israel through history, protecting and separating God's people from wickedness and peril.  In each story mentioned -- of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Joseph and Moses -- it is Sophia who is present and active.

Adam -- "She protected the first-formed father of the world, ...she delivered him from his transgression and gave him strength to rule all things."

Noah -- "When the earth was flooded because of (Cain), wisdom again saved it, stirring the righteous man by a paltry piece of wood."

Abraham -- "She... recognized the righteous man and preserved him blameless before God, and kept him strong in the face of his compassion for his child."

Lot -- "She rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing; he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities."

Jacob -- "When a righteous man fled from his brother's wrath, she guided him on straight paths; she showed him the kingdom of God, and gave him knowledge of holy things; she prospered him in his labors, and increased the fruit of his toil...  She protected him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him; in his arduous contest she gave him the victory."

Joseph -- "She descended with him into the dungeon, and when he was in prison she did not leave him, until she brought him the scepter of a kingdom and authority over his masters.  Those who accused him she showed to be false, and she gave him everlasting honor."

Moses -- "She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord, and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.  She gave to holy people the reward of their labors; she guided them along a marvelous way, and became a shelter to them by day, and a starry flame through the night.  She brought them over the Red Sea, and led them through the deep waters;  ...for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute and made the tongues of infants speak clearly."

The Wisdom of Solomon is written in Greek and is strongly influenced by Hellenistic thought.  Sophia is the Greek personification of wisdom, both as a philosophical category and as referring to the wisdom of God.  In this book, the work of Sophia/Wisdom is not unlike the work of the Holy Spirit as Christians have developed our own Trinitarian doctrine. 

The word for "spirit" in Hebrew is "ruach" -- a feminine noun.  The Greek word for "spirit" is "pneuma" -- a neuter word, that also means breath or wind.  The Latin word "spiritus" is masculine.  The spirit is the life giving spirit or soul, the rational principle and wisdom, the breath of life, and source of power.

There is something appealing about using the Hebrew feminine word "ruach" and the Greek feminine personification "Sophia" to imagine the life-giving presence of God.  Some Christian devotion to Mary as the Mother of God has similar qualities to the praise of Sophia that we find in the Wisdom literature. 

There is something about feminine energy that is nurturing and embracing, fierce and powerful.  Many parts of Christian tradition have suffered from the lack of the feminine aspect of the divine.  Since the twentieth century there has been a rich tradition of reclaiming our ancient roots in the divine feminine, and Sophia imagery has been part of that.  I find that I rarely use the pronoun "he" anymore when speaking of God. 

When I think of the Holy Spirit, I generally imagine a a feminine quality to God's presence.  Flowing, nurturing, enlivening, inspiring, breathing, energizing, guarding, guiding, teaching, strengthening, loving -- deeply loving.  

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 missionstclare.com -- Click for online Daily Office
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 --  Click for Divine Hours

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

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

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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

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