Friday, March 29, 2013

When the Worst Happens

Friday, March 29, 2013 -- Good Friday

[Go to http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html for an online version of the Daily Office including today's scripture readings.]

Today's Readings for the Daily Office

     (Book of Common Prayer, p. 956)
Psalms    95* and 22 (morning)     //     40:1-14(15-19), 54 (evening)
Wisdom** 1:16 - 2:1, 12-22 or Genesis 22:1-14
1 Peter 1:10-20
John 13:36-38 (morning)       John 19:38-42 (evening)
      * for the Invitatory
      ** found in the Apocrypha


When the worst happens. That's today.

When a good person gets run over by injustice.  When a friend betrays.  When the systems of religion and society fail.  When leaders make bad decisions.  When fear predominates.  When friends don't come through.  When love is returned with callousness.  When one who has healed is broken.  When violence erupts.  When compassion is absent.  When public humiliation is inevitable.  When there is nothing you can say.  When there is no way out.  When goodness counts for nothing.  When the wrong people are in charge.  When the mob starts to turn.  When everything you stood for is dashed.  When horrible pain is unavoidable.  When you wish it would end and it doesn't.  When evil triumphs.  When the taste for torture feeds.  When the strong oppress the weak.  When people entertain their lowest instincts.  When they lie.  When everyone abandons.  When the powerful attack.  When exhaustion hits.  When thirst is burning.  When you can't breathe.  When death is inevitable, slow agony.  When God is absent.  When there is no consolation.  When all is hopeless. 

That's today.  That's what Jesus faces today.  It's the worst that can happen.

This is the story.  This is the picture, the image that we look upon and say -- here is where the heart of God is most deeply revealed.  Here is where God is.  Wait.  Look.  See.


Lowell
__________


Audio podcast:  Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week.  Go to: http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id244.html

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 http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html

Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location

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, March 28, 2013

Gifts on Maundy Thursday

Thursday, March 28, 2013 -- Maundy Thursday

[Go to http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html for an online version of the Daily Office including today's scripture readings.]

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
     (Book of Common Prayer, p. 956)
Psalms       102 (morning)        142, 143 (evening)
Jeremiah 20:7-11
1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:27-32
John 17:1-11 (12-26)


[Apologies:  I read and commented on the Eucharistic texts instead of the Daily Office texts today]






The Daily Office gives us the story of Jesus washing his disciples' feet.  Although I only got to step in there for a moment, yesterday Suzanne led a team of volunteers who washed the feet of some of our guests from Community Meals.  The guests soaked their feet in the warm, medicated water of individual foot spas.  After their feet were washed, they were dried and gently massaged with moisturizer.  I think we gave new socks to each person also.

I remember from participating in past years, occasionally it was remarkable how a person's feet may sometimes say something about some of the hardships of their lives.  I've served people whose feet were worn and calloused.  I've seen injuries that had not healed properly.  There is something intimate and connecting about washing another's feet.  It can be very moving.  It can create a sense of relationship and mutual regard.  For some of our guests, the kind, gentle and generous touch of another's washing their feet is a profound gift of care and respect in a life that may receive less respect than most.  For some of our guests, it is a hard gift to accept.  Often, it is easier to give than to receive.  It takes humility to receive.

Peter was bothered by the reversal of roles when his Master offered to wash his feet.  But almost too eagerly he accepted when Jesus said he must.  I could use some of Peter's desire from time to time.

Jesus used his example to teach his followers to live lives as servants.

We also get some important sections of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians today, passing along the traditions he has received about the Eucharist, the recalling of the Last Supper of Maundy Thursday.  The Eucharist has been the central act of Christian worship since the apostles.  It is the act that constitutes us and nurtures us as the Body of Christ.  Tonight we will remember that night when Jesus took bread and wine and identified them with his very life, and so interpreted his death as a profound gift, an intimate and connecting gift forever.  It is also a gift that takes a bit of humility to receive. 

Although I've shared it on Morning Reflections more than once, and I have used it in Inquirers' Classes and other teaching about the sacrament of the Eucharist, I'd like to offer once more a paragraph from the late theologian John MacQuarrie.  In only a few words he catches some of the profundity that we touch each time we participate in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist sums up in itself Christian worship, experience and theology in an amazing richness.  It seems to include everything. 

It combines Word and Sacrament;  its appeal is to spirit and to sense;  it brings together the sacrifice of Calvary and the presence of the risen Christ;  it is communion with God and communion with man;  it covers the whole gamut of religious moods and emotions. 

Again, it teaches the doctrine of creation, as the bread, the wine, and ourselves are brought to God;  the doctrine of atonement, for these gifts have to be broken in order that they may be perfected;  the doctrine of salvation, for the Eucharist has to do with incorporation into Christ and the sanctification of human life; above all, the doctrine of incarnation, for it is no distant God whom Christians worship but one who has made himself accessible in the world. 

The Eucharist also gathers up in itself the meaning of the Church; its whole action implies and sets forth our mutual interdependence in the body of Christ; it unites us with the Church of the past and even, through its paschal overtones, with the first people of God, Israel; and it points to the eschatological consummation of the kingdom of God, as an anticipation of the heavenly banquet. 

Comprehensive though this description is, it is likely that I have missed something, for the Eucharist seems to be inexhaustible.
                                   John MacQuarrie, Paths of Spirituality

Gifts on Maundy Thursday. 


Lowell
____________



Audio podcast:  Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week.  Go to: http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id244.html

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 http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html

Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location

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
 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

When Things Are Bad

Wednesday, March 27, 2013 -- Wednesday in Holy Week (Year One)

[Go to http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html for an online version of the Daily Office including today's scripture readings.]

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
     (Book of Common Prayer, p. 956)
Psalms       55 (morning)        74 (evening)
Jeremiah 17:5-10, 14-17
Philippians 4:1-13
John 12:27-36

All of today's readings speak to us when troubles abound. 

Jesus opens the gospel with the anguished words, "Now my soul is troubled."  In language typical of John's gospel, he moves from the urge to escape into deep acceptance.  "It is for this reason I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name."  But Jesus leaves his disciples with ominous warnings about walking in the light rather than in the darkness.

Our psalmist's misery is profound.  "My heart quakes within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.  Fear and trembling have come over me, and horror overwhelms me."  He wishes he could fly away.  The deepest hurt is that he has been betrayed by an intimate friend.  "But it was you, someone after my own heart, my companion, my own familiar friend.  We took sweet counsel together and walked with the throng in the house of God."  He wishes his enemies were dead.  "Their speech is softer than butter, but war is in their hearts.  Their words are smoother than oil, but they are drawn swords."  The only thing he can do is to "call upon God, and God will deliver me.  I will complain and lament, and God will hear my voice."

Jeremiah knows these depths.  "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse -- who can understand it?"  As his enemies taunt him and his trust in God, he begs God to acquit him.  "Do not become a terror to me; you are my refuge in the day of disaster; Let my persecutors be shamed, but do not let me be shamed; let them be dismayed, but do not let me be dismayed;" he cries.  Finally, giving vent to his anger and frustration, Jeremiah shouts, "bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction!"

I've felt this way.  I've known fear and trembling.  I've been betrayed by a friend.  I know those people who talk smoothly but harbor terrible things.  I've fantasized about revenge and recompense.  As awful and conflictive as these thoughts and emotion may be, I know that my Biblical companions share them with me, and they show me that I can take these dark things to God.

Paul closes his letter to the Philippians with a recognition that he and his friends live in conflict with enemies within their community.  With tears he tells again of those whose "end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things."  These people are making life miserable for Paul and the others.

But Paul has a habit and discipline to turn to Jesus in trust, embracing Christ's victory and overcoming all that can threaten.  He asks his friends Euodia and Synthche by name to resolve their conflict with one another.  And he insists that all of their "names are in the book of life."

Then we get a peek at Paul's spirituality in action, his way of thinking and praying when he is brooding on the kinds of troubles that threaten to undo us.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your gentleness be known to everyone.  The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Then Paul offers some practical advice about how to turn our attention when we are anxious, angry or afraid.  "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  And then he says, move forward.  Persevere in what you know is right.  "Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you."

Paul speaks with some authority.  Elsewhere he lists some of the things he has endured:  prison, floggings, stoning, shipwreck, hunger, cold, sleeplessness and constant danger, even to the point of near death.  (2 Cor. 23-29)  His list makes my complaints seem trivial.  Out of his trials Paul has learned acceptance.  "For I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need."  His hard won conviction:  "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."  Then he offer a word of thanks for the gift of community:  "In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress."

Great advice.  Do the best you can, and when you don't, ask and accept forgiveness.  Give everything to God and think about the good things.

At night when problems surrounded him, the elderly Pope John XXIII would pray, "Lord, it's your church -- you run it; I'm going to bed."


Lowell
___________



Audio podcast:  Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week.  Go to: http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id244.html

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 http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html

Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location

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, March 26, 2013

Jeremiah's Complaint

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 -- Tuesday in Holy Week (Year One)

[Go to http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html for an online version of the Daily Office including today's scripture readings.]

Today's Readings for the Daily Office
     (Book of Common Prayer, p. 956)
Psalms 6, 12 (morning)        94 (evening)
Jeremiah 15:10-21
Philippians 3:15-21
John 12:20-26

Jeremiah speaks with deep pathos.  His life's calling has been to speak God's word of judgment and impending doom to a community that doesn't want to hear bad news.  His mission has been costly to him.  We hear his hurt and bitterness today.

"Woe is me, my mother, that you ever bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land!  ...All of them curse me.  I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone, for you had filled me with indignation." 

Alienated and resented, Jeremiah has borne the weight of resentment.  That's what happens to whistleblowers and to those who reveal unpopular and uncomfortable truths.  Dry and brittle, Jeremiah speaks to God of his discontent, accusing God with these honest words, "Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail."

Maybe we gasp when we read those words.  Did he really say that?  Can he say that?  Can he tell God that God is like a deceitful brook who fails us?  Can he say that and live?

Yes he can.  God does not strike him down.  God does not banish him from the divine presence.  But God also does not relent.  The mission stands.  "If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth.  ...And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze.  ...I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked."

Jeremiah has laid his complaint before God.  Jeremiah speaks from the depths of his heart.  God hears and remains with him.  Even so, there is no avoiding the hard task before him.  Yet God will be with him. 

No wonder our lectionary invites us to walk with Jeremiah during Holy Week when we walk with Jesus along the way of the cross.  The path of truth cannot be bypassed.  We have to walk the road we are given.  Jesus says, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  ...Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also."

Not many of us are called to the kind of witness that Jeremiah and Jesus gave.  But we can be attentive to the prophets among us.  We can listen to those who tell us what we don't want to hear.  We can hear with respect the accusations of those who make unpopular and uncomfortable charges against us and against our lifestyles.  We can heed the word of the prophets and change our behavior.

Whenever we are given a portion of the truth to shoulder, a piece of the cross to bear, we can bear it with courage.  And if we need to, we can speak to God honestly about our deepest disappointments, including our disappointment in God.  God may not back off; but God will be with us.


Lowell
____________



Audio podcast:  Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week.  Go to: http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id244.html

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 http://www.missionstclare.com/english/index.html

Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location

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