What if we decided that a person’s right to oxygen was more important than a ten minute joy ride in space?
What if we decided that children should not be soldiers instead of being offended that someone might use our preferred pronoun when speaking to/of us?
What if we decided that raising people out of poverty where they live in garbage was more important than a film festival?
What if lives in India mattered as much as lives anywhere else?
What if a drink of water meant more than you getting to work faster?
You can call me a communist or something worse for thinking these “what ifs”, but I think of it as being a Christian. St. Paul would not rest until the sisters and brothers cared for those around them. Why do we?
Oxygen is a basic human right. What if we worked on solving this and then work our way up to the joy rides of our own egos and offenses. I am offended that we are not.
A particular bishop brought in a consultant group to work with each individual church. They were reported to do wonders for any church who was willing to put in the effort. The only issue was that the consultants were all cannibals, so when the bishop hired them, he made them promise not to eat anyone. They all agreed.
After meeting with almost forty churches, things were going splendidly and each of those churches was growing and thriving, but then one day, the leader of the cannibal consulting group got a phone call from the bishop. Seems the secretary at the last church had gone missing and he wanted to make sure that it wasn’t the cannibals doings. Once he got off the call with the bishop, he asked his fellow workers if anyone had something to do with the missing secretary. One cannibal sheepishly raised his hand.
“You fool!” said the leader. “For weeks we’ve been eating clergy and no one noticed anything, but no, you had to go and eat someone important!”
Today, our Gospel reading was from Mark 6:30-34 and then we skipped to 53-56. What I immediately wanted to know is what went on in verses 35-52. Turns out, we skipped right over the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water. Huh? Why on earth would we skip those two events? They seem kind of important to me, but the more I thought on it, I realized that I was falling into the same mindset as so many during the time of Jesus. Jesus even pointed this out in John’s Gospel when someone came looking for a miracle. Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” (John 4:48) Yes. We give thanks for the miracles that occurred then and continue to occur today, but they also serve a very specific purpose outside of those who benefit from them.
Let’s say that St. Matthew’s becomes a place of miracles. Now, I believe we see them all the time, we just don’t recognize them as such, but let’s say that they are undeniable: someone who is blind… born blind comes to our church, they receive the sacrament of healing and prayer and… they see. And then there is someone who has never walked in their life and they are prayed over and they walk. After a couple of events like this, word starts getting around: people are getting healed at St. Matthew’s. Others begin to arrive, slowly at first, to check things out and see what all the fuss is about, but I guarantee you this, if that begins to happen, after a short while, you won’t be able squeeze in here with a shoehorn and not just on Sundays. This will be wall-to-wall people. Some coming to worship, some bringing others in search of a miracle, some bringing themselves in search of the same, and even some who will come to criticize and tear down, but what is the purpose of this all? Episcopalians be like: as long as no one sits in my pew, it’s all good, but seriously, in all that is taking place, what is the purpose? Is it solely for the healings / miracles? Those are important and amazing, but they are not the purpose. Is it that more people are coming to church? Again, good, but not the purpose. How about those whom the healings are taking place through? Yes, yes, and yes. All good, but the purpose behind it all is so that the Good News can be proclaimed. The miracles, the feeding of the 5,000, walking on water, site for the blind are like beacons in a dark night, guiding people to a place where they can encounter God and hear the message. What is the message? Jesus is Lord. Forgiveness of sins. Salvation. Eternal life. The miracles occur so that this message, which is the Good News, can be proclaimed. Miracle: Lazarus was raised from the dead. It got a lot of people’s attention, but Lazarus is going to die again. Good News: Lazarus may die again, but through the forgiveness of sins and his faith in Jesus Christ, Lazarus will rise again, but this time he will rise to eternal life. The miracles demonstrate Jesus’ authority, so that we might believe his teaching and his word: salvation has come to all who believe.
The miracles then are like a beacon, calling out to those who would see and know God. Before Jesus, that beacon was to be God’s chosen people, the Israelites. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God said:
“You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Isaiah 49:3)
And a few verses further:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
The Lord is saying, it is not just the Israelites that I want to hear of my salvation, but all of humankind, so you will lead them. You will be a beacon to the world, but our reading today from Jeremiah tells us that they did not succeed: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!… It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them.” The shepherds might as well have been eaten by cannibals, because no one would have even noticed if they were gone. To be honest, I don’t believe it was a task that could have ever been fulfilled through human hands, but they were still the chosen ones, so when they failed, God said, If you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself. Continuing to speak through the Prophet Jeremiah, God said, “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.”
And here is where our Gospel reading comes in. Jesus and the apostles had been doing the work, but Jesus also recognized their need for rest, so they tried to get away for a short time, but the crowds found them. Jesus could have pushed on and said, “Enough! We’re on vacation,” but that was not Jesus. Instead, “As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” Israel was to be the beacon and the shepherd of God’s people, but when they failed, God said, “I myself will gather the remnant of the flock…”… I myself will be the beacon and the Shepherd. And Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11). “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32)
The miracles that were performed by Jesus and the Apostles acted as a beacon, so that the world would be drawn in to hear the teachings and the message of salvation. And now we, as the Church, have been entrusted with the task of continuing that great work, but where are the miracles? Where are the beacons? Answer: sitting in the pews. You are the miracle. Your very life is a beacon, a testimony of God’s great work in this world and your life is a testimony that needs to be heard. You are a miracle that the world would in fact know was missing; therefore, through both words and deeds, live into your calling as witnesses to the Good News of God and then watch in joy and amazement as the miracle that is you, takes place in others.
Let us pray: Loving God, Send us out to draw others to You, into Your peace, into the Church, into lives dedicated to the Gospel. May our voices speak of hope and welcome to all. May our hands lift high the torch of new life in You. May our hearts yearn for justice and truth. Renew in us the courage and strength to reach out to the neediest in our midst. United in faith and prayer, with Mary, keep us ever steadfast in Your love as we strive for Your vision of a world renewed. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
#1 danger of journaling late at night… you might tell the truth!
THOUGHTS:
You have to look at your own life. Your own sins. And then you wonder how you can change. At what point do we recognize that we’re not any better. You try so damn hard to be holy and righteous in the eyes of the Lord and fail so miserably every damn day. It’s funny how you look at the world differently. What do you want?
What if someone actually gives you permission to love? You don’t have to seek anyone’s approval, really not even your own. It is just something you know. Why sit around second-guessing your heart?
The world is full of such beautiful people. Where does hate come from? Why don’t we love the color of their lives?
To have someone pray for you in the language that they understand. Their words touch the face of God.
There’s nothing to be afraid of.
I write these words because I have no voice to speak to Him. I write these words because the sun rose behind the moon and there was no light except for you.
Life should be color. A riot of color.
#1 danger of journaling late at night… you might tell the truth!
What I learned today: see above.
Thought for the day: We need more scars. They hide the fresh wounds.
As the header states, this is a shameless plug for The Golden Fistula. The price has been lowered to $.99 for the eBook and will eventually go to free (just in case you’re holding out for the real bargain.) Trying to do one more sales run before the second book in the series, The Marble Finger, comes out, which will hopefully be by the end of the year. That said, click the image below to order your copy today!
Friday night was the night at the ballpark and a visit from dad, Saturday was a writing day (added 3,500 words to The Marble Finger) and today was the preaching day (the sermon–you can find it here–seemed to work) followed by a nice nap. That, my friends, is a delightful weekend. Now, to ease into next week and get a few more items checked off the list, one of which is Contemporary Koinonia a.k.a. COKO.
COKO is a journal that a priesty friend and I are starting. We both got so tired of hearing all the bad / angry news out there about the Episcopal Church and we both knew that there were some remarkable stories to tell, so we are in the process of creating a resource for sharing them. It is not a local journal, although some stories will be, but we are working to bring the stories of the church into a tool that will allow congregations, clergy, and bishops to see and hear about the great and transformative work that is taking place in our church. More to come on this later, but the first issue–we hope–will be out in October. Don’t worry, you won’t need a subscription. Good news should always be free!
Hard change of gears (hear them grinding) and we’re off to the movies….
After watching Snatch, I’m wondering who does crazy better, Brad Pitt or Jack Nicholson. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” And we all know Jack Torrance is about as crazy as they come! That said, Mickey O’Neil (Brad Pitt) is an excellent nut case and the movie is fun, but I have to wonder if Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson / The Shining) could take him. I’ll let you all weigh in on this one. Oh… it was a bit back we discussed Judi Dench’s laugh… brilliant, but I forgot about Brooke Adams in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1973). It’ll make you happy just to hear it (and the movies is one my favs.)
And now we begin a new week. What surprises will it bring… a friend unexpectedly pulling up in your driveway, a moment to see Jesus in the face of another, a few more words in the novel… who knows. Maybe all of the above. Hoping your week is filled with the unexpected… that reminds me of a sermon I preached years ago: there are no coincidences, there are only God-incidences–it was probably as goofy then as it sounds now, but you get the point.
What I learned today (at least for me): being disciplined requires a goal. To simply say I’m going to do something doesn’t generally motivate me to accomplish it. I need a carrot. Perhaps that’s OK, but wouldn’t it be nice… and perhaps even easier… if you could do something simply for the love of it? I think I need to work on this (although I do love my work and wouldn’t trade that for anything!)
Thought for the day: “Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift.” ― Dante Alighieri, Inferno It’s probably one of those that you print on a coffee cup and remember to read every now and then, but… that doesn’t make it any less true.
Saint Jean Baptiste prêchant devant Hérode Antipas by Pieter de Grebber
Hibbard “Hib” Johnson was an associate of Thomas Edison and was a partner in the organization that is now General Electric. He is also the Father of the Electric Christmas Tree Light. Given all that, he was fairly well off, being worth about $30M in today’s dollars, which means he could have what he wanted and he wanted a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright and… he got it. Only problem, the roof leaked, and one evening when Johnson was entertaining distinguished guests for dinner, and after several attempts to repair, it leaked again, dripping steadily onto Hibbard’s head. It is reported that Hib, irate, called Wright in Phoenix, Arizona. “Frank,” he said, “you built this beautiful house for me and we enjoy it very much. But I have told you the roof leaks, and right now I am with some friends and distinguished guests and it is leaking right on top of my head.” Wright’s reply, supposedly heard by all: “Well, Hib, why don’t you move your chair?”
I’m sure I can be stubborn at times, but not so pig-headed as to not move the chair. However, when we get our minds set on something, we can get a bit stubborn, whether we know we are right or wrong. Why? Because we want to get our way. We want what we want. After thinking on our Gospel lesson, I believe that was what was behind Herodias’ desire to have John put to death.
A little background, which is the story of three Herods. There was Herod the Great. He was the Herod that the three wisemen came to visit and that had all the young children in Bethlehem put to death. Then there was Herod II, son of Herod the Great. Herod II was heir apparent to the throne and married to Herodias; however, just days prior to Herod the Great’s death, Herod II fell out of favor with dad and it was Herod Antipas (we’ll call him Antipas) who was Herod II’s brother by another mother, that became king. Clear as mud? So, Herod II is married to Herodias and Antipas is married to a foreign princess. Herod II loses the throne to Antipas, and this is where things get really complicated. Antipas and Herodias, have a little thing on the side and both end up divorcing their spouses and marrying one another. Some might say they fell in love, but it would seem to me that Herodias just wanted to be queen, no matter what. She got it and was determined to remain so, but then, along comes John the Baptist, calling them out on their sin: you can’t marry your brother’s wife.
That would certainly be enough to get John in trouble, but as Herod was king and Herodias queen, they would have received criticism from many, and if those critics get too loud, you get rid of them, but there was something about John that was different from those other critics. Our reading said, “Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.”
Enter the dancing daughter. Must have been a fine dance, because Herod offers her half the kingdom. Being the devoted daughter, she asks momma: “Momma, we can have half the kingdom. What should I ask for?” She could have had so much, but instead she asked for John’s death. Why? I think part of the answer lies in the fact that Herod “liked to listen to” John. And what if, in all his talking that Herod like to listen to, one day, John was able to finally convince Herod that he shouldn’t be married to Herodias? Herodias understood that. Herod could as easily divorce her as he did his first wife. She could have had anything she wanted, but she could have lost what she so stubbornly went after: being queen. So, she had eliminated the one that might bring about her demise. “Well, Hib, why don’t you move your chair?” “Well, Herodias, why don’t you stop being so pig-headed and listen to God?”
This incident tells us about the lives of the king and queen and the death of John, is a microcosm of the world that Jesus entered into. A world where those who rule, both civilly and religiously, are corrupt and sinful. A world that does whatever it wants in order to get whatever it wants, whether it be right or wrong. A world that will put to death those who try to speak the word of God into the sinfulness. It is a story about how the world goes about silencing God. The entire incident, therefore, is a foreshadowing of what is to happen with Jesus, for like John, Jesus is going to call them all out on their sinfulness and as we know, they will silence him as well.
Today… today we also silence God. From taking prayer out of schools to perverting God’s word to suit our purposes, whether using it as a weapon against those who are different or by reinterpreting the difficult bits so that we no longer call sin sin. These and in so many other ways we silence God. But not only do we see the silencing of God in the world around us, but we silence him in our own lives as well.
Think of Herod and Herodias and John calling them to repentance. John was performing the same function that the Holy Spirit performs in our lives. With the king and queen, he spoke to them, showing them the errors they were making, and then showing them the path of righteousness. The same is true with the workings of the Holy Spirit in our own lives, and like Herod and Herodias, when that voice in the wilderness speaks to us, pointing out our errors and showing us the path of righteousness, we can become stubborn in our sin and effectively tune out and silence the Spirit. If we persist, then we put ourselves in danger of no longer even recognizing that voice, and then we really are in trouble, but we are not lost. Our God is one that seeks out the lost.
They brought to Jesus “a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha,’ that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” (Mark 7:32-35)
We can silence God to the point where we become deaf to God, but if we will allow it by not being stubborn in our sin, if we will accept his corrections, then he can once again open our ears and our spirits to the voice of the Spirit of God, that we might walk in paths of righteousness. Consider the first verse of our Psalm:
“I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him.” (Psalm 85:8)
Don’t be the one who is too stubborn to move your chair when the water is pouring on you. Don’t be the one who silences God when God is trying to correct you. Pray that the ears of your heart will be opened, then turn your heart to him and listen to what the Lord God is saying and he will be faithful to you and lead you along the path of righteousness.
Let us pray: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.
Dad is coming tomorrow and tomorrow evening is St. Matthew’s Night at the Ballpark. We shall see if I’m throwing out the first pitch (always an embarrassment for everyone concerned.) I use to play baseball when I was a kid, but some forty odd years later… I don’t remember so much, especially how to throw the ball.
Thursdays are my Fridays and I always find them difficult, mainly because it is no one else’s Friday and I spend the evening at home with the Queen. She’s around somewhere, but not very talkative. So, I’m generally searching for something, but I never really know what that is and no matter what… eat, drink, write, talk… it is never really satisfying. Always looking for something in the void.
I worked on the sermon today and finished up a bit later than I planned. It also was not the sermon I thought I would be preaching. This one came out a bit “harder” than what I’m accustomed to, but still very valid and relevant to the Gospel. It is interesting when we begin to look at the historical application and the immediate application. It is then that we begin to realize the complexity and genius of the Gospels. The “Living” Word is so very true. It moves… now, don’t misinterpret… I am NOT saying that it moves and we are free to interpret according to our whims (Heaven forbid! We would end up with no bookends/brackets/”Law” and it would all be higgelypiggely according to our own desires. “God created man in his image and man returned the favor” type of nonsense!) Grace supersedes it all, but grace does not allow for shenanigans! Can I get an, “Amen!”
This is what I have for tonight. It is a rambling mess, but it is a journal and journals are allowed to be rambling messes.
What did I learn today: I’m not always prepared to listen to my own preaching.
Thought for the day: Richard Baxter (don’t we loathe the Reformers and Protestants, especially when they speak truth! Oy!) “Take heed to yourselves, lest you perish, while you call upon others to take heed of perishing; and lest you famish yourselves while you prepare food for them.” I would die for them. I am so very thankful that He died for me! A room in the basement of Heaven with a cot is all I ask for, but I will give it up for the least of those I’m called to serve. Why should they suffer or be held accountable for my shortcomings?
I have no pictures this evening, so we’ll just settle for this video (fast forwarding) of me writing this particular post….
Eva Lee Matthews was born in 1862. Her father was a US Senator who would later go on to become a Supreme Court justice. She was a debutante. It would seem such a life would have created another woman of society; however, the Lord had different plans for Eva and she was obedient to God’s call.
She was a devout Episcopalian and for a number of years served the poor in Omaha, Nebraska and Cincinnati, Ohio. However she and a coworker, in 1898, did something quite remarkable: they founded a new religious order within the Episcopal Church: The Community of the Transfiguration. It was a house that was to be based in the lives of Mary and Martha. Mother Eva Mary, as she came to be known, believed that the Christian was to be a servant of God and that the light of Christ should flow through them. She once said, “The vision of the King is his beauty and is given that the light may shine through us and guide others to know, love, and glorify him.”
She was fond of writing short poems, one of which she wrote shortly after she and her friend took their final vows of profession.
Life for Life—Yea, Lord, so let it be, My life for Thine as Thine was given for me, How could I think a lesser gift to bring, Some broken, useless, fragmentary thing?
Nay, let it be the perfect crystal, Lord, Offered up whole, unbroken, and unmarred, No part kept back for self or sin or strife, But laid at Thy feet, the full price of a life.
Men see the work which is the outer shell, The humble vessel, be it ill or well, That holds the life elixir for a space ‘Ere it be poured from its discarded vase.
They only see the outside of the cup, Thou seest within the Life that’s offered up. The heart of love in penitence immersed Drink, Lord of Life, and quench Thy loving thirst. (Source)
In our gospel reading today, the woman in Bethany anointed Jesus body. It was to prepare him for his burial that was to come. Speaking of her, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
There are many men and women throughout the world, like the woman in Bethany and Mother Eva Mary, who go quietly about the business of serving Jesus. They don’t ask for recognition or accolades, but they are remembered by God. They hand themselves over to God’s will and ask to be used by him in whatever manner he chooses. We can all learn from them.
In our Saints Book Club we are reading In this House of Brede. Early on, one of the nuns tells another, “What is really apostolic, what really speeds God’s glory, is not the time given to work, but the holiness of the worker.” That too is our calling whether in great ways known by all or the simple quiet ways of serving a single soul. In either case, we serve Jesus by serving them and the glory of God, the holiness of God is revealed to others through our works, and it draws them into closer relationship with their Savior.
It would not be proper if I did not begin by wishing you all a happy 4th of July! Our nation is now 244 years old. All those years ago we seemed to have been a child that was far too wise for its age, but today… well, we seem to have reverted to some other child, pitching temper tantrums in the middle of the grocery store aisle. That said…
We may not always be happy with the direction of things, but we’ll defend the leaders and the rest of the motley crew to the death.
Yesterday, as I was writing on The Marble Finger and at the end of an intercalary chapter, I added: The Rev. Timothy Powell was always a bit of a coward. And all this talk of the talons of hell had brought on a severe case of nerves in his bowels…. (I’m not going to give things away here!) The question I have: who the hell is this guy? I was minding my own business, writing a book, and then this Rev. Timothy Powell with the bowels shows up! What the heck is he up to? That is one of the joys of writing fiction, but it also makes you feel a bit schizophrenic. There you are, minding your own business, and… BAM!… somebody shows up that you don’t know or someone does something unexpected…. Yeah. It is fun. Tomorrow will be another day of edits… two chapters for that… and writing. I still like Hemingway’s advice on this: “Write drunk. Edit Sober.” Well, I won’t be getting drunk, but the adult beverage on a day off is a given… “Cheers to you!”
For me, with books or movies, if it ain’t no good, I don’t bother finishing. I’ve got other things to do with my time, which is why there is no movie report today. I started several, got a few minutes in (one even 30 minutes) and hit the exit button. Awful. If you’ve got a title, please feel free to pass it along. And, let’s be honest, watching foxes bounce on trampolines are hard to beat, which reminds me… I have discovered the short films on YouTube. Why did I not know they were out there? Between eight and thirty minutes… sci-fi, drama, comedy… some of these are quite brilliant. They are like the “tweet” version of a regular movie. Here’s a good sci-fi short with an excellent moral teaching…
Whichever genre you’re a fan of, you’ll likely be able to find some pretty amazing shorts. I tend to go for the sci-fi or comedy, but there are some that are brilliant, but will break your dang heart.
I’m not real sure how today’s preachy thing went, but I liked the message. Perhaps the Spirit worked in the midst of my ramblings and someone heard a note that resonated with them. Each week I try and do better than I did the previous…. that is accomplished at times and at others… not so much. Like writing fiction, if you are trying to listen, you don’t always know where things are going or the message that is trying to spoken, but the LORD does and I’m confident he will use our most floundering attempts for his purposes. I do know that if I apply myself fully to the task and do the best I can, then I feel that I’ve been faithful to the calling. I’ll find out at the end of days.
I planted rocks a month or so back, but now I’m wondering if I should have planted wildflowers instead. They are lovely… I’m a fan of symmetry, but I think to break it up enhances it in other ways. Thoughts?
What did I learn today? Within each of us is another that is who we truly are. That other wants to be known, because that other is the one that is true. How many layers must be excavated before the other is revealed? There will always be one who knows it… just one… but seek to make the other known, for that is who you were meant to be. Who you were created to be. I said it during the sermon, but perhaps not so clearly: Allow the other one to shine. He / She is your purpose.
Thought for the day: “When I look through God’s eyes at my lost self and discover God’s joy at my coming home, then my life may become less anguished and more trusting.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Return of the Prodigal Son // What if… and just play along for a minute, because most don’t believe this to be true… What if God really loves you? What if you are a miracle of God and God desires to perform miracles through you? What if it is all true? Then………….
Candle in a Cave 