The first Holy Communion of the Church of England was held in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. It was a slow start, but the church began to take hold and was quite successful; however, because of its ties to England, that changed following America’s independence. According to Powell Mills Dawley in Our Christian Heritage, “the American Revolution left the Anglican parishes shattered, stripped of most of their financial support, weakened by the flight of many clergy and thousands of members, with a number of buildings destroyed and property lost.”
Not only did the citizens of the new United States abandon the church, but in a very real sense, the Church of England did as well. The primary issue was that we had no American Bishops. As you know, a Bishop is required to Confirm, ordain clergy, and it takes three Bishops to consecrate a new Bishop. Therefore, if a person wanted to be ordained a priest, they had to make the long and perilous trip to England.
To remedy the situation, a few devoted men took up the cause. Among them were Samuel Seabury, Samuel Provoost, the person we celebrate today, William White, and James Madison – all four of which made the journey to England to be consecrated. Then, having enough American Bishops, Thomas Clagget was consecrated Bishop in New York, and the Church in America could function separately from the Church of England. In 1789 – the first General Convention – under these men’s leadership, specifically William White, the American Episcopal Church was fully organized.
William White served as our first and fourth presiding Bishop in 1789 and from 1795 to 1836. In addition, he served for 57 years as the rector of St. Peter and Christ Church in Philadelphia. He died in 1836.
A lengthy obituary devoted to Bishop White appeared in the National Gazette and Literary Register. In part, it described his character, “…[T]he duties of the several important relations in which he stood to society were performed with undeviating correctness and suavity; he possessed the rare merit of winning the respect and love of an entire community to which he was an ornament and a blessing. His piety was deep and unfeigned; his walking humble yet dignified; his acquirements profound; in his mind the welfare of the Christian church was always the prominent consideration…He was one of those examples of steady virtue sent upon earth by Divine Providence, as if to prove how near the great pattern of perfection it is permitted to approach.”
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus asked St. Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” This was the restoration of St. Peter after he denied Jesus three times the night before Jesus was crucified. It is also a command given to all who would be followers of Jesus – “Feed my sheep.” In those three words, God calls us all, lay and ordained, to care for those we encounter. To care for them in both their physical and spiritual needs. For us in the Episcopal Church, William White is an exemplary role model for us to emulate. When you consider what it means to be true and faithful to the Church, you need only consider him to find the “great pattern of perfection” that leads to becoming a faithful servant to God and His One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The words of the Exsultet, “This is the night, when…”
This is the night when the Church attempts to read all of Holy Scripture in one sitting.
This is the night when the choir and organist threaten to go on strike if I add one more piece of music.
This is the night when the parish administrator double-dog dares me to make one more change to the bulletin.
This is the night when the congregation asks, “Are we there yet?”
This is the night, the eve of our salvation when we enter into the darkness of the tomb and create a spark that becomes a flame that sets the whole world ablaze with the Light of Christ.
This is the night when we baptize Nolan, and Crawford receives his first communion.
From the song, December, 1963, by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, “O, what a night!”
Of all the liturgies throughout the church year, this is the highest and most grand. It is the culmination of all the other days and festivals, from the Incarnation to the Transfiguration to Good Friday to Easter. On this night, we remember all that God has done for His people, we give thanks for what He has done for us, and we celebrate the bringing into the Kingdom those new members who receive the cleansing that comes through Baptism and the participation of others in Christ’s body by becoming one with Jesus through receiving the Holy Sacrament. O, what a night.
Tonight is a reminder that we are not alone in this world. It is a reminder that the Church Triumphant—those who have gone before us—and the Chruch Militant—we today—are bound together in love through baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. That through Jesus’ giving of Himself, we truly become one with Him and each other.
I will not be long-winded tonight because everything you see and hear is a sermon. So, I’ll encourage you to be one in Christ Jesus. So many things seek to divide us, but the bonds of love are stronger than any of these, and the only way those bonds can be severed is if we intentionally cut them ourselves.
You are Christ’s one holy catholic and apostolic Church. Let us receive Nolan into our family through her baptism and then participate with Crawford in his first communion. O, what a night.
“The candidate for Holy Baptism will now be presented.” BCP p.301.
Ol’ Boudreaux had been out carousing all night, so he decided it might be best to go to confession before going home to Clotile. It had been many years since his last confession, so he was a bit surprised when he stepped into the confessional. On one wall was a fully stocked bar with Guinness on tap. A dazzling array of the finest cigars and chocolates was on the other wall. Boudreaux here’s the priest come in on the other side and says, “Father, forgive me, for it’s been a very long time since I’ve been to confession, but I must admit that the confessional box is much more inviting than it used to be.”
The priest responds, “Get out! You’re on my side.”
The Israelites had been set free from their bondage in Egypt, and they passed through the parted waters of the Red Sea, but through their sin, they ended up wandering around for forty years. At one point, they came to Mount Hor, about forty miles south of the Dead Sea. As it was difficult in the land, they again complained against the Lord, so the Lord sent the serpents to punish them. Many died from being bitten by the poisonous snakes. When the people came to their senses, they confessed to Moses—“We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” The Lord heard their cries for mercy, so He said to Moses, “‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’” So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.” They named the bronze snake Nehushtan, and later in Israel’s history, they’ll turn it into a god and worship it, but that’s for another day. In today’s lesson, the people sinned, and death entered in the form of the serpents. When the people confessed their sins, the Lord provided a way for them to live—look upon the serpent that has been raised up, and you will live.
In our Gospel reading this morning, Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
In the time of Moses, the people sinned, and death came upon them. So they confessed their sin, and if they looked up at the bronze snake, they would live.
Today, we know that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) However, we also know that “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) In confessing and repenting, we are not looking up at a bronze snake, but within our souls, we are looking up to our crucified Lord, and by doing so, by believing in the sacrifice He made on our behalf, we have eternal life.
Within the teachings of the Old Testament and the New, we know that there is sin and death, as well as forgiveness and life. However, between those two paths lies confession.
There is the general/private confession we make almost every time we gather, and there is auricular confession. Auricular relates to the ear, meaning to be heard, so it is our confession to a priest.
Is the general/private confession just as good as auricular confession? Yes, in that forgiveness of sin is assured. No, in that sometimes, you need to confront and speak a sin—you need to make it real—not for God’s sake, but for yours, so that, as we say in The Exhortation, “you may receive the benefit of absolution, and spiritual counsel and advice; to the removal of scruple and doubt, the assurance of pardon, and the strengthening of your faith.” And there’s one more reason to speak your sins to another that the Prayer Book will not mention—it is humbling, and there are times when we need to be humbled. It is not a pleasant experience, far from it, but it is a cleansing one.
Think of what Jesus said, “All who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” The confession of sin is the hauling out into the light those things we would prefer to keep hidden. It is the recognition that as much as we would like to think otherwise, we are not always good little boys and girls. In my heart, I can speak to God about my unrighteousness, and God says, “Yeah, I know.” However, when I speak to the image of Christ in another person, when I make my sin real, then I also genuinely know of my fallenness. No longer can I deceive myself into thinking that I’ve confessed when I come before another. In Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “Our brother breaks the circle of self-deception. A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person.” (p. 116) When we confess, we come into the light with all that is dark within us and allow God’s Light to reveal and cleanse us of that darkness.
I know that we always have fun when the topic of confession comes up, but I do believe in its ability to heal, so, all fun aside, I want you to know about it. Do I expect there to be a line on Wednesday for those of you seeking to make confession? Nope. But I do ask you to consider it, and if nothing else, the next time you make a general confession, don’t just say the words. Instead, bring the burden of your sins before God, and seek to make amendment of life, not just with words, but in actions as well. And then—and this is the other half and perhaps the more difficult aspect of confession—receive the absolution. Know in your soul, without hesitation or doubt, that you have been forgiven. You don’t have to carry the weight of your sins. As St. John tells us, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) Jesus was lifted up on the cross that you might receive forgiveness of sin. Receive that forgiveness and know that you have been made acceptable to God. From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah,
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
(Isaiah 1:18)
Today, I’ll close with a portion of Psalm 32,
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:1-5)
Mark it up as an urban legend or an actual event; whatever the case may be, the myth persists: on June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, while visiting West Berlin, gave one of the finest speeches of the Cold War. He said, “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner! [I am a Berliner]. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’”
According to the legend, Kennedy was supposed to say, “Ich bin Berliner!” Not “Ich bin ein Berliner!” In the first, Kennedy is, in fact, saying, “I am a Berliner.” In the second, he proudly proclaims, “I am a jelly doughnut!”
I mention this in recognition that we all make mistakes, and hope you will show me compassion for the one I made during last week’s sermon.
For whatever reason, I got it in my pointy little head that the Parable of the Sower—seeds that fell on rocky ground, the road, etc.—was the only time we benefitted from Jesus’ explanations of the parables. If you were just listening to the Gospel, you would have heard I was mistaken. Please accept this as my apology for that misinformation… I am a jelly doughnut. Moving on.
There is a good bit of speculation on what heaven will actually be like and quite a bit more speculation on who actually gets in, but I was wondering, would you allow me to choose for you?
When we were younger, I suppose we all had to endure that humiliating ritual of choosing sides, especially when it came to sporting events during recess or P.E. The teacher always chose the captains of the teams, and it seemed that the captain was always Mr. Jock and he always had his jockettes that he would choose first. When the good picking was over, you knew he and his buddies were no longer choosing who they wanted on their team. Instead, they were deciding who they would rather be stuck with. If it were up to them, they would likely not choose the losers but force them to sit on the sideline, which they did anyways because there was no way on God’s green earth they intended to jeopardize the balance of world power which hung on the outcome of this particular bout of dodge ball.
Now, perhaps you wouldn’t mind me picking or not picking you for a dodgeball game, but again I ask you, would you allow me to choose whether or not you get to go to heaven? If you are smart, you will answer that question with a resounding “NO!” I am so desperately in need of God’s grace myself that I don’t want anyone or anything getting between me and it; however, what I find so curious, is that we don’t want someone to choose for us, but we are more than willing to choose for others.
In our parable today, Jesus tells us that he is the sower of the seed and that the seeds represent the righteous—the children of God. The weeds sown with the good seed are the unrighteous—the children of the father of lies. And on God’s appointed day, He will send his angels to clear the field of weeds and throw them into the fire.
When we get a bit too big for our britches, we mistakenly believe that we are either God or an angel, that we have the knowledge, the right, and by golly, the responsibility to go into that field and pull some weeds because we know who they are. If God is too busy taking care of other business, we will happily step in. Sometimes we step in for what we consider to be noble reasons, “That person is a heretic! Burn them at the stake!” While at other times, our reasons aren’t quite so noble.
You won’t like this story—Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and other books, tells of the time on a lovely quiet Sunday afternoon when he was taking the subway through New York City. There were a few other passengers in the car with him, but not many, and all were enjoying the peace of the day. However, at the next stop, a man and his two sons burst onto the train, and the boys created all sorts of havoc. They ran absolutely wild up and down the car, screaming, shouting, wrestling—destroying the peace of that Sunday afternoon. I guess Covey thought the father of these two terrorists was a weed that needed pulling, so after a particularly noisy moment, he turned to the father and said, “Sir, perhaps you could restore order here by telling your children to come back and sit down.”
Have you ever been in that place? So confident that you were right and the other person wrong? That you could look at someone with all confidence and judge them? Of course, you have. We all have. We believe we have God’s infinite knowledge and wisdom to make these sorts of snap decisions, but how often are we wrong?
After Covey told this weed to get the terrorist under control, the weed said, “I know I should do something. We just came from the hospital. Their mother died an hour ago. I just don’t know what to do.” Covey had not snatched out some weed worthy of the fires of hell. Instead, he had only further bruised a broken heart that was in desperate need of the love of God.
Consider the fact that Jesus knew all along that Judas Iscariot was going to betray him. He knew that Judas was a weed among the wheat, but Jesus never threw him out. Instead, Jesus washed Judas’ feet, just as he had washed Peter’s, James’, John’s, and all the rest. Judas betrayed Jesus unto death, yet Jesus never condemned him and allowed Judas to participate in the Lord’s Supper. Question: how many have we renounced for far more trivial offenses by comparison?
In the parable, Jesus tells us we are neither God nor angels. Because we are not God, then we are not the judge. Because we are not angels, we are not the ones called to go into the fields and pull the weeds. We are, however, the grain of wheat, and if our work is not to judge or reap, then what is it? Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
What is our work? Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” One of the desert fathers said, “If a man settles in a certain place and does not bring forth the fruit of that place, the place itself casts him out, as one who has not borne its fruit.” For me, this brings to mind a rather unpleasant thought: if we are not producing good fruit, could it be that we are the weeds? We won’t entertain that one.
St. Josemaría Escrivá writes, “The Lord’s field is fertile and the seed he sows of good quality. Therefore when weeds appear in this world of ours, never doubt that they spring up because of a lack of correspondence on the part of men, Christians especially, who have fallen asleep and have left the field open to the enemy—Don’t complain, for there’s no point; examine your behaviour, instead.” If the weeds are truly growing amongst the wheat, we must consider that the fault might be ours and that we may be acting like a weed when we should be working on producing good fruit.
Only God chooses who goes to heaven, and thanks be to God for that! But we do have a role to play, and that is to produce good fruit. The person you’ve discounted, cast off, considered a weed in this world that must be yanked out, might just need someone—and not just any someone—but you. They just might need you to help them produce the fruit in their own life; therefore, be brave, have patience, and persevere in loving them, bringing glory to Our Father in Heaven.
St. Francis stated this best in a prayer. Let us pray: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen.”
I believe I played until about 1 a.m. this morning and did not take the time to write, although there are some jottings in my notebook that I may share here.
On this fine New Year’s Day, it is pouring rain, washing the air and the streets, so it has been officially decided by the powers that be that today will be a true Sabbath rest day. Still, yesterday… 18,000 steps took me many places, the first of which was across town to the Cais do Sodré train station, where I boarded the train to Cascais, but got off on the third stop, Belém. (FYI: it is really cheap to take the trains, ferry, buses, etc. I think yesterday’s ride was 1,35€.)
From the station, I walked to my first destination, The Padrão dos Descobrimentos, The Monument to the Discoveries. As with all such sites, it was crowded, but I can only imagine what it would be like during the high tourist season.
The monument (170 feet tall) was originally only a temporary structure with a minimum of material for the 1940 World’s Fair, but twenty years later was reconstructed for permanence. It is Henry the Navigator (Dom Henrique of Portugal, his statue is 26 feet tall) at the front who was responsible for choreographing much of the early Portuguese maritime expansion. Other figures represent princesses, cartographers, clerics, etc., who participated in the expansion work. I took a moment to be in Oklahoma on the map in front of the monument.
A half mile further up the street is the Belém Castle, the Tower of Saint Vincent, built in the 16th century. Its location was originally an island, guarding the entrance of the Tagus River, but the river did what rivers do—changed course—and the castle is now quite near the shore.
I then made my way across the main road/train tracks to see the Imperial Gardens (closed for remodeling) and St. Jeronimos (Jerome) Monastery (closed for the holiday), which was built in 1502. It is epic in size. To be able to walk through those doors would make it all worthwhile.
Then for lunch at Queijadas de Belém where I had a pretty good steak cooked in olive oil and garlic. And, yes, that was an exceptionally generous pour of wine. The espresso following the meal helped me to recover.
From lunch, I found a nearby park and just sat and enjoyed while looking up at this handsome fella. Researching it back at the apartment, I discovered that he is Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa and Viceroy of Portuguese India. To demonstrate the power he commanded, one hand rests on the hilt of his sword while, with the other hand, he points at the guns under his feet (under his command).
This is where I chose to sit and write for a bit. Choose for yourself…
I’m sitting here thinking about how much/far Christianity has reached and helped the world to discover itself, and now that we have, we turn our backs on this faith. You cannot escape the symbols of Christianity, but like so much of the past—the world has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. It is sinful, but sin is no longer relevant in a world that chooses its own relevancy. It is out of fashion and has been discarded like last season’s dernier cri. We are dying, and we believe we are living.
Who is this man atop this pedestal—a pedestal supported by angels and the waves of the sea? Does his sword save him now, or has he become like us? Dead in shoes, going from place to place with no home or friend beside us. Ah! Now a seagull sits on his head and shits upon it! HA!
Children running in circles in play—aren’t we all.
I don’t know if those are good thoughts, odd thoughts, or no thoughts at all, but having spent my time out and about in this city without access to the internet, voicemail, email, text messages, Facebook, you name it, I have found myself once again thinking on my own and chasing ideas that have no bearing on the grand schemes of the world, but are enjoyable to let bounce inside my head. Enough of that…
The train took me back to my apartment and to the grocery store, which was jammed with holdiday shoppers and included a fight between a customer and store manager (when I say fight, it was more than words!) It was then that I decided to stay home for the rest of the evening. I’ve never been much on participating in these kind of holidays, but then I got hungry. I went in search of sushi (closed) so walked into the nearest restaurant, Taberna Da Baixa… my goodness! Delicious.
For starters, I ordered Bacalao (I didn’t know what it was) and it was… amazing. Bacalao is actually dried and salted codfish which is then rehydrated and combined in other dishes. For the maincourse, I had the Sea Bass. Also amazing, especially when paired with a good wine, which the waitress was kind enough to do for me, because the only thing I really know about wine is whether or not I like it (oh, and how to make it.)
BeforeAfter
The restaurant would only hold about about 30 people and I was the only single person there (New Year’s Eve and all). I must have been an oddity (or made one particular couple nervous) because she took a picture of me and then held it over for her husband(?) to see. He then kept taking these hard glances over his shoulder and staring at me. I have decided to immortalize their odd behavior in a short story. They will not like it if they read it.
I returned home after my meal and then at about ten minutes to midnight said to myself, “Self, you are in Lisbon, Portugal and it is New Year’s Eve. They’re about to shoot off fireworks and celebrate. What are you doing sitting here? Get yo bee-hind moving!” I listened and I cheered with the crowds.
Feliz Ano Novo, meus queridos amigos.
FYI: I had checked schedules for when sites would be open, but they did not account for the holiday. My plan is to return later this week in hopes of getting in.
Shot of Jesus standing with his hand outstretched on a bare landscape
Peppermint Patty is talking to Charlie Brown and says, “Guess what, Chuck? The first day of school, and I got sent to the principal’s office. It was your fault, Chuck.”
Surprised, Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”
To which she declares, “You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck? Then you should have been a better influence on me.”
Influence. Merriam-Webster has multiple definitions for influence with the first summing up the rest: “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.” That can apply to everything from how gravity affects an object in motion to how—like in the case of Peppermint Patty—a person can have influence over another, for good or bad. So, who influences us and the lives we live?
I told you that while I was in Italy I saw some absolutely remarkable places and works of art and everywhere there were people trying to take the perfect picture of what they were seeing. In addition to the tourist, such as myself, there were also the “social media influencers” who were not trying to take the perfect picture of what they were seeing, instead, they were trying to take the perfect picture of themselves.
What are social media influencers? These are individuals who build up large numbers of followers on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and all the rest. Once you get a large enough following, then you can start making large money by throwing your support behind products and travel locations and so on, and by having advertisers. For example, Khaby Lame is now number one on TikTok and he has almost 150 million people following his antics. If you’re trying to sell “Boudreaux’s Beauty and Hunting” products, then you can quickly advertise your latest product to 150 million people simply by placing an ad on Lame’s internet feed. Last year he earned about $6 million for his efforts. That’s not bad work for someone who less than two years ago was a machinist just learning to speak English. Now, I did not see him while in Italy, but I did see many wannabes.
Generally, it would be two girls but occasionally it would be a combination. One of the girls, all dolled up would stand in the middle of a piazza with a gorgeous fountain or building (even the Vatican) in the background, then she would go about striking ridiculous poses while the other clicked away. They would then run together, review the photos, and, if satisfied, switch places, repeat, and then dash off to the next exotic locale. What’s interesting is that if you were to see those photos online, you would not be seeing the real world. Why? Because with the proper angle, cropping, and photoshopping, you can edit out the masses of people that were around you, you can cover up the blemish on your nose, the smell that can at times almost be seen is lost, and in the end, it appears that you had all of Rome to your beautiful sexy self. We, on the receiving end of all their efforts, think to ourselves, “I’ve got to go there and see that! And by the way, where did he get that fantastic hat? I’ve got to have it!” Social media influencers and we are influenced.
Back to Merriam-Webster, influence is “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways.” Some would like to argue that there is a difference between power and influence: power is the ability to command or force, whereas influence involves a more democratic approach, but the truth is, if someone can influence you, then they have power over you. Why? Because you are no longer thinking for yourself. You are allowing them to do all the heavy lifting while you just go along for the ride.
In our lesson from First Kings, Elijah has been up on the mountain of the Lord. He’s just discovered the voice of the Lord, not in the wind or an earthquake or a fire, but in a whisper and now the Lord is giving him instructions, the last of which is, “anoint Elisha… as prophet in your place.”
Elijah sets out and does as the Lord commanded and he finds Elisha. We are told, “There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of [Elisha], and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, ‘Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ Then Elijah said to him, ‘Go back again; for what have I done to you?’” There is no indication that Elijah and Elisha knew each other prior to these events, but Elijah’s mantle, his cloak would have been an indicator to Elisha as to who this person was. How so?
There are several instances throughout the Old Testament that the mantle of the prophet would have been distinctive and made of animal skin, and we see it again in the New Testament with John the Baptist: “John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist.” Elisha would have known that Elijah was the prophet of God and by having the mantle placed upon him, would have known that he had been chosen as an apprentice. In recognizing this, Elisha ran to Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” To which Elijah responds, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” Elijah is saying, “Go think for yourself. I have no power over you. I am not trying to influence you to do one thing or another. I am only a messenger. You must decide how you will respond. How it is you will live.”
Elisha did just that and when he reached his conclusion, which does not seem to have taken long, he took his livelihood (his oxen) and slaughtered them, then used the plow and yoke as fuel for the fire to cook them. He then gave away the food and “set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.”
Elisha’s response—“Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.”—sounds similar to the responses that so many were giving Jesus when he was calling them—“Let me say goodbye.” “Let me bury my father.”—but the difference was sincerity. Those who were speaking to Jesus never really intended to follow him. They were being influenced by all that was going on around them and answering without really thinking. They were like a grain of wheat sown on rocky ground. They sprang up quickly but had no roots, so when the heat came, they withered. On the other hand, Elisha heard the call of God and when he understood what it meant, without hesitation and without holding anything back, he followed.
If I tell you that you must do ABC and you must not do XYZ otherwise you’ll go to hell, then I am simply trying to influence you by fear. If I tell you that if you get it all right and live a certain kind of life, you will be allowed entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, then I am only trying to influence you by offering you a reward. Either way, by observing your life from the outside, it may appear that my work was successful, but really all we’ve done is cropped and photoshopped your life, because if we pull back from the closely arranged photo, all the mess, garbage, smells, etc are all still there.
Elijah, placing his mantle upon Elisha, was not Elijah saying to Elisha, “Follow me.” It was Elijah saying to Elisha, “Follow God.” In order to accomplish this calling, Elisha had to do more than where the prophet’s mantle, he had to think for himself, to decide for himself how he would live. That decision was whether or not to be transformed, by following God, into a new creation.
When Jesus says to us, “Follow me,” he is asking nothing less, therefore, like Elisha, we must count the cost, willing to sacrifice our life for the life he will lead us into. God is not interested in influencing us. God’s desire is our transformation.
Today, Jesus places his mantle upon you.
Let us pray: Father of love, hear our prayer. Help us to know Your Will and to do it with courage and faith. Accept the offering of ourselves, all our thoughts, words, deeds, and sufferings. May our lives be spent giving You glory. Give us the strength to follow Your call, so that Your Truth may live in our hearts and bring peace to us and to those we meet, for we believe in Your Love. Amen.
Today was the Vatican and there was so much that it is difficult to know where to begin. The morning was a tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel and the afternoon was a tour of the Scavi (below the main altar of St. Peter’s). You are not allowed to take pictures of the Sistine or the Scavi, so the ones I have were pulled from the internet. I just want to show you what I saw and will comment a few times along the way.
The room dedicated to the pronouncement of the Immaculate Conception of Mary along with the supporting documents in multiple languages.Look closely and you will see the conquest of Christianity over paganism.Ceiling of the hallway leading to the Papal apartments. I was very interested in seeing the apartment of Ricardo Borgia, but we passed through it very quickly. Not necessarily an era they are proud of but more than little colorful.The Transfiguration by Raphael. You see Jesus being transfigured in the upper half and the boy who was demon possessed in the lower right that Jesus would come and heal following the Transfiguration. The Disciples are on the bottom left and were unable to heal the boy.The Sistine Chapel… “Can we talk?” There is so much more going on here than I was aware of. Our tour guide was brilliant in helping me to understand parts of it, but it is definitely worth more time in study. Jesus, Moses, Heaven, hell, Saints, Prophets… I was not here long enough to pray my Rosary but I prayed as much of it as I could before we were ushered out. Yes… I prayed a Rosary in the Sistine Chapel and I felt it. Amazing.
I exited the Vatican at this point and hooked up with Heidi and Scott for lunch. Lunch was nothing to take a picture of but it did fill the hungry zone. We wandered for an hour and then returned to the Vatican for our tour of the Vatican Necropolis (aka – Scavi). These are the catacombs below St. Peter’s that go back to the time before Christ and come forward to the time of Constantine.
It is a fascinating piece of history where you can begin to see the transition from Paganism to Christianity, but after walking through the narrow hallways and low arches…
…you arrive at a darker area where you peer through glass to a small niche about ten feet away and there in an unadorned brass/bronze box are twenty-two bones belonging to The Rock, St. Peter. The inscription above reads, Petros Eni (Greek) translated, “Peter Lies Within”. I teared up then and I’m tearing up now just thinking about it. Catholic/Protestant, the roots of our Faith are rooted deeply in this place.
We returned through to the surface by walking through the grotto where the remains of so many Popes are in interned and came into the Basilica of St. Peter. It is just… I got nothin’. I’m so glad that I get to go back on Friday because I just wasn’t ready to take more in. I was spiritually fried after being so close to one who had been so near to Jesus.
Tomorrow will likely prove to be as moving. I will be visiting the tomb of St. Josemaria Escriva in the morning and St. Paul in the afternoon. I’ll think about that then. For now, I will leave you with a picture of the Queen who is apparently doing quite well.
St. Peter may have his throne but this Queen is the one that currently rules. She is eating well and doing well.
I’ve been working on my mind reading skills. Let’s see how I’m doing (you may want to grab a pen if you need help with some light math. I know I do!):
1. Pick a number from 1-10. Any number.
2. Multiply it by 2.
3. Add 8 to that number.
4. Divide it by 2.
5. Subtract. Current number – Original Number. Take your time to do it right.
6. Match that number to an alphabet letter. For example 1-A, 2-B, 3-C and so on… Got the letter?
7. Think of an European country that starts from that letter
8. Take second letter from that country and what is the first animal you think of that starts with that animal?
9. Now think of the color of that animal
Ready? Ok… let me read your mind… If you are thinking of a grey elephant, please raise your hand.
Why are we concerned with mind readers this morning? Because, after reading that first sentence of our Old Testament lesson, I figured many would need to be a mind reader in order to know what the heck was going on: “Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.” What in the world is this all about? Some will know (and a bit later on I look forward to covering the story in more detail during our Sunday school lessons on the Patriarchs) but maybe we could all use bit of a refresher.
In our study, we know that Abraham was the father of Issac and Issac was the father of Jacob (who will later be named Israel). Jacob will have four wives and twelve sons. His favorite wife was Rachel and his favorite son was Rachel’s first child (and Jacob’s eleventh son), Joseph. Joseph’s younger brother, by Rachel, was Benjamin.
Because Jacob showed favoritism toward Joseph, the ten older brothers did not like him. When Jacob made Joseph a coat of many colors, the ten liked him even less. When Joseph had two dreams demonstrating that his brothers and father would eventually bow down before him… things just got nasty.
One particular day, the older brothers were out tending the flocks and Jacob sent Joseph out to find them. When the older boys saw him coming, one said, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” They did not end up killing him, but sold him as a slave and Joseph ended up in Egypt. They took Joseph’s colorful coat, covered it in blood, and holding it out to Jacob, their father, told him that Joseph had been killed by wild animals.
Now, fast forward through twenty-two years and many adventures: then a great famine settles in the land. Jacob and his family need food, so Jacob sends those same ten brothers who sold Joseph to Egypt to trade for their needs. In order to receive the food, the ten must go and ask it of the man who in Egypt was second only to Pharaoh. They did not know it, but that man was their brother, Joseph. We are told, “Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.” Eventually, there is the great reveal and Joseph makes himself known. The brothers, seeing Joseph who they had treated so badly, are greatly disturbed by their actions, yet Joseph says to them… insert our lesson from today: “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.” He said to them, “Do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” In other words, Joseph forgave his brothers and said, all that has happened is a part of God’s plan, so that we might be in a position to save God’s people.
Joseph had every reason to hate his brothers; and he was one of the most powerful people in the world, so he could have done whatever he liked to them, from sending them away empty handed, to placing them into slavery, to putting them to death, but he chose another path. A path that led to reconciliation.
With that understanding, hear again the words of Jesus from our Gospel lesson: Jesus said, “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies even if they sell you into slavery, do good to those who hate you even if they think of killing you, bless those who curse you because they do not understand how God is working, pray for those who abuse you, because you may win them back as a brother or sister. If anyone strikes you on the cheek or throws you into a pit, offer the other also and allow God to work his purposes; and from anyone who takes away your coat, even if it is a technicolor coat, do not withhold even your shirt or your life. Give to everyone who begs from you even if that person has done you very wrong; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again, for they were God’s goods to begin with. Do to others as you would have them do to you, regardless of how they’ve treated you in the past…. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.’”
I’ll tell you a story that I know I’ve told you before, but like any good story, it doesn’t hurt to hear it again: it takes place in Spain. A father and son got into a tremendous heated argument, which led to the son running away. Almost immediately the father felt remorse over what he had said and so he went in search his son. He searched for months, but he could not find him. Finally, in a last frantic endeavor to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On that Saturday, 800 boys named Paco showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their father.
You don’t need to be a mind reader to know that if there is one thing this world needs, it is forgiveness. We need to be forgiven by God. We need to be forgiven by others and we need to forgive those who have hurt us. So we need to stop judging over who may or may not be right. We need to stop condemning and being so stubborn because we simply don’t want to let something go. We need to start forgiving and being forgiven. In that last phrase, Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you.” I suppose we could think of that in terms of some sort of material gift: goods, money, etc., but in this context, I don’t think that is what Jesus is asking us to give. I think Jesus is asking us to give love. Love. For in not judging or condemning and by forgiving, we are truly loving; and by loving in such a manner, we are becoming more like Jesus, because that is exactly how he loved us.
“Good nature and good sense must ever join; To err is human; to forgive, divine.” (An Essay on Criticism: Part 2 by Alexander Pope)
In your relations with others, strive for the divine.
Let us pray:
God, our Father, You redeemed us and made us Your children in Christ. Through Him You have saved us from death and given us Your Divine life of grace. By becoming more like Jesus on earth, may we come to share His glory in Heaven. Give us the peace of Your kingdom, which this world does not give. By Your loving care protect the good You have given us. Open our eyes to the wonders of Your Love that we may serve You with a willing heart.
The Greek god Apollo is the is the supposed god of many things, including archery. So, one day, when he encountered Eros, the god of love, Apollo teased Eros about his bow and how it wasn’t really fit for anything. Eros became angry at being teased and devised a plan. He created two arrows, one of gold and the other lead. He then shot Apollo with the gold one, causing Apollo to fall desperately in love with the beautiful river nymph, Daphne, and want to marry her. Eros then shot Daphne with the lead arrow, causing her to hate everything about Apollo. Daphne had no desire to marry anyone, especially Apollo, but when it became evident that Apollo was going to catch her and force her, she called out to her father to save her. As much as it hurt her father, he consented and Daphne was turned into a tree: Laurus Nobilis—a Laurel tree. However, that did not stop Apollo from loving her, saying, “Always my hair will have you, my lyres will have you, my quivers will have you, laurel tree.” And so, after declaring the Laurel tree sacred, Apollo, cut off a branch and made a crown of Laurel leaves and wore it to show his love.
In the second century a coin was minted showing the head of Apollo wearing the crown. From there, the crown of Laurels became a symbol of great success and the winners of the Pythian Games (Olympics) was awarded a Laurel crown for their victory. In later centuries, the phrase, “repose / rest on your Laurels”, became a way of saying that a person, after achieving victory, could rest and enjoy their fame and fortune, but along about the 19th century, the world became more hard-charging and enough was never enough, so instead of being a positive, “resting on your laurels”, the phrase became a negative. It speaks of laziness or an unwillingness to achieve more, thinking you’ve reached your peak.
An example of someone modern “resting on their Laurels” would be Nolan Bushnell. Nolan was the founder of Atari, the creator of those early video games. He was also the founder of Chucky Cheese, that place of loud screaming and birthday parties. He’s done pretty well. Today he is worth about $50 million. However, two young fellas he worked with at Atari, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, had been tinkering around with a few parts from the Atari and created a personal computer, but they needed a bit of start up cash, so they came to their buddy, Nolan Bushnell, and asked him for $50,000. Nolan, who said, “I thought I could do no wrong and I got really sloppy,” turned down the offer. He didn’t think Atari should be making computers. He rested on his success. He rested on his laurels. What would his $50,000 have purchased him? One-third of Apple. Today, one-third of Apple is worth approximately $800 billion. Nolan says, “I was so smart, I said no, and It’s kind of fun to think about that, when I’m not crying about it.”
Today, in our Gospel reading, we read, “John [the Baptist] said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.’”
We’ve been studying the life of Abraham during our Sunday school lesson and we know that God made His covenant with him. The covenant was the promise to Abraham that through him a great nation would be born. A nation that would be established for all eternity. He was promised by God that his offspring would be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the sand on the sea shores. Through this covenant, the Jewish people became God’s chosen people. Knowing such a thing can change a person. It can create within them a desire to do great things and to live into that promise or it can cause a person to become proud and lazy, thinking they have nothing more to do.
“Hey. I’m God’s chosen, so phooey on you.” “Hey, I’m God’s chosen, so I’m getting into heaven no matter what.” “Hey, I’m God’s chosen, so I can do whatever I like.” “Hey, I’m God’s chosen, so I don’t have to do anything else.” John the Baptist came along and said, “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’” John the Baptist said, “Hey, I’m God’s Prophet, so don’t be resting on your laurels! That’s not going to save you! So get over yourself and repent.”
That’s what happened to some of the Jewish people. They were cut off. What’s interesting, is that we as a Christian people can fall into the same trap of resting on our Laurels. “Hey, I’ve got Jesus, I’m on the inside.” “Hey, I go to church, so I’m good to go.” “Hey…” and so on. That is the equivalent of saying, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”, but what did Jesus say, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
St. Paul, using the analogy of an olive tree, speaks to all of this in his letter to the Romans: “If some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches… do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.”
Jesus said, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” We have received so much from this child that was born in the manger: forgiveness of sins, unity with God, eternal life, the very Kingdom of God. These are gifts from God that we can never earn or repay, but let us try. Let us live as though we could, not resting on our laurels, but ever striving to become those who reflect God’s light and love into the world.
Let us pray: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Candle in a Cave 