Each year on the 4th Sunday of Easter we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday.
Shepherds are less familiar to us today, while they are still abundant around the world in less industrialized areas. Many of us only associate shepherds with Christmas stories and pageants. It is a comforting image. And I think our reading from John today offers much more comfort. In the first Century, there were shepherds who worked in big areas along with other shepherds. A single pen might hold several flocks. The sheep knew their shepherd’s voice amidst many other shepherds. And, a Good Shepherd knows a sheep’s voice. Like a child in a group of others - or crying out from a nursery: the parent recognizes their individual child’s voice. It was a kinship relationship. This is why we relate Jesus to the shepherd who knows your individual voice; hears you - and is looking out for you. We may not always feel that in our moments of panic or pain… but you are known individually. Good Shepherd Sunday is a reminder that Psalm 23 (while we often recite at funerals is not about death) but it is about Life. It is about eternal life! This Sunday is placed in Easter Season, because we are looking forward to the ascension. We believe that Jesus laid down his life for us as a shepherd does for his sheep- and something very significant happened. The World was forever changed. In our passage Jesus says that like a good shepherd he lays down his life for the sheep: His soul and his spirit, not simply this earthly life, but he lays it all down: his eternal life. And eternity has no bounds. Jesus’ love for humankind has no bounds. Before Jesus is risen… We have this tradition that he descended to the dead (as we say in the creed) and broke the chains of hell - and closed the gates of hell - and raised everyone up from the depths who had not yet seen his revelation - raised them up to be brought into the flock. It is called the Harrowing of Hell. Personally as a child I found this very comforting: that you wouldn’t be going to hell, because Jesus had gone down to close it up - and raised those who there out of that separation from God… pulling them all into the fold; To be named; to be healed; and brought into the abundance of communal life! This was helpful - very comforting for me, and it still is to this day… This idea - there is a God who searches for me - even when I am lost - unable to even find myself…And that I belong through him (along with many others) in an abundant life. It is a life that transcends death - and connects us across the ages. A second very important and comforting piece of John’s Gospel, is that Jesus tells us that he has the power to lay down his life and pick it back up again….by his own mastery. John uses the word “authority” - which also translates into power and skill and mastery. Jesus establishes his life for the sheep. The sheep are his purpose. We are his very purpose. In the Greek to “lay down” - is also translated as “established." He created a new foundation; a new relationship between God and humans. Often we only think of laying down his life in terms of the sacrifice of the crucifixion, rather than in terms of this new foundation that he is establishing… And we may have wondered and cringed at the words of the Eucharistic Prayer…why would God ask him to suffer upon a Cross?? I don’t think that’s what was asked of Jesus. I believe he was asked to lay down his life for humanity; to establish a new foundation. What transpired in these efforts was that Jesus was crucified. Do you see the difference? I think it is very important and also comforting. He has accepted, what he been commissioned to do by God - Yes, he offered himself in obedience to God’s will… but this is not simply about martyrdom. This is about a new foundation for the World of love and healing which Jesus comes to establish in this life. And in the horror of the crucifixion we see the new foundation play out because this new foundation is affirmed in the resurrection and ascension. It is God receiving and also forgiving all human trespasses willingly. The crucifixion was human will and Jesus’ offering freely given, as he in God knows that God will not lay down retribution, but will establish reconciliation. To be seated at the right hand of God, means that Jesus brought humanity into heaven. Our outline of faith affirms that Jesus (fully Human and fully God) was not only bringing God to live among us as flesh and blood, but through his ascension he brought humanity to God in this realm we refer to as heaven; To co-exist; In intimate familial kinship. These spaces in eternity do not occupy different time. They co-exist. This was not simple martyrdom, but a cosmic act that changed the shape of the universe. A new foundation: The Lord of your life knows you and loves you. God is alive and God is present. Hear the call of the shepherd who calls you to kinship in a kingdom of love. You belong with this flock. Christianity is about belonging. It is not about membership. To me these differences are very clear. We may be an organization that calls people to be members of our flock… but our community is open. We are not exclusive. We are members - members of the body of Christ, which is vast and eternal and cosmic in scope. Jesus says, I am the gate. And there is no better comfort than to know that we are welcomed in - and free to roam in these pastures - of eternal love. Amen.
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Jesus is risen! And I love that Luke’s gospel tells us that all of the disciples were afraid… instead of just singling out Thomas! It is more believable. Because most of us would probably be afraid - most of us would be doubtful - What you don’t hear in our Gospel passage today, is that the disciples have already claimed, “It is true! The Lord has risen!” But even as they are proclaiming it, they are in shock and disbelief and afraid. If you notice our Gospel has broken the first sentence in half. - What proceeds this section is the story of “The Road to Emmaus” in which Jesus meets two disciples on their way, and reveals himself to them in the breaking of the bread. Afterward, it says, 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. 36 While they were still talking about this/ While they were still talking about this Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They are terrified that he actually appears. All of the disciples are afraid. They think they are seeing a ghost. But Jesus says to them, Don't be afraid. Touch me. Last week Fr. Mac spoke about our culture's general disbelief in the resurrection, as we fail to believe what we cannot understand - even as science continually demonstrates to us that there is much we cannot understand or see that makes our bodies, our world, and our universe animate. In fact we cannot see or understand most of it! Jesus's invitation to "touch me" is a direct call to our humanity. Among all of the things that God has created "seen and unseen" (as we say in our outline of faith) we as humans know touch as the most intimate way to know - to connect. Scientists and Doctors tell us that Touch is necessary for us to thrive. Jesus says "Touch me." Jesus said: ”I have come so that you may have life. and have it abundantly [to thrive]. " (John 10:10-11) Jesus brings us his Peace That is what the resurrection is about - how it animates our lives now. The resurrection is about power over death… but sometimes we stop there… we fail to continue to move in that direction - into the reality of it. This is not a one time event. It is about life! It is present. The resurrection is about Thriving. This morning in Acts, Peter refers to Jesus as the “Author of life!” …This daily concept of an ever-present resurrection written into the fabric of our lives. The Word made flesh… Resurrection is something that is helpful for us in defining what we are doing - and where we are going - how we participate in “life giving” activities for ourself -and for others. To remain open to this ever-present reality offers us the Peace that Jesus gives. We all need peace in our hearts - and peace in our minds. If we are open to this outlook on life - take this stance… then we will thrive. I don’t mean to “tune out” to have peace. That is not the stance. We need to remember this gift of Peace and attempt to bring an openness to the turbulence in our lives; in those we love who create grief; And even to those we may consider our enemies. There is peace in prayer. There is power in prayer - not that we always get the outcome we hope for in a World that offers us so much to worry about… but prayer brings consolation. The hope of the resurrection is around us to glean, if we take this stance. To know something is to participate in it. And at this moment in our Gospel, the Disciples have heard about the resurrection, but they also need time to participate in it. Hence the doubt and fear. But what they do - do (which is why we are gathered here together today) is to act on it - to live into it; to participate in it through their own embodiment. Because of them, we come together to touch the “Author of life” each Sunday. Our Eucharistic language refers to this as the holy mystery made known to us in the spiritual food of the Sacrament. We reenact our union with God and one another each time we do this. What -we- come -to -know about the resurrection is embodied. It becomes very real even as we may not fully understand the mysteries of life. Those who do not participate in faith community may still wrestle with this "lack of assurance.” Fear and Doubt is almost always a fallback stance when we are confronted with something we don’t understand, or cannot see, or have not experienced. ...But to know the Love and Peace of God is to participate with God. We take the stance. As James Finley writes: To do this, “I will not play the cynic. I will not break faith with my awakened heart. I know… that I am graced by what transcends and permeates every moment of my life.” The resurrection is embodied through this stance through us. It wasn’t only the mission for the first disciples to claim… It’s also for us to do… Why don't we invite those friends and family, the PV community to participate: to “Touch and See.” And then they will also know. Amen. Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!
Mary Magdalene exclaims this to the disciples and to the World, saying indeed, “I have seen the Lord.” In her prophetic exclamation - we hear centuries of tradition, hope, and faith fulfilled in the anticipated messiah…the unlikely and almighty messiah: “I will give thanks to you, for you answered me * and have become my salvation. The same stone which the builders rejected * has become the chief cornerstone.… (And today like then….) On this day the Lord has acted, we will rejoice and be glad in it!” The prophetic voice of Mary rings out to us today calling us, the community, to awaken to this eternal reality that is always with us. The resurrection is not simply pointing to Springtime as, the relief and blessing that life is renewed; that nature has its cycle. (Although it is - and it does.) The resurrection is about human nature - the human spirit renewed. This renewal doesn’t just arrive in Springtime in a natural cycle. It is a path - a spiritual that requires attention, discernment, the search for wisdom, and knowledge. It asks us to develop a mind that is aligned with the heart. This is what it means to grow into the stature of Christ. The resurrection wasn’t meant for Jesus alone. The resurrection is about community. It is about how we create new patterns for a world based in mercy, justice and truth. Jesus shows us through his ministry how forgiveness transforms hearts, and communities. And his resurrection is the ultimate statement that God forgives. “I have seen the Lord” is part of the prophetic tradition: a tradition that always signifies a divine message intended for the community. The prophetic tradition is part of our tradition. In our outline of faith we say in the very first section on human nature…that God revealed himself through nature and “especially through the prophets of Israel.” Mary is one of them. Mary’s visionary experiences at the tomb in all four gospels identifies her as participating in this prophetic tradition. Jesus tells her ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ This is a direct reference to the prophet Elijah. The Jewish community believed that Elijah would return at the coming of the messiah. It also speaks to the relationship between Elijah and Elisha as his direct disciple.. Here - it is Mary who receives the direct message from Jesus before his ascension… It is Mary who receives - but importantly she is not meant as the sole receptacle. She is to go tell her brothers that they all share in this special kinship with God the Father. This is a call to community. My God and your God. Prophets relay the voice of God to the community. They act as conduits for what we call Divine pathos. God’s pathos is concern for the world. In fact anguish for the World. These prophets call us back into relationship with God. The breach we call sin as Paul describes in his letter to the Corinthians…that word for sin here translated means “to not share a part of.” To be separated. Throughout scripture, the separation between us and divinity is always remedied by the mutual returning of humans to God in love - and for God’s return through loving forgiveness. Jesus’ resurrection is a proclamation to us that God Forgives: God identifies with the victim, the poor, the hungry, the marginalized. God identifies with all of us! And forgives us, “for [too often] we know not what we do.” God Forgives in the Risen Christ. As a Christian community we are living into this reality each day - it is not just something we commemorate on Sunday. We are made in the image of God. As we grow into that true identity along this spiritual path - I believe there is also a prophetic voice of our spiritual direction growing within each one of us. How will it be revealed through us in our individual identities? - and in our communal identity? Listen and discern the voices moving us forward in our journeys. Paul in his letter to Corinthians mentions that Christ first appeared to Cephas (another name for Peter) - although every single account in the Gospels clearly convey that Christ first appeared to Mary Magdalene (and in some versions along with the Mother Mary, Salome and the mother of James, Mary of Clopas, and Joanna and Mary of Jacob). Part of our discernment has to do with listening for where God is being revealed in people we don’t expect. Today we still may have set ideas about who is the proper conveyer of God’s wisdom, truth, and love. Every society has its scapegoats. The Resurrection turns this scapegoat mechanism on its head. The stone the builder’s rejected has become the Chief cornerstone! Listen to the voices that have been silenced and rejected in our community, in our culture, and in our world. Let us to stand with those unexpected voices who are seated at the table with Jesus…. Because Jesus sat with everyone in order that he could raise us all up! As Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper… Unless you let me wash your feet you will not share a part in me. And you are to do this for one another. Essentially you are to be servants of humanity. Because we are all called to share in God’s great renewal of life. The Resurrection of Jesus takes away the sin of the World…exposes and demonstrates that we do share a part … we are not separated. And that if God can overcome death, then God can overcome the cast systems, the divisiveness, the discord in our communities and through us. The human Jesus and the risen Christ show no partiality. God can - and will renew us. The promise of the resurrection - is always with us … Mary standing in the garden - in that juncture with the resurrected Jesus stands where we are all called to be: united in the share; recognized - called by name. We commemorate this when we come to the altar to share in the bread and the wine. We are raised through him who calls us to himself. Let us participate in this eternal reality everyday (in the psalmists words): “I shall not die, but live, * and declare the works of the Lord.” Amen. Alleluia! The earliest recording of a Palm Sunday parade (besides the Gospels of course) is from a Spanish woman named Egeria, who journaled about her pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the 4th Century.
This journal speaks of the liturgical traditions, and her travels, and importantly about a woman traveling in the 300s. Making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was an important part of Christian custom (and continues to be for the Jewish community as well.) She was a representative from her community, as so many could not - and still cannot afford to make such a trip. The Labyrinth walk that you may have heard of, which looks somewhat like a maze is a circular walk designed to imitate the pilgrimage. Labyrinths are found in Cathedral floors - and now much more commonly in retreat centers. When you walk the labyrinth, rather than finding oneself at a possible dead-end like a maze, the labyrinth is a circle that spirals around to the center. It is designed to wind one into center, at one time to the center of God, initially to Jerusalem, and to the center of self; the heart of a spiritual journey where we connect to God. On Palm Sunday, Jesus was spiraling into the center of God in his parade. It was taking him directly into the heart of Jerusalem. It was the festival of the passover and the city was jam packed with a population five times its normal size with pilgrims flooding the streets, living in camps. It was chaotic.
At the same time Jesus was making that pilgrimage through the midst of fear and into a certain fate that he knew awaited him. Jesus had said earlier to [his disciples], “You will all become deserters; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
Saying things like the Sabbath was made for the people…not the other way around. Healing may happen seven days a week. Today the Litany of the Palms reminds us of the Glory of God: Our hope in a the reign of God, our hope in a peaceful transfer of power, in a kingdom of justice and truth, in a messiah full of wisdom and humility. -- The Gospel reading feels like whiplash to our celebration in so many ways winding us through the awful events of Good Friday. It is read as a great juxtaposition to this Hope that fueled the hearts of Jesus’ followers. The Passion is incredibly painful to read. It is devastating all around. Jesus is utterly abandoned by his friends. They fall sleep instead of keeping watch, they run to escape (even to the point of losing their shirts), they deny instead of ally. It shows us what Fear does to us - and to the World… It shows us all of our human trespasses… Where Greed and jealousy take us - Where indifference - and desire for control lead us. The story shows us these temptations in all echelons of society (even in a servant girl) - in both the Roman and Jewish population - even in Jesus’ closest friends. The Passion is in all four gospels… And the crowd that rise up to shout “crucify him” is not very well defined in any of them. I wonder why? We cannot point the finger directly at any one person or group for the atrocities of this day. It asks us to look closely at our Christian identity. Not to point fingers, but to consider how we individually act out these patterns - of both trespasses and healing. The spiritual journey asks us to make this pilgrimage to God in our hearts - and often we find that also requires moving through fear, into the chaos of the unknown. It is a path of surrender to something much greater than ourselves. The spiritual journey is a surrender to Love. Cynthia Bourgeault writes: “When the attitude of prompt surrender has become permanently engrained in a person… that person becomes a powerful servant of humanity—a saint, in the language of the Christian West—whose very being radiates blessing and spiritual strength.” How do we follow Jesus into this way of powerful spiritual surrender? Paradoxically the path of surrender to God - (to something so much bigger than ourselves) in order to be transformed - means to surrender to quite little things for the sake of others. And this is when we actually realize how little some of our hang ups really are, how trivial… and when we practice becoming softer and more open - we are not being weak - we are glorifying the presence of one another and God. As Iraneous of Lyons said, “the Glory of God is the person fully alive.” Meaning: The Glory of God gives life. It is an attention we are gathering when we attempt to do this for God, for one another, and ourselves. We are pilgrimaging to that center of God in our hearts. Jesus models for us in his triumphant entry that it requires holding that space for both celebration and humility in order for something new to come forth. John the Baptist said about Jesus…. “I must decrease so that he may increase.” Jesus in his surrender was actively glorifying God in his decrease. This decrease is so counter-cultural. But the end of our Gospel passion shows us that God identifies with the victim, the poor, and the marginalized: the scapegoat. The centurion exclaims: He really was the “Son of God.” __ As Christians we follow Christ into this message by surrendering to God’s truth - that the Spirit of healing and Love is alive in us as “servants of humanity.” The passion asks us to lay down our lives for this healing message seven days a week. Amen. While last week we were wrestling with snakes, it is fitting that this week we celebrate St. Patrick’s feast day who is famously said to have driven all of the snakes out of Ireland.
(Actually, scientists believe snakes disappeared from the island during the Ice Age.) Nevertheless, we like the image of St. Patrick driving them out - and conquering those evil “heel biters”…. I don’t know how many of you know his story: Patrick was actually an Englishman born in 390. His father was a deacon in the church. His grandfather was a priest. They lived on the NW Coast of England…. And Patrick was captured as a teenager and enslaved in Ireland. He was sold to a chieftain and tended sheep. He escaped about six years later when he was twenty-one - and was able to get back home to England. Patrick wrote about his captivity in his memoir The Confession. While Patrick had considered himself more of an atheist growing up (even with the Christian upbringing) his prayer life in captivity grew strong. Patrick came to know God and Jesus during that time of struggle. He had the types of divine encounters that mystics experience. Hearing the voice of God. St. Theresa of Avila called these locutions… In one account he spoke about how in a dream he was trying to pray, but seemed unable to - and then he heard a voice coming from inside of him which he realizes is the voice of God praying for him. Like God says in Jeremiah, “…I will put my law within them; and will write it on their hearts.” That will be the new covenant. And the Psalmist says: With my whole heart I seek you; * let me not stray from your commandments. I treasure your promise in my heart, * Patrick experienced that promise of God within. Now, what is even more special about Patrick, is that even after all of that suffering, he returns to Ireland as a missionary to bring the Irish the good news of Christ. Patrick is said to have baptized over 120,000 Irishmen and planted 300 churches. In fact Ireland is the only country that basically had a full on conversion to Christianity - as a Peaceful conversion…Christianity didn’t supersede their pagan beliefs, rather it embellished, and improved upon the story that they already knew in nature. Christianity was a fulfillment of the Glorification of Creation through the Son of God; And through this idea of One God who loves us all. __ The Glorification of God is mentioned in our Gospel passage today - and John writes about the glorification of God throughout his Gospel. When Jesus says, let me glorify your name. God responds, “it has been glorified and it will be again.” Jesus had through his life, his work and his struggle glorified God continually in his love. We tend to focus only on this rising up - this glorification through the Crucifixion… but that certainly is not all that John meant in his Gospel. John emphasizes the ascension. Jesus is raised up… and it is the raising up that is promised to all of us. …And not simply through the promise of resurrection at death.. but being raised up through a life in Christ as we listen for our God within; as we recognize the beauty of our God without (all around us); the glory of God in the abiding promise that no more will we be alone. We are God’s people. God is written in our hearts. In recent chapters, Jesus is speaking about losing our lives to save them. Again he speaks of this through the metaphor of the grain of wheat. The grain, is a simple grain of wheat -until it falls, is broken open, buried…fertilized…then it bears fruit. Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of God… he is not only speaking about his death, which will bear the fruit of God’s love known in the World. He is speaking about how we glorify God too. The Greek term “life” in this Gospel is related to psyche. How do we let go of our small egos - how do we learn to let go of resentments, clinging, and self-righteousness? In this type of dying to the small self - in this dying to self and rising to Christ, we help fertilize a field for others to grow in God’s love. We plant seeds that bear fruit. At the end of our passage, Jesus say, “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say - ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.” Perhaps that is what Patrick realized through his suffering; That the Word had become flesh - and that even the people that enslaved him were meant to be part of the fruit of God’s great creation. The term “he had come to his hour”…is not only about death. A pregnant woman about to give birth, was also said to have “come to her hour.” The fruit of Jesus is about to be born for the world in us. What enslaves you -and how might you rise to the challenge of the Glory of your life in God? How have others around you been enslaved? How can you participate in the rising of others - -your loved ones, your community, even so called strangers? The missionary work that Patrick brought to Ireland was reconciling work. It was the healing work of God. Patrick understood that Christ belongs to the whole world. While we may not be adventuring into what we traditionally think of as missionary work like Patrick; we are called to be missionaries of God’s healing in this community. Heart to Heart. This is the field where we will be raised up. And God’s name will be glorified again through us. As our collect says today: “Grant your people grace to…desire what you promise; among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found…” Have you ever heard of homeopathy? It is an alternative medicine with the theory that “like cures like.” Most homeopathic remedies include a portion of the ailment - or something that mimics the ailment to stimulate the bodies natural defense systems.
Both Craig and I have used it at different times over the years. I’m not advocating trying it per se, but our passage from Numbers brought it to mind. The people are plagued by serpents and God gives them a serpent on a pole to cure their malady… God purposely gives them a symbol of their ailment as the healing property… The true ailment of the people is their grumbling. “They spoke against God and against Moses.” They detest the miserable food, the manna that God has provided. They forget their blessings. They turn away from Moses and God. Putting up a Serpent as the antidote for the serpent bite is brilliant. God has a biting sense of humor. It’s as if God is saying, Look you’ve made an idol out of your bitterness… Look closely at what ails you And it will help to aid in your healing…. A great phrase I learned for Lent (and pretty good for anytime is to think about what you.. Nurse Curse And then Rehearse What are the grumblings of our lives… the metaphorical idols that have gotten in the way of true healing? God is saying turn to me for what ails you. It is quite telling that the American Medical Association logo is the serpent on the pole. They are saying, “Come to us for what ails you.” The story of Numbers is not about snakes. It is about healing. What are the things you want to look at - to bring into the light and transform? What are the things that you wish to bring God for healing? What is it that keeps us from participating in the light with everything we’ve got? This light is not simply daylight - but the light of Christ. The Gospel of John equates Jesus with the Light from the very beginning. “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” In our Gospel Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee who came to him at night, wanting to know and understand more. He recognized Jesus as a great teacher. Jesus is speaking to him about being born again, born into everlasting life. (And perhaps about not seeking him out in the dark of night - sneaking around… but bringing his curiosity to the light of day.) 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. Jesus says come to me for what ails you. Your humanity is difficult: Your feelings, your bodies, your vulnerabilities - lift them up to me. Jesus as the antidote for our human frailty was lifted onto the cross with open arms to embrace us all. He shows us his vulnerable humanity… but he started with that embrace from the very beginning of his ministry ….to all those he encountered. He showed us the light. He embraced us with the truth and with Love. He embraced us to show the bridge between humanity and God. To overcome that separation: the sin that we speak of. God was with the people in their suffering. They forgot this. God provided manna. God provided leadership. God provided community. God forgives the people in the wilderness for their grumbling, for their impatience (even if it is in a curious way with a serpent on a poll). God is always showing us ways into redemption: Ways into relationship and forgiveness… God is always with us. God is the light that shines in the darkness of our darkest hours. Bring it - all of it to God. For God is the great physician, your antidote: Jesus the suffering servant who gives you a piece of himself to show you your light. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcomea it.” Amen. Many years ago, I was having a conversation with someone (a good friend) who was telling me something too good to be true. I wanted what he was saying to be true. But we both knew that it wasn’t.
And I thoroughly surprised myself with the thought: “Get behind me Satan.” (I didn’t say it out loud, ha) But: that was perhaps the first moment I integrated this somewhat strange teaching. I call it a teaching, because it isn’t just a story about Jesus “calling Peter out”… but it is a story with a deeper call for us to be awake; …To be conscious of our true identities. In Matthew’s Gospel we hear of the Temptation by Satan in much more explicit terms than in Mark’s Gospel. Our version was very brief this year - and doesn’t tell us of the three temptations to power, wealth and control. In this year’s cycle of readings we are given this story. Jesus is not really calling Peter Satan. He is hearing the temptation through Peter’s plea. The temptation is directed at Jesus. It is Jesus who is primarily being tempted… and he recognizes the voice explicitly. Notice he doesn’t shout “get behind me Satan” at Peter. “But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said ‘Get behind me Satan.'” Jesus turns. Jesus recognized the voice because he spent time in the desert listening to the voice of God as well as this voice that showed up. He learned of his true identity: beloved; both human and divine. Jesus spent time learning about his strengths and his weaknesses. He grappled with these challenges and temptations. When Jesus hears that voice that would once again attempt to pull him from his true identity he turns. He does an about face. (And he turns his face toward Jerusalem, as they say.) He is aware of the struggle ahead of him. He is awake. Our challenge is to also stay awake to our true identities. There are a lot of forces that wish to pull us this way and that way in society. Forces and voices that tell us: We have to keep up with the Joneses. We have to live up to someone else’s version of ourselves (who they believe we are - or want us to be). And society is calling us constantly to this pull: to wealth, power, and control. Let’s just face it… The Bible may call them temptations, but these attributes are what most humans aspire to. We grow up believing this is how to succeed in life. But Jesus says: “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” True life - your true identity; This story is about Jesus’ identity - which has a lot to do with who we are as his followers. The Christ/Messiah that the disciples want and Peter wants is still a version of the powerful, domineering kind who is coming to save them from Roman imperialism. They do not want to hear about the suffering servant. Jesus goes on to say: My followers will “…take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” __ Jesus asks us to give up our life to save it. This is also a strange and paradoxical teaching. And to pick up your cross is certainly shocking. The cross was a torturous execution tool of the Roman government used especially for rebels. Jesus’ current following knows this. So what is Jesus saying here? I believe he is saying: deny what this imperial life stands for because, The Gospel (the Good news) is that the Kingdom of God reigns. Apparently “For my sake” is not in some of the earliest manuscripts of Mark. Mark was written just after the fall of the Temple. 70 CE about 40 years after Jesus’s death. The community hearing this message is largely Jewish. And the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire did not succeed. Mark is writing to a group who are afraid and angry and grieving; who are trying to pick up the pieces. Jesus talking about suffering and sacrifice is very real for this group who are doing just that - and struggling to maintain their identity. He is saying in order to follow him, we must stay true to our identities and stay true to the Gospel message that the Kingdom of God reigns. Lent is not about suffering in order to somehow pay back Jesus because he suffered for us. Lent is about the sacrifices we make or the practices we take on in order to know ourselves and know God better. That is what Jesus was doing in the desert… and that is what this community of suffering Jews are doing out of necessity. So what does that mean for us today? Does the Good News still need to be proclaimed? We know too well the imperial powers are causing mass destruction across the world through policies and wars. What can we do today? Stay true to your identity. (The first part of this passage.) Don’t let someone feed you lies because it sounds good- less challenging - less painful. You are the beloved. You are a follower of Christ. Our message is one of peace. Jesus gives us his peace at the Last supper. That is one of the most challenging aspects of our identities. To follow Jesus, we are to share peace. So if that means sacrificing your ego this Lent, then try it out. If that means standing up for the good news when you’d rather not face your friends or society… try it out. We are still living in a time when dominance rules. As you can see from this gospel: ”When in Rome do as the Romans do” is not always a positive catch phrase. “When you can’t beat ‘em - join ‘em” is not always a positive catch phrase. It is up to you to be awake and to remember: Who am I? - I am the Beloved… I believe in a higher power. And I will continue to turn to this good news for the sake of my family, my friends, and the World. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust feels very poignant to many of us right now. We are burying friends and loved ones. The reality of our frailty isn’t hypothetical.
To live into this reality during Lent is to let go of the World’s call - and turn to God’s call "whose power in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.” The call to repentance - to turn to God is our daily practice, but as you know, Lent offers us a period of time set aside in our calendar to reflect on our life in God. We aren’t doing this to self-flagellate. We are doing this to self-regulate. While we know Lent as a time of penitence, it is also a time for bringing ourselves into balance: Self-regulating. (Just to use a silly example: Lent should not be about giving up chocolate for a month. If it really is your issue, then Lent should be about changing your relationship with chocolate.) Sacrifice is not about giving something up momentarily. Sacrifice leads us somewhere. It is about change. Jesus’ sacrifice changes us by showing a way into forgiveness and love, union with one another; an understanding of ourselves as the Beloved. Walking these 40 days in the desert with Jesus is about coming to terms with how we are are challenged by the World, tempted to fall into those behaviors which are self-seeking, controlling, manipulative… because ultimately these behaviors are what makes us feel “wretched” as the Collect says. But sacrifice as a way of re-balancing ourselves is a very useful practice. Athletes practice to change and better themselves. I was quite taken recently when I realized that athletes who function at a high level share some of the language that we use in the Spiritual life. My friend who is a masters swim coach and a marathon runner used some of that recently in a conversation. When there is a balance between tension and letting go it’s as if there is another body living within me. It requires the right attention and being grounded. Then there is a contact with a life force; a wellspring from which this force flows and returns. (1) This is the flow that athletes describe! This is also a description of meditation. And the flow that comes from consistency in prayer life. In Lent we are practicing letting go with a higher purpose. It can be a type of practice that we take on - or a type of practice in self-imposed sacrifice. When we practice either approach, we come to understand ourselves and our inner workings. We also become a little more awake - a higher flow of energy arrives. It is a way to “Know thy self.” Participating in the 40 days of intentional prayer, reflection, or a type of fasting attunes us with the journey Jesus was pursuing. Jesus was fasting and praying to attune himself with God. Know thy self. What balance do I want in my life, not just for forty days, but something I can practice with God now - that will continue to enhance my life into the future? Engaging the Spiritual Life is about movement. It is leading us to “know thyself" in the context of a higher flow - a life in God. For all of our frailty and our weakness, we do have access to this wellspring of life in the Spirit - - finding this flow with God allows us to bear all things, endure all things, and do “infinitely more than we could ever ask or imagine.” My friend Rosalie Richards came to see me last weekend. You may remember, she preached at my celebration of ministry. We had a couple of nice days together, both late nights of chatting as well as a shared day of meditation and reading (kind of like parallel play!)
Rose shared with me that the eighth ecumenical council of 869 held in Constantinople was concerned with whether we are body, soul, and spirit - or simply body and soul. The Ecumenical Councils, held in what is now Turkey, included Christian Bishops of varying faiths that came together to agree on universal Church doctrine, to create peace, and were attended by anywhere from 150 - 500 leaders depending on the year. Different faiths today recognize different meetings as legitimate. There have been 21 gatherings over nearly 1900 years… But getting back to 869: apparently the decision was made that we are body and soul. (Removing Spirit) And perhaps this theological decision has influenced us much more than we know. Making us Two-fold rather than three-fold (paraphrasing Rosalie Richards). We say that “praying shapes believing”… and while it may sound backwards… I’m sure many of us feel that how we were taught to pray as children had a big effect on what we came to believe about God - or even pushed us to stop believing for awhile… We talk about God as being a Trinity - but we think of ourselves as body and soul… But we actually struggle so much with this duality. We often expect our body to just do its thing and play along. If we yearn for a healthier body we delve into discipline: mind over matter. We live in a world of duality: things are easier when they are black and white, partisan, this or that… God is in Heaven…while we are on Earth… The particularity of Spirit as part of our humanity may challenge us. Spirit belongs to the realm of the Kingdom. It is mystical. And that makes us uncomfortable (R.R.) because after all we are grounded here on Earth… right? It is why the transfiguration can feel challenging. The Transfiguration of Jesus is a mystical experience. We aren’t that comfortable with it - even though we say we believe in the Holy Spirit. The Transfiguration is about a cosmic frame of reference, a reference to the Kingdom that does exist. Something that fills us with Awe… and like the disciples, may also terrify us. I was taken by this moment of terror. It is the first time that I focused on Jesus’ response. I do not recall ever noticing that Jesus doesn’t know what to say! (Jesus always seems to have something to say.) “He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’” Jesus doesn’t know what to say. But he models listening. Then what Jesus does say to Peter, James, and John is: Don’t tell anybody! Not until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead. He wants the people to listen to him as a man; as one of them, as the Son of Man. The disciples’ mystical experience might terrify others too - or worse confuse Jesus’ message: interpret Jesus' healing message with a message of power. Jesus was avoiding human power; the temptation. Don't tell them yet - not before the deeper understanding of his identity - and the identity of his followers as the Body of Christ. —- Yesterday, I was at the installation of our new Bishop, Matthew Heyd, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It was a packed house, which means a couple thousand (at least) were in attendance. The body of Christ. We are the church. The guest preacher, Winnie Varghese’s sermon had one theme. The Question: “Does the Church have anything to say to the world at this time?” We cannot presume to know what God is saying, but we as the Body of Christ, the Church do have something to say. The Body of Christ has existed for two thousand years - and it evolves and grows and shifts and changes, as it must. God is not static and our lives in God are not static. Thank God! God the Trinity is moving, always filling up, and self emptying in a dynamic flow of giving and receiving: God to Human Son, to Spirit. What does this dynamism look like today in our lives - in the church, and in the world? I would disagree with the decision of 869. If we are made in the image of God - then we are also three-fold. We also belong to the Kingdom in this mystical relationship that recognizes spirit as energy… the spirit in and of our lives. What are we being called to? Are we listening? What does the church have to say at this time? It’s not about telling the world who God is - What God says…it’s about listening for the Spirit of God in our hearts - and in this generation - What do we have to bring to this generation? ——- In our diocese there is a five year mission review that the diocese is undergoing, now that we have a new Bishop - and they put out two questions for us to consider at our annual meetings. They want us to answer these questions as a group ( if possible) so while you’re sitting at your tables, maybe eating, and you have a few minutes you could look at these - Just two questions. I’ve put them on the flip side of the agenda.
We’re gonna collect them - I’ll compile them. They want me to send them to the diocese. They really just want a one sentence answers… …based on your listening, your witnessing to the needs of this generation… If you all have the energy to do that, please do. and consider …what the spirit of our church has to offer in service to the dynamism of God, working in our lives. So if we can let go of the fear - perhaps the terror - What would you have the church say to the World today? There is a story from the desert fathers:
“Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation, and contemplative silence; and, according as I am able, I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became lit like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not become fire? [1]” This story was shared recently in a meditation by Spiritual writer Christine Valters Paintner. She goes on to say: “I love the story from the desert fathers.. In the spiritual life we keep our practices, spend time in prayer, seek God in all things, and yet at some point even all this is not enough—and we are asked to become fire. Becoming fire means letting our passion for life and beauty ignite us in the world…. We are called to set the whole world on fire with our passion for God.” Now in our reading from Mark, which is a very brief reading… A lot happens: There is a lot of passion! John the Baptist baptizes Jesus; the Holy Spirit descends, God speaks; and the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan; John the Baptist is arrested and Jesus begins his ministry. All in six stanzas. Wow. That’s a lot of activity, feelings, passionate work and prayer. All of this for seeking and sharing this passion for God. This morning we hear from Genesis - about God’s wild and passionate irrational behavior… and God’s passionate promise to a covenant relationship. And Jesus’ very life is another covenant relationship. In Genesis God is promising to never respond with rage and destruction against the World ever again. And God promises all of the World, all of the creatures. And Jesus is the covenant which says that God forgives us all of our trespasses, all of our failings. Again God makes this promise through Jesus for the entire World. As we say in the Eucharist: “This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus’ life was the covenant, not simply his death and resurrection. When we speak of the Glory of God - the passion of Jesus the Christ…. I believe that passion goes all the way back to this moment in the river with John (and probably years beforehand). But in these six stanzas Jesus makes his contract with God; through his baptism, through his time of self -reflection and temptation in the desert - and into his ministry. There are great comparisons between the opening of Genesis and Mark’s very opening lines: “This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.a 2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:b" And as we know Genesis famously opens: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Jesus shows up at the river with the Spirit hovering. There were also a lot of other people clamoring to the Jordon. John the Baptist had a much larger following than Jesus. (And wisdom says) If you are seeking God, that relationship - you are already on your way. We are here “on the way” along with those 1st Century Jews seeking… Seeking forgiveness and communion. Lent is a time set apart in our calendar to reflect on our lives in God. It is traditionally a time of penitence. To many of us, this is about giving up bad habits. But traditionally Lent is a time when people prepared for Baptism. It was also a time when those who had been separated from the Church were reconciled and forgiven. Lent is turning and returning to God. It is a great reminder that we were baptized into Christ as his own - and we are forgiven in Christ as the beloved. So I have set the font out for us as another reminder of our baptism. This sacrament is our individual and communal covenant relationship with God: The Baptismal Covenant. In the end of that service we say: “Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.” This penitential time of Lent is not about self-flagellation, but about self-regulation. It is about finding the balance we seek using practices and prayer and fasting. It is a way to reflect on our human nature. It is a time to inquire, and discern. It is a time to awaken our divine nature to understand that we can persevere…with the knowledge that God's "power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine." (The Book of Common Prayer, p.102) Taking on practices during Lent is a way to follow Jesus into that forty day pilgrimage. Don't forget: Jesus' time in the desert with the wild beasts and Satan also included angels. Jesus was not just getting to know his human side (and the beasts that tempt our human egos). His deep dive into the desert was attended by angels who helped show him his divine nature. I love that John the Baptist tells us in Matthew’s gospel that he is baptizing with water, but Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. I like to think of this fire as the power of the holy spirit to burn away that which is no longer necessary. That is what we are attempting to do in our prayer lives especially in Lent. But also like Jesus, this fire -is a fire that burns with passion. It is the passion in our hearts for the love of God and for the love of the world. “Why not become fire?” |
AuthorThe Rev. Heather K. Sisk Archives
April 2024
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