Lent 5: Justice and Peace and Dignity

 In Lent we are looking at the many ways the Baptismal Covenant calls us to serve Christ in each other. Fellowship, prayer, repentance, evangelism, and service are all ways to show and share the love of God. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

The final question in the Baptismal Covenant asks, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” Striving is a word that we don’t hear much now. In fact, it often has the negative connotation of causing fights. The root of the word is from the French estriver and estri, meaning to quarrel. However, it also means endeavor or try really hard.

We are called to work for justice and peace. Sometimes that can seem like an overwhelming task. There seems to be so much injustice and violence in the world. Certainly, we are confronted by it daily in the news and social media. We know about the least little disturbing event in the farthest corner of the world almost immediately. Probably there aren’t more awful things happening than years and centuries ago, we just know about all of them. And we are bombarded by the various ‘spins’ that politicians and social media impose in an attempt to influence our minds. We have to be careful what we believe and who we follow.

When we are rooted in the promises of the Baptismal Covenant, we have a roadmap for Who to trust and how to respond and act. O Zion Haste (#539 in the Episcopal Hymnal) gathers much of the Baptismal Covenant into beautiful word. As the hymn suggests, when we are engaged in our mission of sharing the story of peace, redemption, release, and love we are in fact our “mission high fulfilling.” 

O [Christians], haste, your mission high fulfilling,
to tell to all the world that God is light,
that he who made all nations is not willing
one soul should perish, lost in shades of night.

The hymn ends with the stanza that calls us to Proclaim to ev'ry people, tongue, and nation/ that God, in whom they live and move, is love;/ tell how he stooped to save his lost creation/ and died on earth that they might live above. The refrain tells us how to do this proclaiming Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace,/ tidings of Jesus, redemption and release. We are to tell the Good News of God’s hope and love even, and especially, in the face of injustice, war, and dehumanization.

You can hear the words on YouTube, along with some lovely images:

The Christian church has not always done a good job of proclaiming glad tidings without driving rough-shod over those we are sharing the Good News with. Much evil has been done in the name of religion and continues to be done. We can repent that history and strive (that word again) to do better in our lives and work.

In the Gospel this Sunday (John 12:20-33) we hear of some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” These Gentile (non-Jews) want to know more about Jesus, just like much of our hurting world does. Jesus responds that the disciples must lose their life in order to live fully dedicated lives. He says, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Too often we don’t want to lose our life—to give up control of the result—in our work for and in God’s Beloved Community. We forget we are seeds being planted and may never see the fruit. The seed is changed and dies so that a new crop can sprout. It’s human to want to make the outcome the one we want, even in our work for justice and peace. However, not everyone has the same definition of justice or even of peace. My way may not be the best way to accomplish a birth of justice or peace. I may think I am respecting someone’s dignity, but due to cultural differences, I may accidentally be insulting them. All we do must be done in and for Love, nor for recognition or gain.

As Philip does in the Gospel, all we need to do is introduce people to the true loving God who, as we heard last week “so loved the world” that Jesus became incarnate and lived a human life. Next week is Palm Sunday, then Holy Week, when we hear of the triumph and tragedy of Jesus’ final days on earth. He kept love as the hallmark. We would do well to do the same.

Where am I being asked to die to control so that something new might be able to sprout?

How might I live so that God’s love is seen in my life as an invitation to see Jesus?

Lent 4: Serve Christ in All

Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

As we continue looking at the Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer as a way through Lent, we are asked a difficult question. “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” How we respond is the way the world knows that we are followers of the One who said “love one another.”

It is a hard question and a difficult command to live into. The good news is that Jesus has paved the way. The Gospel this week states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)

God—Creator of all that is, LOVED the world—each and every bit and person, so much that God became Human! God became Incarnate (in-flesh) so that the world might be [reconciled to God] through him. That’s both shocking and wonderful. How can the Originator of star dust and microbes and leviathans and humans DESIRE relationship so much that Creator becomes Creature? Hundred of pages of theology has been written about the hows and whys. But at the core is God so loved the world!

The fish in the sea is loved. The star in the sky is loved. The tiniest microbe is loved. I am loved. You are loved. The stranger on the corner is loved. The bomber is loved.

The Baptismal Covenant says we are to ‘seek Christ in all persons.’ Each of us loved by God. It should be easy to find Christ in and Love everyone. However, the truth is not everyone presents as lovable. It’s easy to love a baby or a sweet grandmother. It’s not so easy to love the grumpy clerk or the person that disagrees with your core beliefs. It’s even more difficult to love a school shooter or abuser.

As we saw last week, ‘love’ is not the soft, fuzzy valentine heart feeling. It is action that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (I Cor. 13:7) We chose to love, even when it is nearly impossible to do so. We make the choice to say, ‘you are God’s beloved, even if you are not a nice person.’ We chose to allow others their opinions and beliefs even if we cannot understand their point of view.

It's a personal struggle, for me, to love and accept and see each other as God’s equally loved child. (Often it’s hard to see myself as loved or lovable, too.) That’s why the reminder in the Baptismal Covenant is so important. “Seeking and serving Christ in All and loving neighbor as self”—not easy, but vital to creating God’s Beloved Community where all creation is accepted and valued and not harmed in any way. And that may require some giving up of ‘my way.’ It will require conscious effort.

In what way can I seek Christ in someone I may disagree with?

When can I choose love over division?

Lent 3: Proclaim Good News

 This Lent we are looking at the Baptismal Covenant in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer to see how we can more fully live as Followers of Christ and the love of God. We’ve seen that fellowship is helpful and that we often need to repent and change our life’s direction. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

The third question asked of everyone present at a baptism is: “Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?” Some would insist that means we have to go around waving John 3:16 banners or forcing everyone to believe in exactly the way we do. It’s far to easy to think that proclaiming the Good News means ‘my faith is the only right one and if you don’t believe like me, you are wrong and maybe even damned.’

What if we expanded our understanding of the Good News to be more inclusive and loving? Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is fond of saying, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”

Love is complex, as 1 Corinthians 13 notes, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:1-7)

The desire to proclaim Good News in grand ways is very human. We want to be noticed and affirmed. However, St. Paul’s letter reminds us that love is both simpler and harder than signs and wonders. He says, now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:13)

Proclaiming the Good News in Love is complex. Sometimes, proclaiming the Good News involves standing up to authority, or standing with the disenfranchised. The Gospel this week tells of Jesus casting out the merchants in the Temple. Angrily, he stormed, take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace! (John 2:16)

More often, sharing “by word and example” is found in encouragement or helpfulness or compassion. Maybe it’s sharing an uplifting image or quote on social media or joining in a celebration. It could be a smile or hug or note for someone who is sad or hurting or lonely. Perhaps it’s recognizing the unsung accomplishments of a neighbor.

What first comes to mind when you hear “Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ”?

How might you share the Good News of God’s love this week?

Who needs to hear of God’s love?

Ash Wednesday

 Throughout the season of Epiphany we’ve looked at what the 1895 book by Henry Van Dyke can teach us about living in the 21^st Century. The Other Wise Man in his search for the Christ child, the King of the Jews, has many trials and adventures. Artaban sets out from Persia to greet an infant and ends up in Jerusalem in time to hear of a crucifixion. The thirty plus years of travel have aged him and his life-long work of caring for the poorest and least and ill has left him feeling that it was a life wasted. He thinks he has missed the chance to worship the King because he used his gifts of precious gems for other purposes. At the end of his life, Artaban discovers that the way he has lived his life and spent the wealth was service to God.

We are entering the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is this week. Lent is a season of the church calendar where we look at our spiritual health. We ask ourselves if there are behaviors we need to repent, attitudes we need to change, actions we should stop or start, or spiritual practices we may want to engage in.

Between Ash Wednesday and Easter there are 40 days in which to try out new ways of living and worshipping, whether it’s adding a daily prayer habit or reading a new devotional. Some people give up chocolate or meat or Facebook as a way of reminding themselves that this is a special time of introspection. When we don’t log in to social media or forgo the burger, we are reminded that we are trying to focus more on God’s way of life and God’s love for us and all creation.

Toward the end of his book, Van Dyke asks, “is not love the light of the soul?” The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church is fond of saying “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.” Artaban learned that his life-long actions of compassion and healing were ways of sharing that love and worshipping the One he sought.

It’s easy to think we have to do something grand to serve God. We are encouraged by culture to ‘make a splash’ and outdo each other. What if instead we tried to support each other in our hesitant and hopeful faith journeys? What if we had compassion on the ‘least of these’ and offered a smile or a bottle of water or a compliment instead of looking the other way? What if we sought to encourage someone who is sad or sick? What if we found less reason to argue and more points of agreement? What if we were less competitive toward one another?

All these are ways to serve Christ in each other. All these are ways to show and share the love of God. Jesus told his disciples, A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

Artaban learned that it was in the spending of his wealth, and his life, that he found the King. He learned to love God in each person he helped.

How will you share God’s love this Lent? Is there something you can take on, or give up, to make it easier to love your neighbor or love yourself?

Epiphany with Artaban: Pearl of Great Price

We are coming to the end of our Epiphany journey with Artaban, the wise man whose story is told by Henry Van Dyke. Artaban missed his meeting with his fellow magi because he paused to help a dying Hebrew outsideof Babylon. Even though he went straight to Bethlehem on the advice of man he saved, he missed the Holy Family. He was able to save a child from Herod’s soldiers by bribing the captain with the ruby meant for the Prince.

He spends the rest of his life in a seemingly fruitless search for the Child, now a Man. In the final chapter of the short book, we meet him after 33 years. “Worn and weary and ready to die, but still looking for the King, he had come for the last time to Jerusalem.” He learns from someone in the crowd that they are going to Golgotha to witness the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth who Pilate sentenced because he claimed to be “King of the Jews.” Artaban wonders, “It may be that I shall find the King…and come in time to offer my pearl for His ransom…” Instead, he is confronted by another dilemma as a young Parthian girl pleads for him to save her from slavery.

Van Dyke asks, “Was this his great opportunity, or his last temptation…it was inevitable…does not the inevitable come from God?...and is not love the light of the soul?” He gives the final gem, the pearl, to the girl as her ransom.

As an earthquake shakes Jerusalem, Artaban and the girl huddle together. Artaban comes to the realization the “he knew all was well, because he had done the best that he could, from day to day.” A tile from the roof strikes him, and as he dies, he hears his King, “Verily I say unto thee, Inasmuch as thou hast done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, thou has done it unto me.”

In a sermon for the coming Sunday, the Rt. Rev. Frank Logue, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia focuses on the first part of the Gospel for Sunday (Mark 1:29-31). As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 

Bishop Logue notes that it can seem off-putting that as soon as she is healed, Simon’s mother-in-law begins to ‘serve them.’ However, he points out the word translated ‘serve’ is diakonos the root of the word deacon.

Logue states, “Her service was not a one-time, over-and-done-with action…the meaning of her actions was transformed by Jesus’ healing touch. She did not serve and minister to them because of some duty. She served out of love. Simon’s mother-in-law became as much a follower of Jesus as any of his disciples…Mark describes her using language that makes her the first deacon in Christianity. She was the first person to have their ordinary diakonos, or service of others, transformed into servant ministry.”

Artaban’s life was filled with that servant ministry, that way of diakonos. Like Artaban we can only respond to the opportunity in front of us. We can respond with the Love of God, as Artaban did when he gave spent the sapphire to further his journey, used the ruby to save a child, and rescued the Parthian girl with the pearl. Throughout his quest, he cared for many in large and small ways. For that he heard Jesus say, “you have done it as to me.” His servant ministry, his diakonos is ours as well--to serve in the name of love.

Van Dyke asks, “is not love the light of the soul?” What is your response?

The film A Case for Love, mentioned last week highlighted many small ways that ordinary people are shining the light of love. In what way do you shine that light?

As we move closer to Ash Wednesday (February 14) and Lent you may want to consider what diakonos opportunity you will find in that season.

Epiphany with Artaban: the Hidden Way of Sorrow

 We journey on with Artaban, the Other Wise Man, in the story told by Henry Van Dyke. He started out to meet Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchoir to find the new King of the Jews. However, he is delayed when he stops to help a dying Hebrew outside Babylon. He must spend the sapphire, meant for the King, to equip a caravan to cross the desert. In Bethlehem, he learns the Holy Family has fled to Egypt. Then he uses the ruby meant as royal gift to save a child from Herod’s soldiers. Now he only has the pearl left as he searches and searches for the King.

Van Dyke writes, “I caught only a glimpse, here and there, of the river of his life…I saw him moving among the throngs of men in populous Egypt, seeking everywhere for traces of the household…in an obscure house of Alexandria, taking counsel with a Hebrew rabbi…he visited the oppressed and the afflicted…though he found none to worship, he found many to help.”

Many authors recently have talked about how the current ‘climate’ of anger, injustice, war, and even climate change result in stress and anxiety. We aren’t sure how or what to do, or if what we try to do is making any difference. It’s easy to despair. Artaban walked in despair for years. Never finding the One he sought. Always a step behind. Van Dyke notes, “It seemed almost as if he had forgotten his quest.” Yet, as the Magi looks at the remaining pearl, he notices it “seemed to have absorbed some reflection of the colors of the lost sapphire and ruby.”

Our work and ministry may seem fruitless and unnoticed. We may think we have lost sight of the dream of Beloved Community or that it is too far away and the voices of hate and fear too loud. Yet, like Artaban, in his work with the afflicted along the way, we do make a difference. A ripple of love is set in motion. Hope can be born again in us and then in those we minister to and with.

As Van Dyke notes at the end of this chapter, “All that helped [this life], all that hindered it, is transfused by a subtle magic into its very essence.” We are each made up of our pasts—the wounds and the joys, the sorrows and the exultations. The pearl of our own hearts is made luminous by the living of our lives.

Jesus points compares the Kingdom to a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. The love we share with one another, the burdens we help bear, the smiles we offer, the encouragement we provide each make our hearts more and more a ‘pearl of great price.’ Whether we see that luster or not, it is there, and our Loving Father sees and blesses us.

Artaban in his search for the King shared love in a multitude of ways, implied by Van Dyke. We can do so in concrete ways.

In his book, Love is the Way, Bishop Curry states, “When love is the way, the earth will be a sanctuary. When love is the way, we will lay our swords and shields down by the riverside to study war no more. When love is the way, there’s plenty of room for all of God’s children. When love is the way, we actually treat each other, well, like we are actually family.” The recently released film A Case for Love, offers a 30 day challenge to BE A VOICE FOR LOVE each day and we can do as Martin Luther King suggested,  “discover love—the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world, a new world.” 

Advent 2: Love

 This Advent, I am simply offering some prayers for your Advent devotions. Each week, I’ll include the Collect from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer for that Sunday. I’ve added the Collect from Women’s Uncommon Prayers, a collection of prayers by women in the church from 2000. This feminine leaning set of prayers can offer a different insight into our spiritual journey. I’ll also include a prayer from Daily Prayer for All Seasons, compiled in 2014. I have also added one for each week from The Lives we Actually Have by Kate Bowler. The Bowler book is a resource I just recently learned about, and it is definitely one to add to your collection.

Each week in Advent traditionally has a theme. Hope—Love—Joy—Peace. The prayers help us focus on that theme. Use this offering however you feel led. You can pray all of them each weekday, use them just on Sunday, pray one a day, etc. May your Advent journey be blessed this year.

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3)

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen (Book of Common Prayer)

Life-giving God, in whom we live and move and have our being: Kindle your love within us as we await the coming of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, that we might humbly serve others in his name, both now and forever. Amen. (Women’s Uncommon Prayers)

God, we are waiting for love, not the simple kind or the sweep-you-off-your-feet kind, but the absurd kind.

The kind wrapped in rags, resting in a bucket of animal feed. Love enough to save us all.

Blessed are we who look for Love deeper, fuller, truer—than we have ever known, than we could have ever hoped for.

Blessed are we who seek you, the light that dawned so long ago in that dark stable.
Love given.
Love received.

Receive this gift, dear one.
Love has come for you. (The Lives we Actually Have/Kate Bowler)

O Holy One, thank you for coming to us anew this day. Prepare our hearts and reawaken our love for you as we discern your call within us. May we join with you in making level the path for all people. Amen. (Daily Prayer for All Seasons)

Christ the King Sunday and Julian of Norwich

 We are at the end of the Liturgical year in the Christian Church. Next Sunday is Advent 1, which is the beginning of the Church Year, aka New Year’s Day. The church calendar offers many new beginnings throughout the year with the start of each new church season, just as the secular calendar offers new starts with the seasons. In the secular calendar we also have starting points with birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and the remembrance of special occasions or even memorials of historical facts (Pearl Harbor Day or Veteran’s Day, for instance).

This Sunday is called Christ the King Sunday and the readings tell of God coming to seek the sheep and judge the world. God says, I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. (Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24) The Gospel talks of justice as well. In Matthew 25:31-46 we hear Jesus say, All the nations will be gathered before [the Son of Man], and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Jesus adds, just as you did [or did not] do it to one of the least of these, you did [or did not] do it to me.

The Epistle (Ephesians 1:15-23) notes, [God] has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Christ is King and we are the sheep for whom God provides justice and we are also those who must work for that justice on behalf of the Kingdom. An awe-some and fear-full responsibility, for sure.

Last weekend I was at a retreat focusing on Dame Julian of Norwich, a 14^th century saint who is most famous for her visions of Christ who promised “all will be well and all manner of things shall be well.” The truth is she had many other insights into our Lord. She talks, in her Revelations of Divine Love, of a God who “ever was and is and shall be all mighty, all wisdom, and all Love.”

One of Julian’s most powerful revelations was the idea that “our savior is our very mother, in who we are endlessly born…and we be all in him [en]closed.” The Motherhood of Christ is not a metaphor but rather the idea that by being Incarnate, Christ was in fact, motherhood in action. Christ is the self-giving love of a mother who is willing to say, “I suffered my passion for thee. And if I might suffer more, I would suffer more.” Just as a mother will fill her plate last so that her child has the best food, so Christ provides the best for us.

Truly, as Julian says, “Know it well, Love was his meaning. Who showed it to thee? Love. What showed he to thee? Love. Wherefore showed it to thee? For love…Love is our Lord’s meaning.” Julian’s revelations give us insight into the God who though King and Lord, is all LOVE and we are held in that Love even (especially) in trials and uncertainties as well as in our joys and celebrations. (Read more about the retreat here.)

Psalm 100 for this Sunday calls us to be joyful in the Lord…serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. We are reminded the Lord himself is God; he himself has made us, and we are his. Therefore, we can Enter his gates with thanksgiving…give thanks to him and call upon his Name. With Julian, the Psalmist points out the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

As the song says, Our God is an Awesome God who does reign and judge. Yet this reign is not as a punitive despot. Our God reigns in Love, with Love, and by Love. We are called to the same response to God and to one another. Pray that it may be so.

As I noted at the beginning, this church year is coming to an end. Our journey through the Psalms of the lectionary this year is also coming to an end. Where will we go in the new year? I’m not sure what I will talk about in Advent. Perhaps explorations of the Love of God as made visible in the Incarnation….

Lent 4: Psalm 23: Discerning

 Lent is a time of trying to See differently and discern the direction God has for each of us. The Psalm today is familiar to nearly everyone whether they attend church or not. Psalm 23 is so often used at funerals that probably everyone has heard it at least once. The fact that it is used at funerals also can obscure its promise of God’s presence and providence at all times. “I shall not want,” “I shall be in green pastures,” “You are with me.” All these phrases from the Psalm are comforting and encouraging.

Like the Psalm, the other lessons this week are about discerning God’s presence and way. From the Old Testament, we hear of Samuel being sent to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king of Israel. (I Samuel 16:1-13) At first, Samuel cannot determine which son because God says, the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. In the end, it is the youngest, David, who is the chosen one even though he is youngest and in fact is out with the sheep instead of gathered with the rest of the family.

The Gospel (John 9:1-41) tells of the healing of a man born blind. The disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The answer would have surprised everyone because in the First Century, such an affliction was assumed to be punishment for some terrible sin. Jesus instead responds, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.” Because the healing is done on the Sabbath, the Pharisees confront the man and his parents. When the man affirms If this man were not from God, he could do nothing, the Pharisees throw him out of the synagogue. Later Jesus states, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

The Pharisees could not see beyond the obvious—Jesus broke the Law by healing on the Sabbath, therefore he could not be good. Samuel had trouble seeing past the strength and good looks of Jesse’s older sons. It can be easy to see superficially and make assumptions. The panhandler must be a drug addict or the grumpy clerk must be an unfriendly person. Really seeing, as God does, means we recognize that there is more than one side to each story and each and everyone is a beloved child of God.

Recognizing that is the start of living as children of light as the Epistle (Ephesians 5:8-14) urges. We are to live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Seeing through the eyes of God helps us see the table [prepared] before me…[and the] cup running over with good things. We recognize your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. More importantly, the table is not just for me or for you. It is for everyone. The bountiful cup is poured out to all people. God’s goodness and mercy are available without restriction or rules or boundaries. Such is the Good News of God.

Whether you envision a table of PB and J sandwiches, the Eucharistic table, the Last Supper, the table at the end of the world from CS Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader (like the image) —the love of God provides what we need! You might want to ask God to show you the Table prepared for all people and help you discern how to work to share the cup of God’s blessing with everyone.

Psalm 23 1 The Lord is my shepherd; * I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures * and leads me beside still waters. 3 He revives my soul * and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake. 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; * for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; * you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. 6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, * and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Book of Common Prayer)

You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. 2 You let me rest in fields of green grass. You lead me to streams of peaceful water, 3 and you refresh my life. You are true to your name, and you lead me along the right paths. 4 I may walk through valleys as dark as death, but I won't be afraid. You are with me, and your shepherd's rod makes me feel safe. 5 You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch. You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows. 6 Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord. (Contemporary English Version)

New Year's Wish

 

As we enter a New Year, may you be 

Blessed by the Light of God's Love.

Advent 2: Preparing

 This Advent readers are invited to look at the Sunday readings (from the Revised Common Lectionary) and consider where and how we are part of the long and ongoing Sacred Story of God’s work in the world. Some suggestions can be found in last week’s post.

Readings for Advent 2

Isaiah 11:1-10

1A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Romans 15:4-13

4For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”; 10and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”; 11and again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”; 12and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.” 13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:1-12

1In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” 4Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9Do not presume 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. 10Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Summary Reflection

This trio of lessons invites me to think about preparing my heart by reflection on God’s revelation in scripture. Isaiah tells us that when the shoot from the stump of Jesse comes there will be judgment, and the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Our lesson from Romans promises by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. Christ welcomes all—Gentile and Jew. For the Gentile believers in the early church this was an amazing promise. To us it may be an invitation to be more welcoming ourselves to those we may look at as outsiders. In the will of God there is joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel reading tells of John the Baptist calling for a change of direction (repentance) from the crowds that came to hear him. He warns that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. In other words, there is no one and no group who can claim God prefers them to another. As we look at the divisions among us today as a society and even in our churches, we might do well to ponder how we are called to include rather than exclude. We may want to take this season of preparation as a time to look inward at the walls we build and then reach outward beyond those walls.

Response

Advent is about preparing our hearts. We can do that by meditating on scripture and by acting in love. What do these lessons say to you? Are there ways you can build up community within and beyond any groups you are involved in? Who are we excluding, on purpose or through blindness?

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

 It seems fitting that this Beatitude falls on the day before Valentine’s Day. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God is a lovely promise. Of course we all like to think of hearts around Valentine’s Day, too. What does ‘pure in heart’ mean, and who is Jesus referring to?

Commentators like Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers note, “The purity…is not…[like the Pharisees] outward and ceremonial, [nor limited to]…sensual sin; but it excluded every element of baseness—the impurity of hate or greed of gain, no less than that of lust.”

Jesus was especially critical of those who practiced outward piety but didn’t have a true relationship to God. In Matthew 23 he confronts and warns the religious leaders, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat… but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach…you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them…Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess...you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth...

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were not ‘pure in heart’. Yet, they were sure that they were doing exactly what God wanted by following all the proper rules. Br. James Woodrum of the Society of St. John Evangelist (SSJE) noted last January, “Jesus' message was that holiness was not determined by being set apart as morally superior to others but rather by exhibiting the highest attribute of God, what was known in Hebrew as chesed, which is translated as loving-kindness or compassion. This is what Jesus exhibited in each of these encounters with the Scribes and Pharisees. These men, groomed since a young age to shepherd their flock, did not recognize the characteristic that most defined the God to whom they belonged. This is what pained Jesus so intensely...” 

Jesus calls the Scribes and Pharisees “whitewashed tombs” because they didn't understand God's love and mercy. I know I can fall into the trap of thinking that going to church and being charitable and following rules is the key to being on God’s good side. I forget to practice chesed. When I really examine my conscience, I find that there are some dead bones lurking around. Those bones of festering biases and hatreds which I try to keep hidden but secretly nurture keep me from being ‘pure in heart’.

What can I do, what can we do to clean out those old bones? The Letter to the Hebrews counsels, pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). The Old Testament reminds us that we have a faithful God keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments (Deuteronomy 7:9). Love isn’t sentimental or soft and fuzzy, despite all the messages to the contrary around this time of year. Love is a deliberate intention to see each other through God’s eyes, even if we really don’t want to be friends. Like the penguin in the image, we may find it difficult at times (or often), but God asks us to persevere.

As Presiding Bishop Curry says regularly, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.” Love, peace, mercy and more love—even for the ones we would rather not like, maybe that’s the key to having pure hearts this Valentine’s weekend. 

Is there a festering bone or two you may want to clean out?

Who might you try to love, even if you don’t like them?

Christmas: Love

 In the well-known Thirteenth Chapter of 1 Corinthians St. Paul notes that Faith, Hope, Love remain and the greatest of these is love. Having looked at Kindness, Peace, Joy, and Hope over this Advent season, we now come to the core—to Love. To the “Reason for the Season” as popular memes put it.

Love—this is not a hearts and flowers sentimental, commercialized version where everything looks like a Currier and Ives Christmas painting with everything pristine and white and happy.

The Love of God is something much different. It is the promise found in Isaiah 11:1-10 which imagines a world where the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them…They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain… Speaking about this promise, Br.James Koester of the Society of St. John the Evangelist says, “As Christians, we wait not so much for Christmas, as for the day when God will reorder all creation, so that predator and prey will live in harmony, and the most vulnerable will live in peace and security. This is the vision of Isaiah, and the hope of Advent. It is the work of Jesus, and the prayer of the faithful.” 

The Love of God looks like a Jewish baby born into a humble family in the midst of a world held in tenuous peace only through the might of Roman occupiers.  

The Love of God looks like a teenage girl saying ‘Yes’ to the unimaginable and even dangerous task of bearing a child into the world of oppression and danger.

The Love of God looks like a foster-father racing with his small family to Egypt to save their lives.

The Love of God is the found in Jeremiah’s call to action that tells us For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope (Jeremiah 20:11). We are part of bringing the Love of God to the hurt and brokenness of our world. Our world of pandemic and division and racism and fear and hopelessness hopes for a new way, a true hope, a real Love.

The Love of God is, as Presiding Bishop Curry noted in an interview in October, “[when] people to build relationships across differences and face painful truths…'How do we talk about love to people who don't want it?' he was asked. 'Love them anyway.'” 

The Love of God is you and me seeking to acknowledge, forgive, and heal our own woundedness so that we can see everyone (even those we don’t like or even fear) as bearing the imprint of the Holy and deserving of the same Love we crave.

The Love of God can be found in the small acts of kindness, peace, joy, and hope that we offer one another daily. Let’s enter the new year with the intention to build up and not tear down, to heal and not rend, to offer an open hand and not a closed fist.

May your Christmas be filled with the Love of God.

Image by Laura James on Pinterest

Story: Meeting

 Since the end of May, the beginning of the church season of Pentecost, I’ve been thinking about how our Words and our Stories (personal and corporate) impact our lives and interactions and belief systems. These in turn can define how we identify one another, and even the ways we may label someone who is different or has a different story as ‘wrong’ or even ‘evil’.

There is so much division over what may seem like small, obvious, or even petty things from one person’s viewpoint, but which are of valid and deep importance for someone else. Whether to wear a mask or not, getting or not getting a vaccine, how things have changed over the past year, due to COVID, and what will the ‘new norm’ look like, buying meds or groceries. The list goes on and on because we all have things that are important to us, that may not be important to others. 

It is so easy to judge someone else's choices or decisions based on superficial things, and our own way of looking at the world. When we look with God's love and God's eyes, we can learn compassion and have greater understanding of each Story. And we can remember that each story is part of the total STORY of God's love and work in the world, even those we might initially categorize as wrong or strange. 

How do we get past our initial reaction that is based in our own Story? I think one way is to step outside our comfort zone, to meet and interact with people we don’t know. Believe me, that is something I find very difficult and extremely uncomfortable. I don’t like to be vulnerable or feel that I am not in control of a situation. I don’t think we can force a meeting like this, though.

We can’t just walk up to a stranger and ask their life story. As the image says, we can always act with love and compassion. “If you see someone falling behind, beside them. If you see someone being ignored, find a way to include them. Always remind people of their worth. One small act could mean the world to them.” My small smile might open the door to a further conversation later.  Maybe the ‘hello’ to the neighbor who is of a different ethnic background or race helps you start a conversation later.  

I think it comes down to what Br. Nicholas Bartoli (SSJE) says in his July 11, 2020 post: “For Jesus, defeating your enemy had nothing to do with swords or armor. No, the only true way to defeat an enemy, even if the enemy is just an idea or way of thinking, is to accept the enemy, in love and compassion, until we stop seeing an enemy at all…After some prayer and consideration, and in keeping with Jesus’ core teachings, I came up with five gifts of the spirit which would prove helpful on the spiritual battleground: love, compassion, wisdom, courage, and grace. First of all, we have love, and by love, I mean God’s Love with a capital “L,” not just the pleasant emotion. God’s Love means accepting something, just as it is, with our whole heart. Second, we have compassion which means to suffer with. Assuming we’re gazing upon something, say an enemy, in Love, then compassion easily follows. In accepting someone fully as they are we not only see the story we create about their role in our pain and suffering, but we see their pain and suffering as well. Third, there’s wisdom…seeing God’s truth in the world whatever the source. With wisdom we see that we could be doing a lot better practicing the Love and compassion of Jesus. With wisdom we see clearly and humbly our need to fully accept ourselves, Love ourselves, and have compassion for ourselves.  Fourth, we have courage. It takes courage to follow wisdom wherever it leads, because wisdom will bring to light unpleasant or painful shadows, within ourselves and others. It takes courage to Love our enemies when hate can be deceptively attractive. It takes courage to feel compassion for our neighbors, leaving our hearts open to their pain. And…grace. This one is cheating a little, really, since God’s grace isn’t a personal attribute. Still, it might be the most important stone, because it’s only by God’s grace that we can hope to see the fruit of those other four. All we can do is admit our reliance on grace, and thus let ourselves be open to God’s gift.” Defeating Enemies – Br. Nicholas Bartoli – SSJE

To start a journey of hearing and understanding one another, we first need to meet and get to know each other using love, compassion, courage, wisdom and grace. To really do that that we have to Listen. We’ll think about that next time.

Words: Impact

 The Fifty Days of Easter are past, and Pentecost was celebrated last Sunday. As we move into what is often called “Ordinary Time”, we may let the grand events of Easter and Pentecost slip into the background. It’s “Ordinary Time” after all, right, when everything rolls along in a settled pattern? In fact, this time is anything but Ordinary. It’s when the real work of Kingdom building happens. It’s time planting and nurturing new growth of Love and Life and Hope to usher in the new Creation. In his Pentecost sermon, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church, called for a Revolution of Love to reshape the world.  

How might we be love as we start to emerge into a world traumatized by so many deaths, so much inequality, so much trauma? What will “Ordinary Time” look like as we move out of our COVID restrictions and begin to move about in a world that is trying to be the same as before a year of upheaval? Can we really go back to “the way things were before”, to the “normal” that existed in 2019? Do we want to put on the blinders that kept us happily oblivious of the inequities and injustices that have be highlighted in the past 15 months? Or do we want to work for a new creation?

Maybe it starts with simply being aware of what message(s) we are conveying with our Words… Words can be spoken in anger, or to demean, or to suppress, or to inflict hurt. Words can also mend, restore, encourage, bless, and offer hope.

I found myself struggling with the onslaught of rhetoric that was prevalent even before COVID. I hear the many voices that challenge one another and cause division with great sorrow. There is so much good that could be done if we could pause and remember that our Words have great impact. As the image from Facebook says, “Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten.”

Christian singer Leanna Crawford has a recent hit called Mean Girls. She sings, Mean girls don't remember what they said/ Well, it's funny 'cause I can't seem to forget/ Their whispers opened up the door/ To a world called insecure…Stick and stones may break my bones/ But no one ever warned me about words. (527) Leanna Crawford - Mean Girls (Official Music Video) - YouTube

It is so true that simple words can leave scars. We can antagonize just by the way we phrase a response, or by the tone of voice. Like the ‘mean girls’ we may not even know that we’ve hurt someone. As the picture notes, “We must think before we speak.”

Offering hope and love in our words means we have to be intentional about what and how we speak (or write). We have to pause and ask if God is speaking through our words, through the way we respond to each Facebook post, or to the clerk in the store, or the person cutting us off in traffic. It means we need to stay connected to the One who is all Love. Jesus said Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. The pressures of daily life can make us snappy or snippy. Taking time with God can reconnect us to Love. In her song, Leanna Crawford sings, Lord, I need to you find me and remind me that my worth/ Is worth so much more than their words.

Like Eliza Doolittle in the 1960’s musical My Fair Lady, I get frustrated with all the Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words! I get words all day through; First from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?...Show me… Eliza is challenging her suitor, Freddy, to act. In the world right now, it can feel like no one is taking any action because each of us is so busy pushing our own agenda, no matter what that might be. Too often we can’t even agree that the ‘other side’ has anything good or important to add to the discussion. We repeat misinformation to discredit those we disagree with, or we cover our own insecurities with lots of words that are rationalizations or our own narrow viewpoint.

When I feel overwhelmed, I sense the Spirit nudging me to be more gentle with my own words. I can be more aware and change the Words I use. The image in this post is a reminder that I need to pause more often to ask the five questions:
Is it True?
Is it Helpful?
Is it Inspiring?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind?

I would suggest another question: Does it express God’s Love?

When we can turn from the loud voices around us and seek some quiet to listen to and for God, we get a new perspective. In the May 21 ThyKingdom Come reflection, the author noted, “When we do come to God. Or when we return to God…Or when we see in each other a love that holds and sustains us. And when we know we are loved, the only real response is silence. There is a place beyond words, where the heart rests in peace, in the knowledge of being known and loved. Not all of us experience such love in our lives.  Some of us have been very damaged by life’s injustices. But the love we receive from Jesus, the love that is from God, is secure. It is waiting for us the other side of words. We only need to turn.

I today with this prayer from the May 21 Thy Kingdom Come reflection. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be exploring how Words define our Story, our Culture and where Listening might take us.

Loving God, our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you. Hold me, for the storms are raging and the waves crash over. Be my rest and my security. And even though human touch and human love is so beautiful and so longed for, help me to know today that it comes from you and, like everything that is good and beautiful, will return to you in the silence of your eternal and never changing love. Be with me as I hold myself and hold others in your embrace. Amen.

Epiphany: Liberty

 We continue with our contemplation of Isaiah 61:1-4 as we come to the end of verse 1. Isaiah says we are to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. This admonition comes directly after we hear that we are to bind up the brokenhearted. We each carry our own wounds that can effectively keep up imprisoned in the ‘old ways’. How can we proclaim liberty to ourselves and to others? Perhaps it begins as we 'bind up the brokenhearted'. 

At the start of each new year many of us make resolutions to change those ‘old ways’ and lose weight, be more organized, exercise…the list is infinite. Yet, now four weeks into 2021, how many of us have already abandoned those good intentions? We have put ourselves back into the prisons of our own making. We have returned to the ‘norm’ because it’s familiar, even if it’s not comfortable (or healthy).

God wants us to be free. During his life and ministry, Jesus freed many men and women from their prisons of demonic possession, ill health, and loss. When Jesus said Follow me to the disciples he freed them from their normal routine and started them on a path of change and transformation.

It’s not enough to just be freed from our own prisons, we have to actively work to free others from their prisons. Those can be actual prison walls, they can be sickness, they can be discrimination and injustice. Again, the list is endless.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry notes that it is not an easy road. In talking about his faith journey regarding homosexual marriage, he says “My only challenge was learning how to receive anger and not give it back in return. I needed to do something very difficult: to stand and kneel at the same time. I needed to stand in my conviction, laying out what I believed and why. And when the response was anger, I needed to learn to kneel before it. Believe me, standing in self-righteousness is so much easier. But when you’re facing someone else who feels as strongly in their conviction as you do, anger Is totally unproductive. Actually it’s counterproductive. You’ve got to create space for the other person.”  (Love is the Way, 2020, pg. 181)

As Curry says, it’s easier to demand that our voice be heard and that our view is acknowledged as right. He notes, “This isn’t easy, and it’s even harder if the anger is coming at you from people you love and cherish…I could only do what I believed to be right as best I could discern it.” (Love is the Way, 2020, pg. 182)

Howard Thurman, theologian and civil rights leader, preached a sermon in which he said, “Look well to the growing edge. All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit.

Such is the growing edge. It is the extra breath from the exhausted lung, the one more thing to try when all else has failed, the upward reach of life when weariness closes in upon all endeavor. This is the basis of hope in moments of despair, the incentive to carry on when times are out of joint and men and women have lost their reason, the source of confidence when worlds crash and dreams whiten into ash. Such is the growing edge incarnate. Look well to the growing edge.” 

Bishop John L Selders, Jr. (United Church of Christ) reads the excerpt. 

The Growing Edge is where new life is found. It is where our dreams and hopes begin to flower. It is where we can find a way forward. We may see only the “darkness of the earth”. Then, we can begin to look around for the roots working for “a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit.”

Even in the seeming darkness of pandemic, social distancing, violence and discord we can look for new life, new growth, change, and hope.

As we, individually and as communities and as a nation, attempt to move toward a time of healing and freeing, we must keep in mind that we do not know all the answers and that others have valid viewpoints. Let’s pray for one another, not to change their minds, but because they are, as Michael Curry notes, “children of God. The same love that made space for Michael Curry and Bishop Robinson could makes space for them, too. We are all children of God.” (Love is the Way, 2020, pg. 182)

As we proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners, we are really setting ourselves free to live more fully the whole and holy life God desires for us. We can be the growing edge. We can be the ones who make space for change and growth.

What walls of fear or hopelessness keep you captive? Look for the roots bringing new life. Search for the growing edge and focus on that for yourself and for others.

Is there someone you disagree with? Pray for them, remembering they are a child of God.

A Time for War; A Time for Peace

 Since Pentecost we’ve been looking at Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. We traveled a long way, from birth and death to weeping and dancing to losing and being silent. Last week, we considered how love and hate both impact our lives, and how the greatest of these is love.

The final phrase speaks of a time for war and a time for peace. The Rt. Rev. Michael Hunn, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, stated before the election that politics and democracy are not supposed to be like a war. He said, “It’s not winner take all [like in the Super Bowl or World Series or battle].”    

In his acceptance speech, President-Elect Joe Biden quoted other leaders who said similar things. President Abraham ended his First Inaugural Address in 1861 by saying, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

History tells us that his words did not stop the bloody Civil War where brother fought brother, and left deep wounds that are still felt today. However, as the online Pulpit Commentary says, “The second clause [of Ecclesiastes 3:8] has to do with national concerns, and touches on the statesmanship which discovers the necessity or the opportuneness of war and peace, and acts accordingly…the lesson intended is this--that man is not independent; that under all circumstances and relations he is in the hand of a power mightier than himself, which frames time and seasons according to its own good pleasure. God holds the threads of human life…Koheleth [author of Ecclesiastes] never denies man's liberty, though he is very earnest in asserting God's sovereignty.”

We say that we believe God is ultimately in control. As Julian of Norwich’s famous quote from Revelations of Divine Love says, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” As humans we may sin by killing, tearing down relationships, sowing hate or causing grief. However, in the end, God promises that we can find peace in our hearts. God has the final say.

Wars have been fought for territory and for greed. They have been waged to gain or keep power. There have been conflicts because of conflicting ideology. There are even plenty of wars mentioned in the Old Testament. Divisions caused by differences can run deep-deep enough to cause rage and ultimately war. 

In contrast, both Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 promise, God will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war.

This powerful image of the bronze sculpture "Let Us Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares" by Soviet artist Evgeny Vuchetich is in the North Garden of UN Headquarters. It was presented to the United Nations on December 4, 1959 by the USSR. The sculpture is meant to symbolize man's desire to put an end to war, and to convert the means of destruction into creative tools for the benefit of mankind.”

Psalm 46: 9-11 tells us God makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.’ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Our day-to-day lives are not meant to be lived at war with each other. We don’t need to fight over ideas or skin color or who is right. Instead, we should look to the God of love who makes wars to cease and commands us to love your neighbor as yourself.

The National Cathedral has been using the Prayer of St. Francis (make me an instrument of your peace) since early October. You may want to add this to your prayer time, too.

Where can you make peace today?

In what way can you listen to someone who has differing views?

Next week is Thanksgiving. Take time this week to consider some of the blessings of the past year. It’s been a wild ride in 2020, but there are bright spots. Look for those!