July 19: A Living Sanctuary

Proper 11 b

2 Samuel 7:1-14a; Psalm 89: 20-37; Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Each one of us is an incomplete puzzle.  We do not always know what pieces are missing.  Sometimes we don’t even recognize that there are missing pieces.  But God knows.  Since God has the gift of the long view, the panoramic vision, God knows what pieces we need.  And God sends them our way.  Sometimes we recognize the pieces of our peace as they arrive, and sometimes we don’t.  Sometimes we mistreat them, embrace them,  refuse them, or simply ignore them. The Good News is that God just keeps on sending us the pieces we need. 

These pieces of our peace puzzle, our wholeness, they come in the form of people who shape us, who change our way of seeing, who transform our understanding; people who help us to see beauty, who help us to know comfort; people who help us to be able to give thanks and to sing praise.

God also sends us pieces of our wholeness in the form of rituals, of practices, in the form of bread, wine, and oil which restore our knowing of who we are and whose we are.  These pieces realign us with Jesus---the One in whose footsteps we walk.

And as we walk this way with Jesus-- as we take part in practices, as we serve others, as we spend time with God, and as we are served and fed ourselves – our hearts are softened, our eyes are opened, our hearing becomes tuned to God’s frequency, and we begin to recognize the richness of community, the need to be bound to one another as the Holy Spirit knits us with our fellow pilgrims.  In this life of discipleship, this flourishing of our faith, we are re-bound and made whole.

Beloved, our health, our wealth, our status, and our occupations --- they can either be tools to help us gain our wholeness or they can be obstacles.  They can either be tools to help others gain their wholeness or they can be obstacles put in others’ way toward wholeness.  But, in and of themselves, health, wealth, status and occupations do not comprise our wholeness. How we think of these things, how we allow them to affect our hearts, our spirits, our vision determines whether or not they are tools or obstacles for us and others.  But, our wholeness, our shalom and peace, come simply and completely from our connectedness to God and to one another.  Each of us a piece of the whole---each of us a piece of one another’s shalom, just as the other is a piece of our shalom.  A beautiful mosaic.

A mosaic that is the dwelling place of God.  As we allow these disparate and varied pieces to restore our peace, as we allow ourselves to be touched and healed by Jesus, we are fashioned into God’s household, becoming a sanctuary---where God dwells—a thin place where others experience and know God.

Today, the Word reminds us of our Truth that, if we choose, we can be empowered, inspired and equipped to live our shalom and become God’s dwelling place.  Sanctuary: A place where all can find refuge, restoration, and life.

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.

With thanksgiving, we’ll be a living sanctuary for you.

Sunday, July 12: Prophets Among Us

Proper 10 b

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Psalm 24
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29

That’s the problem with prophets---they always tell you exactly what you don’t want to hear.  They point to your missteps, letting you know how far you have wandered off the right track into the weeds.  They remind you of the truths that you have been actively and vigorously trying to ignore.  Sheesh.

Herod and Herodias didn’t want to be reminded that they were living completely for their own selves, their own pleasures, and seeking more and more of their own power.  Being a prophet, John would have none of it.  He would not ease up; he continued to shine the light on their darkness.  So, they did what we humans often do: they tried to quench the light instead of lighten the darkness.

Now, let’s not get self-righteous here; we do exactly what Herod and Herodias do.  We may not cut off the heads of prophets, but we certainly do try to quiet the truth, quench the light that reveals our own dark places, and ignore the fullness of who we are called to be.

St. Paul reminds us that we are adopted as God’s children through Jesus---simply because God desires us to be God’s own.  And God’s plan is to gather up all things in him---all of Creation and all of us its creatures---are to be bound together for the glory of God.

And that’s the part we don’t always want to hear.  We are excited and pleased as punch that God has invited us to this Divine banquet and eternal party.  But, part of this truth is that God has also invited everyone else---everyone else.  And frankly, there are people on the guest list who we wish were not there.  Each one of us has people or peoples we would like to be exceptions to God’s grace and love.  All we need to do is look at history to see the times when individuals, nations, and yes, even the church, has decided they could strike someone or someones from God’s Guest List.

Whether it was heathens or foreigners, African slaves, Native Americans, those in power were certain THEY didn’t make the list.  During the Reformation it all depended who held the throne; sometimes the Roman Catholics were going to burn and sometimes the Protestants.  Humanity often wants to point to other belief systems, other Creeds, and religions (other than one’s own of course) as the THEY—the ones who are making the misstep.

Recently, in our more modern history, we have subjugated the Jews, the Muslims, the atheists, the addicted, the criminal, the terrorist, the gay, the trans, the liberal, the conservative, the this, the that as someone or someones we are pretty certain don’t make God’s Eternal Party List.

And we certainly do not take kindly to any prophets trying to tell us we are wrong.  We do not enjoy---it is not comfortable—to hear that not only are we invited to this Celebration, but so are all those we believe we are called to deny---thinking that somehow God has made us the great Gatekeeper.

But the only Gatekeeper here is Jesus.  Jesus is the Gate.  And in Jesus, through Jesus, God plans to gather up all things---all peoples---into the flock.  Everyone is invited to the party.  Everyone is worthy of being marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.  No one is unworthy of being made Holy through Christ.  No one. In Christ there is no us and them, there is only us.

Sure, we can point to pieces and parts of Scripture that seem to exclude a type, a group of people (and we have been really good at this throughout our history). We can find Scripture that seems to indicate there are people not holy enough to be on the Party list: Jews, non-believers, women, slaves, gay, divorced, anyone who doesn’t say out loud: Jesus is my Lord.  I can find, you can find, Scripture to back that up.

But, when we put down the magnifying lens required to find just the right piece of Scripture to back up our prejudice and instead take the longview of what we know about God’s love, grace and mercy as seen in the entirety of Scripture, then the Living Word points out our misstep, our mistaken understanding, the darkness we have allowed to shadow the Light.

From beginning to end, Scripture tells us all are invited to this forever banquet---God wants all to come and take part.

Genesis 1:31: God saw everything that God had made, and indeed it was very good.” 

Revelation, chapter 21: “See, the home of God is among mortals.  God will dwell with them as their God; they will be God’s people….And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’”

From beginning to end, there are no exceptions.  Of course, we can opt ourselves out; we can choose to not accept this as our truth. 

Or, we can see the shadow within ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to cast out those areas of darkness within us.  We can make ourselves vulnerable to the Holy Spirit and to the Christ in prayer; we can lay our hearts on the table as we come to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus; we can expose our rough places and allow them to made plain and smooth by gathering in community, by inviting in those who discomfort us, welcoming in the alien and stranger,  widening the space at the table so all can take their rightful place in God’s house---this dwelling of mortals we call Church.

Because as the Church, our role is to be a prophet---to shine the light of Christ into the darkness where people are being told they are not worthy, they are not holy---even when it is the Church herself who is doing the talking.  We can opt ourselves out of God’s grace, but we cannot opt out others.  We can deny ourselves the love of Christ, but we dare not deny it to others. For when we do, we are trying to quiet the Truth of God and we are quenching the light of Christ. 

Madeleine L’ Engle put it this way: “We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.”

As Prophets, let us live the truth.  Flannery O’Connor said: “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you odd.”  Let us dare to be odd.  Let us be bold enough to not quench the light---but to let it shine and lighten the darkness within and around us.  Let us live into the fullness of Christ and welcome all to the Party.  Shine, shine, shine in thanks for being invited.  Shine, shine, shine so that others will be drawn and join this Conga line for Jesus.  Shine, shine, shine for the sake of the fullness of this Body of Christ.  Shine, beloved, shine.

July 3: Two for one---days 8 and 9

I am sitting in the hotel room for the last night.  Bags mostly packed for an early jaunt (via Uta Trax) to the airport.  We just had our last meal together as a Diocesan deputation.  And what a wonderful group it was.  We are diverse--in age, in gender, in theological stances (not so much in race), and I wasn't sure how it was going to go (for me at least) to spend so many days together.  But, I can honestly say it was an incredible gift.  Their presence has changed me, and I believe for the better.  

One thing that has happened this General Convention that I was not expecting at all was this:  As a female Episcopal priest (fairly new---four years on July 9th) who is passionate about many items that get dubbed "the liberal agenda," I was set free.  Set free to be my true, whole, authentic self.  I was invited to worship with passion and abandon.  I was invited to share my voice and my beliefs---openly and honestly--and I was heard.  And, I was invited to listen to others' positions that counter mine---but in a way that wasn't condemning or self-righteous.  It has felt like I have come into my own here in these last 12 days.

Oh, don't get me wrong---I have a lot of growing to do.  And learning.  But, something has clicked here that I can't quite put into words.  I wonder if it will be noticeable?

One thing said at our gathering last night as a diocese is that part of the difference between this Convention and others in the past 10 years is that the fight is over.  Those whose views are the minority knew that coming in, and those whose view is the majority realized it very quickly (if they didn't also already know).  There was no need to brutalize one another with our words, our rejections, our vindications.  I am so glad I didn't have to see that---although I have felt and seen it in other places and at other times.  

This General Convention is about living into a new reality.  Yes, marriage is marriage in the Church--no gay or straight, just marriage.  Alleluia!  Yes, we made the structure a bit more nimble and ready to change (including preparing for Prayer Book and Hymnal revision).  I know we haven't gone as far as some hoped and we went further than some wanted, but as a body we were seeking to make changes that will enable us to live into this "Jesus Movement" our already beloved Presiding Bishop-Elect is calling us.  And, we began to put our money where our mouth is---evangelism, church planting, forming new disciples, raising up our young people and young adults---meeting people where they are instead of demanding they come find us.  EXCITING!  This is the stuff that makes my heart sing!  

Tonight the +Bishop asked for one highlight.  This is a hard request because there are so many.  Here is what I shared:  My "highlight" was all about the people on the margins.  I had two encounters (I wrote about one in this blog) with homeless men in this city.  Their presence, their eyes, their kindness and gentleness, it touched my heart.  Like the Grinch on the mountain when he realizes what it is all about, those few moments with those two beloved people of God made my heart grow larger.  And when the resolutions passed to change our definition of marriage and to offer marriage rites and the tears came to my eyes---but especially when people I love for whom these changes will make the most profound difference gave thanks for the work we have done in the church and how this will set them free----there are no words for that.  Well, maybe two: Blessed.  Grace.

These 12 days---yes, exhausting and long---but they have invigorated me and inspired me and filled me with hope.  Watch out Intercession Episcopal and Stevens Point. I am coming back on fire----aiming to fire you all up for Jesus!

Thanks for reading this.  I usually post my sermons here, but I think I may post a bit more regularly about a variety of things---but always about being a disciple.  This is what it is all about for me---following Jesus.  Knowing Jesus.  Loving Jesus.  Sharing Jesus.  It's such a richness and fullness and goodness. I hope you know this truth too; I hope it sings for you.  If not, I invite you to seek.  God is there, waiting.

With that, I bid you a peaceful and rest-filled night.  My your day on the morrow be filled with joy, love, goodness, and beauty.  Play well with others, make a positive difference in the world, always choose joy.  Jesus, we pray this in your name because we know you love it when we pray...........
Mother Jane

July 1: the Seventh Day: Why I Voted Yes

By now I am certain you know.  You know the Episcopal Church has passed a resolution to provide Marriage Rites for all couples--gay or straight.  You know the Episcopal Church has passed a resolution to change the canon to provide for Marriage in the Church for all couples---gay or straight.  Marriage is marriage in the Episcopal Church, not gay or straight, just marriage.

First of all, let me acknowledge that this is very painful for some of our brothers and sisters in Christ---perhaps some in your parish, my parish, and for certain, some in our Diocese and the greater church.  I regret their pain. It saddens me, and I deeply wish it were not so. But, as someone who voted for both resolutions to pass, and as someone who spoke for these resolutions to pass, let me explain why. 

While we in the Episcopal Church lean heavily on Scripture and Tradition to create our understandings of God and our relationship with God, sometimes we arrive in different places.  And the two opposing views about Scripture and Tradition on this issue have been conversing for 40 some years, and there is still a gap between our understandings on this issue.    

First of all, I take Scripture and Tradition both very seriously. And I have faith that those who disagree with me take both seriously as well. However, I do not think we will close the gap between our understandings on this issue through Scripture or Tradition.  I don't know if it will help the conversation, but here is how I got to where I am.

• In Genesis, God declares all of Creation to be very good.
• God declares Adam (which means humanity in Hebrew) should not be alone; we were made to be in relationship.
• God made a complementary partner for Adam---as Adam says: "Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone!"  Adam remarks that it is their humanity made in the image of the divine which makes them meant for one another. (Complementarity comes in many forms--not simply gender)
• The first covenantal couple we have in Scripture was a male and female.
• They were told to be fruitful and multiply.  I am certain at one time, the context of the people meant for this to be understood as: make more babies!  But with a world population that is out of control, too many children without parents or families, and a world beset with hunger and poverty, I truly do not believe that the God of life is still calling us to make more babies for the sake of the life and sustenance of God's people.  In our context (with poverty, drought, and the number of children neglected and orphaned), I believe God still calls us to multiply, but to multiply in building disciples who will care for these we are leaving behind.  
• In Leviticus, the admonitions against homosexual acts were spoken in a context of ritual behavior.  When we discuss marriage or relationships between same-gendered couples, we are not talking about a ritual behavior, but a relationship.  When we talk about other admonitions in Leviticus: planting two different kinds of seed in the same field, wearing a garment of two different materials, lying, eating raw meat (with blood in it), or "rounding off the hair on your temples," we recognize that these no longer apply for the context in which we live, and so we do not think that if we actually do one of these things (even the lying that is also found in the big 10) that we should be denied the ability to live out our true and full personhood. 

One piece of Scripture that isn't always taken in consideration in this debate is found in 1 Samuel, chapter 18.  Here we have another covenantal couple to consider: Jonathan and David.  "Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul." ---1 Samuel 18.

• And then we have Paul.  He is against homosexual acts---acts that, in his time, were about subjugating one person for another person's pleasure.  Now, I happen to be against those types of sexual acts as well---and they come in heterosexual and homosexual varieties.  But Paul wasn't considering covenantal, sacramental relationships; Paul was dismissing harmful sexual acts.
• Jesus said (in Matthew and Mark): “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  
• In fact, one of the Bishops brought this passage up in the House of Bishops' discussion the other day before they voted on the resolutions.  And then the Bishop said (and I paraphrase): That is what Jesus said. If he wanted to include other types of relationships, if he wanted to include same-sex relationships, he could have done so.  But he didn't.
• Here is where the Bishop who spoke (not my Bishop, by the way) and I disagree. You see I believe that Jesus has spoken, in particular, about this issue. I believe Jesus has spoken to our misunderstanding of this issue through our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. If they are Living Members of the Body of Christ (which we believe baptized people are), then they are speaking to their experience of what it means to live out a full and authentic personhood as a person who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer/questioning. I can't speak to that; I am not a lesbian or bisexual or transgender or queer/questioning. So I/we must listen to them.  When those of us who are not a part of this section of the Body of Christ speak to it, we are only speaking of our understanding, our belief. They are speaking to their lived experience.  They are telling us what it means to be the "LGBTQ" member of the Body of Christ. Yes, God is revealed in Word, but also in the incarnation---God made flesh. Our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are the Living members of the Body of Christ telling us that they too are called to live in covenantal, sacramental relationships. 
• So in the end, it comes back to Genesis (doesn't it always?).  God believes all of Creation and all God's created to be very good.  God made us to live in relationship; holy relationships with one another.  God asks us to multiply---I believe to multiply these holy relationships.  Because the more and more of God's created who live in covenantal relationships--which call us to turn outward toward the other rather than inward in self-centered love--the more and more this becomes God's Kingdom Come, God's will be done.
• I give thanks to God that the Episcopal Church has taken the necessary steps to tear down the obstacles that have prevented so many of our brothers and sisters from fully experiencing the grace of these Holy relationships.  
• I pray for our brothers and sisters who are hurt/angry/saddened by these actions.  I pray that they will not leave.  They are a member of this Body of Christ as well.  We need them, and they need us.  "Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone!"

These are my thoughts and beliefs as I can express them right now.  I may change my mind at some point; I may be wrong.  The best I can do is to continue to listen and discern, to grow and to change, and to leave my heart and mind open to the movement of the Spirit. If I am to err, I try to err on the side of inclusion in hopes that my acts and beliefs will draw more and more people to their rightful place in the Body of Christ instead of leaving someone behind. The good shepherd leaves the 99 in order to bring home the one.

So now, my friends, let us continue to be about the work of God in our world.  Let us turn our hearts and our minds, our gifts and our resources toward the continued healing of the world: rebuilding Black Churches that have been burned, providing clean water to our African brothers and sisters who live in drought, unoccupying Palestine and finding peace in the Middle East, feeding the hungry/sheltering the homeless/clothing the naked/caring for the sick everywhere.  Let us love God and love our neighbor and change this world as we know it. Love Heals Every Body (www.thistlefarms.org) One act, one word, one prayer at a time.

Peace and blessings, Mother Jane

And it was the Sixth Day: June 30

Well, yesterday was the sixth day, but we ain't done yet.  Friends, before I share my thoughts and reflections on the day, I ask that you continue to hold all in prayer.  We still have much before us and your prayers for grace and guidance are needed and appreciated!

What happened on Tuesday:

• After beginning my day with prayer and blogging, my day officially started with Eucharist.  Yesterday we celebrated James Weldon Johnson---he wrote "Lift Every Voice and Sing" which is the African-American anthem.  I love this hymn but had never encountered it until I went to Sewanee.  We sing it at Stevens Point's celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. every January.  I hope to be able to sing it at Intercession this year.  It is rousing, beautiful and inspirational!
• Our choir at worship was a young African-American choir---oh but it was soul-enriching, heart-lifting and delightful.  I hung out for about 30 minutes after the service ended because they continued to sing.  So glad I did; it was joy that was not to be missed.
• As I arrived at the first session of the day, a joint meeting with Bishops about the Marks of Mission, I received the news that our grandson has a heart murmur and a few other issues.  It sent me into a bit of a tailspin as he has been doing so well (he was born prematurely two weeks ago).  I immediately texted my fellow deputies and the Bishop and asked them for prayer.  The deputy next to me responded immediately with a gentle hand and some kleenex (we were being addressed, so I was trying to refrain from talking out loud to them all).  A few minutes later, we were invited to have discussions in our small groups.  The Bishop called for prayer for Greyson, his parents, and me.  Have I told you what a wonderful group of people I am with here at convention? I was blessed as the Spirit calmed my heart.
• We have a chaplain at the House of Deputies (who is so wonderful), and I was able to leave a message with him, so the entire House of Deputies is praying for restoration for Greyson and comfort for us all as well.  Again, the Church at work is a magnificent thing to behold and receive.  I pray this is a reality for you as well.
• I had lunch with Meg, always a treat, and then I went back to the Thistle Farms exhibit to purchase a stole.  It is quite beautiful and the money goes to Thistle Farms ministry (which I have already spoken about in this blog, but if you don't know about it yet, go here: www.thistlefarms.org), and to a women's ministry in Ecuador where they make the stoles.  I can't wait to wear the stole on Sunday and share its beauty with the people of Intercession (whom I miss).  I love when my purchasing power is leveraged to help others.
• Some of the members of our church family have had some serious health issues while I have been away.  It is always hard to be gone when you wish you were sitting at a bedside, holding a hand, and listening with another while you pray.  But, we have such wonderful people at Intercession who take their ministry to their brothers and sisters seriously.  All those in need are so well taken care of----living out the priesthood of all believers and the truth that we are all ministers in this Church!
• Our second session was long, but productive.  We had a special section on the Governance and Structure. At the last Convention, the people called for restructure, and the committees have responded.  There was a lot of listening and questioning.  The resolutions do ask for significant change, but the beautiful thing is: we don't have to get it absolutely right this first time.  We can change it again in three years if it is not working---or tweak---or adapt. After all, there will always be some change and need for flux in the church.  We did not vote on the resolutions last night, but should do so today.  Pray.
• The second round of resolutions about marriage come before us today; they have already been approved by the Bishops.  One is about changing the canon and one is about the liturgical rites to be offered.  I pray our discussions are filled with grace and that we continue moving forward to allow all members of the Body of Christ to live out their full and holy personhood within the Church.  Pray.
• The Sewanee dinner was last night; it was lovely.  Good food, met a lot of people (as I am one of the few from the Midwest), and heard about Sewanee's plans to put the seminary back in the center of the Campus.  A long day, but wonderful in many ways.  I pray your day was the same.

Well, I am off for day Seven.  No rest afterwards, but that's okay.  We have much work to do and with which great people to do it.  I continue to experience such grace as I am confronted with those with whom I disagree, those who may make me uncomfortable, those who "rub" up against my rough edges.  I think it was St. John of the Cross who defined this community of faith, of disciples, as a bag of stones who rub each other smooth.  Thank you, Jesus.

You know what I say: Play well with others; make a positive difference in the world; always choose joy!  Peace and blessings from afar:  Mother Jane+