Reflection on Psalm 119:105 - Word of God

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light upon my path.”  There is a reason why more Bibles are sold every year than any other book.  It not only talks about eternal salvation, but it lays out a plan for living out our lives here on earth.  It gives examples of both right and wrong ways of doing things.  It also points out that even when you don’t do everything exactly right, you can still be acceptable before God. 

    At ordination, an Episcopal priest declares that they believe the Bible to contain all things necessary to salvation.  Sometimes when I don’t have a clue about what I’m supposed to do and I yell out, “Oh God, what now?”  God’s word can be comforting.  It can be challenging.  It can place you in God’s presence and help you see that path God has chosen for you to travel.  And it is always time well spent reading and contemplating God’s word.

Reflections on Genesis 24

In our first lesson from Genesis 24, We see Isaac’s man-servant going out to find a wife for Isaac.  According to the instructions from Abraham, he is going only to Abraham’s kinsfolk.  As he approaches the neighborhood, he stops and prays to God to help him find a mate for Isaac.  And he doesn’t leave it open to interpretation.  He asks for a specific sign (that the woman who gives him water, will also offer to water his camels) so that he will know without a doubt that he has received an answer.  

As I was graduating from seminary, I was questioning what God was calling me to do and where he was calling me to be.  I thought I was going one place, but then John Logan, then Canon to the Ordinary, called and asked me to go interview in Huntsville for an assistant rector/campus minister position there.  I remember praying on the way to Huntsville asking for a sign.  I decided that the sign would be that I would be able to see outside from the nave.  When I walked into the nave, there were three clear glass windows on either side of the congregation and a large clear glass window behind the altar showing the forest behind it.  I had my answer.  

I don’t think that the sign we ask for is arbitrary.  I believe that God places that specific sign in our mind so that he can answer our question without a doubt.  If you don’t ask for a specific sign, it might be possible to miss (or misinterpret) God’s message for you.

Reflections on the Gospel reading

Today’s gospel reading (Matthew 10:24-39) is a continuation of last week.  Jesus is sending the disciples out to preach the good news in neighboring towns.  This is still part of the teaching and instructions before they leave.  He encourages them to be like him, and what he has taught them in secret, they are now to go out and proclaim it to all they meet.  They are not to be afraid of people who come up against them.  When they proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, there are people who will take exception and argue with them.  It might even be family members who work against you.  

But through it all you are to remember that God considers you precious in his sight and He will be with you.  The same is true for us, also.  It doesn’t really matter whether it is family members, friends or strangers, there are people who will not agree with us.  And it doesn’t have to be about God - people will take exception over religion, or sports, or politics or even about what is a good place to eat. Arguments will happen, friendships will be strained, but through it all, we are to remember that we belong to God.  We are made in his image and are his forever.  He will give us strength to meet the needs of the day, to find solutions for working together and he will be with us through it all

Reflections on Mountain top experiences

In our second lesson, Peter reports, "When we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty."  Eyewitnesses - that is how the word of Jesus was spread - through eyewitness accounts of what Jesus said and what he did.  "Up on the mountain we saw his glory, we heard the voice of God, and we saw Moses and Elijah."  

Mountains were often where people went to experience God.  I remember climbing the Lost Mine Trail in the Chisos mountains in Big Bend.  When we reached the top, there was an amazing view of the hills and valleys below reaching on to the mountains over the border in Mexico.  We got to experience a little bit of the view that God has.  Maybe it is the rarified air of the high mountains, but there is truly an experience of God as we begin to understand how great he is, and how insignificant we are.  And we begin to understand how blessed we are to have been given that glimpse of his glorious creation.  You may not have been to a high mountain, but those of us who have, can share that experience through retelling the story just and Peter and James and John.  God's glory was not just seen, but experienced, and the tale was retold over and over so that others might come be believe.

Reflection from Habakkuk

The first part of our lesson from Habakkuk is something of a lament.  Habakkuk is lamenting the destruction he sees coming into the land at the hands of the Babylonians, and he is bold enough to ask God why he has not taken care of the problems.  This means that we also can be bold enough to go to God when problems arise, both in our nation and the world, and when problems arise in our individual lives.  We also can cry out to God, for answers and for relief.

Habakkuk stations himself on the rampart - the watchpost to keep watch for the Lord - waiting for an answer to his complaint.  The Lord tells him, it's okay.  The Lord has heard the complaint and assures Habakkuk that the answer will come.  He is told to wait patiently for the hand of the Lord to move.  The time will come when all will be made right and our God will be seen as Lord of all.  He gives hope for the future.

I feel somewhat like Habakkuk.  I cry out to the Lord for the future of our nation.  I know that regardless of who wins this election, we are in for a rough and contentious 4 years. May God's mercy pour out on us and as followers of Jesus Christ, I ask everyone to pray for our nation and for its leaders; not telling God how to solve the problems, but asking him to work through whatever circumstances arise

A woman brought an alabaster jar of ointment - excerpt from today's sermon

A woman brought an alabaster jar of ointment and began to weep and wash his feet with her tears and anointed him with the oil.  The Pharisee who had invited Jesus thought if Jesus was a prophet, he should have known her sins and rebuked her. . .  From Luke 7

Pharisees get something of a raw deal in the gospels.  In truth, Simon is not really a bad person.  He has spent his whole life trying to live up to the laws handed down for generations - really trying to be the best Pharisee possible.  Remember that Pharisee wasn't a dirty word...  It's simply the name of a group of religious people.  Not much different from saying you are Episcopalian, or Baptist, or Catholic.  In that day the prominent groups were Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

But this attempt to be good has left Simon spiritually proud - unable to even imagine his need for God's forgiveness.  What Simon doesn't realize, is that God, who is perfect, sees all sin the same.  It is only on this earth, where no one is perfect, that we use comparisons to justify our actions, to elevate ourselves or to exclude certain others.

What we need to remember is that God's economy is based on mercy, not merit.  To God, we are all his children, all the same; some of us just need more forgiveness than others.  And Jesus is there for us - just like he was there for both Simon and for the woman.

How do we respond to Jesus?  Do we accept his invitation to lay our burdens at his feet?  Do we accept his forgiveness for our sins, both great and small?  Or do we take offense that he is generous with others whom we consider to be greater sinners?

Having a heart for God doesn't mean we will always get it right or do it right or be right, but it does mean we really do want to get it right, and when we figure out that we are wrong, we will acknowledge it, repent and try to turn our life around.

Making All Things New

The centerpiece for the Easter season readings is always the reading from Acts.  During this 50-day period from Easter to Pentecost, we have the opportunity to look at exactly how the disciples (now apostles) were affected by the death, resurrection, and post-resurrection encounters with Jesus.  They went from being a quivering mass of humanity hiding in the upper room, afraid of the Jews, to become bold witnesses for the risen Lord.

So let's start with our Gospel reading, which comes first time wise.  All the other gospels cover the last night of Jesus in one chapter or less, but the Gospel of John uses 4 chapters to tell everything Jesus talked about during this last night on earth.  This reading is from the first chapter in that upper room narrative.

First Jesus washed their feet, then predicted his death.  Judas left the group and now Jesus tells his disciples, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

(Reminds me of a song - And they'll know we are Christians by our love by our love, yes they'll know we are Christians by our love.)

Jesus had just given them an example of loving one another through the foot-washing.  More than anything else, it's an example of finding new ways to reach out to one another, but it doesn't end there.  We are to go on looking for ways to be Christian to one another (and as we see in the Acts lesson, to those who are not [yet] a part of us.)

So in our lesson from Acts, we have the 're-telling' of Peter's visit with Cornelius (a Gentile).  We don't necessarily have a good time line of these events - this may have been a few months after the resurrection, but (more likely) a few years.  Peter is defending his actions to a group of the apostles and believers in Jerusalem.

Let's start with Cornelius -- he is not a Jew - he is not a "Christian" (follower of 'The Way'.) -  Chapter 10 tells us that Cornelius was a Roman soldier - He was raised like other Roman citizens with the tradition of multiple gods like Jupiter, Apollo, Venus, and Mars.  But he has heard of this God of the Jews and he has been led to believe.  He was described as devout - he prayed daily and he gave generously to those in need.  And Peter, through his vision, came to understand that he was to accept Cornelius and to call no person unclean or profane.  This was a new idea (to be considered) - a new thing (to deal with.)

And when Peter spoke to Cornelius and his family and close friends, the Holy Spirit descended on them just as it had on the disciples at Pentecost.  And Peter tells his fellow apostles and believers, "If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us, who was I that I could hinder God?"

In other words, God is still doing a new thing - he is accepting people who have no previous experience with the Jewish religion.  That was a big thing at this point - the disciples believed that in order to follow and accept Jesus, you HAD to be a Jew.  And God was branching out and bringing others into this new sheepfold.  In Chapter 10, verse 16, Jesus told the disciples, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.  I must bring them also.  There will be one flock, one shepherd."

And I think this has a lot to say to Christians today.  Every time we want to limit who can be a member of this church, remember that Jesus gives us a new commandment and the Holy Spirit can lead even those from other faith traditions into knowledge and those who differ from us into belief.

How often do we hinder God by deciding for ourselves who God likes and who God dislikes?  In the Revelation to John, we hear a loud voice saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals.  He will dwell with them; they will be his people and God himself will be with them."  God is dwelling with mortals - humans - - - not Jews and not Christians - - -  All people.

How often in the gospels do we see neighbor and family being redefined?  From the Good Samaritan, to the story of Lazarus and the rich man, from entertaining angels unaware, and to the blessing of those who reach out to the poor, the hungry, the sick and those in prison.  God readily accepts the disenfranchised, the outcast, the untouchables.

One of my favorite movies in recent years is "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."  There is a lot of interplay between characters, concerning acceptance and rejection.  If you don't know the story, a group of retirees from England decide to travel to India to live because it is cheaper and their retirement funds will carry them further.  The young hotel owner, (Sonny Kapoor) played by Dev Patel, is something of a dreamer and an optimist.  He often quotes his favorite "saying," - - "Everything will be alright in the end.  If it's not alright, then it is not yet the end."

In our reading from Revelation, we hear, "And the one who was seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new.'"  God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end"  When we look around in our life and at the world around us, quite often it's not alright.  All you have to do is listen to the news on any given day to know the depth of evil that permeates this world.  God is not finished with it yet.  God is still working behind the scenes to bring about his kingdom on earth.  (Sometimes, I might wish he were a little more up-front about it.)  But God is not through - and He does promise that it will be alright in the end.

Things that are not so good happen in this world.  I have a friend who's 11 year old nephew died two weeks ago following a horrible 4-wheeler accident.  Nothing evil about it, but very poor judgement on the young boy's part.  Where is God in this?  He is holding that young man in heaven in His loving arms.  And He is working here on earth behind the scenes to bring about healing in a family torn by grief.  He is drawing them close - to one another and to God himself.

Remember, God is still working in and with all of us. - And if you look at the world around you and find that it is not alright, then remember, it is not yet the end.  God will make all things new, and when he says, "It is finished!" then it will be alright.  Amen.