A Crash Landing!
Forty six years ago today I was ordained a priest of the Church at St. Luke's, Malden, alas a congregation no longer with us. It was snowing to beat the band that day. My buddy Graham drove in safely from Detroit, but the Bishop got stuck in a snow bank in Newton. Bob Legon ran out of music to play on the pipe organ so he was playing "Moonlight and Roses" by the time Bishop Burgess arrived. He was the first Black Bishop in the Episcopal Church, and I asked Kitty Rippy to sing "Precious Lord". Tony Garratt Reed was there and he and later his family were to become life long friends. And so I greet this Gaudete Sunday with Rejoicing.
No sooner do I say that but we coming crash landing into the ferocious words of John the Baptist with his “in your face” confrontational style; “You brood of vipers!” His way of calling us a bunch of snakes in the grass. Now, that’s a fine how do you do!
Compare and contrast that with the tone we hear in today’s other Scriptures. We hear of Joy as we light the Rose Candle on our Advent Wreath. This is why we call the day Gaudete Sunday…the word “Gaudete” means “Rejoice”.
The prophet Zephaniah writes of Joy;
“Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you”
In the Canticle we sing of Joy;
“Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One.”
Similarly Paul in his letter to the Christian folk in Philippi writes;
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”
But then the collect of the day says; “Stir up your power, and with great might come among us, and because we are sorely hindered by our sins, come speedily to deliver us.”
The Joy of Advent, the Rejoicing with which we greet this day, is in stark contrast to the reality of our sin.
There is much suffering and sorrow still. God knows violence, injustice, and oppression are always and everywhere. So it was when John came to announce the Advent of Jesus.
And he rightly confronted the powers of darkness within us; he knew we are sorely hindered by our sins; “You brood of vipers”; he called us. Ouch!
John uses harsh language and dire warnings to catch the attention of his listeners. We may need to be shaken up a bit out of our complacency. Then, just a jarringly, what he asks of us is really quite reasonable; all he asks of us is “be generous and honest”
If you have more clothing or food than you need, share.
Tax collectors, be fair.
Soldiers, no threats or extortion, be happy with a fair wage.
Mind you, we are indeed sorely hindered by our sins, and we often find ourselves spinning our wheels while the world spins on in its own sinful circles.
How do we indeed allow God’s Grace to speedily come to our aid so that we may become agents of God’s loving justice and compassion?
The first thing John reminds us of is that we cannot leave it up to God to do it all alone. We are God’s ambassadors. If there is to be peace with justice we will have to be the ones to make it so. If there is to be a cessation of violence, it will be up to us. There are still many hearts to be changed before Peace can reign supreme and secure in the human heart.
Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shootings. That day 26 innocent children lost their lives. Many of us vowed, never again. But since that day there have been 1919 more mass shootings. (By way of reference, here is a listing of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history.
Like the kids in Parkland, Florida I don’t want prayer any more. What I want is to protect our children, our young people, ourselves. I want action. Congress has taken none. Many states have begun a patchwork of laws to help curb gun violence. But we alone among western democracies have yet to develop a robust regulatory regimen to stem the tide of gun violence.
I suppose if I say too much on the subject, I may have my head handed me on a platter, much like John the Baptist did when he raised his voice at the Advent of Jesus.
In the meantime all I would ask for is the application of the Second Amendment themselves which begins with the words; “A well regulated militia…” There, that’s all I’m asking for…”a well regulated militia”.
Alas, in our public discourse, we are not likely to engage in conversation about all this without tempers flaring. We are not a skilled people when it comes to the art of conversation. We are more adept at confrontation, much like John himself. We tend to engage in name calling.
What makes me rejoice is the Advent of Jesus. Jesus is the One who will sit down with us first and spend hours listening. His teaching comes later. He listens first to his own inner demons in the wilderness forty days and forty nights. Then he listens to the heartache of the sick, and the poor, the bereaved, the mentally ill, and the outcast. It is with these that his love and healing touch begins.
Only then does Jesus teach. And his sermons are filled with Blessings and Beatitudes. He proclaims a message of Peace that strikes to the heart of our deepest yearnings.
A yearning for forgiveness, love, and reconciliation. These are the most powerful words in the human heart, but they are also the most difficult to achieve. Forgiveness, love and reconciliation are experiences that only Jesus seems to master. If only we could do as Jesus does.
All across the world, in our families, our communities, our politics, there are so many divisions, Jesus asks us; “love one another”. Race, class, nationality, gender, orientation and so on, “forgive one another”. When God sees the world there are no borders, no walls. We are all one. You’ve seen the satellite images of this fragile earth, our island home; “Be reconciled to one another”.
John may see us as a brood of vipers. But Jesus sees us as a much more lovable lot than that. He delights in us. There are no outcasts for Jesus. No poor. No sick. No Republicans or Democrats. No distinctions whatsoever.
That’s how Jesus is different. There are simply no exceptions. He is not happy until all our sins are forgiven. That’s the mystery of the cross to me.
Today marks the 46th Anniversary of my ordination as a Parish Priest. I got to thinking about all this not so long ago. All the congregations I’ve served, all the people I’ve known and loved. All the Baptisms, Marriages, Burial; Hospital Visits, Office Visits and the way folks pour out their hearts and souls to me and to God.
And then I wrote these words:
“St. Peter,
Let me make this plain and simple.
"If there's a heaven and somehow I feel sure there's bound to be",
I'm not going into the place until you're all in there first.
Period.
All of you.
You are witnesses, today; I’m saying it right out loud in front of God and everybody.
So please...
Love one another.
Forgive one another.
Be reconciled to one another.
That's our work.
I'm not going into heaven until the work is done.
So please...
Love one another.
Forgive one another.
Be reconciled to one another.
That's our work.
I'm not going into heaven until the work is done.
So, please don’t keep me waiting too, too long.
I love you all too much to leave anyone out.
So get busy with the work that has to be done!
There.
I said it.
In black and white.
Hold me back until everyone else is in...
Got that Peter!”
I love you all too much to leave anyone out.
So get busy with the work that has to be done!
There.
I said it.
In black and white.
Hold me back until everyone else is in...
Got that Peter!”
ll I’m saying to you is what Jesus said to us before me.
“Love one another.”
This above all else will Rejoice God’s heart.
In the Name of God; the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.
Fr Paul.
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