"Consider the Lilies of the Field"

 “Consider the Lilies of the Field”

In Celebration of the Life of Bill Graham

A Meditation by Fr. Paul Bresnahan

Matthew 6:25-29 ~“Consider the Lilies of the Field”

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

“Consider the Lilies of the Field”

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow”.

This Gospel was written for an occasion like this.

Bill Graham spent a lifetime making things beautiful. He dedicated all that he had and all that he was so that he could scatter comfort and joy all around the North Shore well beyond anyone’s ability to calculate or measure. What a blessing he was to us. 

Even now I imagine him in a field of flowers gathering up a bouquet for his beloved. But that’s the friend and the priest in me talking. I can’t imagine anything better, unless, of course it were a shop on Essex Street in Salem. That really was lovely.

“Beautiful Things”. That’s what he called the shop. And it was exactly that. You could stop by anytime and there he was out back, surrounded by a grand clutter of flowers and greens and vases and what not of every manner under heaven. And by some miracle he’d pull things from hither and yon and voilà: there was something very beautiful indeed; a bouquet for the eyes and the nose and something about it all moved us to love.

That’s because Bill loved us. And so does Phil. In our particular case, when Cindy and I fell in love and married, Bill prepared the flowers for the wedding. Those flowers adorned the altar at Christ Church, Hyde Park on October 13,1979. And Phil sang. It was a glorious and unforgettable day! Thank you both!

Day in and day out. Year in and year out, you could count on Bill to be there and Phil too ready to greet you with warmth and affection Whatever the occasion, all you had to do was call in and tell Bill what you needed and he would go straight to work, his hands a blur and out of a menagerie of living things he’d gather another bouquet and prepare something special just for you.

So it was for many unforgettable days and special occasions for so many people. It could be the birth of a child, a wedding or an anniversary, the illness of a fried, the death of a loved one, a gesture of kindness, an expression of love, a request for forgiveness. You could always stop by or call in, and Bill was on it. Before you knew it there they were, delivered by my friend Phil. My best friend Phil. What a delight it was to to open the door and see that smile and those flowers.

Talk about beautiful things!

Thank you Bill

Thank you Phil

What a precious thing is life, friendship, love!

And family. I feel like I know you all well. You included Bill in all those Holidays; Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter and so on. Phil described those days to me in detail. In infinite detail. He knows every name, every important day in your lives, every school and workplace, every joy and sorrow. He loves every single one of you and so did Bill.  You made Bill family to you. Your kindness and love meant everything to him.

Thank you all. 

And to all his friends too many to number. How often you would stop by in the store just to say hello. You are a tribute to him and thank you for being here. I know how much you cared for him because I know how much he cared for you. 

Every single flower and every single one of us he touched spoke of that love. Not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as even one of these.

And then there came the illness. Even then he resolutely continued making beautiful things for as long as he could at the shop, in public speaking engagements, then at home. Only weeks ago he was baking cookies, doing needlepoint. Always something to make this old world a little more beautiful. 

The day he died, I visited Bill one last time. He was in extremis so I stayed with him for some time and said some prayers from my Celtic Prayer Book. I recited some lines from Morning Prayer

“One thing have I asked of the Lord. This is what I seek. 

That I may dwell in House of the Lord all the days of my life.

To behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his Holy Temple."

I have no idea whether he heard me or not but it always puts me at ease to pray. And besides the words seemed fitting.

I got up to leave but just then my buddy Phil arrived with some flowers, naturally. We visited. A kindly woman stopped by with a Golden Retriever named Rosie. It was delightful. Finally, I asked one last blessing: “The Peace of God which passes all understanding” Later that night Phil posted a picture of the seashore; “Good night my handsome” it said.

What next my friends? The priest in me must now speak to our faith as well as to our skepticism in all honesty, in all truth, and with a note of authority. 

You know my story Phil. You know what my grandmother said about all this. When my dad died at Christmas in 1953 I was only 8 years old. I wanted to know if I’d ever see him again. The “christians” in the family said my dad couldn’t go to heaven because he didn’t go to church. Thank God my uncle was an atheist. He told me not to worry because he said my dad would get to heaven a whole lot sooner than anybody in that crowd would.

My grandmother was the authority in the family on all matters theological. After all, she was the one who sent me to church.

So I asked her

“Ma, is there a God?"

“Of course there is” she said

“Ma, is there a Heaven?”

“Of course there is” she said.

Then I said; “Ma, Is my daddy there?” 

Ah there was a moment’s hesitation. After all she was a Yankee from Downeast Maine and my dad was an Irishman from Butman St in Beverly. And there was that nasty divorce. The prospect of spending an eternity with that man must have given her pause.

A lot was riding on what she did next. 

I remember it like it was yesterday

She knelt down right there on the kitchen floor in Somerville and held me close and said;

“Of course he is”

Because of that here I am today to proclaim the power of love over death whether we believe it or not, understand it or not.

There is a special place in God’s heart for Bill.

For you and me. For all. No exceptions. 

To prove it, here I am to embrace you with these words.

So consider the lilies of the field how they grow. From the dust of the earth they rise and live again. And not even Solomon in all his glory is arrayed as even one of these. That’s not just my uncle or my grandmother or me talking. That’s Jesus.

“Good night Bill”

“See you on the other side”

“Amen”.

In the Name of God, the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. 

Amen.

Holy Doubt

Holy Doubt

Allow me to introduce you to The Rt. Rev. Alexander Stewart, Bishop of Western Massachusetts from 1970-1984. He was always in a hurry, like I imagine the Apostle Paul might have been. There wasn’t a moment to loose. There are churches to visit, clergy and laity to train, conflicts to be resolved, and sermons to be preached. He always brought something for his listeners to read; homework, if you will. I first met him at a meeting of the Clerical Club of Boston. I was still “wet behind the ears” just breaking into my life as a parish priest. But I was impressed with our guest from the “other diocese” in the Commonwealth. He rose up to speak to us. He began with conviction and confidence.

His question; “What is the holiest moment of the Eucharist?

There were various answers.

Most of us ventured; “The moment at the altar rail when we receive the sacrament” That seemed reasonable, but Alex gave us a curt and corrective reply; “No!”

Someone else said; “Perhaps when we sing; Holy, Holy, Holy?” “No!”

Another proposed; “When we read the Gospel of Jesus?” NO!”

“When we offer the gifts of God for the people of God at the Altar of God?” “Absolutely not!!!”

Others ventured reasonable answers, but because he said “No” to all of them, we were reduced to guesswork.

We were puzzled and perplexed, at least I was.

Alex paused, and when he was sure he had our full attention he said; “The holiest moment of the Eucharist is the moment you leave the church. That’s when we find out what difference it makes for us to have been in touch with the Holy. For it is in the lives we live when we leave the church that the Gospel really comes to light!” 

Of course, you want to walk as a child of the light. And so do I. That’s what brings us together week by week. Like campers by a campfire, we sing our songs, we tell our stories, we bask in the warmth and glow of the fires of God. Then we set out for another week to our appointed rounds, we are confronted once again by reality, bruised by the rough and tumble of it, and then return to the warm, loving ring of fire: the Gospel of Jesus. Our spirits restored, we venture forth to life, to live it once more. We live the rhythm of it breathing in and breathing out the Breath of God in our lives.

The Collect of the Day prays us to be the ones who bear the “new covenant of reconciliation” in this world because “we have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body.” This is precisely what the Church is called to be, something born anew to the living hope of reconciliation. 

Still you and I know that the work and ministry of reconciliation can wear you down. Just try to negotiate peace in a family torn apart by feuds and hard feelings, try to be one who mediates a community of any sort in the midst of controversy or conflict. Is conversation even possible between Republicans and Democrats nowadays? Liberals and Conservatives? The two Koreas? Israel and Palestine? And so on and so on...

It is no wonder we come back together as we do today, to hear the words of Jesus; “Peace be with you.” Quiet your hearts. Quiet the raging seas; hush, peace, be still. Be like Jesus asleep astern in the boat. Or as the Psalmist says; “It is God who makes wars to cease in all the world. God breaks the bow and shatters the spear. Be still and know that I am God.” ~Psalm 46, and again, “For God alone my soul in silence waits.” ~Psalm 62 

I believe that if Jesus were to stand at a joint session of Congress, he might begin with what the Psalmist says today.  “Oh, how good and pleasant it is, * when the people live together in unity!”

As good an idea as that might be, how can it really be that way? It didn’t last long in the church did it? Remember how it was in the beginning? We are told in the in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles that “the whole group … was of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership … but everything they owned was held in common… There was not a needy person among them, for everything they had was laid it at the apostles' feet, and…was distributed to each as any had need.” Sadly, that didn’t last long.

Thomas hadn’t even gotten that far according to today’s Gospel, did he? How could he? He wasn’t there? He had not experienced what the others experienced. To his eternal credit, he was an honest man. He stated his doubt in a flat footed manner; "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 

Likewise Jesus was equally direct with Thomas, just like the time he knocked Paul off his high horse. He came and stood in their midst and showed him his hands and his feet…and to confront the doubt straight on he said; "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”

That’s when it came to Thomas in the experience of the Risen One; "My Lord and my God!”

As it was for Thomas, so it is for many of us. “How can this be?” My stepfather allowed as to how there probably was a God, nice of him to allow that.  He just could not bring himself to believe in the Resurrection.  Nor could my mother. She was a difficult and feisty woman and we loved her even though there were times it was difficult to do so. More than once I told my stepfather; “For living with my mother, you’re going to heaven whether you want to or not!”

Neither of them understood why I wanted to go into the church. What’s to understand? Nothing satisfies me more than to stand in your midst and proclaim the Gospel of the Risen Jesus or to be at the Altar of God and be in your midst as Christ becomes present to us in this Sacrament. All of which is incomprehensible to so many. 

What makes faith possible for me, is not so much the intellect, it is the heart. It is because I loved them and love them still that I can entrust them to the keeping of God…all of them; my mom, my dad, my stepfather and all my ancestors. This is what makes faith possible it seems to me, and I believe that this is why Jesus told us to love one another on that last night when we ate together. When we love one another, then faith becomes possible and belief follows.

As important as all this faith and believing is to me nothing is as important, nothing so holy as what happens as we go forth from this sacred space into that sacred space. It is when we leave here and go forth from this fellowship to live the life Jesus commands us to live. In the magnificent words of John’s First Letter which we read today; “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands…This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all…if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.”

This is what keeps us together as we go forth from this place into the Holy of Holies! The World! It is for the sake of the World that Jesus came into our midst, and it is for the sake of the World that Jesus sends us out to do the work we have been given to do. 

What it boils down to these days is Soup kitchens, homeless shelters, day care, music enrichment, recovery programs; these are the the efforts that find their home in many an Episcopal Church these days. We are finding our way to the mission Jesus commanded of us; on behalf  of those in need and the vulnerable in our midst. It is in the broken lives of those we know and love when we share our faith in the stories we tell. Perhaps then there will be faith and belief. Show them your wounds and your faith and then they may believe!

For me, Holy Week and Easter at Trinity Church was a time of heightened awareness of God. Never before in my ministry have I appreciated music, prayer, ritual, reading of scripture in the same way as I have here with you. Thank you.

Still when we roll up our sleeves after we’ve done all that...as Alex Stewart said...it is when we leave this place that we discover what holiness of life is, come nine o’clock on Monday morning!

In the Name of God the Most Holy, Undivided, and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Fr Paul 

Change: The Only Constant

Change: The Only Constant

It is time now for us to prepare for yet another change. Your vestry has called a new priest to join you in your pilgrimage toward the Kingdom of God. In two short weeks, Brian Raiche will become your Priest in Charge and he and I will share worship responsibilities and I shall hand the keys of the parish over to your Senior Warden who will, in turn, hand them over to your new priest. 

We are in the process of change once again. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus is reputed to have said so long ago; “Embrace change, for change is the only constant.” 

Our lives are in constant flux. Yet, in the few months I have been with you since May, I hope I have provided some measure of stability to this wonderful congregation.

Many exciting possibilities are in store for you now. The fall season is upon you. Sunday school will be resuming before you know it. Even now, Brian Raiche is fixing up the office in order to prepare himself for assuming his responsibilities as your Priest in Charge. How exciting for you!

And I will be preparing to retire for yet a sixth time. As I prepare for that “retirement”, I will also need to prepare to make a presentation at the annual convention of the Diocese of Montana where I have been invited to speak on the matter of congregational development and evangelism. And following that, God willing, Cindy and I will fly to Florida to celebrate the marriage of our second son Joshua! Talk about excitement. Talk about change!

This pilgrimage we call life is full of its blessings and its challenges. Congregations in Montana are looking to grow. Joshua and his bride to be are looking toward a new chapter in their lives together. 

The Pilgrimage continues. 

In the midst of all these changes Jesus greets us with these words in today’s Gospel; “Don’t be afraid, little flock for it is your Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom”. Jesus calls us to be alert and to make purses for ourselves that do not wear out but prepare us for the Kingdom of God. 

What might that be? What does the Kingdom look like anyway? How do we prepare ourselves for such a thing? In building churches it requires loving our neighbors. And our neighbors include more than those who belong to the church. Vital and viable congregations have a clear sense of mission organized around the needs of their neighborhoods. Growing congregations have a clear vision of how to become more intentionally inclusive of new and prospective members. Faith becomes a part of the stories we tell to one another. Increasingly, we become more and more comfortable in sharing those stories among ourselves, our loved ones and eventually even perfect strangers. You are ready, you are alert to a whole new chapter in your pilgrimage as a congregation. 

In today’s Epistle, Paul says; “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Though not seen, faith is clear. Obedience to God makes possible those things we once thought impossible. Even in our marriages, as it was for Abraham and Sarah, so it is for us. God made it possible for them to have children even in their old age when the two of them were clearly “past it”. Still God counted it as righteousness when Abraham and Sarah believed. So too for us, as we believe and as we love one another the way God would have us love one another.  We learn to forgive and reconcile one another in moments of impossible challenge, God again makes the impossible possible. 

Even in the midst of our broken promises, God’s promises remain true. Many are broken by divorce, betrayal, disappointment, and yet God never gives up on us. God’s makes the impossible possible once again. God redeems all our days through the love God always bears toward us. 

As for the Church of the Good Shepherd. I rejoice with you in this new moment of change in your life. You will soon have a new priest, a new parish administrator and a new organist/ choir director. This is a very exciting time for you and in it God is showing you toward the Kingdom of heaven.

Yesterday the wider Church celebrated the feast day of the Transfiguration. On the Holy mountain the disciples saw Moses, Elijah and Jesus standing together, as the story goes. Moses representing the Law, Elijah representing the Prophets now find themselves succeeded by Jesus who is the Love of God made flesh and blood. Into the cloud Jesus and the disciples are taken up, God spoke and said: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” 

Therefore in whatever set of changes we find ourselves we are called to be for others who Jesus was and is to us; namely the love of God made flesh and blood.

To make God’s love visible is to make Heaven visible to ourselves and to others. This is our faith; “the assurance of things hoped for” and “the conviction of things not seen”. Understand, that Heaven is not seen and yet is made clearly visible by this kind of Love.

This is what makes change necessary. God is not looking for religious ceremony or “sacrifices” alone, and says as much through the Prophet Isaiah in today’s first lesson. What matters more to God are the injustices, the poor and the oppression.

Therefore, the prophet says in today's First Lesson;

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your doings

from before my eyes;

cease to do evil,

learn to do good;

seek justice,

rescue the oppressed,

defend the orphan,

plead for the widow.”

The sacred ministry of the church is ever evolving toward the kingdom of heaven. These are the "changes" God seeks.

Now that you and your new priest are preparing to come together you can work out the particulars of how God wants you to put the love of God into the flesh and blood of your common life. 

It is this mission that makes our Pilgrimage so exciting and so fulfilling. That which was only an unseen hope now becomes so vividly clear.

You and Brian Raiche have been called to journey on in your Pilgrimage toward heaven. Do remember him in your prayers, as he remembers you in his. It is an exciting time. It is a hopeful time. Faith makes the impossible possible. Faith makes the invisible visible. 

We find ourselves set in a world that often fails to see that in the seas of constant change faith is our anchor. Just this week I came across these lines from the tradition of Celtic Spirituality. I find in the imagery of these lines a reminder that God is at the very heart of every human soul.  

Francis J. Roberts writes; 

"Many a ship has sailed from port to port

with no interference from Me,

because Strong Will has been at the wheel.

Multitudes of pleasure cruises

go merrily on their ways,
untouched by the power of My hand.
But you have put your life into My keeping,
and because you are
depending on Me for guidance and direction,
I shall give it.
Move on steadily,
and know that the waters that carry you
are the waters of My love and My kindness,
and I will keep you on the right course."

~Frances J. Roberts, Celtic Daily Prayer

In the Name of God the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. Amen

Fr Paul

What Wondrous Love!

A meditation for Holy Week. History is what history does as Forest Gump might probably say. Look what it did to Jesus. Now look what it did to folks in Belgium. History goes on. In the very midst of history there is Jesus and the Wondrous Love of God.

What Wondrous Love is This!

What Wondrous Love!

The Passion Narrative tells the story of one of the most poignant moments in the Christian Year. We are all familiar with the reality the Cross points us toward. At one point or another we've all been there. We've all done that. If you haven't yet. You will. No one escapes the inevitable.

Our share in the suffering of Jesus on the cross; is it about fear and terror? Or is it rather about God's Wondrous Love and the gift of faith?

The Passion Narrative explores the emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion of the Disciples at the very moment that Jesus found himself in the constancy of prayer. Yes, I know about that. 

There is the abandonment Jesus experienced as the Disciples distanced themselves from the dangers that Jesus faced with the authorities. Yes, we know about that. 

Who of us wants to deal with the ugliness of hate and arrogance which now is so prevalent in our public life? Many of us are just quiet about it, since if we say anything, we'll only make matters worse. 

Then there is the blaming of those we consider the guilty parties. God knows that there are portions of the Church who have done enough of that down through the ages. Recently at a basketball game in suburban Boston a jeering crowd was       all too willing to blame Jewish kids for the crucifixion of Jesus. Oh for God's sake!

The Passion Narrative moves us in profound ways, because, in one way or another we share in the suffering of Jesus at one time or another in life. As we embrace our share in that suffering, allow me to invite you to embrace the reality of Christ's suffering not so much with the terrors that suffering of necessity inspires, but with yet another dimension; the dimension of faith. How shall we find anything redemptive in the suffering we face for ourselves or others?

Allow me to suggest, if I might, the notion of that Wondrous Love we know not only as God makes vividly clear in Jesus, but in the lives of our loved ones as well as ourselves.

Forgive me if you've heard me tell this story before, but I need to tell it from time to time for the benefit of my own soul's health.

Many years ago, I was summoned to the bedside of a woman from the Church of Mar Thoma. At the time I didn't even know what the Church of Mar Thoma was. It was only later I learned that we, the Episcopal Chruch share full communion with this Church reputed to have been founded by St. Thomas, Apostle to the Church in South India. Whether all that is true or not was hardly the point at the time. 

I was a priest. I got the call and off I went to the hospital. The room was filled with family. They were all from Madras in South India. I was introduced to the mother. When she saw me her eyes were filled with the recognition of what was happening. It was a look I shall never forget. I was relatively new to all this at the time.

But that family taught me something that has helped me ever since. They kept the vigil with their mom. They read favorite and familiar passages of scripture and psalms to comfort their mother. They sang familiar  children's hymns such as she had taught them when they were all young. As she loved her children when she dandled them upon her knee, so now the children loved their mother many years later in a hospital room as the inescapable and inevitable moment approached. 

The eldest brother explained to me that their mom and dad had impressed upon the children the importance of education. Now all grown, the children were doctors, executives, educators and professionals of various sorts in America and the dreams of the parents were now fulfilled by the children in a hospital room in the near suburban Cleveland city of Euclid, Ohio. 

As the end approached, I read the service from the Book of Common Prayer; "Ministration at the Time of Death".

When the moment came, the eldest daughter exclaimed something I shall never forget; "Look, there goes Momee into heaven!" At that moment the brothers, sisters, family and friends all looked up into heaven as if it were suspended somewhere over the mother's bed, there was a paroxysm of grief. They embraced one another and such was the relief and the love in that room that I found myself filled with faith in a way that I had seldom experienced it before. 

What Wondrous Love is This!

To be filled with such faith at a moment like this is come to understand our Share in the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ that even when we feel physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted, or alone and abandoned, or even angry perhaps with guilt, fear or horror, above all of these realities, we share in the suffering of Jesus on the cross and there is this Wondrous Love that triumphs over all.

Such is the Mystery of Passion Sunday and the Events of Holy Week. We know that this is not defeat, that "our lives are not set in a night of gloom but amid the splendors of God's everlasting day."

What Wondrous Love is This indeed! 

In the Name of God, the most holy, undivided, and everlasting Trinity. 

Amen.

Fr Paul