Cindy said; "Love one another"

Cindy said “Love One Another”

The Gospel gives us an account of Jesus’ confrontation with a madman. Mental illness of some form or another had driven this poor soul to behaviors that were bizarre on any account. Thankfully, this fellow did not have an assault rifle. We are told in the Gospel that he ran around with no clothing, had no home or connection to family and friends, but like the menace of a lone wolf, he lived among the tombs. When he came face to face with the goodness and love of Jesus, he went into a rant; “What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God?”

He begged Jesus not to torment him for Jesus had already begun to command the unclean spirits to come out of him. Interestingly enough, not only did Jesus have the ability to recognize mental illness, he also had the authority and power to restore the victim’s soul to sanity.

Just last week another madman vented his fury on innocents who were out partying. Several years ago another madman unleashed his rage on children in a Connecticut school. Only a year ago, it was a house of worship during a bible study. In Colorado, there have been mass shootings in a movie theatre and a high school. On an on it goes. 

Lets face it, we are a uniquely violent country historically and presently. Our love affair with the gun and now assault weapons has put us into a situation where we cannot avoid taking a long hard look at ourselves. At least I hope and pray we do. Most civilized and developed countries have developed laws and regulations to help minimize the violence of these weapons, most notably Australia. After a mass shooting in that country, they clamped down on the weapon’s sales and not only has there not been a mass shooting since, but the homicide and suicide rates have declined radically. Not so here. We want our guns. So be it.

As our Lord said, “The who live by the sword, shall die by the sword.” ~Matthew 26:52

Last week I was on retreat in the Detroit area. Taking time to read, rest, pray, renew old friendships, and take some time in quiet to be with God is the ancient way of the Church. It is a way of restoring the human soul to sanity and keeping it there. The Anamchara Fellowship, of which I am a part, is a gathering of like minded souls, whose friendships run deep and true. The word “Anamchara” is a Celtic word meaning “soul friend.” We are a dispersed order of religious folks. Our community is dispersed in marriages, the workday world, some retired, some still working, some married, folks in many walks of life; gay straight, black white, rich poor; a kaleidoscope of other hues of humanity. Yet we are one in friendship, like any church. Indeed we are less like any worshipping community throughout the world.

On the other hand, we also live in a world of many lonely and disconnected souls. We find ourselves fragmented by political ideology, especially in the here and now of our country. The more fragmented we are by race, ethnicity, class, gender, and orientation, the more we risk falling out of sanity into a world of depression and mental and emotional stress or falling into suspicion of the other or falling into hatred or excusing violence; verbal or otherwise against those different from "us". This kind of disconnectedness is dangerous. Fanning the flames of this kind of fear and suspicion is not only dangerous, it is frankly madness.

Thankfully, many of us have grown up enough to get help when we need it. There is no shame in accepting a diagnosis and taking medication. Good heavens, it is a sign of well being when any one of us discovers our need for help. As Jesus put it; “Blessed are those who know their need of God.” You can substitute the words “Higher Power” for “God” if you like. Coming to terms with the truth within the human heart requires a journey toward making friends, making “soul friends” within the heart of the human self as well as with the “other”.

God knows poor Elijah, had to confront the demons within himself. Not only were those demons within him. They were real. Ahab and Jezabel had resolved to have him done away with. Elijah found himself alone, for as the scripture says, he spoke to God, “I alone am left.” What loneliness that must have been. And his life wasn’t worth two cents or so he thought. And so it was, that he was driven into the madness of a dark night of the soul; there were great winds, an earthquake and a fire, but God was not in any of that. Then came the revelation. God is not discovered in any of these dramatics, God reveals the divine nature rather in the sheer silence, in that “still small voice” of which we speak and sing. It is one of the reasons I love going on my annual retreats. It is in time away, that God will refresh the human soul.

Among my favorite selections of the Psalter is today’s 42nd Psalm. I find in the words of the Holy Scripture a mirror into the soul. Such as these words today;

“1 As the deer longs for the water-brooks, * 

so longs my soul for you, O God.

2 My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; * 

when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?”

Whether we know it or not, our souls long for the living God as a dear longs for a refreshing mountain stream. Every morning in our worship with the Anamchara Fellowship we sing the Psalm; 

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,

This is what I seek

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord,

All the days of my life.”

What then do we say in response to the hatred we see in the world we live in? How do we answer it all, as the madness of our time seems to multiply. What are we to say on Father's Day to one another? That could have been one of my kids on a dance floor in Orlando. I've got two gay kids and I love my children like you love yours. Cindy said it well, as I was preparing for this morning. Just remind them, she said;

“Love one another”. 

That’s what it all comes down to again and again. In fact, Jesus calls it a new commandment. It was then. It is now. A whole new commandment, a new way of life;

“Love one another”

You and I are not to be divided into friends and enemies. We are not to be "listed" and deported according to nationality or religion. We're all one in this country. My freedom as an American is that I need not be afraid or suspicious of folks because they are maybe a bit different. Every morning and night when I go for a walk down the Lynn Scenic Walkway by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea, I'll see young and old; the lame and the halt. I'll hear Engish, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic, Russian and God knows what, within a short space of time. Mind you, I do keep a watchful eye out. We were taught back in the old "hood" in Somerville to be "street smart". Even Jesus told us to be "wise as serpents, harmless as doves." ~Matthew 10:16

But ultimately, day in and day out, every walk of life; "Love one another." This is the one great quality of life that will save us from falling back into a deepening cycle of violence that leads nowhere but into the madness of war.

As my namesake Paul the Apostle put it; "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." ~Galatians 3:27,28

Steady as she goes shipmates, "Love one another."

And Happy Father's Day.

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

Fr Paul

A Devout Episcopalian?

A Devout Episcopalian?

Obviously, I have a blog and a website. I don't "Tweet" very much and occasionally folks contact me on Linked In. My middle son uses Instagram; he has an amazing eye for photography. But Facebook; ah, now that's my preferred social medium by a long shot. I have over 1000 "friends" there, many from congregations past and present, those who follow my sermons, social commentary, and poetry and so on. I've developed quite a following, many of whom happen to be Episcopalians.

One of my friends on Facebook refers to himself as a "devout" Episcopalian. I confess, that the first time I saw those two words placed together I was a bit taken aback especially after all we've been throuogh as a denomination. Devout Episcopalian? It almost sounds like a contradiction in terms.

Look what we've been through

1. Civil Rights struggles. I remember when John Burgess was elected black bishop in the Episcopal Church right here in the Diocese of Massachusetts. Some of my white colleagues were somewhat uncharitable in their comments at the time even here in "liberal" Massachusetts.
2. Vietnam and war and peace. Every time we go to war, and there have been many, we divide ourselves between those who favor military intervention and those who oppose it.
3. Litugical renewal. The revision of the Book of Common Prayer took a considerable toll on us. And as we continue around the Anglican world to innovate and create liturgical life to reflect local customs and settings. Such revisions always play to mixed reviews. 
4. The ordination of women was a controversy for many and still is. Especially in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. We lost some members and even some congregations over that one. The decision to eliminate gender as an automatic disqualifier to ordination has strained relationships in the throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion.
5. And then of course, the Consecration of Gene Robinson, the ordination of LGBTQ folks, and the question of Marriage Equality continues to raise lots of questions as to who will contine with us or against us. We've lost a few dioceses in the American Church and our place in the Anglican Communion has been called into question. Interestingly enough, the pope welcomed a dozen of our bishops to Rome; some women, some men, some black, some white and even one who happens to be in a life long same sex relationship.
6. Conflict in two of our major seminaries and some rather scandalous behavior in some in our schools, among some bishops, clergy, and laity all strains our community relationships.

None of us have been left unscathed in all this or so it seems, and yet life somehow goes on. As I've often said, the surest proof that there is a God is that there is anything left of the church after all we've done to it.

In the midst of all this controversy and bruhaha over one issue or another it is refreshing to see that there are people who are willing to call themselves "devout Episcopalians".

If ever there were a time when the church needed "devout Episcopalians" it is now. We need to see beyond the issues that divide us and remember that what we've actually done is to forge a bond of deep affection, like feuding brothers and sisters do over a lifetime. We may fight like cats and dogs within the family, but God help you if you attack the family. That's when we stand together as one.

We stand together on the Gospel. "The Son of Man came into this world to serve not to be served". Exactly! We are here to serve those in need. This is how we are to organize our life as a church, around human need. I mean the poor, the homeless, the outcast, the sick, the dying. I mean everyone. There are no exceptions to God's extensive, comprehensive and inclusive love. When Isaiah said "My house shall be a House of Prayer for all people", he meant "ALL PEOPLE". 

What we are putting to the test in all our controversies, I believe is whether we really mean that. After all, this is the verse Jesus used when driving out the money changers from the Temple precincts "My house shall be a house of prayer for all people," weilding a whip of chords, "but you have made it a den of robbers". 

Over the great west doors of the National Cathedral these words are written in stone. This church is dedicated to the universal notion that God made this whole world and all that is in it. It is in short "A House of Prayer for all people".

I cannot help but think of the magnificent words from the Book of Job before us today. Job and his friends have gone on and on throughout the first 37 chapters of this portion of the Biblical Narrative legitimately and sincerely exploring the  universal mystery of suffering. And then comes God's universal answer;

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements-- surely you know!

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,

or given understanding to the mind?

Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?

Good questions, don't you think?

To me its all of a piece. All of our controversies over a lifetime. In all our inclusion/exclusion exercises that are part of any comunity's dynamic. Who's in? Who's out? Who's included? Who's excluded? By what race, ethnicity, class, gender or sexual orientation do we classify folks loved by God and those not? Thankfully, in this one tiny corner of the world of faith there are no more pidgeon holes. True the growing denominations are those who will exclude some based on a few verses out of Leviticus or a misreading of some Pauline theology. But not no, not here. Not in this church. 

In the Episcopal Church we believe that as God is one so all God's people are one. What passes for Christianity in many quarters simply does not square with who I know God or people to be. 

I cannot help but think of the wisecrack Tallulah Bankhead made once about the church. She was considered by many to be an agnostic, and certainly much of her personal life was less than exemplary. As she once quipped; "I'm as pure as the driven slush!" Still she loved to go to the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin on Broadway in New York. "Smokey Mary's" it is called becaue of its pageantry, elaborate ritual, and generous use of incense. Some of the theatre you will see there is as good as any as you will see in that part of Manhattan. A reporter spied her coming out of church one day and is reputed to have asked her if she was a "Christian." She fired back as only Tallulah Bankhead could; "Heavens no darling, I'm not a Christian, I'm an Episcopalian."

Eileen Kitteridge and I have been visiting recently as she approaches the throne of heaven. We spoke yesterday of what it means to be a "devout" Episcopalian. She and I both have loved ones who happen to be gay, and neither one of us understands what difference that makes in God's great plan of salvation to tell you the truth. Some of the most loving people we know happen to bee "that way". So what? The only thing that matters to her right now, she says to me with a smile on her face is whether there will be a thrift shop in heaven where she can continue her work pricing items for sale. I assured her that as a mustard seed is all we can see in this life compared to the reality of what is in store for us in the next, the heavenly thrift shop will likewise exceed her wildest expectations. Her face radiated pure joy as she thought of it.

She said to me on one of our visits recently, "Oh I must not forget to tell my son to send my envelopes in to the church. After all, the church expenses go on. We must do what we can do for as long as we can do it." This too is what it means to be a "devout" Episcopalian. 

You see, what matters is the Resurrection of Jesus. What matters is the forgiveness of sins. What matters is whether we will love one another as God loves us, unconditionally and to the end and beyond. These are the things that matter. All of the issues we've fussed about throughout our lives pale in comparison to the Gospel. 

The disciples wanted Jesus to do for them whatever it was they asked him to do. Jesus reminded them that is not for him to grant. It is like many I've known, myself included when staring into the face of life's many mysteries especially our share in  the suffering of Job or the suffering of Jesus. We think that we will be the ones to ask questions of God.

In the 38th Chapter of Job, God settles things in a whole hurruy up. These ringing words set the record straight. 

"Then God answered Job out of the whirlwind; Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge? Gird up your loins and stand up like a man. I'm the one who asks the questions; and you are the one who will give the answers. (paraphrase)."

Our visits are pleasant ones;; the visits I've had with Eileen and Louise. God blesses you for all your visits. You bring the sacrament of love and joy to those who are in the midst of long and difficult days. Thank God for you all.

As we concluded our visit Friday afternoon, Eileen asked for a prayer and a blessing. Then she lifted her hand and pointed toward me. Remember "devout" Episcopalian. 

The Catechism teaches us now what it has always taught us; "To work, and pray and give for the spread of the Kingdom of Heaven."

The idea of praying for "all sorts and conditions" of human folk is no innovation. It is as old as the Prayer Book itself, in fact the idea, comes down to us in the Prayer Book Heritage from the Great Litany written over 600 years ago in 1535.

In my ministry and my lifetime, let me tell you I've met all sorts and conditions of humankind and sometimes it takes some doing to love them all. But that is the moral mandate we are under. For the One who stands over us continues to stretch out his loving arms on the hard wood of the cross so that all may come within the reach of his saving embrace.

And now may the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.

Fr Paul.