Family Feud

 Family Feud

Face it. There’s bad blood in the family. I remember the scene in Fiddler on the Roof when Tevye’s third daughter Chava wants to marry outside the faith. Tevye reasons within himself that one the one hand she loves him and then on the other hand, he realizes there is no other hand. This far he cannot bend or he will break. He will not bless this child’s marriage outside the faith. It is a powerful moment when the Jewish family is driven out of their homes by Russian soldiers, and Tevye is finally able to look up from packing his meager belongings and softly, lovingly blesses his daughter. In this statement of faith God’s compassion emerges as primary to the father’s faith.

There was a time when Cindy and I announced we intended to marry. She being the eldest of seven in a large Italian Catholic family, I suspected we’d run into some resistance. We were both marrying outside our faith traditions. But we loved each other. I hasten to add we still do! 

The day came for Cindy’s father to take me for a long walk. We spoke of many things when he finally stopped me, looked me straight in the eye and said; “I do not want like daughter marrying outside the faith.”

I knew enough about Joe’s practice of faith to readily reply; “The day you start going to church is the day I’ll give your objections any credence!” The rest of our walk was quiet. 

Eventually we we reached an accommodation and life continued. We grew to mutual bonds of affection, honor and respect.

My mother had lots to say about our marriage but I had long since learned how to dismiss some of her emotional excesses. 

Still there are stresses and strains in family relationships. My elder brother questions my politics and my faith. And I question his. We have reached something of a rapprochement after all these years and we can still speak to one another, sort of. 

Look at how things are in God’s family. We are all one race; a human race, but you’d never know it the way questions were framed in the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. There were times this week when I wanted to commit mayhem during some of the interrogation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Still, she maintained her dignity and composure and made us stand proud like that iconic photograph of her daughter Leila Jackson beside her. How inspiring!

Which brings us to the Gospel of the Prodigal Son. Talk of iconic images! The very idea of the Prodigal Son has entered the language as idiomatic not just to people of faith but to the general public as well.

Time and again there are stories of wayward children who wander far in a land that is waste. Some come to their senses, some don’t. When they do, the father rejoices. I dare say the mother does too. We all want the best for our children. And when they suffer, we suffer too. When their heart breaks, so does ours. When they come home our hearts rejoice and we are moved to compassion. Who would not call all our friends together and spend extravagantly and celebrate?

But there’s a problem. What of the son who is faithful and true? The one who is always there? The one we can count on to be dependable and true? He is rightfully indignant just as the older brother is in today’s Gospel;

‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ He has a point. 

In our Gospel life there are times when we are wayward and profligate. There are also times when you can count on us to be there day in and day out, year in and year out. Either way it is the father’s love we look to, the mother’s compassionate heart we depend on to redeem all our days.

This is who Jesus is to us. The parable may be titled incorrectly. Rather than “The Prodigal Son”, should this parable rather be called “The Compassionate Father”?

For a family to function without feuding there will need to be an abundance of love and compassion. Moreover we will need to overlook a multitude of sins. Perhaps most heart rending for any parent is bad blood between siblings. 

And face it. There’s too much bad blood out there. There is brokenness in our families and in our world. Communication may have broken down. You may be hurt. You may have hurt someone you love. 

Ultimately you may be the only hope there is to pick up the phone and make a call. A good opening line is; “What was it were fighting about?” It may not work. It may be fruitless, but it’s worth a try. And if you win the heart and soul of a loved one, there will be rejoicing in heaven.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent is known as “Laetare Sunday”. The Latin word “Laetare” means “Rejoice”.  Lent is long and and we need a day to “lighten up”. The Psalmist tells us today; “Be glad, you righteous, and Rejoice in the Lord; * shout for joy, all who are true of heart”

The custom in the British Isles on Laetare Sunday is for the family to return to the mother church, the whole family but especially mothers and their daughters. The day is referred to as Mothering Sunday. It rejoices the heart, especially God’s heart when we all come together. 

Then there is the preparation of the Simnel Cake also customary. It signifies the feeding of the five thousand and the decoration on top represents the apostles. It was a festive occasion. It was a delicious fruit cake made with layers of almond paste and marzipan. Rejoice! Celebrate! Give thanks to God!

Given the state of the world, and the fact of family feuds, it may take a conscious effort to rejoice this year. But Paul reminds us in the today’s Epistle that the old self has died and behold everything is now new because of our life in Christ. And moreover, “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, and has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us. 

Therefore insofar as it is up to me, I will pick up the phone and at least give it a try. I might suggest likewise to all nearby and far away. 

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

Fr Paul

Below are the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Lent with highlights indicating those word, phrases and thoughts that speak to my heart. 

Fourth Sunday in Lent

The Collect:

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Joshua 5:9-12

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day.

While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Psalm 32

Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *
       and whose sin is put away!
Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *
       and in whose spirit there is no guile!
While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *
       because of my groaning all day long.
For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *
       my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *
       and did not conceal my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” *
       Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.
Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in
                           time of trouble; *
       when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.
You are my hiding-place;
   you preserve me from trouble; *
       you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you
                            should go; *
       I will guide you with my eye.
Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *
       who must be fitted with bit and bridle,
       or else they will not stay near you.”
Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *
       but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; *
       shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3So he told them this parable:

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

It's Complicated

It’s Complicated

Today’s Gospel takes us to that complicated place where family dynamics occur. It all begins when the younger son took his inheritance to set out on his new life. Aha! Free at last from the constrains of family obligation and tiresome rules. Now he was in charge. Apparently, he sowed a few wild oats and squandered the inheritance. A famine set in and he began to be in want. Ultimately he came to himself and realized that if he returned home and threw himself on the mercy of his father there might be a chance for him to be treated at least as well as one of the servants.

But the father’s abundant love was more than generous. It was extravagant. It was like God’s love for a sinner who returns to God; it was Eucharistic! Bring the best robe, the fatted calf and a celebration fitting for the joys of heaven.

However, the father’s unconditional love was problematic for the older brother, and with some justification. He spoke right up; you’re throwing a party for this ne’er do well son of yours, and you’ve never so much as done anything like it for me and my friends.  

Many of us have been in that position; the position of a sibling who looks resentfully at our own blood brother or sister. There is something deeply out of synch here. If it isn’t resentment, there’s something else that tears at the fabric of the relationship, to the point that the damage done may be irreparable.

How is the father to convince his older son that such generosity of spirit is the way to forgiveness? Some say this parable is about the extravagant love of the father. God knows fathers and mothers often want nothing more than for everybody in the family to get along. When the father realized that the older brother refused to extend that same generosity of spirit, he  came out and began to plead with him; come in and join the festivities.”

But the older brother was angry. He refused.

“The father said, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

Besides, too much anger is not good for us; as the old saying goes; “Anger is the punishment we inflict upon ourselves for someone else’s mistake”.

We are left to wonder; was there reconciliation? Or was the family finally and irrevocably torn apart. Each of us is left to complete the story as we live out our lives in our own family relationships. I’ve seen the story go on in so many ways.

To see the Gospel in its fullness I invite you to see yourself in each of the roles being played out in the parable. A father or a mother who pleads to keep the family together.

Likewise the sinner who comes to his/her senses and asks for forgiveness. The Psalmist says; “Happy are those whose sins are forgiven”. Tragically, there are those who never do come to their senses; making forgiveness problematic.

And there are those, who like the older brother, are faithful and diligent; it is as though they are taken for granted. Whers’s their party? 

The parent, the sinner, or the older brother; which are you? Or have you been all of the above at one time or another? 

It's complicated. When Jesus tells us this parable he confronts us with the predicament we often find ourselves in as we seek to love, forgive and reconcile. 

I’m reading a wonderful book now by Tara Westover called “Educated”. A woman grows up in an abusive family. Her father, mother and brothers leave permanent scars during her formative years. She grew up in a family with undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. She had to battle with all her might to extricate herself from the abuse. For those who work with victims of abuse, we know how difficult that work is. The statistics are not encouraging. It is like tearing part of your soul in half to come to terms with your parents and siblings especially when the abuse is so traumatic, persistent and systemic in formative years. 

And yet, if you can come to terms with your family of origin you can take on the world. Especially with your mother, father and siblings; if you can deal with them, you can free yourself from the slavery of repeating the same sins and offenses with those you become responsible for. Being human, you’ll probably think up new ones!

A Christian psychotherapist once shared this vision of mental health; “Our challenge is to love God first, love your neighbor as yourself beginning with your parents, and at the same time discover how to love yourself like God loves you.” That’s a spiritual challenge that takes a lifetime.

For all too many the challenge is to stand up for yourself without allowing yourself to be dragged back into the old family dynamic of mental illness. Easier said than done! 

In today’s parable the father, the younger son and the older brother faced it. All parents, children and siblings face similar challenges. Forgiveness does not come cheaply. We must work at it. And it is very hard work indeed.

All of which brings us back to the ministry of reconciliation. It is a ministry we are given by virtue of our faith. Jesus spent untold hours in conversation with his disciples. In today’s Epistle, Paul points to this ministry; “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

It's complicated.

How in heaven’s name are we to be reconciled to one another? 

In our families, with friends, at work, and God help us in political and international relationships?

Jesus points us toward unconditional love, and extravagant forgiveness. If there is to be a heaven it will have to begin with us. Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”. “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” “The kingdom of heaven is among you.” 

Sin is easy. For there to be the kingdom of heaven we will have to work at being open to the miracles of love, forgiveness and reconciliation.

It's complicated. 

Like the children of Israel as they wandered aimlessly forty years in the wilderness,. Moses had to come up with 613 laws to get them to the Promised Land. They kept thinking up dumb things to do. Moses was just about fed up with that crowd. But God fed them with the bread of angels; Manna from heaven. When they arrived at Gilgal; an interesting place with yet another mini-Stonehenge like stone circle, the manna ceased.

When Jesus breaks bread with us at God’s Altar, he invites us to recognize that something is broken in each of us. Perhaps something in your family of origin has probably left a scar. Live long enough and you will have a plenty more scars to show for it. Jesus came to heal those very scars. Jesus healed the lame, the blind, and the deaf. And the scars in our souls he healed when he taught us the way to love and forgiveness. Or when he reached out to the poor, the heartbroken, the persecuted, and the marginalized. This kind of unconditional love, this extravagant forgiveness that he so freely shared with everyone, this ministry of reconciliation that he entrusted to us was to change the world.

Frequently, he took bread, blessed and broke it, likewise after supper he took the cup and did the same. He became the Bread of Heaven for us. At this altar rail, he feeds us with the healing touch of eternal life.

Jesus did not escape unscathed from this world; he wore scars into the Resurrection Life. Jesus also took that which is complicated and made it simple. 

“Love one another”. 

“Forgive one another”.

“Be reconciled to one another”.

With the Bread of Heaven he feeds us at this Altar Rail and rejoices as we live our our lives with earthly love, forgiveness, and reconciliation both to humankind and to God. For the more we practice the one, the more we live into the other. 

God’s love is extravagant; for each and every one there is the finest robe, bring on the fatted calf; let the Eucharistic festivities begin; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.

Fr Paul

Spirituality You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

A Spirituality You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

When we think of things of the Spirit we may think of things ethereal, things we cannot see or touch. We may think of things other worldly. But when we think of Jesus, we can see him in a manger, feeding 5000, on a cross. We see him in vivid detail. He is someone we can see and touch. Jesus is flesh and blood. And he said he is the Bread of our Life.

What did he mean by that? I think he means that he is someone we can sink our teeth into. As jarring as that may sound to us now, so it was when he first said it. 

Years ago as part of our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a bus load of high school students we travelled along the tense border between Israel and Lebanon in the Golan Heights. 

We stopped by a roadside gathering of Druze. We were hungry and the Druze were cooking sandwiches made of a kind of pita bread that was cooked over a convex metal surface and a charcoal flame. I don’t know what was in those wraps but they were delicious. There was an oily substance with tomato and zucchini and fresh, fresh bread. It was something you could sink your teeth into. It was so satisfying! 

The Druze are a very close knit folk and prefer not to get into theological discussions. They have been persecuted by every major religion in their region although they contain elements all; Islam, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Gnostic etc. They are an Abrahamic Unitarian kind of faith. But they’d rather not be pinned down into one set of dogma or another. History has not been kind to the Druze.  

It is tragic that in the history of our search for God, humankind has been hasty to inflict judgment and violent punishment on those who differ in point of view one from another. 

Today’s First Reading is a case in point. Another tiresome battle and another tiresome war. David against Israel, and his own son Absalom leading the enemy there in the Forest of Ephraim. In the heat of battle Absalom is mortally wounded. He is caught up in the thicket between Heaven and Earth. Armor bearers put the young man out of his misery. When David hears the news, of course, he laments the loss. Those who have lost a child will know the searing pain; “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!”

The Psalmist says; “Out of the depths have I cried out to you,”.

Our search for God, our quest for land, our raging violence, our feuding family pettiness, all our inner demons, lead us into unintended consequences that cost us very dearly.

But here’s a thought. What enemies offer one another by way of cuisine is flavorful and satisfying. Interesting that Jesus taught us about the Bread of Life. I love Italian, Greek, Palestinian, Jewish, French and German cuisine. Cindy and I were both pleasantly surprised to discover that British and Irish cuisine is delightful in its own way. And when the prospect of yet another routine supper looms near, we might look at one another and say; “Let’s send out for Chinese!”

Why then, why then, do we hasten to judge one another so hastily? Religion and Politics! Politics and Religion. We should know better. We’ve already had one Civil War. Why in the Name of God would we need another! God help us. It has been a year now since Charlottesville. Why the hate!

This is why Jesus becomes someone I can sink my teeth into. 

Jesus is for me like fresh bread out of the oven. I love to make fresh homemade bread. I like to get my hands right into the mix of things. I sometimes think of someone I may be out of synch with as I knead that dough mercilessly. That’s a more fruitful way of taking out frustration than in resorting to foolish name calling or fisticuffs. I use a cement baking stone to make a good crust. I preheat that oven to 425 to sear the loaf! Then back down the heat to bake. Ah, and then the aroma of that bread when it comes out fresh from the oven fills the house and the human lungs with something exquisite and delightful!

Jesus said; “I am the Bread of Life!” 

In detail he describes what he means by that.

He invites us into Discipleship.

He gathers us on the hillsides to tell us that even when the poor, mournful, meek, those seeking justice, the pure in heart, peacemakers, or persecuted, we are the blessed of God. 

Rejoice, he declares, for great is your reward in God’s good heaven!

He heals us of all our soul’s diseases.

He visits us when sick or in prison. 

He seeks us out when others reject us.

He brings us into his confidence and lets us in on the “Keys to the Kingdom.” 

Love one another.

Forgive one another.

Be reconciled to one another.

And then he breaks the news to us. 

Yes he will suffer, yes he will die, and yes, he will rise again from the dead.

And so will we! 

Jesus is the Bread of Heaven. 

He makes it vivid and clear to us what he means by that.

He wants to become a spirituality for us we can sink our teeth into just like a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven. 

Jesus is the Way! The Way of the Love of God!

Its either that or you go your own way. 

Try the hateful way…the way of prejudice, violence and warfare…or self recrimination. 

But what does that satisfy?

You may choose the Way that leads to Life or the Way that leads to Death.

Which is it? 

By the way, you can take drugs if you wish. But the evidence seems to show that leads to Death too! Duh!

Why not take life at its own speed, enjoy it for all the richness that it gives you; with all its joys and sorrows. 

The only Way is to be filled with Jesus!
Jesus is not a drug.

Jesus is the Bread of Life!

I love the stories, the history, the theology…but above all I love Jesus. He is someone I can sink my teeth into!

He teaches me how to love. Mind you some folks can make that difficult, especially those who mean us harm…but Jesus said; “Love your enemies!”  

That’s the part I struggle with. But then Paul also gives us something to sink our teeth into; “Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

Yes. A Spirituality I can sink my teeth into.

As the French philosopher/theologianTeilhard de Chardin once wrote.

"Plunge into matter. Plunge into God. By means of all created things, without exception, the divine assails us, penetrates us and molds us. We imagine it as distant and inaccessible, whereas in fact, we live steeped in its...layers."

   ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Amen

Fr Paul

Red Headed Women and Whiskey!

Red Headed Women and Whiskey!

Jesus said; “Love your enemies.” 

I find that difficult to do sometimes, particularly in the present political context in this country. We are so divided now. Republicans and Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals, Citizens and Immigrants, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Atheists. The rancor among us is palpable.

All this made me think of a time when I found myself in the hotbed of controversy over the building of a homeless shelter in Saint Albans, West Virginia. Our church operated what was called Christ’s Kitchen, a free breakfast and lunch program for the poor in the midst of a challenging neighborhood. There were a number of homeless folks who lived along the riverbank and under a bridge. One especially stormy night a small band of homeless folk put together a makeshift shelter of cardboard boxes. They set a fire to keep warm. Things got out of control and when the smoke cleared three people had died. 

The press came by to investigate. We went over to the site of the fire and in what was one of the most pitiful things I’ve ever seen, I watched as the department of Public Works cleared the scene of all the worldly possessions of the homeless and the police gave tickets to them for littering and vagrancy. Not only had they lost their friends in the fire, all their worldly possessions were gone and they were facing court action and fines for the crime of being homeless. The reporter and I documented and published the sequence of events.

We went back to Christ’s Kitchen to collect ourselves in the aftermath of all this trauma. And then in a moment of inspiration, I said; “Give me your tickets!”. The reporter and I went out to the front steps of the church and I brandished the tickets in front of a camera and announced that the police had harassed the homeless at the direction of the city authorities, and that I had taken the tickets into my possession and if the courts wanted to collect fines they’d have to get the money out of me. The story made it to the front page of the Charleston Gazette

The response from the city was predictable. The next morning I arrived at my office to see my secretary in tears and she told me that the President of the City Council had called and and was in a state of outrage. He said to her and I quote; “Those Irish, the only thing they brought to this country was red headed women and whiskey”. The press were there waiting for a quote from me. I was ready;

“I’ll have one of each!” said I.

Thus began a sequence of events that led to the building of a homeless shelter. I shall never forget all the parishioners, community leaders, lawyers, police, civic leaders and so on who became a part of a collaborative effort to build that shelter. What had begun in controversy and confrontation, eventually became a galvanizing rally point for constructive cooperative ministry. It began however with with my willingness to serve as a lightning rod!

When Jesus tells us to turn the cheek and to love our enemies, I don’t think he means that we are to roll over and play dead in the midst of conflict. Rather I think Jesus wants us to engage one another honestly and creatively in a way that leads to reconciliation. That’s how it all worked out for us in Saint Albans. West Virginia. 

Things don’t always work out so well. When Jesus confronted the religious authorities of his day, he overturned the tables in the Temple precincts and then there was the trial, the execution, and the dreadful death of Jesus.

But even then, even then at the very point of his deepest moment of suffering Jesus found it within him to say; “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

“You have heard that it was said of old ‘An eye for an eye’”

The bankruptcy of that ethic was clear to Jesus. As it was to Mahatma Gandhi who is quoted as having said;

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth merely leaves the whole world blind and toothless!”

Jesus insisted that we love our enemies.

Is such redemption possible in this nation and in this world of mutually exclusive opposites; particularly when our President seems to revel in insulting and alienating so many? Not only are we a divided nation, but the wedge between us seems to widen by the day. 

I believe it takes much conflict and confrontation to work out the particulars of our reconciliation. We must be outspoken in our advocacy. Particularly as Christians and other folks of faith, we must speak up on behalf of the poor, the outcast, the marginalized and the alien among us. The ethical biblical mandate requires us to do so.

You did hear that verse from Leviticus in today’s first lesson? When describing the farmer’s duties when harvesting, the Biblical ethic requires that the margins of the farmer’s field be left for the benefit of the poor and the alien among them. And then the Scripture says; “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself!”. 

No doubt you will remember that when Jesus described our neighbor he singled out the Samaritan. Samaritans were despised by the general population of the day. They were foreigners, and their religion was “different”. I’m sure there were those who would have deported them all back to Samaria if they had it in their power to do so.

Foreigners! My grandmother, God rest her soul, used to say that it was the Irish who ruined Boston. That tells you what she thought of my dad especially after that nasty divorce.

She also made me promise on the family bible that I would never marry an Italian. I promised! Obviously I broke that promise. And I’m glad I did. But my grandmother is fine about all that now that she’s got it all straight in heaven. 

There always has been  prejudice based on race, ethnicity, class, national origin, language, gender and orientation. There always will be. Folks have put folks in pigeon holes for ever.

But what of Jesus? Did he reject the outcast, the sick, the poor, the blind, the lame or the lepers. Did he reject the prostitutes or the tax collectors or look his nose down at common fisherfolk?

Who did Jesus reject?

The only folks Jesus had trouble with were the religious literalists of his day who kept trying to catch him up in his words. Ultimately, he found a way to love them too!

Is there any hope for America and our sad divisions?

There is this one thought. It is a reach but let me mention the hope I have for this country. The American Bald Eagle. It is a magnificent symbol for this nation. Ben Franklin thought it might be safer to use the Turkey as the symbol of this nation given the factious nature and level of intelligence of far too many.

But if we could be inspired by the symbol of our nation’s greatness, then hope is possible. Look what it takes for an Eagle to fly. It takes both wings; the left wing as well as the right wing. And no matter how far out those feathers are, they all work together for a purpose. 

Dare we hope that we could honor one another in this country, and across the great divides that appear to be at such variance? This is a great dare. I’m not sure we can do that. But if we could, the Eagle would do more than fly, it could soar!

Clearly this is one of the reasons Jesus told us to “Love our enemies”. He also told us that he expected us to be perfect as God in heaven is perfect. This is where I fall short of the mark. I can get hurt. I can get angry. My feelings can even verge far too close to hateful. This is not what Jesus had in mind when he asked me to be perfect. 

When I become aware that I have strayed a bit too far from the desirable perfection that Jesus has in mind, I look for a way to return to him with all my heart. Righteousness is a corrective then to our behavior. When I veer off to the left or to the right of that righteous line, Jesus beckons me to return. After all we are called to be perfect even as God in heaven is perfect. 

When the Chief Executive governing officer of these United States of America revels in mockery and disparaging disrespect we have a problem at the very heart and soul of the nation. Likewise the Press, and all up and down the body politic of this nation. Are we enemies who insist on our hatefulness? Or can we find our way to Peace once more with Freedom and Justice for All?

Will this Eagle soar? Or will its broken wings confine itself to the ground? 

It took some time, everyone had to swallow some pride but the President of St Albans City Council and I came to a deeper understanding, appreciation and respect for one another. So too with the Police. I often brought donuts to the break room as a peace offering. And when a K-9 was cut down in the line of duty, the Baptist minister refused to bury the dog. Apparently the dog was not regarded as having a soul. But one of the police officers knew I’d bury the dog. Fr. Paul, they knew had a heart for all God’s creation.

All in God’s good time. All is made well. Peace reigns. The homeless shelter is built. Perfection is Present to us even if only for a brief and fleeting moment. 

What of America here and now? Will we seek peace and justice once more? Or rather will we insist on characterizing one another as enemies. Jesus tells us that we must love our enemies. Jesus tells us to be perfect as God in Heaven wants you to be Perfect. Will we seek God's will or our own? How we answer that question will make all the difference.

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

Fr Paul.