A Crash Landing

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. 

https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/20-deadliest-mass-shootings-in-u-s-history-fast-facts/index.html)

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 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!”

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.

Gaudate Sunday! Rejoice!

Rejoice, Rejoice Believers!

Good morning class, it is "Gaudete" Sunday. The word "Gaudeo" in Latin means "Rejoice". No doubt you noticed that we lit the Rose Candle on the Advent Wreath today. That's becuase we blend the white color of joy and expectation with the penetential purple color of preparation. This Rose Candle is the candle of "Gaudete Sunday". We celebrate the cardinal feast of the Third Sunday in Advent because of the nearness of the Holy Child of Bethlehem.

By the way, Rose vestments were permitted to be worn this day in the church year; one of only two Sundays in the Church year when the color Rose is used. The other Sunday is "Laetare" Sunday. The word "Laetare" means as in the introit psalm for that Sunday"O be Joyful O Jerusalem". We celebrate that cardinal feast on the Fourth Sunday in Lent  again because of the nearness of Christ's death and resurrection in Holy Week and Easter.

The scripture calls on us to "Rejoice" this day. The prophet Zephaniah calls out to "Rejoice with all your heart O Daughter of Jerusalem." He goes on to say "The Lord is in your midst." 

In Philippians we read "Rejoice in the Lord always" and "The Lord is near". 

John the Baptist recognized the innate sinful nature of the human condition; he greets those following him with the words; "You brood of vipers!" He seems to have gotten up on the wrong side of bed that day except that he knew that those who had two coats were not predisposed to share with those who had none. He also knew that tax collectors tended to exploit their position in life by taking advantage of their power and taking in more than the just amount owed from the tax payer. Sound familiar? Likewise extorion from soldiers was not unusual, and on it went and when asked what was necessary for them all to repent, John merely said, do the right thing; share what you have with others, collect only what is owed to you, and be done with extortion and be content with your wages. He concluded the passage with the Gospel proclamation, and a joyful one it was, that the one to come after him would baptize us not just with water but with the Holy Spirit and with Fire. Rejoice then in the proclamation of the Gospel. Listen to it and proclaim it in your lives!

These are the words of the Introit Psalm of Gaudete Sunday in ancient times. "Rejoice in the Lord always" and "The Lord is near". 

You meay notice that this joy comes to us at a dark time of year. Its not the shortness of the days that produces this darkness alone, but there are some dreadful events near and far away that reflect a dark dimension of the human spirit. The shootings in San Bernadino and Colorado among them. Good heavens there's even the business of a runaway train on the T. And much more darkness beside of allsorts.

It is in the midst of this very darkness that we light this beautiful Rose candle and pray the Collect of the Day "Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great power come among us, and because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us".

Sorely hindered by so many sins indeed. So much violence, so much hatred. So little love. Or so it seems. Particularly so when we spend too much time glued in to the media and fix our gaze on the chronicle of the sins of humankind, its violence and its hatred.

Gaudete Sunday stands in stark contrast to all this sin. "Stir up Your Power". Yes, "because we are sorely hindered by our sins". "Stir up your power and come among us." This is precisely the promise of Gaudete Sunday. We have the promise of the nearness of God. In just a few short days we will celebrate the Birth of the Holy Child in the Manger. 

If we were to read our history books, we would notice that this is by no means the darkest of times. And if we read our Sacred History we may remember how heroicly our ancestors in faith faced the darkness with amazing transformational courage.

Take Dame Julian of Norwich for instance. Not a household name perhaps but familiar to all who study the history of Christian Spirituality in any depth. Dame Julian was born on November 8, 1342 and died in 1416AD. She was an anchoress. which is to  say, she separated herself from secular society, not as a hermit, but as one set aside in a small cell at the church in Norwich, England. She devoted herself to prayer and Eucharistic life and made herself available to folks who would seek her out for spiritual guidance and counsel, through a small window in her enclosure.

She was sought out by many because the times in which she lived were not just dark times but catatrostophic. The Black Death and the Peasant Revolts were the scourge of contemporary life for her and her beloved people. Contemporary theology was legalistic and judgmental. But Julian saw God as loving and compassionate and seeking the salvation of all. She was accused of believing in universal salvation. She believed that behind the reality of hell there was the greater mystery of God's love. She saw the universe resting in God's hands as it were a hazel nut, beloved of God, and that each soul within was the beloved of God. 

She is believed to be the first woman to have written a book in the English language. "Revelations of Divine Love" is a masterpiece of midaeval mysticism and I commend it to you for reading.

There is an expression she used with quiet confidence to all who came to her, in whatever state of anxiety, fear, depression, guilt or despair. She very quietly assured all who came to her; "All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well". 

Nowadays we might say; "Keep calm and carry on." 

But it is the same message.  Our times may seem like dark times but when compared to the times in which Dame Julian lived and so many others, we certainly can rise to the occasion. 

Particularly so in our spirituality. We are called to Rejoice. More than that we are called to recognize the nearness of Jesus within our hearts and in the hearts of those around us. 

And so; "Stir up your power O God and come among us, and because we are sorely hindered by our sins come speedily with your Grace and Power."

In the Name of the Holy, Blessed and Undivided Trinity. Amen

Fr Paul