First Conversation with Brother Lawrence

www.PracticeGodsPresence.com
The Practice Of The Presence Of God
Brother Lawrence's Conversations and Letters
Light Heart Edition


Contents

Editor's Preface
Conversations
Letters

Editor's Preface

Brother Lawrence was born Nicholas Herman around 1610 in Herimenil, Lorraine, a Duchy of France. His birth records were destroyed in a fire at his parish church during the Thirty Years War, a war in which he fought as a young soldier. It was also the war in which he sustained a near fatal injury to his sciatic nerve. The injury left him quite crippled and in chronic pain for the rest of his life.

He was educated both at home and by his parish priest whose first name was Lawrence and who was greatly admired by the young Nicholas. He was well read and, from an early age, drawn to a spiritual life of faith and love for God.

In the years between the abrupt end of his duties as a soldier and his entry into monastic life, he spent a period of time in the wilderness living like one of the early desert fathers. Also, prior to entering the monastery, he spent some time in private service. In his characteristic, self deprecating way, he mentions that he was a "footman who was clumsy and broke everything".

At mid-life he entered a newly established monastery in Paris where he became the cook for the community which grew to over one hundred members. After fifteen years, his duties were shifted to the sandal repair shop but, even then, he often returned to the busy kitchen to help out.

In times as troubled as today, Brother Lawrence, discovered, then followed, a pure and uncomplicated way to walk continually in God's presence. For some forty years, he lived and walked with Our Father at his side. Yet, through his own words, we learn that Brother Lawrence's first ten years were full of severe trials and challenges.

A gentle man of joyful spirit, Brother Lawrence shunned attention and the limelight, knowing that outside distraction "spoils all". It was not until after his death that a few of his letters were collected. Joseph de Beaufort, counsel to the Paris archbishop, first published the letters in a small pamphlet. The following year, in a second publication which he titled, 'The Practice of the Presence of God', de Beaufort included, as introductory material, the content of four conversations he had with Brother Lawrence.

In this small book, through letters and conversations, Brother Lawrence simply and beautifully explains how to continually walk with God - not from the head but from the heart. Brother Lawrence left the gift of a way of life available to anyone who seeks to know God's peace and presence; that anyone, regardless of age or circumstance, can practice -anywhere, anytime. Brother Lawrence also left the gift of a direct approach to living in God's presence that is as practical today as it was three hundred years ago.

Brother Lawrence died in 1691, having practiced God's presence for over forty years. His quiet death was much like his monastic life where each day and each hour was a new beginning and a fresh commitment to love God with all his heart.
Light Heart
www.PracticeGodsPresence.com

Conversations

Introduction: At the time of de Beaufort's interviews, Brother Lawrence was in his late fifties. Joseph de Beaufort later commented that the crippled brother, who was then in charge of the upkeep of over one hundred pairs of sandals, was "rough in appearance but gentle in grace". This comment was originally made by another church official who had taken note of Brother Lawrence's simple and gentle approach to living in God's presence.
First Conversation: The first time I saw Brother Lawrence was on the 3rd of August, 1666. He told me that God had done him a singular favor in his conversion at the age of eighteen. During that winter, upon seeing a tree stripped of its leaves and considering that, within a little time, the leaves would be renewed and, after that, the flowers and fruit appear; Brother Lawrence received a high view of the providence and power of God which has never since been effaced from his soul. This view had perfectly set him free from the world and kindled in him such a love for God, that he could not tell whether it had increased in the forty years that he had lived since.

Brother Lawrence said he had been footman to M. Fieubert, the treasurer, and that he was a great awkward fellow who broke everything. He finally decided to enter a monastery thinking that he would there be made to smart for his awkwardness and the faults he would commit, and so he would sacrifice his life with its pleasures to God. But Brother Lawrence said that God had surprised him because he met with nothing but satisfaction in that state.

Brother Lawrence related that we should establish ourselves in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him. It was a shameful thing to quit His conversation to think of trifles and fooleries. We should feed and nourish our soul with high notions of God which would yield us great joy in being devoted to Him.

He said we ought to quicken and enliven our faith. It was lamentable we had so little. Instead of taking faith for the rule of their conduct, men amused themselves with trivial devotions which changed daily. He said that faith was sufficient to bring us to a high degree of perfection. We ought to give ourselves up to God with regard both to things temporal and spiritual and seek our satisfaction only in the fulfilling of His will. Whether God led us by suffering or by consolation all would be equal to a soul truly resigned.

He said we need fidelity in those disruptions in the ebb and flow of prayer when God tries our love to Him. This was the time for a complete act of resignation, whereof one act alone could greatly promote our spiritual advancement.

He said that as far as the miseries and sins he heard of daily in the world, he was so far from wondering at them, that, on the contrary, he was surprised there were not more, considering the malice sinners were capable of. For his part, he prayed for them; but knowing that God could remedy the mischief they did when He pleased, he gave himself no further trouble.

Brother Lawrence said to arrive at such resignation as God requires, we should carefully watch over all the passions that mingle in spiritual as well as temporal things. God would give light concerning those passions to those who truly desire to serve Him.

At the end of this first conversation Brother Lawrence said that, if my purpose for the visit was to sincerely discuss how to serve God, I might come to him as often as I pleased; and without any fear of being troublesome. If this was not the case, then I ought visit him no more.

The Practice of the Presence of God: A Lenten Journey

The Practice of the Presence of God
A Lenten Journey

Introducing Brother Lawrence
"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a
continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who
practice and experience it." ... Brother Lawrence

Intorduction:

At our first retreat together, we applied ourselves to the task of discovering and discerning our mission statement. It was then that we envisioned our church to be “A House of Prayer for ALL People”. Now we seek to build a church that reflects that mission statement and also wish to learn more about the presence of God within us as well as among us.
We prepare now for our next retreat. A wise monk from the 17th Century, Brother Lawrence, coined the term “The Practice of the Presence of God”. I would like to adopt and adapt that theme for our Lenten journey and for our Parish Retreat in April. I hope that as we provide this set of spiritual opportunities, you will prayerfully consider setting yourself under the discipline of learning together about the “Practice of the Presence of God”.

Wednesday Evenings in Lent

March 4th at 7pm Taize Chris Lawrence

March 11th at 7pm Vespers Joe Tardiff

March 18th at 7pm Evensong Fr. Paul and Joe Tardiff

March 25th at 7pm Order of Worship Fr. Paul
for the Evening
April 1st at 7pm Compline Fr. Paul, Joe Tardiff and Chris
Lawrence

Beginning this evening, I will distribute a “conversation” or a “letter” from Brother Lawrence. You may study the handout and we will discuss it the following week to see what we can glean of its significance for us in our Lenten Journey. May we learn to continue our “Practice of the Presence of God”. ~Fr. Paul

Peace Through Prayer

Peace through Prayer 

The arrogance of power and the impulse to violence have very little to do with prayer. When ones’ teeth are set on edge and seethe with a cry for vengeance, it is not possible to see God other than as a vengeful agent of partisan bloodlust. Thus it was for so long in Ireland. So it is now in Palestine and Israel. In recent months the people of Gaza have suffered untold catastrophic loss of life and destruction. In the meantime, rockets continue to scream their way into Israeli settlements and an unending cycle of reprisal feeds upon itself. 

The Obama Administration is making new initiatives in the area that bring some hope for a break in this violent spiral. George Mitchell, who made such an impact with the Good Friday Accords in Ireland, has been dispatched to the area, and the new President has spoken directly to the Arab world via Middle Eastern News Services. 

Yet we must keep a steady eye and a sober mind on the subject of peace and justice in an area that has suffered atrocities of all sorts for so long from all quarters. The longer the violence continues the more complex its resolution becomes. 

It was into such a world that Jesus was born. A hated occupation force held the land during the times of our Lord’s earthly days. And at the outset of his ministry he proclaimed a message of repentance as the core of his Gospel. It would take nothing less than a complete change in our hearts and souls to effect the kind of change that God envisioned for the world. And Jesus brought that message to us. 

Thus as he made his way around Capernaum and the other cities and towns he traveled to, they brought him all who were sick and beset with unclean spirits. Tirelessly, he healed them whether it was a weekday or even on the Sabbath. Eventually that generosity of spirit would cost Jesus dearly. 

But then after a long day of healing and teaching in their synagogues, Jesus would go to a deserted place by himself to pray. Then Simon and his companions “hunted” him down. They were drawn to him even when he needed to be alone. Naturally they wanted him to know that he was in demand in all the neighboring towns and villages. And so they pressed on. 

As we read on through the Gospels, we realize that Jesus would “steal away” whenever it was possible to be in a deserted place where he could pray. This is so often the missing ingredient. The crowds are often pressing in. The demands of life press upon us like the crowds did for Jesus. There is always a list of things to do as long as our arms…but we need time to catch our wind and remember who it is that sends us into our very busy worlds and why we are sent. 

If we cannot pray we cannot have peace. If don’t pray, we won’t notice injustice and oppression. If we won’t stop and take time for ourselves in a deserted place, we may miss our own need for healing and the wounds of others around us. 

The prophet Isaiah took time to pray as we read in today’s first lesson, and when he did he remembered that the God of history was active even as Cyrus held the nation in captivity. His time alone in a deserted place was the only pathway he knew that could remind him of God’s ultimate judgment in history. 

So then we live in a time of violence and economic crisis. Will we take the time for prayer as Jesus and Isaiah and the ancients did? After all it was in that time of prayer that they all discovered the pathway to peace. They noticed the realities of injustice and oppression. They saw the gaping wounds of a world in desperate need of the healing balm of a Godly touch. 

The Middle East needs a prayerful people. America needs the same. The sacred words of the scripture are so clear. He went to that deserted place to pray. There is perhaps a directive from God in those words in a world that hungers and thirsts for peace.

 

Trickle Down???

Dear friends...

I am NOT an economist, but like the rest of you I'm puzzled by the current economic crisis. Frankly, I believe that the "experts" don't know or understand what is happening either...so I took a stab at it...after all, I KNOW I DON'T understand the economy. Having said that, I do have some thoughts...and so share them with you now. WARNING: Don't read this if you think priests should keep their noses out of politics and the economy..

It Doesn’t Seem to Trickle Down Anymore

The idea that the wealth of a nation would “trickle down” to the rest of us from those that generated the wealth at the top seems to be an idea that has passed its time. The faith that we held in that notion and in the notion that an increasingly unregulated economy would benefit everyone indefinitely also seems to be shaken by current economic realities.

We find ourselves in a time when our financial institutions are foundering because they invested in an amazing array of financial instruments that few but the most technically savvy really understood. Unfortunately these speculative investments were not only undercapitalized but were also dependent on a presumption that the real estate market would continue its upward climb without a major correction. When the day came for that correction, and the debt was called in, the money was not there.

That is when the government began to try and bail out the financial system. Unfortunately, it tried to bail it out from the top down, again presupposing that wealth would trickle down to the rest of us. To the contrary the collapse that began when the real estate market began to correct itself continues as money is poured into the system from the top. It continues to collapse.

The new stimulus package proposed by the Obama administration has many attractive features but unfortunately does not generate enough jobs to build a solid foundation for the economy to build on. Tax cuts alone provide nowhere near the liquidity needed to prop up the financials in the economy and we are thus left with the prospect of a continuing downward spiral that seems to be heading rather precipitously toward a crash. As praiseworthy as infrastructure improvements are, they cannot alone drive the economy back to viability. As worthy as health and unemployment benefits are they too will not touch the fundamental problematic we face, or at lease so it seems to me.

To reverse this fundamental error in our thinking, we may need to explore the possibility of building the economy from the bottom up for a change and not from the top down. There is an ancient precedent for this approach in the biblical notion of the “Jubilee” which was mandated every fifty years or so. Occasionally, wealth gets so concentrated in so few hands that a redistribution of that wealth becomes necessary for the entire system to survive.

It is a matter of some urgency that we make a decision to reallocate resources, it seems to me because we can only go to the well so often especially when we do so to the magnitude we are proposing in our current bail out strategies and stimulus plans.

What strikes me is that the resources that we are pouring into all our stimulus plans and bail outs at the present time are somewhat misplaced and ineffective. Instead, let us consider taking these resources and paying off all those bad mortgages and a good deal of the credit card debt in the economy? What if we were to prop up the economy from the bottom up rather than from the top down? Not only would that rid our financial institutions of toxic debts but it would prop up the housing market, increase home ownership and take a huge burden off those caught in the current downturn. It would get the building industry back on track and that sector alone could begin to drive the economy back into some vitality and the consumer would then find him/herself in a better position to drive the recovery.

The theory then that I propose is not quite communist although it sounds like it at first blush. Karl Marx is quoted as saying; “From everyone according to their means; to everyone according to their needs.” If you were to press me hard, I would have to admit that what I am proposing here does sound like communism. But biblical theology does that from time to time, but not exclusively so. Biblical theology also underpins our capitalist systems especially from the point of view of developing incentives to growth.

The theory that I am proposing is more specific than communism. It is a theory that says that when the concentration of wealth in too few hands reaches a point where it begins to collapse upon itself you cannot prop it up by giving it more—it will merely continue to collapse. It is like a reverse form of welfare. The system is corrupt and bankrupt from the top down and tossing money at it continues the cycle of corruption and bankruptcy. It cannot rectify itself by giving it more money. The CEO's have forgotten the great virtues of capitalism; frugality, efficiency, and quality. The greed they exemplify has become so bankrupt, that it threatens to bankrupt the entire economic system.

In order to salvage what we can of the economic system, we may need to reallocate our resources from the whole of the system to those who have been frozen out of the system. We may need to buy out their debt in the form of a “Jubilee” and thus prop up the financial system from the bottom up.

Thus the debt burden is relieved throughout the system and a return to a free market is possible…and that I argue is the desirable end of whatever strategy we discover is the effective one in the end.

Hopefully some bright folks in the government will institute some controls to prevent some of the excesses and abuses that led to the current collapse in liquidity. That, of course, will take incisive analysis and sufficient time to understand and then institute.

Once we then buy the time to give the economy breathing room we can then look at a more basic question. How do we institute the kinds of incentives we need to begin to produce durable goods domestically once again? How can we make it possible for the consumer to purchase domestic made goods once again? I am not proposing protectionism but a leveling of the playing field that gives domestic labor and industry the incentives to become more competitive.

The most significant flaw in the notion of communism to my mind is that it does not build into its system incentives to production or quality. The primary problem with capitalism is that without some kinds of checks and balances it will always concentrate wealth in too few hands and again the system collapses on itself as it is doing right in front of our eyes at this very moment.

We have also been doing that in recent decades by exporting the means of production overseas. All kinds of durable goods are now made outside of the domestic economy and we are left with a growing service sector. That sector cannot provide income and benefits that can, in turn, sustain an economy that we need to satisfy basic needs especially for housing. With Wal Mart for instance now replacing the old manufacturing facilities that once drove the economy to sustainability, we find ourselves pricing our young and our elderly out of the housing market. That is to say our young and our elderly of modest means. Those who are of significantly higher income need not worry. But much of the population makes well under $100,000 per year. For them (let me say, for “us”) economic viability is becoming much less possible. This has actually become the fundamental problematic underneath the present crisis…and this crisis has revealed this fundamental weakness in our economy.

The unknown factor in all this is what great discovery is next and who will exploit it? The computer and its related digital discoveries have given us an exciting way of managing the information age.

How then shall we discover our way toward environmental sustainability? Who will make these discoveries? How shall we encourage those discoveries and then provide incentives for their exploitation? Not only would such discoveries provide opportunities for the development of wealth, they would go a long way toward salvaging the planet.

So there you are; another few thoughts from a non economist. Just a simple parish priest, I am, puzzling my way through this part of time along with all the rest of you. Hopefully someone will figure out the way forward through the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.

Barack Obama and The Universal Chruch of God

I received this email just a short time ago...my response...I thought...though a repetition of what I've been saying for a good long time, is worth sharing...

Mary Anne & Pat,

I wrote the following for our FB page but then realized that posting it there might have the same effect that I was concerned about in my congregation. The three of you were the only ones that I knew shared my enthusiasm about our new president. So I ask you:

Is anyone going to make reference to the Inauguration in their sermon Sunday? The vision that our new president presented is certainly Christian and oh so hopeful. I'm planning to use it. I'm just wondering what land mines might be there than I could wisely avoid and still lift up that message.

Or maybe the rest of you don't have to be so cautious. After all I live in Bushland. Both my siblings refused to watch the Inauguration because they're still furious about the election. I know my brother will never acknowledge him as president and is among those still convinced he is not an American citizen and is secretly Muslim. And my mother still looks at me confused when I ask her "Why do you call him 'black' when he's half 'white'?" It's disheartening to see so many (church going) people refusing to give ear to someone calling us to old-fashioned virtues as a nation.

Thoughts?
Sharon


Hi Sharon, Mary Anne and Pat,
Here are a few of my thoughts about yesterday's experience...
I don't have to be cautious here at all...we are an intentionally inclusive congregation.
But the inauguration of Barack Obama really does beg the question...are we truly a "universal" nation/church or aren't we...is God universal or not?
Ultimately we have to deal with the question...are we a house of prayer for all people or not?
Is God the creator of all people or only everyone except (supply here.your category of choice, please)
A wise Anglican Priest years ago posed this question (in a lecture...not church...churches cannot take such questions sometimes)
"I wonder if God is able to send people like Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius, and all the others so that the world could be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea? I wonder too if God could send great scientists into the world that forced blind belief to face the truth about the world we live in? I wonder; if there is a God...if God could do that?"
We in the Anglican experience are one tiny corner of Christianity that is experimenting with the notion that the love of God embraces everyone without regard to race, ethnicity, economic class, gender or orientation.
We as a church are proposing that all human categories which we have conjured to organize the world we live in, fall before the gaze of the Glory of God. I believe we saw a glimpse of it yesterday...just a glimpse....in the inauguration of Barack Obama.
That's what excites me...and it has excited me ever since I was a child. I figured out early on that heaven was a place in the human heart where God's heart beats for all humanity...they said my daddy could not go to heaven because he didn't go to church. That's what the religious folks said...I have learned many times over not to listen to religious folks all the time. Sometimes I listen instead to my heart. Because it was in my heart that I heard these words..."Don't you know that there's a special place in my heart for your dad?"
I believe that question applied to my godless and unchurched family...a mother divorced three times and who had an abortion, an uncle who was gay, and now two kids who also happen to be gay...I hear what the religious people are saying...but I'm still suspicious...because I still hear the words of God in my heart..."Don't you know there's a special place in my heart for your dad, your mom, your uncle, your kids, and everyone else in the whole wide world....?" Good question God!
Frankly, I believe that God is right...or at least those words that I heard in my heart of hearts when I was a child and echo up into the present are right.
And so that's the approach I have taken in my preaching...and will continue to take so long as I live.
Peace...and love,
Paul

God??? a comment and a response.

Meg wrote an interesting comment to my offering "God???" and I responded...you may enjoy the conversation....join in if you wish...I love a little bit of theology from time to time...Fr. Paul

Blogger Meg said...

I enjoyed reading this post. I love thoughts that require a fork and steak knife to get through and internalize.... and this coming from a vegan!
God's Will leaves me wondering about Free will. What say you about our free will and God's omnipotent nature? Doesn't omnipotence negate free will?
Warmly,
Megan from West Virginia

I enjoyed reading this post. I love thoughts that require a fork and steak knife to get through and internalize.... and this coming from a vegan!
God's Will leaves me wondering about Free will. What say you about our free will and God's omnipotent nature? Doesn't omnipotence negate free will?
Warmly,
Megan from West Virginia

9:10 PM
Delete
Blogger Fr. Paul said...

Hi Meg,
Thanks for your comment. When I think of God as "omnipotent" I try to see it in Biblical terms. In fact God is quite limited because of human will. We are free to be as mean, violent, hateful, prejudiced, dishonest and fraudulent as we wish to be...recent history is surely a witness to that.
In response to the nature of human nature, God cannot be anything but God. God is born, for instance, as a baby, homeless, and of an unwed mother, very poor and subject to the throes of all that befalls humanity. Ultimately he is put to death, and there is no intervention whatsoever. He is utterly helpless...isn't that curious. Jesus really is just like us. But what make God "omnipotent" is that he uses the occasion of his death, to forgive us, love us and give us the gift that we never expected, especially after we treated him so...he gives us eternal life. In fact Jesus claims the gift for himself but then curiously gives it to all humanity whether we want it or not and whether we deserve it or not.
What makes the gift "omnipotent" to me is that the gift is for EVERYONE...because ALL sins are forgiven. Even before we knew that we had done sinning at all.
We knew something was wrong...after all, there is lots of bloodshed...there still is. There was cheating, lying, and human suffering in generous supply.
But Jesus said...."I have a better idea...why don't you love each other?" We're still working on that...because being free...we'd somehow rather kill each other off...go figure.
Anyway...our job is to proclaim the good news...He is risen. We are forgiven. Love God. Love one another...please!
Godspeed to you Meg...and enjoy the veggies!
Paul

The Holy Name

New Year's Day is the Feast Day of the Holy Name in Christian Circles...at least in those circles where the seasons are kept with some care...and so today we mark the day that Jesus was circumcised as was the custom then as now for Jewish boys. And he was given the name the angel had given him at the visitation to Mary.
Here are a few thoughts about Names.


Illustration #1
“What’s in a name?” Juliet said, musing on the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. Even if Romeo were of that “other” family, so what; she continues; “What’s in a name; that which we call a rose? By any other name would smell as sweet”. Perhaps then there is hope for their love. “Romeo, Romeo, doff thy name and for thy name which is no part of thee, take all myself!” Our hope for the young lovers always beats high no matter how many times we read the story; but in the end the cascading violent anger of the families brings the children both to their tragic ends. Only then can the elders see the folly of their ways. Thus the Holy Name of Jesus is born to us; the name that says “Savior” all over it; can the cascading, violent anger of our social order learn from Him? Has it ever? Will it ever?

Illustration #2
A wonderful moment exults inside Handel’s Messiah when the chorus sings; “And his Name shall be called; Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace!” How wonderful. The name of Jesus is a name that is above all other names. And it brings with it wonders, wisdom, power, eternity and above all else it brings Peace. It is inside that moment when the chorus rejoices; “For unto us a child is born, and then the Government shall be upon his shoulder. How fanciful is the scripture hope…or is the fanciful name of Jesus the only name under heaven that will really work?

Illustration #3
It is Christmas…and a cold icy grip has seized much of the nation. Like a frozen mantle, snow has fallen; snow on snow. A tempestuous wind swirls about piling up the snows into prodigious drifts. And the news we hear of the economy, foreign wars, and domestic threats of terror, seize us like a hard, hard winter. Shall we huddle in fear in such a climate or should we rather gather to sing the songs of a savior’s birth? Can Jesus save us from this mess? Can we save ourselves from this mess with the help of Jesus? We’ve been singing Christmas music for a long, long time and not as a backdrop to shopping frenzies. No it is best sung, gathered together in our holy places, huddled together by candlelight, singing in our sometimes untrained voices of the holy humble child in a manger. When we learn to love one another so; then the Holy Name of Jesus love can save us all! Sing on, sing on all through our Silent Night!

A Christmas Gift for ALL

Please notice the symbolism of the rainbow in the gift that God gives us in Mary's lap... I love the way this song sings of the Incarnation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIr5th0d44Y
Peace to ALL
Fr. Paul

God???

The question of God continues to come back to us day after day. We believe and we doubt and sometimes we do so close to the same moment. Here's an exchange between a friend and me that I thought worth sharing...what do you think of God???
When I noted on Facebook that we were hunkering down for yet another snowstorm, a friend wrote as follows.
"God WANTS all you Easterners to have all that lovely snow!! Surely you are not criticizing God's WILL???" (This friend lives in California)
I responded as follows: "God's will has always been a puzzlement to me!!!
Alas, as my grandmother was fond of saying; "I can't understand everything I know..."
Happy New Year."
He wrote back and interesting set of thoughts; "I am ABSOLUTELY with you! God has always been and I suspect will always be a Puzzlement! Since I retired (well, maybe in the last 2 years) I have been completely rethinking "God". I think I am at the interesting point where "God" is a creation of the human mind/heart/psyche - which is OK, and which does not make "God" unreal. To the contrary. WHat the human mind conceives is certainly "real". And has power. I think this is the way the Mystery we call God "works".
What think you?"
If you know me well, then you know how I might approach these thoughts...my rejoinder; "My thoughts...God is a matter of the human heart. Perhaps a projection of the heart, but I suspect that as we journey more deeply into the "Interior Castle" of the human heart, so too we also begin our journey into the heart of God.
I reject notions of God that project him/her as a demi-urge or as an unmoved mover or any other mechanistic cog in the universe.
To me God is much more of an integral part of experience...the experience of love, suffering, forgiveness, despair, hope and the like...all of which invites us into an encounter with the deepest dimensions of our being...the "I am" of my own being as being in relationship with the "I AM" of God.
Still, faith such as it is, is only a leap into the unknown and the unknowable...and as such is still a magnificent Puzzlement.
As for me, the only semi knowable in life is love...and that reality is the only pathway I know to my heart and to the heart of God.
....just a thought...
Godspeed and Happy New Year.
Paul of Salem.

And Now for Something Completely Different-Part II

“And Now for Something Completely Different!”

The turn of phrase comes from an English slapstick group “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. Using non sequitur, hyperbole, and just plain visual foolishness, reality is put to the test for the benefit of looking at things from an outrageously different point of view.

I’d like to add my voice to the “completely different” crowd as we think through the dilemma of our current economic bailout policy. I know that I am no economist, but I do like an idea that is only seldom mentioned in the current debate; namely the idea of the “Jubilee Year” to the Lord. It seems that in biblical tradition, every 50 years or so, things got so far out of hand that the land and the folks that lived on the land had to “give it a rest”. There’s some merit to the idea. If we don’t “give” it a rest from time to time, it will “take” one! I wonder if we need to “give it a rest” right about now.

It has not escaped the attention of many citizens of these United States that the ones receiving the benefit of the bailout seem to be those who have the most resources within their grasp. Those of us of more modest means wonder if this is not really at the root of much of the problematic we face just now. And moreover, we wonder if we don’t have things upside down.

Why then do we bail out the corporations and financial institutions that have gotten us into the problem in the first place? Why not rather forgive mortgage and credit card debt of those of us who have dug themselves too deeply into the hole? They sure could use a bailout right about now too! Would it not make some sense to put money into the pockets of those at the bottom of the economic ladder and thus satisfy debt from the bottom up rather than from the top down?

Just wondering! Perhaps I’m just a simple parish priest and cannot think clearly, or even worse I know just enough to be dangerous. Just once in my lifetime I’d like to see the money “trickle up” rather than “trickle down”. Now that would be something “completely different” indeed.

Many folks more conversant in economics than I will turn over these problems we face in their minds and hearts. And they will likely do so better than I in resolving them. In the meantime John the Baptist comes to us eating locusts and wild honey and looking quite the character…perhaps like something out of Monty Python. But the message he brings is completely different indeed. His message would have us level every mountain and raise every valley and make the rough places plain. John would have us prepare our hearts for the savior. And what he offers is of little quantifiable value in terms of the Gross Domestic Product, debt, bailout or the like.

What John has to offer is something “completely different” indeed. He offers forgiveness for our sins. He offers us a new way of life that leads to the forgiveness of our sins. He invites us to have our sins washed away and live a baptized life “on purpose” for God. He leads us to prepare our hearts to receive a savior. And right about now it is abundantly clear; we need a savior!

And Now for Something Completely Different-Part I

And Now for Something Completely Different

For those of you who follow the exploits of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", you may agree with me that John the Baptist could almost fit the image we have of a wild eyed character who bursts upon a barren landscape wearing "a coat of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and eating locusts and wild honey". No doubt this fellow was something "completely different" and brought a different message too. After all so much of religion up to that point was guilt ridden, judgmental, and filled with hundreeds and hundreds of prescribed rules and regulations. Here John comes proclaiming forgiveness, and gathers people by the Jordan River to encourage them to wash away their sins as a token of that forgiveness. In addition, he goes on to say that you may think that this proclamation of forgiveness is good but I baptize you with water. There is one who is coming who will baptize you with the Holy Sprit.

What John has to offer is something “completely different” indeed. He offers forgiveness for our sins. He offers us a new way of life that leads joy. He invites us to have our sins washed away and live a baptized life “on purpose” for God. He leads us to prepare our hearts to receive a savior. And right about now it is abundantly clear; we need a savior!

The Day of the Lord is Coming indeed….and now for something completely different!!! That applies to our life too as a congregation. In our case, what is different is that we need to rethink how we approach the matter of stewardship…and many others will have to rethink it as well. Our survival as a faith depends on it.

The Day of the Lord is Coming for us indeed…and now for something different, I thought it right to publish the names of those who have made financial commitments for 2009; so far…16 in all, I believe for a total of around $24,000. I’ve never done that before, but I’ve never faced a situation like this before either.

I’ve never had a congregation with an endowment before. Our portfolio was worth around half a million dollars at the beginning of the year…we had to take around $50,000 to pay for mandated building improvements according to city codes, and then we had a significant shortfall in weekly income. In addition, stock market reversals have taken yet another toll on the value of our investment…we don’t even know how much yet…but I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ve lost yet another $50,000 in market value from our endowment. That means our portfolio is now worth something in the $300,000 range

Week after week, we’ve deposited, anywhere from $800--$1300…and week after week we’ve been spending $1600-$1800…and you can see that we are hemorrhaging rather significantly from the life blood of our financial well being. I publish our vital signs often so that you can see in black and white what is going on.

What is going on is that we are depleting our resources at a rate that puts the continuing existence of St. Peter’s at risk. It is time to say so right out loud. At the rate we are going, we will not be able to continue at our present rate…we will have to cut the priest out of the budget within a year or two…and then perhaps at best have a supply priest. That is not what I would like to see happen.

When I came here to be your priest, I did so with the understanding that there were three matters at hand for us to work on:
1. The healing of our relationships especially in the wake of recent hurtful realities
2. The discernment of our mission as a congregation
3. The rekindling of a vigorous stewardship program that leads to this church’s self support within three to five years.
We have made significant strides in the first two areas of our life together. The morale of this church in the wake of our recent fair and throughout our 275th Anniversary Year has been outstanding. I believe that the cumulative effect of all these activities has left us in superb spirit.
Our discernment that we are a “House of Prayer for ALL People” and our recognition that when we say “ALL” we mean “ALL” without regard to race, ethnicity, economic class, gender, or orientation…we all come to the altar as Christ’s own citizens ALL infinitely precious before Jesus.
Now the matter of Stewardship comes before us.
Yes, I published the names in the Newsletter. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if some are somewhat sensitive about that. I’ve already heard a rumbling or two about it…but we cannot afford to be squeamish about church finance anymore. We certainly have to have our wits about us when we face the household budget, so too when we face the realities of the budget for the household of God.
I believe it is time for us to stand up and be counted.
It is time for us to pray the prayer of oblation: Yes, God you can count on me!
I will do whatever it takes to uphold your church, because I love it so.
It is where our children are baptized, where many were married, our loved ones in so many cases were buried here.
How can we do anything less than have you count on us.
When we needed you, you were there.
And now the church needs you.
Will you be there for your church?

Yes my friends it is time for us to stand up and be counted. It is time for us to give generously from the bounty God has given us, in generous proportion to what God has given us…so we return to God.

It is time for us all to do something "completely different!"
Fr. Paul

Who is worthy to receive? - The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe carried an article about a custom that is sweeping through the Episcopal Church these days: Open Communion.
There was a time when we tended to be a fairly exclusive church and we used to say that those who were welcome in their own communion were welcome at ours.
Then we opened things up to say that "all Baptized Christians were welcome at the Altar rail."
Things are so different now. We tend to say now that "Everyone is welcome to receive communion in this church."
Since it is our sense that Jesus did not check membership cards to any earthly organization at the Last Supper, likewise we shouldn't either.
Jesus tended to stay at the margins welcoming rich and poor alike, common fisherfolk, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers the lame and the halt and the blind.
These folks were often not welcome in the Temple. After all, their offerings were without blemish. For Jesus blemishes and imperfections were hardly a barrier to entry into the kingdom.
To Jesus there was a special place in God's heart for those who manifested all kinds of imperfections.
The Globe says something about "liberal" dioceses opening communion up to members and non members alike, Christians and non-Christians as well. True enough. But I would hardly call the "liberal". To me this policy is simply the next logical step in obedience to Jesus' command to "Love God and love one another!"
Godspeed to ALL
Fr. Paul

Who is worthy to receive? - The Boston Globe

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Readings for next week

Having just posted today's sermon, we now need to shift our focus on next Sunday's readings. Here they are...time to think and pray about the place of God's word our life under the banner of these readings.

The Lessons Appointed for Use on Sunday October 12

The Collect

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Exodus 32:1-14

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." Aaron said to them, "Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the LORD." They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.

The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, `These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation."

But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, `It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, `I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'" And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 Page 741, BCP

1
Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, *
for his mercy endures for ever.

2
Who can declare the mighty acts of the LORD *
or show forth all his praise?

3
Happy are those who act with justice *
and always do what is right!

4
Remember me, O LORD, with the favor you have for your people, *
and visit me with your saving help;

5
That I may see the prosperity of your elect
and be glad with the gladness of your people, *
that I may glory with your inheritance.

6
We have sinned as our forebears did; *
we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.

19
Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb *
and worshiped a molten image;

20
And so they exchanged their Glory *
for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.

21
They forgot God their Savior, *
who had done great things in Egypt,

22
Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham, *
and fearful things at the Red Sea.

23
So he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, *
to turn away his wrath from consuming them.


The Epistle
Philippians 4:1-9

My brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

The Gospel
Matthew 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to the people in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, `Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.' But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, `The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.' Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.

Return to The Lectionary Page.

Pressing on to the Upward Call

Lively conversation followed today's service at "Coffee Plus". Below are the readings and the sermon given under the title:

"Pressing on..."

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday October 5, 2008
Year A Proper 22 RCL

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin."

Psalm 19 Page 606, BCP

Caeli enarrant

1

The heavens declare the glory of God, *
and the firmament shows his handiwork.

2

One day tells its tale to another, *
and one night imparts knowledge to another.

3

Although they have no words or language, *
and their voices are not heard,

4

Their sound has gone out into all lands, *
and their message to the ends of the world.

5

In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *
it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;
it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

6

It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens
and runs about to the end of it again; *
nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

7

The law of the LORD is perfect
and revives the soul; *
the testimony of the LORD is sure
and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8

The statutes of the LORD are just
and rejoice the heart; *
the commandment of the LORD is clear
and gives light to the eyes.

9

The fear of the LORD is clean
and endures for ever; *
the judgments of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.

10

More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, *
sweeter far than honey,
than honey in the comb.

11

By them also is your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping them there is great reward.

12

Who can tell how often he offends? *
cleanse me from my secret faults.

13

Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me; *
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offense.

14

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, *
O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 21:33-46

Jesus said, "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, [PBB1] put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way.[PBB2] Finally he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.'[PBB3] So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:

`The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone; [PBB4]

this was the Lord's doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes'?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you[PBB5] and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

“Pressing On…”

You shall love God and you shall love your neighbor as you do yourself. Sound simple enough? What if I told you that to love your neighbor that meant beginning with your mother and father? Simple enough for some but certainly not for all!

Some Christian Psychiatrists postulate that to love your neighbor, you must begin with mother and father. How can that be when there is so much abuse and so many wounds among so many? The reconciliation of brothers and sisters, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons can be a daunting challenge for many of us. Jesus recognized this, did he when he spoke of the conflict that he would bring into this world between those within one’s most immediate family.

When Jesus spoke of loving our neighbor, he noted too that when the dying victim lie at the roadside, it was not the priest or the Levite that ministered to the unfortunate, but it was the Samaritan, the roundly detested Samaritan who became neighbor to the helpless and hapless one.

Still it is good to have standards for behavior as set forth by the Ten Commandments. After all, if Wall Street and investment bankers has known not to worship the graven image on the so called “Almighty dollar” we might not find ourselves in the midst of the financial crisis we’re mired in just now. It appears we have no choice but bail out the very bankers who indulged in those practices that delivered us into the economic crisis we’re in. You and I would not be rewarded with such a bail out would we?

At the same time that Sallie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG and a host of other financial institutions were being baled out of the financial implosion of their excesses one 90 year old woman in Ohio was being evicted from her home…a home she worked for all her life. Predatory lenders wrote her a reverse mortgage when she in turn could not afford and so when the sheriff came to evict her from her home, she could not face the loss of her home and did the unthinkable.

Ah yes…the Ten Commandments stand firmly placed in the center of the human condition. It is still a good idea to set aside a day of rest, to respect the holy name of God, to honor our parents even when they don’t turn out all that well, not to steal, lie, kill or covet what belongs to another, and to keep the promises you made to the one you promised to love. The whole of the Law of God is not so hard when you think of it.

And whether we live on Wall Street, The Capitol or on Main Street, USA, the law of God is still in force and still makes sense even when humanity thinks that there may be a way around the ways of God.

Those that wear the fancy robes such as I wear Sunday after Sunday had better watch out too. Jesus came into the world for many reasons. But chiefest among them was the cause of forgiveness of human sin. He wanted us to know what the Scribes and the Pharisees seemed to forget so easily…that the folks who had been expelled from the Temple were God’s beloved too.

They were common folk like fishermen. There were the notorious sinners like the prostitutes and the tax collectors, the poor the sick, the lame, the lepers of his time…and now there are outcast and the marginalized of our own time

Sometimes the Doctors of the Law of God wrote these folks out of the embrace of the love of Jesus.

But I’ve got news for you…wonderful news; for whether you are rich or poor, black or white, gay or straight, liberal or conservative…you are among the beloved of God.

And beyond that whatever sin you have committed or can’t quite conquer…God love you too…for this I know. The sublime words of the Blessed Apostle Paul are true, “forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the upward call of Jesus to make it my own”….For as I die to the old way of sin and death, and as I press on toward this upward call, I emerge into the risen life of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Discussion:

There was lots of lively conversation today at "Coffee Plus" about the Gospel passage. We wondered about the landpwner, who we ended up thinking of as God, the Watchtower, which we thought of as the Temple in Jerusalem...its hedge as the walls that surround the Temple and the grapes as the people of God and their righteous deeds, especially in the Christian context as love, forgiveness and reconciliation. The slaves of the landowner are the prophets who were shamefully treated in each generation. The tenants are the Chief Priests, the Pharisees, the Doctors of the Law and the elders, who study each word of the law and forget its spirit.

Particularly, we noted that when Jesus came, he sought out the common fisherfolk, and then the tax collectors, prostitutes, the sick, the lame, the maimed...all of those who had been systematically excluded from the Temple life...Jesus gave the inclusive and healing touch to. Ultimately the son was also killed by those tenants..and so was Jesus. Thus the stone which the bulders rejected became the head of the corner upon which Jesus would build the new community of faith. And THAT is truly amazing in our eyes. Thus we ALL become the beneficiaries of the Grace of God and the Goodness of God and the Love of God. And THAT is amazing in our eyes.

We have a grand time at "Coffee Plus", our adult forum after church. We meet from around 11:30 until a little after noon or so. It is time well spent. Come join us any Sunday.

Fr. Paul

A Thirst for Leadership

This next Sunday, we come again upon a scene in which the people are complaining; this time because of the terrible thirst they experienced in the wilderness. God acts again, much as he did when they hungered for bread, and God fed them with the "Bread of Angels" (Psalm 8); and when they hungered for meat God provided quail for them to eat.
In the case of thirst, God again provided for the people.
Last week at Coffee Plus we had some conversation about the nature of sanctification. As the people consecrated themselves, they found that God also provided for them in new and transformational ways.
We hunger now for leadership.
We hope for a president who will lead us out of our current hardships.
But if we ever hope to be led, we'll also have to find a way to follow.
That is a tricky dynamic...leadership and its relationship to discipleship.
It is on the fulcrum of this dynamic that the well being of the parish, the church, the community and the nation depends.
Will we rise to the occasion?
That's a question well worth considering.
Lets give that some thought as we prepare for next week's readings, sermon and "Coffee Plus".
The readings for next Sunday are printed below for your convenience.
Fr. Paul

XX Pentecost
September 28, 2008

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Exodus 17:1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 Page 694, BCP
Attendite, popule
1
Hear my teaching, O my people; *
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2
I will open my mouth in a parable; *
I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.
3
That which we have heard and known,
and what our forefathers have told us, *
we will not hide from their children.
4
We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, *
and the wonderful works he has done.
12
He worked marvels in the sight of their forefathers, *
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13
He split open the sea and let them pass through; *
he made the waters stand up like walls.
14
He led them with a cloud by day, *
and all the night through with a glow of fire.
15
He split the hard rocks in the wilderness *
and gave them drink as from the great deep.
16
He brought streams out of the cliff, *
and the waters gushed out like rivers.


Philippians 2:1-13
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death--
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Matthew 21:23-32
When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, `From heaven,' he will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, `Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, `I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him."

The Lavish Generosity of the Land Owner

And so the people complain.
With all the miracles of life, may I suggest that rather than complaint as the center and core of our life, perhaps gratitude and thanksgiving would redound more helpfully to the soul's health.
A few examples of what I mean follow.
Illustrations for September 21, 2008

Illustration #1

We live in an age of anxiety. I remember as a child in the early 1950’s hiding under our school desks in case of nuclear attack. I also remember Joe McCarthy ranting and raving about the ubiquity of Communists, and how they had infiltrated every corner of American life. And now we life with the ever present threat of terror.
Getting stuck in anxiety is a recipe for disaster. Rather let it be an occasion for something new and hope filled; it was Jesus who repeatedly said “Fear not” and T. S. Elliot who wrote “Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity”


Illustration #2

When the weather is cold, people complain.
When it is hot and humid, people complain.
When it rains day after day, people complain.
If God came down and divided the Red Sea for us so that we could walk on dry land while the waters stood up like walls on the left and on the right hand, sooner or later we’d complain.
Even when we eat the bread of angels we’d complain that there was no meat to eat.
And then when the birds of the air satisfied our hunger, even then we would find something to complain about.
It is the universal condition to complain, even when God acts so decisively in our lives.
We’re always looking for something else.
And if we are not careful the complaint will blind us to the miracle staring us in the face that God gives us every day.

Illustration #3

Like the lavishly generous land owner, a good mother will listen to a child’s cry night after night, and still cradle the gentle creature in her tender and loving arms. And when there are long sleepless nights, with ear infections, colds, and sore gums from teething, still a loving mother will lavish her child with patience. She will change diapers, feed hundreds of meals, bind up scrapes and wounds and suffer scores of anxious moments for her child. And when those teen years come along, there will be baffling moments of trial, insult, and insensitivity, and still the mother is there with an uncommon love.
Who can explain such love and such generosity either of a mother or of the landowner in today’s Gospel unless such love is of God?

An Anxious or Generous Heart?



Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Exodus 16:2-15
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days." So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaining against the LORD. For what are we, that you complain against us?" And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaining that you utter against him-- what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, `Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 Page 738, BCP
Confitemini Domino
1
Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name; *
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2
Sing to him, sing praises to him, *
and speak of all his marvelous works.
3
Glory in his holy Name; *
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4
Search for the LORD and his strength; *
continually seek his face.
5
Remember the marvels he has done, *
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6
O offspring of Abraham his servant, *
O children of Jacob his chosen.
37
He led out his people with silver and gold; *
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
38
Egypt was glad of their going, *
because they were afraid of them.
39
He spread out a cloud for a covering *
and a fire to give light in the night season.
40
They asked, and quails appeared, *
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41
He opened the rock, and water flowed, *
so the river ran in the dry places.
42
For God remembered his holy word *
and Abraham his servant.
43
So he led forth his people with gladness, *
his chosen with shouts of joy.
44
He gave his people the lands of the nations, *
and they took the fruit of others' toil,
45
That they might keep his statutes *
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!


Philippians 1:21-30
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God's doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well-- since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, `You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, `Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, `You also go into the vineyard.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, `Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

The Forgiveness Rule

How important do you think the law of forgiveness is to God? Here are the readings for September 14. Read them over carefully. I'll bet you have some questions about these readings when we come to "Coffee Plus" next week.
(Coffee Plus is our adult discussion forum at St. Peter's, Salem...we usually take some time after church to talk about the scripture readings, the sermon, or other subjects that seem to come up. This week should be interesting!)

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the

Sunday closest to September 14
Year A
Proper 19
RCL


O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Exodus 14:19-31
The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Psalm 114 Page 756, BCP
In exitu Israel
1
Hallelujah!
When Israel came out of Egypt, *
the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech,
2
Judah became God's sanctuary *
and Israel his dominion.
3
The sea beheld it and fled; *
Jordan turned and went back.
4
The mountains skipped like rams, *
and the little hills like young sheep.
5
What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? *
O Jordan, that you turned back?
6
You mountains, that you skipped like rams? *
you little hills like young sheep?
7
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, *
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8
Who turned the hard rock into a pool of water *
and flint-stone into a flowing spring.

Romans 14:1-12
Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written,
"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God."
So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Matthew 18:21-35
Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, `Pay what you owe.' Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."