The Gospel at a time of Death Part II

Today I preached this sermon in response to the news that Fr. Cal Adams had died just Friday morning. His funeral is Saturday December 1 at Christ Church, Reading at 11am. It is an irony of sorts that at the time he died, I was preparing to commend my Aunt Peggy to God's keeping. God rest their souls.

My Heart Therefore is Glad

My Spirit Rejoices

My Body Also Shall Rest in Hope

~Psalm 16:9

By now most of you have heard the news but in case you have not, I must tell you this. After a long and difficult illness, Fr Cal succumbed and now lies in death. There is a deep and profound sadness that nows falls upon us like a pall falls over a casket.

“But my heart is Glad!”

How can I be glad at a time like this? Just last Sunday was Membership Sunday, and Jim Eliot stood at the podium of a parish luncheon and he told us the story of how he, Jim Hollenbach and Cal Adams partnered and together the three of them build the Keystone Villa.

“My Spirit Rejoices!” 

How can my spirit rejoice at a time like this? Well it can because of a man like Cal Adams because he went on from there and built the Learning Center

“And my Body also shall rest in hope?” 

How can my body rest when there is so much life in the church? The Parish Life Center arose from the ground. For 20 years Cal baptized your children, he married your sons and daughters, he visited your sick, he buried your dead. And he laughed and cried with you. He led your vestry, loved your youth, and when necessary, he fought for the right and the good things for the church he loved.

Oh yes, his Body shall rest in hope. When Jesus' disciples admired the Temple in Jerusalem as you and I admire the great cathedrals in Britain or Europe or The National Cathedral or even our own cathedral in Bethlehem PA, Jesus said of them all, not one stone will be left on another until all shall be thrown down. In John’s Gospel, he goes on to say; “Destroy this Temple and I will rebuild it again in three days” John 2:19. 

The Temple he was referring to, of course was his own body. He was referring to Cal’s body. He was referring to all those who commit themselves to Jesus as Cal did to build a place where human needs of every age and condition can be tended to within the community of the church.

“I know that my Redeemer lives and I know too that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And even though this body be destroyed yet shall I see God whom I shall see for myself and not as a stranger."

Job suffered terribly in his life and yet these words came from him in the 25th Chapter of the Book that tells the story of his life. So too for Cal. So too for me. So too for you!

What an irony that as Cal lay near death, I would be gathering with my family on the North Shore of Massachusetts. We would gather to celebrate the life of my Aunt Peggy, 94 years of age. But not everyone is granted long life, so sadly. 

I called to mind my dad who died at the age of 37, and even more cruelly, he died two days after Christmas when I was just a boy eight years of age.

I know I've told this story before, but I'm going to tell it again. My poor wife has heard this story and others more times than we can care to count.

I remember clearly the tears that filled my eyes as a child. It was a Sunday, and when I came home from church, my mother told me the news. I went out to play ball with my friends. It was an unusually warm day as I recall. I just didn’t understand that the word death meant I would never see him again. In fact, I can remember running to the window to see if he would drive up in his pride and joy; his wonderful white 1951 Chevrolet. O what a time we had, dad and me. Sometimes we went to the race track, or to Howard Johnson’s for an ice cream or drive all the way to Beverly from Somerville to see his family. 

But he never came again to see me. At church I would say that prayer; “Our father, who art in heaven.” And when I said those words I would look up to the clerestory of that beautiful church and I could not see either father, and I wondered long and hard where they were. Many’s the night I’d cry myself to sleep and listen to squeal of trolly cars on iron rails and the bells from St. John’s church as they called out into the night.

Otherwise there was only silence in answer to my prayer. 

Then one summer Sunday on the way home from church, I pulled a leaf from an old hedge along a rusty old chain link fence. As I pressed my thumb into the life blood of that leaf, I heard something speak in my heart...no voice...just a sense...but I gave it a voice. Because, whatever it was that spoke in my heart, it spoke clearly; “Don’t you know there’s a special place in my heart for your dad?” I stopped dead in my tracks. I said it again, and then I said it right out loud; “Don’t you know there’s a special place in my heart for your dad?

There were those who said my dad couldn’t go to heaven because he didn’t go to church. And in fact the only time I ever heard him use our Lord’s Name was when he lost a bet at Suffolk Downs.

But now this something spoke in my heart and I ran home as fast as I could and Ma was standing at the stove presiding over her favorite cast iron skillet, and she was peppering some delectable to taste.

I tugged at her apron string and asked her if there really is a God.

“Yes” she said, “of course there is!”

So then, I said, 

“Is there a heaven?”

“Yes” she said, “of course there is”...somewhat irritably now. After all this was not a good time to do theology. There were mouths to be fed.

But I had to know. And I pressed the issue;

“Is my daddy there?”

She did hesitate I must tell you in all candor. After all, more than once she said that it was the Irish that ruined Boston. That will tell you what she thought of my dad, the separation and divorce from my mother. She did hesitate. After all, the prospect of a Yankee from Maine spending and eternity with an Irishman from Boston must have given her pause.

But what she did then, I will never forget. She got down on her knee, held me close, and it is as if I can still smell her hair as she held me close in the nape of her neck.

“Of course he is”

That night my heart was filled with joy and it was as if that Silence now became a Presence and it wiped away my tears with the Love that only God can give.

My dear friends; for me heaven is a wonderful banquet. Just as the Scripture says it is. And on that day God will remove that shroud that covers all nations, and God will wipe the tears from all our eyes”. 

Is there a God? 

Of course there is.

Is there a heaven?

Of course there is.

Is Cal there? Is my Dad there?

This I can tell you without hesitation; of course they are!

It is because of this that I became a priest. So that I could spend a lifetime bringing this news to the bereaved, the poor and to all who are in any need whatsoever, just like Cal did!

In a curious kind of way, it was because of my dad’s death that I became a priest. It was all that fun and all that love that led me to Jesus. And it is a vision of heaven that I have for my family, your family and Cal’s family and all the uncles and aunts; that crazy quilt of characters;  that countless number, all of us gathered at the mountain of God, around God’s banquet table.

Is it so?

Of course it is!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

And may Peace be upon him,

Fr. Paul

The Gospel at a time of death

The following is what I shared with my family at the time of my Aunt Peggy's death.

Aunt Peggy

January 4, 1918--November 10, 2012

Family and friends gather at times like this and we gain strength from one another as we commend our beloved to God’s keeping. This year mark’s my 40th anniversary as a priest of the church. I have read the burial office about 1000 times for a thousand loved ones. It is never easy to do so and especially when it comes to my own family. 

Mums asked me to bury her when the time came. I was much younger and a strict trinitarian. Mums was a Unitarian Universalist, and I felt obligated to tell Mums that if I read the burial office for her I would have to use the Trinitarian formula. Mums looked severely at me and yet with eyes filled with laughter; “You go ahead and bury me by any formula that makes you happy!” 

I buried my mother and uncle, uncle Jim and also officiated at the wedding of Jon and Jen Moulton, participated at the wedding of Jay & Julie Kersting.

Sad times and happy times. This is what it is to be family.

My happiest memories though were the many Thanksgiving dinners at the old homestead at Uncle Jim & Aunt Martha’s home and also with Alan and Joanna. We have had some wonderful times. More than once I brought a tag along friend with me to feast with the family and they were dazzled by what was set before them, as I was.

Whatever the situation, there was always a warm welcome here and the embrace of human warmth that made our hearts fill with love. I do love you all very much.

And I remember Karl and Aunt Peggy and Carolyn. Each of you, each of us very special in our own way. A crazy quilt of charachters we are, God love us all. Peggy’s love for my uncle and her fierce care for his diabetes, as well as her love fierce care and love for you to Carolyn are to be treasured. It is a kind of love that was and continues to be ever close.

But the spread on those many Thanksgiving days. What a spread! Especially the pies! I really liked those pies. No one could make a pie taste better except maybe my maternal grandmother, Ma....

So then there is this; a vision of heaven if you will. Much like the Messianic Banquet that I read about a few minutes ago from the Prophet Isaiah. He saw a vision of heaven much like a gathering of a throng no one could number from all the tribes of earth gathered at God’s Banquet Table.  There God removes the shroud that covers all humanity and even more mercifully and lovingly he wipes the tears from every eye.

I remember clearly the tears that filled my eyes as a child when my father died on December 27th 1953. It was a Sunday, and when I came home from church, my mother told me the news. I went out to play ball with my friends. It was an unusually warm day as I recall. I just didn’t understand that the word death meant I would never see him again. In fact, I can remember running to the window to see if he would drive up in his wonderful white 1951 Chevrolet. O what a time we had, dad and me. Sometimes we went to the race track, or to Howard Johnson’s for an ice cream or drive all the way to Beverly from Somerville to see Mums and Daddy Bill and all the aunts and uncles and cousins up in this neck of the woods. I loved it.

But he never came again to see me. At church I would say that prayer; “Our father who art in heaven.” And when I said those words I would look up to the clerestory of that beautiful church and I could not see either father, and I wondered long and hard where they were. Many’s the night I’d cry myself to sleep and listen to squeal of trolly cars on iron rails and the bells from St. John’s church call out to the night.

Otherwise there was only silence in answer to my prayer. 

Then one summer Sunday on the way home from church, I pulled a leaf from an old hedge along a rusty old chain link fence. As I pressed my thumb into the life blood of that leaf, I heard something speak in my heart...no voice...just a sense...and I gave it a voice. Because whatever it was that spoke in my heart, spoke clearly. It said; “Don’t you know there’s a special place in my heart for your dad?” I stopped dead in my tracks. I said it again and then I said it right out loud; “Don’t you know there’s a special place in my heart for your dad?

There were those who said my dad couldn’t go to heaven because he didn’t go to church. And in fact the only time I heard him use our Lord’s Name was when he lost a bet at Suffolk Downs.

But now this something spoke in my heart and I ran home as fast as I could and Ma was standing at the stove presiding over her favorite cast iron skillet, and she was peppering some delectable to taste.

I tugged at her apron string and asked her if there really is a God.

“Yes” she said, “of course there is!”

So then, I said, 

“Is there a heaven?”

“Yes” she said, “of course there is”...somewhat irritably now. After all this was not a good time to do theology. There were mouths to be fed.

But I had to know. And I pressed the issue;

“Is my daddy there?”

She did hesitate I must tell you in all candor. After all, more than once she said that it was the Irish that ruined Boston. That will tell you what she thought of my dad, the separation and divorce from my mother. She did hesitate. After all, the prospect of a Yankee from Maine spending an eternity with an Irishman must have given her some pause.

But what she did then, I will never forget. She got down on her knee, held me close and it is as if I can still smell her hair as she held me close in the nape of her neck.

“Of course he is”

That night my heart was filled with joy and it was as if that Silence now became a Presence and it wiped my tears away with the Love that only God can give.

Carolyn, family and friends; for me heaven is a wonderful banquet. Just as the Scripture says it is. And on that day God will remove that shroud that covers all nations, and God will wipe the tears from all our eyes”. 

Is there a God? 

Of course there is.

Is there a heaven?

Of course there is.

Is Aunt Peg there?

This I can tell you without hesitation; of course she is!

It is because of this that I became a priest. So that I could spend a lifetime bringing this news to the bereaved, the poor and to all who are in any need whatsoever.

In a curious kind of way, it was because of my dad’s death that I became a priest. It was all that fun and all that love that led me to Jesus. And it is a vision of heaven that I have in my heart: Mums and Ma and Daddy Bill, Martha & Jim, Karl and Peg, Dad...and then there will be my mom, feisty as ever, and all the rest, cousins, uncles and aunts countless in number all of us gathered at the mountain of God, around God’s banquet table.

Is it so?

Of course it is!

By the way, I was ordained on June 24th, the feast day of John the Baptist...come to find out; that was my dad’s birthday! 

OMG! Maybe, just maybe, it really is all true!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Blessings on us one and all,

Fr. Paul

"Normal???"

"Normal???"

A nugget of household wisdom.

When discussing the much misunderstood word "normal", my wife is wont to observe that the only "normal" she has ever seen is;

"A cycle on a washing machine."

My wife is a brilliant philosopher!

Beware of Church People

On Membership Sunday

Beware of Church People!

Yes indeed! Those of us who walk around in long robes and sit in the good seats had better watch out according to today's Gospel. The One we worship and adore is watching us like a hawk.

Yes indeed, there are widows and there are those who are easy prey for various predators. It was worse in ancient times. There was no income for widows in those days; no Social Security, no Medicare. Even now, there isn’t that much for many.

I’ve seen it all too often.  Door to door salesmen who promise to fix the roof, take the first third of the contract in check form and then are never heard from again. There are predators in every walk of life who devour the houses of the vulnerable and worse. We’re learning all too painfully how important it is to be vigilant for the safety of young people in the church and at places like State College. Let this be a warning; you and I are being held to a high standard!

Having said that, and that needs to be said, we come now to Membership Sunday, and curiously enough we come to the Sunday of the Widow’s mite, almost as if it were planned that way. I wish I could claim such foresight and intelligence. I can assure you, I didn’t check the Gospel reading when we picked this date. Sally Heist can attest to that. So, if there were any planning to the Gospel for the day, it came from a Higher Power than mine.

If we are going to build a church where we might worship God and satisfy the human need for prayer and spiritual encouragement; or a senior center to respond to the needs of the elderly, or a day care center to respond to the needs of children, or a parish life center where we may mobilize a congregation around the needs of youth, children, or the poor; if we are going to build and tend to such a holy place as this, we will then need to make every effort to build on our membership and strengthen it where possible. It is to clerical veterans such as Cal Adams, that we can offer our gratitude for their indefatigable service. Please continue to keep Fr. Cal and Pam in your prayers especially now as Cal enters upon these latter days in his life.

The Villa and the Learning Center are now essentially self sustaining. But the church’s life depends on our annual membership drive, our pledges and on freewill offerings from all of us. At least that’s the current business model of the church. For the foreseeable future that will continue to be our business model. 

In today’s Gospel, the rich were able to give generous amounts. But what caught Jesus' attention was that while they gave out of their abundance, there came a widow, who had a mere tuppence left to her name and out of her poverty she put everything she had into the treasury.  It reminds me of that ancient Maori saying; “Its not so much the amount of the gift, it is the amount of the love that goes into that gift that counts.” The Maori, by the way, are native peoples of New Zealand, who have taught us much wisdom for the sake of our faith. 

Jesus was impressed with the widow’s generosity. “Look, out of her poverty, she has put in everything she had”. Like the widow of Zerephath in our First Lesson, she put her own life and the life of her son on the line in order to provide for the Prophet Elijah and the purposes of God. In return God provided for her until the draught was over. In fact God always provides for all. So too most of us are of modest means. Some have been cut off from greater income by retirement, unemployment, divorce or other economic reverses. Still others live by meager means at a minimum wage job and part-time hours in the service sector.

All of which puts us in our present predicament. Lets face it; we all love the church. Most of us come to this place every single week because the words we hear, the songs we sing, and the people we know and love. All of this sustains us week in and week out because all these things bring us closer to God. And it is the Practice of the Presence of God that is at the heart of the Church’s work. This is what inspires the building of ministry whether it is to the elderly, the young, the poor, and so on.

Being a member here is more than being a member of some kind of organization. We are more than an “organized religion”. At our best we are Members of Christ. We are Members of One another. The church is the Body of Christ and we are Members of that Body.

By the way, how well we respond to this membership drive will determine how well we can meet our budget. As much as I love being here, and as much as you embrace and love Cindy and me, and I do sense that being the case; eventually you will need to bring a new priest into your midst who will then become your Rector. I pray that this Membership Drive will make this and much more possible. It is now up to you to make these important decisions. As a wise old priest once quipped; “I have good news and bad news; the good news is that we have the money to balance the budget. The bad news is that the money is in your pockets!”

We and those who have come before us have built this holy place. I was baptized in one of them, confirmed in another, ordained in yet a third, and throughout 40 years of ordained ministry have served ten congregations in all. In God’s good time and mercy, I will be ministered to when I weaken and fall sick, and ultimately you and I will all be commended to God’s keeping at what I hope will be the greatest celebration of all. We Irish do love a wake!

In the meantime, there are the widows to be tended to. We’re here to organize our lives around the needs of real human beings. Those needs obviously go beyond widows. There are many, many poor folks. As Jesus noted you will always have the  poor with you. ~Matthew 26:11

So then, it fell to me to make my specialty in ministry on behalf of the homeless. Interestingly enough, when I came to tend to the homeless, I discovered that many of them were veterans. Yes, when they marched off to war in their youth and their brand new uniforms, they cut quite the figure of radiance. But they were torn away from their families, and found themselves face to face with other young people from other nations where they were required to fight “the enemy”. There are terrible traumatic moments that many face and when they come home, they often find the adjustment difficult. Having listened to many of their stories, I can understand why some of them do not adjust well. There are those who fall through the cracks and became homeless.

Thus on Veteran’s Day, I want to thank every veteran who has given of themselves to serve this county. I ask you to keep them in your prayers and more than that, I ask you to welcome them home and give them every possible encouragement as they face a new life back at home.

I do hope we will pass a robust jobs bill for returning veterans. Nothing would honor them more than to give them the dignity and honor of work. Frankly, I hope we can pass a robust jobs bill for the rest of the unemployed as well. 

But whether it is the widows in their distress, veterans, the unemployed, the elderly, the young, the poor, the outcast and marginalized, and those many who have a host of other needs, we are the church. We really are the hope of the world.

I invite you therefore in the name of the Church to respond to the invitation of our Lord who seeks us knocking at the door of every human heart. Become a member of Him who died for you. Become a member of one another. Become a member of Christ’s Church here at St. Gabriel’s. 

Say “Yes” to him who first said “Yes” to you. As the Epistle puts it; “Christ has entered into a sanctuary not made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself”. There he stands to be our advocate and judge.

And as for those of us who walk around in these long robes; watch out Jesus is watching us like a hawk!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Peace be to you all,

Fr. Paul

Kristallnacht - In Memoriam

We Shall Never Forget

I ask your prayers for all who suffer from hatred, persecution, and violence.

I ask your prayers for all those millions who have been taken from us through extermination, genocide and so many other human cruelties.

We must never forget.

From the Writer's Almanac:

Today is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when German Nazis coordinated a nationwide attack on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. More than 1,000 synagogues were burned or destroyed. Rioters looted about 7,500 Jewish businesses and vandalized Jewish hospitals, homes, schools, and cemeteries. Before that night, the Nazis had killed people secretly and individually. After Kristallnacht, the Nazis felt free to persecute the Jews openly, because they knew no one would stop them. –The Writer's Almanac

One Body Politic

The Greatest Challenge

The election is over.

Now the work begins.

The work of becoming one with each other.

I know it is possible.

But when I read the posts and the bloggers, and the talking heads, I'm not so sure.

But I love this country.

I happen to be liberal.

Others are conservative.

I happen to be Democrat.

Others happen to be Republican.

Gay/straight, male/female, black/white, rich/poor, we are all one body.

The scripture says so.

Yes, I am a progressive Christian.

Others are evangelical.

I am left wing.

Others right wing.

But it is the Mind of Christ that makes us one.

Unless the Gospel transcends ideology, it is no Gospel at all.

Thus let the Eagle soar.

With both wings, let it soar.

With the Mind of Christ Let it soar.

Let the American Eagle soar.

And so there is this prayer to the God of my heart and mind and soul and strength.

Jesu, Jesu,

Fill us with your love. 

In the midst of all the strong feelings within our hearts. 

The anger, disappointment, triumphalism or joy

Let me know your love.

Most of all let me know your love.

We insist on much that is less than that. 

But we can hope and pray and work for a love filled life. 

What is it about us that can be so hateful of those with whom we disagree? 

Oh, yes, because we don't get our own way! 

We become unruly children. 

We learned it at home, at school and at work.

Above all, for those of us at church, we learned it at prayer. 

We are one body 

"The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you". ~I Cor. 12. 

We are all one body. 

The body politic. 

This is a very difficult lesson. 

But you do require obedience and love.

Jesus, help us hear your voice tonight. 

Jesus help us hear your voice, always! Amen.

Peace to our hearts,

Fr. Paul

From A Marine

In the Election's Aftermath

My thanks to Sally, our parish administrator, for this inspiring post. Somewhere way back in my distant memory I remember a time when we were all loyal patriots, Republicans and Democrats/Liberals and Conservatives. We disagreed, but we respected one another. Somewhere along the way, we lost that sense of mutual respect and began an unfortunate downward spiral of insult and bitterness.

Sally saw this post and shared it with me.

Allow me to share it with you, in hopes; since hope is sometimes all we have, that we may begin again.

Peace be with you,

Fr Paul

"My Dad is 87 years old and still kicking. He's a Marine, because once a Marine, always a Marine and fought in the Korean conflict. Now, me, being a hippie in my youth, you can imagine we didn't always see eye-to-eye, (or I should say, pretty much never did we agree) especially about our politics. So, it is to that I would like to share with all of you, and the nation if I could, something my father asked me a month or so prior to the election.

"What's all this stuff about?, all the name calling and placing blame? Where do people think that's gonna' getem'?" (this in reference to the campaigning)

Well, I said, people are really opinionated, you know. . thinking we were about to have an intimate epiphany about our past together.

"No, (he said), I mean, when I was young the people had their opinions, and when a man was elected, to any office, whether it was a local elections or the
President, everyone put down their opinions and stood behind the person who was in office, even the other party". "We respected the person elected and stood behind those decisions because we are 'Americans', and that's what made our country strong, the fact that we could band together and make things work". He finished by asking "what's wrong with people today?"

In light of this I would ask you all to consider a wise old Marine's thoughts, show him that it's still true, we 'can bond together' we can honor the leader of our nation, and stand together to 'get it done'.

Forget the mess that was created in the Nixon era, when we all lost our heros, and let's get on with it. Whata' you say?

Thanks for giving my Dad a voice!

Gracie"

When it comes to a death

The Holiest Moment

There is a dear friend who asked me for a prayer at a time when a loved one is fading fast. In my line of work, I spend a significant amount of time with those who must keep that vigil. I must say, it is an awesome moment, in the very purest sense of that word. And to keep that vigil with a loved one, as excruciatingly painful as it must, by its nature be, is also a moment of exquisite grace.

So here are several suggestions

I have not one prayer but many.

Beginning with the 23rd Psalm

The 42nd and 43rd Psalm

The 121st Psalm

The 46th Psalm

And many, many others. Please comment your suggestions below.

Note, sometimes just sitting very quietly and collectedly as if God were sitting down with you in the Presence of the Most Holy Moment there is in life (which of course is the case at all times and at all places)

I like to sing, favorite hymns, but curiously childhood hymns seem so appropriate, like "Jesus Loves Me".

"Love Divine", "Come thou Fount of Every Blessing"...singing very quietly with a broken voice, off tune or in tune, it doesn't matter at all, just that the audible sound of your voice is there to comfort you and your loved one, and perhaps with the your hand in the hand of your loved one. 

Lots of silence with reassurance of how much in the I-Thou relationship of two persons is itself an image of the relationship of each to God.  And that between every single relationship, God lives in the mystery of that I-Thou. There is in this a great teaching; one that helps us treasure more, the loves and lives God gives us.

I love this prayer;

"Come Lord Jesus, and be my companion along the way, kindly our hearts and awaken hope, that I may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and in the Breaking of Bread."

Nice to have a priest bring communion at some point.

The material in the Book of Common Prayer at the time of sickness is also very helpful. BCP 453 and following.

There is this prayer...it has come to me in various forms over the years.

But its general structure is this.

A Prayer

By Fr Paul

Jesus son of God, have Mercy upon me. 3X

Jesus, (pause long enough to collect yourself and KNOW the Presence of Jesus. And if there are tears, at any time in all of this, let them flow freely) 

Look upon us in your love and compassion. 

This is a time of sadness and sorrow.

We lie here in weakness 

Wondering...

Wondering where we are

Where we are going

This is why we come to You

And throw our cares upon you.

There is weakness and there is fear

There is agitation of spirit

But this I know

In you there is strength for those who suffer.

With you there is courage for those whose tears 

Are tears as of the Blessed Mother keeping her watch with You.

With you there is that Peace that Passes all understanding.

And there is this,

I am doing the best I can do,

And sometimes it doesn't seem quite enough or quite right

But because I am so weak now

I must cast my care on you

And listen for the sacred word

Here Jesus speaks with your voice

And particularly where there is an especially difficult moment of agitation

"You are doing fine"

"There, there, that is exactly the right thing to do"

"I am here, I love you"

"All is forgiven"

"All is love"

"All is reconciled"

"Come to me"

(Stop here, and rest a while)

"Come to me"

In whatever state of agitation or weakness

You calmly wipe my brow and cool my tongue with your 

Sweet words of calm assurance and love.

Come, Lord Jesus, and walk with me along the Way that leads to You.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you.

Amen.

Wait and watch.

Repeat as necessary.

The Litany at the time of Death is especially appropriate as the end nears and is upon us.

The family gathers. 

Say the ancient prayers.

Read the ancient words.

A Prayer for a Person near Death
 Almighty God, look on this your servant, lying in great
weakness, and comfort him with the promise of life
everlasting, given in the resurrection of your Son Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.


Litany at the Time of Death from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 462
When possible, it is desirable that members of the family and friends
come together to join in the Litany.
 God the Father,
Have mercy on your servant.
God the Son,
Have mercy on your servant.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on your servant.

Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on your servant.
From all evil, from all sin, from all tribulation,
Good Lord, deliver him.
By your holy Incarnation, by your Cross and Passion, by
your precious Death and Burial,
Good Lord, deliver him.
By your glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the
Coming of the Holy Spirit,
Good Lord, deliver him.
We sinners beseech you to hear us, Lord Christ: That it may
please you to deliver the soul of your servant from the power
of evil, and from eternal death,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please you mercifully to pardon all his sins,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please you to grant him a place of refreshment
and everlasting blessedness,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please you to give him joy and gladness in your
kingdom, with your saints in light,
We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
Jesus, Lamb of God:
Have mercy on him.
Jesus, bearer of our sins:
Have mercy on him.

Jesus, redeemer of the world:
Give him your peace.
 

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.
 Officiant and People 
 

Our Father, who art in heaven,     hallowed be thy Name,     thy kingdom come,     thy will be done,         on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our tresspasses,     as we forgive those         who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,     but deliver us from evil.

Our Father in heaven,     hallowed be your Name,     your kingdom come,     your will be done,         on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins     as we forgive those         who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial,     and deliver us from evil.

The Officiant says this Collect
 Let us pray.

Deliver your servant, N., O Sovereign Lord Christ, from all
evil, and set him free from every bond; that he may rest with
all your saints in the eternal habitations; where with the
Father and the Holy Spirit your live and reign, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen.


A Commendation at the Time of Death
Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world;
In the Name of God the Father Almighty who created you;
In the Name of Jesus Christ who redeemed you;
In the Name of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you.
May your rest be this day in peace,
    and your dwelling place in the Paradise of God.

A Commendatory Prayer
Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your
servant N. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of
your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your
own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy,
into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the
glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the
mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

 

Heaven in the Eye of the Storm!

How Near is Heaven?

Heaven often seems so far away. Many think of it as a place we go to when we die. I live in the Christian hope of heaven as our ultimate resting place. But the fact that we have such a blessed assurance is not in and of itself what I find most comforting. 

This week’s events remind us of the urgent need for us to place heaven within the context of the lives we’re living at this time and and in this place. Hurricane Sandy unleashed her fury on the Jersey Shore, New York City,  Long Island and as far away as Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and even in Cleveland, where many of my friends were astounded at the power of Mother Nature.

We were reduced in so many ways to sticks, sand and rubble. Untold thousands have lost everything. Power is still out for hundreds of thousands. And worst of all, there are those who have lost their loved ones to Nature’s wrath.

Heaven indeed often seems far away. I remember a moment in Fiddler on the Roof. It is at the conclusion of the wedding scene where the Czar’s soldiers disrupt the proceedings by summarily burning the town and desecrating the synagogue. The people are left shell shocked and Tevye looks to heaven pleading as if to say as the Psalmist says; “Why? Where are you? Why are you so far away from our plight”. Then the people run up to Tevye pleading for some counsel. Finally, he shrugs his shoulders and with a sideward glance at God, he says, picking up a solitary chair; “Clean up the mess!”

Thus heaven slowly and surely makes its presence known. There is an enormous mess for us to clean up. It will take first responders, Red Cross, National Guard, Churches, and pure neighborly love and care and human regard one for one, multiplied many times over. And yes, we will rebuild even bigger even better.

When Cindy and I visited Ireland in the summer of 2009, we visited the remains of Clonmacnoise. I wanted to see the high crosses there. They are an amazing sight. Standing twelve feet high, intricately carved with scenes of biblical stories, they are, for me one of the wonders of the world. 

What I didn’t know was that the location of this ancient center of Christian practice was a crossroads of the east west passage from Dublin to Galway along a moraine formation left by ancient glacial retreat, and the north south passage carved out by the Shannon River. Given the reality of this geographic determinant, the heart of this center of human learning, healthcare, hospitality, and spirituality was destroyed 27 times between the 8th and 12th centuries, AD. Each time, it was rebuilt bigger and better than what was there before.

The human spirit is a marvel when indwelling within, there is the presence of heaven. We are an indomitable species who will never die so long as we know that our Redeemer lives!

This notion was at the core of today’s Gospel dialogue. One of the scribes saw that Jesus was answering the questions put to him by the Sadducees, yet as they continued their disputes amongst each other as religious folks often do. And so he puts this question to Jesus; “Which commandment is the first of all?” In other words; “How do you read the Law? What is your guiding principle? How do you advise us to live our lives?” It was a common question among the learned of the day. And thus the Rabbis argued and thus we still do.

But Jesus answered the question in a most interesting way. First he quoted the Shema from today’s First Lesson; that ancient proclamation; “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

Notice here if you will, the word “strength”. It is placed there to indicate that we will have to put our backs into it. This is no detached spiritual exercise. This is a way to live! Notice too, if you will, this is exactly what we do as we help one another recover from Sandy or any other of life’s many shipwrecks and disasters. Rescue, recover and rebuild, we’ll have to put our backs into it. We’ll have to deploy our human and financial resources into place to effect the rebuilding of our broken lives and homes. 

You see why the Shema is so central to the human spirit. The Shema, meaning “Hear” as in “Hear O Israel”, is required to be said every morning and every night by every Jew.

Then Jesus adds to the Shema, yet second piece of Godly admonition, almost as if by some kind of surprise. He was asked for one commandment, yet he insists on adding a second, as if by way of clarification. Here the mind of Christ turns to a hitherto obscure half verse of Leviticus; 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus would have known the words well. They came from his heart, they inspired Moses, and then Moses wrote them down.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

This, of course, we see before our very eyes. I’ve been tuned in to WNBC over the internet, and also track the recovery efforts referencing the New York Times, compliments of my trusty iPad. We’re glued to the media coverage. And we watch our government respond in heroic and transformational ways to the plight of millions. 

I must add that government is not within the beltway in DC, or our State Houses, or City/Town Halls. It is in the lives of each and every human being who puts themselves in harm’s way to save the lives of others. We are flesh and blood. When we see human lives broken and in distress, we cannot help but put our backs into it, and rescue, restore and rebuild the lives of our neighbors, together. God told us to live our lives this way. 

When I set about to build a homeless shelter in Saint Albans, West Virginia, I found myself embroiled in controversy and conflict. Nobody wanted that shelter in their back yard. But now as we approach the 10th anniversary of the opening of the shelter, it has become a prized asset to the community. I was unable to stand by and watch homeless veterans suffer from want of warmth, food, and shelter. How can we turn the other way in the face of such human need? For me it is impossible. Given the Law of God, to do so would be disobedient.

Still, to me the most astounding note in today’s Gospel is struck when the scribe embraces the teaching of Jesus and says that, yes, to love God and to love our neighbor is to know that “this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” given and offered in the Temple. It is as if to say, that without organizing our lives around the needs of others, any other sacrifice is little worth. Then notice what Jesus says; “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

How near then is heaven? It is closer to us than our very lives. It is in the doing of the kingdom of heaven that we find the closeness of God. With all our hearts, and minds and souls and strength, we discover God’s presence. 

We do have to think about it too, I’ll grant you. It took a while to discover 25,000 people were stranded in Hoboken, more still in Little Ferry, New Jersey. Within hours the National Guard was there, rescuing people.

And then there was the thing about the Marathon. Good heavens, Staten Island has no way in and out other than three roadways. Even the Staten Island Ferry is stranded. How in the world could Staten Island host tens of thousands of visitors, when her own citizens were homeless, hungry and cold? Thankfully, Mayor Bloomberg reconsidered his previous decision and canceled the event for this weekend. To give the man his due, he has been working under enormous stress, and errors in judgment are to be expected.

So now heaven is here. Heaven is hard at work. It requires us to love with all our hearts, and minds, and souls, and strength. But when we engage in such a work, we know that we are not so far away after all. For the kingdom of heaven is very near indeed.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Fr Paul

Rush vs Stewart & Maddow

They have Rush Limbaugh.

We have John Stewart and Rachael Maddow

We win!