Candlelight & Hope

N.B. In Advent Christians light the Advent Wreath. In Hanukkah Jews light the Menorah. Some thoughts about Hope. 

Put on the Armor of Light

The Advent wreath is in place. The Christmas Tree from Halifax, Nova Scotia has arrived and thousands of lights brighten the night sky on the Boston Common. In our evening driving, more and more homes are now decorated for the Christmas Holy Season. Many use the word Holiday, but I like to use the root words; “Holy Day”. That’s because time is holy. Life is holy. God’s Creation is Holy. The days become shorter and shorter as we approach the Winter solstice. It brightens our souls to see Christmas lights brighten our homes. The passing of the Seasons reminds me of the lovely old Sunday School Hymn I learned as a child.

Advent tells us, Christ is near:

Christmas tells us Christ is here!

In Epiphany we trace

All the glory of God’s grace.

On those Sundays during Lent

The Bible tells us to repent;

That in Lent we may within

Earnestly confess our sin.

Holy Week and Easter, then,

Tell who died and rose again;

O that happy Easter day!

“Christ is risen indeed,” we say.

Yes, and Christ ascended, too,

To prepare a place for you;

So we give Him special praise,

After those great Fifty Days,

When God sent the Holy Ghost,

On the day of Pentecost,

With us ever to abide:

Well may we keep Whitsuntide!

Last of all, we gladly sing

Glory to our God and king,

Glory to the One in three,

On the Feast of Trinity.

   ~based on words by A Katherine Hankey, 1888

The Church Year so simply and succinctly summarized!

The contrast between the works of darkness and the armor of light is as clear as night and day. We can be children of the darkness or we can be a children of the light. For the sake of our survival and redemption we need to know the difference. As Jesus came to us in a manger, born of a human mother, reared in a home in Nazareth, and ministered to us in Galilee, so we learn to put away the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life. This is what our Advent Collect teaches. In our Baptism we renounce the works of darkness. We turn to the light and embrace the love of God and his righteousness. More and more we become courageous agents of God’s love in a dark world. In our mortal life we embrace the eternal life of God. This is our “end” and our purpose for living. 

The Gospel teaches that the end is always at hand. We just don’t know when, how, where or what. Jesus taught us to be watchful; awake and alert to the facts.  

The signs of the end are all around, and Jesus tells us; “So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.” It may be the kind of end that references the end of a civilization or an era. We can name some of them like the Classical Civilizations; the Greece and Rome of Jesus. There were the Dark Ages, although we also know that Celtic Civilization flourished at the same time and preserved many of the writings of the ancients. The Renaissance and the Reformation brought a new birth of science, art, and literature and spirituality to life. The effects of the Industrial Revolution are still with us as we move into the Information Age. Nations come and nations go. 

Nature also sees its ends and new beginnings. The process of natural selection and evolution are as inevitable and immutable as any law of nature. Many species go into extinction as the influence of human activity and other influences encroach upon them. We nearly saw the end of the Buffalo and the American Bald Eagle. But with careful intervention, we managed to nurture them back into abundance once again. Not long ago, I read of the return of the American Bald Eagle to the City of Boston in the estuary of the Neponset River. It made my heart rejoice to read of it. In a visit to Yellowstone National Park. Several years back, I saw with my own eyes an abundance of Buffalo, Elk and Antelope. It is a magnificent sight. 

The recent publication of “The Fourth National Climate Assessment” indicates that there is a growing preponderance of evidence of global warming. Melting polar ice caps; and glacial cover in the Himalayas, the Alps, Greenland and Alaska all point to significant and unavoidable change to our planet. We are free to recognize the prophetic utterance and do something about it. Or we may choose to bury our heads in the sand. Your call!

Whether it is personal, natural, political, social or spiritual; the biblical message is clear; The End is At Hand. 

That is only one kind of “end” however. There is another. For what end have you and I been created? What is our “purpose”. What is the “reason” for our being here? 

Life is busy and hectic at this time of year. But unless it is centered in what our purpose in life is, we run the risk of merely running around in circles like a gerbil on a treadmill. Sometimes I wonder about Advent. We tend to gloss over this wonderful season of urgent expectation. The music, the decoration, the celebration are all a wee bit premature. We celebrate the birth of the Child before he gets here, and then after all the hoopla, there is a let down. No sooner than the Christmas Dinner is over, we cannot help but sigh and say; “Oh well, that’s Christmas for another year!” Then the January “doldrums” set in and we find ourselves in a funk.

That’s not what the Church Year teaches. The Sanctification of Time teaches that every moment of your life is worth celebrating. Christmas is a season that is born with a Baby. As you and I both know, the birth of a child is but the beginning of a long story. Even when a child grows into adulthood, you’re not done. And you know it! Sometimes they move right back into the house, and on and on the story goes. 

The Christmas Season extends 12 days out until it bursts forth into glory with the The Season of Epiphany. The Wise Men come to worship, Jesus is Baptized, and then his early ministry emerges. At the conclusion of The Epiphany season, we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Holy Mountain. There is so much life to celebrate.

Our “end” is not a conclusion only. Our “end” is a reason for being. Why has God put you here? With what love, and compassion does God want you to live this life? George H. W. Bush said that he was not afraid of death, he had so much to live for. Good Lord, the man parachuted out of an airplane on his 90th birthday. God rest your soul Mr. President. I’m glad you are back with Barbara!

You and I are set in a world of Darkness and despair. The Season of Advent is born in Hope. The very first candle of our Advent Wreath says so. How can we be present to those who despair? For so many there is no God or Jesus. If there is no God there is no Hope. If there is no Jesus, there is no Redemption. The world needs a People of Hope. That’s where you and I come in. We are the People of the Christian Hope.

The Catechism teaches us; “The Christian Hope is to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God’s purpose for the world…Jesus does not come in weakness but in power…everlasting life is a new existence in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and each other.” ~Book of Common Prayer, page 861

I love Advent. Jesus teaches us that the End is near. Jesus will come again! I take that as Good News. My end and yours is to live on purpose for God until our life’s end. This is what gives us Hope. This is what gives the whole world hope. 

Mary and Joseph had a long way to go as they prepared for the Birth of the Holy Child. So too for us. We have a long way to go to Bethlehem. Into the Darkness we go with courage and confidence.  Put on the Armor of Light, now in the Time of this mortal life!

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

Amen.

Fr Paul

Jesus and the Pipe Organ

Jesus and the Pipe Organ

“Are any among you suffering? Then you should pray”. ~James 5:13

This morning I invite you to join me in organizing our thoughts around this scripture. The context of the Gospel’s Birth comes out of the reality of life. The Good News is often born in the cradle of much Bad News. 

Just one example. Just one journey. My grandfather died when my mom was little. Apparently my mom saw what happened. It was not a pleasant sight and left an indelible scar. My grandmother went to work in the Sardine factory in Rockland, Maine and then it closed. She had children to take care of. So she migrated to Portland, ME in search of work. This was during the Depression, and there was nothing, so she continued her journey to Somerville, where her brothers and sisters had fled. They lived in a section of the city called “Brickbottom”. They found work in places like Hoods and Schrafft’s and Lever Brothers. It was a hard life, the way they told the story. My grandmother, my mom and uncle, my brother and me lived in a home which my mom managed to buy in Davis Square by scraping together what she could. Apparently my dad was a gambler and my mom was left holding the bag. There were other men in her life; the less said about them the better. Then my dad died at Christmas in 1953. I found myself in a cycle of sadness and my grandmother, God bless her soul, decided to send me to church to see if that would cheer me up. 

I went alone. I can still remember the moment I entered St. James’s, Porter Square, Cambridge. It was a short walk from our home. For a child, the space was enormous. I remember it was a sunny day and the stained glass windows in the church refracted the light of a brilliant morning onto the oaken pews. It was early when I entered the place. We were severely taught to be early. I wandered all the way up to the third pew on what I later learned was the “Gospel Side”. It was there that I could look up into the clerestory of the church and stare into heaven. The vault of the place was appointed with lettering I did not understand. But it was beautiful and unlike anything I had ever seen before. Over the Altar there were three words I could understand; In gold, sacred script they said; “Holy, Holy, Holy” That I understood. I was now in a Holy Place. 

And then something totally unexpected happened. A sound I had never heard before filled the space in which I sat. How was I supposed what it was? Later I learned it was a pipe organ. I was utterly transfixed and transported to another realm. I liked to go to church early so I could hear the pipe organ. It spoke to me in a language without words, but it was an articulate and precise vehicle for communication. I found myself filled mysteriously with tears; a blend of sorrow and joy, but what I was experiencing exactly went beyond my ability to express and certainly well beyond my ability to understand.

In a few minutes more, there was a wonderful parade led by what I thought was a golden cross held high by a teenager. Then came women then men dressed in red and white attire. At the end of the parade there was a man dressed in beautiful robes. I later learned he was the Rector, our priest. He came to our home soon my visit to ask how we were doing. He even asked me how I was doing, and he called me to himself and gave me a hug. He prayed for us and blessed our home. 

Today the scripture says: “Are any among you suffering? Then you should pray.” 

At that time I didn’t know I was suffering. I didn’t know what the word meant. But my priest understood, and he cared about us enough to come to our home and pray with us and to bless us.

I went to church early every week so I could hear the pipe organ, not so much the sermon... I discovered that there was a man partially hidden from sight sitting at the console. He looked very stern and serious as his hands and feet traversed the breadth of the instrument, and when he finished, he sat back, the sound still reverberating though the sacred space and he smiled ever so slightly. For me, this was pure joy. 

At the end of the service it happened all over again. The congregation fled the space after they greeted the Rector, but some few stayed behind, like me to listen. Some approached the organist to watch. Once someone motioned for me to come forward.  It was amazing to see the blur with which his hands pressed the keyboard and pushed buttons. His legs danced across the foot pedals with exact precision. Then I spied the music spread out before his eyes and it only added to my sense of awe; how in heaven’s name did he know what he was doing? He had to translate the notes on that page into the music we listen to in our pews. And somehow, the entire experience brought me to a healing place where God could touch my soul.

“Are any among you suffering? Then you should pray.” 

One day someone else stood behind a magnificent brass Eagle which held high The Word of God. I heard the story of the time Moses came across the burning bush. Moses was also transported by the experience. He stepped aside to see this wonder. And a Voice came from the Burning Bush and said; “Moses, take the shoes from off your feet, for the ground on which you are standing is holy ground” Then God said; “Go down Moses, and tell Old Pharaoh, to let my people go”.

True enough, when I entered the church, the usher would kindly remind me to take my Red Sox cap off my head out of respect for God. Later when I went with Louis Rosenthal to his Synagogue, I learned to cover my head with a yarmulke out of respect for God. Much later, when I entered the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, I took the shoes from off my feet for the very ground on which I stood was holy ground. 

And so I learned the Godly lesson; “Are any among you suffering? Then you should pray.” James goes on to say; “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” 

This week we welcome my friend Jackson Borges as a special guest. He is our organist this morning and later today he will play a concert for us. He is even going to play something special for me, a favorite piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. 

We celebrate the gift of this pipe organ. We thank God for those who built it, for those who tuned it and those who play it. We rejoice with David and Janet King and the choir in the music they sing and play and for all God gives us. We thank God for the generosity of the Harold and Beatrice Rogers Memorial Organ Recital Fund that makes this weekend possible.

“He who sings prays twice” as St. Augustine is reputed to have said. If you suffer, pray, if you suffer, sing, and pray twice, make music; love God. Love one another. 

My family came a long, long way out of poverty. Every one of us has a story to tell of how we have come from suffering and into the healing presence of God. Many of us still suffer; family and friend alike. This is why we are to pray. “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”

It is interesting that today’s first lesson reminds us about human suffering. Esther told the king about her people. “We have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.” Yes taken to extremes this is what happens to foreign folk all through history. We only have to remember Nazi Germany to know that the potential is always there for human holocaust if we remain silent. 

Never forget where you have come from, because there are others now coming to our shores for the same reason we did in our time. We were looking for hope when we came from Maine to Somerville. We just wanted to work. And to provide for their families. 

I’ve told you this before. My grandmother complained about foreigners; especially Irish and Italian foreigers. There were too many of them. They were dirty and accounted for most of the crime in the city. Somehow foreign folk always get treated shabbily. 

The harshness with which we sometimes view one another is a matter of urgent concern to Jesus. In today’s Gospel, he warns us: “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.” 

Is Jesus overstating the case or is Jesus King of all peoples?  Remember when God looks at the world, God sees with a precision far more exact than any telescope can see the universe and with far more intimacy than any microscope can delve into the human heart. 

When God makes music it is with a length and breadth that the finest pipe organ can only intimate. Mind you, the pipe organ does a pretty good job at the intimation if you were to ask me.

If you suffer, remember to go to the Holy Place and pray. Listen to the music. Listen to the music of your life and God will make you whole. God will make us all whole.

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

Fr Paul.

Take time to be Holy

Tuesday in Holy Week. If ever there were a time to be holy, this would be it.

Take Time to Be Holy

Take time to be holy,
speak oft with thy Lord;
abide in him always,
and feed on his word.
Make friends of God's children,
help those who are weak,
forgetting in nothing
his blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy,
the world rushes on;
spend much time in secret
with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus,
like him thou shalt be;
thy friends in thy conduct
his likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy,
let him be thy guide,
and run not before him,
whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow,
still follow the Lord,
and, looking to Jesus,
still trust in his word.

Take time to be holy,
be calm in thy soul,
each thought and each motive
beneath his control.
Thus led by his spirit
to fountains of love,
thou soon shalt be fitted
for service above.

   ~A Mennonite Hymn