The Week in Summary: Blessed are the Peacemakers

Blessed are the Peacemakers

The news in summary from Jesus as he might confront the events of this past week; I suspect be might say something like this;

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” ~Matthew 5:9

This is not the news of what did happen, it is the news of what must happen. It is Good News!

The Psalmist says; “I have seen violence and strife in the city”

~Psalm 55:10

From Bagdad to Baton Rouge, from Minnesota to Dallas, dreadful images of violence assault the senses this week. Live and in living color, indelible images of violence are etched in our memories. We are left with a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. Where shall we turn?

Jesus was confronted with violence and terror. The Parable of the Good Samaritan, by the way, I have often thought, could easily have been a biographical one for Jesus. Geographically, it would be unlikely for a Samaritan to be so far south as the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. 

But what of the road from Nazareth down to the Sea of Galilee where Jesus set up his base of operations? Had he taken this road, he would have gone through an area known as the Horns of Hittim, an area famous for its robbers. Imagine if Jesus had taken such a route. Imagine Jesus, beset by thugs and miscreants, robbed, beaten and left to die. Imagine a priest and a Levite passing by afraid to touch this unclean unfortunate. Then imagine a Samaritan who could easily have passed by the area. Geographically, that would have made more sense since Samaria was not that far away. 

Samaritans were despised by the Jews of the day, imagine him stopping and taking his time, risking his life, bandaging the wounds, and saving the life of Jesus, this most unfortunate and vulnerable of human beings. Imagine the Samaritan taking his hard earned money and providing for him during his recovery.

Imagine if this were Jesus and what an indelible and formative mark this would have left on his life and how God could have used such a moment as this to enflesh what love is and how we are all intended to live it out.

Imagine such a love as this in a violent world. 

Then and now. 

Imagine such a love as this.

A love that breaks all boundaries.

We need to come back to our senses. It is not enough for us to wring our hands as if there is nothing we can do. After all we are called to preach the Gospel and moreover we are called to live the Gospel. So then lets get on with it.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Folks it is as simple as Sunday School. We had to memorize certain portions of Scripture and this was one of the very first and favorite passages to learn by heart; The Beatitudes.

Remember them?

 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These words satisfy something deep within the human soul. It is in the living of these words that God's kingdom is built!

Jesus goes on; 

 ‘You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

We know these words by heart. We know this way of life instinctively. Let us proclaim and live the Gospel of Jesus. The world is desperate to hear the words. The world is desperate to live them. There is no hope or salvation for us unless we live lives like this.

My English teachers used to teach us to “compare and contrast” various passages in literature.

I suggest to you; compare and contrast the words of Jesus to the words we listen to in the news, read in the papers, or hear along the campaign trail. How do they measure up to the words of Jesus?

I find it compelling that Paul begins his letters with these words; “Grace and Peace to you from God our Father”. He goes on to say that God, “has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”. May I remind you, these folks lived in a dangerous and violent time.

If ever there were a time of rescue from the darkness of violence this would be it. If ever there were a time for redemption and forgiveness, it has arrived. The time is always here and always now.

Peacemakers may be persecuted or killed outright. Dr. Martin Luther King, for instance. I came across his words this week. Timely words for us, for as Black lives matter, so do police lives. All our lives matter; Dr. King wrote;

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

~The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Finally, God knows we need to learn how to live our lives better than we do now. Too much violence. Too much hate.

Black and white,

Arab and Jew

Shea & Sunni Muslim

Rich and poor

Gay and straight

Republican & Democrat

On and on and on it goes.

O for heaven sake, we can do better than this!

The collect for the day asks this simple prayer “grant that we may know and understand what things we ought to do and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them”

This week's news in summary; the Good News in summary this week and every week;

"Blessed are the Peacemakers".

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

Fr Paul

All My Time

All My Time is Your Time

A very happy Fourth of July weekend to you! What a beautiful day. What a beautiful weekend. As for the Red Sox, 21-2! Oh well, the less said about that right now the better.  

Some of you may be old enough to remember “Fiddler on the Roof”, the wonderful Broadway play made into a movie. In it the relationship between Tevye and God is portrayed to be an ongoing conversation. 

In fact most authorities in the discipline of Spirituality recognize that our relationship with God is a continuing internal dialogue. I'm not talking about hearing voices. There are medications for that. But I am talking about the language of the human heart

For it is within the human heart that we discover the heart of God. As we dwell within God so God dwells within us. A favorite passage from John’s Gospel says it well; “Abide in me as I abide in you. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may becomplete. ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as have loved you'.” ~John 15

Occasionally, I find myself writing what some might consider poetry. Early Thursday morning as I reflected on some rather mundane matters in my journal. These words came to me as I thought of my limited time on earth and God’s eternity. I was taken by the thought that as we dwell within God and as God dwells within us we then have this eternal connection.

These are the words that came to me.

All My Time

All my time

is Your time

My time is what it is

And so is Yours

As I dwell within Your heart

So You dwell within mine

The eternal and everlasting

Connection

Though seemingly tenuous on this side

It is a connection nonetheless

For now, this is enough

More than enough

To rejoice the heart

Thanks be to God

Thanks be to You

I posted the poem on Facebook and published it to my blog and a number of folks commented. But the one who caught my attention was a response from Erica, a young woman who recently had a heart transplant. She had been a parishioner of mine in Salem, MA and she suffered from a life threatening form of cancer. The chemotherapy put the cancer in remission but her heart was damaged in the process to the point that she needed a new one. She was very young, in her early twenties. She married and somehow had a child through it all, and prayed to God that she might live long enough to see her child off to kindergarten. Her prayer was answered in the affirmative. She remains on my daily prayer list and she often comments on my Facebook posts. I imagined how she might have heard the words I had written;

“As I dwell within Your heart

So You dwell within mine”

I thought of her heart, so damaged and then her new and transplanted heart. So now she lives and moves and has her being in God through the grace and gift of a heart from someone else whose life was given in order that she might live. So it is that in the most literal terms that she took the imagery I had used in my poem and applied it to the very beating of her heart.

We read of Naaman the Syrian in today’s First Lesson. Talk about mortal enemies then as now. This foreign soldier takes center stage in the Biblical narrative in the Hebrew Scriptures. Isn't this an interesting twist on Patriotism on the 4th of July weekend. He suffered from Leprosy and sought healing from the King of Israel. It scared the King to death that Naaman was seeking to pick a fight on the pretext that he, the King was on a par with God to grant life and death, health and healing. Alas it was Elisha, the Man of God who was able to grant this healing. I love how Naaman wanted to dictate the conditions under which his healing was to be administered; face to face and in one of the rivers of Syria. Naaman had much to learn about humility and obedience from the Man of God. So do we all. 

Then, as I thought about Erica and Naaman or any one of us for that matter, I thought of that plea that comes from the heart and soul of all folk of faith who understand that we are all in the hands of God at all times and in all places.

The Psalmist says;

“2 O Lord my God, I cried out to you, *

and you restored me to health.

3 You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; *

you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.”

~Psalm 30:2,3

Ultimately we’re all in the hands of God, but not just ultimately. We are in God’s hands immediately in the very here and now of our living and breathing, indeed in every beat of the heart. The moment the living and breathing stops, the moment the hearts stops, life is over. Just ask Erica. And if you suffer from leprosy or other malady, you understand that your life depends upon the life giving, healing power of God.

It is in the recognition of the immediacy of God’s presence that we dwell in God and God dwells in us. In today’s Gospel, for instance, Jesus sends us out two by two to go into the cities, towns and villages he himself had planned to visit and to prepare the way for him. There was so much work to do. The harvest is always plentiful, but there are so few folks to do the work. All because of the immediacy of the Kingdom of God. As Jesus says, "Know this, the Kingdom of God has come near."

As the disciples did their “advance” work they discovered that the very demons submitted to them. Evil itself found its match in those who did the work of God in the Name of Jesus. 

There is much Gospel work to be done. This is why Jesus came into the world.This is why Jesus is sending us into the world two by two. As we go out in the name of God and armed with the power of Jesus we will find that the demons will submit to the power of God. And you know what God's work is. It involves the hungry, the homeless, the poor, the sick and dying, the marginalized, and the sin sick souls seeking forgiveness. As I said, there is plenty of work to do.

Jesus smiled."I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning”. When we go out to do the work that God has given us to do, Satan falls. Evil falls. And Jesus smiles again. 

Erica is a whole new creation since the gift of a new heart. Even Naaman the enemy soldier, is a whole new creation since his healing from Leprosy. You and I are new creations as we busy ourselves with God’s work.

As Paul the Apostle puts it, so do I; “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up.” ~Galatians 6:7-9

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

Fr Paul

All My Time

All My Time

All my time

is Your time

My time is what it is

And so is Yours

As I dwell within Your heart

So You dwell within mine

The eternal and everlasting

Connection

Though seemingly tenuous on this side

It is a connection nonetheless

For now, this is enough

More than enough

To rejoice the heart

Thanks be to God

To You

Fr Paul

Cindy said; "Love one another"

Cindy said “Love One Another”

The Gospel gives us an account of Jesus’ confrontation with a madman. Mental illness of some form or another had driven this poor soul to behaviors that were bizarre on any account. Thankfully, this fellow did not have an assault rifle. We are told in the Gospel that he ran around with no clothing, had no home or connection to family and friends, but like the menace of a lone wolf, he lived among the tombs. When he came face to face with the goodness and love of Jesus, he went into a rant; “What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God?”

He begged Jesus not to torment him for Jesus had already begun to command the unclean spirits to come out of him. Interestingly enough, not only did Jesus have the ability to recognize mental illness, he also had the authority and power to restore the victim’s soul to sanity.

Just last week another madman vented his fury on innocents who were out partying. Several years ago another madman unleashed his rage on children in a Connecticut school. Only a year ago, it was a house of worship during a bible study. In Colorado, there have been mass shootings in a movie theatre and a high school. On an on it goes. 

Lets face it, we are a uniquely violent country historically and presently. Our love affair with the gun and now assault weapons has put us into a situation where we cannot avoid taking a long hard look at ourselves. At least I hope and pray we do. Most civilized and developed countries have developed laws and regulations to help minimize the violence of these weapons, most notably Australia. After a mass shooting in that country, they clamped down on the weapon’s sales and not only has there not been a mass shooting since, but the homicide and suicide rates have declined radically. Not so here. We want our guns. So be it.

As our Lord said, “The who live by the sword, shall die by the sword.” ~Matthew 26:52

Last week I was on retreat in the Detroit area. Taking time to read, rest, pray, renew old friendships, and take some time in quiet to be with God is the ancient way of the Church. It is a way of restoring the human soul to sanity and keeping it there. The Anamchara Fellowship, of which I am a part, is a gathering of like minded souls, whose friendships run deep and true. The word “Anamchara” is a Celtic word meaning “soul friend.” We are a dispersed order of religious folks. Our community is dispersed in marriages, the workday world, some retired, some still working, some married, folks in many walks of life; gay straight, black white, rich poor; a kaleidoscope of other hues of humanity. Yet we are one in friendship, like any church. Indeed we are less like any worshipping community throughout the world.

On the other hand, we also live in a world of many lonely and disconnected souls. We find ourselves fragmented by political ideology, especially in the here and now of our country. The more fragmented we are by race, ethnicity, class, gender, and orientation, the more we risk falling out of sanity into a world of depression and mental and emotional stress or falling into suspicion of the other or falling into hatred or excusing violence; verbal or otherwise against those different from "us". This kind of disconnectedness is dangerous. Fanning the flames of this kind of fear and suspicion is not only dangerous, it is frankly madness.

Thankfully, many of us have grown up enough to get help when we need it. There is no shame in accepting a diagnosis and taking medication. Good heavens, it is a sign of well being when any one of us discovers our need for help. As Jesus put it; “Blessed are those who know their need of God.” You can substitute the words “Higher Power” for “God” if you like. Coming to terms with the truth within the human heart requires a journey toward making friends, making “soul friends” within the heart of the human self as well as with the “other”.

God knows poor Elijah, had to confront the demons within himself. Not only were those demons within him. They were real. Ahab and Jezabel had resolved to have him done away with. Elijah found himself alone, for as the scripture says, he spoke to God, “I alone am left.” What loneliness that must have been. And his life wasn’t worth two cents or so he thought. And so it was, that he was driven into the madness of a dark night of the soul; there were great winds, an earthquake and a fire, but God was not in any of that. Then came the revelation. God is not discovered in any of these dramatics, God reveals the divine nature rather in the sheer silence, in that “still small voice” of which we speak and sing. It is one of the reasons I love going on my annual retreats. It is in time away, that God will refresh the human soul.

Among my favorite selections of the Psalter is today’s 42nd Psalm. I find in the words of the Holy Scripture a mirror into the soul. Such as these words today;

“1 As the deer longs for the water-brooks, * 

so longs my soul for you, O God.

2 My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; * 

when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?”

Whether we know it or not, our souls long for the living God as a dear longs for a refreshing mountain stream. Every morning in our worship with the Anamchara Fellowship we sing the Psalm; 

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,

This is what I seek

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord,

All the days of my life.”

What then do we say in response to the hatred we see in the world we live in? How do we answer it all, as the madness of our time seems to multiply. What are we to say on Father's Day to one another? That could have been one of my kids on a dance floor in Orlando. I've got two gay kids and I love my children like you love yours. Cindy said it well, as I was preparing for this morning. Just remind them, she said;

“Love one another”. 

That’s what it all comes down to again and again. In fact, Jesus calls it a new commandment. It was then. It is now. A whole new commandment, a new way of life;

“Love one another”

You and I are not to be divided into friends and enemies. We are not to be "listed" and deported according to nationality or religion. We're all one in this country. My freedom as an American is that I need not be afraid or suspicious of folks because they are maybe a bit different. Every morning and night when I go for a walk down the Lynn Scenic Walkway by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea, I'll see young and old; the lame and the halt. I'll hear Engish, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic, Russian and God knows what, within a short space of time. Mind you, I do keep a watchful eye out. We were taught back in the old "hood" in Somerville to be "street smart". Even Jesus told us to be "wise as serpents, harmless as doves." ~Matthew 10:16

But ultimately, day in and day out, every walk of life; "Love one another." This is the one great quality of life that will save us from falling back into a deepening cycle of violence that leads nowhere but into the madness of war.

As my namesake Paul the Apostle put it; "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." ~Galatians 3:27,28

Steady as she goes shipmates, "Love one another."

And Happy Father's Day.

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

Fr Paul

There's A Song in My Heart!

There’s A Song in My Heart

There is a song in my heart this morning. There is a song in all our hearts this morning. We sing a song of gratitude to God for the ministry of Carol Amos, our parish organist and music director. There is a song in our hearts for Paisley Jayde Wilson this morning, as she enters into the community of faith through the sacrament of Baptism.

Those who sing, pray twice as St. Augustine once said more than 1500 years ago. When we sing, there is a melody in our hearts, and there is poetry in the words we use in these grand hymns. If we let them dwell within us, they have the power to change our lives, to heal and to strengthen us, to teach and empower us for God’s mission and ministry in this world.

What are we here for?

What song do you think there is in the heart of God?

Let me suggest a reminder; “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to the end that all who believe in shouldn't perish but have everlasting life.” ~John 3:16. 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I look at the world with all its violence, warfare, terror, bigotry and oppression, I find it anything but lovable. Sometimes when I look at the lives of those I love, it can get discouraging. And when I read the daily papers or watch the news, I think, what a mess!

But not so with God. God loved the world so much that the only begotten was willing to give his life for the whole of it notwithstanding the wickedness of it all.

This is what bring a song to my heart. Because this is nothing less than the song of God. Week after week after week Carol and this choir work diligently to sing these songs so that we too may learn to love the world with all the love with which God loves it. It would be easy to wash our hands of it all. But that not how God works.

This is not how Jesus does things either. This is not how Jesus sees you. To Jesus, you are infinitely precious. We see it in a newborn, don’t we? We see the innocence, the loveliness, and beauty of this brand new child. Our hearts are filled with love, joy and hope aren’t they? 

You would give your life for this child, wouldn’t you? I’d give mine for my children. This is how it is with God. He gave his life for each and every one of us. And no matter how many messes you’ve made, no matter how hopeless it may seem, God never gives up on us, or anyone else for that matter and certainly not for this tired and sinful old world. There’s not a soul on the planet God will give up on.

God is filled with love for it all. And there is a song in my heart because of it. We thank Carol Amos today for her ministry. We baptize Paisley Jayde today and mark her as God’s own child forever. By the way she already is God’s child. She is already forgiven. What this water and this baptism does is that it helps us see what God has already done for her.

If God so loves the world we live in,  what about us? How much do we love this very dangerous and wicked place?

Imagine if you will every single baptized person on the face of this planet, every single congregation, every single denomination, all churches, all synagogues, all mosques…imagine the collective power of all of us when combined.

If we all organize our lives and worship places around the needs of the communities we live in…if every single child of God were to dedicate himself or herself to some form of servant ministry, imagine what that combined effort could accomplish. 

Imagine if we were all on the same page, all pulling in the same direction. For example, one of the most noble symbols for this country is the American eagle. Have you ever seen an eagle soar on the updrafts of a strong canyon wind? How magnificent! Notice it takes both wings for an eagle to soar. In fact, it takes both wings for any bird even to get off the ground and fly, let alone soar.

That’s both wings; the left wing and the right wing. We sometimes forget this one simple and obvious fact of life. Just because we may differ theologically, politically, or on the matter of any other opinion. You’ll never fly, let alone soar, none of us ever will until we come to understand that we are all one in Christ Jesus our Lord. Whether we are Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat, Rich or Poor, Black or White, Male, Female, Gay or Straight…whoever we are we are all of one blood. Blessed Paul the Apostle put it in these magnificent words; "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." ~Galatians 3:27 & 28

Until we come to understand this one key fact of the Gospel, we will find ourselves hobbled by the wickedness of divisiveness. Today there is a song in our hearts. One song. Today there is a Baptism in our Church. Today there is One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of All.

In the Name of the God, the most holy, undivided and everlasting Trinity.

Fr Paul