April 24, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Resurrection Scars

Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal? – Elton John, Daniel

It’s funny, sometimes, how things come together.  Due to the interest of some people, I began hosting a discussion after the 10:00 service following coffee hour; I guess you could call it a “Rector’s Forum,” but it’s really a discussion covering a variety of topics.  Since we’re in the Easter season I thought I’d start with the various resurrection stories found in the four gospels and Acts. 

This past Sunday we looked at Luke.  There’s a scene where Jesus appears to the disciples and, in order to prove he’s really Jesus, he shows them the wounds on his hands and feet.  I said that, according to the gospel accounts, resurrection apparently doesn’t give you a shiny, new body, but it does allow your body to be healed of the damage that caused those scars.  My multiple scars tell a story, and that story isn’t erased at resurrection.

Last Saturday Joelene and I took a sightseeing drive and the above song played on the radio.  Sunday night those lyrics popped into my head in the aftermath of our discussion.  I wondered, “How many of us carry the wounds of scars that won’t heal?  How many of us live with the hope that resurrection will wipe it all away?”  If the gospels are to be believed, resurrection doesn’t erase the scars, but it does heal the pain.

On Monday, one of my online friends (who happens to be Jewish) posted a link to an article about Passover in which the author, Rabbi Shai Held, asks the question, “What do we do with our pain?  What, if anything, can we learn from it?” 

His answer:  The Bible offers a startling and potentially transformative response – Let your memory teach you empathy and your suffering teach you love.  I think this is actually a very Jesus-y thing to say, especially in light of how he suffered and forgave those who tortured and executed him.

Rabbi Held points out that, too often, we allow our pain and suffering to turn into rage and hostility.  “But,” he says, “Holy Scripture teaches another way, that we must allow it to teach us to forgive and care for others.”

This is the message of the resurrection:  that our scars aren’t wiped clean, but that our scars remind us of our pain so that in our resurrection we live a new life of forgiveness and love. 

May we take the first steps in the here and now to live into that life of resurrection where our scars help us to live with love and empathy.

April 17, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Vive la Difference

This past Sunday’s gospel came from Luke 24:36b-48.  In this particular post-resurrection story Jesus appears among the disciples and says, “Peace be with you.”  The disciples are terrified, and Jesus then says, “Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself.”  And after saying this, he shows them his hands and his feet.  He then commissions them to proclaim the good news beginning in Jerusalem.

The Sunday before this we heard from John 29:19-31.  In that post resurrection story, we see Jesus appear among the disciples and saying, “Peace be with you,” and he shows them his hands and his side.  After this he commissions the disciples by sending them out as the Father has sent him.  Thomas, though, was not with them.  We then hear the second half of the story when Thomas is with them, Jesus appears again, and shows him his hands and side.

These two stories are the same but different, and that’s important.

I was watching some crime show a few weeks ago and one of the investigators said, “If I’m interviewing several persons of interest and they all tell me the exact same story, they’re lying; because only lies which have been rehearsed are repeated verbatim.”

I’ve heard people say they don’t believe the gospel stories because they don’t match up.  Were there guards at the tomb or weren’t there?  Was it Mary Magdalene and Mary who went to the tomb, or was it Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Salome?  Or maybe it was Mary Magdalene, Mary, Joanna, and other women?  Or was it just Mary Magdalene?  Did they tell anyone or not?  And on and on and on.

But these differences tell me that there is a central Truth to the resurrection stories and the gospels as a whole.  Because if all four gospels agreed verbatim on the same story, then they, like the persons of interest above, would be lying.

So the next time you’re worried about the gospels not agreeing on every aspect of their story and wonder whether or not they are true, remember that stories that match up verbatim are often lies created in an effort to hide something.  In this case, the differences really do lead to the Truth.

Blessings,

April 10, 2024

Resurrection is Hard Work

Have you ever thought about resurrection?  Really sat down and thought about it?

I think for most of us, myself included, we go through Holy Week experiencing the somberness of Maundy Thursday, the trauma of Good Friday, the hopelessness of Holy Saturday, and the ultimate joy of Easter without really thinking about resurrection.

Sure, Easter comes and we have the celebration.  The church is decorated with flowers.  The hangings have been changed to white.  The crosses are unveiled.  The Paschal candle stands bright.  We say or shout, “Alleluia!” and sing hymns of joy.  Christ is risen!  The tomb is empty.  These are all good and joyful things.

But resurrection is hard.

In both Luke and John, Jesus asks for some fish which he eats in the presence of the disciples.  On the one hand, this was done to prove that he wasn’t a ghost or some other apparition.  These stories were also used to combat the Gnostics, but that’s another topic.  Besides proving he was real, I’ve always thought one reason for eating the fish was because resurrection was hard work and it took a lot out of him.  Consequently, Jesus was hungry.

But resurrection is also hard for us.  In baptism we say that we are buried with Christ in his death.  By it we share in his resurrection.  Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.  We say that we are cleansed from sin and born again.  We believe that we are being changed from glory to glory.  And we agree with Paul who said, “our old self was crucified with Jesus so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin.”

But actually living into that resurrection life is more difficult than we sometimes think.  During the Easter season we proclaim a life of resurrection, but we still treat others badly, we still refuse to be gracious to those who have offended us in some way, we still commit sins of omission and commission, we still insist on acting in selfish ways because we only see limited resources, and the list goes on. 

The tomb is empty.  Christ is risen.  We are living a life of resurrection.  But that is, apparently, not as easy as it sounds.

This Easter season, may you find ways to do the hard work of resurrection.

April 3, 2024

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!

After the somberness of Lent, after the pain of Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, after the emptiness of Holy Saturday, we arrive at the tomb on the first day of the week at early dawn to find it empty, and we are greeted with the question, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

In the darkness the fire was kindled; that light shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Faced with an empty tomb, light in the darkness, the recollection of God’s saving deeds through history, and the renewal of our baptismal vows, the only proper response to be made is, “Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  The Lord is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!”

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.  This is the day Christ broke the bonds of sin and death.  This is the day we celebrate promises fulfilled.  This is the day we know life is changed, not ended.  This is the day of Resurrection.  This is Easter.

Over the next month and a half or so, let us celebrate that victory.  Let us proclaim with a joyful voice that Christ is risen from the grave.  Let us rejoice that death is conquered and we are free.  Let us join with Christ, and invite others to join, in that wonderful heavenly banquet celebrating the vanquishing of hell and our new life.

Good Christians all, rejoice and sing – The Lord is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

March 27, 2024

This is a hard week. 

Sunday started with the singing of, “All glory, laud, and honor,” and quickly moved to shouting, “Crucify him!”

The Daily Collects this week refer to the way of the cross and death as a way of life and peace; ask that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of Jesus; remind us that Jesus gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon; recall his willingness to be betrayed; and ask us to wait while the body of Jesus lay in a tomb. 

This is a hard week.

For most of the year we celebrate Christ’s victory over death.  We practice hope.  We remember that life is changed, not ended.  But this week is different.

This week we betray Jesus.  This week we join with a blood-thirsty mob and shout, “Crucify him!”  This week we watch from a safe distance as Jesus is beaten, whipped, and hung on a cross to die.  This week we let someone else place his body in a tomb, because we are afraid of being associated with him.  This week we wonder if hope dies.  This week we wonder if life is not changed, but simply ends.

This is a hard week.

Let us bless the Lord.

March 13, 2024

Wednesday Word:  Secret Faults

Who can tell how often he offends? * cleanse me from my secret faults. – Ps. 19:12

Ps. 19 was the appointed psalm for Lent III.  It’s a good one for Lent, as it offers a variety of verses that can be meditated on and prayed with during this season of self-examination.  If you are still looking for a Lenten discipline, or if your original discipline went by the wayside and you want to pick something up, may I suggest reading and meditating on Psalm 19?

As I was sitting in church that Sunday reciting this psalm, I began to think:  How often have I/do I offend God or others?  Sure, the big ones are easy to identify:  being short-tempered with my family or coworkers; being discourteous or impatient with another person without knowing their story; using God as a weapon; excusing my behavior while blaming others for theirs.

But what are my secret faults?  What are those offensive things I do so often that I can’t keep count?  And are my secret faults faults that I commit when I’m alone so nobody else can see or know about?  Or are they faults I commit that are so concealed to me that only God knows?

One way to cleanse ourselves from secret faults is to get them out in the open, to bring them into the light so that we can address it and say, “I repent of this sin and will work to not commit it again.”  It may be that we do commit that sin again, but by bringing it to light we can deal with it in such a way that those sins will not get dominion over us (Ps. 19 again, verse 13).

Holy Week begins on March 24, and I will be offering time for personal confessions during that week.  What secret faults are troubling you?  What sins do you need to be cleansed from?

Lent is a time for us to make a right beginning.  I pray that you are finding this season prayerful, hopeful, and a time of cleansing so that you may, indeed, make a right beginning as we head into the Easter season.

Blessings, 

March 6, 2024

Wednesday Word:  What Are We Paying Attention To?

We are halfway through Lent, the season of self-examination and repentance; of prayer, fasting, and self-denial.  During this penitential season we make a right beginning by confessing our sins in a more deeply and personal way.  We read the Litany of Penitence on Ash Wednesday, confessing our sins to God, to each other, and to the whole communion of saints.  We begin each Sunday service with the Penitential Order, and the Confession of Sin is one of the first things we do in the liturgy.  On Lent 1, I read the Exhortation which encouraged you to “open your grief to a discreet and understanding priest” so that you may receive the assurance of pardon.

Lent is heavily focused on sin and repentance.

Lent is also focused on growth.  We give up those things that separate us from God and replace them with things that draw us to God.  By doing that, we (hopefully) grow in our relationship with God.  We might take on things that lead us to grow spiritually – praying during specific times of the day, reading Scripture, committing to regular worship attendance, etc.  In the physical world, we see the sun rising earlier and setting later, a physical reminder that light grows and always overcomes the darkness.

But whether we are focusing on our sins or on our growth, Lent is a time of personal reflection.  The Exhortation reminds us to judge ourselves, examine our lives and conduct, and acknowledge our sins.  All too often we focus on the sins of others, their lives and conduct, and make judgements about their worthiness.

Yes, we need to pay attention to where we have sinned and fallen short, and the need for repentance and forgiveness.  But what would happen if, instead of always focusing on the negative, we spent more time focusing on the positive.  What if we spent more time paying attention to the fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

How might we grow both personally and as the faith community of Saint Luke’s if we spent more time focusing on and living into the fruits of the Spirit, rather than the shortcomings of ourselves and others?

Jesus said, “Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.”  May our hearts pay attention to the good things of God so that our treasure becomes beneficial to all.