Wednesday, October 28, 2015

October 28, 2015

Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
Matthew 13:7

This verse from Morning Prayer yesterday stood out to me as I was reading through the Office.  The parable of the sower appears in all three synoptic gospels; and even though Matthew's version is the only one appointed to be read in the Sunday lectionary, we've probably all heard this parable many times over the years.

The traditional explanation of this verse, and the one given by Jesus, is that the thorns represent the cares of the world and the lure of wealth which chokes the word out of the one who hears it, yielding nothing.  I’m not one to generally argue with Jesus, especially over the interpretations he gives his own parables, but I wonder if there's more to it than that.

Or rather, I wonder if we get too focused on “the lure of wealth” and forget about “the cares of the world.”  It's easy to accuse wealthy people of not following the precepts of Christ, or of not doing enough with their wealth to help reduce suffering in the world.  It's easy to shake our heads at someone like Zack Greinke, pitcher for the L.A. Dodgers, who recently opted out of his $71 million contract in order to become a free agent . . . where he will probably sign for anywhere between $125 and $150 million.  The lure of wealth, indeed.

But what about those cares of the world?  I don't think they all revolve around our pursuit of wealth and happiness.  I don't know Mr. Greinke, and he may be doing wonderful things with his money; after all, it's not his fault he landed a job in a business that values men who can throw a baseball.

Could it be that the cares of the world revolve around other things?  Things like being offended when someone doesn't live up to your expectations.  Things like attributing negative motives to people.  Things like allowing work to control our schedules rather than making relationships a priority.  Things like taking others for granted in favor of short-term gains.

There is plenty in this world to distract us and choke us off from the word.  There are plenty of cares of the world to which we eagerly or slowly submit.  If we only look to the lure of wealth, we might be openly blind to other things which just as effectively choke us.

So maybe I’m not arguing with Jesus as much as I’m digging a little deeper into what he's saying.

And maybe one way to trim back those weeds is to regularly ask ourselves, “How is what I'm doing consistent with, or advancing the cause of, the gospel?”

There will always be weeds, and we may not be able to eliminate them all.  But if we worked to eliminate a few here and there, that's a few more places here and there in which the word can take root.

Amen.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

October 21, 2015

Fear nothing so much, blame nothing so much, flee nothing so much, as your own sins and vices, of which ought to distress you more than any worldly loss.
Thomas a'Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book Three, Chapter 4

“From now on, I'm looking out for Number One, Numero Uno.”

I’m sure we've all heard something like that at some point in our lives.  We may have even said something like that at some point in our lives.  The point of that saying is that we need to be taking care of ourselves.  We need to be watching out for ourselves, because nobody else will.

This applies to jobs and careers, but it also applies to retirement funds, healthcare and other benefits we may have in other areas.  We have learned, sometimes by watching others, sometimes by noticing trends, and sometimes through our own failures, that we are are own advocate.  Nobody is going to step up for us and make sure things are taken care of.

Isn't it interesting, though, that so oftentimes the people who champion a “me first” attitude are the ones who obsess over the behaviors and actions of others.  People who loudly proclaim they don't want the government telling them how to live their lives are quick to support rules against those different from themselves.  People who have no trouble accessing healthcare for themselves are quick to support a system that won't offer healthcare for everyone.  People who rally around “religious freedom” slogans are quick to push for bans against any religion other than their own, or forced compliance with their own (think the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes on and in government buildings, or mandatory Christian prayer before city council meetings or high school football games).

We fear that which we don't understand.  We are quick to blame others for our own mistakes.  We run away from that which we see as different, hoping to avoid contamination.  And we condemn all of the above; sometimes in the name of offendedness, sometimes in the name of righteousness.

Maybe what we need to stop doing is trying to make the world and those around us into our image.  Maybe we need to focus more on loving God and neighbor than sewing seeds of discontent because we are being invaded by those not like us.

If we are really looking out for Number One, maybe we should look ourselves in the mirror and consider which sins and vices we have committed today, and then work to commit one less tomorrow.  Because in the end, it's not a blame game . . . it's an honesty game.

Amen.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

October 14, 2015

All of us, then, should reflect seriously on how to appear before the majesty of God in the presence of his angels.  That will lead us to make sure that, when we sing in the choir, there is complete harmony between the thoughts in our mind and the meaning of the words we sing.
St. Benedict's Rule, Chapter 19

You may recall that I have been asked by The Living Church to be part of a daily reflection project for their website.  The project has several writers who have been assigned to write for four weeks, one week at a time, over the next six months.  Our guidelines are to offer reflections on the Daily Office.

My first assignment is due November 1, and is set to run the week of November 15.  As it happens, the series of readings on that Monday begin with the story of the Transfiguration.  I am just now putting my thoughts down, but I find myself beginning to write about the difference between worship and ministry.

We need both.

While it would be easy to focus on worship, it is our ministry that ultimately gets God's word and presence out into the world.  On the other hand, if we only focus on ministry, we may lose sight of the need for worship.

It's not original when I've said, “The one thing the Church does that no other social agency does is worship.”  Worship is what we do.  Our day should begin and end with worship.  Our ministry should begin and end with worship.  Worship should not only bookend everything we do, but it should infuse everything we do as well.

St. Benedict recognized the importance of worship when he included those words in his Rule.  It remains so for us today.

When we worship, we are in the presence of angels and archangels.  When we participate in worship, we need to reflect seriously on how we appear before the majesty of God so that there is complete harmony between our thoughts and the words we read and sing.

Do we joyfully praise God for his glory?  Are we truly sorry, and do we honestly and humbly repent of our sins?  Do we joyfully give God our thanks and praise?  Do we go forth in the name of Christ, striving to live as his real presence in the world?

Worship and ministry are not two separate aspects of the Church; they are the warp and woof of our lives as Christians.  Worship is ministry.  Ministry is worship.  But as intertwined and interdependent as they are, let us always remember that it begins and ends with worship.

The Lord be with you.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

October 7, 2015

Blessed are the ears that hear the Divine whisper, and give no heed to the whisperings of the world.
Thomas a'Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book Three, Chapter 1

There's a lot that happens in silence.  We can say, “I love you” without saying a word.  We rest in the comfort of people we know and trust without having to speak.  We hear things we might normally not hear.  Elijah heard the voice of God not in the rumble of an earthquake or roar of the wind, but in the sound of sheer silence (1 Kings 19:11-12).  And Jiminy Cricket was the small voice of conscience for Pinocchio.

People often refer to the “still, small voice of God.”  The NRSV, which we use for worship services and  has become the default Bible of the Episcopal Church, does not use that term.  It translates those verses from 1 Kings as “sheer silence;” but, as with many things, some terms from the KJV have a lasting impression, and this is one of them.  The “sheer silence” of the NRSV is translation of the much more poetic “still, small voice” of the KJV.

But whether you prefer sheer silence or a still, small voice isn't really the point.  The point is that that one verse has made an impression on all of Judaism and Christianity to such an extent that we don't often talk about the booming voice of God reverberating through us, but rather the still, small voice of God that cut through the noise of the world and spoke to our heart.

It's important for us to take time and listen for the whisper.  This is why I have built periods of silence into the Sunday Eucharist, so that we can have an intentional time to hear what God might be saying to us through the readings and sermon.  It's why I have longer periods of silence in the Morning Prayer service – so that we can not only listen for what God might be saying, but because that might be the only time of silence we get during the cacophony of modern life.

When you pray, are you taking time to listen for the Divine whisper?  When you are going through your busy day, with traffic and sirens and radios and background noise of all kinds, are you able to hear
the Divine whisper?

Maybe that's why God speaks through the sheer silence in a still, small voice – because if God were to babble along as loudly as the rest of the world his voice would get lost as just so much background noise.  But a whisper can get our attention.  A whisper can make us say, “What was that?”  A whisper can make us listen more intently.

God is calling to us in a whisper.  Are we willing to make the effort and listen?

Amen.