Thursday, March 26, 2015

March 25, 2015

“Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?”
Matthew 26:40

In the final, late night hours before his arrest, Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray for the strength to submit to God's will.  Earlier in the evening he had shared the Passover meal with his disciples, modifying it into what we now know as Holy Communion, and foretold of his betrayal and the desertion of the rest of his disciples.  This was a stressful and confusing time for all involved.

After they had sung the hymn, Jesus led the eleven disciples (Judas having left the group to go round up a mob) out to the Mount of Olives.  Leaving eight disciples behind, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John up further to the place called Gethsemane.  And then, leaving those three behind, Jesus went on further by himself to pray.  He prayed to God, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”

It was a stressful and confusing time for all involved; but Jesus knew his hour had come and all he asked was that his friends spend one wakeful and watchful hour with him before being condemned to death.

A week from tomorrow the Great Three Days, the Triduum, begins that runs from Maundy Thursday through Good Friday and Holy Saturday to the evening of Easter.  During that time we share a meal and foot washing, participate in the final Communion before Easter and strip the altar.  During that time we go to the cross with Good Friday services at Noon and 7 p.m.  During that time we mourn the death of Jesus as all the world lives in the moment between death and resurrection.  And finally we celebrate Christ’s victory over death.

But to get to Easter we must go through Good Friday.  To get to resurrection we must go to the cross.

A week from tomorrow the Triduum begins with Maundy Thursday.  Church tradition asks that we, too, stay wakeful and watchful through the night and up to Noon on Good Friday.

But Church tradition only asks us, like Jesus asked his disciples, to stay awake for one hour.  Many churches have night watches at some location in their building.  Many others ask their faithful members to stay awake in prayer at a location convenient to them.  I ask you, the faithful members of St. Luke's, to remain awake for one hour at some point during the hours from the evening of Maundy Thursday to Noon on Good Friday.

There is a sign up sheet on the kitchen door for people to commit to one hour of wakeful watchfulness and prayer.  Will you commit to staying awake with Jesus for one hour that night?  Will you pray with Jesus for the strength to do God's will?

In the words of a favorite hymn:  Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour.

May you have a blessed and meaningful Holy Week.

Amen.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

March 18, 2015

“Life is a journey.  The trouble is that we accumulate a whole lot of baggage along the way.”
The Rev. Steven R. Ford, Assisting Clergy, St. James the Apostle, Tempe, AZ

This is a sentence written by Fr. Ford toward the end of an article he wrote in The Living Church entitled “Excess Baggage.”

His article discusses the similarities between those who travel and our own journey through life. There are two types of travelers, he says: those who attempt to bring everything they might possibly need for a trip and stuff it all into one or two very large suitcases; and those who bring only the bare minimum.  He contends that this second way is more biblical (“Take nothing for your journey . . .” Mark 6:8-9; “One's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions,” Luke 12:15b) as well as more liberating, allowing one the freedom to be spontaneous and the opportunity to see and do more rather than being overly tied down to one specific place.

He eventually gets around to pointing out the similarities between physical travel and spiritual travel. “The weighty baggage within all of us includes resentments and jealousies that are useless in successful living.  Our baggage contains things like envy and pride, which get in the way of our dealings with others as well as with God . . . Our journey is made difficult by our 'carrying heavy burdens'.”

What he's getting at here is the issue of forgiveness.  Too often forgiveness is presented as something we “must” do, or as a facade behind which offenders hide, transferring the blame to those offended. And yes, Jesus did tell us that we needed to forgive those who harmed or injured us “not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matt. 18:22); so there is a gospel imperative to forgive.  The more I think about forgiveness, though, the more I conclude that it's not for the benefit of those who offended me, but it's for the benefit of me.

By not forgiving, we set ourselves up to carry a whole lot of excess baggage.  By not forgiving, we allow ourselves, spiritually and emotionally, to be held hostage by the acts of another.  Forgiving is not forgetting – we would not allow a person to be treasurer after committing financial improprieties, but we would allow them to remain in the church.  Forgiveness allows us to realize we are carrying too much.  Forgiveness allows us to unpack and get rid of those burdens which weigh us down. Forgiveness allows us to travel through life lighter, allowing us the freedom to not be tied down by specific sins committed against us.  And forgiveness allows us the opportunity to establish reconciliation.

We are almost through our Lenten journey.  Let us remember that Lent is not only about confessing our sins to God, seeking repentance and making a right beginning, but that Lent is also about how we offer forgiveness to others.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.  As we forgive others, so will God offer forgiveness in the same measure.

As Lent winds down, may you discover the joys of traveling lighter.

Amen.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

March 11, 2015

“At the moment when a man goes astray, if he says, 'I have sinned,' immediately the sin ceases.”
Abba Poemen

While a good thought, I think it's more complicated than that.  If, in the middle of an armed robbery, the robber recognizes he is sinning yet continues in the act of robbery, simply saying, “I have sinned” doesn't immediately end the sin he is continuing to commit.  The same could be said for any number of other sins:  making idols of that which are not God; failing to respect the dignity of other people and/or the environment; being negligent in prayer; adultery; lying; theft; anger; envy; and the list goes on.

Repentance is a multi-step process that is more complicated than simply saying, “I have sinned.”

First, we must recognize that we are even sinning.  Oh, the big ones are obvious – murder, adultery, stealing, lying.  But what about others that maybe aren't so obvious?  Do we recognize that we are sinning then?  It's been said that the most broken of the 10 Commandments is Number 4 – Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.  How do we know we are sinning?  Use the mother/grandmother test.  In other words, if mom or grandma wouldn't approve, maybe you should rethink what you are doing.

Second, we need to actually repent of our actions.  Once we've recognized that we have committed a sin, we need to confess that sin to God and ask for forgiveness.  This isn't the modern, “I'm sorry you were offended; you should forgive me” tripe that has become so common.  This is the honest, “I'm sorry I hurt you; I humbly ask your forgiveness” kind.  As the introduction to the Confession in Rite One says, “Ye who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins . . .”

Finally, there is the desire to actually stop doing what we are doing and change our behavior.  To continue with the last sentence from above, “ . . . and intend to lead a new life.”  This is obviously the most difficult aspect of the process because we keep sinning.  Liars keep lying, thieves keep stealing, whatevers keep whatevering.  We are human and we occasionally and consistently stumble into sin.  But once we recognize that sin, once we repent and confess that sin, are we willing to do the hard work of living differently?  That's the challenge.

Abba Poemen gives us a good place to start when we have gone astray:  immediately recognize that we have strayed and confess that particular sin without delay and without excuse.  Following that, we would do well to remember both the Ash Wednesday liturgy and the Reconciliation liturgy.

On Ash Wednesday we are invited to the observance of a holy Lent through, among other things, self-examination and repentance.  On Ash Wednesday we are invited to make a right beginning of repentance.  As we move through Lent, remember that repentance is a multi-step process.

The Dismissal for Form Two of The Reconciliation of a Penitent proclaims, “Now there is rejoicing in heaven; for you were lost, and are found; you were dead, and are now alive in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Go (or abide) in peace.  The Lord has put away all your sins.”

As we move through Lent, remember that the goal is not to make us sinners miserable.  The goal is to remember that God rejoices at our return and our move from death to life.

Amen.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

March 4, 2015

“Holy things for the holy people”
Eastern Orthodox invitation to Communion

I read an article recently by a priest who wrote about a personal dry spell, or desert journey, or struggle or whatever you want to call it.

In that article he talked about his Lenten discipline of wearing a cassock on a regular basis.  And by “regular basis,” I mean pretty much from the time his day starts until it ends.  He wears it at Morning Prayer, in the office, when he goes out to lunch, under his alb at Communion, when he visits parishioners and when he makes hospital calls.

His Lenten discipline began as a response to the aforementioned dry spell.  At some point, Sunday morning became just another thing to do.  Get to church early enough to unlock the building, turn on the lights, start the coffee, make sure everything is ready to go, get vested, get through the service, meet with people, schedule appointments, turn everything off, lock up, visit a parishioner or two and call it a day.  Sunday was not a Sabbath.  Sunday had become just another work day.  Holy Eucharist had lost its luster, its meaning and its mystery.  It had ceased to be Holy and had become ordinary, and the worshipful words of the service had become a tired, meaningless old script read too often.

This is something all priests need to be on guard against, and it was staring him in the face.  So he donned the cassock.

He donned the cassock to remind him of his calling.  He donned the cassock as a daily reminder of the Holy Orders he vowed to live into.  He donned the cassock to remind him of the burdens he carries as a priest.  He donned the cassock to remind him that he was a conduit for holy things given to holy people.  He donned the cassock to remind him to listen to the Spirit, because it is in our wilderness journeys that we are given a new way of being.

For this priest, the cassock reminds him of his daily walk with God and it reminds him of the dignity and benefit of those holy things of which we partake every Sunday.

Are you in a dry spell or living in the wilderness?  Know that God is preparing you for something new.

Has Sunday become just another day?  Has Sunday worship become just one more chore to check off the to-do list?  Not all of us can, or should, wear cassocks to remind us of our relationship with God and others.  But we should all remember that we are a holy people, and that our worship allows us to participate in and partake of holy things.

May your Lenten discipline allow you to listen for God doing something new.  May your Lenten discipline allow you to gain a deeper sense of the mystery that is our worship.  May your Lenten discipline remind you that you are a holy people.  May your Lenten discipline give you a greater awareness that we have the honor and responsibility of sharing in holy things.

This Sunday, may you once again see holy things given to a holy people.

Amen.