Wednesday, July 27, 2016

July 27, 2016

Aggressors can maintain security because they do not allow any other perspectives into the images that define the self except those that are securely controlled:  the idea that some portion of moral substance is invested in the uncontrolled histories and discourses of others is something to be ignored or resisted..
Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement, Rowan Williams

This is a particularly dense book that I'm currently reading.  Nevertheless, there are a few things here and there that catch my attention, and this is one of them.  Maybe it was because of the push-back that #blacklivesmatter is getting from #alllivesmatter.  Maybe it was because of the recent tenor of the RNC convention in Cleveland.  Maybe it was because of the people screaming, “We want our country back!”

Whatever it was, this quote from a book written sixteen years ago struck home.  When I read it, I first thought of the current state of affairs with police shootings, retaliatory shootings, and the political rhetoric from all sides.  But the more I sat with sentence, the deeper it got.  This quote not only reflects our current state of affairs, but it reflects oppression throughout all of history:  Men controlling women by limiting equal pay, denying the vote, denying positions of leadership, forcing women to take sick-time after childbirth (among others things); white realtors funneling minorities into “appropriate” neighborhoods; former slave owners getting Jim Crow laws passed; conservative Christians boycotting Target for that company's decision to remove Boy and Girl labels from toys; Nazis carefully crafting anti-Jewish propaganda and laws that led to the Holocaust; the list goes on.  It wasn't that long ago that magazine advertisements were populated solely by white models, while interracial couples were never seen on TV.

It would appear that Rowan got it exactly right.  When faced with the idea of equality, those in power, the aggressors, fight tooth and nail to keep those asking for equality oppressed.  When the Black Lives Matter popped up, I noticed it was a white reactionary counter movement that created All Lives Matter.  If all lives matter, then why aren't we working for equal pay, livable wages, universal health care, an end to sexual abuse and harassment, or free education for those in poverty?

The stories of the helpless, the outcast, the powerless, minorities, and victims must be allowed to be told through their voices – not through the voices of the dominant class who want to gloss over their own complicity in how those others have been, and continue to be, treated by society.  Unfortunately the people in power don't want to hear those stories.  What they want to hear, I think, are their own narratives that silence the Other so that they can continue not thinking about the issues.

Those stories of the Other are then continually ignored and/or resisted, because when the others start talking about equality, those in power don't see and hear calls for equality – they see and hear a loss of power for themselves and a loss of “what's rightfully mine.”

Our Baptismal Covenant asks us to “respect the dignity of every human being.”  For us to do that we need to begin listening to the perspectives and stories of others.  For us to do that, we need to stop trying to control those who are not like us.

Amen.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

July 20, 2016

The Bible is not intended to be a mere chronicle of past events, but a living communication from God, telling us now what we need to know for our salvation.
Being Christian, Rowan Williams

I came across this quote in the book review section of The Living Church.  The reviewer writes that this book “stands as a deeply Benedictine model for catechesis.”  Consequently it's on my ever-growing list of books I need to purchase/read.  I can't tell you anything about it other than that it sounds interesting and might make for a good read and tool if you are looking for a way to deepen your faith.

But that's not why I focused on this quote for this particular edition of the Wednesday Word.

As most of you know, one of the things I do is to lead a Bible study every Monday afternoon at the Rogue Valley retirement complex.  We are currently working our way through Hebrews at the breakneck pace of one chapter a week.  This past Monday we dove into Chapter 11, one of the more famous chapters in the New Testament.

It begins thus:  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  And from there the author launches into the history of faith, beginning with Abel and going on down the line through Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Barak, David, and others.  This list reminds us that the Bible is not a book of rules.  The Bible is not a seamless, perfectly aligned account of humanity's interaction with God.  The Bible is not a science book, nor is the Bible a history book.  Instead, the Bible, as Rowan Williams writes, is “a living communication from God, telling us now what we need to know for our salvation.”  Or, as the author of Hebrews shows us, it is a compilation of acts of faith looking forward to the promise of things yet unseen.

That's the thing about a living faith – it is constantly looking forward.  Lot and his daughters looked forward to a new life outside of Sodom.  Lot's wife looked back and was turned to a pillar of salt.  Moses looked forward to freedom.  The Israelites looked back to Egypt, and only Joshua and Caleb lived to see the Promised Land.

Our faith has pillars and foundations that support and inform us, but those pillars and foundations aren't there to drag us down or keep us looking back, they are there to inspire us and support us as we move forward.

Where is your faith leading you?

Amen.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

July 13, 2016

Ours is an associated worship: there cannot, therefore, be a more erroneous opinion than that upon which the practice of some seems to be founded, that the people are to be only hearers or spectators during the service of the Church.  Our excellent Liturgy is so constructed, that it can neither have meaning nor effect in some of its parts, unless the people join in it with interest and devotion.
Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Maryland by Bishops Claggett and Kemp, 1816

This coming Sunday we will hear the gospel story of Mary and Martha.  If you need a refresher, Jesus comes to visit the two sisters and Martha, distracted by her many tasks, asks Jesus to intercede for her and have Mary get to work because she has been quietly listening to Jesus.  This story has, through the ages, prompted people to ask, “Are you a Mary or are you a Martha?”  The implication, of course, is that you are either one who chooses to listen to Jesus above all else (thereby being a “good” disciple) or you are one who chooses to push Jesus aside in favor of listening the the cares and distractions of the world.

But that binary thinking, that either/or way of presenting Mary and Martha, is problematic.  It presents the question as having only one right answer.  It requires us to make a choice between this and that.  It can lead people to begin seeing everything in this either/or way that can be detrimental in the long run.  Think, for instance, of the current state of affairs in our political parties – the ability and willingness to negotiate and compromise is hindered on all levels by a demand for “either this or that.”  This either/or way of thinking can also have a negative aspect on our worship and spiritual lives, as Bishops Clagget and Kemp wrote.

Two hundred years ago these two bishops wrote to the people of the Diocese of Maryland in response to what they saw as an either/or theology of worship.  Two hundred years ago these two bishops wrote to the people of the Diocese of Maryland in an attempt to get people beyond binary worship.  Apparently the good people of Maryland had come to see themselves as Mary worshipers; not worshipers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but worshipers in the style of the above Mary, sitting quietly and passively listening to the words being spoken by the teacher.

But this has never been the goal of our liturgy.  Our liturgy is not something that we “attend.”  Our liturgy is not a performance for your entertainment.  Our liturgy is not passive.

Our liturgy is, properly, “the work of the people.”  It is something that we work at.  It is something we strive to perfect each time we participate in it.  Our liturgy is active.  It is a corporate performance where we are all the actors, having specific roles to play, with God as our audience.  In our liturgy, we are both Mary and Martha; we are both hearers and doers.  It is something where we should actively listen at times, and join in with interest and devotion at other times.

And here you thought that when I said, “Let's do that again” I was being cynical when, in fact, I was actually channeling my inner bishop from 200 years ago.

This Sunday when you come to church to sit, listen, and pray, also remember that there is work to be done.

Amen.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

July 6, 2016

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

One of the problems we have as humans is our seemingly constant need for newer, bigger, and better.  Advertisers are constantly trying to get our attention with flashier ads for new and improved products.  We get bored with the same ol' same ol'.  A cell phone that worked well two years ago is now beyond obsolete because it can't take pictures or download apps.  In 1979, “Escape,” the song about finding a new lover who liked pina coladas, talks about a relationship that has committed the unforgivable crime of becoming routine.  If last week we watched a man juggling swords, this week we want him to juggle chainsaws, and next week we want to see him juggle chainsaws on fire.

It seems our relationship with God suffers from the same problem.  The Israelites were freed from bondage by God, and they complained of no water.  God brought water from the rock, and they complained of no bread.  God rained down manna, and they complained of no meat.  God sent quail, and they complained yet again.  The people of the New Testament are no better as Jesus is confronted with cries of, “Do here what you did there,” and other instances that essentially equate to, “What have you done for me lately?”

How often in our lives are we driven by the desire to have the latest and greatest thing?  Or the desire to “keep up with the Jones'?”

These are the whisperings of the world.  Whisperings that say, “You deserve this,” or “You're falling behind,” or “Everyone else has one,” or “It's just a little white lie,” or “No one will know.”

Very rarely do we ever commit first-time sins on a grand scale.  We don't decide to arm ourselves and rob banks, but we might very well decide to mention something we did at work over a nice dinner and then use that for a deduction on our taxes.  More often than not we sin in small, whispering ways that take us off the path ever so slightly until, before we realize it, we're in over our heads struggling to get back on the right path.

God works in the same way.  More often than not, God doesn't hit us over the head with a holy 2x4.  More often than not, God doesn't address us with angelic hosts, visitations from archangels, or other spectacular heavenly light shows.  More often than not, God speaks to us in silence and gentle calls.  As Hymn 550 says, “Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea . . . saying Christian, love me more than these.”

The Divine whisper isn't concerned with flashy presentations.  The Divine whisper isn't concerned with whether or not we can keep up with the Jones'.  The Divine whisper is only concerned with reaching the heart of God's people over the din and misleading whisperings of the world.

We live in a world of sensory overload.  We live in a world of multiple messages telling us how to be new and improved.  It is through that noise and those messages where God whispers, “Follow me.”

What message are you paying attention to?

Amen.