October 26, 2022

We are teaching ourselves to embroider and I did not expect the most difficult part of this to be untangling thread – Twitter post by “Ansley Is Livid

I responded to that tweet by saying, “Untangling is always the most difficult part of everything.”

I mean, sure . . . thread is a pain to untangle. So are extension cords, the chains of a thurible, and knots in long hair. That's why I'm always careful to wind things up nice and neat, or as best I can, so I don't have to deal with untangling in the future.

It occurred to me, though, that other things get tangled up and the most difficult part of it all is getting untangled. Whether that thing is a job, a project, a relationship, sometimes we get so tangled up that we aren't sure how to get untangled.

There's also a difference between being entangled and being entwined. Both of those generate images of two or more things wrapped around each other, or of one thing looped in and over itself. The difference is that being entangled generates a sense of knotted up, or of a mess needing to be straightened out. On the other hand, being entwined creates a sense of togetherness that generates strength.

The suspension cables on a bridge, for instance, are entwined. Good friends may have entwined lives. A good marriage consists of two people entwined together. The three persons of the Holy Trinity are entwined together. Hopefully we are entwined with God.

I hope you find yourself entwined with this community, with family and friends, and with God. And if you find yourself tangled up, I hope you find someone who can calmly and gently help get you untangled.

Blessings

October 19, 2022

Attempting to live like Jesus requires art, not science. – When One Religion Isn't Enough, pg. 4. Duane R. Bidwell

This is a book I picked up while on retreat last July, and this sentence comes from the introduction.

So often it seems that people look for the right rules to follow, or rules to keep them in line, or rules to affirm their own prejudices. For too long, people and clergy espoused a set of rules that, if followed, would ensure a person would get to heaven and keep society prim and proper. For too long, people and clergy espoused a set of rules that would ensure their vision of religion, society, and God were enforced. The Puritans were awfully good at the first (think about requirements for church attendance or enforced behaviors which, if not followed, led to public punishments, or worse). The Southern Baptist denomination was established to uphold the institution of slavery and segregation.

And on and on it goes with rules being created to uphold systems of power and to disenfranchise and shun the Other. Think about how churches have treated, and continue to treat, minorities, gays and lesbians, transgendered, inter-racial marriages, women in general and in leadership in particular.

On my Twitter feed recently, someone asked, “Where does the idea of biblical inerrancy come from?” There were a lot of answers, but I replied, “I'm guessing it probably started when the first guy said, 'The Bible clearly says' and then went looking for proof-texts to shore up his position.”

But while rules are necessary in some (many?) cases, following Jesus, discipleship, is less about rules, or the science of the matter, and more about art, because art can capture our imagination.

Art allows us to imagine the infant Jesus at Mary's breast. Art allows us to imagine Joseph playing peek-a-boo with toddler Jesus. Art allows us to imagine who is our neighbor. Art allows us to imagine finding an empty tomb. Art allows us to imagine Jesus asking us, “Do you love me? Then feed my sheep.”

The law (rules) Jesus lived by was twofold: Love God, love neighbor. In his life he constantly looked for ways in which those two laws could be lived out.

I watched a Safe Church module yesterday in which Presiding Bishop Curry quoted Ab. Desmond Tutu: “Without us, God won't. Without God, we can't. Together we can.”

In loving God and loving neighbor there is a lot of room for artistic imagination. In our attempt to live like Jesus, may we put our artistic imaginations to use as we bring the Church to the world around us.

October 12, 2022

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me.” – Is. 6:8

At the dilapidated church of San Damiano, Francis of Assisi prayed, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Francis heard a reply, “Go and rebuild my church, which, as you see, is falling down.”

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.” – St. Teresa of Avila

Isaiah saw a vision of the LORD in his holy temple and attending seraphs who called out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” While in that vision Isaiah realizes God is looking for someone to send and speak a message to his people. Isaiah famously replies, “Here am I; send me.”

Initially Francis thought God was telling him to repair the little church in which he had prayed. Eventually, however, he came to learn that he was being called to repair the larger church which was, at this point in time, close to collapsing due to corruption and strife.

Neither Saint John's nor the wider church is collapsing, but both are in need of attention. As we move out of the COVID pandemic there are challenges we face. We are learning how to be the church in a different world than we were just three years ago, and certainly different than from 20, 30, 40-plus years ago.

As we come out of the pandemic and look to return and minister in ways that are new, different, and the same, the call of Isaiah and Francis are particularly apt for us today. Saint John's has a lot of moving parts, both with our Commissions that offer a variety of ministries, and in a liturgy that offers a variety of opportunities to serve.

This Sunday, October 16, is Commission Sunday. Each Commission will have a table set up after each service with information about what they do and a chance to sign up to participate. You don't have to sign up for everything, but over the next few days I encourage you to prayerfully consider what talents you might offer for the good of the church. Are you a singer? Do you enjoy gardening? Are you a financial whiz? Would you like to play a larger role in the Sunday liturgy? All these and more are areas we are working to build up as we continue to learn how to move forward in our post-pandemic world.

We find ourselves at a time of rebuilding. God is asking, “Whom shall I send?” It has been a difficult 2-1/2 years, and we are being called to rebuild the church. As St. Teresa of Avila reminds us, we are the body, feet, hands, and eyes of Christ, and now is the time to put them to good use.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday. And if you can't be with us in person, please return a Time and Talent sheet offering your gifts to the church as we look to actively be the church in the world.

Blessings,

October 5, 2022

Be present, be present, O Jesus, our great High Priest, as you were present with your disciples, and be known to us in the breaking of bread. – BCP 834, adapted from Luke 24:30

All [the disciples] were constantly devoting themselves to prayer – Acts 1:14

“And the four living creatures . . . without ceasing sing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” And . . . the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever;” – Revelation 4:8, 10

“The duty of all Christians is . . . to come together week by week for corporate worship . . .” BCP 856

Worship is, above all else, the purpose of the church. There are a lot of things we are commanded to do (see this past Sunday's sermon, for instance); but the main purpose for gathering as a body and community of faith is to worship the Lord.

“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” says Psalm 29:2 (BCP). Whether that beauty of holiness is in the splendor of the main Saint John's worship space, whether it is in a grand cathedral, whether it is in a tiny and tight-knit community, whether it is at an outdoor chapel that looks out on lake and mountains, or whether it is a small group of people praying Morning or Evening Prayer, the beauty of holiness can be interpreted in many different ways. Certainly the beauty of holiness is found in the visual aspects of the worship space; but the beauty of holiness can also be found where two or three are gathered together in his name.

And, yes, there are a lot of other things we do as the body of Christ (feed, clothe, shelter, etc.) that many other organizations also do; but what those other organizations don't do is worship. It is our worship that sets the church apart from those other organizations.

I mention all this because today, October 5, is the return of the mid-week worship service in Saint Mary's Chapel at 12:15. The last service of Holy Eucharist held at Saint John's before the pandemic shut everything down was on a Wednesday. The service was always small, but it provided an intimacy that people enjoyed. Because of that small, intimate setting, there was a different feel to the beauty of holiness.

If you participated in that service before COVID struck, I invite and welcome you back. If your life has changed because of COVID in such a way that you are now free in the middle of the week, or if you are new to Saint John's and have time on Wednesdays, I invite you to join us. You are welcome to come and worship with us in the beauty of holiness that this small, intimate setting provides.

Blessings,