October 23, 2019

“One cannot become holy all at once.”

The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

The practice of holiness, like anything else worthwhile, takes dedication and perseverance. The journey to holiness should be focused on the journey, not the destination. If we only focus on the destination of being holy, then we might assume we are already there.

But we are not there. I'm not sure we are ever there. But we can continue on the journey. We can continue to make small steps toward holiness.

On All Saints' Sunday we will have a baptism. When that person is baptized into the household of God, he will not become holy, but it will be his first steps toward becoming holy. His journey toward holiness has just begun.

That journey will include intentional time with God. It will include learning about the faith. It will include making Sunday worship a priority. It will include times of study. It will include learning how to put “loving your neighbor” into practice. It will include so much more that I can't write down here. But maybe most importantly, it will include learning to not take his faith for granted but to put effort and time into becoming a disciple of Christ.

How are you doing on your own journey to holiness? Would you like to become more spiritually “fit?”

Like physical exercise where nobody begins by lifting 200 lbs or running 10 miles, nobody becomes holy all at once; we need to develop good habits and focus on the journey. Where to start? You could start by committing to read Compline from the BCP a few nights a week with a goal of reading it every night. You could commit to reading one chapter of the Gospels each day – at one chapter a day, starting tonight, you could have all of Matthew, Mark, and Luke read by December 29. You could commit to praying at each meal. The list is endless.

And, like with physical exercise, the more often you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you can increase the commitment.

We cannot become holy all at once; but what is stopping us from becoming holy a little bit at a time?

Blessings,

October 9, 2019

The Beloved Community

What makes up a Beloved Community? Or, more appropriately, what are the hallmarks of a Beloved Community? The first, obviously, is that it is based in love. Not the starry, infatuated, emotional kind of first loves, but the kind that hopes all things, bears all things, endures all things. The second is that it is based in gospel justice, it proclaims the love of God to the world, it addresses that which is counter to the mission of God, and it attempts to do so in such a way that, hopefully, opens our eyes to see where and how God is working in the world around us.

Invariably, though, when the community of God meets the powers of the world, things will be said that offend certain people. The prophets offended kings. John the Baptist and Jesus offended Scribes, Pharisees, temple authorities, and other political leaders. Paul offended parishioners in Corinth and Galatia. Bishop Paul Jones of Utah, a recognized saint of the Episcopal church, offended church leaders when he spoke out against WWI. Bonhoeffer offended any number of Germans. Martin Luther King, Jr., offended the white majority. And, no doubt, I offended some people by calling out the president's anti-Christian behavior.

As people of the world, disagreements happen and people are offended. As Christians living in the world, we are no different – which is why I'm convinced that Jesus promised to be in the midst of us when two or three are gathered together. The difference, as I see it, is that the world has moved to a win-at-all-costs mentality, regardless of how harmful that may be. In contrast, the Beloved Community is continually working to align kingdom goals, gospel justice, and the baptismal covenant with our daily living. Sometimes that means pointing out inconsistencies with how we say we will live versus our actual behaviors. And sometimes that means people will be offended.

God, the Church, and her ministers have, at times, disturbed, disrupted, and offended the world. Thomas Kennedy did such a thing right here when he proposed removing the requirement that people holding public office be Christians in what came to be known as “The Jew Bill.”

I have offended people in the past, and I will probably offend people in the future. But those words spoken and written are never spoken or written with an intent to offend; rather, they are offered to make people aware of situations that are contrary to my understanding of gospel ideals, the mission of God, and of the Beloved Community.

As part of that community, our challenge is to confront the disparate goals of God and world in such a way that generates open and honest conversations without resorting to threats or personal attacks. In other words, if we can bear and endure with each other in all things, then we will have the foundation of a Beloved Community.

Blessings,

October 2, 2019

In the second story of creation (Gen. 2:4b - 25), God creates a solitary human to care for the garden of Eden.  Recognizing it is not good that the human is alone, God proceeds to create every animal in an effort to find a suitable helper and partner, but "there was [none] found . . ." 

But just because animals were not found to be suitable helpers and partners doesn't mean they can't be suitable helpers; or suitable companions.  Guide dogs, sled dogs, and rescue dogs come to mind.  As do purring cats and ranch horses. 

In short, we love our animals.  Often to such an extent that some people will use them as a guide to who they are willing to date (love me, love my dog).  And when we lose an animal due to death or running away, it often leaves a large empty spot in our heart.  An article in the mental health section of Scientific American (5/22/18) states that, "Symptoms of acute grief after the loss of a pet can last from one to two months, with symptoms of grief persisting up to a full year (on average)."
We love our animals.

To honor that relationship, every year on or around the Feast of St. Francis (October 4), we offer a service of the Blessing of the Animals.  In part because Francis had a theology that saw God in every aspect of creation and it was our duty to care for and protect it

As protectors and caretakers of our animals, it is appropriate that we also make time to bless them.  So this Sunday, October 6, we will once again offer the Blessing of the Animals.  You are encouraged to bring your pet, or pets, to be blessed during the service.  This will take place immediately after the Peace and before the Offertory.

Dogs should be on leashes, cats in cages, and other critters appropriately restrained -- we don't want a repeat of the squirrel incident in Pascagoula (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K16fG1sDagU).

I hope to see you and your pet this Sunday.

Blessings,

Todd+

September 25, 2019

That's my pew.

We've all heard these words uttered by someone, or maybe even ourselves. There are multiple reasons for making this statement. Sometimes it's an informative declaration telling people where you normally sit. Sometimes it's a playful way of recognizing our ingrained habit of sitting in the same place. Sometimes, like a former Oregon parishioner told me, it's to honor their parents and grand-parents who sat in that pew. And sometimes, like my family experienced many years ago, it's a rude acknowledgment that you have intruded into someone's territory.

We are creatures of habit. I've noticed that people tend to sit in the same seats for vestry meetings, classes, and even a two-day meeting. And sometimes I think clergy lament the fact that everyone sits in the same place because it can lead to a cliquish behavior or, as I mentioned, the feeling of territorial rights. Maybe we clergy think we need to get people out of their rut, so that's why it bothers us. One time in Montana I preached a sermon along these lines only to find that everyone had changed places the following week. Of course, the next week they were back in their regular spots.

But I just read an article in a monastery newsletter that made me rethink the value of “my pew.”

According to this article, many monasteries have assigned seating for their monks and nuns. That is, each person is given a particular place to sit based on their seniority (time of service) in the monastery. They remain in that place until a more senior person leaves or dies, when they move up one space. Because of this system, people can spend years or decades in the same spot.

This spot becomes a place where prayer is cultivated. It becomes a place where the prayers of the person occupying that spot become infused in the life of the person sitting there. It becomes a place where all the prayers of the past are connected with the prayers of the present and anticipate the prayers of the future. It becomes a place that binds you to God in a way different from other ways.

This is my spot. This is where I am connected to God, past, present, and future. That connectedness, that infusing of prayer and Spirit, allows you to sit and be in the presence of God. And it allows for a certain stability in your prayer and faith.

So rather than think, “That's my pew” because you've always sat there, think of that pew as your anchor to God. This is where you have prayed for years, maybe even decades. This is where the prayers of your past are connected to your prayers of the present and anticipate your prayers of the future. This is where you encounter God.

That is your pew. That is where you are connected to the great cloud of witnesses and to angels and archangels. That is your place of prayerful stability and where you are bound to God in that thin place of the Holy Eucharist.

That's your pew. May you treat it with holy respect.

Blessings.

Todd+

September 18, 2019

We are all familiar with this Latin phrase which is found on our coins and means, "Out of many, one."

It fits as our national motto because this country was, and is, made up of people from North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia (and maybe even a few Australians).  There is, of course, an unfortunate history of groups abusing and enslaving others, and we have far to go before we reach the ideal that "every [person] is created equal."

In a sense, this could also be the motto of the Church.  As Paul wrote in Galatians, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus," and in Ephesians, "There is one body and on Spirit . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . ."  Like our country's founders recognized that from many countries came one, Paul recognized that many people make up the one body of Christ.

And yet, this desire for unity, the desire to be one, oftentimes seems unattainable due to our own sins of racism, greed, oppression, hatred, theological warfare, and the like.  During a service recently, a former Montana colleague was reading a prayer out of the BCP that mentions "our unhappy divisions."  He misread it as, "our happy divisions."  And while that was a slip of the tongue, he mused that his slip might be more correct -- that we really are more happy when we are divided.

And I read in another place that "we have entirely too much pluribus and not enough unum."

We are a divided people -- politically, socially, economically, and theologically.

Jesus once told his followers, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."  That's not because two, three, or more people create something holy and sacred; it's because we have a tendency to not get along and we need Jesus among us.

None of this means that we need to bury our disagreements in an attempt to become some sort of unified cult.  We can disagree.  We can have differences of opinion.  The trick is to do it respectfully.  The trick is to do it while holding the other up, rather than working to take down.

We are a divided people -- politically, socially, economically, and theologically.  Among these happy divisions, are we willing to invite Jesus into our midst?  Among these happy divisions, are we willing to align ourselves with gospel values?  Among our happy divisions, are we willing to keep Jesus front and center?  Because it most certainly is the case that, despite our pluribus, Jesus is our unum.

Blessings,

Todd+

September 11, 2019

On this day

On this day, we pray: O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brothers and sisters who were slaughtered by the violence of our fallen world. We thank you for giving them to us, their family and friends, to know and to love as companions on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before.

On this day, we pray: O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

On this day, we pray: O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

On this day, we pray: Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

On this day, we pray.

Amen.

September 4, 2019

Chores and Sin

We all have our chores to do around the house; at least, I hope we all do and don't let the care of the house fall to one person. In my house, because I have Fridays off, it's my job to do the weekly laundry, pay bills, and clean the bedroom and bathroom that belong to me and my wife. Very rarely I need to skip cleaning the bathroom due to something that gets in the way, but it almost always gets cleaned.

The tub is sprayed down and scrubbed. The shower doors are Windex-ed. The sink and vanity mirror get the same treatment. The floor is vacuumed and sometimes scrubbed. The toilet is cleaned inside and out. And the mats are vacuumed. Luckily it's not a large bathroom, so it doesn't take a whole lot of effort; it's just a matter of getting in there and doing it – 30 minutes tops, maybe 40 under special circumstances.

While I was cleaning this past weekend, I noticed that the space behind the shower door bumpers was looking icky, so I took those off and cleaned both wall and bumper. And when I was doing the sink, I remembered that it had been awhile since I took out the drain stopper. Whereas the bumpers were icky, this was positively gross, with black, brown, and gray gunk built up, along with a small wad of hair (for those eating breakfast right now – sorry).

As I said, I clean the bathroom faithfully every Friday; and yet, there was still an accumulation of yuck.

Sin works the same way. We try to keep our lives clean and holy. We participate in church on a weekly basis not for pardon only, but also for renewal. And yet, no matter how hard we try, how faithful we are, sin has a way of gathering in our lives, finding places to hide and grow, that, if not dealt with regularly, will result in an accumulation of yuck.

We generally don't like to talk about sin, confession, or repentance. But, if we want to do more than a cursory clean where people see only our surface, if we want to do a deep soul-clean, we need to open up those places where sin can build up and, eventually, cause major problems.

Just like we do regular maintenance and cleaning around the house to keep it from being overrun by yuck, we also need to do regular spiritual maintenance and cleaning in our lives to keep it from being overrun by sin.

Take time to examine your life. Take time to confess and repent. Take time to remove the yuck that slowly builds up over time. And then do it again next week.

Blessings,