Letting God outa' the Box

Friday, February 27, 2004

 
Stations of the Cross

Here is an online Stations of the Cross based on the classic, Everyone's Way of the Cross by Clarence Enzler. If you liked The Passion movie, give this a try. The Stations of the Cross Online



Fr. Bill 8:01 AM

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Saturday, February 14, 2004

 
Sermon for Epiphany 6 year C
Jeremiah 17:5-10 * Psalm 1 * Corinthians 15:12-2 * Luke 6:17-26

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Jesus came down with the twelve apostles, and stood on a level place, with a great crowd”

Today’s Gospel is often called the ‘Sermon on the Plain’ in opposition to Matthew’s version, which is know as the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Christ’s movement in Luke, coming down from the mount, is a symbol the word coming down and dwelling with in us…each one of us and healing our troubled souls.
The key is in Christ’s movement down the mountain and the power going out from him and healing them all. Christ did not come down the mountain and separate the people in to groups; He meant his words to be heard by all.

It is easy for us to be drawn by this sermon into seeing ourselves in a position of one type of hearer. We can be drawn to seeing our selves as either rich or poor. We can be drawn to seeing ourselves as either facing a future of either blessings or woes. While we can be drawn into hearing Christ’s words as either lifting us up or condemning us.

Yet, what if we heard Christ word’s in a different way. What if we hear Christ talking to us through both our times of blessing and woe? It is through the ebb and flow of life, the blessing and the woes that we all experience, that we can find growth in our communion with one another.

When I was in Junior High, I had the biggest crush on a cheerleader. However, I saw myself as way out of her league. She was popular, athletic and had perfect skin, while I was shy, pudgy and clumsy with a face full of pimples. I was so self-conscious I could hardly say a word to her. Hence, we never became close friends…I never even gave it a chance to happen.

Many years later, I ran into her. She had been battling with an eating disorder that actually started in high school. She shared that she felt she needed to be slender to be liked and popular. Her self-consciousness about her weight also prevented her from forming close relationships, just as mine had. If we had been able to share our woes with one another, we may have become close friends, who could have helped each other see the blessings that also existed in our lives.

This is the equality and inclusiveness in Christ’s sermon on the plain. Each of us experiences and holds inside blessings and woes that have occurred in our lives. Those of us who are rich have much in common with those of us who are poor. Those of us, who are laughing, have cried and will probably cry again. The sermon on the plain is not divisive rhetoric seeking to send us into separate groups. In the sermon on the plain, Christ comes down to offers us a level common ground on which we can reach out to one another. A common place where when we are blessed Christ calls us to reach out to those who suffer. And, when we are suffering, Christ calls us to have hope and faith that blessings will again find us…which may come from those who follow the call to reach out.

This message of steadfast faith amidst our blessing and woes is also present in today’s reading from Jeremiah.
Jeremiah offers us the image of a tree planted by water whose roots reach toward the stream as the position of consistent faith in the Lord. The tree is still subject to cold winds of winter and hot dry summer, but it remains anchored in its faith. Jeremiah states the Hebrew belief that the heart can be devious in its wants and desires. The prophet warns us against being lead astray by our hearts desires and placing our trust and faith in mere mortals and making mere flesh our strength. In our current age, this is a very important concept to grasp. Marketers are constantly juxtaposing their products or services with our hearts desire to be happy. Skinny rich people are always laughing and revelling in the commercials and ads. Yet the vacation will end, the heartburn will return. Those who laugh will cry, just as those who cry will again find laughter.

Susan and I spent last week at our Diocesan Convention in Mississippi. There was much talk of General Convention and Gene Robinson, much concern of money and budgets. While some talked of leaving the Episcopal Church for other denominations, many seem to hold the view of Jeremiah and are choosing to keep there roots planted and remain, allowing time for the whirling winds of change to calm and having faith and hope in the Holy Spirit to ultimately guide the Church.


As Jeremiah’s tree is fixed in its faith, we are called to remain fixed in our faith sharing our blessings and woes during these winds of change. Just as Christ did in Luke’s gospel, we have an opportunity to gather on level ground, open ourselves up to the blessings and woes in our lives, and share them with each other. Our challenge is to allow God, though our blessings and woes, to lead us into greater communion.

In the name to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Fr. Bill 6:16 PM

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Monday, February 02, 2004

 
Coming out of the Sexual Myopia

After reading the purposed resolutions for my up coming diocesan convention, I realized that I've been wrestling with this 'post-General Convention-sexual myopia'.
I was stuck by an article by Louis Weil in The Study of Anglicanism that suggested the liturgy was the central and uniting doctrine of Anglicanism. I like that! There are so many things...such as moral standards, Biblical Interpretations and theologies...that seem to divide Christians. Yet, Christ is stronger than all those things, and Christ calls us to communion. Viewing our differences through our Eucharistic liturgy, we are called to acknowledge our failings ('things done and left undone') and greet each other in peace...surrendering the thoughts and emotions that divide us...surrendering ourselves to a new life together with Christ.
What binds us together...the knowledge and love of our Savior...is stronger than anything that seeks to divide us. Severing communion with each other seems to be anti-Eucharistic...going against the call of Christ for us to join together with him.
Fr. Bill 12:14 PM

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