“I Never Knew You”

[Our lessons today were Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28; Psalm 31:1-5, 19-24; Romans 3:21-25a, 28; and Matthew 7:21-27.]

This is a short Gospel reading today, but it carries a very strong message. Jesus tells us that if you prophesy in his name, and cast out demons in his name, and do deeds of power in his name, that isn’t enough! If you call out to him, it isn’t enough!

“I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers!”

First, Jesus talks about this as a requirement for entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember, when Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven, he isn’t talking about the afterlife. The Kingdom of Heaven he proclaims is here and now. It is the place where, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your will be done.” It is the place where God’s justice will be carried out, where the poor and the hungry and the ill are taken care of. So, when Jesus talks about what is needed, this is what he refers to.

Who gets in? “Only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” We might think, “Isn’t doing the will of God all of these things we speak of?” Obviously it isn’t, or it isn’t sufficient. Something else is needed, something more than the acknowledgment of God as Lord, something more than just doing what you think God wants; something more than just allegiance, more even than obedience, more than hard work, diligence and following all the rules.

Go back to the reading from Deuteronomy:

“You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead.” And what words were these? From earlier in Deuteronomy we hear: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength.” This is the missing ingredient: love!

All of these things we do must come from love. Love is that foundation of rock on which we must build. It must be there from the beginning and without it, nothing we do is doing what God wants.

If we obey Jesus only out of duty, doing things because we are proud of our ability to get things done, we will have left undone the greatest duty of all, the duty to love one another. If we obey only out of fear of punishment, we will be acting without that perfect love which casts out fear. If we obey only because we seek a reward—a reserved seat in the kingdom of God, we will be merely seekers of a prize; not lovers of a beloved.

God gave himself to us in his great love for us, through the redemption that is in Jesus. This is how, and how much, God loves us. And God wants nothing from us but our love in return. He wants us—ourselves, as we are, with our offerings of love, that mean more to God than anything—all treasure, all the prophecies, all of the casting out of demons and all the deeds of power. Those are the words to be put in our hearts and souls, bound as signs on our hands and fixed as emblems on our foreheads. Then all that we say and do and feel and think will be for the love of God.

Memorial Day

[Here is a prayer we said in church yesterday. It was a combination of thoughts I had after reviewing several prayers on Memorial Day.]

Almighty God, we give you thanks for the service of the men and women of our armed forces through the years and we especially remember those men and women who have laid down their lives in the service of our country; grant to those who are commemorated on our memorials and those who are written in our hearts your mercy and the light of your presence; also give, Lord, to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; these things we ask in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

"The Gift of Peace"

[On Wednesday night, I filled in at our weekly Prayers for Healing service. Here's my short sermon ("sermonette"?).]

I recently finished reading a remarkable and moving book by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who was the Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death from cancer in 1996. Two weeks before his death, he finished “The Gift of Peace,” in which he described the last three years of his ministry and of his life, and he opened it with a handwritten letter to his readers:

“To paraphrase Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities, ‘it has been the best of times, it has been the worst of times.’ The worst because of the humiliation, physical pain, anxiety and fear. The best because of the reconciliation, love, pastoral sensitivity and peace that have resulted from God’s grace and the support and prayers of so many people. While not denying the former, this reflection focuses on the latter, showing how, if we let him, God can write straight with crooked lines. To put it another way, this reflection is intended to help others understand how the good and the bad are always present in our human condition and, that if we ‘let go’, if we place ourselves totally in the hand of the Lord, the good will prevail.”

Cardinal Bernardin wrote about things that we should do when faced with a serious illness or difficulty. First, we must put ourselves completely in God’s hands. Never doubt that God loves us, embraces us, never abandons us. This is our source of hope in the midst of suffering and chaos. Remember

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The yoke of Jesus is “easy” because it will be kind and gentle to our shoulders, allowing us to carry our load more easily—thus his burden is light. It is as if Jesus tells us, “Walk with me; if you let me help you the heavy burdens will seem lighter.” Jesus doesn’t promise to take our burdens away. He promises to help us carry them.

The Trinity

[Our lessons were Genesis 1:1-2:4a, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, and Matthew 28:16-20.]

Trinity Sunday is unusual on our calendar because it doesn’t commemorate an event, as do Christmas and Easter, rather it is dedicated to a doctrine. In fact, our readings today don’t directly address the doctrine of the Trinity, although two do describe the three natures of God.

We first hear the beautiful, poetic creation story from Genesis. This story was not intended to be a literal description of the creation process or as definitive science and in fact it bears a very strong resemblance to creation stories of other early civilizations. What it does do is take us beyond the limits of science.

Science has been able to tell us what the universe looked like a few seconds after the Big Bang and it’s been able to move closer to the moment of creation until we have gotten just a fraction of a second afterwards. But we can’t quite get to the moment of creation through science because science is part of the created universe. We can only get to that point by God.

The creation story is in fact the story of divine victory over chaos and establishment of God as creator of all. “And God saw that it was good.” That is a critically important point. God took pleasure in His creation and that includes us.

Paul’s conclusion of his second letter to the church in Corinth perhaps tells us what that church was not. “Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

From elsewhere in both letters we learn how disordered the life of the Corinthian community was. Conflicts existed between different factions caused by interpersonal rivalries, spiritual arrogance, a lack of sensitivity toward less experienced members, sexual immorality, and possibly some theological differences. That doesn’t sound all that unusual today.

Paul’s final, familiar Trinitarian benediction in fact may have been a later addition. It goes farther than most of his writings, but it shows that a concept of a Trinity was beginning to develop.

We also hear the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel with the familiar commission to baptize in the name of the Father and Son and of the Holy Spirit. Most Christian churches use this formula and in fact, if it is absent, there is some question as to whether a sacramental baptism has occurred. The command to baptize and teach is how the Church to this day witnesses to and continues in its faith relationship with the risen Christ, who will be with us “always, to the end of the age.”

And so, the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity evolved over time, not because it was planned out that way, but because the natures of God and the experiences of the Church compelled the Church to work out how to deal with a God with three natures without diverting from the absolute monotheism we inherited from Judaism. No self-respecting Church would ever want to start out with this complicated idea of one God in three persons.

The early Church, raised in the Hebrew Scriptures, accepted the concept of God as their creator and, even more, as a God who was in an intimate relationship with His people, as would a Father or a Mother. God heard their cries and cared for them as a hen cares for her chicks. (You can’t really visualize this until you’ve seen it.) This is not a distant God on Olympus or in a far-off, remote heaven, but a loving, caring parent who continues with His people through all adversities.

Another understanding of God came from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God became flesh and dwelt among us. God was made incarnate in Jesus to make sure that the Church understood that God wasn’t remote from us, rather that God lived as one of us as Jesus. God was not only the creator; God was also the savior and redeemer.

And, last week, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to the Church. Not just to the disciples, but to the whole community. The Spirit acts in unpredictable ways to give power and courage and enlightenment, often in ways we cannot expect.

The Church did not set out to create a doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is a response to the experience of the Church over the ages as we try to understand how God acts and as we try to figure out how we should respond to God’s acts. The doctrine of the Trinity attempts to speak of the mystery of God as God has been revealed to us. It invites us into the life of God, giving us a place at the Table. And finally, it returns us to revelation: God’s calling of us, the unveiling of God, the witness of the Spirit to the Father and the Son and to worship.

Zimbabwe

We get so caught in our elections here (and they are important!), that we may not stop to think about places where elections aren't really free and fair and the results aren't respected. Such is the case in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe has wrecked what was a fairly prosperous country at independence in 1980.

Now it appears he has lost the presidential election. I say "appears" because the vote count was withheld for a long time, presumably until it could be manipulated so that the opposition candidate could be said to have failed to achieve a majority, thus requiring a runoff. Since the election, government security forces have been carrying on a campaign of intimidation which will make a runoff less likely to be free and fair. And by the way, a government source said that the current instability (caused by the government) may force the runoff to be delayed by a year.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has issued a statement of support of the people of Zimbabwe.

Together with millions of people around the world, my heart has been drawn in recent months to the political and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Zimbabwe. The tragedy of that nation's descent into internal chaos is magnified by the high sense of purpose and prosperity that a newly independent Zimbabwe brought to Africa and the world nearly three decades ago. Sadly, Robert Mugabe's government has undermined that promise beyond recognition with its systematic repression of human rights, democracy, and economic opportunity for the people of Zimbabwe. The turmoil in the wake of Zimbabwe's recent elections signals an urgent need for governments and other leaders in the international community to stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, and call for an end to this long hour of human suffering and the beginning of a new era of promise and opportunity.

In listening to the voices of bishops and other leaders in Zimbabwe and the region, I urge all Episcopalians to advocate for an international response with three components:

First, the international community must act to ensure a fair resolution of Zimbabwe's March 29 elections. According to nearly all independent observers, those elections--if reported accurately--would reveal a strong majority in favor of removing the present government. Unfortunately, the electoral process has been so marred by government tampering, intimidation, and violence that the results reported last week--a narrow edge for the opposition that requires a run-off election--appear to be wholly without credibility. Moreover, unless neighboring governments and multinational institutions intervene to ensure electoral fairness, any run-off election would threaten even greater upheaval. Institutions with clout in the region--the government of South Africa, the Southern African Development Community, and the African Union--thus far have not mounted the massive pressure needed to ensure a fair electoral process for Zimbabwe's people, and I join my brother bishops in the region in calling for urgent and creative action from these parties.

Second, all in the international community have a moral obligation to stand for an end to the political violence, torture, intimidation, and other human-rights abuses unleashed by the Mugabe government in the weeks since the elections. Government riot police raiding a meeting of the Anglican Mothers' Union in Mbare is but one example of a pattern whose greatest abuses are far more shocking. Such repression is an affront to the dignity of every human being, and if left unchecked by Zimbabwe's neighbors, threatens to plunge Zimbabwe into violence much more severe and widespread.

Finally, I join with the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Archbishop of Cape Town, in calling for an international arms embargo against the government of Zimbabwe. The prospect of a more-heavily armed Zimbabwe not only further threatens the security and well-being of Zimbabweans, but would also deeply undermine the peace and stability of the whole region. I am deeply thankful for the recent and successful efforts of Bishop Rubin Phillip of Natal in South Africa to prevent the offloading in Durban of a Chinese ship carrying arms for Zimbabwe. This much-publicized incident reveals, however, the urgent need for the United Nations Security Council to impose an internationally enforced embargo that would prevent arms from reaching the Zimbabwean government and sanction any who try to provide such arms.

In seeking these responses from government leaders, I urge all Episcopalians to continue to pray, in the name of the Prince of Peace, for the people of Zimbabwe. In a land that has suffered so greatly in recent years as a result of 165,000 percent inflation, 80 percent unemployment, and poverty so drastic that life expectancy is now only in the mid-30s, the need for healing and transformation could not be more urgent. May God, "in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, and no strength known but the strength of love," grant wisdom, courage, and strength to the people of Zimbabwe and to all who work for an end to that great land's current strife.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

Speaking in tongues? Well, kind of...

This coming Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost. In the book of Acts, its recorded that when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, they spoke in many different languages. Episcopal churches re-enact that in varied ways. A few years ago, I attended my old college chapel (Canterbury Chapel) at the University of Alabama, where they read the lessons sequentially in different languages. Here at St. Christopher's, we read the Gospel for the day simultaneously in multiple languages with our priest taking English (or as he puts it, "Southern") and various members of the parish taking others as they can. It actually works quite well.

Here's next week's Gospel lesson from John in English:

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

French (mine as I minored in French back in the 17th century, it seems like):

Ce même dimanche, dans la soirée, les disciples étaient dans une maison dont ils avaient verrouillé les portes, parce qu’ils avaient peur des chefs des Juifs. Jésus vint: il se trouva là, au milieu d’eux, et il leur dit: "Que la paix soit avec vous!" Tout en disant cela, il leur montra ses mains et son côté. Les disciples furent remplis de joie parce qu’ils voyaient le Seigneur. "Que la paix soit avec vous," leur dit-il de nouveau. "Comme mon Père m’a envoyé, moi aussi je vous envoie." Après avoir dit cela, il souffla sur eux et continua: "Recevez l'Esprit Saint. Ceux à qui vous remettrez leurs péchés en seront effectivement tenus quittes; et ceux à qui vous les retiendrez en resteront chargés."

German:

Am Abend aber desselben ersten Tages der Woche, da die Jünger versammelt und die Türen verschlossen waren aus Furcht vor den Juden, kam Jesus und trat mitten ein und spricht zu ihnen: "Friede sei mit euch!" Und als er das gesagt hatte, zeigte er ihnen die Hände und seine Seite. Da wurden die Jünger froh, daß sie den HERRN sahen. Da sprach Jesus abermals zu ihnen: "Friede sei mit euch! Gleichwie mich der Vater gesandt hat, so sende ich euch." Und da er das gesagt hatte, blies er sie an und spricht zu ihnen: "Nehmet hin den Heiligen Geist! Welchen ihr die Sünden erlasset, denen sind sie erlassen; und welchen ihr sie behaltet, denen sind sie behalten."

Spanish:

Al atardecer de aquel primer día de la semana, estando reunidos los discípulos a puerta cerrada por temor a los judíos, entró Jesús y, poniéndose en medio de ellos, los saludó. "¡La paz sea con ustedes!" Dicho esto, les mostró las manos y el costado. Al ver al Señor, los discípulos se alegraron. "¡La paz sea con ustedes!" repitió Jesús. "Como el Padre me envió a mí, así yo los envío a ustedes." Acto seguido, sopló sobre ellos y les dijo: "Reciban el Espíritu Santo. A quienes les perdonen sus pecados, les serán perdonados; a quienes no se los perdonen, no les serán perdonados."

Russian (I actually got asked for this and he says he can read the Cyrillic letters):

В тот же первый день недели вечером, когда двери [дома], где собирались ученики Его, были заперты из опасения от Иудеев, пришел Иисус, и стал посреди, и говорит им: мир вам!
Сказав это, Он показал им руки и ноги и ребра Свои. Ученики обрадовались, увидев Господа. Иисус же сказал им вторично: мир вам! как послал Меня Отец, [так] и Я посылаю вас. Сказав это, дунул, и говорит им: примите Духа Святаго. Кому простите грехи, тому простятся; на ком оставите, на том останутся.

I hope it makes sense to him!

A mother said her daughter could do any language I could find. She suggested Arabic, certain that I couldn't find it. Well,...

وَلَمَّا حَلَّ مَسَاءُ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ، وَهُوَ الْيَوْمُ الأَوَّلُ مِنَ الأُسْبُوعِ، كَانَ التَّلاَمِيذُ مُجْتَمِعِينَ فِي بَيْتٍ أَغْلَقُوا أَبْوَابَهُ خَوْفاً مِنَ الْيَهُودِ، وَإِذَا يَسُوعُ يَحْضُرُ وَسْطَهُمْ قَائِلاً: «سَلاَمٌ لَكُمْ!»
وَإِذْ قَالَ هَذَا، أَرَاهُمْ يَدَيْهِ وَجَنْبَهُ، فَفَرِحَ التَّلاَمِيذُ إِذْ أَبْصَرُوا الرَّبَّ.
فَقَالَ لَهُمْ يَسُوعُ: «سَلاَمٌ لَكُمْ. كَمَا أَنَّ الآبَ أَرْسَلَنِي، أُرْسِلُكُمْ أَنَا».
قَالَ هَذَا وَنَفَخَ فِيهِمْ وَقَالَ لَهُمْ: «اقْبَلُوا الرُّوحَ الْقُدُسَ.
مَنْ غَفَرْتُمْ خَطَايَاهُمْ غُفِرَتْ لَهُمْ، وَمَنْ أَمْسَكْتُمْ خَطَايَاهُمْ، أُمْسِكَتْ!»

I'll give her a chance to pick again...

By the way, these translations are courtesy of BibleGateway.com.