Author: Rosemary Lovelace

Second Sunday of Easter – Bill Harkins

The Collect of the Day: Second Sunday of Easter

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel: John 20:19-31

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.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

In the name of the God of Creation who loves us all, Amen.

In the Gospel lesson for today we find the disciples behind locked doors, hiding together in fear in the upper room. No doubt the words of the women at the tomb were ringing in their ears, only worsening their isolation and fear: “They have taken away our Lord and we do not know where they have taken him.” Suddenly Jesus appears, and speaks those remarkable words; “Peace be with you”. And he breathes upon them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” And in John’s version of the story Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” It may be that forgiveness is at the heart of today’s Gospel story, and this includes both forgiving others, and ourselves. These are parables of grace, and resurrection.

But where was Thomas? Perhaps he needed to be alone. He needed time to think, to question, to ponder the events swirling around him. Maybe he went to that place we all may go, in the midst of deep grief and confusion, where we believe that no one can reach us, even if it is not true. It’s easy to be drawn to Thomas because he seems so human. After all, it was Thomas who asked Jesus how they could know the way. Jesus replied “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. But Thomas needed proof. He was perhaps among the first purveyors of the scientific method. His hypothesis in this instance was that unless he saw “the marks of the nails in Jesus’ hands and unless he put his hand in Jesus’ side, he would not believe.” The elegant beauty of the scientific method is that it allows us to test one hypothesis against others. And this is how we learn. Jesus understood this, and was not critical of Thomas. Rather, he affirmed Thomas in his doubting, and helped him recognize doubt as part of our faith journey. I’ve never understood those who vilified Thomas for doubting. Martin Luther King, who died 56 years ago this month, said that “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

It’s easy to have empathy for Thomas because we may recall times in our own lives when we felt the same way; times when it seemed that we wandered lost, and scared, and we questioned our faith. Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know. The world of Jesus’ followers had been turned upside down and was in utter chaos. And yet, Thomas possessed two great virtues: he absolutely refused to say that he understood what he did not understand, or that he believed what he did not believe. There was an uncompromising honesty about him. He refused to respond to the anxiety of his own doubts by pretending they did not exist. Thomas, like the other disciples, was lost. And he had the courage to name his disorientation. As Wendell Berry said so well, “It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.”

In today’s Gospel Jesus is reminding Thomas, and by extension all of us, that it is often relationship that heals us when we no longer know what to do or where to go. Relationship is where the real work begins. Jesus reaches out to Thomas in his isolation and his questions. It is not doubt that is the enemy my friends. Rather, it is responding to it by cutting ourselves off from others that is most risky. And we are most likely to do this when, like the disciples, we are scared, sad, angry, and lost, and we hide ourselves behind closed doors. Often, what locks us in are our fears, insecurities, illnesses, compulsions or addictions, past hurts we have experienced and hold inside, and hurts we have caused. The social scientist Brene’ Brown has said that faith communities, in order to be safe containers for beloved community, must be “shame free.” They must create safe spaces for honest, authentic transparency in relation to those things that would keep us in the bondage of disconnection. In striving towards hospitality, excellence, and grace we seek to create that safe space here at our beloved Holy Family parish, each connection born of relationships. Jesus gives us an alternative to being cut off from ourselves, and others, and from God.

The grace and forgiveness in today’s Gospel may assist us when we have had to piece our lives back together after they have been turned upside down, and our doubts prevail. And we have similar examples. The story is told that the Great Window at Westminster Cathedral was destroyed during WWII. After the war, pieces of glass of all shapes, sizes and colors were collected from the dust and rubble, and lovingly fixed together and placed in the frame of the old west window, bringing the Cathedral to life again. Careful examination of the window would reveal the faces of angels, disciples and kings, all jumbled up with pieces of colored glass; small fragments of writing in Latin, next to drawings on glass of clothes, hands and feet. Bit by bit the window space was filled in with old glass until the most amazing window was completed, a feast for the eyes, and a thing of beauty. It didn’t tell stories from the Bible exactly as it had originally, but told a different story. This story was of good overcoming evil, of sadness turning into great joy, of conflict replaced by forgiveness and peace. It put the words of Jesus into action by showing what could be done when people worked together to do good things. Today’s Gospel is just like this, and our lives can be like this too. Thomas understood this well.

Well, some time ago I attended the “birthday” of a friend who was celebrating his 10^th year of sobriety. I first met him in 1978 when we began working together as counselors on the adolescent psychiatric unit at Peachford Hospital. Just out of college, a little scared and uncertain what to do next, I learned so much from my colleagues, and from the patients and families with whom we worked over the next two years. My life and that of my friend took different paths, but we kept in touch. I knew he had struggled with alcohol, but I did not realize the depth of his addiction. And so on a cold and rainy night some 35 years after we met, I drove up to Cherokee County as he picked up his 10-year chip. I walked into a room filled to capacity—maybe 70-80 souls in recovery. Dressed like the seminary professor I was, I felt a little out of place when the first person to greet me was a leather clad member of “Bikers in Recovery,” who welcomed me with gracious hospitality rather than suspicion and with a bear hug so fierce it awakened an old football injury. I will never forget his warmth and sincerity. That night I heard the testimonies of those who knew my friend, and stories of life—his and theirs—before and after sobriety. I was moved by their openness, shared vulnerability, and honesty. I noted the utter lack of shame in that safe space. I heard my friend recount how drinking almost killed him, and how he had said to those gathered in that very room, some ten years earlier, “I am lost. Tell me what to do, and if you tell me, I will do it.” And then, through tears of one who has come back to life from the edge of the abyss, “You saved my life, you know… I asked, and you gave, and you told me to work each step, and that you would be there with me each step of the way. And you were. I was among the living dead, and I slowly came back to life. I am here tonight, standing up here talking to you, because you people saved my life.” As I listened, a phrase came to mind from St. Augustine: “In the midst of life we are in death, and in Christ, in the midst of death we may find life.” Here was a perfect example of a man whose life had in many ways ended…who was no longer fully alive, and who had come back to being fully present in the world, freed from the numbing distraction of alcohol abuse. And so it was that those gathered that night were practicing resurrection; It was Thomas’ story of grace and forgiveness, and ours.

And so you see, dear ones, those souls had chosen not to remain trapped and hidden behind the locked doors of their addictions—a living death cut off from relationship, but rather to be in community, out in the open. In so doing, they had to face with brutal honesty—a searching, fearless, and unrelenting moral inventory— as they say in the recovery community, the truth of what had kept them imprisoned. I found myself inspired by this connection of relationships, and I understood my friend better too. And, I understood the power of the Paschal Mystery of Easter a bit more clearly: that in the phrase “one day at a time” we see the truth of that new life. It was as if we placed our hands in the wounded brokenness of my friend’s soul, and we believed. In Christ, darkness and death have been overcome—are overcome—one day, one moment at a time, here and now. Jesus wanted the disciples to see his wounds so that they could understand the resurrection hope those scars represented. The Easter miracle of this Gospel passage is that Jesus comes again and again to these confused, frightened disciples, and offers himself in relationship. And like Thomas and his brothers we are called to move through times of doubt to moments of grace. To move, that is from Good Friday losses, to Holy Saturday ambiguity, and on to Easter. To give of ourselves, our stories of doubt, grace, and forgiveness, we must know ourselves—that’s the fearless moral inventory. “Practice Resurrection,” the wonderful writer Wendell Berry says to us, and every time we choose to do this, the grace-filled Easter story continues. When I got home that night, I sent my old friend a message thanking him for the gift of his story, and for inviting me into that sacred space. He sent a text message that read like the Holy Week Triduum we just observed: “Life and Chaos; Recovery and forgiveness; New Life and Gratitude.” And I realized that is almost like…I would say is exactly like the Holy Spirit had been breathed upon us in that locked room, the doors of which had been flung open by the grace of my friend’s story. And when that happens, because we have asked for it, we can participate in the compassionate, hospitable, beloved community, yes, one day at a time. Amen.

Easter Sunday – George Yandell

One day, three men were walking along and came upon a raging, violent river. They needed to get across to the other side, but had no idea how to do it. The first man prayed to God saying, “Please, God, give me the strength to cross this river.” Poof! God gave the man big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours.

Seeing this, the second man prayed to God, saying, “Please, God, give me the strength and ability to cross this river.” Poof! God gave him a rowboat and he was able to row across the river in about three hours.

The third man, seeing how things had worked out for the other two, also prayed to God, saying, “Please, God, give me the strength and ability and intelligence to cross this river.” And poof! God turned him into a woman; she looked at the map, then walked across the bridge.

Humor aside, the prominence of women as the initial ones to experience the power of Easter cannot be denied. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the first to hear the angel say, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised”.

These two Marys were among the brave women who had watched Jesus die his agonizing death. They had followed his lifeless corpse to mark the place where it was entombed by Joseph of Arimathea. A legitimate question follows: where were the men at the same time? Where were his bravest, closest disciples—Peter, James, and John—the “pillars” of the community? Where were the “Sons of Thunder,” Thomas, and Matthew? Where were Andrew and Philip? Had all of them scattered like frightened sheep after Gethsemane and Golgotha? When Jesus had needed them the most, had they left him completely in the lurch? Why hadn’t they the courage and loyalty to suffer with Jesus, as had the women from Galilee?

Jesus had told his disciples that he would be crucified and raised on the third day; but despite what Jesus had predicted of an ultimate vindication, none of his followers could envision a personal resurrection.

In all four gospels, the first evidence that Jesus has overcome death is the empty tomb. Although the details of the Easter narratives vary, in all of the accounts the women are first to arrive at the tomb and to proclaim the miracle of Easter. Mary Magdalene is a principal witness to the resurrectionin all four Gospels.

With dramatic details unique to Matthew, we read that when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrived at the tomb at dawn on the first day of the new week, there was a great earthquake. The shaking earth underscored the apocalyptic nature of the event. Then an angel of the Lord appeared and rolled back the stone at the entrance. The soldiers standing guard were terrified at the sight of the angel, whose appearance was “like lightning,” and whose clothing was “white as snow”. The angel reassured the women as he told them that Jesus “is not here; for he has been raised”, just as he had foretold.

As proof of this astonishing news, the angel told them to see for themselves that the tomb was empty, and gave them a message to take back to the other disciples. “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him”. This was to fulfill the promise that Jesus had made on the night of his betrayal that “after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee”.

As the women ran “with fear and great joy” to tell the others, Jesus appeared. The women immediately bowed down and held his feet, showing that the proper response to the Risen Lord is to worship him. Jesus told them not to be afraid and repeated the message that the disciples were to meet him in Galilee.[Adapted from “Synthesis: A Weekly Resource for Preaching”, April, 2014.]

In John’s story of the resurrection, Mary makes a second trip to the tomb, after she had seen it empty when she first visited. She looked again inside the empty tomb and saw something neither Peter nor the other disciple saw—two angels in white sitting at either end of where the body had been.

If angels are going to scare us out of our wits like Mary experienced, at least give us information about where to meet Jesus and directions to the meeting place. But in John they just ask a really obvious question: “Woman, why are you weeping?”

I wonder if Mary felt a momentary flash of irritation? I wonder if she felt like saying, “Well, angels, why do you think I’m weeping? I’m weeping over the crucifixion of my most cherished hope in life. My eyes are wet with the tears because I’m grieving to my core. Why do you think I’m weeping?”

One might suspect that the angels, while Mary is explaining about weeping, might be pointing behind her as if to say “turn around, turn around.” They might well have come to give directions, after all. To a Resurrected Lord who, from now on, is always standing right behind her, whose presence doesn’t depend on whether she feels him there or not, whether she’s ready or not. Because, according to John’s story, Christ rises in the dark. Christ rises for everyone. Easter is precisely for those who are not ready for it. Easter is for Peter, too absorbed in the pain of his past to take it in. Easter is for the Beloved Disciple, who believes in Jesus’ resurrection but needs time to process what difference it makes. Easter is for Mary, weeping over her loss while her Lord stands right behind her.

According to the story, Easter is for each of us who is all of them. [from Alyce McKenzie in “Ready or Not: Reflections on the Unexpected Easter” from Patheos.com (4/17/11).]

Here we uncover the paramount nature of undeserved love revealed in the Resurrection of Jesus. Call it the Gospel of Easter. Deserving the worst, the disciples were given the best. God raised Jesus up into their community despite their cowardice, despite their betrayal. Whereas in human relationships desire is the cause of love, here in the Resurrection, we see that love is the cause of desire. God’s love is the cause of desire. God’s love reigns, regardless of human failure.

The disciples, therefore, were not anticipating the Resurrection of Jesus. Why else would they have been such reluctant believers? Why else would they have dismissed the report of the women about the empty tomb as “an idle tale”?

Reginald Fuller, the noted New Testament scholar and professor of mine at seminary said: “Even the most skeptical critic must posit some mysterious ‘X’ event to get the Christian movement going.” Think about it. How did any kind of a beginning come out of such a disastrous end—let alone a beginning that would change the face of the world? How did this Jesus—executed as a heretic and as a seducer of the people—come to be known as “Lord”? How could a condemned criminal and a disowned prophet become revered as “Savior”? How could this blasphemer come to be called “the Son of God”?

Lastly, how could such an utterly defeated group of hammerheads emerge proclaiming not only the Gospel of Jesus, but Jesus himself as the Gospel? [King Oehmig in “Synthesis: A Weekly Resource for Preaching”, April, 2014.] Because God intervened in history, directed the angels to the women and changed the destiny of humanity. God’s love reigns, regardless of human failure.

Easter unlocks the power of new life, of life transformed into love beyond fear, beyond death. That’s why we are here. That’s Jesus resurrected, right behind us, urging us to live, fully live, for one another and for God’s reign in this world.

Good Friday – George Yandell

Forty years before the birth of Jesus, Rome’s first heated swimming pool was built on the Esquiline Hill, just outside the city’s ancient walls. The location was a prime one. In time it would become a showcase for some of the wealthiest people in the world.[From Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, Tom Holland, Basic Books, New York, 2019, pp. 21- 24]

Not far from the Esquiline, it took a long time to reclaim the Sessoriumfor gentrification. Years later the vultures still wheeled over that site. This remained what it had always been: The place set aside for the execution of slaves. Exposed to public view like slabs of meat hung from a market stall, troublesome slaves were nailed to crosses.

No death was more excruciating, more contemptable, than crucifixion. To be hung naked, ‘long in agony, swelling with ugly welts on shoulders and chest’, helpless to beat away the clamorous birds: such a fate Roman intellectuals agreed, was the worst imaginable. This was what made it so suitable a punishment for slaves. Lacking such a sanction, the entire order of the city might fall apart. Luxury and splendor such as Rome could boast were dependent on keeping those who sustained it in their place. [ibid]

As Tacitus wrote, “After all, we have slaves drawn from every corner of the world in our households, practicing strange customs, and foreign cults, or none—it is only by means of terror that we can hope to coerce such scum.”

The Romans were reluctant to believe crucifixion had originated with them. Only a barbarous people could have developed such savage, cruel torture. Everything about the practice of nailing a man to a cross, a crux, was repellant. Order was what counted. 

Such was the opinion of the Roman governor of Judea and Galilee in Jesus’ day. Herod Antipas, the “King of the Jews”, collaborated with the Roman authorities. He supported Pontius Pilate’s attitude. That’s why on the road leading up to Jerusalem there were permanent wooden pillars with crossbeams on which the bodies of the crucified were displayed.  Just as on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. The message was clear- follow the rules of the empire, keep order, or you too could wind up here. Terrorists, beware.

The two men crucified with Jesus were not bandits, as we sometimes translate the text, but insurrectionists, freedom fighters, or “terrorists”, depending on the point of view. Crucifixion was used specifically for people who systematically refused to accept Roman imperial authority. Ordinary criminals were not crucified.  Jesus was executed as a rebel against Rome between two other rebels against Rome. [Borg/Crossan, The Last Week, p. 147] How to comprehend the horror, the stench of that road- it’s beyond understanding. Yet that’s what the friends of Jesus did- they braved the stench.

They watched, some closer by, others from a distance, as Jesus was nailed to the crossbeam which was in turn raised and fastened to the pillar. The Roman guards nailed his feet to the pillar. Everywhere around him was the stench of death, the cries of those already crucified ringing in his ears. His body on the cross was not high above the onlookers, but just above eye-sight level of those watching him. So close.

Not crucified as a slave, not as a bandit, but yes, crucified as an insurrectionist. Rome couldn’t tolerate anyone who was acclaimed as the Son of God- that title was reserved to Caesar Augustus and to the emperors who followed him. 

His friends were in a macabre theater of death. To see someone you love suffering in great pain and to be unable to make it go away is one of the greatest agonies we endure as humans. It can be worse than actually suffering ourselves. Physical pain damages and wounds our bodies, but watching someone you love suffer goes deeper. That is emotional pain born out of love. It cuts right to the heart of you…. We can alleviate the pain of the dying one, but no pill can ease the pain of grief of those who survive him. [Some of this from an article “Grief is the Price We Pay for Love” by Kevin Morris in The Anglican Digest, Spring 2016 issue.]Most of the disciples of Jesus could not stand by and watch their teacher and friend suffer. They loved him greatly. But they ran off. They hid. Maybe they were afraid they’d get arrested too. But they couldn’t bear watching their beloved mentor die in such excruciating pain. [Adapted from the article above.]

At the end, the only ones standing by, present near the cross, were women and one man. John’s gospel tells us they were Jesus’ mother Mary, his aunt, Mary wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala and the beloved disciple. Luke says there were other women as well.

Where were the other disciples and friends of Jesus? Where were the crowds of people he had fed and healed? All gone away. Afraid to face the pain, afraid to look into the eyes of someone whose agony they could not relieve. Those who stayed by the side of Jesus were few, but they probably loved him more than the others. 

Luke records these events at the time Jesus breathed his last: “darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” John Dominic Crossan says the tearing of the temple curtain was symbolic- God tearing his clothes in grief. Think of Mary, his mother. She was the first to hold him when he came into the world, and she was likely one of the last to hold him when he went out of it. Her presence there at the cross fulfilled the words the priest Simeon had said to her when Jesus was born, “A sword will pierce your own soul too.” And now it had happened. The centurion could have pierced her own side with the lance and it would have hurt less. [ibid] And so we grieve with Mary, with all the friends of Jesus. The horror pierces through 1990 years to us, today. The Lord of Life is crucified.

Maundy Thursday – George Yandell

I’d like to offer a distinction, tiny in some ways, earth-shaking in others. The distinction comes from comments Marcus Borg made on a pilgrimage to Turkey that I took in 2006 with 40 other pilgrims. What would it be like for us instead of saying “We have faith in Jesus,” to say “We have the faith of Jesus?” Do you hear the fine distinction? To claim the faith of Jesus makes me, for one, sit up, take notice, and feel woefully inadequate. On this holy night, the faith of Jesus drives him to offer the most poignant goodbye in religious history.

In everything he did, Jesus disclosed the character of God. Having the faith in God Jesus himself had means we have the passion for doing God’s will, as Jesus did. It means having the confidence in God that Jesus demonstrated the night before he was cruelly tortured and executed by the Roman Empire. It means we participate in the passion for justice Jesus lived each hour of his ministry. Having the faith of Jesus implies the same loyalty to God that Jesus lived up the moment of his death.

There are many overlays in our remembering the last night before Jesus’ crucifixion. First, there was the foot washing. Peter balked, as we heard, at having his feet washed by Jesus. Peter thought it was too embarrassing, too demeaning for Jesus to do so. But as he washed the feet of his closest friends, Jesus symbolized the whole of his message and ministry. Kneeling at their feet acts out: THIS is what it means to do God’s will, THIS is what it means to have faith in God like God’s own Son. The new commandment says in words what Jesus acted out in the foot washing- “Love one another as I have loved you.” Live the love God intends.

Jesus planned well for the Passover meal with his disciples. It continued and culminated the open, common meal-sharing Jesus practiced with undesirables and marginalized people. The religious significance of the open table fellowship meant including those who were excluded- excluded by religious leaders from a society with sharp social boundaries. The last supper carried political significance- it affirmed a very different, countercultural vision of society. (Some of this borrowed from The Last Week by Borg and Crossan.)

The body and blood of Jesus in the bread and wine of the Last Supper echoed the killing of the first Passover lamb as the Jews fled Pharaoh and the Egyptian empire- Jesus’ impending death has clear connections to the lamb sacrificed at the first Passover. It is possible that Jesus said the words linking his body and blood to the bread and wine many times at common meals before Maundy Thursday. (From Rabbi Jesus by Bruce Chilton) Why would he have done this? In his radical table fellowship, it would have been a prophetic overlay to the meal; it may have been an in-your-face action against the Jewish temple leaders collaborating with Roman authorities. It made rabbi Jesus a target not only of the Empire, but of those Jewish leaders who’d sold out their own people. But on this evening, the poignancy must have overwhelmed him.

If you’re like me, Maundy Thursday hits hard every year. I really can’t imagine the pathos in Jesus’ heart, nor the reactions of his disciples when they heard him say, “This is my Body, this is my blood poured out for you.” Jesus summed up his passion, confidence, participation and loyalty in and to God in his last love-feast with his friends. Now it falls to us to continue the disciples’ tradition: Come to the table, share the love of God Jesus lived. It is by living the faith of Jesus that his followers were to pass through death to resurrection with Him. And so it is for us followers tonight. Have the faith of Jesus- we’re the ones on whom Jesus depends to live the love God intends for all of God’s children.

Palm Sunday – Year B – George Yandell

Every year the assigned readings for Palm Sunday split the day between the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem then move to the passion gospel and Jesus’s crucifixion. I’ve had problems with that program for a long time. So today we’re going to focus on Jesus entering Jerusalem and leave the crucifixion to Good Friday.  

Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in 30 CE. It was the beginning of Passover week, the most sacred week of the Jewish year. One was a peasant procession, the other an imperial procession demonstrating the Roman Empire’s occupation and domination of Jerusalem and Israel. From the east, Jesus rode a donkey down the Mount of Olives cheered by his followers. Jesus was from the peasant village of Nazareth, his message was about the kingdom of God, and his followers came from the peasant class. My friend and colleague Bowlyne Fisher would have called them ‘the great unwashed.’ Jesus and his companions had journeyed from Galilee, 100 miles going south to Jerusalem. [The above adapted from The Last Week: A Day-by Day Account of Jesus’s Final Week in Jerusalem, Borg and Crossan, Harper San Francisco, 2006, p. 2]  

Mark’s story of Jesus and his kingdom of God movement has been aiming for Jerusalem. It has now arrived.  

On the opposite side of the city, coming from the west, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Idumea, Judea and Samaria, entered Jerusalem at the head of a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers. Jesus’ procession proclaimed the kingdom of God; Pilate’s proclaimed the power of empire. Those two processions embody the central conflict of the week that led to Jesus’ crucifixion.   

Pilate demonstrated Rome’s imperial power and its imperial theology. The emperor was divine. It was the standard practice of the Roman governors to be in Jerusalem for the major Jewish festivals. They were in the city in case there was trouble. They augmented the standing deployment of legion soldiers on the grounds of the temple. They had no regard for the Jews’ religious devotion. There often was trouble at Passover- that festival celebrated the Jewish people’s liberation from an earlier empire, that of Egypt.  

Pilate’s procession had cavalry on horses, foot soldiers, leather armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold. The sounds of marching feet and hoofs, the creaking of leather and the beating of drums emphasized their dominance and power. The dust swirled around them.   

That procession displayed not only imperial power, but also Roman imperial theology. According to that theology, the emperor was not simply the ruler of Rome, but the Son of God. It began with the greatest of emperors, Caesar Augustus, who ruled Rome for 45 years, from 31 BCE to 14 CE. His father was the god Apollo, who conceived him in his mother, Atia. Inscriptions refer to him as ‘son of God’, ‘lord’ and ‘savior’. He has brought ‘peace on earth’ or the pax Romana. After his death he was seen ascending into heaven to reign with the other gods. For Rome’s Jewish subjects, Pilate’s procession embodied not only a rival social order but also a rival theology.  

So to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Although it is familiar, it holds surprises. As Mark tells the story it is a ‘counter-procession.’ Jesus planned it in advance. As Jesus approaches the city from the east he had told two disciples to go into the village nearing Jerusalem and get him the colt they would find, a young one never before ridden. They do so, Jesus rides the colt down the Mount of Olives to the city surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic followers. They spread their cloaks, spread leafy branches on the road and shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David. Hosanna in the highest heaven!” It is a planned political demonstration. [ibid]  

It’s meaning is clear. Using symbolism from the prophet Zechariah, it foretells that a king would be coming to Jerusalem ‘humble and riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ In Mark’s gospel the reference to Zechariah is implied. Matthew’s gospel in telling the same story, makes the connection explicit: “Tell the daughter of Zion, look, your king is coming to you humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah’s passage continues, “He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations.”  

This king on a donkey will banish war from the land- no more chariots, war-horses or bows and arrows. Commanding peace to the nations, he will be a king of peace.  

Jesus’ planned procession deliberately countered what was happening on the other side of the city. Pilate’s procession embodied the power, glory and violence of the empire that ruled the world. The forces of that empire had squelched Jewish peasant revolts in years prior, the last one in 5 BCE when Jesus was born. Jesus’ procession embodied an alternative vision, the kingdom of God. That contrast, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar is central to the gospel of Mark and to the story of Jesus and early Christianity.   

The confrontation between these two kingdoms continues through the last week of Jesus’ life.  

The Church also calls Holy Week, Passiontide. As we enter this week of passion and pathos, we do well to root ourselves in the audacity, the courage and the drive that led Jesus to create that counter-procession. He must have known his caricature of Pilate would not sit well. He egged on the legion with his deliberate pantomime of Pilate. And he sealed his own fate. To what purpose? To honor his father in heaven. To fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy. But mostly, to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit poured into him at his baptism, with the voice of heaven booming out, “This is my son, the beloved. Listen to him!” Pay attention, God declared, this is the One I’ve anointed finally to liberate my people from bondage and tyranny. And so the Holy Spirit’s lead continues today. Jesus has come to bring peace even now, to a world torn with hatred, strife and pandemic. The anointed one anoints us to proclaim the true kingdom of God today.

Lent 5 Year B – George Yandell

I’ve been mulling over what I can offer you as we prepare for my retirement. I keep coming back to how grateful I feel being with you at Holy Family since August 1, 2010. It has been an incredible blessing to serve with you and my clergy colleagues. I’ve asked them to send me some of their recollections.  

When Susan and I were in town house-hunting before I started as priest-in-charge, the clergy invited us for a meal at Byron and Anne’s house. Susan recalls that Scott and Katharine drove us with Ted and Debbie to the Tindall’s. I had some apprehensions about being the new kid on the block with a team of clergy that devoted themselves as volunteers and had kept worship and pastoral care alive after Mary had left. We were so delighted as we talked and shared a wonderful meal- I thought as we were going home- what a tremendous gift to have such sharp and devoted colleagues! And in the years since that first engagement, I’ve only grown in my respect and love for you all.  

Byron offers these recollections:  
Approximately 14 years ago, the Search Committee at Holy Family was in the process of interviewing priests for the position of priest-in-charge of our parish. As “retired” clergy and members of Holy Family, Katharine, Ted and I were afforded an opportunity to have some private time with each of the candidates. For some reason, I wasn’t available to spend any time with George when it was his turn to meet with the Search Committee.  

By this time, Katharine and Scott, Ted and Debbie, and Anne and I had developed (and still maintain) an extremely close friendship among ourselves. Shortly after George had been called to become our priest-in-charge and had accepted that call, he and Susan came to the Jasper area to look for a place to call home.  

I don’t remember which one of us had the idea, but Anne and I invited Susan and George, Katharine and Scott, and Debbie and Ted to our house for brunch. It was with a little bit of “fear and trembling” that I awaited the arrival of the group to our house in Lake Arrowhead. “Would George and Susan fit in our established group?” “Would I come to like and love them as much as I did the other members of our group?” “Would Susan and George like us?” “Would they be comfortable associating with our antics?” More importantly “Would their philosophies align with ours?”  

It didn’t take long for me to realize my uneasiness was entirely unnecessary. Susan and George fit right in. Things went along nicely in the ensuing years as friendships deepened and a pattern of interdependence among the four-clergy developed.  

Then came 2019. Covid appeared on the scene. Suddenly everything we considered normal as far as our worship together went out the window, along with most everything in our everyday lives.  

Worship began in the Covid 19 era as a recording made on a smart phone in the memorial garden. The video was uploaded to various social media sites. We graduated to worshipping together as long as we were outside and remained six feet apart. That was great, so long as the weatherman cooperated.  

Then we returned to the nave, with 10 as the maximum number of people allowed. By this time, we contracted with a video production crew to broadcast our Sunday morning Holy Eucharist via our website and Facebook. The tables in the narthex with what looked like miles and miles of cable all over the floor were staffed with three masked outsiders. That left 10 members of Holy Family to try to make the service something familiar for our members and any others who ventured onto the services as they were broadcast.  

During this time, George and the lay leadership of Holy Family had to do a lot of thinking “outside the box.” Their efforts brought us through those trying times with flying colors, as the expression goes.  

When George accepted the call to be “upgraded” from priest-in-charge to rector, we all knew the day would come when we would have to bid George and Susan farewell. Farewell my friend. I hope you enjoy your retirement as much as I’m enjoying mine.  

Katharine’s recollections:  
George and I celebrated Paula Womack’s Memorial Service – The first time we served together. He stayed with Scott and me because Bob Womack’s house was overloaded.   

The Pastor’s Pots with you and Jacques winning the prize and delighting the community with fabulously flavored food. Helping CARES along the way! A “2-fer.”  

Our Wonderful Wednesdays – Always filled with a sense of the presence of the Spirit and the high spirits of those who came to worship in the outdoors and share a meal.  

Covid – You standing in the Memorial Garden conducting the service with Allan DeNiro and others on their cellphones filming so that we would have an online service. The continual efforts we made to make the services better and better technically. The cold, cold parking lot: but we managed to gather as a congregation! Ultimately the wonderful broadcast booth was finished and we were able to produce and engage more and more people in our services.  

The Easter Vigils –with all its beauty and joyousness.  (One time we forgot the Paschal candle and had to run get it!)  

The teaching times you gave us with your joy in weaving together history with scripture.  

The hilarious and delicious Clergy Dinners auctioned to support Parish ministries– never were there such a group of priestly gourmands!!  

Standing at the altar with you and Ted and Byron on All Souls Day, solemnly reading the names of those who had died.  

The gift you and succeeding vestries gave the congregation by faithfully working to reduce and then eliminate the mortgage. It has given Holy Family the freedom to look hard at more outreach to our community and makes us more attractive to a new rector. You took care of the tough stuff!  

The joy of serving at the altar with you and Byron and Ted and Bill, offering the Eucharist to our congregation.   

Bill Harkins:  
Prior to ordination it was necessary that I complete the Anglican Studies Program at the Candler School of Theology at Emory. One component of this program was a season of Postulancy, typically a year or more serving in a local congregation. Rev. Dr. Ted Hackett, whom we all know and love, was the Director of this component of the program. I met with Ted who said to me “You’re already a professor and licensed therapist…I’m not exactly sure where parish ministry will fit in for you, but I’ll send you up to Holy Family.Jerry Zeller can help you figure that out, since he’s always been bi-vocational too.”  

This was a profoundly wise and informed decision on Ted’s part, for which I am eternally grateful. Jerry, and Frank Wilson, who was an Associate Priest at the time, were a Godsend.   

Holy Family was in its own season of transition as it sought to find its way after a season of challenges. I served during those years as Holy Family moved from the Conference Center to the glorious new sanctuary we now enjoy. After my Postulancy I completed a Diaconate year at St. Jame’s, Marietta, and Jerry invited me to return as a Priest Associate. After two years at Holy Family, I was called to the Cathedral of St. Philip as Canon Associate for Pastoral Care.   

Thus, in many ways Holy Family gave birth to my priesthood, and Jerry Zeller became a wise mentor, and eventually a deeply valued friend and colleague. Among the aspects of my time as a Postulant was that Jerry asked me to design a project based, in part, on the needs of the congregation and in light of my own gifts and graces for ministry. The result was the formation of the Lay Pastoral Care Committee, after teaching an Adult Education course. This committee flourishes even now with devoted and compassionate lay leadership from Winship Durrett, Jan Braley, and a host of others. And that brings us to today, where Vicky and I are blessedly, once again, at home. I am so grateful for Jerry, and Ted, and this wonderful parish who in concert with the Holy Spirit in Her mischief led us here, sent us out into the world, and welcomed us back again!  

Ted’s recollections:  
Liturgy at “Our Lady of the Double-Wide” and was informal to say the least. It was “audience participation”. Mass was a cross between a public town-hall meeting and a Liturgy…but folks seemed to like it. It had the flavor of a new congregation’s enthusiasm for achieving great things….and under Jerry’s tutelage …it was forming its identity as a socially-involved parish with the service undertakings we now take for granted. For instance, a food pantry was housed in the old barn up by the office. Jerry’s next accomplishment was building the church we now have. For me, surprisingly, it was a nice mixture of tradition (sort of Gothic) and contemporary “mountain.” My two main objections to the new church design were the big clear window behind the altar which meant on a sunny day the whole sanctuary became virtually invisible. The other was the Rube Goldberg altar with “wings” like a salad-bar arrangement. Under George, we fixed that. More about the Liturgy later.   

After Mary’s departure the calling committee recommended George. He accepted, and a new era began. I acted as a kind of elder counselor cautioning George about some “land mines” he needed not to disturb. The Vergers for instance…even though a parish of the size of H.F. often doesn’t have vergers, Holy Family was devoted to ours.  

George and I have lived in a kind of brotherly tension. I nearly always wanted a more Anglo-Catholic ceremonial and George (often, not always) resisted. We compromised for the most part and we got new vestments and hangings, a side oratory, a Holy Water stoop, a lovely Nativity scene and a gorgeous Aumbry and light for the Reserved Sacrament. I think George actually either did like (or came to like) all that stuff. Incense was another matter. Some parishioners found it a bridge too far (people who have never, ever had throat problems cough at the mention of incense. I told a disgruntled parishioner at another parish that at one point and she harumphed and didn’t speak to me for 6 months!). We, nevertheless, got a thurible etc. and used the pot for High Feasts and the Bishop’s visit (Bp. Alexander liked smells and bells). But when our Thurifers moved on we didn’t/ couldn’t recruit more.   

That said (with tongue in cheek), George has been a consistently good colleague. He has not been competitive with his clergy associates, has listened and unleashed each of us to “do our thing”. This is, in my estimation, the mark of a good rector who is managing a multi-clergy church. We all have a tendency to control and micro-manage…it is a vulnerability of most clergy. George has it, but much to his credit he kept it in check and took full advantage of what each of us had to offer. The parish is, I think, healthier for it!  When I look back on our relationship over the past years I realize that George is not only a good friend, a reliable boss but a fine yoke-fellow in Christ….and a fun friend with whom to have a good drink …Scotch or wine.   

We have all been the beneficiaries of one of the great gifts Holy Family has enjoyed during George’s tenure: assisting clergy. The mix of Byron, and me…and especially Deacon Katharine (who handled so much of the pastoral work with empathy, practicality, perseverance and good sense) amounted to at least a full-time staff of two priests. We all had a different set of interests and complemented each other well. It was serendipity. George recognized this, kept us on a long leash and encouraged us. When a new Rector is called I hope something like us can happen again! Bill is perhaps, a good omen.    

Which brings me to Liturgy. Before I retire I would like to have incense again (to beat that horse one more time). I loved it for my wonderful 50th anniversary celebration…which I shall cherish for the rest of my life…and hopefully for eternity! George not only encouraged that celebration, but largely organized it. It was a deeply emotional experience for me…so much so that I could not say anything when Bishop Whitmore invited me to. I would have choked up! Thanks (Fr.!) George…for that, for all you have accomplished and for your friendship. Va in paix et profite de la vie, cher ami!  

Some of my recollections:  

Steve Franzen and I teaching the youth confirmation class in fall of 2017. Got to know of his patience and persistence, which provoked me to seek him to be Sr. Warden.    Driving into the church parking lot finding Phil Anderson on his knees- I thought he was praying. He was stenciling the numbers for 6 feet-apart outdoor Covid worship- the numbers corresponded to the assigned spots for reservations folks had made in advance.  

Learning how to attend parishioners’ surgeries in the hospitals in greater Atlanta. Leaving Jasper long before dawn to beat the traffic. I got to know Veronica who served the breakfast line at Piedmont Hospital- she was a member of a Roman Catholic parish in southeast ATL- she always called me father and asked if I needed extra hot sauce for my eggs.  
Proclaiming early on in my time here that we don’t cancel Church services for snow. Christmas 2012- driving home with Susan after the Christmas eve service with sleet and snow coming down. She was laughing about my snow rule. Got up early, hiked Old Grandview down to Grandview Road in the dark 4.3 miles in 6 inches of snow. Got near Cove Rd. when an SUV pulled up behind me- it was Tom and Jo Tyson. They asked me if I wanted a ride the last few hundred feet to the church driveway- I said through Tom’s open window, “Hell no. I’ve walked this far, not stopping now.” So Jo got out of the car and walked the last few hundred feet through the snow. Do you remember that Jo?  

After we got things set for the 9:00 a.m. quiet service, I was standing in the gallery looking at the beauty of the snowfall when a couple hiked up to the door- I opened it and the man said, “Are you having Church- can we join you?” The five of us had one of the most meaningful Christmas day services I can recall.   

(They were grandparents of a family who live across Cove Rd. Their daughter regularly walks the dog I got to know as a puppy when she and her sons brought him over in a wagon as a little guy. The sons have gone on and she gets to take care of the dog. We always share a word.)  

A few years later snow had fallen, same drill, but was able to drive. 4 men showed up for the service. Palmer Temple, Murray Van Leer, do you remember?  

So after all these reminiscences, what’s the point? We clergy folk have been attracted to serving Christ with you.// You attract us- and in turn we gladly work side by side with you in bringing the good news of Jesus to this beautiful area in God’s world. You all are powerhouses that make all our programs thrive.  

It must have been that way with the Jesus fellowship. Peter, John, James and the other young men and women were attracted to Jesus, and in turn attracted others to serve Christ with them. This is the domain of God spreading across the globe. I’m so grateful I have gotten to serve Christ alongside you. And whoever rises to the top of the heap in your search process and is called as rector, she or he will very likely feel the same way. Attracted by you to serving Christ alongside you.  

Lent 4 – Year B – George Yandell

I like the word ‘oxymoron’. It means expressing two contradictory things at the same time. The word itself is an oxymoron – it’s a compound made up of two Greek words meaning “sharp” and “dull.” So oxymoron = sharp/dull. Some good examples are: bittersweet, original copy, jumbo shrimp, and a true Southernism—“pretty ugly”. I have often thought that having a firm handle on the concept of an oxymoron is vital to understanding the Christian faith. Is God oxymoronic? Does the Bible express truths about God that are mutually contradictory?  

Dom Crossan has said: You can read the Bible all through and find evidence for two quite different, conflicting ways God acts. [How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, Harper One, 2015, p.17] In one way – God is harsh, judgmental, strict; a god of law and punishment, of revenge and retribution, even violence; a god who keeps a careful tally of our sins and metes out appropriate penalties. In the other way – God is gentle, loving, forgiving, and indulgent; a god who condemns violence and loves us with a prodigal, spendthrift love. [Adapted from a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Delmer L. Chilton on The Lectionary Lab, March 15, 2015]  

How do we hear and respond to the dialogue of Jesus with Nicodemus in today’s gospel?  In shaping our responses, key words in today’s gospel demand some decoding and recasting. I think it requires us to re-mystify our understandings of the work of Jesus. Not de-mystify, but RE-Mystify. To move beyond the literal meanings often used to decode this passage, and enter the mystery of the gospel’s intent.    

Key words #1 The world: We all think we know what ‘the World’ means. But the Greek expression used in John’s gospel is very special: we find Jesus referring to “the world” 3 times in the 17^th verse alone, and again in the 19^th verse. “God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  In fact, John uses “the world” 67 times in his gospel. He usually contrasts ‘this world’ with the heavenly world. It’s a Greek word: cosmos. The cosmos does not refer simply to the earth on which we humans live. It also refers to the spiritual order that prevails among humans and is often opposed to God’s will.  

The people of Jesus’ time and place believed there was a prevailing spiritual attitude that was opposed to God’s purposes. Many identified the Roman Empire and the Jewish temple cult as that opposition. That’s what Jesus means when he says, ‘the world.’ In the modern era in the 1930’s in Germany, a malevolent consciousness prevailed throughout the citizenry. So in ancient times and now, ‘the world’ is a combination of opinions, limitations on human thought, and ego-driven pretense that are enshrined in the culture. Jesus contrasted ‘this world’ with the world of a higher consciousness that God seeks to bring about. [Some of the above paragraph adapted from Mystical Christianity: A Psychological Commentary on the Gospel of John, John A. Sanford, pp. 93-93, 1993, The Crossroad Publishing Co.]  

Key words #2 Serpents: The gospel passage recapitulates the story from Numbers- John compares Jesus with Moses’ serpent. Just as the serpent was lifted up on Moses’ rod, “so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”  Even as the sight of the serpent healed the people, so all those who see and comprehend Jesus on the cross will be healed. The healing from the serpent only cured people from poisonous bites, while the healing of Christ crucified leads to eternal life. The serpent has dubious roles in Hebrew scripture: tempting Adam and Eve is paramount. The snake has been evil. For that reason it may come as a surprise that Jesus was called “the good serpent” by many of the Fathers of the early Church. This serpent was a symbol of God’s power of healing. [ibid, p. 94]    

#3 Son of Man: The gospel uses this term for Jesus to help its readers understand the relationship between the historical Jesus and God. The historical Jesus can be understood as a person who was uniquely aware of the image of God within the soul. From that understanding a radically unique consciousness emerged in him that transcended all others of his time. It is clear from his parables and sayings in the other gospels–Jesus was a man who could read the Spirit of God directly. In him the human and divine natures were distinct, yet intimately related into one being. [ibid, p. 99]  

Key words #4 Darkness and light: The discourse of Jesus with Nicodemus concludes with the important images of light and darkness- they were set forth in the prologue of the Gospel: “The Word was God- in Him was life, and the life was the light of humankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” Today’s passage says, “This is the judgement- that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”  

In John’s gospel, light and darkness refer to spiritual matters. The words are metaphors that on the one hand signify the light of truth and spiritual illumination– and the principle of moral and spiritual darkness on the other. The passage tells us then that it is vitally important for our souls to be conscious where we stand in the tension between the two. The passage makes it clear that both the principle of light and the principle of darkness exist in the cosmos. They struggle with one another. They constitute a pair of moral opposites that require us to choose between them. We cannot follow both the light and the darkness. [ibid pp. 100-101] The judgement John refers to is making the choice- not once for all, but in every moment of our discipleship with Jesus. When we choose light as our spiritual principle, it brings us illumination, higher consciousness, deeper knowledge, and finally, en-lighten-ment. As the gospel passage ends, “Those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done IN GOD.”   Deeds done in God- mystical knowing yields deeds of light.  

The next time you see someone in a sports telecast holding up the placard, “John 3:16”, tell yourself and your companions- it’s not as literal or simple as it seems. The whole passage calls us to an ever-deepening relationship with the Son of Man, at once in the cosmos and beyond it. The Son of Man was lifted up for our healing. Lifted up for us to thrive in the mystical drama of darkness vs. light, choosing the light more and more in our passage into the heart of Jesus. Tell your friends about the good serpent, Jesus. And may all our deeds be done in God, to the glory of God’s Son.

Lent 3 Year B – George Yandell

When Jesus went onto the temple courtyard, he erupted in violent anger when he saw the Court of the Gentiles desecrated by the traders who set up shop there. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and threw them out. Why? Because they filled their pockets by ripping off the poor. He screamed at the vendors of sheep and cattle and doves. Anger coursed through him, he was outraged. What was Jesus really doing? Jesus might have waked up one morning, walked out of his house, seen the poverty and the hunger of all those around him and said, “This Stinks!” He was enraged at those perverting the true worship God intended.   

What was the worship God intended? Jesus seemed to be channeling the great prophets’ teachings: Amos 5:21 ff., speaking God’s word to the people of Israel 750 years before Jesus: “I hate, I despise your festivals…. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them… Take away the noise of your songs, I will not listen to the melody of your harps… But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” Isaiah 1:17 “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” Hosea 6:6 “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Micah 6:8 “[God] has told you….what is good; what does the Lord require of you? To do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”   

The Rev. Lane Denson, a good friend, authored the online commentary Out of Nowhere. Lane was fond of saying: “We Episcopalians are prone to worship our understanding of God, rather than worshipping the God of our understanding.”// What does he mean? I think it has everything to do with Jesus disrupting the commerce in the temple precinct. Our understanding of God can be a strong idol distracting us from God.  

Over time the temple court became defiled by the traders and money-changers, who were aiding folks in worshipping a perverted understanding of God– that God needed placating, and the priests held the means for keeping God’s anger at bay. This understanding of God that flew in the face of what God had said over and over to the people of Israel.  

When Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in 3 days I will raise it up,” the authorities misunderstood completely. They were in charge of one of the wonders of the ancient world. The Jerusalem temple was a huge tourist attraction in the days of Jesus. It was built by Herod the Great through crushing taxes and slave labor.  

We hear this cryptic explanation about the Jesus saying: that even if his body is destroyed, God will raise it up. Not even the death of Jesus will block unhindered worship of God through his Son. I believe Jesus is driven even now to upset the tables of distracting trade in our courtyards. Many of the trappings of our lives divert us from worshipping the God of our understanding.  

A friend of mine was the urban minister in the Diocese of Massachusetts. Her name is Debbie Little, and she spent her days working with the homeless and the poor of Boston. The Boston Globe ran a long article about her and people she served. The worship in which she and the homeless engaged is like what Jesus desired for God’s people. From that article:  

“On Boston Common, the Rev. Debbie Little, an Episcopal priest, arrives at her church- a church with no walls, no steeple, no stained glass, but one that does bear witness to the passion, commitment and spiritual hunger of the minister and her congregation. Ms. Little’s congregants are the dispossessed: Gary, Larry, John, Bill, Rita and Barbara- as many as 30 people on a given Sunday, people who tend to go by first names only, people the well-dressed churchgoers and tourists usually rush past. They need God too, but shun churches because their dress and smell embarrass them or might embarrass others. They have no brunch plans, just the peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches Debbie Little brings….  

This “church”- “Common Cathedral”, as Ms. Little calls it- lacks the ornate adornments of St. Paul’s. But what Common Cathedral does not lack is spirit and the desire for redemption.   

“Gary, one of the folks who comes regularly to Common Cathedral, says, ‘When I come here, I feel welcomed. I know that as long as I have God, I have hope. It’s hard out here, and I pray that I stay good. I need God; I need this; I need Debbie to give me strength.’”  

Debbie always wanted to be the kind of pastor she thought Jesus had been: a minister to people on the margins of life. Debbie says, “Part of my story is trying to understand who this man Jesus was and why he kept telling us that, if we really wanted to get closer to the heart of God, we had to stay close to the poor. More and more, I think that what we consider resources- housing, food, friends, jobs- are layers between us and God. Now, don’t misunderstand me. Those are important. And people on the streets need them, too. And we’re working on that. But I think that Jesus said to stay with poor people, because there are no barriers between them and God. God is right there for them. I’m learning that.” In Atlanta, the Church of the Common Ground is modeled on Debbie Little’s Common Cathedral.  

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel, the translation from the New English Bible says it best: “Blest are those who know their need of God, the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” I think Jesus was born into history to offer everyone the chance to know their need of God, and in his fellowship to offer the kingdom of hope. He gave himself completely in public ministry to confront us with our poverty of spirit, so that we will shrug off the layers between us and God. And to be close to our brothers and sisters who are poor, so that we might know how cumbersome our “stuff” really is, when God is so close, so simply present to us. That’s still the hallmark of the Jesus fellowship.  

Paul says it this way in I Corin, 24 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection: “We proclaim Christ [executed by the Roman Empire], a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called…, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” The word stumbling block is literally in Greek, skandalon, a scandal. The execution of Jesus came just after he confronted and drove out the money-changers on the temple precincts. His execution likely scandalized many, if not most of those who had followed him.   

Yet God’s foolish love raised Jesus. The God of his understanding vindicated Jesus. Images of the resurrected Jesus in the early Church always bore the wounds he had received in his execution- those mosaics and images told the world clearly that the empire who had killed Jesus had failed, that God had raised Jesus up. Jesus was alive after execution. Those images in turn scandalized Rome and the Jerusalem authorities that had collaborated with the empire. The death and resurrection of Jesus will always scandalize us and the world, and also is the door leading to true worship of God. That’s why we hang the empty cross in Episcopal churches- “He is not here, he is risen,” the angels told Peter, Mary and the others who came to his tomb.  

Our understanding of God can make us fall away from God. Or we can permit the God of our understanding to reach into us, shake us free from our burdens, and release us into new life. That’s why the temple of Christ’s body was offered for you and me. To worship in that temple is to know love. And to live with Jesus creates our understanding of selfless love and grace-filled living. That’s how to worship the God of our understanding.

Lent 2B – George Yandell

Paul writes in Romans about the passage from Genesis: the covenant with Abraham is evidence of Abe’s exemplary faith. The covenant depended on ‘the righteousness of faith’ rather than obedience to rules, since God’s promises rely upon grace. “Hoping against hope (vs. 4:18), Abraham became the father of many nations, despite his advanced age and Sarah’s barrenness. Abraham is therefore the father of all who come to trust in God. So sure was he of the fulfillment of God’s promises that he did not waver, but “grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God. (vs. 20). This same righteousness is also granted to the followers of Jesus, who believe in God as the one who raised Jesus from the dead.”  

What is most important here is not the faith of Abraham himself, but God’s faithfulness. What truly matters is what God has done in Christ Jesus. He suffered death for our sins and was “raised for our justification.” (vs. 25) This is the ultimate example for the mysterious and faithful ways God’s promises are kept. [Adapted from Synthesis, March 4, 2012]  

In the gospel passage Jesus calls his disciples to radical faith as he prepares them for his passion and death. What an extraordinary example Jesus gives as he accepts obediently the cross to which his father sends him. In the gospel Jesus teaches that he must undergo great sufferings and be killed. And to make sure we understand, Jesus next tells Peter and us, “If you wish to be my follower deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” Thegreatest act offaith we can make is to say to God, “I don’t know the reason for the cross you sent me, but I will pick it up and carry it anyway, simply because of your Son, my Lord Jesus.” [Adapted from Robert Boudewyns at sermons.logos.com]  

Jesus tells his followers he is destined for an execution rather than a coronation. His friends are not following a conquering hero, but are called to prepare to participate in his suffering.  

Some of us might remember the comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the U.S. from Russia, he was not prepared for the variety of instant products in American grocery stores. He says, “On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk- you just add water and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice-just add water and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought, “What a country!”  

Smirnoff was joking but we make these same assumptions about Christian Transformation- that people change instantly at salvation. Some traditions call it repentance and renewal. Some call it Sanctification of the believer. Whatever you call it, most traditions expect some quick fix to sin. According to this belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes and character. We go to Church as if we are going to the grocery store- Powdered Christian. Just add water and disciples are born not made.  

Unfortunately there is no such powder and disciples of Jesus are not instantly born. They are slowly raised through many trials, suffering and temptations. A study found a decade ago that only 11 percent of churchgoing teenagers have well-developed faith, rising to only 32% for churchgoing adults. Why? Because true-life change only begins at salvation, it takes more than just time. It’s about training, trying, suffering and even dying. [Adapted from James Emery White, Rethinking the Church, Baker, 1997, pp 55-57]  

Jesus took Peter aside and rebuked him. Why? Peter believes the Kingdom of God can be obtained instantly by force. Peter views the Kingdom in a worldly way and Jesus is speaking about a heavenly kingdom. The disciples were obviously not ready to hear Jesus’ prophecy. Yet it was for our very lives that he pressed this point: Those who value life in this world above all else lose the life of eternity. Those who would give up the life of this world for the sake of Jesus’ message would find eternal life. This is a choice that can only be made by true believers who give no thought to being shamed by that same world. [Adapted from King Oehmig in Synthesis, March 2012 issue.]  

Joan Chittister tells this story. Once upon a time, as their Spiritual Master lay dying, his disciples begged him, for their sakes, not to go. The master replied, “But if I do not go, how will you ever see?” His disciples replied, “But what are we not seeing now that we will see when you are gone?”  

And the spiritual master said, “All I ever did was sit on the river bank handling out river water. After I’m gone, I trust you will notice the river.”  

And thus it is after Jesus’ death- the cross remains. It is forever a sign of what he has accomplished for us, and our own calling to follow in his Way. [King Oehmig as above.]