Today we hear of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2: 15-17, 3: 1-7) and Jesus' time in the desert (Mt. 4: 1-11), two stories bearing a common theological thread. Let's take a look. Let me preface by averting to Doctor Marcus Borg's quip that pre-scientific ancients were smart enough to take biblical materials symbolically, while many modern people are stupid enough to take them literally.
Beginning with Genesis, what do we -- well-educated people of the twenty-first century -- make of a story in which a male of the species Homo Sapiens is created instantly from dirt, the first female of the species is created from one of his bones, and then a talking snake convinces the overly-curious spouse to eat a fruit which causes one to have a conscience? It is no seven-league stride to realize we are not dealing here with history or biology, but theology. And the story is an aetiology, which is a storyteller's best attempt to explain why things are as they are. We learn about lost innocence, the evolution of conscience, heterosexual relations, intellectual curiosity, and the consequence of choice, which is freedom to choose wrongly, to "sin." At the heart of all that is what I would call "original sin," namely our natural inclination to want to be the centre of our universe, to be in charge of our lives instead of letting God take charge, and to "look out after number one" instead of trying to love others as ourselves and be committed to community.
When we look at the story of Jesus' retreat in the desert as he wrestles with his temptations, we see that the tale has three vignettes. First, Jesus is tempted to turn some stones into bread, suggesting priority for the material over the spiritual. Jesus is then tempted to turn his ministry into a magic show by jumping off the temple parapet. Finally, he is tempted to turn to the Dark Side in order to gain wealth and power. In all three, Jesus is facing that underlying temptation to prioritize self and one's personal interests above the divine agenda. This is truly hard testing, which he passes, and now he is ready to go forward with his vocation.
The lesson we are to take away is that all humans are part of a large family and called to do what is right for all. However, when we pray not to be led into temptation but delivered from evil, we must necessarily first face the evil. We must in turn avoid the temptation to say this is not my problem; it doesn't affect me. If it affects humanity, it affects each and all of us.
I remember when, during our first tenure at Saint Matthew's, some Jewish graves in a downtown Tulsa cemetery were defaced. I joined other spiritual leaders of many traditions as we came there to support our Jewish brothers and sisters and to re-dedicate those resting places. Thus we told the world that, regardless of how we define ourselves religiously, we are all beloved children of God and we support one another, take responsibility for one another. Recently in Philadelphia hundreds of Jewish graves were overturned, spray-painted with swastikas, and otherwise desecrated. In response, Muslim-Americans contributed $100,000 towards restoration of those Jewish burial sites and a leading imam explained the generous gift by saying, "We are all in this together."
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Ash Wednesday: Why
Today, on a day of fast and abstinence, we begin our forty-day sojourn with Jesus in the desert, as we too wrestle with temptation and prepare for another year of ministry. Our gospel pericope [Mt. 6: 1-6, 16-21], begins with a caution against demonstrations of "piety" I don't really like that translation. The Greek word here rendered as piety is diakosune (Hebrew, tzedakah) which is most normally translated righteousness or justice. Jesus is speaking about public displays of righteousness and he addresses the three elements of righteousness in Jewish teaching: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Keep your righteousness to yourself, he says. Don't make a production of your charitable giving, don't pray in public, and don't fast in a way that brings public adulation.
So what about the "cross of ashes" we are about to impose? Let me suggest that they serve several purposes, none of which is to advertise holiness. First, the ashes remind us of our need to repent and return to the Lord. Second, they remind us of our mortality: none of us knows how much or how little time he or she has to get right with God and neighbour. Third, the ashes are a witness to our ancient Catholic observance of Lent and remind us that we are now jumpstarted into that holy season., Fourth, they are a form of evangelization these days. Rather than bringing accolades from others, the ashes usually cause people in our secular/protestant society to tell us we have a smudged forehead. I heard that today, and as always it is an opportunity to witness to our Christian practice..
In short, wear your ashes for as long today as you wish. They attest that we are lost without God and are now turning back to God, in a spirit of gratitude for his love and blessings, and especially for the gift of Jesus, Son of God, Metaphor of God, who followed the right way even to a Cross.
So what about the "cross of ashes" we are about to impose? Let me suggest that they serve several purposes, none of which is to advertise holiness. First, the ashes remind us of our need to repent and return to the Lord. Second, they remind us of our mortality: none of us knows how much or how little time he or she has to get right with God and neighbour. Third, the ashes are a witness to our ancient Catholic observance of Lent and remind us that we are now jumpstarted into that holy season., Fourth, they are a form of evangelization these days. Rather than bringing accolades from others, the ashes usually cause people in our secular/protestant society to tell us we have a smudged forehead. I heard that today, and as always it is an opportunity to witness to our Christian practice..
In short, wear your ashes for as long today as you wish. They attest that we are lost without God and are now turning back to God, in a spirit of gratitude for his love and blessings, and especially for the gift of Jesus, Son of God, Metaphor of God, who followed the right way even to a Cross.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Quinquagesima: A Common Vision
Marketing has always fascinated me. Many years ago action figures called "Tales of Glory" were marketed in the Deep South and featured speaking characters like Moses, Daniel, Samson and Delilah, Saints Peter and Paul (spouting verses from a New Testament that didn't exist in their time), and Jesus himself. What a boon: if the twelve-inch Jesus started meddling, the consumer could simply hit the off switch!
In today's gospel reading [Mt. 17: 1-9], the "action figures" are real people. They are members of Jesus' Executive Committee: Peter (chairman of the Board), James (Jesus' step-brother), and John (the disciple Jesus loved). They have gone on retreat to a mountain top with Jesus. They are now celebrating the feast of Sukkoth, which is the feast of "booths," These structures are outdoor shelters where Jews down to our day gather for the vicarious experience of living outdoors in emulation of the great wandering in the wilderness. Jews expected that Elijah would return in the time of the Messiah.
The three apostles experience a common vision in which they see Jesus radiating, flanked by Moses and Elijah. Peter proposes to build a second and third sukkah, to honour these great men of old. He is dissuading from doing so. Mr. Law and Mr. Prophecy attest to Jesus' identity and fade away, even as a voice from the sky declares Jesus to be Son of God.
Following this visionary experience, the three are incapacitated. They are afraid Imagine, the future first bishops of Rome (and Antioch), Jerusalem, and Ephesus grovelling on the ground in fear. But when our Master touches them, they recover, and all head back down the mountain, and back to the future work God has in store for them.
You and I can benefit from the experience of the great retreat with God that we call Lent. Here we have a chance to challenge our fears and uncertainties, allow Jesus to touch us, and prepare once again for Good Friday, Easter, and the days of ministry lying beyond. We might even find a "mountaintop experience" with Jesus!
In today's gospel reading [Mt. 17: 1-9], the "action figures" are real people. They are members of Jesus' Executive Committee: Peter (chairman of the Board), James (Jesus' step-brother), and John (the disciple Jesus loved). They have gone on retreat to a mountain top with Jesus. They are now celebrating the feast of Sukkoth, which is the feast of "booths," These structures are outdoor shelters where Jews down to our day gather for the vicarious experience of living outdoors in emulation of the great wandering in the wilderness. Jews expected that Elijah would return in the time of the Messiah.
The three apostles experience a common vision in which they see Jesus radiating, flanked by Moses and Elijah. Peter proposes to build a second and third sukkah, to honour these great men of old. He is dissuading from doing so. Mr. Law and Mr. Prophecy attest to Jesus' identity and fade away, even as a voice from the sky declares Jesus to be Son of God.
Following this visionary experience, the three are incapacitated. They are afraid Imagine, the future first bishops of Rome (and Antioch), Jerusalem, and Ephesus grovelling on the ground in fear. But when our Master touches them, they recover, and all head back down the mountain, and back to the future work God has in store for them.
You and I can benefit from the experience of the great retreat with God that we call Lent. Here we have a chance to challenge our fears and uncertainties, allow Jesus to touch us, and prepare once again for Good Friday, Easter, and the days of ministry lying beyond. We might even find a "mountaintop experience" with Jesus!
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Sexagesima: Jesus' Crazy Agenda
Our text from Jewish Scripture (Lev. 19: 1-2, 9-18) and our gospel passage (Mt. 5:8-48) provide an interesting contrast. We finally encounter a portion of Leviticus that is not creepy and, in fact, does challenge the reader to honesty, humility, and compassion. Important traits. And these laws that inculcate them are very positive. Law, after all, deals with minimum acceptable standards of action.
Enter Jesus, with his torqued-up Torah, his radical righteousness calling us above and beyond what other religious traditions demand. First, he calls us to be radically peaceful. He begins by talking about the lex talionis, "an eye for an eye." It is certainly a fair and balanced principle, and Jesus repeals it. He tells us that when we receive the usual challenge to a fight in his culture (backhand to the right cheek), the proper response is turning the left check to be struck as well. I still remember having been told by one of my sons that he was struck by a schoolmate, refused to retaliate and told that offender that he wouldn't fight him, that any disagreement would be worked out peacefully. His antagonist looked confused, he said, and walked away. My son heard the Gospel, I thought, cool!
Jesus next tells us that one who has been compelled to go a mile with someone should go another mile voluntarily. Here is the key: the only person who could compel a person to go with him, and only a mile, was a Roman soldier. Such a soldier would routinely accost a Jew and make him carrying that soldier's gear for a mile. Jesus' response is both Nonviolent Resistance and a strong statement against imperialism. And that, folks, is political!
Second, Jesus called us to be radically generous. He says if someone would take our coat, then we ought to give that person our cloak as well. Only the super-rich had multiple suits of clothing, thus for one to give these two garments would leave the giver naked. Does this sound like Jesus' other admonitions to give all you have away and follow him?
Finally, Jesus calls us to be radically loving. This is the tough one. Actually there is no passage that says love your neighbour and hate your enemy -- we don't know where that comes from -- but the admonition to love neighbour is strong in the Jewish texts. Now Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who hassle us? Is he nuts? Such a practice might actually help us to realize that the enemy is a child of God too, in whose shoes we have not walked, whose story we do not really know, hence benefit of the doubt. From there he goes on to tell us to give to anyone in need, never refuse to lend to the needy. I know this was a requirement my paternal grandfather practised to constant scorn by my grandmother and other family members. Of an unreturned item he was often remembersed to say, "If my neighbour can live with it, I can live without it."
Jesus finally summarizes his crazy radical agenda by saying, "You must be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect." Here he employs the rabbinic teaching tool of hyperbole. We humans cannot attain perfection. Still that is the goal to which we strive if we are to be like our celestial Father. I can only hope that occasionally, once in a while, people may see in me some family resemblance.
Enter Jesus, with his torqued-up Torah, his radical righteousness calling us above and beyond what other religious traditions demand. First, he calls us to be radically peaceful. He begins by talking about the lex talionis, "an eye for an eye." It is certainly a fair and balanced principle, and Jesus repeals it. He tells us that when we receive the usual challenge to a fight in his culture (backhand to the right cheek), the proper response is turning the left check to be struck as well. I still remember having been told by one of my sons that he was struck by a schoolmate, refused to retaliate and told that offender that he wouldn't fight him, that any disagreement would be worked out peacefully. His antagonist looked confused, he said, and walked away. My son heard the Gospel, I thought, cool!
Jesus next tells us that one who has been compelled to go a mile with someone should go another mile voluntarily. Here is the key: the only person who could compel a person to go with him, and only a mile, was a Roman soldier. Such a soldier would routinely accost a Jew and make him carrying that soldier's gear for a mile. Jesus' response is both Nonviolent Resistance and a strong statement against imperialism. And that, folks, is political!
Second, Jesus called us to be radically generous. He says if someone would take our coat, then we ought to give that person our cloak as well. Only the super-rich had multiple suits of clothing, thus for one to give these two garments would leave the giver naked. Does this sound like Jesus' other admonitions to give all you have away and follow him?
Finally, Jesus calls us to be radically loving. This is the tough one. Actually there is no passage that says love your neighbour and hate your enemy -- we don't know where that comes from -- but the admonition to love neighbour is strong in the Jewish texts. Now Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who hassle us? Is he nuts? Such a practice might actually help us to realize that the enemy is a child of God too, in whose shoes we have not walked, whose story we do not really know, hence benefit of the doubt. From there he goes on to tell us to give to anyone in need, never refuse to lend to the needy. I know this was a requirement my paternal grandfather practised to constant scorn by my grandmother and other family members. Of an unreturned item he was often remembersed to say, "If my neighbour can live with it, I can live without it."
Jesus finally summarizes his crazy radical agenda by saying, "You must be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect." Here he employs the rabbinic teaching tool of hyperbole. We humans cannot attain perfection. Still that is the goal to which we strive if we are to be like our celestial Father. I can only hope that occasionally, once in a while, people may see in me some family resemblance.
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Super-Apostles
In the passage beginning in II Corinthians 5:10, Saint Paul lambastes "super-apostles." Super-apostles are au courant, way cooler than Paul. Apparently these competitors look down on manual labour, association with "friends in low places," and that unseemly focus on Jesus' crucifixion in a society which always equates that form of execution with treason and failure. Paul is guilty of all that. If Pauline ministry is to be judged by the standards of worldly success and status, then he has failed. But here Paul goes on the defence and stands up strongly for his emphasis on the Cross of Christ. Here he addresses a Corinthian community of converts who nonetheless find out that the process of reconciliation is ongoing. What God in God's grace has already made them they must struggle to continue to be. The grace, mercy and love of God seen in Christ's self-sacrifice is the motivator.
These parishioners are to serve the Righteousness of God, meaning that they -- like we -- are commissioned to be God's blessing where we are planted, to bless the world in God's Name.
The Greek word for righteousness is diakosune (Heb. tzedakah) carrying the connotation of right action and justice. These words have nothing to do with punishment, everything to do with true reconciliation and restoration of relationships. It is akin to the Hebrew concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world -- or, in Christian language, building the Kingdom of God, creating a world in which God's will is done on earth as in heaven. Implicit in this notion is that the peace and the reconcilation we seek require the justice we are called to bring forth.
Thus the Gospel has a serious political dimension, whether we like it or not. To seek peace and justice and reconciliation is also to speak out against domination systems reliant on violence, on alienation of working people and on their exploitation. Sadly, many of today's super-apostles -- presently called tele-evangelists and mega-preachers -- are on the wrong side of the divide. They have been co-opted by the politico-economic culture, surrendered to corporatism, focussed on the criteria of growth, accumulation of wealth and bankrupt "prosperity theology" which Jesus hated, and puffed up by worldly fame, power and popularity feeding the cult of the personality.
May we remain faithful to the Gospel and its irreducible principles that charge us to work for justice, thus to promote peace and to bring about the change that God would see in our world.
These parishioners are to serve the Righteousness of God, meaning that they -- like we -- are commissioned to be God's blessing where we are planted, to bless the world in God's Name.
The Greek word for righteousness is diakosune (Heb. tzedakah) carrying the connotation of right action and justice. These words have nothing to do with punishment, everything to do with true reconciliation and restoration of relationships. It is akin to the Hebrew concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world -- or, in Christian language, building the Kingdom of God, creating a world in which God's will is done on earth as in heaven. Implicit in this notion is that the peace and the reconcilation we seek require the justice we are called to bring forth.
Thus the Gospel has a serious political dimension, whether we like it or not. To seek peace and justice and reconciliation is also to speak out against domination systems reliant on violence, on alienation of working people and on their exploitation. Sadly, many of today's super-apostles -- presently called tele-evangelists and mega-preachers -- are on the wrong side of the divide. They have been co-opted by the politico-economic culture, surrendered to corporatism, focussed on the criteria of growth, accumulation of wealth and bankrupt "prosperity theology" which Jesus hated, and puffed up by worldly fame, power and popularity feeding the cult of the personality.
May we remain faithful to the Gospel and its irreducible principles that charge us to work for justice, thus to promote peace and to bring about the change that God would see in our world.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Septuagesima: Compassion
Almost two years ago the City of Tulsa adopted a charter of compassion. The organization that grew out of that -- Compassionate Tulsa -- has invited people of all faiths to "Make Tulsa Golden" by following the Golden Rule which is common to all our faith traditions, treating others as we would like to be treated. That is a concept integrally related to compassion, a word formed from the Latin patior and cum, literally 'suffering, or experiencing, with.' Last week at the first adult Trialogue of this year, presented by the Oklahoma Conference for Community and Justice at Peace Academy, we were all given an opportunity to take the pledge to make Tulsa Golden and to receive a certificate. Each pledger was then photographed holding one's certificate. When it was my turn before the camera, I was actually photobombed by my friend Aliya Shimi, assistant director of Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry!
So here I was making this promise which I last made at my Confirmation in 1963 and to which I have not been one hundred percent faithful. Pledging to follow the Golden Rule reminds us that nothing we do is isolated. Every action radiates outwards. We only need look at the fallout in our culture from half-baked Christianity, in which our religious establishment has been re-formed by the culture and its politics rather than the other way round. As a result we see Christian leaders and groups that support war and imperialism, wealth accumulation (on the theory that being rich is a sign of divine favour and being poor is a sign you haven't had enough faith and God is not impressed with you), and judging others, especially those most different. All of these are 180 degrees away from what Jesus taught us, reminding how easily Jesus can become our mascot and not our saviour.
Actually practising compassion, living out the Golden Rule, strengthens us and strengthens the community which, in turn, further strengthens us. It is a win-win to take Jesus seriously, and to join the panoply of non-Christian religions in committing to a lifestyle that is compassionate towards all. We are always moving towards the Kingdom of God or walking away from it; we cannot walk away from it and pretend to be followers of Jesus.
So here I was making this promise which I last made at my Confirmation in 1963 and to which I have not been one hundred percent faithful. Pledging to follow the Golden Rule reminds us that nothing we do is isolated. Every action radiates outwards. We only need look at the fallout in our culture from half-baked Christianity, in which our religious establishment has been re-formed by the culture and its politics rather than the other way round. As a result we see Christian leaders and groups that support war and imperialism, wealth accumulation (on the theory that being rich is a sign of divine favour and being poor is a sign you haven't had enough faith and God is not impressed with you), and judging others, especially those most different. All of these are 180 degrees away from what Jesus taught us, reminding how easily Jesus can become our mascot and not our saviour.
Actually practising compassion, living out the Golden Rule, strengthens us and strengthens the community which, in turn, further strengthens us. It is a win-win to take Jesus seriously, and to join the panoply of non-Christian religions in committing to a lifestyle that is compassionate towards all. We are always moving towards the Kingdom of God or walking away from it; we cannot walk away from it and pretend to be followers of Jesus.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Saint Cornelius
Cornelius was a military professional in the Roman Army, a Roman citizen in charge of the discipline and conduct of one hundred soldiers. Centurions were typically noted for their courage, competence and religious piety; and they were well-paid. Cornelius was the first gentile convert to the Christian Faith. He and his entire household were baptised simultaneously into their new faith. As Roman households were typically large, the baptisms likely included very mature adults all the way to small children, perhaps infants. The notion that there is an "age of accountability" before which children are forbidden baptism was unknown in the early church. "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them," said Jesus, "for of such is the Kingdom of God."
Cornelius's conversion was a watershed moment and gentile conversions would become a strong point of contention between conservatives who wanted to continue to require converts to become Jewish and keep the Law and liberals like Saint Paul who wanted gentiles qua gentiles admitted to the church on an equal basis. A key development was a vision in which Saint Peter became convinced to relax the kashrut requirements of Torah for non-Jewish Christians. The matter was settled a few years later when an apostolic council in Jerusalem ruled that gentile converts would be full and equal partners in the Faith.
Cornelius and his family formed the core of the parish at Caesarea founded by the apostle Philip when he moved there; and in turn Cornelius was later ordained the second bishop of Caesarea. The city had been the capital of [Roman] Palestine from the year 13, BCE and would certainly have benefitted by a gentile bishop.
We know that the early church began to refuse baptism to any soldier unless he first renounced his commissios and also excluded from fellowship any baptised person who joined the military. That policy was a direct reflection of Jesus' pacifism and anti-imperialism. So, it is very likely that our friend Cornelius retired from the military following his baptism, and that act opened the door for his service in the Episcopate.
Cornelius's conversion was a watershed moment and gentile conversions would become a strong point of contention between conservatives who wanted to continue to require converts to become Jewish and keep the Law and liberals like Saint Paul who wanted gentiles qua gentiles admitted to the church on an equal basis. A key development was a vision in which Saint Peter became convinced to relax the kashrut requirements of Torah for non-Jewish Christians. The matter was settled a few years later when an apostolic council in Jerusalem ruled that gentile converts would be full and equal partners in the Faith.
Cornelius and his family formed the core of the parish at Caesarea founded by the apostle Philip when he moved there; and in turn Cornelius was later ordained the second bishop of Caesarea. The city had been the capital of [Roman] Palestine from the year 13, BCE and would certainly have benefitted by a gentile bishop.
We know that the early church began to refuse baptism to any soldier unless he first renounced his commissios and also excluded from fellowship any baptised person who joined the military. That policy was a direct reflection of Jesus' pacifism and anti-imperialism. So, it is very likely that our friend Cornelius retired from the military following his baptism, and that act opened the door for his service in the Episcopate.
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