The story is told of a pastor who installed a suggestion box in order to track congregational sentiment and improve is product. He often shared some of the content from the pulpit. One week a note was left that read simply, "Fool." The next Sunday he recounted how he had received a few notes and letters which the writer forgot to sign, but this was the first time the writer had signed but forgot to in- clude the letter!
The story reminds me that not everyone will ever be completely on the side of a pastor but we must all be on on our God's side, as today's reading from the Hebrew Bible [Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25] tells us. The tale speaks of a Covenant Renewal Ceremony. Those occurred several times in Jewish history. You see, the People had finally settled in the land. (Joshua depicts a united Israel sent into Canaan to commit genocide against the natives, whereas Judges has individual tribes settle in next to the natives -- a more plausible view.) Before the call of Abraham, his ancestors worshipped the gods of "the land beyond the Euphrates," the Canaanite Pantheon of deities. In Egypt, they came to know the Egyptian gods. It seems each nation had its own. Now Joshua calls for an exclusive covenant with YHVH. "As for me and my household," Joshua says, "we will serve the Lord." The people vote yes to the true God and a stone monument is set up in the sanctuary as a reminder. Then Joshua enjoins the people to witness to their decision by destroying every token and symbol of the foreign deities. And he warns them they better not revert.
We continually face the same choice, to serve God or to revert to the worship of lesser gods, in our case, gods like wealth, influence, power, security, please. We demonstrate our priorities through our time, talent, and treasure. What would a "shadower" report about how our behaviour demonstrates either a clear preference for God or for those lesser gods? In Genesis 17, God is made to say to Abraham, "Walk in my ways and be blameless." The Hebrew suggests that God is telling Abraham to go about his business but to be aware that He is watching to see that Abraham does what is right. The writer at that time would be envisioning the capricious, angry, jealous tribal deity version of YHVH. I tend to think of God as our loving parent watching us, inspiring us to be the very best, most just and most complete human beings we can be.
We too participate in Covenant Renewal. In a very real way, every Mass accomplishes that as we receive the One whose blood sealed the New Covenant. But also when we pledge to God's work (parish being an important component of that) and make ourselves available for service in worship and out in the community, we are showing our true priority and reaffirming our commitment to the Christian Covenant which calls us to work for the full realization of God's vision for his world.
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Sunday, November 5, 2017
All Saints Sunday: Go!
This weekend marked our statewide synod, the Oklahoma Diocesan Convention, and we were truly blessed by the presence of the Most Reverend Michael Curry, our Presiding Bishop. His buzz word was "Go." He reminded us of the many biblical and post-biblical scenarios in which someone was called out of the comfort zone, into a new, often scary future making a difference in the world or, as our bishop says it, changing the world from the nightmare it often is into the dream God has for it.
Bishop Curry spoke of the calls of Abraham and Moses, which reminded me of the later call of Saint Francis of Assisi who was young, handsome, very wealthy, and well connected politically. He had it made and yet, once called, denounced the family fortune, gave away all his possessions, and started afresh in ministry, as his response to God's call, "Francis, rebuild my Church." Nothing has changed in our day; we are still called from where we are to where we ought to be in the building of Kingdom which the bishop describes as "the Jesus Movement."
But how do we get there? We need a map, a spiritual GPS. The Beatitudes serve such a purpose. In today's gospel reading from Matthew, we hear the spiritual version of those injunctions (compared to the social justice version in Luke). In the Middle Ages, the Church considered them in light of the "counsels of perfection" meaning the beatitudes were binding on ordained clergy and on professed religious like monks and nuns, but not ordinary people. Martin Luther, in contrast, said they apply for everyone but are unattainable, so don't bother, just believe in salvation by faith alone.
I think both are wrong. I believe the rebel monk was so right in applying the Beatitudes to all of us Christians, but incorrect to finding them unrealistic and unattainable. They are doable and intended to be sorted out in community, serving God and nieghbour, and indeed that is the essence of Catholic Christianity. While the Church holds up the canonized Saints as models to emulate and as prayer- partners, we need to remember that all of us are 'saints,' called to true holiness of life.
I would commend every Christian to regular examination of Matthew's Beatitudes, but also Luke's Beatitudes and the accompanying Woes. Honest self-examination allows us to move forward. Serious engagement of self sets the stage for being conformed to the image of the Son of God, embracing the kind of Christianity that actually imitates the way of Jesus instead of reinventing him to conform to the values of our sick culture. If your Jesus likes war and violent resolution, jingoism, imperialism, and greed, looks down on the poor and oppressed, the marginalized and the outcasts, start over and look for the real Saviour.
Where is God calling you to'go'?
Bishop Curry spoke of the calls of Abraham and Moses, which reminded me of the later call of Saint Francis of Assisi who was young, handsome, very wealthy, and well connected politically. He had it made and yet, once called, denounced the family fortune, gave away all his possessions, and started afresh in ministry, as his response to God's call, "Francis, rebuild my Church." Nothing has changed in our day; we are still called from where we are to where we ought to be in the building of Kingdom which the bishop describes as "the Jesus Movement."
But how do we get there? We need a map, a spiritual GPS. The Beatitudes serve such a purpose. In today's gospel reading from Matthew, we hear the spiritual version of those injunctions (compared to the social justice version in Luke). In the Middle Ages, the Church considered them in light of the "counsels of perfection" meaning the beatitudes were binding on ordained clergy and on professed religious like monks and nuns, but not ordinary people. Martin Luther, in contrast, said they apply for everyone but are unattainable, so don't bother, just believe in salvation by faith alone.
I think both are wrong. I believe the rebel monk was so right in applying the Beatitudes to all of us Christians, but incorrect to finding them unrealistic and unattainable. They are doable and intended to be sorted out in community, serving God and nieghbour, and indeed that is the essence of Catholic Christianity. While the Church holds up the canonized Saints as models to emulate and as prayer- partners, we need to remember that all of us are 'saints,' called to true holiness of life.
I would commend every Christian to regular examination of Matthew's Beatitudes, but also Luke's Beatitudes and the accompanying Woes. Honest self-examination allows us to move forward. Serious engagement of self sets the stage for being conformed to the image of the Son of God, embracing the kind of Christianity that actually imitates the way of Jesus instead of reinventing him to conform to the values of our sick culture. If your Jesus likes war and violent resolution, jingoism, imperialism, and greed, looks down on the poor and oppressed, the marginalized and the outcasts, start over and look for the real Saviour.
Where is God calling you to'go'?
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Pentecost XXI: Dangers of Literalism
The story is told of a convert to fundamentalism, whose pastor after services encouraged him to seek "a word from the Lord" by letting his Bible flop open and then reading the first verse that appeared as a magic communication just for him from God. He excitedly went home and flipped open his Bible, whereupon he read, "Judas went out and hanged himself." A bit confused, he tried it a second time. That verse was, "Go and do likewise." Now distressed, he tried for a third word only to read, "What you must do, do quickly."
How we use sacred Scripture can lead us to life and freedom or to the oppression that accompanies superficial study. Unthinking engagement of the Bible leads us from the sublime to the ridiculous, pointing towards legalistic fundamentalism. It is useful to remember that lectio divina and other study options are ancient; literalism crept in with the Continental Reformation which hung its hat on Scripture, each denomination defining itself by a laundry list of doctrines tied to bible verses badly parsed and often completely out of context. We Anglicans were spared that.
Years ago a young lady who was a member of Saint Matthew's stopped attending Mass and neither returned my phone calls nor responded to notes I sent by mail. A few months later, she appeared suddenly at my office door. As it turns out. another member had angered her and, instead of letting me know, she had stormed out, started attending a fundamentalist church, and had returned only to question me and tell me why we were wrong about everything. She had not come to talk, let alone to learn, but only to attack. Her new church had formed her, not into a Christian, but a Pharisee.
In today's gospel reading [Matthew 22:34-46], Jesus, who has already signed his death warrant by entering Jerusalem while acting out a messianic claim, is still being beleaguered by Pharisees. His detractors still want to make him look the fool. This time they ask him to rank the Commandments of the Law, showing which might be greatest. That would be a gargantuan task, sorting our 248 positive commandments and 365 negative ones, 613 together. Instead, Jesus sums up the Law by quoting Deuteronomy and Leviticus, about loving God and neighbour. But pay close attention! In quoting the former, recited every day by faithful Jews in the sh'ma, Jesus says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind." Jesus changed the final word from 'might' to 'mind,' telling the rigid and legalistic Pharisees to start reading Scripture in an intelligent fashion. And intelligent engagement of the Bible is a hallmark of Episcopalians, I am pleased to say.
In speaking of love for God and others in this way, Jesus is also reminding the Pharisees and us not to get bogged down in rigid interpretations and legalism but get to the bottom line of Christian life. Jesus communicates that his way of torqued-up Torah, not playing games with proof-texting books, consists of the way of life we must lead. What does that look like? Let me answer that question, and close, with quotes from three early observers of how actual Christians behave. It's not about doctrine.
Julian the Apostate. Roman Emperor from 361 to 363), said, "The godless Galileans feed not only their poor, but ours!" Tertullian (160-225) wrote that Christians "support the poor, pay for burials, take in orphans, care for the elderly and home-bound, serve the shipwrecked and victims of epidemic, and they send money to the banished." Even earlier, the philosopher Aristides (125) reported that Christians "bring in strangers like they were brothers and sisters; provide for the needs of imprisoned and oppressed people; and for the poor and needy they will fast 2 or 3 days to give food."
How we use sacred Scripture can lead us to life and freedom or to the oppression that accompanies superficial study. Unthinking engagement of the Bible leads us from the sublime to the ridiculous, pointing towards legalistic fundamentalism. It is useful to remember that lectio divina and other study options are ancient; literalism crept in with the Continental Reformation which hung its hat on Scripture, each denomination defining itself by a laundry list of doctrines tied to bible verses badly parsed and often completely out of context. We Anglicans were spared that.
Years ago a young lady who was a member of Saint Matthew's stopped attending Mass and neither returned my phone calls nor responded to notes I sent by mail. A few months later, she appeared suddenly at my office door. As it turns out. another member had angered her and, instead of letting me know, she had stormed out, started attending a fundamentalist church, and had returned only to question me and tell me why we were wrong about everything. She had not come to talk, let alone to learn, but only to attack. Her new church had formed her, not into a Christian, but a Pharisee.
In today's gospel reading [Matthew 22:34-46], Jesus, who has already signed his death warrant by entering Jerusalem while acting out a messianic claim, is still being beleaguered by Pharisees. His detractors still want to make him look the fool. This time they ask him to rank the Commandments of the Law, showing which might be greatest. That would be a gargantuan task, sorting our 248 positive commandments and 365 negative ones, 613 together. Instead, Jesus sums up the Law by quoting Deuteronomy and Leviticus, about loving God and neighbour. But pay close attention! In quoting the former, recited every day by faithful Jews in the sh'ma, Jesus says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind." Jesus changed the final word from 'might' to 'mind,' telling the rigid and legalistic Pharisees to start reading Scripture in an intelligent fashion. And intelligent engagement of the Bible is a hallmark of Episcopalians, I am pleased to say.
In speaking of love for God and others in this way, Jesus is also reminding the Pharisees and us not to get bogged down in rigid interpretations and legalism but get to the bottom line of Christian life. Jesus communicates that his way of torqued-up Torah, not playing games with proof-texting books, consists of the way of life we must lead. What does that look like? Let me answer that question, and close, with quotes from three early observers of how actual Christians behave. It's not about doctrine.
Julian the Apostate. Roman Emperor from 361 to 363), said, "The godless Galileans feed not only their poor, but ours!" Tertullian (160-225) wrote that Christians "support the poor, pay for burials, take in orphans, care for the elderly and home-bound, serve the shipwrecked and victims of epidemic, and they send money to the banished." Even earlier, the philosopher Aristides (125) reported that Christians "bring in strangers like they were brothers and sisters; provide for the needs of imprisoned and oppressed people; and for the poor and needy they will fast 2 or 3 days to give food."
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Pentecost XX: God v Empire
Today's gospel story is one of the better known among Christians, the encounter between Jesus and his detractors, Pharisees and Herodians. Jesus accuses them, quite rightly, of hypocrisy. That term comes from the Greek for wearing a mask. A hypocrite is a person who masks the true self in favour of an illusion one wants to project. What you see is not what you get. The Pharisees and the fellow-travellers in that time played the role of men who learned from God, but in reality they pushed a rigid puritanical view of God and Scripture, not unlike today's fundamentalist Christians. They talked a lot but they did not learn; they heard a lot but they didn't listen. Jesus attacks their fundamentalism and easy answers, and they hate him for it.
In today's scene (found in Matthew 22: 15-22) they first highly compliment Jesus for his commitment to truth and impartiality, as if they were fans, then they hit him with another one of those catch-22 questions that are impossible to answer. The question: Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor? If Jesus says yes, he sides with the hostile occupier of Jewish land and will lose his audience. If he says no, the Pharisees will whistle for a cop, Jesus will get cuffed and stuffed, and he won't be out loose preaching anymore.
Before going on with the story, let me insert one relevant fact. There were two kinds of money then in circulation in Palestine: the regular coins bearing the effigy and title of Caesar, as well as special coins for observant Jews, coins which did not bear any graven image of a person, let alone Caesar Tiberias who claimed to be God. For an observant Jew to touch or spend a regular Roman coin would be a fundamental violation of Judaism by using of a graven image.
In reply to the question from the religious establishment, Jesus tells them to give him a coin. The coin he is given is the regular Roman coin. Bingo: Jesus' enemies have just demonstrated that they are not observant Jews, they use the profane money! And we should not be surprised, because everything that coin stands for -- imperialism, militarism, wealth, power and influence -- are values the Pharisees and cronies accomodate, but they are not God's values -- equality, peace, justice, fair sharing, and service. Jesus calls us to action in building the Kingdom of God. The detractors are all about promoting false values.
Jesus looks at the hated coin, asks whose image it is, and is told it is the image of the Emperor. Then, Jesus wins the day, saying this thing must belong to the Emperor, so give it back to him!
There are lessons here for us. Mostly simply, it is ok to pay taxes. Abraham Lincoln said that government is needed to do for the People what they cannot do for themselves, or not so well. Examples would be social security and medicare, which are now being threatened. The more important lesson can be derived from the Pharisees' slip-up with the coin. The values of the Roman Empire are stamped on the hearts of the collaborators as surely as the image of the Emperor is stamped on the coin they use. We might ask ourselves today whether those same false values are stamped into our hearts as citizens of the American Empire when instead our task as Christians is not to "go along to get along" like Pharisees but to be more and more conformed to the image of Jesus who show us the human face of God and refuses to compromise with the world's false values.
In today's scene (found in Matthew 22: 15-22) they first highly compliment Jesus for his commitment to truth and impartiality, as if they were fans, then they hit him with another one of those catch-22 questions that are impossible to answer. The question: Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor? If Jesus says yes, he sides with the hostile occupier of Jewish land and will lose his audience. If he says no, the Pharisees will whistle for a cop, Jesus will get cuffed and stuffed, and he won't be out loose preaching anymore.
Before going on with the story, let me insert one relevant fact. There were two kinds of money then in circulation in Palestine: the regular coins bearing the effigy and title of Caesar, as well as special coins for observant Jews, coins which did not bear any graven image of a person, let alone Caesar Tiberias who claimed to be God. For an observant Jew to touch or spend a regular Roman coin would be a fundamental violation of Judaism by using of a graven image.
In reply to the question from the religious establishment, Jesus tells them to give him a coin. The coin he is given is the regular Roman coin. Bingo: Jesus' enemies have just demonstrated that they are not observant Jews, they use the profane money! And we should not be surprised, because everything that coin stands for -- imperialism, militarism, wealth, power and influence -- are values the Pharisees and cronies accomodate, but they are not God's values -- equality, peace, justice, fair sharing, and service. Jesus calls us to action in building the Kingdom of God. The detractors are all about promoting false values.
Jesus looks at the hated coin, asks whose image it is, and is told it is the image of the Emperor. Then, Jesus wins the day, saying this thing must belong to the Emperor, so give it back to him!
There are lessons here for us. Mostly simply, it is ok to pay taxes. Abraham Lincoln said that government is needed to do for the People what they cannot do for themselves, or not so well. Examples would be social security and medicare, which are now being threatened. The more important lesson can be derived from the Pharisees' slip-up with the coin. The values of the Roman Empire are stamped on the hearts of the collaborators as surely as the image of the Emperor is stamped on the coin they use. We might ask ourselves today whether those same false values are stamped into our hearts as citizens of the American Empire when instead our task as Christians is not to "go along to get along" like Pharisees but to be more and more conformed to the image of Jesus who show us the human face of God and refuses to compromise with the world's false values.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Pentecost XIX: A Different Peace
On Sunday we talked about the "peace that passes all understanding" which we invoke at the last blessing in most Masses. The source of the expression is a statement attributed to Jesus in John's Gospel in which he tells his disciples: I leave my peace with you. I give you my peace. It is not like the peace which the world gives, so you don't have to be anxious or afraid.
The peace that the world gives is merely an absence of conflict. The peace conveyed by Jesus allows the Christian to be at peace even in the midst of conflict. Christ's peace is deeper, permeating heart and mind/ It cannot be earned, only accepted as gift to those who live their lives in the Spirit of God as revealed in Jesus. If you have it, you know what I mean; if you don't, you won't have a clue.
By the world's standards, the Las Vegas Shooter had it all. He was a wealthy entrepreneur with almost unlimited funds for the enjoyment of life, sex without commitment from a "friend with benefits," no political or philosophical bent, no involvement with charitable organizations, no religion to bog him down. What more could a devoutly committed capitalist ask for? Yet, he obviously lacked one thing that wealth, power, and disengagement cannot bring, personal peace. So, having gone from one unsatisfying "high" to the next, and with nothing left to live for, he committed a massacre -- killing fifty-nine innocent people, wounding almost five hundred others -- for one last exhilarating experience.
No peace. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus introduces us to the kind of life that brings us his peace. He presents six antitheses, six contrasts between Jewish conventional wisdom and the torqued-up Torah that he would demand of his followers. Important contrasts: you were told not to kill, I tell you not to hate; you were told not to commit adultery, I tell you not to lust. In the fifth antithesis, Jesus talks about who is a neighbour. You were told love your friends, hate your enemies (there is no such biblical injunction), I tell you love your enemies, pray for your persecutors. How intensely and irrationally radical is this gospel of Jesus! Yet only that kind of life brings the peace we crave.
Saint Paul tells us how to get into the mental state that will set us in that right direction. He lumps into one sentence thanksgiving and joy, prayer, and peace. He lets us know that an attitude of gratitude for all our blessings leads to joy, and turning our lives over to God as people of prayer brings us peace. The four "gifts of the Spirit" reflect a spiritual life that is healthy and vital: the blueprint for the peace that passes all understanding.
The peace that the world gives is merely an absence of conflict. The peace conveyed by Jesus allows the Christian to be at peace even in the midst of conflict. Christ's peace is deeper, permeating heart and mind/ It cannot be earned, only accepted as gift to those who live their lives in the Spirit of God as revealed in Jesus. If you have it, you know what I mean; if you don't, you won't have a clue.
By the world's standards, the Las Vegas Shooter had it all. He was a wealthy entrepreneur with almost unlimited funds for the enjoyment of life, sex without commitment from a "friend with benefits," no political or philosophical bent, no involvement with charitable organizations, no religion to bog him down. What more could a devoutly committed capitalist ask for? Yet, he obviously lacked one thing that wealth, power, and disengagement cannot bring, personal peace. So, having gone from one unsatisfying "high" to the next, and with nothing left to live for, he committed a massacre -- killing fifty-nine innocent people, wounding almost five hundred others -- for one last exhilarating experience.
No peace. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus introduces us to the kind of life that brings us his peace. He presents six antitheses, six contrasts between Jewish conventional wisdom and the torqued-up Torah that he would demand of his followers. Important contrasts: you were told not to kill, I tell you not to hate; you were told not to commit adultery, I tell you not to lust. In the fifth antithesis, Jesus talks about who is a neighbour. You were told love your friends, hate your enemies (there is no such biblical injunction), I tell you love your enemies, pray for your persecutors. How intensely and irrationally radical is this gospel of Jesus! Yet only that kind of life brings the peace we crave.
Saint Paul tells us how to get into the mental state that will set us in that right direction. He lumps into one sentence thanksgiving and joy, prayer, and peace. He lets us know that an attitude of gratitude for all our blessings leads to joy, and turning our lives over to God as people of prayer brings us peace. The four "gifts of the Spirit" reflect a spiritual life that is healthy and vital: the blueprint for the peace that passes all understanding.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
Pentecost XVIII: The Vineyard
Last Sunday's text [Mt. 21: 33-46] is the last in a series of reflections on the topic of the Vineyard, which was the principal biblical metaphor for the Jewish People. In a nutshell, the vintner, God, plants his own vineyard in the Promised Land, walls it in, builds a guard tower, and lovingly plants his crop in expectation of a wonderful harvest. Wanting a yield of justice God instead gets bloodshed; in the place of justice he gets complaints. In response God adopts tough love: he leaves his beloved children to the consequences of their choices. Petty neighbouring powers begin to pick off pieces of the vineyard, and finally the wild boar, the King of Babylon, comes and takes the people into exile in what is now Iraq for some seventy years.
Jesus here retells the familiar story but adds his own death as if it were a past occurrence. That might seem strange until one realizes that Matthew's gospel is composed more than fifty years after the earthly ministry of Jesus. We are reading gospel, not history: we have the expanded version courtesy of the Matthaean community. Having received the "big picture," some anti-Semites try to exploit it into a blanket condemnation of Jews, but read carefully: Jesus is addressing the religious leaders of his time who were in collusion with the political leaders who executed him. The establishment had begun to treat the vineyard as their personal property to be used to expand their own wealth, power, and influence. They forgot who the true Owner was and what their true role was supposed to be.
After the exile prophets rose up to speak truth to power. Kings and priests on one side pitted against the prophetic community on the other. What do you think happened? Amos was banned from the Temple; Isaiah was sawn in half; Jeremiah was dumped into a pit and stoned to death. Naturally, Jesus would be executed. And Martin Luther King, Jr., and a myriad of martyrs over time.
The first commandment iterates God's claim to be Number One in our lives (hence the importance of stewardship,with God first in our time, talent, and treasure). So worship and life are inseparable. As the author of First John reminds us, you cannot claim to love the God whom you have not seen when you don't love the brother or sister you can see. God seeks faithful leaders and faithful people, and settles for no less.
Jesus here retells the familiar story but adds his own death as if it were a past occurrence. That might seem strange until one realizes that Matthew's gospel is composed more than fifty years after the earthly ministry of Jesus. We are reading gospel, not history: we have the expanded version courtesy of the Matthaean community. Having received the "big picture," some anti-Semites try to exploit it into a blanket condemnation of Jews, but read carefully: Jesus is addressing the religious leaders of his time who were in collusion with the political leaders who executed him. The establishment had begun to treat the vineyard as their personal property to be used to expand their own wealth, power, and influence. They forgot who the true Owner was and what their true role was supposed to be.
After the exile prophets rose up to speak truth to power. Kings and priests on one side pitted against the prophetic community on the other. What do you think happened? Amos was banned from the Temple; Isaiah was sawn in half; Jeremiah was dumped into a pit and stoned to death. Naturally, Jesus would be executed. And Martin Luther King, Jr., and a myriad of martyrs over time.
The first commandment iterates God's claim to be Number One in our lives (hence the importance of stewardship,with God first in our time, talent, and treasure). So worship and life are inseparable. As the author of First John reminds us, you cannot claim to love the God whom you have not seen when you don't love the brother or sister you can see. God seeks faithful leaders and faithful people, and settles for no less.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Saint Thomas of Hereford
The Saint-du-jour was a person born in 1218 to great wealth. Scion of a fabulously rich Norman family, Thomas and his siblings were placed under the control of the Bishop of Winchester for purposes of education.. Thomas (and brother Hugh) were sent to Paris for a first-class education as well as an opulent lifestyle in those years. After graduation, Thomas was ordained a priest, read law at Orleans, and became a canon lawyer. He then returned to England and taught at Oxford. Very soon he was made chancellor there and, in that role, was remembered as a strict disciplinarian, a friend of poor students, and one who cracked down on weapons on campus.
Soon he had progressed to being Chancellor of All England. Later he returned to Paris for a time, and then reclaimed the chancellorship of Oxford. In 1275, Thomas was elected Bishop of Hereford in western England.. He was an exemplary prelate. As bishop he instituted personal austerity, even wearing a hair shirt; became a zealous reforming bishop; and dutifully visited parishes throughout his turf to administer Confirmation. He also was a strong defender of the rights of his Church.
A redhead with temper to match, Thomas strenuously objected to the officious meddling of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, John Pecham, in matters of wills and marriages in his diocese, cases which should have been laid in Hereford courts. The archbishop responded by excommunicating Thomas.
In 1282, Thomas visited the Pope at the pontiff's court in Orvieto, Italy, and Thomas died while there. His body was translated to Winchester, where his shrine soon became the most visited pilgrimage site in the west of England. Thomas has the distinction of being the only Saint of the western Church who was excommunicated at the time of death!
Lessons for us: learn to live simply, do what you do as well as you possibly can, love God and the Church.
Soon he had progressed to being Chancellor of All England. Later he returned to Paris for a time, and then reclaimed the chancellorship of Oxford. In 1275, Thomas was elected Bishop of Hereford in western England.. He was an exemplary prelate. As bishop he instituted personal austerity, even wearing a hair shirt; became a zealous reforming bishop; and dutifully visited parishes throughout his turf to administer Confirmation. He also was a strong defender of the rights of his Church.
A redhead with temper to match, Thomas strenuously objected to the officious meddling of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, John Pecham, in matters of wills and marriages in his diocese, cases which should have been laid in Hereford courts. The archbishop responded by excommunicating Thomas.
In 1282, Thomas visited the Pope at the pontiff's court in Orvieto, Italy, and Thomas died while there. His body was translated to Winchester, where his shrine soon became the most visited pilgrimage site in the west of England. Thomas has the distinction of being the only Saint of the western Church who was excommunicated at the time of death!
Lessons for us: learn to live simply, do what you do as well as you possibly can, love God and the Church.
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