Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, OHC
Proper 6 - Sunday, June 17, 2018
To hear the sermon in its fullness click here.
 |
| Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, OHC |
Showing posts with label Joseph Wallace-Williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joseph Wallace-Williams. Show all posts
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Third Sunday of Easter- Year B: April 15, 2018
Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
To hear the sermon in its fullness click here.
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Proper 18 Year C- September 4
Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams,n/OHC
There once was a young minister, who traveled with great difficulty to a faraway monastery because there was an old nun there who had a reputation for asking very piercing spiritual questions. "Mother," the minister said. "Give me a question that will renew my soul." "Ah, yes, then," the old nun said, "your question is what do they need?" The minister wrestled with the question for days but then, depressed, gave up and went back to the old nun in disgust. And said “ Mother ," "I came here because I'm tired and depressed and dry. I didn't come here to talk about my ministry. I came here to talk about my spiritual life. Please give me another question." Ah, well, of course. “Now I see," she said, "In that case, the right question for you is not 'what do they need?' The right question for you is “What do they really need?”
Both the question and the answer are clear: What do they really need? They, we, need what was needed when the temple became more important than the Torah. We need what we needed when the faith was more a vision than an institution. We need what we have always needed: An authentic and dynamic relationship with the true and living God!
Christian discipleship is by nature a very dangerous thing. It has put every person who ever accepted it at risk. In the early church to be a Christian community meant to defy Roman imperialism. It was to stretch Judaism itself. It was to counter pagan values with Christian ones.
It took great courage. Unending fortitude and a willingness to step beyond the old ways of doing and being that were never life-giving to begin with. Real discipleship meant the rejection of real things:
- it meant the rejection of emperor worship,
- the inclusion of Gentiles,
- the elimination of dietary laws,
- the acceptance of women
- the supplanting of law with love,
- of nationalism to universalism,
- of a chosen people with a we a global people!
To follow Jesus, in other words, is to follow the one who turns the world upside down, even the religious world and our distorted way of seeing ourselves and the other. Real discipleship is a tipsy arrangement at the very least. Following Jesus is a circuitous route that leads always and everywhere to places where a 'nice' person would not go, and to moments of integrity we would so much rather do without.
Christian discipleship is the commitment to live a gospel life, a marginal life in this place, at this time at whatever the cost. Its about living in this world the way that Jesus the Christ lived in his – touching lepers, raising donkeys from ditches on Sabbath days, questioning the unquestionable and - consorting with the Other. Discipleship implies a commitment to leave nets and homes, positions and securities, and inheritance to be now - in our own world - what the Christ was for his.
If discipleship is what you're here for, be not fooled! The price is a high one and history has recorded it faithfully.
- Discipleship cost Oscar Romero,
- Martin Luther King,
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
- Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, in Mississippi their lives.
No doubt about it, the nature of discipleship is passion and risk.
But to understand the nature of discipleship is not enough. We must be marked by its mark. And what is the mark of true discipleship? True discipleship says the truth in hard times. The disciple not only preaches the gospel, but lives it, breathes it. Because to be a disciple means to be in deep relationship, with Christ Jesus in prayer and in action. And so because you and I have been called out, we share the responsibility for affecting the world with the effective love of God. Our partnership with the Spirit is based on being claimed by Christ for the world.
Here the words of our father Benedict: God calls out and says again: Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days? If you hear this and your answer is "I do," God then directs these words to you: If you desire true and eternal life, come follow Jesus. The road will not be easy. At times it will seem to be a lonely road. But it is the road that leads to wholeness, love and the fullness of life.
The choice is ours to make.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Proper 12 C- July 24, 2016
Proper 12 Year C - Sunday - July 24, 2016
Lord teach us to pray!
This past week for the first time the novices and postulants had our first international formation Google Hang Out!! Our Br. Charles, in Canada said: I think I was a person who said prayers before I entered the community. Now, I can say that I am a praying person. I don't want to speak for my other brothers, but I think in my class at least, most of us would agree with this insight from our brother Charles. Each one of us has become more deeply, in our own way, praying men and not simply men who say prayers.
Over and over again in the spiritual life I think there is one question that emerges. What’s holier: to pray or to work, to be involved in the world with all it its pains and troubles, or to withdraw from it to meditate on the next one?
Last week I began to watch the new film “Straight Outta Compton” which tells the story of the group NWA. I say began because I found that I could only watch small portions of this film at a time because it’s a lot to take in at once. All of the rich social commentary which was poignant in the 80s when the group released its first album then is still relevant and powerful in our present context.
There is one scene in particular that has really captured my thinking these past few days. It is the scene in which the group is forced to have a press conference to defend their incendiary hit “F the police” . In that scene Dr. Dre says the following:
"What’s happened is Y’all just got a snapshot of how Americans really feel. We have given the people a voice."
To which one of the white reporters replies: “Yeah, but doesn't your songs glamorize the lifestyle of gang bangers, guns, and drugs?” In response to this question from the reporter Ice Cube replies: “Our art is a reflection of our reality. What do you see when you go outside of your door? I know what I see. And it ain’t glamorous.”
My jaw dropped and my heart ached when I heard this deeply insightful observation.
So, why do I tell you this story? I tell you the story because I think it helps us to understand prayer and contemplation. You see, the danger in the contemplative life is that it may become only one-half of the spiritual life. The danger is that prayer and contemplation, will be used to justify distance and unconcern for the world and all of its hurts.
Contemplation is not for its own sake. To live a contemplative life, to be spiritual, does not mean that we spend life in some kind of sacred spa designed to save us from having to deal with the down and dirty parts of life. The contemplative life is not spiritual escapism. Contemplation is immersion in the God who created the world for all of us. Our Christian faith tells us, “Ever since the creation of the world, God’s invisible nature has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.”
And that is the point: if all things are of God, then all things demand, deserve justice. God wills the care of the poor, the aged, defenseless, and needy! So, therefore, must the contemplative. God wills the end of oppressors who stand with a heel in the neck of the weak. So does the contemplative. God wills the liberation of human beings. So will the contemplative. God desires the dignity and full development of all human beings. Thus God takes the side of the defenseless. Thus, must the contemplative too.
Otherwise, the contemplation is not real, cannot be real, and will never be real, because to contemplate the God of Justice is to be committed to justice.
You see the contemplative; the spiritual person, must do justice, must speak justice, must insist on justice.
And they do:
- Thomas Merton spoke out against the Vietnam war and spoke out in support of the civil rights movement. He did his part intentionally. Wholeheartedly the way that he could. The way the times demanded from behind the walls of the cloister.
- Our founder James Huntington did his part to support the labor movement in his day.
- Hildegard of Bingen preached the word of justice to emperors and to popes.
- And our Holy Father Benedict of Nursia sheltered strangers and educated peasants.
Contemplation is a change in consciousness. It is a conscious decision not to sleepwalk. It brings us to see beyond boundaries, fears, and past hurts. Beyond institutional self-interest straight into the face of a Mothering God from whom comes all the life that comes. We must learn what the Spirit is trying to teach us. When we feel rejected, we learn to seek the love above all loves in life. And perhaps, the Spirit is trying to teach us that when we are threatened by differences, we must come to realize that otherness is what stretches us beyond the narrowness of sameness. Instead, the desire for conquest or to hold the world hostage comes when we try to shape the world to our own limited ideas of it.
Then differences begin to be a threat rather than a promise of inspiring new possibilities or daring new experiences in life. Then, we set out to mold the rest of the world to our own small selves. And we build our private little walls higher and higher and higher. To feel good about ourselves, we measure ourselves against the other and call them lesser, call them enemy. We entomb ourselves in ourselves. But when we become transformed from within, the contemplative becomes a new kind of presence in the world, signaling another way of being, seeing with new eyes and speaking with new words the very Word of God. The contemplative can never be a complacent participant in an oppressive system. From contemplation comes not only the consciousness of the universal connectedness of life but the courage to model it, as well.
Contemplation and prayer are very dangerous.
- They not only bring us face to face with God.
- They bring us, as well, face to face with the world, and with ourselves.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Easter 7 C - May 8, 2016
Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Easter 7 C- Sunday, May 1, 2016
There is a story that has been passed from generation after generation from the mouth of seniors to the ears of juniors. It is a story that was passed down from South East Africa to the shores of the North Atlantic. It is a story that takes place somewhere in the dunes of the South.
The story begins as a people, who had been mislabeled slaves, where toiling in the hot southern sun. They were working so very hard to pick cotton. There was one young woman and beside her was her small boy, he was about maybe six or seven. The woman had such incredible dexterity that she was able to pick cotton with her right hand and caress the forehead of her child with her left hand. But eventually, exhausted by working so hard in the fields, she collapsed from the weight and the pressure of being—in the words of Dubois—“problem and property.”
Her little boy attempted to wake her very quickly, knowing that if the slave drivers were to see his mother the punishment would be swift and brutal.
The little one tried to shake his mother, and as he was trying to shake her, an old man, that the Africans called Preacher and Prophet, and the slave drivers called Old Devil walked over to the little boy. The little one looked up at the old man and said:
“Is it time?” “Is it time?”
The old man smiled and looked at the boy and said, “Yes!” “ Yes!”The old man bent down and whispered into the ear of the boys mother who was now on the ground and says these words: “ mungu, mungu!”
At that moment the woman got up with such incredible dignity. She stood as a queen and looked down at her son with loving eyes, Grasped his hand and look toward heaven.
And suddenly they began to fly.
The slave drivers rushed over to the area where she had stopped working and seeing this act of human flight and now completely confused, annoyed and not knowing what to do!
And during the slave drivers confusion, the old man rushed around to all the other Africans and began to tell them, “mungu, mungu!”
When the people herd The Word, they all began to fly. Can you imagine? The dispossessed flying? Can you imagine the disempowered flying? The diseased flying?
And at that moment the slave drivers grab the old man and said: Bring them back!”
The slave drivers beat the old man, and with blood coming down his cheek, he smiled at them. The slave drivers demanded, “Bring them back now!” “Bring them back now!” Or we will beat you until there's nothing left of you! The old man replied, “I can’t.”
The slave drivers questioned, “Why so ever not?” The old man replied, “Because the word is already in them and since the word is already in them, it cannot be taken from them.”
You see, the old man had the power of a Swahili word, Mungu, a word that means God.
The word had been placed into the heart of these displaced Africans and now they had reclaimed their dignity and they were flying.
Is this not the job of the Church and the Preacher, the faithful disciple? We are not called to make people shout. We are not called to make people dance. We are not called to entertain people. We are not called to use the people to stroke our own ego!
No, we are called to make sure that the people of God fly! Fly from breakdown to break through. Fly from hurt to healing. Fly from heartache to wholeness. We are called as a people to ensure that those who have been marginalized have a word in their spirit that allows them to fly.
And the question is: are we a part of a church, a movement, a ministry that causes people to fly? But the even more difficult question for us is who are we in the story, now in this season of our life: Are you one of the slave drivers: with a harden heart resisting being transformed and molded by the Holy Spirit? Are you the little child? Are you one of the people who have heard the message and reclaimed your dignity? Are you the old Preacher spreading the word?
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Easter 7 C- Sunday, May 1, 2016
 |
| Photo credit John Beddingfield |
And Jesus prayed for his disciples, and said. "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word . . . John 17:20
There is a story that has been passed from generation after generation from the mouth of seniors to the ears of juniors. It is a story that was passed down from South East Africa to the shores of the North Atlantic. It is a story that takes place somewhere in the dunes of the South.
The story begins as a people, who had been mislabeled slaves, where toiling in the hot southern sun. They were working so very hard to pick cotton. There was one young woman and beside her was her small boy, he was about maybe six or seven. The woman had such incredible dexterity that she was able to pick cotton with her right hand and caress the forehead of her child with her left hand. But eventually, exhausted by working so hard in the fields, she collapsed from the weight and the pressure of being—in the words of Dubois—“problem and property.”
Her little boy attempted to wake her very quickly, knowing that if the slave drivers were to see his mother the punishment would be swift and brutal.
The little one tried to shake his mother, and as he was trying to shake her, an old man, that the Africans called Preacher and Prophet, and the slave drivers called Old Devil walked over to the little boy. The little one looked up at the old man and said:
“Is it time?” “Is it time?”
The old man smiled and looked at the boy and said, “Yes!” “ Yes!”The old man bent down and whispered into the ear of the boys mother who was now on the ground and says these words: “ mungu, mungu!”
At that moment the woman got up with such incredible dignity. She stood as a queen and looked down at her son with loving eyes, Grasped his hand and look toward heaven.
And suddenly they began to fly.
The slave drivers rushed over to the area where she had stopped working and seeing this act of human flight and now completely confused, annoyed and not knowing what to do!
And during the slave drivers confusion, the old man rushed around to all the other Africans and began to tell them, “mungu, mungu!”
When the people herd The Word, they all began to fly. Can you imagine? The dispossessed flying? Can you imagine the disempowered flying? The diseased flying?
And at that moment the slave drivers grab the old man and said: Bring them back!”
The slave drivers beat the old man, and with blood coming down his cheek, he smiled at them. The slave drivers demanded, “Bring them back now!” “Bring them back now!” Or we will beat you until there's nothing left of you! The old man replied, “I can’t.”
The slave drivers questioned, “Why so ever not?” The old man replied, “Because the word is already in them and since the word is already in them, it cannot be taken from them.”
You see, the old man had the power of a Swahili word, Mungu, a word that means God.
The word had been placed into the heart of these displaced Africans and now they had reclaimed their dignity and they were flying.
Is this not the job of the Church and the Preacher, the faithful disciple? We are not called to make people shout. We are not called to make people dance. We are not called to entertain people. We are not called to use the people to stroke our own ego!
No, we are called to make sure that the people of God fly! Fly from breakdown to break through. Fly from hurt to healing. Fly from heartache to wholeness. We are called as a people to ensure that those who have been marginalized have a word in their spirit that allows them to fly.
And the question is: are we a part of a church, a movement, a ministry that causes people to fly? But the even more difficult question for us is who are we in the story, now in this season of our life: Are you one of the slave drivers: with a harden heart resisting being transformed and molded by the Holy Spirit? Are you the little child? Are you one of the people who have heard the message and reclaimed your dignity? Are you the old Preacher spreading the word?
Story adapted from, The People Could Fly, by Virginia Hamilton
Monday, March 28, 2016
Easter Vigil - Mar 27, 2016
Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Easter Vigil - Sunday, March 27, 2016
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Easter Vigil - Sunday, March 27, 2016
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12
"Christ is Risen... Wounds and all!
 |
| Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams preaching at the Easter Vigil. |
Wounds!
I got wounds.
You got wounds.
All God’s children got wounds
When we get to heaven
We gonna shout all over God’s heaven!
Amen?
When I was younger we used to sing:
When I think of the goodness of Jesus
And all He's done for me
My soul cries out hallelujah
Thank God for saving me
The premise of the song is that if you think you will thank. So then the key to the thanking is the thinking. If you’re thinking is off then your thanking is off.
John Milton writes: The mind is its own place! And in itself it can make a heaven out of hell or make hell out of heaven. Jesus in his Resurrection shows us a different way. A different way to carry our wounds. A different way to think about the wounds we encounter in life. Those thorns in the flesh that are caused by: illness or accident. Wounds inflicted by traumatic experiences.
Our wounds may be visible to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. They may be invisible because we carry them as scars upon our: hearts, our minds, and our psyches. My suffering may not look like your suffering and her suffering might not look like his suffering, but at the fundamental, foundational level of our emotions and nerves the journey of life will lead each of us into the rawness of suffering – a place of:
Deep hurt, a grief that we just can’t seem to shake, pain that just won’t heal, rejection that we just can’t seem to get over, trauma that we dare not speak.
So you see, depending on the way we were raised and our individual personality types we all carry our wounds differently. Some of us suffer in silence: We camouflage our wounds and no one around us knows that we are bleeding slowly to death. There are those of us who bleed all over the place: Exposing our wounds, risking infection not as a badge of courage but to gain attention and sympathy by getting other personalities to commiserate with us! Because misery loves company!
Then there are the walking wounded: Injured enough to be impaired but not enough to take us out of the game. There are the waiting wounded: Injured and caught in a chronological time warp waiting for the reversal of the condition. There are the weary and wounded: injured, tired, drained of spiritual resources; drained of enough sanity that when we actually do go to sleep we can’t get any rest. Too tired to get up and too wired to stay down. Then there are the wasted and wounded: those who have resigned to being wounded thinking that it is permanent. Thinking that it will happen again. Thinking that it is some sort of predestined punishment and so we waste away because of the wounding.
Beloved, our wounds can fester, and metastasize, and become a kind of sunglasses which we wear that colors with gloom our eyes so that when something good actually happens to us our wounds darken our vision, darken our response that naturally occurs from receiving every good and perfect gift offered day in and day out by God. So instead of seeing the blessing we see only the wounds.
This is when our wounds get in the way. Our wounds trick us into thinking that we are somehow stuck in a scarred and marked life.
I would imagine that only a few of you have seen the movie Medea’s family reunion.
There is a wonderful song in the movie that goes like this:
As time passes by they begin to multiply
*There are wounds in the way.
Adding up secretly like the rings of an old oak tree.
*There are wounds in the way.
Some old and some new,
all stifling, debilitating and cruel.
*There are wounds in the way.
Some are passed down from elder to youth
they don’t even belong to you
*There are wounds in the way.
As time passes through,
they begin to accrue a strange sort of value
Some that you think are worth holding on to
I got wounds.
You got wounds.
All God’s children got wounds
When we get to heaven
We gonna shout all over God’s heaven!
Amen?
When I was younger we used to sing:
When I think of the goodness of Jesus
And all He's done for me
My soul cries out hallelujah
Thank God for saving me
The premise of the song is that if you think you will thank. So then the key to the thanking is the thinking. If you’re thinking is off then your thanking is off.
John Milton writes: The mind is its own place! And in itself it can make a heaven out of hell or make hell out of heaven. Jesus in his Resurrection shows us a different way. A different way to carry our wounds. A different way to think about the wounds we encounter in life. Those thorns in the flesh that are caused by: illness or accident. Wounds inflicted by traumatic experiences.
Our wounds may be visible to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. They may be invisible because we carry them as scars upon our: hearts, our minds, and our psyches. My suffering may not look like your suffering and her suffering might not look like his suffering, but at the fundamental, foundational level of our emotions and nerves the journey of life will lead each of us into the rawness of suffering – a place of:
Deep hurt, a grief that we just can’t seem to shake, pain that just won’t heal, rejection that we just can’t seem to get over, trauma that we dare not speak.
So you see, depending on the way we were raised and our individual personality types we all carry our wounds differently. Some of us suffer in silence: We camouflage our wounds and no one around us knows that we are bleeding slowly to death. There are those of us who bleed all over the place: Exposing our wounds, risking infection not as a badge of courage but to gain attention and sympathy by getting other personalities to commiserate with us! Because misery loves company!
Then there are the walking wounded: Injured enough to be impaired but not enough to take us out of the game. There are the waiting wounded: Injured and caught in a chronological time warp waiting for the reversal of the condition. There are the weary and wounded: injured, tired, drained of spiritual resources; drained of enough sanity that when we actually do go to sleep we can’t get any rest. Too tired to get up and too wired to stay down. Then there are the wasted and wounded: those who have resigned to being wounded thinking that it is permanent. Thinking that it will happen again. Thinking that it is some sort of predestined punishment and so we waste away because of the wounding.
Beloved, our wounds can fester, and metastasize, and become a kind of sunglasses which we wear that colors with gloom our eyes so that when something good actually happens to us our wounds darken our vision, darken our response that naturally occurs from receiving every good and perfect gift offered day in and day out by God. So instead of seeing the blessing we see only the wounds.
This is when our wounds get in the way. Our wounds trick us into thinking that we are somehow stuck in a scarred and marked life.
I would imagine that only a few of you have seen the movie Medea’s family reunion.
There is a wonderful song in the movie that goes like this:
As time passes by they begin to multiply
*There are wounds in the way.
Adding up secretly like the rings of an old oak tree.
*There are wounds in the way.
Some old and some new,
all stifling, debilitating and cruel.
*There are wounds in the way.
Some are passed down from elder to youth
they don’t even belong to you
*There are wounds in the way.
As time passes through,
they begin to accrue a strange sort of value
Some that you think are worth holding on to
*There are wounds in the way
We all have wounds that are getting in the way of our living every day. Jesus unlike many of us who are far too willing to: clothed our wounds, perfume our wounds, slap a smile on our wounds and pretend our wounds don’t exist.
Jesus in the resurrection shows his wounds to his friend’s. Yes, to a group locked behind closed doors. To a group locked in by fear because the wounded tend to hide themselves or strikeout and hurt somebody like they were hurt. Yet even though they were locked in by fear and the past Jesus showed up anyway. Even though they were locked in, they could not lock out Jesus. Jesus shows up anyway and shows his wounds.
This Lent I decided to spend some time wondering why Jesus showed his wounds.
Some scholars say that Jesus showed his disciples his wounds as a way of proving his authenticity. The wounds prove that he was who he said he was. That he was the real Christ and not an impostor.
The wounds were the evidence. The telltale signs of the: real bodily, visceral, flesh and bone, body resurrection; and not just a symbolic one. The wounds were validation of his life and his teaching. You see Jesus was: not just some good guy.
Not just a good teacher. Not just a good moral compass.
This Jesus! This man who stood before them was and is really the Son of God.
Who said that he would suffer. Who said he was going to die. Who said that he would rise on the third day and he did! And so Jesus shows up and shows his wounds; his wounds which were a result of somebody else’s sins and not his.
Now ain’t that something, you were wounded not for what you did but for what somebody else did! Chew on that.
Flora Slosson Wuellner says that the wounds were the Lord’s acts of mercy and kindness. You see, the resurrection did not blot out his wounds. The resurrection did not reverse his wounds. Jesus rose from the dead in spite of his wounding. Jesus rose from the dead with his bruises, with his scars.
The scars themselves were a sign of healing from the wounds that had formed where his skin was ripped off from carrying his cross. The wounds were a sign of healing from the lacerations inflicted by the whip. The wounds were a sign of healing from the penetrating wound inflicted by the spear in his side. Clots had formed over the bleeding holes in his hand’s and feet. The clots indicated healing. Like the stretch marks on a woman’s body that shows that at one time new life had stretched the skin to the breaking point.
It is healed now but the scar still remains.
Jesus showed his wounds because they identify him with the human condition. That God fully entered into our daily life through his son. That God entered into the daily injustice of our world. That God passionately carries our wounds in His body, and he longs for our healing!
Beloved in the suffering of Jesus we can find all of our suffering: All of our pain is projected onto those nails. All of our brokenness is bundled into that crown of thorns.
Our tears are his tears. Our hurt is his hurt. All of our darkness is found in the darkness of Calvary where Our Lord cried out in painful agony and in that lonely tomb.
The wounds are a reminder to us that God will: never negate, never ignore,
never over intellectualize, never minimize the human condition, and that God will never be beyond our reach or our cry.
Yes, God suffered for us, and God suffers with us now! Jesus rose from the dead in spite of his wounds. The wounds of his descent did not prevent his assent. The wounds of his humiliation did not prevent his elevation.
You and I may be wounded but we are still in the hand of God. We may be weary but we are still in the hand of God. We may be wavering or worn out but we are still in the hand of God. We may have old wounds. We may have new ones. We may have opened ones or closed ones. Yet God still holds us in his hand. Our help is in the name of the Lord. God is for us; our wounds cannot abort the will of God.The wounds of his demise did not prevent his comeback! Which brings me back to where I started:
When I think of the goodness of Jesus
And all He's done for me
My soul cries out hallelujah
Thank God for saving me
Beloved, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is an invitation from God. It is a call to us that it is time to rise above our wounds. Alleluia Christ is risen! And so will you TOO Alleluia!!!!!
We all have wounds that are getting in the way of our living every day. Jesus unlike many of us who are far too willing to: clothed our wounds, perfume our wounds, slap a smile on our wounds and pretend our wounds don’t exist.
Jesus in the resurrection shows his wounds to his friend’s. Yes, to a group locked behind closed doors. To a group locked in by fear because the wounded tend to hide themselves or strikeout and hurt somebody like they were hurt. Yet even though they were locked in by fear and the past Jesus showed up anyway. Even though they were locked in, they could not lock out Jesus. Jesus shows up anyway and shows his wounds.
This Lent I decided to spend some time wondering why Jesus showed his wounds.
Some scholars say that Jesus showed his disciples his wounds as a way of proving his authenticity. The wounds prove that he was who he said he was. That he was the real Christ and not an impostor.
The wounds were the evidence. The telltale signs of the: real bodily, visceral, flesh and bone, body resurrection; and not just a symbolic one. The wounds were validation of his life and his teaching. You see Jesus was: not just some good guy.
Not just a good teacher. Not just a good moral compass.
This Jesus! This man who stood before them was and is really the Son of God.
Who said that he would suffer. Who said he was going to die. Who said that he would rise on the third day and he did! And so Jesus shows up and shows his wounds; his wounds which were a result of somebody else’s sins and not his.
Now ain’t that something, you were wounded not for what you did but for what somebody else did! Chew on that.
Flora Slosson Wuellner says that the wounds were the Lord’s acts of mercy and kindness. You see, the resurrection did not blot out his wounds. The resurrection did not reverse his wounds. Jesus rose from the dead in spite of his wounding. Jesus rose from the dead with his bruises, with his scars.
The scars themselves were a sign of healing from the wounds that had formed where his skin was ripped off from carrying his cross. The wounds were a sign of healing from the lacerations inflicted by the whip. The wounds were a sign of healing from the penetrating wound inflicted by the spear in his side. Clots had formed over the bleeding holes in his hand’s and feet. The clots indicated healing. Like the stretch marks on a woman’s body that shows that at one time new life had stretched the skin to the breaking point.
It is healed now but the scar still remains.
Jesus showed his wounds because they identify him with the human condition. That God fully entered into our daily life through his son. That God entered into the daily injustice of our world. That God passionately carries our wounds in His body, and he longs for our healing!
Beloved in the suffering of Jesus we can find all of our suffering: All of our pain is projected onto those nails. All of our brokenness is bundled into that crown of thorns.
Our tears are his tears. Our hurt is his hurt. All of our darkness is found in the darkness of Calvary where Our Lord cried out in painful agony and in that lonely tomb.
The wounds are a reminder to us that God will: never negate, never ignore,
never over intellectualize, never minimize the human condition, and that God will never be beyond our reach or our cry.
Yes, God suffered for us, and God suffers with us now! Jesus rose from the dead in spite of his wounds. The wounds of his descent did not prevent his assent. The wounds of his humiliation did not prevent his elevation.
You and I may be wounded but we are still in the hand of God. We may be weary but we are still in the hand of God. We may be wavering or worn out but we are still in the hand of God. We may have old wounds. We may have new ones. We may have opened ones or closed ones. Yet God still holds us in his hand. Our help is in the name of the Lord. God is for us; our wounds cannot abort the will of God.The wounds of his demise did not prevent his comeback! Which brings me back to where I started:
When I think of the goodness of Jesus
And all He's done for me
My soul cries out hallelujah
Thank God for saving me
Beloved, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is an invitation from God. It is a call to us that it is time to rise above our wounds. Alleluia Christ is risen! And so will you TOO Alleluia!!!!!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Epiphany 2 C - Jan 17, 2016
Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Epiphany 2 - Sunday, January 17, 2016
Isaiah 62:1-51
Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
Maybe I'm just hearing things? Did anyone else catch all that? Maybe our familiarity with this text makes it hard to catch it all? Maybe this will help:
• Hospitality and its importance.
• Scarcity and Abundance,
• It's okay to have a party and a good time.
• Attentiveness and Disobedience.
• Family tension.
• Fear and Shame.
• Isolation vs community.
And I could keep going!!!
I think this text from John's Gospel offers us, three important and timely lessons if we would but listen. The first concerns the issues of the old and the new. The second concerns the power of intercession and the third concerns the topic of obedience.
The Lesson about the Old and the New in the text: The Old wine was still wine, even if it was not the premium stuff. The Old stuff just before it gave out was enough to make them think that all was well and they were still in control. The old stuff gave a sense of security.
Now before I go on I think it important here to say that I love old things. I love studying history. I love antiques. Most of all I love old people. And anyone who knows me and knows me well will tell you that I have a deep respect for tradition and that I'm also not afraid to challenge orthodoxy with orthopraxis and critical scholarship.
All that being said I think it is often all of that old stuff, not the total emptiness or rock bottom that obstructs conversion and our way to Christ.
You know all of those:
• Past hurts, grudges and bitterness.
• Unflinching denial.
• Old attitudes and insecurities.
• Passive aggressive behaviors disg
uised as piety.
• Old habits and ways of coping that if we are honest with ourselves never really worked to begin with.
• Outdated information.
• Artificial smiles and politeness that thinly veil rage.
• Sexism, racism, homophobia and ageism disguised as prudent advice.
• Lifeless rituals and rules that coalesce to create old, dry religion.
• Just stale, Stinking thinking and pessimism disguised as realistic thinking.
Old and New.
Freshness and Stagnation.
Jesus stretching us making us really uncomfortable.
Jesus working shaping us
Calling the best out of each and every one of us.
The lesson on the strength and power of Intercession
We are often so in the thick of our emotions and inner stuff that we can’t see the full picture and not know up from down right from wrong or make the distinction between hope and fear.
Like the people in the story who see the reality of what is about to take place realizing their powerlessness and reached out to someone who is more powerful than they themselves.
We too need a:
• Praying community.
• A community that is faithful and spirit filled surrounding us.
• A Community bold enough to speak the truth.
• A perceptive community that will continue to encourage and challenge us to grow more fully into holiness despite our resistance.
And as companions to one another after we have spoken the truth we must like Mary make intercession to the One who has power and authority.
The quiet confidence she displays in the text comes from, I think, an intimate relationship with the Whom she was speaking to. So Mary is neither upset nor unnerved by the response of her son. She is confident that he will act in some way to her petition.
So, before she exits stage left and drops the microphone she tells the wait staff to do whatever He tells them.
Which brings us to the lesson on obedience and cooperation with the spirit:
Like that wait staff at the wedding reception we too need to be prepared and willing to do whatever He tells us: By any means necessary!
But here’s the catch to this risky, radical obedience to the Will of God: What God asks may not make any obvious sense to us at the time. But as my ancestors would say:“ We will understand it better by and by. “
This is where the robber meets the road. This is where actions speak louder than words. This is where real discipleship real obedience is the hardest--when it has to be mixed with deep faith because we know that God provided back then and that same God is faithful, and true now.
The radical obedience of the wait staff in today's gospel reading prepares the ground for Jesus to take an empty and inadequate situation and make the best out of it. And the result is that everyone at the event profit from the obedience of a few.
All God needs is just a few folk who will do what Jesus says. Just a few folk who catch the vision of what could be, while the many criticize, based on what already is. Just a few folks to be a voice crying in the wilderness. Just a few people to resist the status quo and opt in to the vision offered by Christ. Just a few who know where true life is. Just a few who know where fullness of joy can be found.
Beloved don't get it twisted numbers can fool you: Big crowds can give a false sense of security and approval and a couple of people can give a false sense of defeat.
Signs and wonders do not require a large group. All God needs is just a few folk who will follow Jesus and do what he says is plenty
Enough.
The Path of faithfulness and Discipleship is not always fun stuff but it’s definitely the stuff that will make us Saints.
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Epiphany 2 - Sunday, January 17, 2016
Isaiah 62:1-51
Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11
 |
| The Marriage at Cana, Gerard David, Louvre Museum |
• Hospitality and its importance.
• Scarcity and Abundance,
• It's okay to have a party and a good time.
• Attentiveness and Disobedience.
• Family tension.
• Fear and Shame.
• Isolation vs community.
And I could keep going!!!
I think this text from John's Gospel offers us, three important and timely lessons if we would but listen. The first concerns the issues of the old and the new. The second concerns the power of intercession and the third concerns the topic of obedience.
The Lesson about the Old and the New in the text: The Old wine was still wine, even if it was not the premium stuff. The Old stuff just before it gave out was enough to make them think that all was well and they were still in control. The old stuff gave a sense of security.
Now before I go on I think it important here to say that I love old things. I love studying history. I love antiques. Most of all I love old people. And anyone who knows me and knows me well will tell you that I have a deep respect for tradition and that I'm also not afraid to challenge orthodoxy with orthopraxis and critical scholarship.
All that being said I think it is often all of that old stuff, not the total emptiness or rock bottom that obstructs conversion and our way to Christ.
You know all of those:
• Past hurts, grudges and bitterness.
• Unflinching denial.
• Old attitudes and insecurities.
• Passive aggressive behaviors disg
• Old habits and ways of coping that if we are honest with ourselves never really worked to begin with.
• Outdated information.
• Artificial smiles and politeness that thinly veil rage.
• Sexism, racism, homophobia and ageism disguised as prudent advice.
• Lifeless rituals and rules that coalesce to create old, dry religion.
• Just stale, Stinking thinking and pessimism disguised as realistic thinking.
Old and New.
Freshness and Stagnation.
Jesus stretching us making us really uncomfortable.
Jesus working shaping us
Calling the best out of each and every one of us.
The lesson on the strength and power of Intercession
We are often so in the thick of our emotions and inner stuff that we can’t see the full picture and not know up from down right from wrong or make the distinction between hope and fear.
Like the people in the story who see the reality of what is about to take place realizing their powerlessness and reached out to someone who is more powerful than they themselves.
We too need a:
• Praying community.
• A community that is faithful and spirit filled surrounding us.
• A Community bold enough to speak the truth.
• A perceptive community that will continue to encourage and challenge us to grow more fully into holiness despite our resistance.
And as companions to one another after we have spoken the truth we must like Mary make intercession to the One who has power and authority.
The quiet confidence she displays in the text comes from, I think, an intimate relationship with the Whom she was speaking to. So Mary is neither upset nor unnerved by the response of her son. She is confident that he will act in some way to her petition.
So, before she exits stage left and drops the microphone she tells the wait staff to do whatever He tells them.
Which brings us to the lesson on obedience and cooperation with the spirit:
Like that wait staff at the wedding reception we too need to be prepared and willing to do whatever He tells us: By any means necessary!
But here’s the catch to this risky, radical obedience to the Will of God: What God asks may not make any obvious sense to us at the time. But as my ancestors would say:“ We will understand it better by and by. “
This is where the robber meets the road. This is where actions speak louder than words. This is where real discipleship real obedience is the hardest--when it has to be mixed with deep faith because we know that God provided back then and that same God is faithful, and true now.
The radical obedience of the wait staff in today's gospel reading prepares the ground for Jesus to take an empty and inadequate situation and make the best out of it. And the result is that everyone at the event profit from the obedience of a few.
All God needs is just a few folk who will do what Jesus says. Just a few folk who catch the vision of what could be, while the many criticize, based on what already is. Just a few folks to be a voice crying in the wilderness. Just a few people to resist the status quo and opt in to the vision offered by Christ. Just a few who know where true life is. Just a few who know where fullness of joy can be found.
Beloved don't get it twisted numbers can fool you: Big crowds can give a false sense of security and approval and a couple of people can give a false sense of defeat.
Signs and wonders do not require a large group. All God needs is just a few folk who will follow Jesus and do what he says is plenty
Enough.
The Path of faithfulness and Discipleship is not always fun stuff but it’s definitely the stuff that will make us Saints.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Proper 28 B - Nov 15, 2015
Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Proper 28 B - Sunday, November 15, 2015
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
Mark 13:1-8
In the very early stages of my discernment as to whether or not God was calling me to ordained ministry, and well into my time in seminary, I found myself faced with that dreaded question that inevitably any young seminary student who is not married or partnered is faced with on a date. Yes! That great dreaded question: “So tell me, what do you do for a living?”
In an attempt to come up with some witty response that would not be a flat-out lie I did a non-scientific survey of clergy I knew. I asked them for their response to the question “what do you do for a living?” Here are some of the responses:
• I’m a teacher.
• I'm in the service industry.
• I am a firefighter.
• I am a museum curator.
• I am into antiquing.
• Oh me? I work for a really old nonprofit.
• Oh, I am in the insurance industry.
• I do weddings.
• And a Rabbi friend said: I'm in the funeral industry.
But here is the one that jumped out to me: “I am a consultant. My specialty is helping to get people out of bankruptcy.” I asked my friend to explain why she used this. She said, “Think about it. As clergy we help individuals and the Church get out of a type of spiritual bankruptcy. Like a good consultant, you speak the truth to your ‘clients’ about how they got to this place without judging them. You empower them to develop, implement, and carry out a plan that will help them immediately to begin to find their way out of un-health, and you help set them up for success in the days and years to come.”
I think my friend was spot-on. You and I, as the body of Christ, are a royal priesthood, and we are to encourage each other to live more fully and boldly our commitment to Christ.
In the letter to the Hebrews we hear, “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love, and good deeds, encouraging one another.” (Heb10: 25)
You and I know all too well that there is no such thing as life without struggle. I have met it, from one end of life to another. Over and over again, what I thought were the foundations of life have shifted and slid away from me, sometimes only changing my mental and emotional typography a little, and at other times completely shattering every given I've ever assumed into a kind of kaleidoscope of deep pain, despair, and hopelessness.
I have come, like you, through the death of loved ones, life-shaping disappointment, and rejection. When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us—as Jesus reminds us that it surely will—we stand at the intersection of hope and despair.
To go the way of despair not only colors the way we look at things and makes us suspicious of the future and those around us. It also makes us pessimistic and downright negative about the present.
It is this pessimistic, distorted view of reality that leads us to ignore the very possibilities that could save us, and worse, it leads us to want to inflict pain and hurt as we have been hurt ourselves.
But when I am in my right state of mind and can think more clearly, I realize that when I say that I am in despair and feeling a sense of hopelessness, what I am really saying is that I have given up on God. That I really don't believe that with God all things are possible. And that God really doesn't care.
Think about it—despair at its core says that I am God and if I can't do anything about this situation, then nothing and nobody can.
But if we go the way of hope, and take life on its own terms, we come to know that whatever happens God lives in it! Hope and hopefulness come from the knowledge that we do not belong to ourselves. I think the Heidelberg Catechism puts it well when it says, “Question: What is your only comfort in life and in death?" The answer begins: "That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”
You see, contrary to popular belief, hope is not a matter of waiting for things outside of us to get better. Hope is all about getting better on the inside about what is going on outside. It is about becoming open to the God of Newness. It is about allowing ourselves to let go of the present, and believe in a future that is soon to be but not quite yet, trusting in a God whose power working in us and through us can and is doing greater things than we can ask or imagine. It is about holding on when life seems pointless and perhaps even a little absurd.
Yes, it is hope in things not yet seen that will bring us to the point of personal transformation, which is found at the intersection of maturity and stagnation.
Every dimension of the process of struggle may in fact be an invitation to draw from the well that is God’s deep love for us. Hope is not grounded in the future. Christian hope—our hope knows at the core that God did not look down from a distant heaven and say, “There, there, it's all right.” But, in Jesus, God entered into the full range of our human suffering and tragedy. Jesus walked right into the fire of pain, while we ordinary human beings allow the troubles of life to twist and distort us into victims, oppressors, or a combination of the two. Jesus’ suffering shaped him into a perfect offering. And so we hope, because we have His hope.
An ancient people tell the story of the elder who was talking about struggle. The elder said, "I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one." And the disciples asked, "But which wolf will win the fight in your heart?" And the holy one answered, "It depends on which one I feed." The spiritual task of life is to feed hope. Hope is not something to be found outside of us. It lies in the spiritual life we cultivate within. To wrestle with life is to be transformed into the self we are meant to become, to step out of the confines of our false securities, and to allow our creating God to go on creating in us.
Now if you have found yourself squirming and uncomfortable with my words this morning or the thought has crossed your mind, “What does he know?” Or “how sophomoric or naïve of him.” Or “how overly simplistic of him. My situation is so much more complicated than that.” Perhaps you are correct and perhaps you are actually standing at the intersection of hope in God's abundance and the darkness of despair and hopelessness. Perhaps you are in the very place right now where you need to make the decision to change your perspective and live in the abundant life God invites each and every one of us to.
Some days and long nights we cannot see the victory of Christ with the naked eye, but we can hear it with the naked ear. Beloved, the psalmist says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will not fear, for you. O God, are with me.”
In other words, if you want to know the truth, pay more attention to the Gospel you hear than to the obsolete evil you and I see.
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Proper 28 B - Sunday, November 15, 2015
Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
Mark 13:1-8
“Let us consider how to provoke one another to love, and good deeds, encouraging one another.” Heb10: 25Morning-by-Morning faithfulness.
 |
| Hope in God |
In an attempt to come up with some witty response that would not be a flat-out lie I did a non-scientific survey of clergy I knew. I asked them for their response to the question “what do you do for a living?” Here are some of the responses:
• I’m a teacher.
• I'm in the service industry.
• I am a firefighter.
• I am a museum curator.
• I am into antiquing.
• Oh me? I work for a really old nonprofit.
• Oh, I am in the insurance industry.
• I do weddings.
• And a Rabbi friend said: I'm in the funeral industry.
But here is the one that jumped out to me: “I am a consultant. My specialty is helping to get people out of bankruptcy.” I asked my friend to explain why she used this. She said, “Think about it. As clergy we help individuals and the Church get out of a type of spiritual bankruptcy. Like a good consultant, you speak the truth to your ‘clients’ about how they got to this place without judging them. You empower them to develop, implement, and carry out a plan that will help them immediately to begin to find their way out of un-health, and you help set them up for success in the days and years to come.”
I think my friend was spot-on. You and I, as the body of Christ, are a royal priesthood, and we are to encourage each other to live more fully and boldly our commitment to Christ.
In the letter to the Hebrews we hear, “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love, and good deeds, encouraging one another.” (Heb10: 25)
You and I know all too well that there is no such thing as life without struggle. I have met it, from one end of life to another. Over and over again, what I thought were the foundations of life have shifted and slid away from me, sometimes only changing my mental and emotional typography a little, and at other times completely shattering every given I've ever assumed into a kind of kaleidoscope of deep pain, despair, and hopelessness.
I have come, like you, through the death of loved ones, life-shaping disappointment, and rejection. When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us—as Jesus reminds us that it surely will—we stand at the intersection of hope and despair.
To go the way of despair not only colors the way we look at things and makes us suspicious of the future and those around us. It also makes us pessimistic and downright negative about the present.
It is this pessimistic, distorted view of reality that leads us to ignore the very possibilities that could save us, and worse, it leads us to want to inflict pain and hurt as we have been hurt ourselves.
But when I am in my right state of mind and can think more clearly, I realize that when I say that I am in despair and feeling a sense of hopelessness, what I am really saying is that I have given up on God. That I really don't believe that with God all things are possible. And that God really doesn't care.
Think about it—despair at its core says that I am God and if I can't do anything about this situation, then nothing and nobody can.
But if we go the way of hope, and take life on its own terms, we come to know that whatever happens God lives in it! Hope and hopefulness come from the knowledge that we do not belong to ourselves. I think the Heidelberg Catechism puts it well when it says, “Question: What is your only comfort in life and in death?" The answer begins: "That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”
You see, contrary to popular belief, hope is not a matter of waiting for things outside of us to get better. Hope is all about getting better on the inside about what is going on outside. It is about becoming open to the God of Newness. It is about allowing ourselves to let go of the present, and believe in a future that is soon to be but not quite yet, trusting in a God whose power working in us and through us can and is doing greater things than we can ask or imagine. It is about holding on when life seems pointless and perhaps even a little absurd.
Yes, it is hope in things not yet seen that will bring us to the point of personal transformation, which is found at the intersection of maturity and stagnation.
Every dimension of the process of struggle may in fact be an invitation to draw from the well that is God’s deep love for us. Hope is not grounded in the future. Christian hope—our hope knows at the core that God did not look down from a distant heaven and say, “There, there, it's all right.” But, in Jesus, God entered into the full range of our human suffering and tragedy. Jesus walked right into the fire of pain, while we ordinary human beings allow the troubles of life to twist and distort us into victims, oppressors, or a combination of the two. Jesus’ suffering shaped him into a perfect offering. And so we hope, because we have His hope.
An ancient people tell the story of the elder who was talking about struggle. The elder said, "I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, violent one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one." And the disciples asked, "But which wolf will win the fight in your heart?" And the holy one answered, "It depends on which one I feed." The spiritual task of life is to feed hope. Hope is not something to be found outside of us. It lies in the spiritual life we cultivate within. To wrestle with life is to be transformed into the self we are meant to become, to step out of the confines of our false securities, and to allow our creating God to go on creating in us.
Now if you have found yourself squirming and uncomfortable with my words this morning or the thought has crossed your mind, “What does he know?” Or “how sophomoric or naïve of him.” Or “how overly simplistic of him. My situation is so much more complicated than that.” Perhaps you are correct and perhaps you are actually standing at the intersection of hope in God's abundance and the darkness of despair and hopelessness. Perhaps you are in the very place right now where you need to make the decision to change your perspective and live in the abundant life God invites each and every one of us to.
Some days and long nights we cannot see the victory of Christ with the naked eye, but we can hear it with the naked ear. Beloved, the psalmist says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will not fear, for you. O God, are with me.”
In other words, if you want to know the truth, pay more attention to the Gospel you hear than to the obsolete evil you and I see.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Proper 12 B - Jul 26, 2015
Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Proper 12 B – Sunday, July 26, 2015
2 Kings 4:42-44
Ephesians 3:14-21
John 6:1-21 (Track 2)
It was now dark . . . The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing . . . Then they saw Him walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." John 6: 17b-20
As a young boy I loved the circus. I loved seeing the lions, the tigers, the bears and the flying trapeze artist and, the jugglers . . . it was just so exotic!
Now I must admit when I was younger I always got nervous with the elephant act. Think about it; the lions and tigers are in a cage but the elephants are such massive animals and there was no barrier between them and us. I was always worried that there was going to be some type of elephant coup d’etat and as a result pure pandemonium would break out! But I was never one for an overactive imagination.
Now as I reflect back on my anxiety and then think about why is it that the elephants were able to do all of those tricks and obey their tiny human trainers.
I realized that the elephants have become comfortable with their captivity,
• Literally, their leash has been the limitation on their ability to grow because of fear.
• The politics of fear have been introduced into the spirit of the animal.
• And as a result they will always stay in place, never moving outside of where it has been dictated that they should operate.
I have come to believe that the most dangerous type of domesticated animal is one that has nothing to lose. Fear, in the words of Howard Thurman:
• “Is the one thing that dogs the footsteps of the oppressed by pressing their backs against the wall.
• It is when the spirit of fear operates within us that we become locked into patterns of behavior and ways of thinking and being that serve only to hold us back from the abundant life that Christ gives us.”
Now, the dictionary tells us that: “Fear is a normal human emotional reaction, a built-in survival mechanism signaling us of danger and preparing us to deal with it.”
The Writers of Scripture too have taken note of anxiety and fear:
• "Do not be afraid,"
• "Fear not," or
• "Do not fear"
Occur in the Bible 107 times, and the word "fear" appears 314 times.
In each and every one of those times they are mentioned as two specific types of fear. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged: fear of the Lord. This type of fear is a reverential awe of God; a reverence for God’s power and glory.
The second type is a detriment and is to be not only discouraged, but overcome. That fear, as one writer puts it:
“Is a dark room where negatives are developed.”
The problem with fear is that it can lead us to turn in on ourselves. In the Scriptures Jesus doesn't condemn fear. No, he doesn't want us to be crippled by it. So when Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not be afraid," in each case he used a verb tense that suggests continuance. In other words, he told them: "Don't keep on fearing."
But the sad fact is fear plays a major role in our lives. All of us have fears and some would say we have good reason to be afraid. But when we are honest with ourselves we know that most if not all of the fears we carry around aren't big societal fears. They are the personal fears that have to do with individual problems that we each face:
• What will happen to me as I grow older?
• Will this community last?
• Will I ever meet that one special person?
• What will happen to me when I get out of my head and into my heart?
• What will happen to me if I risk giving love and receiving it in return?
• What will come of me if I let go of my anger and resentment and risk forgiveness?
God invites us to exercise our faith in the face of every fear-filled circumstance of our life. By evaluating every situation from the mind-set that God is Lord over all things in heaven and on Earth. No, I can't recommend that headline hyped that caters to the part of the brain that controls fear.
What I CAN DO is testify of a divine promise for the heart, mind and life. A promise that says in Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, I am with You; be not dismayed, for I am Your God; I will strengthen You, I will help you, I will uphold You with the right hand of My righteousness.” And to that Divine promise I respond like the Psalmist in Psalm 56:11,
“I’m proud to praise God.
Fearless now,
I trust in God;
What can mere mortals do to me?”- The Message version
What the psalmist is saying is that regardless of what happens, she will trust in God. I think this is the key to facing fear, total and complete trust in God turning to God even in the darkest times. It is this type of trust that delivers us from the fear that:
• Freezes
• Panics
• And paralyzes us.
I believe it was Rabbi Hillel, one of the great heroes and scholars of Judaism from the 1st century: who said,
"Every morning we wake up, the scales are equally balanced between good and evil. What we do during the day will determine where the scales fall.”
And that is the question for us: what are we going to do this day?
• Will We be paralyzed by fear?
• Will We live in the comfort of our captivity?
Or will We move from the place of our comfort and into a new place where we can meet God face to face?
There is a story a dear friend and mentor told me once. It’s a story of a gentleman that has his first opportunity to preach at a small country church. The young seminarian stood before the people, had all of his notes put together so beautifully, and was ready to preach. But, of course, back then they did not have any type of AC, so all of the windows were open.
A nice, beautiful breeze came in and blew away all of his notes! He did not know where he was in his sermon. He did not know exactly what to say. I think that the only thing he could say was:
"Ain't God all right?
Ain't God Good ?
Ain't God all right?"
And, of course, everybody was bowing their heads just praying for this young man. Everybody in the church knew that he was not saying much of anything. But there was an elder saint who kept on saying,
• Go ahead! Preach it!
• Thats right!
• Say it!"
Immediately following the service, after everybody left, he decided to find this elder saint and go up to her and speak to her and says:
"Now, you know that my notes went everywhere."She said, Yes, baby, I saw that!" "You know that I wasn't making any sense." She said, "That was absolutely true that you were not making any sense!" So the young man said, "Then why were you encouraging? Why were you shouting the entire time as if I had an incredible sermon?"And she smiled and looked back at him and simply said this,:
"Just because you didn't do your job,
doesn't mean I'm not going to do mine!"
All of us have a job to do. We cannot be paralyzed by fear.
It is our duty with God’s help to transform and change our condition and The condition of other people. An Asian wisdom saying puts it this way: “If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to, nothing to fear. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve." Beloved you have nothing to lose!
Br. Joseph Wallace-Williams, n/OHC
Proper 12 B – Sunday, July 26, 2015
2 Kings 4:42-44
Ephesians 3:14-21
John 6:1-21 (Track 2)
 |
| A circus elephant |
As a young boy I loved the circus. I loved seeing the lions, the tigers, the bears and the flying trapeze artist and, the jugglers . . . it was just so exotic!
Now I must admit when I was younger I always got nervous with the elephant act. Think about it; the lions and tigers are in a cage but the elephants are such massive animals and there was no barrier between them and us. I was always worried that there was going to be some type of elephant coup d’etat and as a result pure pandemonium would break out! But I was never one for an overactive imagination.
Now as I reflect back on my anxiety and then think about why is it that the elephants were able to do all of those tricks and obey their tiny human trainers.
I realized that the elephants have become comfortable with their captivity,
• Literally, their leash has been the limitation on their ability to grow because of fear.
• The politics of fear have been introduced into the spirit of the animal.
• And as a result they will always stay in place, never moving outside of where it has been dictated that they should operate.
I have come to believe that the most dangerous type of domesticated animal is one that has nothing to lose. Fear, in the words of Howard Thurman:
• “Is the one thing that dogs the footsteps of the oppressed by pressing their backs against the wall.
• It is when the spirit of fear operates within us that we become locked into patterns of behavior and ways of thinking and being that serve only to hold us back from the abundant life that Christ gives us.”
Now, the dictionary tells us that: “Fear is a normal human emotional reaction, a built-in survival mechanism signaling us of danger and preparing us to deal with it.”
The Writers of Scripture too have taken note of anxiety and fear:
• "Do not be afraid,"
• "Fear not," or
• "Do not fear"
Occur in the Bible 107 times, and the word "fear" appears 314 times.
In each and every one of those times they are mentioned as two specific types of fear. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged: fear of the Lord. This type of fear is a reverential awe of God; a reverence for God’s power and glory.
The second type is a detriment and is to be not only discouraged, but overcome. That fear, as one writer puts it:
“Is a dark room where negatives are developed.”
The problem with fear is that it can lead us to turn in on ourselves. In the Scriptures Jesus doesn't condemn fear. No, he doesn't want us to be crippled by it. So when Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not be afraid," in each case he used a verb tense that suggests continuance. In other words, he told them: "Don't keep on fearing."
But the sad fact is fear plays a major role in our lives. All of us have fears and some would say we have good reason to be afraid. But when we are honest with ourselves we know that most if not all of the fears we carry around aren't big societal fears. They are the personal fears that have to do with individual problems that we each face:
• What will happen to me as I grow older?
• Will this community last?
• Will I ever meet that one special person?
• What will happen to me when I get out of my head and into my heart?
• What will happen to me if I risk giving love and receiving it in return?
• What will come of me if I let go of my anger and resentment and risk forgiveness?
God invites us to exercise our faith in the face of every fear-filled circumstance of our life. By evaluating every situation from the mind-set that God is Lord over all things in heaven and on Earth. No, I can't recommend that headline hyped that caters to the part of the brain that controls fear.
What I CAN DO is testify of a divine promise for the heart, mind and life. A promise that says in Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, I am with You; be not dismayed, for I am Your God; I will strengthen You, I will help you, I will uphold You with the right hand of My righteousness.” And to that Divine promise I respond like the Psalmist in Psalm 56:11,
“I’m proud to praise God.
Fearless now,
I trust in God;
What can mere mortals do to me?”- The Message version
What the psalmist is saying is that regardless of what happens, she will trust in God. I think this is the key to facing fear, total and complete trust in God turning to God even in the darkest times. It is this type of trust that delivers us from the fear that:
• Freezes
• Panics
• And paralyzes us.
I believe it was Rabbi Hillel, one of the great heroes and scholars of Judaism from the 1st century: who said,
"Every morning we wake up, the scales are equally balanced between good and evil. What we do during the day will determine where the scales fall.”
And that is the question for us: what are we going to do this day?
• Will We be paralyzed by fear?
• Will We live in the comfort of our captivity?
Or will We move from the place of our comfort and into a new place where we can meet God face to face?
There is a story a dear friend and mentor told me once. It’s a story of a gentleman that has his first opportunity to preach at a small country church. The young seminarian stood before the people, had all of his notes put together so beautifully, and was ready to preach. But, of course, back then they did not have any type of AC, so all of the windows were open.
A nice, beautiful breeze came in and blew away all of his notes! He did not know where he was in his sermon. He did not know exactly what to say. I think that the only thing he could say was:
"Ain't God all right?
Ain't God Good ?
Ain't God all right?"
And, of course, everybody was bowing their heads just praying for this young man. Everybody in the church knew that he was not saying much of anything. But there was an elder saint who kept on saying,
• Go ahead! Preach it!
• Thats right!
• Say it!"
Immediately following the service, after everybody left, he decided to find this elder saint and go up to her and speak to her and says:
"Now, you know that my notes went everywhere."She said, Yes, baby, I saw that!" "You know that I wasn't making any sense." She said, "That was absolutely true that you were not making any sense!" So the young man said, "Then why were you encouraging? Why were you shouting the entire time as if I had an incredible sermon?"And she smiled and looked back at him and simply said this,:
"Just because you didn't do your job,
doesn't mean I'm not going to do mine!"
All of us have a job to do. We cannot be paralyzed by fear.
It is our duty with God’s help to transform and change our condition and The condition of other people. An Asian wisdom saying puts it this way: “If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to, nothing to fear. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve." Beloved you have nothing to lose!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)