RCL - Proper 25 A - 26 Oct 2008

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Mrs. Suzette Cayless, AHC
RCL – Proper 25 A – Sunday 21 September 2008

Deuteronomy 34:1-12
1Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46


“Which is the great commandment in the law?” An interesting question asked of Jesus by a lawyer. In reply, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The words are part of the Shema, recited by observant Jewish men and boys in Jesus’ day, from their twelfth birthday onwards. It was the minimum of religious practice. Joachim Jeremias in his book “The Prayers of Jesus” notes that “women, children and slaves were free from this obligation (as well as from all others that had to be performed at specific times, because their time was not at their own disposal)”.

Jesus goes right to the heart of the matter. Only the dedication of the whole of life to God, in love for God, can be regarded as the highest observance. It is not a question of obligation, of duty, but an attitude that arises from love, of being drawn by God’s Love, and responding - and Jesus does not stop there. He adds a significant verse from Leviticus 19 verse 18, and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In Romans 13, verse 9 & 10, St. Paul has an interesting commentary on this verse. He says: “The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Love God - and love your neighbor. This is indeed the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It sounds simple - but so much gets in the way of actually doing this. Loving means putting the other, whether God or our neighbor, at the center of attention; it means wanting for others what we desire for our own lives; acting unselfishly rather than satisfying ourselves. Even the injunction to “love our neighbor as ourself” is not easy. So many of us do not love ourselves! We abuse our bodies with too much food, alcohol, cigarettes, and so on.

We make excuses as to why we cannot pray, worship, help out with unpleasant tasks. We forget that loving involves taking care of, disciplining, teaching - including ourselves. We like to be in control of things, and do not always put that within the context of loving God and neighbor. We forget that we do not control the world - even though we sometimes think we do! All of us have been reminded of the folly of that approach by the current financial situation that has affected not only the USA but the whole world. Many people certainly feel that they have lost their way and do not know how to get on track again.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are treasure troves of stories that are like parables and that have rich meaning in terms of our spiritual search. I want to read a passage from Alice’s experiences in the Garden of Live Flowers that deals with finding our way. Alice has been investigating the various flowers in the garden when they all hear the approach of the Red Queen.

“I think I’ll go and meet her,” said Alice, for though the flowers were interesting enough, she felt that it would be far grander to have a talk with a real Queen.
“You can’t possibly do that,” said the Rose: “I should advise you to walk the other way.”
This sounded nonsense to Alice, so she said nothing, but set off at once towards the Red Queen. To her surprise she lost sight of her in a moment, and found herself walking in at the front-door again.
A little provoked, she drew back, and, after looking everywhere for the Queen (whom she spied out at last, a long way off), she thought she would try the plan, this time, of walking in the opposite direction.
It succeeded beautifully. She had not been walking a minute before she found herself face to face with the Red Queen, and full in sight of the hill she had been so long aiming at.
“Where do you come from?” said the Red Queen. “And where are you going? Look up, speak nicely, and don’t twiddle your fingers all the time.”
Alice attended to all these directions, and explained, as well as she could, that she had lost her way.
“I don’t know what you mean by your way,” said the Queen: “all the ways about here belong to me - but why did you come out here at all?” She added in a kinder tone, “Curtsey while you’re thinking what to say. It saves time.” Alice wondered a little at this, but she was too much in awe of the Queen to disbelieve it. “I’ll try it when I go home,” she thought to herself, “the next time I’m a little late for dinner.”

Note the questions asked of Alice by the Red Queen: “Where do you come from?” “And where are you going?” These are appropriate questions for each of us to address and especially at such a time as the present. Alice, in her adventures found herself in a confusing place that she could not understand. Things kept changing. She encountered the strangest people and had weird conversations with them. It all seemed nonsense. Where do you come from? And where are you going?

I think we are all sometimes hard-pressed to give answers to such questions. We have doubts in the midst of all the uncertainties of the economic climate in which we live. It is easy to lose our focus and forget what we are about. Where do you come from? Our only answer must be, from Jesus Christ. The Gospel Covenant stretches back into history and encompasses all the faith history of our ancestors. Every bit of it - the quarrels and arguments, the battles and estrangements, the political disasters, as well as the times of blessing. Where are you going? To Christ - raised from the dead. Christ the foundation of the new covenant, the basis of our faith, the giver of grace who leads us into truth. We go to Christ by loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind - and loving our neighbor as ourself, focusing our attention on going to God. We can only be led by the grace of God and be open to it however costly that may be, trusting that the Lord indeed knows who are his and draws each of us to Himself.

Originally uploaded by AliceJapan

Now, a bit more of Alice:

“The Queen took a ribbon out of her pocket, marked in inches, and began measuring the ground, and sticking little pegs in here and there.
“At the end of two yards,” she said putting in a peg to mark the distance, “I shall give you your directions. At the end of three yards I shall repeat them - for fear of your forgetting them. At the end of four, I shall say goodbye, And at the end of five, I shall go!”
She had got all the pegs put in by this time, and Alice looked on with great interest as she returned to the tree, and then began slowly walking down the row.
At the two-yard peg she faced round, and said, “A pawn goes two squares in its first move, you know. So you’ll go very quickly through the Third Square - by railway, I should think - and you’ll find yourself in the Fourth Square in no time. Well, that square belongs to Tweedledum and Tweedledee - the fifth is mostly water - the Sixth belongs to Humpty Dumpty - But you make no remark?”
“I - I didn’t know I had to make one - just then,” Alice faltered out.
“You should have said,” the Queen went on in a tone of grave reproof, ‘It’s extremely kind of you to tell me all this - however, we’ll suppose it said - the Seventh Square is all forest - however, one of the Knights will show you the way - and in the Eighth Square we shall be Queens together, and it’s all feasting and fun!” Alice got up and curtseyed, and sat down again.
At the next peg the Queen turned again, and this time she said “Speak in French when you ca’n’t think of the English for a thing - turn out your toes as you walk - and remember who you are!” She did not wait for Alice to curtsey, this time, but walked on quickly to the next peg, where she turned for a moment to say “Goodbye,” and then hurried on to the last.
How it happened, Alice never knew, but exactly as she came to the last peg, she was gone. Whether she vanished into the air, or whether she ran quickly into the wood, there was no way of guessing, but she was gone, and Alice began to remember that she was a Pawn and that it would soon be time for her to move.

Remember who you are! - a child of God; redeemed in Christ. Like Alice, we have choices to make - and like Alice we have no idea of the adventures and strange places we shall go in our journey as we move on towards the vision of God’s kingdom - the Eighth Square where it’s all feasting and fun! Once Alice realized that she was a Pawn, and therefore part of a great game that was being played out and of which she was a vital part, her adventures began to make some sense. It was not all nonsense - rather she was involved in the strategies of the game - and she had a part to play which no one else could perform.

It is worth noting that a game of chess involves strategies, within the rules of the game. It is not something played in isolation - every piece is important - it is a communal effort. Alice also began to see the goal of the game - that she would eventually become a Queen - and then her restricted movements would change. She would see things from a new dimension and have so many more capabilities. So she became intent on traversing the rest of the squares - looking forward to becoming a Queen.

Where do you come from? And where are you going? Remember who you are. These questions and the injunction are apt for each of us. Reflect on them and recall that like Alice you and I are all engaged in something much greater than we are. We each have a part to play and our individual part is something that we must fulfill - no one can do it for us. Amidst all the changes of life, our belief in Jesus Christ is the one safe and sure thing to hold on to. Remember that the game is God’s game and the outcome is in His hands. We are simply called to respond to the injunction to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and to love our neighbor as ourself.

Thanks be to God.

RCL - Proper 21 A - 28 Sep 2008

Mount Calvary, Monastery, Santa Barbara, CA
Br. James Michael Dowd, n/OHC
RCL – Proper 21 A – Sunday 21 September 2008

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32


Working Out Our Salvation

In the name of the Living God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” That sentence, actually, it’s a phrase, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, has always disturbed me. I’ve never been quite sure why – until this past week as I’ve been pondering what I was going to say to you this morning. That uneasy feeling, it seems to me, had something to do with the fact that the phrase itself indicates that I have some level of responsibility in my own salvation. That I cannot simply rely on God’s grace and the Redemption of the Cross and the Empty Tomb.

Now theologians have been debating this topic from the beginning of the Christian era and there are so many complex arguments coming from many points of view. So many, that it is easy to get lost in a maze of lofty ideas and pious thoughts. But the Scriptures are always the place to begin, when it comes to hearing God’s voice and gaining an understanding of what it is that God wants for our lives. So, while nothing I do, earns me my salvation – that is a pure gift from God if he so chooses, and he does so choose. But there is apparently an expectation that I will do certain things in response to that gift.

So, let’s look back at our first reading, from the Prophet Ezekiel. I’d like to read to you again those last few verses from the passage:

Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord GOD. Turn, then, and live.

Get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! The Lord doesn’t mince words, does he? There it is – a command - short and to the point. And it seems the first thing to do is to get a new heart. The house of Israel was experiencing a kind of cynicism – remember the proverb that was stated at the beginning of the passage – about parents eating sour grapes and children’s teeth being set on edge? The people of Israel, at the time Ezekiel was prophesizing, were languishing in exile in Babylon. Being in a generally foul mood, they were spending their time blaming their ancestors for all of the sins they must have committed to get them into this terrible situation. Having been carried off into the Babylonian Captivity, they desperately needed to lay the blame for their own sinfulness at someone else’s feet.

But Ezekiel would have none of that. He made it clear that their exile was not the result of their parents’ sinfulness or their grandparents’ sinfulness. No, it was their own sinfulness that had gotten them into this trouble. And he was calling on them to rid themselves of their sinful ways and turn to the Lord and learn, once again, how to live.

Living in a sinful state seems to me a kind of self-imposed exile. It makes me think of one of the great American painters of the Hudson River School in the early 19th Century, Thomas Cole. Cole painted a great deal of the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, and New England, but one of my favorite paintings of his is called the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The focus of the painting is split between Eden, on the one side and the dark, foreboding world on the other side with a tiny Adam and Eve, naked, head cast downward, and shame seemingly weighing down their bodies as they depart Eden. This exile from Eden seems not unlike the Babylonian Captivity, or the exile we often feel when we have separated ourselves from God.

So, the response to this seems first to be: Turn. And that sounds exactly right to me. The concept of repentance found throughout both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures is about turning around and facing God. Turning from our evil ways and turning toward the Eternal. Unfortunately, the Christian Church has sometimes become caught up in what I call the Great List syndrome. Depending on the denomination, each seems to have a list of the really, really, bad things we can do that make God really, really angry. And then, poof, it’s exile time.

But living in a sinful state is actually a little more complicated than that. The Great List seems to have little to do with what God means for us. Because with God, as opposed to humanity, it is always about Love, not Lists, not Laws. And frankly, love is a lot harder than Lists or than Laws.

And that leads me back to St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Listen, again, to how much God loves us:

Christ Jesus,

Who, though he was in the form of God,

Did not regard equality with God

As something to be exploited,

But emptied himself,

Taking the form of a slave,

Being born in human likeness.

He humbled himself

And became obedient to the point of death –

Even death on a cross.

That’s what love is – totally emptying yourself – giving up all rights and privileges that may or may not be yours - and simply serving your sisters and brothers. Not giving in to the needs of the ego, or the needs of the intellect, or the needs of the heart, or the needs of the body. Simply serving. I believe, this is what Ezekiel was getting at when he called on the House of Israel to live. God does not need or want us to be the living dead. He wants us to be the living. And living is serving, even to the point of dying, if necessary.

This has played out in my own life. Every time I have been selfish, not put someone else first, or offered a hand to someone who needed some type of help, every time I have not emptied myself – I have felt somehow disconnected with the rest of humanity and with God. I walked away, sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively, with my head down and covered with shame – just like Thomas Cole’s depiction of Adam and Eve. I have ended up in my own self-imposed exile from my sisters and brothers and from God.

On the other hand, every time I have risen to the occasion and emptied myself for another, I have felt totally alive, totally connected to all my brothers and sisters and to God himself. And that is because, as St. Paul says at the very end of this passage, “it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Turn then to Christ, for he is Life. That is why St. Paul tells us that we should put on the mind of Christ and do what he did. That is how we are, with fear and trembling, to work out our salvation: turn back around and embrace life, serve others no matter how much is required of us, and become obedient to God, even to the point of death.

And what does that obedience look like? Christ, as always, is our example and our teacher. He tells us in this morning’s parable of the two sons that it does not matter what we say, what matters is what we do. Our presidential candidates this year seem to be throwing around the expression, “you have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.” I suppose that would be a way to sum up the parable and the entire lesson of today’s readings.

So, emptying yourself – not making yourself more important than anyone else is to put on the mind of Christ. And if we are walking the walk, it seems to me, Christ has taught us what that walks entails: if someone is hungry – feed them; if someone is lonely – comfort them; if someone is naked – clothe them; if someone is sick – care for them; if someone is mourning – love them. All of this may require a lot from you. It can be a long walk. But if we are obedient – even to the point of death then we have turned back to God, then we have lived. When we choose to live, God welcomes us back home, with his arms wide open, from our own self-imposed exile.

Amen.

RCL - Proper 20 A - 21 Sep 2008

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Mrs. Suzette Cayless, AHC
RCL – Proper 20 A – Sunday 21 September 2008

Exodus 16:2-15
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16


“The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” The Israelites were on their way to the promised land. Moses had led them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. A few verses earlier than today’s reading we find the Israelites complaining when they had no water to drink in Marah. They were then brought to an oasis and camped and refreshed themselves with food and drink. They moved on again and found themselves once more in a difficult place. “Would that we had died ... in the land of Egypt.”

They bewailed the fact that at least in Egypt they had food. Moses points out that their complaining is really against God. He assures them that God has not forgotten them and will provide what they need and soon enough quails appear in the camp and in the morning manna. The word “complaining” is translated as “murmuring” in other versions of the Bible. I like that word - it seems to signify an underlying insidious mutter that infects everyone, and perhaps results in the response to the unknown manna: “What is it?”

In today’s gospel we also have complainers! At the end of a day’s work the laborers are given their wages. Although some have worked the whole day and others for only one hour, each is given the same money. The first hired “grumbled against the landowner,” thinking that they should have received more. The landowner reminds them that he can do what he likes with his money and that he has paid them what they agreed to. Each person requires money to provide food for his family and the landowner gives what is needed.

God is a God of the unexpected. We cannot control God’s actions but should rather look for God to surprise us - as He surprised the Israelites with manna and the one hour laborers with a day’s wages.

In his Rule, Benedict enjoins his monks in chapter 4: “Do not grumble or speak ill of others.” Then in chapters 40 and 41 - concerned with meals and the daily rations of wine - he says:
“... where local circumstances dictate an amount of wine much less than what is stipulated above, or even none at all, those who live there should bless God and not grumble. Above all else we admonish them to refrain from grumbling” and “... (the abbot) should so regulate and arrange all matters that souls may be saved and the brothers may go about their activities without justifiable grumbling.”

Food and drink are basic necessities for human living and they are central to our day to day activities. As we pray together in the offices and Eucharist we say, again and again: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Not an abundance of good things but daily what we need. I am reminded of growing up in Coventry, UK during WWII when often my mother was anxious as to what she could prepare for dinner. It wasn’t that we had no money - just that there was little food to be bought. But day by day a meal was always served. There is an interesting version of the Lord’s Prayer in Anglo-Saxon Spirituality translated by Robert Boenig and I will read it to you:

Holy Father, you who dwell in Heaven,
honored be the joy of your glory. May your name be hallowed
in your works by the sons of the people. You are the savior of men.
May your spacious kingdom come and your will firm in counsel
be raised under the roof of Heaven and also on the wide earth.
Give us for this day just dignity, our continued loaf,
comforter of men, steadfast Savior.
Do not let us be tossed too much in temptation,
but, Ruler of the people, give us good deliverance
from every evil for ever and ever.

That phrase “our continued loaf” catches my imagination. It captures the sense of God’s oversight, with its provision of food from God’s hand. Bread and wine are at the heart of the Eucharist - we do not easily forget such items and Jesus identifies them in a special way for us as we share worship together. The broken bread and shared cup are indeed reminders of God’s provision for our needs.

The Israelites in the wilderness did not just want food - they wanted good things and desired “the fleshpots” they had enjoyed in Egypt. The all day laborers did not just want what they had agreed on, they wanted more. There is an element of greed in all of us that we have to reckon with in terms of our spiritual as well as physical lives. Listen to this story by Arnold Lobel. It is called “Cookies.”

PacMan Cookie 2 - Originally uploaded by pickles5767

Toad baked some cookies. “These cookies smell very good,” said Toad. He ate one. “And they taste even better,” he said. Toad ran to Frog’s house. “Frog, Frog,” cried Toad, “taste these cookies that I have made.” Frog ate one of the cookies. “These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!” said Frog. Frog and Toad ate many cookies, one after another. “You know, Toad,” said Frog, with his mouth full, “I think we should stop eating. We will soon be sick.” “You are right,” said Toad. “Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad ate one last cookie. There were many cookies left in the bowl. “Frog,” said Toad, “let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie. “We must stop eating!” cried Toad as he ate another. “Yes,” said Frog. reaching for a cookie, “we need will power.” “What is will power?” asked Toad. “Will power is trying hard not to do something that you really want to do,” said Frog. “You mean like trying not to eat all of these cookies?” asked Toad. “Right,” said Frog. Frog put the cookies in a box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.” “But we can open the box,” said Toad. “That is true,” said Frog. Frog tied some string around the box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.” “But we can cut the string and open the box,” said Toad. “That is true,” said Frog. Frog got a ladder. He put the box up on a high shelf. “There,” said Frog. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.” “But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box,” said Toad. “That is true,” said Frog. Frog climbed the ladder and took the box down from the shelf. He cut the string and opened the box. Frog took the box outside. He shouted in a loud voice, “HEY BIRDS, HERE ARE COOKIES!” Birds came from everywhere. They picked up all the cookies in their beaks and flew away. “Now we have no more cookies to eat,” said Toad sadly, “Not even one.” “Yes,” said Frog, “but we have lots and lots of will power.” “You may keep it all, Frog,” said Toad. “I am going home now to bake a cake.”

From Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel.

Will power is important - but it has to be directed correctly. Disciplines for daily living have to be learned. Our choices for day to day attitudes and relationships are not to be based merely on what we want and how we feel. St. Paul gives us the clue. In the Epistle he encourages his friends to “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” This requires that we live out a concern for each other; that we look to the provision of food and drink for all around us; that we pray daily for our own needs and the needs of the community; that we set aside greed, envy, and all that is unworthy of Christ; and that we never forget to give thanks to God for all the blessings he bestows on us day by day.

Let us pray, using words from Psalm 105, verses 1-4:

Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of all his marvelous works.
Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Search for the lord and his strength;
continually seek his face.

Amen.