Our Hope is in God

1AdventA, November 27, 2016, St Martin’s Episcopal Church, Moses Lake, WA by Annette Fricke

Just as in the most recent gospel texts, this one too is a gospel about the end times.  The church year ends with the end times as well as the beginning of the church year begins with the end times.  Today is the first Sunday of the church year of a season that has only four Sundays preceding Christmas.  We are now in the season of Advent.  The word advent is from the Latin meaning coming.  It is the advent of Advent.  During this period, we will see readings that emphasize both the need for repentance as well as hope.  Thus, the liturgical colors for the season can be either purple, as in Lent or blue.  Blue has become a preferred color in many churches denoting hope.  When we repent, we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, both the birth of Christ and the second coming of Christ.  We look forward to celebrating Christmas and also the second coming of Jesus in power and glory.  These elements are descriptive and inclusive of what we call apocalyptic literature.  Although all of the gospels include this apocalyptic material, the book of Revelation is an entire book of it.  It is by no means an easy task to decipher just how we should interpret such writings.  Many interpretations have been given in every generation.  For example, Martin Luther named the then pope the anti-Christ.  Some people who lived through World War II might name Hitler as the anti-Christ.  In that line of thinking we will end up with several anti-Christs.  But perhaps that is being just a bit too literal to really make any sense out of it.  Maybe there is a way to look at it that makes the meaning written several years ago, be pretty much how we would interpret it today in 2016.  While many people have predicted the end, the group called the Seventh Day Adventists comes to mind, they were all wrong and the end is yet to come.  There is almost an implicit message, if we read between the lines, that predicting is of no value.  Verse 36 clearly states, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” It’s as if God is saying to us to avoid the temptation to think that we can predict the end.  But we are humans and we can’t help it.  We like to speculate.  The earlier writings seemed to imply that some disciples of Jesus would not see their own deaths, that Jesus would return before they died.  That didn’t happen.  This appears to be a correction.  Is that what Jesus said or meant to say or maybe the end is not what most of us think it means.  Maybe there is not this big happening way out in the future.  So, people also thought that it could be that there is no second coming, Jesus came back in the form of the Holy Spirit—that would be a second coming.  Another proposed theory is that the second coming of Jesus is when we die.  And if you think further about that, in baptism, we die to our sins and receive the Holy Spirit which brings us back to the Holy Spirit.  Thinking even more, it’s like life itself here on earth: we keep searching for definite answers, God surprises us, but it is never quite certain what goal we have achieved or if there is more.  What does God have in mind for us? Sometimes our sense of security lies in having answers.  However, the answers remain ever elusive.  We must conclude that it doesn’t matter if we accept this or not, we will never know for sure the when of Jesus’ coming.  That is why even faith is challenged.  God is in charge and our faith is strongest when we accept that we are not in charge.  Some would say that this is not at all comforting, but actually anxiety provoking.  I’ll say it again: “There is almost an implicit message if we read between the lines that predicting is of no value.”  If that is the case, why should we be on guard or alert?  That would in no way be logical.

Is it not true that our lives are marked by beginnings and endings all the time and that we are frequently in a state of confusion because of that very phenomenon?  For example, is a graduation and ending or a beginning?  Isn’t it the case that we also call this same event a commencement?  A birthday or anniversary is a commemoration of the past and also a look into the future.  Our whole lives are a state of being somewhere in the middle all the time: that is where I was, this is where I am and the future is yet to come.  Some days are lived in reminiscing, some lived in the moment, and still others dreaming of the future.  And God’s story is the same with a beginning at creation which is the past, the continual giving of the Son and the Holy Spirit which is the present, and the consummation of God’s saving grace at Jesus’ second coming.  In a certain sense, our lives parallel God’s.  God has the upper hand in all things, can and will make it happen.  This is still the beginning of the end of all things.  Despite how many times the generations of life and death and birth occur, we continue to live our lives into the future.  Children wait for mom to pick them up from grandma’s house.  Grandma works in a hospital.  Mom teaches the 5^th grade at the local elementary.  Dad sells cars.  Every four years we vote for a president and some people will challenge the election results because it is not to their liking.  People get into fights and young people are sent to fight for their country.  Time marches on. Even normal happenings can keep us from watching for Jesus’ return.  From an unknown author attributed to the Celtic tradition, “And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important!  And this is important!  And this is important! You need to worry about this!  And this!  And this!’  And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No.  This is what’s important.”  It is important to be alert.  It is important to not allow other interests to pull us away from God.  It is important to remember that God remains the eternal provider for all that is necessary for life for all of creation.  God still has in mind the restoration of God’s kingdom and will bring it to completion.  Caring that much about each and every one of us and all of the created order is God’s purpose.  God will not abandon us or leave the work of redemption unfinished.  God will complete the work of salvation. It is our role as God’s children to live out God’s salvation, to keep on honoring God in our lives.

Some Christians do not know what to believe.  Will there be a second coming of Jesus?  It hasn’t happened yet. One response to this text could be apathy—well, I don’t know if Jesus is coming or not, so why should I care?  Why should I get excited about it?  Does history have any significance?  I can’t see what’s going on, therefore there is no point.  There are atheists who fall into this category as well.  This attitude is summed up in Shakespeare’s Macbeth who says, “Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” 

There are other Christians who are filled with anxiety when reading this passage of scripture because they focus only on the part about being left behind. They fall victim to these words taken out of context to make books and movies that only serve to strike terror into the hearts of those who take this literally. They see God as one who punishes.  They don’t see a God of mercy and grace.

Life is not a tale told by an idiot and God is not a merciless tyrant who snatches away those who are somehow more evil than the rest of us.  Rather, God is sovereign and holds all of created life in loving care, a care and love that does everything possible to draw in and nourish all people.  God will not abandon us because we are God’s people created to be and live in God’s presence.  God is no idiot, but has the wisdom that surpasses all human wisdom.  This is God’s history and God will never write us out of it.  Our hope is in God, the maker of heaven and earth, all things visible and invisible, and in Jesus Christ who lives that we too, might walk in newness of life. 

A Vessel of God's Grace

Proper 17/15^th Sunday after Pentecost, August 28, 2016St Martin’s Episcopal, Moses Lake by Annette Fricke

Pride was not created for human beings because the beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord. Our traditions can be a source of pride as well as a stumbling block. According to Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof”, “Because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” Yet the most powerful part of the story is when he disowns his own daughter for marrying an Orthodox Christian.  How do traditions begin? And is it all traditions that do this or only some of them?  Who decides?  Is it not the strong, the powerful, those who can defend a good argument to a logical conclusion that decides for others and are therefore agreed upon?  Or is it the wealthy who buy up corporations, hospitals and insurance companies only to feed them with their own agendas, agendas that may not be in the best interest of the people who are already there or people who may come to work there in the future.  Furthermore, those who buy such institutions may have no real interest in benefiting those who use their services.  Again, who decides what changes and how? It’s definitely not poor people, the blind, the lame, and the crippled.

Besides all of this talk of tradition and how it relates to marriage in particular, we know that some Jews insisted that marriage was only to another Jew of the opposite sex while others held that it didn’t matter if you married another Jew.  There are several examples in the Old Testament of the latter, perhaps the most known is that of Ruth. Although the modern pattern for marriage for both Jewish and Christian people has changed, our roots remain the same. In Biblical history, there were three stages to a wedding between a man and a woman. Examples of this pattern can be found in the marriage of Isaac to Rebecca, Jacob to Leah, and Jacob to Rachel. If you care to look these up, they are all in the book of Genesis. The first stage was the signing of a contract.  In this stage, the bride agrees to a husband and her father signs a contract with the husband.  When the contract has been signed, they are legally married.  In the second stage which lasts up to seven years, the groom raises money as agreed in the contract.  When that money has been secured, the groom informs his bride’s father and the date is set to actualize the wedding at the home of the bride. The companions of the groom and the groom go to the home where the maidens of the bride and the bride are waiting. The bride and groom go to a designated room while everyone else joins in celebrating.

Afterwards, everybody travels to in procession the groom’s house to celebrate further in the wedding feast.[1] Wedding feasts were elaborate celebrations for the entire community, lasting as long as a week. This culture is radically different from modern weddings where only the invited may attend.  This culture also lived as extended families, not the nuclear families of today which also more times than not are blended families or families torn apart by divorce. This is partially due to newer perspectives on marriage and greater longevity.

But back to Jesus. He is at one of those several days’ celebration kind of wedding. This celebration is on the Sabbath.  Jesus has already been chided for healing that day. Jesus had just healed on the Sabbath—again .   This is the fourth time he’s done this, according to Luke.  Some of the Jews are undoubtedly saying to themselves or aloud, as we were told in last Sunday’s gospel lesson, “Why does he insist on doing this when there are six other days when he can do this?  Why won’t he follow the rules?  He knows the rules.  We shouldn’t have to keep reminding him.  While others are thinking or saying, “There are those who absolutely adore him and others he angers to the core.  What are we supposed to do with him?  Why must he mess with long-standing tradition?”  Once again, Jesus begins talking about something unexpected.  He’s talking about who sits where at a wedding banquet.  In the Jewish society of the time, apparently that mattered because the host decided where each person sat and gave the best seats to those who were considered the most esteemed and most deserving of honor.

Jesus has decided to take this opportunity as a teaching moment. He brings up seating arrangements which have been in place since at least the writing of Genesis. In Old Testament times the Israelites sat at table;[2] and in the order of their dignity or seniority[3].  We also know that double and five-fold portions were given to distinguished guests.  Food was given to the poor, but it was less and sometimes just crumbs.[4]

In the backdrop of the Old Testament where a banquet is a frequent emblem of heavenly happiness,[5] Jesus brings us a vision of the kingdom of God that is the reverse of his day’s wedding feast.  His day’s wedding feast is also a reflection of how many people of that day and age lived their lives.  Basically he is saying to them that they are focusing on the wrong things. The tradition is called into question. If a tradition is not all inclusive where people are treated with equal dignity and respect, it needs to change. Luke, throughout his book continuously informs us from start to finish that Jesus turns societal norms upside down.  Jesus says that we should not be honoring the powerful, but those who have nothing and are considered nothing in society.  We should be honoring the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  In today’s societal terminology, the homeless, the mentally ill, the physically challenged, and those who have no sight. That could be expanded to also include the oppressed; represented by those who are undereducated, can’t hold a job, or are disproportionately in the workforce. Also of concern are those who have grown up in dysfunctional families of abuse and neglect, whose chances for normal relationships is severely compromised.

Those are the people that the rest of us need to defend.  It is not enough to simply allow them to help themselves.  They need help from the outside, from people who have the advantage of being in power.  If you are of a majority ethnicity, you have power; the power to change things.  A church can continue on with its traditions, but never have a dialogue with those ‘less thans’ of society or think they already know without getting their hands dirty in a face-to-face encounter.  None of us really knows what it is like to be inside the skin of another person, to know emotional and physical pain in the way that they do.  In a society of quick fixes, we know that pills are only a partial answer to mental and physical ailments. In order to change a system, the question must always be asked, what can we do to make it better?  We may not make it the best, but there is always room to make it better.  Making things better will make some people upset.  A case in point is from the news that many people with past felony charges are now being given the right to vote whereas previously many of them were never given the right to vote again.  Each decision made should follow the example we have in Jesus’ teaching.  The criteria of what we say and do is this: How is it that we can show mercy to the least of our brothers and sisters, mercy that will help them stand and in every possible way celebrate being equal, not just in the afterlife, but right now?  It doesn’t have to be something big like a decree from the United Nations, it can be just the small consistent things we do every day.  Start every day with the thought, ‘what can I do today to be a vessel of God’s grace?’ 

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[1] http://www.bible.ca/marriage/ancient-jewish-three-stage-weddings-and-marriage-customs-ceremony-in-the-bible.htm

[2] I Samuel 16:11

[3] Genesis 43:33

[4]http://www.biblehistory.com/links.php?cat=39&sub=413&cat_name=Manners+%26+Customs&subcat_name=Banquets+and+Feasts

[5] Isaiah 25:6; Luke 14:15; Revelation 19:9

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 [AF1]

In the Interim

For those of you who have been looking here and not finding anything, there is a logical reason for that.  I was hired on April 15, 2016 to work as a therapist and Designated Mental Health Professional for Adams County.  I am living in a new city and dwell with a new congregation.  I am now with St. Martin's Episcopal in Moses Lake, WA.
I have not preached since Easter, so that is why there is nothing here.
This is an update: I will be preaching the last Sunday in August at the 10:00 am Eucharist.  You are invited to attend should you be coming through this way.  We are a small group of both young and old and some in between.  We are truly a welcoming congregation. We are located on Nelson Road which is a stoplight on Highway 17.  Head west crossing Pioneer Way (another stoplight) and we will be shortly on the right hand side of the street.  We have a great place for kids to play, plenty of space. We'd love to see you in the flesh.

The Greatest Gift

EasterDayC, Easter Vigil gospel, Sullivan Park Care Center, March 27, 2016 by Annette Fricke

            The economy of this nation as well as the state of Washington has suffered greatly for many years.  I can think of countless stories of people struggling to find employment or having employment described by the use of the phrase, “My crappy job.”  Sometimes, experiencing such a time period turns from tolerating a situation and pretending to like the fact that one has a job to outright anger.  All applications and interviews seem to lead to the same end, “I am still here.”  People in my age bracket, who can barely tolerate the physicality of some jobs are merely living in the in between nether lands of attempting to find a less taxing position vs. disability, knowing that the chances of getting on disability are slim none. The slow economy has caused the felt need to work as long as one is able in order to secure perceived needed funds for retirement.  There are many unanswered “ifs.”  Life itself is a place of uncertainty.  The old joke that many who have reached the ripe old age of a hundred will say such things as, “If I had known that I would reach this age, I would have taken better care of myself.”  Sometimes that taking care of oneself is not entirely in our hands and therefore beyond our control.  In years past, being on a feeding tube or catching pneumonia meant a sure death.  Now, such is not necessarily the case.  Throughout our lives, we all can experience what we would term deep and agonizing struggles where we really cannot see the end of the tunnel and the inside of the tunnel, at times can be very dark indeed.  Depression, anger, and sadness can blind us to the point that we no longer recognize the happiness we once enjoyed when we knew who we were and where we were going, or so it seemed.

            I suppose it is mere speculation to try to figure out what was going on in Jesus’ heart and mind.  Here is a person who grew up a Jew, determined to follow God’s will wherever that might lead.  I bet he struggled with that as much as we do.  How can I follow God’s will no matter what and what if doing God’s will means that I will die?  That is a question that not only Jesus asks, but us as well. What if we come to that point, fully aware that it is the time of our death?  How do we make peace with God and God’s will for our lives?  What if that point in our lives whether physical or other kind of death goes on for many years?

            On the other hand, what if we want to die and we don’t?  There is also that possibility.  Some people will be thinking, some even speaking, “It’s not your time.”  If it’s not your time, what do you plan to do with the rest of your life since it’s not coming to an end in the timeframe that you think it should?  The secular answer to this is now the common phrase, “It is what it is.”  Sorry, but I fail to see the profundity of this statement.  What exactly does that mean?  More than anything, I think our response to that is that we should listen to God speaking to our hearts.  It may be it is what it is, but that doesn’t mean that I need to accept it.  Some people are fighters to the end and are convinced that they can always change a situation, but that is not really the truth.  The truth is that there are places in our lives where we really have no say as to what happens to us.  In a nutshell, that is really what the work of Jesus on earth is all about.  Jesus taught us by his life, death, and resurrection that all of this was and is the necessary answer to salvation and that the only way that will happen for us is not by our efforts, but through him.

            It is Easter once again and once again we hear that same story about Jesus’ resurrection, but it is never a boring story unless we just haven’t grasped what it means.  It means this, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  It means that God is there in our darkest, deepest sorrow and agony, our deepest pains and struggles.  It also means that God will always be there.  God will never leave us or forsake us, because God has conquered death once and for all.  This is the utmost important and life-giving day, superior to all others.  This is the gate of the Lord.  It is flung wide open.  God beckons each of us into that gate to the kingdom where there will be joy everlasting that will never die.  Most importantly this calls for not only joy, but thankfulness.  The greatest gift that God can give has been given.  When we hear the gospel story of resurrection, we cannot help but approach God with thankful hearts and grateful attitudes.  Salvation is for all of us through Jesus. May we ever remember and meditate on the words from Job’s mouth, “I know that my Redeemer lives!” Even Job, who represented neither Jewish nor Christian thought knows God will deal with him justly.  Say it with conviction so all can hear, “Jesus is Risen.  He is risen indeed!”

The Power of the Holy Spirit

1LentC, Sullivan Park Care Center, February 14, 2016 by Annette Fricke

            Some people looking at this gospel text would focus in on the devil and all the questions he asks of Jesus.  Of what purpose is this story that is also included in other gospels?  I look at the bookends of the story.  In both the beginning and the end we find that Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit.  We see it in verse 1 and in the verse following this section, verse 14.  Prior to this story in chapter 3 where we heard the account of Jesus’ baptism, we know that Jesus is there also filled with the Holy Spirit.

            We too, are promised the Holy Spirit when baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Like Jesus, we also have what could be termed “wilderness experiences.”  Although each of us has our own struggles with temptation throughout life, like Jesus, unlike Jesus we seem unable to resist temptation.  We start early in life.  I recall a time when Mom and Dad were away somewhere and my little brother and I stayed home.  Deciding that we should do something, we made chocolate chip cookies and popcorn. We always made popcorn in the cast iron pan, so I figured I must have been about thirteen to handle the pan.  Upon Mom and Dad’s return, we didn’t feel so good.  I guess we were testing the wisdom told us about spoiling our dinner by eating too many sweets.  Then there were times when we wanted to stay up till midnight just to see the New Year come in.  My parents had always gone to bed before midnight.  I guess it wasn’t any fun for them.  We didn’t see anything wrong with that practice because it was fun for us. It was also a challenge to stay awake that long because we never thought of it as losing sleep and it possibly being difficult to get up in the morning.  And that is where temptation crossed the line into submission.  We had submitted to our inclination to rebel against discipline. We had then given ourselves over to our fantasies that we somehow thought were better choices when in fact, they probably weren’t.  We didn’t understand the folly of our decisions until we had to face the consequences. What would have happened if Jesus had given in to temptation?  For one, he would be too much like us.

            Later in life, there are choices about whom to marry, what sort of job to work at, how to manage your money, what to invest in.  Yet even with the morally right choices, things still have the possibility of not turning out so well.  Those who invested in the stock market did well, but then it crashed.  My grandmother distrusted banks or so I was told by Mom. Sometimes the best way to do something is with all the patience and determination to robotically do each step in order, being careful to do not only as the job demands, but with the best of intensions.  I can intend to do the right thing in every situation, but unless I do it with my whole heart and attention, I can easily go astray in another direction.  I can follow the path to fickleness or stay on the road that is one of self-sacrifice, to go after my own wants as opposed to helping others. 

Lent is a time when many people focus on what they want to give up, usually it is something we deemed to be self-damaging.  The “giving up” list is usually comprised of things we personally consider to be bad habits.  For example, I may elect to give up chocolate or lose weight.  One episode in the series, “Vicar of Dibley” depicts a church council meeting at the beginning of Lent when each of the members attempts to extinguish their not so desirable behaviors.  One is to quit swearing, another to quit making nasty food, still another to give up chocolate. They quickly learn that it is easy at first, but as time wears on, it becomes more and more difficult to quit long established habits. There’s a new idea floating around in which a person puts one item each day of Lent into a garbage bag.  The excessive items in ones closet are items are to be identified as either trash or to be given to another person or a thrift store.  It sounds simple and I am sure that in the process, someone may benefit; either yourself or another.  But does this truly make sense?  What if we look at this from another perspective?  Instead of taking away something, what if we added something?  What if we spent time looking at how we display the grace of God?  What if we could break out of our usual comfortable circle of friends?  Could we work together in our little social groups to pool our talents, gifts, and resources to form a new alliance with people we don’t really know? It seems that we can go wrong with keeping to our little groups and associating only with the people we know.  How can we support each other, even those we don’t know well? How can we seriously and consistently engage in our baptismal promise to make disciples?  We all need reminders of what Christianity is all about and others to pull us back from our wanderings in our own wildernesses. We should be looking intently at how we can strengthen each other in our spiritual journeys.

            Is this gospel text in Luke about temptation or is it rather about the faithfulness and determination of God to make all things right for all people?  We are all tempted to do many things, but how many times do we give in and do that which we might not do if someone was there to help us resist?  Isn’t that really what the function of the Holy Spirit is for Jesus?  We can be just like children whose parents are out of town.  We can be doing things that could potentially cause us harm or worse yet, causing others harm.  We can become just the opposite of a person who is obedient to the will of God.  The Hippocratic Oath of a doctor is a good place to start.  Doctors promise to do no harm, but that isn’t enough if you really want to realize your potential to be the best doctor of which you’re capable.  That isn’t enough to really live the Christian life.  That is the bare minimum if you really want to follow Jesus into the wilderness. Yes, do no harm, but also do well.  Do well, and do one step better, do your very best.  We should strive to be emulated, not tolerated.  We should show love where others respond with hate or indifference.  Jesus is faithful to God with all that he says, all that he teaches, and all that he does.  Jesus is our ultimate model.  There is no better example of how to live a human life. We should be saying to the person on the street, “Look at what Jesus does in the face of temptation. Let’s be like Jesus.” 

            But when things fail, like your body when it pops and grinds and your skin when it starts to become thin, when bruising and soreness are more common than not, remember this: even though you are dust and to dust you shall return, God still loves you and will never forsake you.  God will never deceive you or point you in the wrong direction.  God will never fail no matter what happens.  God will give you the strength to get through.  God’s grace is sufficient. Amen.

The Twilight Zone

TransfigurationSundayC, Sullivan Park Care Center, February 7, 2016 by Annette Fricke

            “There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man.  It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.  It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.  This is the dimension of imagination.  It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.”[1] Those of you who were alive when this TV series came out will quickly recognize it as the original theme to the Twilight Zone.  This introduction, along with the pictures, graphics and music were meant to establish a response of fear, intrigue, and suspense in its hearers.  Probably considered by most to be a bit tamer than the Alfred Hitchcock series, it continues as a set of rerun episodes on a station outside the arena of paid cable TV.  Even in black and white, the creative genius of Rod Sterling captured the minds and imagination of many viewers every time it aired.

            This scenario would be how I would describe the phenomenon of what happened in both the Exodus passage and the gospel text assigned to today.  Today is what is termed in the Lutheran, United Methodist, and some Presbyterian Churches as Transfiguration Sunday.  Calvin himself, considered a forerunner of the movement that began Presbyterianism, didn’t care much for the festival at all. It is a funny thing that we have progressed in our Christian unity enough to begin using the same lessons every Sunday, yet there is still more unifying to be done.  For example, the Transfiguration for the Anglican/Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church is on August 6 as decreed by Pope Callixtus III in 1456/7.  Another example would be the celebration of Easter is a different day for Western Christianity as opposed to Eastern Christianity.  Western Christianity’s determination of the timing of Easter still follows a lunar equation, something most history buffs would quickly point out is pagan in origin.  As much as God has pointed out to the Israelites throughout history to not follow the religions around them, the more they kept those practices.  One of those practices was the sacrifice of animals for the forgiveness of sins.  That is something that was continued into Jesus’ day, including on the day of his presentation to the temple, another church feast that is celebrated on February 2 in which Mary and Joseph brought the sacrificial animals of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons as dictated by Jewish law for poor people. As a Christian, I say it was Jewish law although in Luke where I gathered that information, it is clearly denoted twice in the same paragraph as the law of the Lord.

            In all this disunity of church festival practices, I find it interesting that the Episcopal Church, despite the real celebration of the Transfiguration, uses two of the same texts today as for the actual Transfiguration for them which comes later usually on a weekday and likely to be missed as an observance at all. For some Christians, like for John Calvin, this is a minor festival.  For others, it is the transition from Epiphany to Lent.  This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and for those who are uncomfortable with the past memories of the austerity of Ash Wednesday and the ensuing weeks of Lenten discipline, we also have the celebration of Shrove Tuesday otherwise known secularly as Fat Tuesday.

            What do we do with these strange stories of the shining face of Moses who talks to God on the mountain, then later shows up on the mountain with Jesus and his disciples?  Is this a vision or is it real?  Is this something in between, like some sort of twilight zone, possibly a real place but rarely seen or experienced by humanity?  And of course, it once again raises the question as to just who are we in relation to God?  Is there another dimension that many times we choose to ignore?

            Friday night I had an unusual conversation with a resident on our floor.  I had earlier mistaken the identity of the person who went to his room.  You see, he did not have his collar on and I see him as similar in looks to a friend of the man who used to live in 309.  This particular resident is a practicing Christian and has become rather terrified for good reason.  When I was on my days off, he was sent out for more intensive care and death was a real possibility.  He had never really talked with me in depth about anything until now.  As I talked with him, I realized that the person who came to see him was his own priest.  Death can be quite terrifying, especially if you are not ready for it. I think the reason it is so is because it takes us to a place of unfamiliarity.  Seeing Moses and Elijah is one thing, but seeing God is quite another.  We can put it in our rationalization and cognitive processes all we want, but the emotional part remains.  What is it about God that we simply want to ignore or bypass?  Why does there continue to be a part of God that we don’t want to deal with on other than a thinking level?

            Apparently, there was a survey taken that asked the same question of Jews and Christians.  Fill in the blank: God is _______.  Jews overwhelmingly answered that God is holy.  Christians unanimously replied that God is love.  Probably the more accurate answer is that God is both holy and love.  God is both.  In fact, do we love justice enough to fight for it?  Isn’t the justice of God just as important as love and forgiveness of sins?  That would be my conclusion and that is what I see this particular feast to be all about.  God is a God of love and justice.  One of my favorite passages in the entire Bible is found in the Old Testament: Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  You can’t have one without the other.  We are not called to be merely peacemakers.  People have a tendency at times to only want peace even though several times throughout the New Testament, Jesus was not about peace.  A problem arises when people in congregations only want peace, showing a blind eye to anything resembling justice or the holiness of God.  People want a pastor, but not a prophet.  Anything pointing towards terror and feeling uncomfortable is rejected.  No matter who says it, we tend to think it doesn’t come from God and therefore ought to be rejected.  Already in the book of Micah, the whole system of sacrificing animals is suspect.  Already, God demands more of us.

            There is much more to these stories of Moses and Jesus than first glance.  There is a common thread here, not just in successive revealing of God’s will for God’s children.  They are both in prayer, frequent prayer.  Prayer always precedes action.  Prayer is the catalyst for how we act, how we relate to others. Our conversation with God informs our interactions with others. Love must be tempered with justice.

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[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052520/quotes
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_of_Jesus
[3] A Concise Dictionary of Theology, Gerald O'Collins, S.J., and Edward G. Farrugia, S.J. Paulist Press, 2000.
[4] An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, Don S. Armentrout, Robert Boak Slocum, Ed., Church Publishing Inc., 2000.

The Person I Love the Least

4AfterEpiphany, January 31, 2016, Sullivan Park Care Center by Annette Fricke

            Last Wednesday, I was privileged to attend one of our cathedral’s Reel Theology.  Reel Theology is a weekly series of movies mean to provoke the mind and behavior beyond the present day fellowship of believers who may become way too focused on the immediate functioning of the building and needs of current members.  Here is a description of the movie last week: “January 27: Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids (R) This film is a chronicle of filmmakers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman’s efforts to show the world of Calcutta’s red light district. To do that, they inspired a special group of children of the prostitutes of the area to photograph the most reluctant subjects of it. As the kids excel in their new found art, the filmmakers struggle to help them have a chance for a better life away from the miserable poverty that threatens to crush their dreams.”  I am happy to report that the reactions of those present did not include what I frequently heard from a fellow choir member. For example, she used to always say to me, “We have plenty of needy people right here in this state.  Why are we investing money way out in Haiti?  We have some very poor people in Yakima.”  There was, however, a woman who pointed out that we have many children like this in Spokane and a man who pointed out this problem in Montana.  How far away children in need live is not the main point, though; just how to go about reaching them is.  How do you help children who live in poverty and worse yet, how do you help those who not only live in poverty but are also the byproduct of prostitution?  How do you reach to the edges of society when they don’t necessarily want your help?  It is a good thing to reach out to places like Haiti that have been ravaged by the forces of nature and have been and continue to be some of the poorest of nations in the world.  It is a good thing to reach out to neighborhoods such as the West Central neighborhood here in our own Spokane.  Not only is it a good thing to do, it is also what Jesus would have us do.  God claims all of us and wants all of us to live and care for each other, even those who have chosen or fallen into a life of self-destructiveness.  God’s children are endowed with many resources and with few.  They are healthy and they are sick.  They feel loved by God and abandoned, filled with hope and wonder as well as crushed in deep, dark depression.

            Jesus speaks gracious words and they all love him, but then he turns the tables. Why are people so upset with what Jesus says to them?  Well, for one, he is pointing out that Judaism was never meant to be an exclusionary way of life.  The Jews were to always care for all people.  He puts it in their faces that God cares even for the foreigner and the enemy of the Jews.  Jesus points out to them that their practice of religion has become closed in on itself in such a way that it is appalling.  His illustrations taken directly from scripture describe that the healing of God extends even to outsiders, desperate for relief from poverty and illness. They are saying among themselves, “Who are you to use our own scriptures against us?”  Jesus is trying to tell them that he is the long awaited Messiah, but they are unable to hear. They can’t comprehend such a message because they are filled with their own notion of what it means to be the chosen people of God. They hear about Jesus speaking in all the surrounding synagogues and his reputation and may have become a bit jealous.  They are asking why he hasn’t yet come to speak to them in his hometown.  Yet when he does, they are not happy.  In fact, they aren’t happy at all and Jesus truly offends them.  He angers them.  He angers them to the point that there is nothing that he can say or do at this point that will change their minds about him.  In no uncertain terms, they hate him. How could this man possibly be the Messiah?  How is it possible that a boy born in such poor estate could speak with such authority?  Why does God choose to heal people outside Judaism while ignoring the chosen people?  How is anyone to make sense of this story when it seems that we have stepped into the middle of a sermon?

            The fact is, we are always truly in the middle of things.  Many people have walked the face of the earth before us and I imagine there will be many after we are gone and the memory of us fades.  But I think there is something attributed to Dorothy Day that brings us back into focus as to what Jesus is trying to tell his audience about the history of Judaism and that would be this, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”  The writings we have about Jesus clearly put in his mouth that we are to love the Lord God with all our hearts, our minds, our strength and our neighbors as ourselves.  Jesus clearly meant that our neighbors were those traditionally despised by the Jews.

            This can be our meditation throughout the week, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”  That is the real challenge, especially in a world where some of us were taught at a very young age to dislike certain groups of people because they are not like us. Throughout history, people have told their children to hate the Jews, to hate the Blacks, to hate the Mexicans. People tend to hate that which they don’t understand. People tend to group certain people together because of a behavior not common to all in that group, but based on the behavior of some in particular.  And not only that, but this does not allow a person to speak for themselves because they are already labeled.  “Oh, he is Mexican; therefore, he is bad because he is just here because the US government gives him free food stamps.”  “Yeah, he is black.  He is too stupid to know how to work on his own.  That’s why they were slaves.”  “The Jewish people are bad because they killed Jesus.  It says so in the book of John.”  In our own settings, we might look down on the fat aides and think that they are not able to reach us fast enough because they can’t move like the skinny ones.  And I heard that she had a child out of wedlock.  I wonder what happened; did she do that on purpose or did he leave her because he didn’t want the responsibility of raising a child?  Or why would she want to raise a child on her own?  Why would a male want to be an aide or a nurse?  Why would someone want a male aide to give them a shower?  Why don’t you become a nurse?

            All of these statements and questions are taken out of context and are therefore untrue and filled with prejudgment. We can ignore these thoughts and simply tell ourselves that it is none of our business, revel in our own uninformed conclusions, or take the road less traveled.  It is work, and few dare go there, but the answer is to attempt to make connections and open the way for communication with that other person---the one we may have decided is so radically different from us. Sometimes, what we felt was a behavior so off base, we will learn later is really not that different.  We all share in a common humanity.  We are truly in the same boat.  We are sometimes out in the rough seas together with no land in sight.  It is not our job to decide who is worthy of being saved.  We all are.

You are a Sacramental Vessel

3SundayafterEpiphany, Sullivan Park Care Center and St John the Evangelist Cathedral, January 24 and 27, 2016 by Annette Fricke

            A few decades back, but still in the twentieth century, for two years I attended and graduated from Pacific Lutheran University.  It was a strange place for me and the second climate change.  The ethnicity had switched from the German and French Americans of my childhood to the Norwegian Americans.  Not only were the people who organized and formed PLU from the beginning Norwegian immigrants, but so was the corresponding church across the street. My RA at my dorm was actually directly from Norway, a Norwegian citizen.  I had some contact with the head campus pastor whose last name was also suspiciously Norwegian. My nephew John was born when I was a junior and many years later, he also graduated from that same fine institution, but that same campus pastor was no longer there.  I remember asking the campus pastor, “What is the purpose of God’s creating humanity?”  He basically told me that he didn’t know.  I remember my thoughts going wild at that answer.  Surely he should have a better answer being campus pastor to us lowly students, especially one of the pre-seminary students such as me.  I searched for years as to the answer to that question, positive there has to be a better answer.  The Presbyterian answer was that humanity’s purpose was to glorify God.  Good answer or at least better, but what exactly or more precisely does that mean?

            Several years later, after John had become a newlywed, he, his wife and his mom and I sat down at a coffee shop in downtown Tacoma for a brainstorming about how John and his wife could pay for their student loans.  You see, both were grads of PLU.  Tuition had risen significantly since I attended.  I had no idea what type of loans they had, but assumed they were the same as I had, the National Direct Student Loans.  I mentioned that there was a clause on those that said you could pay some of that off by teaching.  John came to me at a later date and told me he had met someone who remembered me from PLU.  He didn’t quite have the name right, but I did. Next thing I knew, they had decided to go to Africa to teach children in the country of Namibia…for two years. Before they left, I was invited to a send off reception after their commissioning at their church.  I saw someone there I hadn’t seen for several years and couldn’t help staring, staring because he had changed so much. He was now bald.  It was the campus pastor of long ago, so I went to sit at his table.  He told me that he had switched out of campus ministry and that some people were trying to tell him that he was betraying his calling.  He was now a person who gathered funds to send people to do work in Africa.  Here he was again, not as the perfected person I expected, but the vulnerable and trusting person who laid bare his very heart to me.  I was flabbergasted and humbled at the same time.  Why would he entrust his deepest struggles with me, of all people?

            A few more years later, he and I found each other on Facebook and he asked me the question, “Are you going to become clergy of the Episcopal Church or something?”  I replied with, “I don’t know.” 

            What I do know is this; we can reminisce about the past either mourning its loss or disappointments or speculate about the future.  This gospel lesson is about neither.  What Luke is trying to tell us is that we should live in the moment.  We should live our lives in ministry to others today, not thinking about what happened yesterday or what might take place tomorrow. 

            After Jesus’ baptism, he was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he returned to Galilee and began teaching in the synagogues.  Luke emphasizes that Jesus is a teacher.  Notice the content that Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah.  The people are in expectation that he will say something about an ancient interpretation or about how great a prophecy this is.  That doesn’t happen at all.  He shocks his audience to the core when he proclaims to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  How is it possible that this person we know and his parents we also know could say such a thing?  What does he mean?  Our text stops abruptly there only to be taken up again next week.

            The Messiah has come and is now, today in their midst just as he is in our midst.  He is here and announces that the anointing of his baptism was to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  Those are the content of what we do as disciples of Jesus, not just among ourselves, but in the larger community with everyone we meet. 

            On Friday night, I could see it clearly.  I am not working right now at a job I prefer.  It’s probably Plan C or D on my list, but I can see the give and take of a fellowship that goes way beyond me and my fellow sojourners.  Important people to me have left for other jobs.  One nurse was going to leave, but instead decided to stay.  A floor aide now works as a med assistant.  That night, I realized that the nurse, who had previously been at odds with me, now works with me and counts on me to be the one she trusts to do my job thoroughly.  The man down the hall seems to need affection in a physical way, so he kisses me and hugging is exchanged between us.  The woman a couple of doors down is lonely and only asks that people don’t rush so much and spend some time with her.  The new man on the other side of the hallway is a German immigrant who is still looking for a connection with others.  I ascertained that his family and mine have a common root. They came from the same area now part of modern day Poland.  All that they are really asking is that we not institutionalize them in any way.  All they request is to be treated like a person, a person who has the need to be cared for and loved. I don’t know whether they see this or not.  It is beyond my understanding.  I only know that I do.

            Through the Word of God that we hear in the readings of the scriptures and the working of the Holy Spirit, this Jesus is known to us in our every day walks through life.  Some may see that place where I work or where you live or work as just being a bunch of people thrown together randomly, but it is a living and breathing organism with a life of its own.  It is a place wherein dwells the children of God who are called to imitate Jesus.  Picture yourself as a sacramental vessel of God who is meant for the purpose of living your life day to day as one who is compelled to show compassion in all circumstances.  Not everyone believes this.  It is our job to both live it and teach it.         

Gallons of Grace

2EpiphanyC, January 17, 2016, Sullivan Park Care Center by Annette Fricke

                We know that marriage was very important during the time of the Jewish faith in Jesus’ day.  First of all, an on-going discussion takes place between the families.  There is a dowry and terms of a marriage contract.  A wedding does not happen until the families agree that it is time.  Both bride and groom bathe and put on perfume and oil, dressing in special garments.  Jewelry and garlands were also worn.  The bride is veiled throughout the entire ceremony and has bridesmaids.  Likewise, the groom has attendants.  Chief of the attendants was the best man.  After this, the public ceremonies begin with the groom and his attendants who process to the bride’s home. There they greet the family, exchange presents and drinks, then process with dancing and music back to the groom’s home.  If it is already dark, they take lanterns with them.  At the groom’s home are the invited guests who share in a meal and the marriage contract is read and public declaration is made by the groom that goes something like this, “She is my wife and I am her husband from this day and forever.”  Then the guests bless the couple with words like, “May the God of heaven keep you safe and give you peace and prosperity.”[1]  You might want to get a glimpse of this process in a couple of movies, “Yentl” or “Fiddler on the Roof” especially if you are as ignorant about Jewish practices as I am.

It’s important to note that weddings in the Bible were very elaborate, compared to a modern day wedding and the celebration lasted longer.  The bride and groom did not take honeymoons. The emphasis was on community celebration.  What is presented in the Bible however, is rather piecemeal, because the writers assume that you are familiar with weddings.  Because of that, you really do have to supplement your Bible readings with a study of the culture of the time in order to get a full picture of what constituted the whole process of planning and carrying out the whole extended event which lasted a week or two.  We also lack details as to just how often weddings didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to be.  Apparently, this is the problem presented in our gospel text designated for this particular Sunday.  Things did not go as they should and the mother of Jesus, as she is known here, wants Jesus to intervene.

            With such an elaborate celebration to prepare, I would imagine that there were a number of things that could go wrong.  What went wrong here is that only the cheap wine was served and they ran out.  Jesus, his mother and his disciples notice the lack of proper etiquette.  But Jesus doesn’t seem to want to make a fuss. However, his mother insists he “do something.” We lack the details.  Who is supposed to supply the wine and why was the good wine not served first?  How come the good wine wasn’t apparently served at all?  Whose fault is it? Is someone trying to be cheap or did someone leave with the good wine, to hoard it for themselves?  That’s the problem we run into if we see this as a literal story.  In fact, if we note that John is the only gospel with this story, we might make the observation that John has a purpose in mind. 

            Note the finer details of the story and put them in the context of John.  At the end of each of these stories, John states, as he does in this story, “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”  Some argue that John has in mind seven signs, but the evidence is ambiguous.  Signs and so called miracles are also designated by John to be numerous.  Signs of who Jesus is, are numerous and throughout his ministry.  But the important thing to remember is not just the signs themselves, but what they are pointing to—they are pointing to Jesus and Jesus’ identity.  Who is Jesus?  Jesus is the Son of God.  The signs reveal the glory of God and the response is belief in God, belief that Jesus is God.  Don’t get this wrong.  It’s not a belief in the sign, but in God.  The glory of God is how God is known in the world.  In the Old Testament, God is known through storms, fire, and earthquakes.  Here, the glory of God is known by changing water into wine.  It is a sign that Jesus infuses into Judaism newness, a robustness that is the same, yet changed.  The glory of God dwells in Jesus. Thus, the God who has command over the physical world now becomes more intimately involved with humanity. The cheap wine, formerly of limited and poor quality, is now the good wine flowing forth in abundance. There is nothing now to contain the workings of God and what God is capable of doing.  We now see that God is more capable through Jesus in showing us more clearly what God is all about.

            God is like a marriage feast.  The contract of marriage is likened to a covenant with God.  The covenant concept is unlike the non-Jewish religions of other peoples and cultures.  God always makes covenants that emphasize divine favor or what is also termed grace.  One only need look at the words in the beginning of Luke to see that favor means grace and forgiveness.  “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”  God has mercy even on the lowliest of people.  God gives preferential treatment to the poor.  Perhaps the crops failed or the family responsible could not afford the good wine.  We have both spiritual and material needs and sometimes those are truly intertwined to where you wonder why they are somehow separated into two different concepts.  Certainly with the gallons and gallons of good wine we get the picture that God is full of overflowing grace, overflowing and unending grace.  We understand also that God will always be there to provide for our every need, no matter how great that need might be.  Like the marriage contract, it is for this day and forever between God and us.

            Like a marriage feast, God wants us to be joyful.  He wants us to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of the earth and the gatherings of the harvest.  It may be difficult to understand this because it is rooted in an agrarian culture, a culture where most people were more tied to the earth.  Jesus spent a lot of time getting to know people and share meals with them.  They were times of relaxation and celebration as well as a time of rest from the day’s activities.  The concept of the observance of the Sabbath was likewise meant as a time of rest as well as deepening relationships with family as well as devotion to God.

            Lastly, God wants us to seek justice for the poor and marginalized of our society.  In boldness, Isaiah states that God will not keep silent nor rest.  God’s work is through us, God’s children.  All belong to God and all are God’s family.  We are to welcome all people into our lives and to share our resources, even though they may not be material resources.  Bless others as God has blessed you.

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[1] The Oxford Companion to the Bible, under “Weddings,” ed. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, Oxford Press, 1993.

Addendum

I must apologize for my lack of editing before I post my posts.  I try to go back and clean things up, so to speak.  So if you are a bit of a grammar police, check back later when the wording and spelling is just a bit more readable.  
On another subject, I will be preaching an unprecedented six times this month and intend to more carefully form my sermon to address the specific audience who will hear me when I preach for the Wednesday Eucharist on the 27th of January.  Our Wednesday Eucharists, for the most part, follow the previous Sunday's lessons.
Thank you for your readership.

What is Your Identity?

BaptismofourLordC, Sullivan Park Care Center, January 10, 2016 by Annette Fricke

            Who are you?  Most people would answer this question with a list of recent ancestors that go a few years back.  I have personally been able to trace my ancestry back into the 1600s, but only by way of a single female on Dad’s side of the family.  It is one line that I suspect is Jewish because of the last names and the fact that Jewish ancestry is through the female line.  My mom’s family history quickly fades to a dead end.  It is a common Jewish way to identify who you are by your lineage.  We see that most prominently in the gospel of Matthew which imitates the reciting of past relatives of several of the Old Testament books.

In Jewish history, identity is also determined by which tribe you are from as well as occupation.  For example, if you were born in a line of priests, you take on either the role of a priest or that of a supporting role for that function. On my mother’s side of the family, I found out that her mother’s family was involved in either making and or selling spoons.  Spoons were important in medieval Europe.  People love to talk about the great accomplishments of their families and their contributions to the communities in which they lived whether that is just locally or more globally.

But what if your ancestry had a few “bad apples”?  I knew a guy who had done some research on his family history who found out one of his male ancestors was a horse thief. My own family history includes people who struggled with mental illness including a suicide.  Notice how I put that in the past, denying the reality of present mental illness in my family. What about that side that we’d rather not put out on display?  If everyone is created by God as good, how do we reconcile with the not so good?  Human nature has a way of excluding that with which we choose to not identify, yet studies have shown that we are not all that different from each other.  We are interrelated and we are all the same blood.  Therefore, we are all the same family, just by our humanness.

If therefore, we accept as the early Christian community that Jesus is the second Adam, then Jesus is from the first Adam which only took a generation to have a murderer in the family; Adam and Eve beget Cain and Abel, but since Cain killed Abel, Abel was replaced by the next born, Seth.  Even those who would throw this out as being invalid because it probably isn’t true historical ancestry would still have to admit that it certainly is representative of the condition of humanity.  We continue down a very selfish course, intending good, but sometimes disregarding how we get there.  I see that behavior every day.  Life goes on to present opportunities to help others in positive ways, yet many of us listen to the question in our minds, “What’s in it for me?”  If you think that isn’t true, take a look back on your life.  Even if we made most of our decisions out of purity of focus on doing the right thing, sacrifice was at times at the bottom of our list.  Very few live and do what would be the altruistic way.  There always seems to be a character flaw of some sort.  And that is why Jesus is able to say later in his ministry to paraphrase, “If you are without sin, you can cast the first stone.”  We are not without sin. Those of us who have seriously examined our lives know well that none of us is without sin and come nowhere close to living the sacrificial, self-giving life of Mother Teresa. Even if we are quite sure that we are living a pure life, our doubts remain as to whether or not this is the path God meant for us or if God wanted us to live in another direction in life.  Life can resemble a big spider web where it is hard to determine if we are headed for the center or teetering on the edge.

Every gospel has its own take or emphasis on Jesus’ baptism.  In Luke’s depiction, we are given a picture of Jesus as just a normal, adult, Jewish male.  He comes for baptism from John just like anyone else, standing in line just like anyone else would.  We know what it is to be in line for something.  I remember way back in grade school standing in line for lunch.  You are no better than anyone else and you need to wait for your turn.  You are not allowed to let your friends cut in line.  If you do, someone will say something either to or in earshot of the teacher in charge.  That is your lot. Later in life, there is a similar line at the grocery store or the post office or the Social Security office.  I never did understand the method there where you have an appointment, but you still have to take a number and wait.  You also have a wait for your driver’s license.  Your identity has little significance because you are the same as others.  You have to wait your turn. 

Jesus’ turn in line finally arrives, but John knows that Jesus may appear the same, but he is not.  He is different, but John does not seem to know the difference immediately.  He knows the function of Jesus and what distinguishes him from others.  He knows that Jesus is more powerful and will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  He is probably not talking about fire in a literal sense, but that quality that is sensed on some level by the receiver.  Feeling the power of the Holy Spirit is something some of us continually need to know on some level and for others, one big jolt is enough.  For still others, just a gradual realization that the Holy Spirit is something that has been there all their lives is confirmation.  I don’t know about you, but I want to know that my redeemer lives.  I want to know the reality of God in my life.  Even though, God’s presence in my own thinking has mostly remained elusive, yet I also know that God’s presence in my life is known when I simply put my trust in God and try my best to be obedient to the will of God as I have perceived it.  This is what I see that Jesus is about. 

Jesus comes like any other Jewish believer.  He was raised as a Jew in a Jewish family in the teachings and shelter of the Jewish synagogue.  He knew also the discipline of daily prayer and scripture readings.  How early did he know himself to be the messiah or all that the title meant?  We have no clear record.  But as John baptizes him in the river Jordan, he prays and the heaven opens.  We don’t know exactly what that means except that we are pretty certain that it is something extraordinary.  This is the moment that heaven touches earth in a way that has never happened before or since.  A radical change has just taken place.  That is the end of the Lucan narrative.  We don’t know if anyone actually saw the Holy Spirit in bodily form.  We don’t know if anyone heard a voice from heaven, but we do know that the author of Luke wants to tell us and all who read his work that the proclamation from heaven is this, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

And how does that translate for us?  You are my sons and daughters, I love you way more than any mere human is capable, and I am well pleased with you. I know your sufferings and your struggles.  I still love you.

To Be God's Light in the World

EpiphanyC, January 3, 2016, Sullivan Park Care Center by Annette Fricke

            Imagine yourself as a person from a foreign country.  You are a seeker for that which lies beyond the immediate lay of the land which surrounds you.  It is your quest to go beyond the present day circumstances, to follow the lead of what appears to be the outstanding, most unusual.  You are an astrologer and you make it your habit to study the stars every night.  You have no idea where this type of obsession will take you.  All your friends and relatives think you are crazy, and can’t possibly understand why you do this night after night.  What could you possibly discover?  The night sky is the same as always.  We look at it every night, they reason.  What is it that will be any different from any other night?  But there are others, a small minority who believe as you do and suddenly, unlike the other nights, way up in the heavens, a star appears unlike any others.  It is much brighter and larger.  The illumination is so intense that it is impossible to ignore.  The star beckons to you in such a way that you go to tell your friends who also gaze at the night sky.  Are there any Jews around that we can ask about its possible significance? What does the Jewish scripture say?  Are there other writings to which we should refer? What do the ancient texts say? Whom can we consult? Is this something that might have been foretold many years ago? What can we do with the information of the star and with our findings of the prophecies about a star that might point accurately to the fulfillment of those prophecies? Where can we turn?  Herod turns to the upper hierarchy of the Jews, the ruling bodies of the chief priests and the scribes.  That’s his answer.  Then he inquires of the magi as to what they know.  Herod believes that the magi know something that he doesn’t and asks them to investigate for him, then to return to him to inform him of the answer of his real burning need to know, “Is this indeed the Christ, the Messiah, the actual king of the Jews who has come to take my place?  If that be the case, away with him and any other young male child who resides in the far reaches of the known world.  I’ll not have it.  Slaughter them all!  How dare there be anyone else to rival my kingship!” Have you ever thought about how the ideas behind the Grinch who stole Christmas originated? Certainly the story of Herod’s jealous rage was in the back of the author’s mind.  We do know the author of the Grinch story was raised as a Christian. Similar to the Grinch, the narcissistic character of Herod and that of many other power mongers of kings present and past or their equivalent contemporaries continues to this day.  What do we do with those who threaten to destroy the whole meaning of Christmas and the significance of the Christ child? The author and co-author of the Grinch character can see clearly how adults in their sophistication can get caught up in the wrong things when it comes to Christmas celebrations which obscure the true meaning and light of Christmas.  The conclusion is one to be remembered for many years: Christmas can still be celebrated without all the trees, the special Yule logs, the endless sweets, even the presents.  As with the rest of the teachings in Christianity, the meaning of Christmas has much more to do with how we treat each other. The true meaning of Christmas is to treat others, regardless of their intimacy or lack of intimacy with us and our circles of friendship, with respect and dignity helping others and supporting others no matter what their status in the world. The common belief of the woman named Alison who went from Soap Opera star to working for The Biggest Loser that Christmas is for children is only partially right.  It’s for children all right, but not just for children, it is for all of humanity.  If I were the host of that late night show where she made that comment, I would not allow that statement to go unchallenged. As ugly as the Grinch is and as mean as his spirit, the story continues to be told because that is the type of story we need to wake us up to his character not as example, but as the opposite of example.  His behavior is the extreme far end of the spectrum.  Most of us don’t know people who would do the same things as the Grinch, yet the Grinch will remain the reminder of what might happen if people did forget the true meaning of Christmas.  That is precisely why that story is so effective.  The spirit of Christmas has a power that even a very mean person cannot destroy.

            It’s a scary world out there.  There are people who don’t read the newspapers, who don’t write or receive letters.  English comprehension is dying due to the constant use of popular slang, almost unintelligible by older generations.  Words are left out of sentences and young people are speaking at an ever increasing rate of speed.  They are sometimes disrespected by older people because of their poor grammar.  Yet, if we dismiss them or think we can live without them, think again.  They have infiltrated our world.  In my world, they are my co-workers and in yours, they are your caregivers.  They are not all that way, but many are.  It is within our power to work on ways to be patient with them and gently correct them.  They need education rather than criticism. Respect should be mutual.  You can set a good example.  Sometimes that means starting from the beginning.  When I told my co-worker that I needed to write a sermon he said, “What is a sermon?”  This same co-worker apologized to a resident by saying, “My bad.”  I know what that means now, but to hear that for the first time can be confusing.  I am guessing that it means, “I am bad” or “mea culpa” which translates from the Latin for “the fault lies with me.”  An apology is certainly welcoming and encouraging if you know what that is.  Then, of course, when I first saw “mea culpa” in a letter written to me, I had to look it up.

            Close your eyes and imagine the brightness of that star, the one that stayed to rest over Bethlehem, where the baby Jesus laid in a food trough, crude and barren, yet just the right size at the right moment in history.  This is what the magi came looking for and this is where we also ought to look.  The star led them to Jesus, the son of God, the true light of the world who illuminates our lives and blesses them so that we may be a blessing to others.  It doesn’t matter if we are among the wealthiest and most powerful of the world or the lowliest of the lowly.  God calls all of us to be a blessing to those around us.  The gospel of God’s salvation is for all of us because we are all God’s children and God loves each and every one of us, no matter what.  Take that blessing and run with it.  Dare to spread God’s light everywhere you go. Remember always that God goes with you each step of the way. We have many tasks ahead of us.  We have much to do.  As the gospel of Matthew says elsewhere, “Let your light so shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16).”