The Reign of Christ?

Proper 29, Year C

Jeremiah 23:1-6             
Luke 1:68-79                  or         Psalm 46
Colossians 1:11-20                                            
Luke 23:33-43   
 
The last Sunday of the three year liturgical cycle presents us with a rather surprising image – Jesus crucified on a cross between two other condemned men.  This Sunday is often referred to as "the Reign of Christ."  What we expect after three years of Gospel lessons about our King is someone sitting victoriously on a high throne, ruling the world in all glory and power. Instead, we see what appears to be a broken man, suspended between two others who can't agree about who this person between them is.
 
Why are we presented with this image from the Passion experience as the culminating lesson after three years? Perhaps the explanation can be found not on a throne in some far away kingdom, but at the core of every human heart.
 
Let's remember the key messages from many of the previous Gospel lessons: God is love itself; God dearly loves us; God came to earth through Christ to show us what God is like, and to teach us how to live; God wants us to be loving, too, and have a personal relationship with Him. 
 
But love has to be a choice, or it cannot be love.  And to have a choice, we had to be given free will to make that choice.  With that free will, however, also comes the possibility that we will make some bad choices.  So, a tension arises within us, a tug-of-war between doing the will of God and all the worldly forces that sometimes hold us hostage. 
 
Internally, we are pressured by our survival and procreation instincts; because we are contained within human flesh, we seek safety and comfort, we want security and power, and we want to experience the pleasures this world has to offer.  These things are not evil, because they are part of who we are as flesh and bones. 
 
It's how we manage them that can create or avoid problems, which is often greatly influenced by external forces.  We are shaped by the norms of our culture, marketing propaganda, peer pressure, social illusions, and past personal experience – all of which may press against our spiritual values, morals, and the conscience of our God-given soul.
 
The soul part of us often struggles with the worldly part of us.  This is a battle we fight all of our lives.  It's what makes us human, and what helps us to grow as children of God, especially when we deal with this tension in a proper way. 
 
The two condemned men hanging on the opposite sides of Jesus represent the two sides of this battle.  One of them joined in what the crowd was saying: "If you are the Messiah, save yourself!  If you are the King, save yourself!" And they mocked and scoffed at Jesus.  Our false self can easily accuse, reject, deny and disconnect from the truth. It's our worldly side getting the better of us, covering up our true self and our true identity – creating a world of darkness.
 
The other man represents our soul side. This man could see deeply, he could see the truth, and he was humble.  Full of openness, understanding, and compassion, he surrendered himself to Jesus: "Remember me when you come into your kingdom."  As St. Paul wrote in Colossians 1, "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us in to the kingdom of His beloved Son..."
 
And there, in the middle of this personal struggle inside each of us, is Christ.  Arms outstretched to bring the two sides together, he is always present between the tension of our worldly self and our true soul.  He is the mediator that knows and understands what we face as humans. He is the instrument of God to heal us, to bring us peace, to make us whole.  Not there to accuse, condemn or punish, but ever-present to unite, redeem, and refresh.
 
The Reign of Christ is not on some throne in a far away kingdom, but rules within our very heart.  He stands in the midst of our troubles and personal sorrows, mending and resting, healing and soothing.
 
The psalmist writes, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth itself should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea...The Lord of Hosts is with us...Be still and know that I am God."

When Kingdoms Collide

Proper 28, Year C

Isaiah 65:17-25              or         Malachi 4:1-2a
Isaiah 12:1-6                  or         Psalm 98
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13                                      
Luke 21:5-19     
 
The presence of God’s love and wisdom in this world has always created a tension at some level.  Even Jesus said that his arrival here would bring trouble: “Don’t think that peace follows me to earth; it’s not peace that comes, but a sword.”  (Matthew 10:34)   This is not what one normally imagines would happen upon the arrival of the Lamb of God, the Great Shepherd. But even for him, this tension resulted in his execution on the cross.

So, why is there such tension in the world at the presence of God in Jesus, even today?  We find the core of the answer in Isaiah, when he writes, “And God said, ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God is love, and God creates out of love.  God wants us to be loving, too.  But love can only exist when it’s a choice, and that means there must be free will to make that choice.  With free will, however, comes the possibility that bad choices will be made – choices that stem from things that cloud the soul, such as avarice, arrogance, power, wealth, prejudice, fear, and illusions.  These ways are not God’s ways.

Historically, and even in today’s world, many of mankind’s social, economic, political, and religious systems are based on these bad choices.  As a result, we end up with poverty, famine, diseases, unfair discrimination, economic inequality, waste, wars, and pollution.  Some people benefit greatly at the expense of others by creating the power to nurture these lop-sided conditions. But these systems are sustained only when those controlling them maintain the power to do so.  Change begins to happen when those who are oppressed are empowered to act. 

This is where the tension emerges.  Those in power (who do not want change to happen) strongly oppose those that do want the change.  Current power structures are threatened; those in power could lose prestige, wealth, power, and visibility (all things of the dysfunctional ego).  So they fight back, not realizing what the truths in life really are.  It turns into a battle between egos versus hearts. 

Jesus brought us a message of love that was welcomed by many people, but despised by others.  Ultimately, his opponents arranged a mock trial and got him executed.  But, as we know, even that didn’t stop him from promoting God’s love.  And it shouldn’t stop us either!  As Jesus stated in Luke 21, “You may be hated by all because of my Name.  But not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your souls.” 

Regardless of what happens to us, “all will be well,” as Julian of Norwich reminds us.  We may suffer some trials and tribulations, but in the end, God will bring us to complete restoration and refreshment in His kingdom. 

As Jesus and his disciples walked past the temple, “adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God,” Jesus predicted that not one of the stones will be left upon another – all would be thrown down.  This lead to a description of what we often think of as the “end times.”  Perhaps this is the final period of change, when Christ returns to establish what Isaiah calls “new heavens and a new earth.” (Isaiah 65:17)  The eternal tension between mankind and God comes to a final resolution, and a new world order is instituted for all our good for all time.

But we don’t know when these end times will be.  In the meantime, we have work to do here.  We must continue to fight the good fight of love.  And the best way to do this is to become the person you were truly meant to be, and to live your life to its fullest. 

Each of us has been given some special gifts, talents, interests, and skills.  Our main task is to find out what these are, and then use them to our fullest.  Each person contributes to the overall good of God’s plan, regardless of what he or she does, as long as it’s being who were truly were made to be.  We must learn to appreciate gifts not only in ourselves, but in others as well.  Just because we have differences does not mean some are better and some are worse.  They are all important to God!

Did you know that stopping to admire the beauty of a flower, or to appreciate its fragrance, is creating admiration and appreciation in this world?  This is a wonderful creative gift that some people have!

Did you know that offering someone a smile or a kind word strengthens the invisible connections we have between each other, thus creating a stronger family of God?  How powerful this talent of creation is!

Did you know that offering a prayer for someone else can actually create a new life in that person (or even in yourself)!  The Kingdom grows stronger through this gift!

Don't measure your gifts and skills based on mankind’s standards.  Remember that God’s ways are higher than our ways.

Are Marriages Made in Heaven?

Proper 27, Year C
 
Haggai 1:15b-2:9                                   or         Job 19:23-27a
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21     or Psalm 98     or         Psalm 17:1-9
2 Thess. 2:1-5, 13-17                                         
Luke 20:27-38   
 
The Sadducees were part of a Jewish religious group active during the time of Jesus' ministry.  They were associated with the upper social and economic classes of the time, and managed the Temple activities.  They generally didn't believe in the resurrection of the body, or even that a person had a soul, and therefore sometimes clashed with Jesus.
 
In Luke 20 we encounter another example of this.  They challenged Jesus again, this time pressing him with a somewhat sarcastic question about marriage in the afterlife.  They asked him about a woman who married seven times in her earthly life and, after her earthly death, "Whose wife shall she be in the resurrection?"
 
Jesus squashed their challenge with a simple response stating that marriage was a human institution, and not something that is needed in the time of resurrection.  It's something people do in this life, but not in the next.  Why?  Because in the next life we will all be considered as brothers and sisters – children of the one God – and won't be marrying anyone.  It just won't be necessary.
 
Marriage is indeed a human institution, and took many forms throughout history.  Even today there are many types of marriage.  Some cultures allow polygamous marriage, some allow inter-racial marriages, some allow same-sex marriages.  In some cultures, marriages are arranged by force.  Other marriages are created to simply designate who belongs to whom, as one would hold title to property.  Many cultures prohibit marriages between close relatives for genetic reasons.  Others simply arrange them for political reasons or for succession of property.
 
Jesus was in no way diminishing the value of a good marriage when he answered the Sadducees.  In fact, he knew that good marriages add much to a culture, and serve to strengthen a society, not to mention the value it can have for one's immediate family. 
 
But Jesus was trying to keep things in perspective.  There is a much larger marriage going on, a marriage between God and all His children, bringing them into a much larger family.  This is a marriage of our spirits – our souls – a blessed union that lasts forever.  By pointing this out to the Sadducees, he was also emphasizing that people do, indeed, have souls.  His exclamation point to the Sadducees was, "God is not God of the dead, but of the living; for to Him all of them are alive."
 
It would benefit all of us if we could start viewing ourselves in this life as the brothers and sisters we'll be in the next.  It has always been God's intent to bring His kingdom to earth, and that's what we pray for when we offer the Lord's Prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
 
If a marriage here on earth can bring two people (any two people) closer to God, and helps these two people build a loving relationship with each other (which, in turn, helps them to learn how to love their neighbor), then we are stepping out of bounds if we stand in their way.  It is, after all, a small reflection of a much bigger family reunion that is coming soon!
 
From the inside out, we are all in the same family of God.  We are all interconnected as brothers and sisters. That's why we sometimes call each other "brother" or "sister".  When we call ourselves "Brother" or "Sister" it's a reminder for us to know our place in life – not above anyone else; not beneath anyone else.  It should be a humbling reminder. 
 
How much would this world change if we could greet the stranger as a family member?

 

Salvation is a Journey that Begins Now

Proper 26, Year C
 
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4               or         Isaiah 1:10-18
Psalm 119:137-144                    or         Psalm 32:1-7
2 Thess. 1:1-4, 11-12                                         
Luke 19:1-10     
 
Zacchaeus, a rich tax collector, felt some deep dissonance within himself, something that persistently disturbed his peace, letting him know that things were not right in his heart.  His money didn't satisfy him, and his power didn't satisfy him.  He was living a false life, he was living a lie, and he knew it.
 
Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus, and felt the nudge to find out if this man could provide the answer.  Now Jesus was coming to Jericho, so Zacchaeus was determined to at least see him.  Climbing a tree to get above the crowds, Zacchaeus was stunned when Jesus stopped and invited himself to Zacchaeus' house.  Once the encounter with the loving Christ happened, there was no turning back – Zacchaeus was now a changed man, and Jesus proclaimed that "Today, salvation has come to this house."
 
Salvation has a beginning, but perhaps has no end.  It becomes a way of life that starts now and continues on through eternity.  Salvation means that one's past is surrendered to the mercy of God, the future is left to the Providence of God, and the present moment becomes filled with the love of God.  There is no room left for anything but the love of God.  Each moment becomes a new past, and shapes a new future.
 
The tugging that Zacchaeus felt in his heart is something put there by God.  It won't go away, because His love for us won't go away.  It's steadfast and enduring.  It's an invitation to be open to God's love, to His guidance, and to His presence.  If we accept this invitation, as Zacchaeus did, we meet God through the living Jesus, and we see in him what we are meant to be. 
 
Salvation is taking the next step to become that person.
 
What happened to Zacchaeus?  He ended up sharing his wealth with the poor.  He made restitution for his past wrongs.  And he viewed his life very differently from that moment on.  He become the person that he was made to be.  As Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5, "A person in Christ is a new creation; everything old has passed away, everything has become new."  That is salvation.
 
Our task is to discover who we were made to be, to become what we really are – not what other people want us to be.  We need to find our place in the body of Christ, wherever that may be, and realize that whatever it is we're doing, it's equally important to the body as every other part.  Read Paul's description of the body of Christ in I Corinthians 12.  He does an excellent job of keeping things in perspective.
 
The crowds of people (things and pressures of this world) can keep us from seeing this truth, much like the crowds that kept Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus.  Zacchaeus separated himself from the crowd so that he had a chance to see the one who would bring him salvation.  Find your own sycamore tree and climb it.  As the psalmist writes in Psalm 119, "Give me understanding that I may live."

Mistaken Identity

Proper 25, Year C
 
Joel 2:23-32        or         Sirach 35:12-17 and Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22
Psalm 65             or         Psalm 84:1-7
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18                                     
Luke 18:9-14     
 
The most important thing that each of us has to do in life is to find our true identity.  We need to know our roots, who we belong to, and what unique gifts, interests, and talents we have been given to become who we were made to be in this life. This is a job of the heart, not of the head.  If we let the head do it, we could very well end up with a false identity.
 
"The secret of our identity lies in how we can reveal our inner quality of aliveness.  When we fail to be who we really are, we sicken."                       - Cynthia Bourgeault
 
Our true identity rests deep within our soul, waiting to be discovered, anxious to be released.  Often, as we travel through life, our true identity gets covered up, like a dirty light bulb, with illusions, desires, prejudices, fears, arrogance, shame, or worry.  We develop a false self, someone truly foreign to us, but who nevertheless finds a place in mankind's system of things. What's shining on the inside never makes it to the surface. 
 
This was true of Saul, until he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9)  Saul was a persecutor of the Church, sending some followers to prison.  On his way to Damascus to continue this persecution, he was intercepted by Jesus: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" The encounter with Jesus caused temporary blindness in Saul, but eventually was relieved by Ananias, a disciple of the church.
 
Ananias laid hands on Saul, and "Immediately something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and his sight was restored."  The false self of Saul dissolved, and Saul's true self was able to shine through.  From then on Saul (soon to be known as Paul) understood what the love of God was really about, and worked for the Church until his earthly passing.
 
"To become God-like is to identify ourselves with the divine element which in fact constitutes our essential nature, but of which, in our mainly voluntary ignorance, we choose to remain unaware."                                                          - Aldous Huxley
 
Jesus further described this huge difference between the false self and the true self in the parable recorded in Luke 18.  Two men went to pray in the temple.  The Pharisee (and certainly not all Pharisees were like this) was living through his false self, much like Saul was.  He thought he was in God's good favor because he went above and beyond what the rules required.  He thought the way to God was through his status and behavior.  He was depending entirely on himself, a mistaken identity.
 
The other man, a tax collector, was at a different place inside.  He had discovered his true self, and because of this he understood his connection with God and with other people, and how his thoughts, words, and deeds either hurt or helped God's creation.  He grasped the idea that we're all interconnected, and connected with God.  This discovery led him to changing his life, much as Saul did.  In the words of Jesus, he will become "justified" – to be made complete as an individual that is part of the whole, part of the family of God.
 
Some people discover their true identity early in life. Some people never do.  It all depends on how thick the false self is that covers the true self.  It may be a soft word or gentle touch that cracks the tough exterior coating.  It may take a life-threatening situation or financial disaster.  It Saul's case, it took an intervention by Christ himself. 
 
Once we discover this inner true self, it gradually manifests itself in our outer purpose in life.  We begin to make changes in our life that represent who and what we really are.  Our outer life is in harmony with our inner identity.  Some of these changes are risky, and may be costly in terms of material position and security; but they nevertheless lead us to a fullness in life that can't be achieved anyway else. Our mind, body, and soul grow together in harmony.
 
One thing we must remember is that regardless of who we meet and deal with during the day, how irritable or annoying they may be, underneath what we see and hear rests a true self waiting to be discovered.  Their false self is not all their fault – we don't know what they've been through in life, or what they're facing at the moment.  So be gentle.
 

Persistence and Prayer

Proper 24, Year C

Jeremiah 31:27-34          or         Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 121                       or         Psalm 119:97-104
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5                                           
Luke 18:1-8       
 
Luke 18 provides a difficult passage that offers richness in possibilities.  Commonly considered a lesson that "persistent prayer brings results," we find that the reason for this is perhaps different from what we think.  Let's remember that the widow wasn't praying to the judge persistently, she was assertively confronting him until she won her case. But she probably couldn't have kept this up unless she had the spiritual power to do so.
 
Jesus opens his lesson with two important points: the need to pray always, and not to lose heart.  There was a widow, Jesus said, who sought justice from an unjust judge.  This widow probably had no power or money, two things that are advantageous in a worldly system of politics, greed and power.  But the widow did have persistence!  She finally got what she wanted by pestering the judge persistently, never giving up. 
 
She didn't give up in pursuing her cause, which was one of Jesus' points to this story: don't lose heart, particularly when battling a secular system that is indifferent to justice for all.  One must keep fighting for what is right and just, even when the odds seem insurmountable.
 
But how does one maintain the energy, the passion and the motivation to keep fighting the good fight?  That is the second point Jesus was making: the need to pray always.  The basic function of prayer is to get us in touch with God.  When we do this, we connect with His power source, His love for us and the world, and we are re-energized, refreshed, and renewed once again. 
 
This is the balance we need in the dance of life – sometimes we need silent time, prayer time, contemplative time; and sometimes we are out engaging the world, serving as God's hands, feet, and voice in our day-to-day activities.  This, I believe, was the contrast that Jesus was trying to make in this story.
 
Jesus affirms that the unjust judge is not like God by comparing what the judge did with how God responds to His children: "Will He delay long in helping them [like the unjust judge]?  I tell you, He will quickly grant justice to them."  No need to beg, grovel or pester.
 
Justice in Biblical times had a broader meaning than what we think it is today.  Back then it meant to restore equity to a person – not just in monetary terms, but in a sense of wholeness as a human being.  A person became just when they were connected with God through prayer and were given the wisdom and understanding of His love.  They achieved a harmony between mind, body and soul.  Armed with this, he or she could engage the world in a powerful way, to overcome even the worst of the unjust judges.
 
It's true that we need to be persistent in prayer, but in doing so it's meant to give us the fuel to venture out and confront the wrongs in this world.  The widow had the power to maintain her persistence because she prayed often. 
 
Jesus concludes this lesson with an admonition: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"  That is, he who has ears to hear, let them listen to this advice!  The person who stays secluded from the world will have little impact on it.  But the person who never prays, who never takes time to renew, refresh, or recharge one's spiritual batteries will burn out too quickly, and also have little or no impact on the world.  Once again, balance is the key.

Jesus has sent us the Advocate to teach us; but we have to take time to listen to the Teacher.

The Four Degrees of Love

Proper 23, Year C
 
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7           or         2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15
Psalm 66:1-12                 or         Psalm 111
2 Timothy 2:8-15                                    
Luke 17:11-19   
 
About 1,000 years ago, St. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, wrote about what he called the four degrees of love.  These degrees of love, when placed in order, suggest a gradual development of love within a person, much like the physical or intellectual development of a person from birth through old age.
 
St. Bernard's degrees of love not only help us to explain the behavior of the lepers in Luke 17, but they can also give us an idea of where we're at, and what other possibilities there are for spiritual growth.
 
Most people begin life just trying to survive.  Some people struggle for the basics of food, clothing, shelter, and security most of their lives, through no fault of their own.  They develop a survival mentality that carries over into their relationships which never has the chance to grow into something more beautiful.  People in this first degree of love, according to St. Bernard, usually love themselves for their own sake.
 
Perhaps the nine lepers who didn't return to give thanks to God were at this basic level of love.  They were healed, and possibly attributed this healing to their good fortune, without the slightest thought of gratitude to God or anyone else.
 
Perhaps a slightly more spiritually mature approach was the one taken by the lone leper who returned to Jesus to praise God "with a loud voice."  This reflects what St. Bernard would call the second degree of love, where a person loves God, but still for his or her own sake.  The person realizes where his or her help originated, and as the psalmist declares, "I lift up my eyes to the hills; from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)  God is loved as a provider of help and comfort.
 
If this happens enough, St. Bernard suggests, then the person may actually begin to understand the nature of God's love, exclaiming as did the psalmist, "O taste and see that the Lord is Good..." (Psalm 34:8)  At this point the person actually begins to love God for God's sake.  This is the third degree of love.  As in loving other people for their sake, we wish the best for them, we try to help them, we promote them because of who they are, not because of who we are, and sometimes it may cost us something to do so.
 
St. Paul reaches (and often goes beyond) this point.  We see an example of this when he writes to Timothy, "I endure everything for the sake of the elect..."  He is willing to endure hardships to promote his belief in Christ, "even to the point of being chained like a criminal."  he loves because he is loved.
 
At some point, says St. Bernard, a person may reach the fourth degree of love.  It may not happen in this lifetime, but eventually the person will be made complete in this love, either in this life or the next.  And what is this state of love?  It's when things come full circle, and people learn to love themselves for the sake of God!  It's at that point that a person understands that they are actually a temple of God, that God abides within them, and they abide in God. 
 
As Jesus taught us, "the kingdom of God is within you."  We pray daily through the words of the Lord's Prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  This is accomplished by us becoming like God, and living as though God were working through us. Saint Teresa of Avila said it well when she wrote, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ is to go about doing good.”
 
This is the fourth degree of love.  Realizing that we are all one family, all brothers and sisters, under One God, our Parent.  We learn, because of this interconnectedness, that what affects one of us, affects all of us to some degree.  As St. Paul writes in I Corinthians 12, "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it." 
 
Ten lepers were healed, but only one of them was on the path to being made "well."  Jesus recognized the difference between being healed (physically), and being well (spiritually).  The one leper was now on the path through the degrees of love, on the path to being human, on the path to becoming whole, to becoming an instrument of God here on earth. 
 
We approach this wholeness, this humanness, when we come to learn about who we really are as individuals, what unique gifts we have been given – regardless of how small or large we think they are – and how to use them in the place where we have been planted.  If each person does this, then the individual people become the whole united family.
 

She Did What She Could

Proper 22, Year C
 
Lamentations 1:1-6; 3:19-26      or         Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalm 137           or         Psalm 37:1-9
2 Timothy 1:1-14                                              
Luke 17:5-10     
 

At one point when Jesus had been teaching his disciples, they requested, “Increase our faith!” It appears that this request pleased Jesus, because he affirmed how powerful faith could be: “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
 
But what, exactly, is faith?  Some people would say that faith is essentially belief; others might say that faith is when the soul has trust in the unseen future – when belief and confidence far outweigh the fear and uncertainty of the mind.  At any rate, faith comes with a growth in spiritual maturity.
 
So what follows in this Gospel text must then be viewed with eye toward spiritual growth.  And if God is indeed love, then this spiritual growth would therefore be based in love, and nothing else. So, understanding the passage in Luke 17, like all scriptural understanding, must be based in love.
 
Jesus continues with an example of what this love would look like between a master and his servant, "Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table?' "  Jesus crosses the barriers of social and economic class, putting everyone at his table.  We should do this!
 
Then he describes what we (generally speaking) would normally do based on social norms: "Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'?"  We may prefer to maintain the divide in social and economic class – but Jesus would prefer that we treat each person as an equal, as a brother or sister in the Lord.
 
Next, in verse 9, comes an admonishment: "Do you thank the servant for doing what was commanded?  I think you don't."  But, of course, you should, is the implication. 
 
But this class abuse doesn't stop when dealing with other people.  We also do this to ourselves, as well: "So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless servants; we have done only what we ought to have done!' "
 
To grow spiritually, to increase our faith, we must put ourselves in the proper frame of mind.  Jesus was not wanting to add burdens to us, making us think that no matter what we do with our lives, it is never enough.  This is a guilt trip that burdens our soul, interferes with our love, and inhibits spiritual understanding. 
 
Remember what Jesus said about burdens: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)
 
And remember when the woman came to him at Bethany with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment?  She used it to anoint Jesus, but was criticized because she did not meet the expectations of those around her.  Jesus rebuked them, saying, "She has done what she could." (Mark 14: 3-9)
 
It is not Jesus' intent to have us burn out in life and still feel like we fall short of salvation.  Our lives will be full indeed, and we will serve others best when we fill our hearts with love.  We need balance in our lives to function properly – rest, solitude, study, prayer, and nourishment must balance out our mission and service, or we'll self-destruct.  We must let Jesus decide that we've "done what we could," and not base our lives on the standards of society, peers or our own inner illusions.
 
We invite the servant to our tables, and we let God judge our day.
 
Faith is knowing that the present moment is the womb of the future.  If we fill each and every moment with our best effort at God's love, then the future will indeed be the best that it can be. Once again we can leave the past to God's mercy, and the future to His Providence.
 

The Folly of Religious Hostility

Recently a small bakery in Gresham, Oregon went out of business because they were being harassed by "mobs of gay people." The owner of the bakery, Aaron Klein, reported that, "The LGBT attacks are the reason we are shutting down the shop.  They have killed our business through mob attacks."

What started all this?  Apparently last January the bakery refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple because by doing so Klein's religious beliefs would be compromised.  "As a man of faith, I am in good spirits," Klein said. "I'm happy to be serving the Lord and standing up for what's right."  He cited the first amendment as his basis for free speech and expression.

Just to set the record straight (no pun intended), I've been happily married to a member of the opposite sex for forty-four years, and am a practicing Christian.  And I don't have any problem with two people who love each other and who want to live together, regardless of their gender.  We could use more love in today's world.  But apparently my brand of Christianity uses a different flour when it comes to baking cakes. 

The attack on the bakery was considered to be an attack on Christianity.  " Hopefully, the church will wake up and understand that we are under attack right now,” Klein warned.

I agree.  What happened at this bakery was indeed an attack on Christianity – but not the way Klein thinks.

I searched the teachings of Jesus as found in the Gospels, the core of Christianity.  I read every word, in fact, and couldn't come up with anything about how it's OK to treat gays and lesbians in a poor manner (or anybody else for that matter). 

I did find, however, numerous references to loving one's neighbor, loving one's enemies, and doing good to those who hurt you. That's because what you do to someone else, you actually are doing to yourself, as well.  I found that Jesus taught us to offer reverence and respect for all people, since we are all supposed to be children of the One Father.  This is a radical unity which is unfamiliar in our country that idolizes rugged individualism.

I also found that Jesus preached against unbridled capitalism, such as when 1% of the population makes 20% of the income, and the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen.  He preached against arrogance, and social class differences; he preached against people not having enough to live on – and about not getting paid a living wage.  He preached against cheating, sexism, racism, and warned those in power to serve the people honestly and with integrity. 

If the Kleins of this world want to be hostile, why not refuse to bake cakes for the greedy rich, the corrupt politicians, and the corporate executives who are more concerned with stock values than what they put in our food?

Seems like he's not baking cakes for the wrong people.

Apparently anyone who wears the mask of religious hostility has no interest in sitting down to discuss differences and try to understand and learn from each other.  We would rather try to antagonize the opponent into submission.  Don't we realize that people aren't going to be positively influenced when they're being antagonized at the same time?

But this goes for the mobs of gay people that worked to destroy this small bakery, too.  They also acted out of righteous indignation, forgetting the core principles of love taught by Jesus. 

We are all flawed to some degree, but we were made that way on purpose.  All the dents, missing virtues, and shortcomings in each of us are to be filled in by God's presence and love.  That's the way to make us whole; that's the way we learn to be real human beings, and learn how to live together. 

And about that first amendment right of free speech – it doesn't apply to Christians.  In true Christianity total freedom of speech or expression does not exist.  Christians are held to a higher standard than that.  They try to shape every thought, word and deed to promote only good and unity, not hate and division.  They try to treat others with reverence, respect, and dignity (according to their Baptismal vows), and they try to see other points of view.  

If we insist on following God's laws instead of man's laws, that's fine – but let's be sure of what they are, first.  Who knows, maybe we'll even learn how to bake cakes for people who love each other.

(Note: This article was also published today in the Appleton Post-Crescent)

On Serving God through Wealth

Proper 20, Year C
 
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1                       or         Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 79:1-9                   or         Psalm 113
1 Timothy 2:1-7                                     
Luke 16:1-13
 
 
On Serving God through Wealth
 
There seems to be some disagreement among commentators, or at least uncertainty, surrounding the Gospel lesson for this Sunday.  I think it's OK to have some uncertainty, as this leads to good discussion and perhaps some new insights into this living scripture. 
 
Jesus tells a story about a rich man and the rich man's money manager, who has been accused of mismanagement.  Out of concern for his future, the manager plans to make friends with those who owe money to the rich man, so he gives them a break on their debt.  In this way, if the manager loses his job, he may be able to count on some of those debtors for support.
 
When I compare translations of this lesson, and consider that even the translators may have been a bit confused about this story, I end up with this as a plausible explanation:
 
The rich man is indeed a symbol of God – for who can be richer in what is valued most?  And the money manager is, well, you and me and everyone else.  We are managing some amount of God's riches, whoever we are, and whether it be money, or shaping the lives of our children, or in helping a friend or neighbor. 
 
We note from the reading that charges were brought against the money manager – it doesn't say that the charges were valid or proven, it just says that the money manager was being accused of mismanagement.  And who is the complainant?  Could it be that ol' Accuser himself, the devil?  He would like to get everyone in trouble.  Perhaps it was someone acting on his behalf.
 
God, the rich man, is telling the manager that his time is up, and soon he can no longer be a manager.  God is asking for an accounting of this person's business; his life.  Perhaps the manager is being called home to God, and must now provide a record of how he lived. 
 
The manager knows his time is running out, that his "position is being taken away."  So, with the knowledge that his life is coming to an end, he realizes that he must as much good as he can before the end comes.  Under his authority as money manager, he goes out and begins to forgive the debtors of some of their debt.  It's an act of kindness that not only relieves the debtors of some of their monetary burden, but also, he hopes, paves the way for God to forgive him.
 
The rich man, when he learned of this, wasn't mad that he wouldn't be collecting all that was owed to him, but instead commended the accused manager for his shrewdness.  (Some translations read "dishonest manager," but we have to remember that he wasn't convicted, only accused.)  The rich man was pleased that there was some forgiveness happening; he considered forgiveness to be more valuable than collecting his due. 
 
Jesus reinforced the story by adding, "Make friends of those oppressed by unfair financial burdens, so that when this life is over, they may be able to help you in the next."  His point was that the rich can help the poor in this age, and then the poor can help the rich in the age to come.   
 
Jesus went on to explain that the action of the money manager shouldn't be done out of fear of God, but out of the love for God's creation and all His children.  He warned us that we cannot serve both the love of God and the love of money – these are incompatible.  We will "either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other."
 
Jesus often spoke out against financial oppression; the use of power and influence to gain more wealth by oppressing others.  Amos 8, one of the alternative readings for this day, describes this very well: "Hear this, you that trample on the needy, bringing to ruin the poor of the land, and say 'we will overcharge for the sale, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals...'  Surely, says the Lord, I will never forget any of their deeds."
 
Remember, however, there is nothing wrong with wealth.  It can be a good thing if acquired properly, and used wisely.  Wealth can be the impetus for positive change in this world, and often is.  But it can also be abused just as easily.  It all depends on where one's heart is, because that's where one's treasure is, too.
 
Paul sums it up well in his letter to Timothy when he writes, "God our Savior desires everyone to awaken to his truth."  It is truth of love and wholeness, not of threat or retribution. It is a truth of healing and unity, not of division and spite.