Brian’s Reflection: Friday, February 1, 2008
"There is no sound reason why women, if they have the time
and ability, shouldn't sit with men on city councils, in state
legislatures, and on Capitol Hill. Particularly if they have ability!"
- Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Carraway, born on this day, 1878, near
Bakersville, Tennessee
Do you know who Hattie was? She was the first women to be duly elected as a U.S. senator, from Arkansas. She had been appointed to fill out her husband’s term and later, to the astonishment of the men (who campaigned under the slogan, “Arkansas needs another man in the Senate”), was elected to her own term.
So of course this gives me the opportunity to slam the men (and I’m sure it was men) who demeaned God by interpreting the Genesis creation/Eden story in order to meet their sexist patriarchal prejudices. It is perfectly clear that Adam ate the apple by choice; Eve didn’t force him. The point of the story/myth was to show that human beings have the freedom to sin - or not. But oh no; men had to blame someone else – those “weak women” who led them astray. Oh give me a break! And think what horror those men bequeathed to us - and what horror continues to be visited upon us by this travesty of blame.
This is what I understand from Scripture and from the Gospel: Every human being is equal in the “sight of God”. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts. And it’s about time we, especially the Christian Church, started acting on this truth. Until we do, men and women will continue to suffer in countless ways. As will children, as a distorted and ungodly interpretation of the Bible continues to demean women and excuse men for their inhuman behaviour.
Remember Hattie.
Brian+
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, January 31, 2008
He was like a seed buried too deep in the soil to which the light had never penetrated, and which, therefore, has never forced its way upward to the open air, never experienced the resurrection of the dead. But seeds will grow ages after they have fallen into the earth; and indeed, with many kinds, and within some limits, the older the seed before it germinates, the more plentiful the fruit. And may it not be believed of many human beings, that, the great Husbandman having sown them like seeds in the soil of human affairs, there they lie buried a life long; and only after the upturning of the soil by death, reach a position in which the awakening of their aspiration and the consequent growth become possible. Surely {God} has made nothing in vain.
- George MacDonald, poet, theologian
So. Whadda ya think?? Is George being “metaphorical”? Or “literal”? Is “death” a moment when you suddenly realize that you were “dead” and now must wake up and live?? Or can?
Or. You actually die physically. And THEN you find that there is still time to LIVE. Come alive. Germinate?
I think both. Heretical??
Ponder!!
Brian+
He was like a seed buried too deep in the soil to which the light had never penetrated, and which, therefore, has never forced its way upward to the open air, never experienced the resurrection of the dead. But seeds will grow ages after they have fallen into the earth; and indeed, with many kinds, and within some limits, the older the seed before it germinates, the more plentiful the fruit. And may it not be believed of many human beings, that, the great Husbandman having sown them like seeds in the soil of human affairs, there they lie buried a life long; and only after the upturning of the soil by death, reach a position in which the awakening of their aspiration and the consequent growth become possible. Surely {God} has made nothing in vain.
- George MacDonald, poet, theologian
So. Whadda ya think?? Is George being “metaphorical”? Or “literal”? Is “death” a moment when you suddenly realize that you were “dead” and now must wake up and live?? Or can?
Or. You actually die physically. And THEN you find that there is still time to LIVE. Come alive. Germinate?
I think both. Heretical??
Ponder!!
Brian+
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
- Rabindranath Tagore
On good days, this is exactly how I feel! I was watching the large dark gray clouds scudding across the sky this morning, sailing along among large blur patches as I made my way from Chino Valley to Prescott for our annual clergy conference. (This morning, a presentation on fundamentalism – should be interesting!!). Snow was on the mountains, glittering in the morning sun. My head is stuffed up with allergies (??). My abdominal hernia is bulging and hurts a bit. I’m waiting for a prostate biopsy report. But you know what? I feel that then stream of life runs through the World – and that it runs through me!
I don’t always feel this. So I’m grateful today that I do. I feel my spouse attending lovingly to his clients in California. I feel my friends all over the World living their lives. I feel the morning sun in Jamaica and the toucans calling in Costa Rica and the strange feeling of the charcoal burning in the market in Nicaragua.
May the wonder of it all fill you today!
Brian+
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
- Rabindranath Tagore
On good days, this is exactly how I feel! I was watching the large dark gray clouds scudding across the sky this morning, sailing along among large blur patches as I made my way from Chino Valley to Prescott for our annual clergy conference. (This morning, a presentation on fundamentalism – should be interesting!!). Snow was on the mountains, glittering in the morning sun. My head is stuffed up with allergies (??). My abdominal hernia is bulging and hurts a bit. I’m waiting for a prostate biopsy report. But you know what? I feel that then stream of life runs through the World – and that it runs through me!
I don’t always feel this. So I’m grateful today that I do. I feel my spouse attending lovingly to his clients in California. I feel my friends all over the World living their lives. I feel the morning sun in Jamaica and the toucans calling in Costa Rica and the strange feeling of the charcoal burning in the market in Nicaragua.
May the wonder of it all fill you today!
Brian+
Monday, January 28, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I believe that every single event in life happens
in an opportunity to choose love over fear.
- Oprah Winfrey, amazing woman, born
on this day, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi
A friend of mine, a deacon in the Episcopal Church, lives in Kosciusko MS. So I got to see Oprah’s birthplace on the occasion of my friend’s ordination. Hmmm ………. interesting. Whatever you think about Oprah, or what she does, she is an amazing person and an amazing phenomenon.
I guess I have preached Oprah’s quote for decades now. I hope that it has been helpful now and then. I have found it so in my life – but I also have to confess that I don’t listen to my own advice as much as I want to. This past Sunday, the Gospel at the Eucharist was the story of Jesus calling James, John, Peter and Andrew; they immediately leave their jobs and family and follow. This is a parable of Oprah’s words. The four disciples [i.e., students, learners] saw Love in the Flesh, and let go of the fears. Oprah said, “We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” We need to fly, not just crawl. To fly we have to leap.
I’m heading into another adventure. I’ve had many in my life. But I admit that I haven’t approached them as primarily an opportunity to choose Love. I’m going to try to remember.
If you want to ponder some other things that Oprah has said:
Surround yourself with only people
who are going to lift you higher. [and be a Lifter!]
The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the
complete person you were intended to be.
Brian+
I believe that every single event in life happens
in an opportunity to choose love over fear.
- Oprah Winfrey, amazing woman, born
on this day, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi
A friend of mine, a deacon in the Episcopal Church, lives in Kosciusko MS. So I got to see Oprah’s birthplace on the occasion of my friend’s ordination. Hmmm ………. interesting. Whatever you think about Oprah, or what she does, she is an amazing person and an amazing phenomenon.
I guess I have preached Oprah’s quote for decades now. I hope that it has been helpful now and then. I have found it so in my life – but I also have to confess that I don’t listen to my own advice as much as I want to. This past Sunday, the Gospel at the Eucharist was the story of Jesus calling James, John, Peter and Andrew; they immediately leave their jobs and family and follow. This is a parable of Oprah’s words. The four disciples [i.e., students, learners] saw Love in the Flesh, and let go of the fears. Oprah said, “We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” We need to fly, not just crawl. To fly we have to leap.
I’m heading into another adventure. I’ve had many in my life. But I admit that I haven’t approached them as primarily an opportunity to choose Love. I’m going to try to remember.
If you want to ponder some other things that Oprah has said:
Surround yourself with only people
who are going to lift you higher. [and be a Lifter!]
The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the
complete person you were intended to be.
Brian+
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Monday, January 28, 2008
It's really clear to me that you can't hang
onto something longer than its time. Ideas
lose certain freshness, ideas have a shelf life,
and sometimes they have to be replaced by
other ideas.
- Alphonso D'Abruzzo, born on this day, 1936
Yep yep yep. It always changes. That’s how God teaches us “by sending us the Holy Spirit”. That’s how Life draws us on the journey of knowing why we are here. Ideas do have a shelf life. After their due date, they just become millstones around our necks, dragging us down, drowning us in the mire of a miserable status quo which can only produce stagnation.
Think about this today. Evolving is the only way to become human. Life is about being taught, about learning. Life is about developing from an infant brain that has to be completely taken care of to becoming a person who can make her/his own observations and decisions. Who contributes to the wonder of the human community by contributing her/his own wisdom to the common good.
Alphonso D’Abruzzo???
Alan Alda - Hawkeye on M.A.S.H.
Brian+
It's really clear to me that you can't hang
onto something longer than its time. Ideas
lose certain freshness, ideas have a shelf life,
and sometimes they have to be replaced by
other ideas.
- Alphonso D'Abruzzo, born on this day, 1936
Yep yep yep. It always changes. That’s how God teaches us “by sending us the Holy Spirit”. That’s how Life draws us on the journey of knowing why we are here. Ideas do have a shelf life. After their due date, they just become millstones around our necks, dragging us down, drowning us in the mire of a miserable status quo which can only produce stagnation.
Think about this today. Evolving is the only way to become human. Life is about being taught, about learning. Life is about developing from an infant brain that has to be completely taken care of to becoming a person who can make her/his own observations and decisions. Who contributes to the wonder of the human community by contributing her/his own wisdom to the common good.
Alphonso D’Abruzzo???
Alan Alda - Hawkeye on M.A.S.H.
Brian+
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Friday, January 25, 2008
Here's A Bottle
Here's a bottle and an honest friend !
What wad ye wish for mair, man ?
Wha kens, before his life may end,
What his share may be o' care, man ?
Then catch the moments as they fly,
And use them as ye ought, man :
Believe me, happiness is shy,
And comes not aye when sought, man.
- Robbie Burns, Scottish poet, born on this day, 1759
Ah! My friends Marty and Gilly will be lifting a glass to Burns on this Burns Night – and maybe eating haggis! Marty is wonderful at “declaring” Burns’ Address to the Haggis! Don’t turn up your nose until you’ve tried it – I love haggis. Though I was once giggled at by a B&B hostess on Loch Awe, who was a little taken aback that I wanted it for ….. breakfast. (With blood pudding and eggs etc – yum!)
A bottle and an honest friend. How important conviviality and friendship to help us through Life and “what [our] share may be o’care”.
Burns says, Live in the moment. That’s what I am going to try and do more in the future. So much of our Life goes by unnoticed and unappreciated and unengaged. And yet Life offers so much.
Simple. That’s one of the great delights of Burn’s poetry and song.
Hail to the Haggis!!
Brian+
Here's A Bottle
Here's a bottle and an honest friend !
What wad ye wish for mair, man ?
Wha kens, before his life may end,
What his share may be o' care, man ?
Then catch the moments as they fly,
And use them as ye ought, man :
Believe me, happiness is shy,
And comes not aye when sought, man.
- Robbie Burns, Scottish poet, born on this day, 1759
Ah! My friends Marty and Gilly will be lifting a glass to Burns on this Burns Night – and maybe eating haggis! Marty is wonderful at “declaring” Burns’ Address to the Haggis! Don’t turn up your nose until you’ve tried it – I love haggis. Though I was once giggled at by a B&B hostess on Loch Awe, who was a little taken aback that I wanted it for ….. breakfast. (With blood pudding and eggs etc – yum!)
A bottle and an honest friend. How important conviviality and friendship to help us through Life and “what [our] share may be o’care”.
Burns says, Live in the moment. That’s what I am going to try and do more in the future. So much of our Life goes by unnoticed and unappreciated and unengaged. And yet Life offers so much.
Simple. That’s one of the great delights of Burn’s poetry and song.
Hail to the Haggis!!
Brian+
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, January 24, 2008
Listen to the sound of water.
Listen to the water running through the chasms and rocks.
It is the minor streams that make a loud noise;
the great waters flow silently.
The hollow resounds and the full is still.
Foolishness is like a half-filled pot;
the wise person is a lake full of water.
- Sutta Nipata 720-721
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” We most all know that little proverb, yes? And of course, it might be true that the squeaky wheel needs the grease! I suspect that the “squeaky wheel” – the complainer, the whiner, the legalist, etc – is like the “minor stream” making a “loud noise”. They - or we, when we are squeaking - are a “resounding hollow”, empty in some or many ways like a “half-full pot”. Something important is missing.
I wonder if, when we are being a squeaky wheel making our way through the chasms and rocks of Life, we can ever hear ourselves the loud noise we are making, and know that there is a problem we have to deal with. Or, can we learn? Just a thought. I would think that if we are taking our Journey seriously, especially the inner one, we ought to be able to learn to listen to our inner streams. But, I guess we often need help!
A lake can either be “natural” or it can be created. Could it be that sometimes we need to build strategic dams in the right inner places? Dams of “spiritual” practice that allow the full still silent “lake” to be created at our centre, holding in wisdom? This makes for Unsqueaky Wheels. And when needed, the sluices can be opened and healing waters judiciously poured out on whatever needs renewing.
Resounding hollow, or still lake?
Brian+
Listen to the sound of water.
Listen to the water running through the chasms and rocks.
It is the minor streams that make a loud noise;
the great waters flow silently.
The hollow resounds and the full is still.
Foolishness is like a half-filled pot;
the wise person is a lake full of water.
- Sutta Nipata 720-721
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” We most all know that little proverb, yes? And of course, it might be true that the squeaky wheel needs the grease! I suspect that the “squeaky wheel” – the complainer, the whiner, the legalist, etc – is like the “minor stream” making a “loud noise”. They - or we, when we are squeaking - are a “resounding hollow”, empty in some or many ways like a “half-full pot”. Something important is missing.
I wonder if, when we are being a squeaky wheel making our way through the chasms and rocks of Life, we can ever hear ourselves the loud noise we are making, and know that there is a problem we have to deal with. Or, can we learn? Just a thought. I would think that if we are taking our Journey seriously, especially the inner one, we ought to be able to learn to listen to our inner streams. But, I guess we often need help!
A lake can either be “natural” or it can be created. Could it be that sometimes we need to build strategic dams in the right inner places? Dams of “spiritual” practice that allow the full still silent “lake” to be created at our centre, holding in wisdom? This makes for Unsqueaky Wheels. And when needed, the sluices can be opened and healing waters judiciously poured out on whatever needs renewing.
Resounding hollow, or still lake?
Brian+
Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Love After Love
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
- Derek Walcott, poet, playwright, born on this
day, 1930, in St. Lucia, Windward Islands,
Lesser Antilles (Nobel Prize in Literature 1992)
I remember the first and only time I went to St. Lucia. I was on a launch. Like so many of my travels in the Caribbean, and especially while I lived in Nicaragua, I felt as if I were in a living National Geographic tableau. Or a Hemingway novel. This was in the 70’s. St. Lucia was lovely then, quiet and simple. I’m not sure I would like it so much now, from what I hear about the tourist trade.
I remember reading Walcott when I was there. And I seem to remember a plaque on some building or in some government museum about Derek Walcott.
“Sit. Feast on your life.” This is such a poignant poem, such a touching captured feeling. The end of a love affair – though I wonder if, no, I think they never “end”. Good or bad, they become part of our being, our experience, our makeup. Certainly they influence how we respond later to Life and Love.
I think any true love affair has to be “self-effacing”, perhaps “self-forgetful”. One has to give oneself to the other person. But, self-effacing is not – and never should be – self-denying or self-negating. One always has to have something to give. Neither person can get “lost” in the relationship. Or there isn’t one – not an authentic one. True with people, and true with the Mystery we call God.
If Love doesn’t last, perhaps it is because one did not first love oneself. One’s amazing gift of Life.
Interesting Walcott would say, “Give bread. Give wine.” - to oneself. Just as Christians offer bread and wine to God, and God gives Herself back in it. Yes, God and we, like all lovers, are in a sense One.
Brian+
Love After Love
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
- Derek Walcott, poet, playwright, born on this
day, 1930, in St. Lucia, Windward Islands,
Lesser Antilles (Nobel Prize in Literature 1992)
I remember the first and only time I went to St. Lucia. I was on a launch. Like so many of my travels in the Caribbean, and especially while I lived in Nicaragua, I felt as if I were in a living National Geographic tableau. Or a Hemingway novel. This was in the 70’s. St. Lucia was lovely then, quiet and simple. I’m not sure I would like it so much now, from what I hear about the tourist trade.
I remember reading Walcott when I was there. And I seem to remember a plaque on some building or in some government museum about Derek Walcott.
“Sit. Feast on your life.” This is such a poignant poem, such a touching captured feeling. The end of a love affair – though I wonder if, no, I think they never “end”. Good or bad, they become part of our being, our experience, our makeup. Certainly they influence how we respond later to Life and Love.
I think any true love affair has to be “self-effacing”, perhaps “self-forgetful”. One has to give oneself to the other person. But, self-effacing is not – and never should be – self-denying or self-negating. One always has to have something to give. Neither person can get “lost” in the relationship. Or there isn’t one – not an authentic one. True with people, and true with the Mystery we call God.
If Love doesn’t last, perhaps it is because one did not first love oneself. One’s amazing gift of Life.
Interesting Walcott would say, “Give bread. Give wine.” - to oneself. Just as Christians offer bread and wine to God, and God gives Herself back in it. Yes, God and we, like all lovers, are in a sense One.
Brian+
Monday, January 21, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“All is Vanity”, Saith the Preacher
Fame, wisdom, love, and power were mine,
And health and youth possessed me;
My goblets blushed from every vine,
And lovely forms caressed me;
I sunned my heart in beauty’ eyes,
And felt my soul grow tender;
All earth can give, or mortal prize,
Was mine of regal splendour.
I strive to number o’er what days
Remembrance can discover,
Which all that life or earth displays
Would lure me to live over.
There rose no day, there rolled no hour
Of pleasure unembittered;
And not a trapping decked my power
That galled not while it glittered.
The serpent of the field, by art
And spells, is won from harming;
But that which soils around the heart,
Oh! who hath power of charming?
It will not list to wisdom’s lore,
Nor music’s voice can lure it;
But there it stings for evermore
The soul that must endure it.
- George Gordon, Lord Byron
born on this day, 1788
“But that which soils around the heart.” I know what mine is, that “that which soils”. Do you know yours? The World is full of tempters and temptresses, charming, delightful. I have nothing against the delights of earthly life – except perhaps that some hoard them and deny them to others. But they, those things, are as ephemeral as the mist. The pleasure they offer is fantasy. My, don’t I sound old fashioned! But it’s true.
I do not agree with Byron, charmer though he was, that the usurper cannot be dislodged; that it does not yield to any wisdom or music or power. It yields to Charity – to that sweet caring for others which delights the soul more than any other false idol, and lifts us to Bliss.
Go on! Believe!
Brian+
“All is Vanity”, Saith the Preacher
Fame, wisdom, love, and power were mine,
And health and youth possessed me;
My goblets blushed from every vine,
And lovely forms caressed me;
I sunned my heart in beauty’ eyes,
And felt my soul grow tender;
All earth can give, or mortal prize,
Was mine of regal splendour.
I strive to number o’er what days
Remembrance can discover,
Which all that life or earth displays
Would lure me to live over.
There rose no day, there rolled no hour
Of pleasure unembittered;
And not a trapping decked my power
That galled not while it glittered.
The serpent of the field, by art
And spells, is won from harming;
But that which soils around the heart,
Oh! who hath power of charming?
It will not list to wisdom’s lore,
Nor music’s voice can lure it;
But there it stings for evermore
The soul that must endure it.
- George Gordon, Lord Byron
born on this day, 1788
“But that which soils around the heart.” I know what mine is, that “that which soils”. Do you know yours? The World is full of tempters and temptresses, charming, delightful. I have nothing against the delights of earthly life – except perhaps that some hoard them and deny them to others. But they, those things, are as ephemeral as the mist. The pleasure they offer is fantasy. My, don’t I sound old fashioned! But it’s true.
I do not agree with Byron, charmer though he was, that the usurper cannot be dislodged; that it does not yield to any wisdom or music or power. It yields to Charity – to that sweet caring for others which delights the soul more than any other false idol, and lifts us to Bliss.
Go on! Believe!
Brian+
Brian’s Reflection: Monday, January 21, 2008
Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money
on military defense than on programs of social uplift is
approaching spiritual doom.
I think we’ve arrived. What do you think?
Almost always, the creative dedicated
minority has made the world better.
And it cost a lot, often their lives.
At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
I/we need to remember this.
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Alas; true. Think how this dehumanizes the oppressor.
Human salvation lies in the hands of
the creatively maladjusted.
“Fools for Christ” ??
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted,
every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places
will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed
and all flesh shall see it together.
May we all be dreamers.
- Quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.
Brian+
Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money
on military defense than on programs of social uplift is
approaching spiritual doom.
I think we’ve arrived. What do you think?
Almost always, the creative dedicated
minority has made the world better.
And it cost a lot, often their lives.
At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
I/we need to remember this.
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed.
Alas; true. Think how this dehumanizes the oppressor.
Human salvation lies in the hands of
the creatively maladjusted.
“Fools for Christ” ??
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted,
every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places
will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed
and all flesh shall see it together.
May we all be dreamers.
- Quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.
Brian+
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sermon for: January 20, 2008 [Epiphany II A Brian McHugh, priest & vicar
[Is 49:1-7][Ps 40:1-12][I Cor 1:1-9][Jn 1:29-42]
“Here He is, God’s Passover Lamb!” These are the words of John the Baptizer the day after he had baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. And the day after that, the same words: “Here He is, God’s Passover Lamb”. This time, two of John’s disciples leave him and go after Jesus. They spend the evening with Him. And after that short time, Andrew goes to find his brother Peter and says to him, “We have found the Messiah!” That day, Simon becomes Peter, the rock. He becomes a symbol – of what? That God’s Kingdom of Love and Salvation will be built on those, no matter how weak, denying or even betraying, who are open to being cleansed from sin and who say “yes” to the call from God.
“Here He is, God’s Passover Lamb! What would the people around John have thought when they heard these words and their odd association? What should come to our minds if we know the Scriptures well enough? What should come to mind are these words from Exodus[1]:
“Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family … your lamb shall be without blemish … You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night ….. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand ….. It is the passover of the Lord ….. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you …”
By the early 2nd century, John’s Gospel finally went from aural to written form. It’s writers had come to see a connection between what God had done at the time of the flight of the people of Israel from Egypt and what God had done in Jesus. Think about it. God’s people are yet again in bondage, not just to the Romans but, more critically, to their sins. God sends John the Baptist, like Moses, to prepare them for liberation. As John says[2], “my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”
And then comes Jesus. He preached the Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Salvation. He, like the Passover lamb, was killed and His blood was shed. I can see these followers of Jesus making connections as they think and pray and talk. What is the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection? A light, flowing from their ancient experience as God’s people, illumines their minds and hearts. Somehow, His death or shedding of blood on the cross, in some mysterious way, protects them from the judgment they might be under at having disappointed God[3], just as the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts protected the Israelites from the plagues.
No wonder that the followers of Jesus would develop, at the centre of their life, a shared meal – as the Passover meal had first been and continued to be - in which they ate the “flesh” and drank the “blood” of Jesus. They ate this spiritual food, remembering how God had always saved them. They remembered how Jesus had associated the Passover unleavened bread and the cup with His Body and Blood. Even the Gentiles later were able to see and understand the glorious work of salvation that God was always doing. Still today, when Christians gather to share the Eucharistic meal, we give thanks that God keeps breaking the bonds of the power of sin and death. God keeps freeing us to live and to grow into the fullness of our humanity and into the fullness of the Christ Who dwells within each of us.
I remember an old hymn: “Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power / Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb / Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow / Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb/ Are you washed, are you washed / In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb / Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow / Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb.”
It’s a gory and not very Episcopalian image! But in a very graphic, symbolic way, it goes right to the heart of the fact that God is constantly calling us to get a fresh start with Him. To be free. To escape every bondage, every slavery, every oppressor.
But there’s another part. The People of Israel were told, “This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand ….. “. Having been prepared for freedom, we are to be ready to move quickly towards whatever Promised Land God points to. The “Promised Land” is not a physical place. It is somewhere we are called to build God’s Kingdom. It may be our own heart. It may be our own family or community or country. It may be Darfur, or Iran, or the United States Congress or the Pinal County Jail or anywhere that the compassion and justice of God is needed. And, having blessed us, God has called us to go as ambassadors of that Love.
Paul calls the Corinthians “believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life”. He assures them that “God is right alongside to keep you steady and on the track”. The same is true of us. God is there to help us overcome all prejudices that separate us from each other, especially through willful choices that only pander to our fears. God is right alongside, inviting everyone into the fold. Paul says to them that the “evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives”; so it must be in ours if we want to claim or be worthy of the name “Christian”.
The Collect reminds us of our call and destiny: to “shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory”. That light is the light of seeing in every human being the image of our loving God. And treating them as such.
[1] Ex 12:1-14, read on Maundy Thursday
[2] The Message, John 1
[3] Expressed as “Christ died for our sins”, or “Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the World”.
[Is 49:1-7][Ps 40:1-12][I Cor 1:1-9][Jn 1:29-42]
“Here He is, God’s Passover Lamb!” These are the words of John the Baptizer the day after he had baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. And the day after that, the same words: “Here He is, God’s Passover Lamb”. This time, two of John’s disciples leave him and go after Jesus. They spend the evening with Him. And after that short time, Andrew goes to find his brother Peter and says to him, “We have found the Messiah!” That day, Simon becomes Peter, the rock. He becomes a symbol – of what? That God’s Kingdom of Love and Salvation will be built on those, no matter how weak, denying or even betraying, who are open to being cleansed from sin and who say “yes” to the call from God.
“Here He is, God’s Passover Lamb! What would the people around John have thought when they heard these words and their odd association? What should come to our minds if we know the Scriptures well enough? What should come to mind are these words from Exodus[1]:
“Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family … your lamb shall be without blemish … You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night ….. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand ….. It is the passover of the Lord ….. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you …”
By the early 2nd century, John’s Gospel finally went from aural to written form. It’s writers had come to see a connection between what God had done at the time of the flight of the people of Israel from Egypt and what God had done in Jesus. Think about it. God’s people are yet again in bondage, not just to the Romans but, more critically, to their sins. God sends John the Baptist, like Moses, to prepare them for liberation. As John says[2], “my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”
And then comes Jesus. He preached the Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Salvation. He, like the Passover lamb, was killed and His blood was shed. I can see these followers of Jesus making connections as they think and pray and talk. What is the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection? A light, flowing from their ancient experience as God’s people, illumines their minds and hearts. Somehow, His death or shedding of blood on the cross, in some mysterious way, protects them from the judgment they might be under at having disappointed God[3], just as the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts protected the Israelites from the plagues.
No wonder that the followers of Jesus would develop, at the centre of their life, a shared meal – as the Passover meal had first been and continued to be - in which they ate the “flesh” and drank the “blood” of Jesus. They ate this spiritual food, remembering how God had always saved them. They remembered how Jesus had associated the Passover unleavened bread and the cup with His Body and Blood. Even the Gentiles later were able to see and understand the glorious work of salvation that God was always doing. Still today, when Christians gather to share the Eucharistic meal, we give thanks that God keeps breaking the bonds of the power of sin and death. God keeps freeing us to live and to grow into the fullness of our humanity and into the fullness of the Christ Who dwells within each of us.
I remember an old hymn: “Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power / Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb / Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow / Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb/ Are you washed, are you washed / In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb / Are your garments spotless, are they white as snow / Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb.”
It’s a gory and not very Episcopalian image! But in a very graphic, symbolic way, it goes right to the heart of the fact that God is constantly calling us to get a fresh start with Him. To be free. To escape every bondage, every slavery, every oppressor.
But there’s another part. The People of Israel were told, “This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand ….. “. Having been prepared for freedom, we are to be ready to move quickly towards whatever Promised Land God points to. The “Promised Land” is not a physical place. It is somewhere we are called to build God’s Kingdom. It may be our own heart. It may be our own family or community or country. It may be Darfur, or Iran, or the United States Congress or the Pinal County Jail or anywhere that the compassion and justice of God is needed. And, having blessed us, God has called us to go as ambassadors of that Love.
Paul calls the Corinthians “believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life”. He assures them that “God is right alongside to keep you steady and on the track”. The same is true of us. God is there to help us overcome all prejudices that separate us from each other, especially through willful choices that only pander to our fears. God is right alongside, inviting everyone into the fold. Paul says to them that the “evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives”; so it must be in ours if we want to claim or be worthy of the name “Christian”.
The Collect reminds us of our call and destiny: to “shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory”. That light is the light of seeing in every human being the image of our loving God. And treating them as such.
[1] Ex 12:1-14, read on Maundy Thursday
[2] The Message, John 1
[3] Expressed as “Christ died for our sins”, or “Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the World”.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Saturday, January 19, 2008
Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet's heart,
Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?
How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,
Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering
To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,
Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?
Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car?
And driven the Hamadryad from the wood
To seek a shelter in some happier star?
Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,
The Elfin from the green grass, and from me
The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?
- Edgar Allen Poe, born on this day, 1809
(and died when he was 40)
I have a little book. In it, I write down phrases I find that would make good titles for a book or a chapter of a book or a Reflection. I have written down tonight, “the summer dream beneath the tamarind tree”. And, “treasure in the jeweled sky”. Lovely. Up till now, I have about 85 books to write.
How many young people today would know what Diana and her car were all about? Or what/who a Hamadryad or a Naiad was?? I don’t want to sound pissy, but I knew what they were before I left my regular old public High School in Verdun. When I listen to young people today ………. well, anyway, forget it, I don’t want to sound like “older adults” just yet! But I do think most public education stinks.
Is this poem a lament? I rather hope that Poe was poking fun. Poking fun at the silly people who thought that Lady Science had somehow killed the Muse of Poetry. I’ll tell you who killed the Muse of Poetry and the World of Summer Dreams under the Tamarind Tree.
Literalists. They’ve become the serial killers of countless victims, of which Poe names only a few. God is among them. And fairies. And wizards. And dragons that talk. And even the magical worlds under the tamarind trees. Against which modern Literalists rant and rave, often disguised as religionists.
Not for me, laddies! I exalt Lady Science. She has shown me What Is – and so freed my mind and spirit to see the wonders that flit and dance among the atoms and inhabit the parallel World of Mysteries.
Lady Science has not stolen my summer dream beneath the tamarind trees. She made me a gift of them!
Brian+
Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!
Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes.
Why preyest thou thus upon the poet's heart,
Vulture, whose wings are dull realities?
How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise,
Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering
To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies,
Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing?
Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car?
And driven the Hamadryad from the wood
To seek a shelter in some happier star?
Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood,
The Elfin from the green grass, and from me
The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?
- Edgar Allen Poe, born on this day, 1809
(and died when he was 40)
I have a little book. In it, I write down phrases I find that would make good titles for a book or a chapter of a book or a Reflection. I have written down tonight, “the summer dream beneath the tamarind tree”. And, “treasure in the jeweled sky”. Lovely. Up till now, I have about 85 books to write.
How many young people today would know what Diana and her car were all about? Or what/who a Hamadryad or a Naiad was?? I don’t want to sound pissy, but I knew what they were before I left my regular old public High School in Verdun. When I listen to young people today ………. well, anyway, forget it, I don’t want to sound like “older adults” just yet! But I do think most public education stinks.
Is this poem a lament? I rather hope that Poe was poking fun. Poking fun at the silly people who thought that Lady Science had somehow killed the Muse of Poetry. I’ll tell you who killed the Muse of Poetry and the World of Summer Dreams under the Tamarind Tree.
Literalists. They’ve become the serial killers of countless victims, of which Poe names only a few. God is among them. And fairies. And wizards. And dragons that talk. And even the magical worlds under the tamarind trees. Against which modern Literalists rant and rave, often disguised as religionists.
Not for me, laddies! I exalt Lady Science. She has shown me What Is – and so freed my mind and spirit to see the wonders that flit and dance among the atoms and inhabit the parallel World of Mysteries.
Lady Science has not stolen my summer dream beneath the tamarind trees. She made me a gift of them!
Brian+
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Friday, January 18, 2008
An opening in the storming sea,
Gold deposited on bones.
Once accumulation has begun,
Take care not to interfere.
- Deng Ming Dao
This quote relates to a story of a pious man whose father died. A geomancer told him to bury the casket at a place in the sea which was only accessible once in a hundred years. A family who did this would experience great fortune. The son threw the casket there. Then he regretted it. Encouraged by a rival geomancer, he soon retrieved it. Opening the casket, he saw that his father’s bones were very thinly covered with gold. Realizing the potential, he wanted to throw it back.
Too late.
A parable of Life, yes?
I read this story years ago. We don’t know how much time we have. Or where we will be. Or what we will be doing. These things are likely, especially these days, to change. But Life is a work in progress. Something you have to keep working on, fine-tuning. I remember thinking - Whatever the tools I have to work with, in whatever setting, my goal is to keep working on my Life and to keep at it until, to use a Biblical image, the dross has been refined into pure gold. (I forget; so I need to be reminded!)
We may see little happening on a daily basis. But keep at it. Be patient, and trusting. Especially in seeking “holy wisdom”.
“Once accumulation has begun / Take care not to interfere.”
Brian+
An opening in the storming sea,
Gold deposited on bones.
Once accumulation has begun,
Take care not to interfere.
- Deng Ming Dao
This quote relates to a story of a pious man whose father died. A geomancer told him to bury the casket at a place in the sea which was only accessible once in a hundred years. A family who did this would experience great fortune. The son threw the casket there. Then he regretted it. Encouraged by a rival geomancer, he soon retrieved it. Opening the casket, he saw that his father’s bones were very thinly covered with gold. Realizing the potential, he wanted to throw it back.
Too late.
A parable of Life, yes?
I read this story years ago. We don’t know how much time we have. Or where we will be. Or what we will be doing. These things are likely, especially these days, to change. But Life is a work in progress. Something you have to keep working on, fine-tuning. I remember thinking - Whatever the tools I have to work with, in whatever setting, my goal is to keep working on my Life and to keep at it until, to use a Biblical image, the dross has been refined into pure gold. (I forget; so I need to be reminded!)
We may see little happening on a daily basis. But keep at it. Be patient, and trusting. Especially in seeking “holy wisdom”.
“Once accumulation has begun / Take care not to interfere.”
Brian+
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, January 17, 2008
Dedicate some of your life to others.
Your dedication will not be a sacrifice.
It will be an exhilarating experience
because it is an intense effort applied
toward a meaningful end.
- Dr. Thomas Dooley, author, born
on this day, 1927, in St. Louis MO
A controversial figure. He was a dedicated doctor in Laos. There was an attempt to “make him a saint” in the Roman Catholic Church. It failed. He was reported to have betrayed people in Laos to the CIA. Sigh. People are complicated.
However. Tom Dooley is right. Jesus said it another way: “If you seek to keep your life, you will lose it; if you are willing to lose your life, you will keep it to eternity”. I’m a very “self-sufficient“ private” person. I could spend my life alone in a cabin in the woods. But fortunately I was drawn to a life that involved me with people – and a Christian life that called me to minister to others, to reach out to others. It’s been a challenge, but it definitely has been exhilarating. I know that my humanity has been completed by “the other”.
One has to remember though: we will never have the courage or the freedom to dedicate some of our life to others if we don’t respect our own self. Jesus could give Himself for others because He knew how deeply He was loved.
Feed your own soul. There will be much to give.
Brian+
Dedicate some of your life to others.
Your dedication will not be a sacrifice.
It will be an exhilarating experience
because it is an intense effort applied
toward a meaningful end.
- Dr. Thomas Dooley, author, born
on this day, 1927, in St. Louis MO
A controversial figure. He was a dedicated doctor in Laos. There was an attempt to “make him a saint” in the Roman Catholic Church. It failed. He was reported to have betrayed people in Laos to the CIA. Sigh. People are complicated.
However. Tom Dooley is right. Jesus said it another way: “If you seek to keep your life, you will lose it; if you are willing to lose your life, you will keep it to eternity”. I’m a very “self-sufficient“ private” person. I could spend my life alone in a cabin in the woods. But fortunately I was drawn to a life that involved me with people – and a Christian life that called me to minister to others, to reach out to others. It’s been a challenge, but it definitely has been exhilarating. I know that my humanity has been completed by “the other”.
One has to remember though: we will never have the courage or the freedom to dedicate some of our life to others if we don’t respect our own self. Jesus could give Himself for others because He knew how deeply He was loved.
Feed your own soul. There will be much to give.
Brian+
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Go and wake up your cook.
- Arab proverb
I love proverbs. I have always found the [Biblical] Book of Proverbs one of the most interesting things to read. Proverbs are a distillation of a people’s wisdom and experience.
Well I remember hearing about a Scottish neighbor of mine when I was a boy. Someone mentioned to her the proverb, “If you can’t remember what you were going to say, it must have been a lie.” She responded, in a strong Scots accent, backed by good Presbyterian upbringing, “Oh no; if it had been a lie, the devil would have helped you with it.”
“Go and wake up your cook.” Wonderful proverb. Life. We lie awake at night worrying. We procrastinate. We invent all kinds of scenarios about the outcome of things that make us afraid. We wonder if we are capable, or creative enough, or smart enough, or brave enough. Etc. Meanwhile becoming more and more paralyzed.
“Divine Grace” is an antidote for all this self-doubt. As is the proposition that we are “made in the image of God”. Whether you look without or within, Wisdom tells us to open ourselves to the Mystery, to trust, to take the first step along the path of whatever journey we long to make. We’ll get where we want to go.
Don’t hang back in doubt.
“Go and wake up your cook.”
Brian+
Go and wake up your cook.
- Arab proverb
I love proverbs. I have always found the [Biblical] Book of Proverbs one of the most interesting things to read. Proverbs are a distillation of a people’s wisdom and experience.
Well I remember hearing about a Scottish neighbor of mine when I was a boy. Someone mentioned to her the proverb, “If you can’t remember what you were going to say, it must have been a lie.” She responded, in a strong Scots accent, backed by good Presbyterian upbringing, “Oh no; if it had been a lie, the devil would have helped you with it.”
“Go and wake up your cook.” Wonderful proverb. Life. We lie awake at night worrying. We procrastinate. We invent all kinds of scenarios about the outcome of things that make us afraid. We wonder if we are capable, or creative enough, or smart enough, or brave enough. Etc. Meanwhile becoming more and more paralyzed.
“Divine Grace” is an antidote for all this self-doubt. As is the proposition that we are “made in the image of God”. Whether you look without or within, Wisdom tells us to open ourselves to the Mystery, to trust, to take the first step along the path of whatever journey we long to make. We’ll get where we want to go.
Don’t hang back in doubt.
“Go and wake up your cook.”
Brian+
Monday, January 14, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Drought burns basins to dust,
Light rain is a dew of mockery.
Receive without complaint,
Work with fate.
- Taoist thought
Before writing this Reflection, I am standing at the stove waiting for my wonderful espresso stove-top pot to do its thing. I love this pot! It was a gift from a dear friend, bought on the day that several of us friends sat in the Café FIorian in Venice and drank wonderful coffee and ate “sinfully” good pastries (at ridiculously sinful prices!). I’m dreading the day that I accidently drop it in the sink and the top part, which is porcelain, embossed with the crest of the Café Florian, smashes.
One tries to be careful. But. Things happen. Even being too careful can be counter-productive. A pot gripped too tightly can go flying off. It’s the same with Life gripped too tightly – one’s own or another’s.
Where did the phrase “Go with the flow” come from? Oh, I know that one has to take some responsibility for making appropriate decisions. Including not making certain decisions.
I think I am going to take a stab, on regular intervals, at Living in the Flow. It seems to me that there is a great Mystery in the “Flow”. An antidote to the stresses of control, which is, for the most part, a fool’s hope.
No – there has to be an art in Going with the Flow. Like flow-blue china, it makes for very interesting non-perfection.
Hey, you know, I feel better already!
Time for demi-tasse #2. With maybe an Italian biscuit.
Brian+
Drought burns basins to dust,
Light rain is a dew of mockery.
Receive without complaint,
Work with fate.
- Taoist thought
Before writing this Reflection, I am standing at the stove waiting for my wonderful espresso stove-top pot to do its thing. I love this pot! It was a gift from a dear friend, bought on the day that several of us friends sat in the Café FIorian in Venice and drank wonderful coffee and ate “sinfully” good pastries (at ridiculously sinful prices!). I’m dreading the day that I accidently drop it in the sink and the top part, which is porcelain, embossed with the crest of the Café Florian, smashes.
One tries to be careful. But. Things happen. Even being too careful can be counter-productive. A pot gripped too tightly can go flying off. It’s the same with Life gripped too tightly – one’s own or another’s.
Where did the phrase “Go with the flow” come from? Oh, I know that one has to take some responsibility for making appropriate decisions. Including not making certain decisions.
I think I am going to take a stab, on regular intervals, at Living in the Flow. It seems to me that there is a great Mystery in the “Flow”. An antidote to the stresses of control, which is, for the most part, a fool’s hope.
No – there has to be an art in Going with the Flow. Like flow-blue china, it makes for very interesting non-perfection.
Hey, you know, I feel better already!
Time for demi-tasse #2. With maybe an Italian biscuit.
Brian+
Brian’s Reflection: Monday, January 14, 32006
By respect for life we become religious in a
way that is elementary, profound and alive.
Impart as much as you can of your spiritual
being to those who are on the road with you,
and accept as something precious what comes
back to you from them.
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire
goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter
with another human being. We should all be thankful
for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
- Albert Schweitzer, born on this day, 1875
Well, a few quotes from Dr. Schweitzer on this his 133rd birthday. (Irrelevantly, my maternal grandmother celebrates her 133rd earthly birthday this year – though she is ….. elsewhere!)
“Religious” means to be bound to something, something hopefully positively nurturing towards humanity, ours and others’. “Respect for Life” is a good start. The point to remember here is that it all has to be balanced. Abortion, for example. Abortion is a very sad thing in the human community. Everyone wants (I think) to respect the developing life of a fetus. But the problem around abortion is not, I think, going to be solved until respect for the life and rights of women is also addressed with some of the same passion.
We think that we can’t “give away” ourselves to others, especially strangers. The history of “spiritual” life shows that “imparting as much of your spiritual being” only helps the giver grow.
And thank God for all those wonderful people, friends and strangers, who come often unexpected into our lives and give us new life.
I’ve had a life that has allowed me to walk these paths. I’m grateful.
May today be filled with respect for life, outpouring of yourself, and kindling spirits!
Brian+
By respect for life we become religious in a
way that is elementary, profound and alive.
Impart as much as you can of your spiritual
being to those who are on the road with you,
and accept as something precious what comes
back to you from them.
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire
goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter
with another human being. We should all be thankful
for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
- Albert Schweitzer, born on this day, 1875
Well, a few quotes from Dr. Schweitzer on this his 133rd birthday. (Irrelevantly, my maternal grandmother celebrates her 133rd earthly birthday this year – though she is ….. elsewhere!)
“Religious” means to be bound to something, something hopefully positively nurturing towards humanity, ours and others’. “Respect for Life” is a good start. The point to remember here is that it all has to be balanced. Abortion, for example. Abortion is a very sad thing in the human community. Everyone wants (I think) to respect the developing life of a fetus. But the problem around abortion is not, I think, going to be solved until respect for the life and rights of women is also addressed with some of the same passion.
We think that we can’t “give away” ourselves to others, especially strangers. The history of “spiritual” life shows that “imparting as much of your spiritual being” only helps the giver grow.
And thank God for all those wonderful people, friends and strangers, who come often unexpected into our lives and give us new life.
I’ve had a life that has allowed me to walk these paths. I’m grateful.
May today be filled with respect for life, outpouring of yourself, and kindling spirits!
Brian+
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sermon for: January 13, 2008 [Epiphany 1_Baptism of Christ
Brian McHugh, priest & vicar
[Is 42:1-9][Ps 29][Acts 10:34-43][Matt 3:13-17]
I often hear human beings begging God to help them. And I often hear people complaining that God doesn’t help them. Yet it seems to me that one of the major problems in our relationship with God is that we reject God and what God wants to do, will do, or can do for us. Given what a relationship with God can mean for our lives, I am not surprised.
What happens to Jesus when he comes to John in the wilderness to be baptized happens to Him a lot. [1] Matthew presents Jesus as someone Who knows that God has sent Him to bring the message of salvation to God’s people. In a very public setting where many will see it, Jesus comes to John to be baptized with John’s baptism of water for repentance so that He can publically begin His ministry and preach His Gospel. But John says No. John says, “I need to be baptized by You; why would You be coming to me?”[2] Jesus has to tell John to do it. Jesus has to make it clear that John must allow Jesus to, in a sense, serve him if God’s purpose is to be fulfilled.
This will happen again and again. Jesus comes to His friends Mary and Martha because their brother Lazarus had died. When Jesus is told that His friend Lazarus is deathly ill, He doesn’t go directly to him. He knows what He will do and the effect it will have. When Jesus arrives at Martha and Mary’s, He says He will go to Lazarus’s grave. By their reactions, the sisters gently show that they are not ready to accept what Jesus can offer. One says that she knows that if Jesus had come earlier her brother would not have died – and that he will rise again on the last day. The other reminds Him that Lazarus has been dead for days. Dead is dead. They wonder how Jesus can help, but perhaps because they have been friends they have some hope.
And Peter of course. I think there is a telling reason why Peter is the chief of the apostles. He is so very human, so very like us. At the last meal that they share together, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. He has something very important to teach them by doing so. But you remember Peter’s answer: “No, Lord”, You will never wash my feet!” Pushing Jesus away. The hesitancy of those close to Jesus not to allow Him to minister to them is heightened by the fact that so many strangers in real need do let Him touch them and heal them and give them new life though both His acts and His teachings.
What about you and me? Are we open to the ways in which God-in-Christ can serve us, help us? My experience is that often we are not. Is it because we think we are unworthy, consciously or unconsciously? This could be one reason. Lots of people in Scripture thought so. And many of the ones who thought they were worthy, like the religious establishment, are pretty unpleasant.
This is where the Mystery of the Incarnation comes in. Its mythical-message is that God chooses to come and live among us and share in our humanity. This is a pretty improbable message, especially if we think that we are not worth it. We are fallible, often uncaring, unloving, selfish, thoughtless people. Why would the God of Unconditional Love want to share in our humanity? But the Mystery of The Incarnation says that God does. And our liturgy teaches us this too. There is that lovely line in our present Book of Common Prayer, in Eucharistic Prayer B: “In Him You have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before You”. This is the amazing message of “Christ-in-Us”.
But maybe there’s a second reason we don’t really want to embrace the message, worthy or not. Baptism is a sacrament that plunges us into the waters of Incarnation. Baptism requires of us that we accept the God Who shares our Life, and that we live our lives accordingly. Baptism requires of us that we accept our worthiness, and let God minister to us, pronounce us worthy. But the problem is - this will change us. This will ask us to strive, each in our own unique way, by our own determination and aided by grace, to be the person God created us to be - like Him, like His Christ. This is scary. Most of the time most of us prefer the devil we know to the devil we don’t. And so we put up with a World that can get pretty messy and discouraging. We make do with muddling along. It’s too challenging to think about being healed or changed or given new life. Like John, like Peter, like Mary & Martha, we often reach out for, but at the same time push God away. When Jesus asked John to baptize Him, the people would see that this was a serious issue. Baptism was not just something to do because everyone was doing it; not just something to do to hedge our bets about staying on God’s good side while living the same old way.
If we let God serve us, if we let God be our Saviour and Liberator and Messiah, it’s a serious business. We must grow and change. We must let go of old ideas which limit our own personal lives and our understanding of family, community and culture. We will embrace new ideas about neighbor, family, friendship, male & female, dignity, respect, poverty, war, mortality, gender roles, success, greatness - all those things that Jesus’ teachings are full of.
Jesus says to John about the baptism: "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." Oh yes: the baptism of Jesus is the opening salvo of Jesus’ Gospel and Messiahship. It’s going to be a bumpy ride if we choose to take up our Cross and follow Him and become fully human. But I know what I want. And believe me, we all would have more glorious lives and a more blessed human community is we really opened our hearts and lives to the God Who serves us in Love.
Remember what Gandhi said when asked what he thought of Christianity. He said, “I think is a wonderful thing; I hope someone tries it sometime.” I hope we/you all know from coming to worship how much we are loved. Let’s us “try it”, take the next steps towards letting God serve us, heal us, give us Life.
[1] As the Rev. Barbara Crafton says
[2] Matt 3:13
Brian McHugh, priest & vicar
[Is 42:1-9][Ps 29][Acts 10:34-43][Matt 3:13-17]
I often hear human beings begging God to help them. And I often hear people complaining that God doesn’t help them. Yet it seems to me that one of the major problems in our relationship with God is that we reject God and what God wants to do, will do, or can do for us. Given what a relationship with God can mean for our lives, I am not surprised.
What happens to Jesus when he comes to John in the wilderness to be baptized happens to Him a lot. [1] Matthew presents Jesus as someone Who knows that God has sent Him to bring the message of salvation to God’s people. In a very public setting where many will see it, Jesus comes to John to be baptized with John’s baptism of water for repentance so that He can publically begin His ministry and preach His Gospel. But John says No. John says, “I need to be baptized by You; why would You be coming to me?”[2] Jesus has to tell John to do it. Jesus has to make it clear that John must allow Jesus to, in a sense, serve him if God’s purpose is to be fulfilled.
This will happen again and again. Jesus comes to His friends Mary and Martha because their brother Lazarus had died. When Jesus is told that His friend Lazarus is deathly ill, He doesn’t go directly to him. He knows what He will do and the effect it will have. When Jesus arrives at Martha and Mary’s, He says He will go to Lazarus’s grave. By their reactions, the sisters gently show that they are not ready to accept what Jesus can offer. One says that she knows that if Jesus had come earlier her brother would not have died – and that he will rise again on the last day. The other reminds Him that Lazarus has been dead for days. Dead is dead. They wonder how Jesus can help, but perhaps because they have been friends they have some hope.
And Peter of course. I think there is a telling reason why Peter is the chief of the apostles. He is so very human, so very like us. At the last meal that they share together, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. He has something very important to teach them by doing so. But you remember Peter’s answer: “No, Lord”, You will never wash my feet!” Pushing Jesus away. The hesitancy of those close to Jesus not to allow Him to minister to them is heightened by the fact that so many strangers in real need do let Him touch them and heal them and give them new life though both His acts and His teachings.
What about you and me? Are we open to the ways in which God-in-Christ can serve us, help us? My experience is that often we are not. Is it because we think we are unworthy, consciously or unconsciously? This could be one reason. Lots of people in Scripture thought so. And many of the ones who thought they were worthy, like the religious establishment, are pretty unpleasant.
This is where the Mystery of the Incarnation comes in. Its mythical-message is that God chooses to come and live among us and share in our humanity. This is a pretty improbable message, especially if we think that we are not worth it. We are fallible, often uncaring, unloving, selfish, thoughtless people. Why would the God of Unconditional Love want to share in our humanity? But the Mystery of The Incarnation says that God does. And our liturgy teaches us this too. There is that lovely line in our present Book of Common Prayer, in Eucharistic Prayer B: “In Him You have delivered us from evil, and made us worthy to stand before You”. This is the amazing message of “Christ-in-Us”.
But maybe there’s a second reason we don’t really want to embrace the message, worthy or not. Baptism is a sacrament that plunges us into the waters of Incarnation. Baptism requires of us that we accept the God Who shares our Life, and that we live our lives accordingly. Baptism requires of us that we accept our worthiness, and let God minister to us, pronounce us worthy. But the problem is - this will change us. This will ask us to strive, each in our own unique way, by our own determination and aided by grace, to be the person God created us to be - like Him, like His Christ. This is scary. Most of the time most of us prefer the devil we know to the devil we don’t. And so we put up with a World that can get pretty messy and discouraging. We make do with muddling along. It’s too challenging to think about being healed or changed or given new life. Like John, like Peter, like Mary & Martha, we often reach out for, but at the same time push God away. When Jesus asked John to baptize Him, the people would see that this was a serious issue. Baptism was not just something to do because everyone was doing it; not just something to do to hedge our bets about staying on God’s good side while living the same old way.
If we let God serve us, if we let God be our Saviour and Liberator and Messiah, it’s a serious business. We must grow and change. We must let go of old ideas which limit our own personal lives and our understanding of family, community and culture. We will embrace new ideas about neighbor, family, friendship, male & female, dignity, respect, poverty, war, mortality, gender roles, success, greatness - all those things that Jesus’ teachings are full of.
Jesus says to John about the baptism: "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." Oh yes: the baptism of Jesus is the opening salvo of Jesus’ Gospel and Messiahship. It’s going to be a bumpy ride if we choose to take up our Cross and follow Him and become fully human. But I know what I want. And believe me, we all would have more glorious lives and a more blessed human community is we really opened our hearts and lives to the God Who serves us in Love.
Remember what Gandhi said when asked what he thought of Christianity. He said, “I think is a wonderful thing; I hope someone tries it sometime.” I hope we/you all know from coming to worship how much we are loved. Let’s us “try it”, take the next steps towards letting God serve us, heal us, give us Life.
[1] As the Rev. Barbara Crafton says
[2] Matt 3:13
Friday, January 11, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Saturday, January 12, 2008
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
- Jack London, author, born Jack Griffith on
this day in San Francisco, 1876
The issue of when to die – and, by corollary, the issue of what is Life and how to live it - is becoming, I think, the issue of the age. At least in countries that have the whatever that allows such questions to come to the fore. I suspect that if you are scrabbling for potato peels in Darfur, there are other things to think about.
As a priest, I often ask people what they want to do when Life becomes difficult, or when the “quality of Life” becomes unacceptable. No one, no one, has ever said to me, “I am going to do everything I can to stay alive, no matter how horrible or painful Life is”. Never. Almost everyone I ask says, “When there is no quality to my life as I determine it, I am out of here”. Some have ways they are planning, others have no clue. Only a couple of people have ever said that they are dealing with the issue of whether or not it is wrong to end one’s life – and they were both former Roman Catholics, who were clearly taught that “suicide” was a sin that would merit Hell.
When people ask me the question, I say – with a smile, and with humour, and with a hint of slyness, and a hint of avoidance, “It’s a huge pitcher of Black Russians and the hot tub for me!” Indeed, my friend Sheldon and I have a giddy pact.
I’m not going to pontificate on this. Simply, it is an issue we are all going to have to deal with, at a stage when “modern medicine” can keep us biologically alive for years in a coma.
How as a boy I loved “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London, first serialized in the Saturday Evening Post” in 1903!! I think I read it several times. I am in agreement with Mr. London. When I will die, or how, is not a primary worry of my life. Agatha Christie, who died on this day in 1976, once said, I live now on borrowed time, waiting in the anteroom for the summons that will inevitably come. And then - I go on to the next thing, whatever it is. One doesn't, luckily, have to bother about that. I’m with her too; all I really know about the Afterlife is that it resides in the presence of a good and loving Creator – so who’s to worry. Things will get gently and justly sorted out then.
As London says, the point – especially in our times with all out technology – is not to exist but to live. And to live honestly. “Retirement”, for me, will be not about “length of days” in unemployed bliss. It will be about recklessly spending my life being myself and doing what I believe to be important. Like Dom Odo Cassel, I hope to drop dead at the altar having just proclaimed the Easter Gospel.
So who wouldn’t want to retire?! You can do just as much “using your time” poor or rich or with whatever resources you have.
Brian+
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
- Jack London, author, born Jack Griffith on
this day in San Francisco, 1876
The issue of when to die – and, by corollary, the issue of what is Life and how to live it - is becoming, I think, the issue of the age. At least in countries that have the whatever that allows such questions to come to the fore. I suspect that if you are scrabbling for potato peels in Darfur, there are other things to think about.
As a priest, I often ask people what they want to do when Life becomes difficult, or when the “quality of Life” becomes unacceptable. No one, no one, has ever said to me, “I am going to do everything I can to stay alive, no matter how horrible or painful Life is”. Never. Almost everyone I ask says, “When there is no quality to my life as I determine it, I am out of here”. Some have ways they are planning, others have no clue. Only a couple of people have ever said that they are dealing with the issue of whether or not it is wrong to end one’s life – and they were both former Roman Catholics, who were clearly taught that “suicide” was a sin that would merit Hell.
When people ask me the question, I say – with a smile, and with humour, and with a hint of slyness, and a hint of avoidance, “It’s a huge pitcher of Black Russians and the hot tub for me!” Indeed, my friend Sheldon and I have a giddy pact.
I’m not going to pontificate on this. Simply, it is an issue we are all going to have to deal with, at a stage when “modern medicine” can keep us biologically alive for years in a coma.
How as a boy I loved “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London, first serialized in the Saturday Evening Post” in 1903!! I think I read it several times. I am in agreement with Mr. London. When I will die, or how, is not a primary worry of my life. Agatha Christie, who died on this day in 1976, once said, I live now on borrowed time, waiting in the anteroom for the summons that will inevitably come. And then - I go on to the next thing, whatever it is. One doesn't, luckily, have to bother about that. I’m with her too; all I really know about the Afterlife is that it resides in the presence of a good and loving Creator – so who’s to worry. Things will get gently and justly sorted out then.
As London says, the point – especially in our times with all out technology – is not to exist but to live. And to live honestly. “Retirement”, for me, will be not about “length of days” in unemployed bliss. It will be about recklessly spending my life being myself and doing what I believe to be important. Like Dom Odo Cassel, I hope to drop dead at the altar having just proclaimed the Easter Gospel.
So who wouldn’t want to retire?! You can do just as much “using your time” poor or rich or with whatever resources you have.
Brian+
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Friday, January 11, 2008
The god whom science recognizes must be a God of
universal laws exclusively, a God who does a wholesale,
not a retail business. He cannot accommodate his
processes to the convenience of individuals.
- William James, philosopher, born on this day, 1842
“Whom science recognizes”? Oh no. Whom theology recognizes. Whom common sense recognizes. Whom Justice recognizes. Whom Compassion recognizes.
There are few things more repugnant to me than a concept or understanding of God which says that God gives or refrains from giving things to people by arbitrary choice. Like health, or illness. If I ever did believe it – and I doubt it – I certainly do not believe it now. Nor do I believe that God is in the “retail” business of rewarding the Good and punishing the Bad.
“God” does only one thing. Offer the light of truth and reality to our lives. Another way to say it: Be with us in whatever Valley of the Shadow of Death or Valley of Delights we walk. Why? To show us the way to Charity and to Wholeness. The choice is ours. God does not force anything on us. God is never about force or coercion. In the end, where we end up is our own choice, our own acceptance or rejection.
There are a lot of expressions of “religion” these days which promulgate a “retail” God.
I just laugh, if ruefully.
Brian+
The god whom science recognizes must be a God of
universal laws exclusively, a God who does a wholesale,
not a retail business. He cannot accommodate his
processes to the convenience of individuals.
- William James, philosopher, born on this day, 1842
“Whom science recognizes”? Oh no. Whom theology recognizes. Whom common sense recognizes. Whom Justice recognizes. Whom Compassion recognizes.
There are few things more repugnant to me than a concept or understanding of God which says that God gives or refrains from giving things to people by arbitrary choice. Like health, or illness. If I ever did believe it – and I doubt it – I certainly do not believe it now. Nor do I believe that God is in the “retail” business of rewarding the Good and punishing the Bad.
“God” does only one thing. Offer the light of truth and reality to our lives. Another way to say it: Be with us in whatever Valley of the Shadow of Death or Valley of Delights we walk. Why? To show us the way to Charity and to Wholeness. The choice is ours. God does not force anything on us. God is never about force or coercion. In the end, where we end up is our own choice, our own acceptance or rejection.
There are a lot of expressions of “religion” these days which promulgate a “retail” God.
I just laugh, if ruefully.
Brian+
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, January 10, 2008
But when he came to the side of the table where the bread and wine were, he bowed himself seven times, and then, after the reading of many prayers by himself ….. he himself came near the bread ….. and then bowed very low three times towards it and the table ….. Then he laid his hand upon the gilt cup, which was full of wine, with a cover open it. So soon as he had pulled the cup a little nearer to him, he let the cup go, flew back and bowed again three times towards it.
- William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, on his feast day (died 1645)
Well, one should always have a little amusement now and then! Here in all his finery is William Laud, who was Archbishop of Canterbury under King Charles II. In a virulently (my adjective! – does this expose my leanings???) Puritan age, he was strongly “catholic” in his devotional and theological leanings. The description above was, of course, written by one of his most virulent Puritan foes. Anyway, Laud managed to become bishop of three dioceses and then of Canterbury. He had several Puritans who “vilified” either him or his ideas horribly mutilated (ears chopped off and noses split) and imprisoned. And now he is a “saint” in the Anglican and Episcopal Kalendar. “Saint” means, to “us”, someone striving to live their faith with commitment and devotion. Shows you how irenic we Anglicans are – or were, until the Episcopal Church-bashing Third-Worlders ….. well, never mind. Laud was eventually clapped into the Tower and executed. Hence a “martyr” - though I think he would have shuddered at the thought of many virgins as a reward, being in essence a prig.
Laud, by the way, is the man who gave us either the gift or the curse of the altar rail. He put one up in Canterbury Cathedral to keep the wandering livestock and their imprudent manners away from the altar. (So the story goes.)
What about those ecclesiastical duds of his! Especially the hat – known as a “Canterbury Cap”. I was contemplating whether or not I should affect this style. On reflection ….. no. However, it is reported that Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Elizabeth, was installed to his office wearing a “cassock of light black wool and a floor-length tippet (preaching scarf) of sable fur”. More my style.
Have a laugh. What a bunch we are!
Brian+
But when he came to the side of the table where the bread and wine were, he bowed himself seven times, and then, after the reading of many prayers by himself ….. he himself came near the bread ….. and then bowed very low three times towards it and the table ….. Then he laid his hand upon the gilt cup, which was full of wine, with a cover open it. So soon as he had pulled the cup a little nearer to him, he let the cup go, flew back and bowed again three times towards it.
- William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, on his feast day (died 1645)
Well, one should always have a little amusement now and then! Here in all his finery is William Laud, who was Archbishop of Canterbury under King Charles II. In a virulently (my adjective! – does this expose my leanings???) Puritan age, he was strongly “catholic” in his devotional and theological leanings. The description above was, of course, written by one of his most virulent Puritan foes. Anyway, Laud managed to become bishop of three dioceses and then of Canterbury. He had several Puritans who “vilified” either him or his ideas horribly mutilated (ears chopped off and noses split) and imprisoned. And now he is a “saint” in the Anglican and Episcopal Kalendar. “Saint” means, to “us”, someone striving to live their faith with commitment and devotion. Shows you how irenic we Anglicans are – or were, until the Episcopal Church-bashing Third-Worlders ….. well, never mind. Laud was eventually clapped into the Tower and executed. Hence a “martyr” - though I think he would have shuddered at the thought of many virgins as a reward, being in essence a prig.
Laud, by the way, is the man who gave us either the gift or the curse of the altar rail. He put one up in Canterbury Cathedral to keep the wandering livestock and their imprudent manners away from the altar. (So the story goes.)
What about those ecclesiastical duds of his! Especially the hat – known as a “Canterbury Cap”. I was contemplating whether or not I should affect this style. On reflection ….. no. However, it is reported that Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Elizabeth, was installed to his office wearing a “cassock of light black wool and a floor-length tippet (preaching scarf) of sable fur”. More my style.
Have a laugh. What a bunch we are!
Brian+
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The best index to a person's character is(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and(b) how he treats people who can't fight back.
- “Dear Abby” (Abigail Van Buren), whose
column began on this day, 1956
Hang on gang. This will be a little ….. brusque.
“The poor” are a good example of those who meet both categories. Which is why Jesus had so much to say about how “the poor” are treated. He wasn’t just saying it was “nice” to be concerned about the poor. Or optional. He was saying that we are judged by it on the scale of integrity, character, humanity.
The “Poor” includes a lot of categories.
Which is why torture is so profoundly, shockingly disgusting. In my view as a Christian, anyone who tortures – for whatever reason or justification or rationalization - automatically becomes sub-human. Apparently many people, including in America, seem willing to justify it. Or to accept their sub-humanity in the face of terrorism.
Now. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “This woman doesn’t believe in my religion, and if she doesn’t she is going to hell, so we had better put her on the rack until she accepts me as Lord and Saviour” ?
Many of Jesus’ followers over the millennia have done so, including many in America these days who claim that they are followers of the Prince of Peace and that America is a “Christian Nation”, but who support torture.
Let’s get real folks. Can you see Jesus as a torturer? Recall what He said, “What you do to the least of these, you do to Me”. As I understand it, “the least of these” includes what Abby calls those “who can’t do us any good” or those who as prisoners “can’t fight back”. There are a lot of people who fall into those categories – but I shall refrain from naming any lest I be accused of “politicizing”.
But you know who they are.
Brian+
The best index to a person's character is(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and(b) how he treats people who can't fight back.
- “Dear Abby” (Abigail Van Buren), whose
column began on this day, 1956
Hang on gang. This will be a little ….. brusque.
“The poor” are a good example of those who meet both categories. Which is why Jesus had so much to say about how “the poor” are treated. He wasn’t just saying it was “nice” to be concerned about the poor. Or optional. He was saying that we are judged by it on the scale of integrity, character, humanity.
The “Poor” includes a lot of categories.
Which is why torture is so profoundly, shockingly disgusting. In my view as a Christian, anyone who tortures – for whatever reason or justification or rationalization - automatically becomes sub-human. Apparently many people, including in America, seem willing to justify it. Or to accept their sub-humanity in the face of terrorism.
Now. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “This woman doesn’t believe in my religion, and if she doesn’t she is going to hell, so we had better put her on the rack until she accepts me as Lord and Saviour” ?
Many of Jesus’ followers over the millennia have done so, including many in America these days who claim that they are followers of the Prince of Peace and that America is a “Christian Nation”, but who support torture.
Let’s get real folks. Can you see Jesus as a torturer? Recall what He said, “What you do to the least of these, you do to Me”. As I understand it, “the least of these” includes what Abby calls those “who can’t do us any good” or those who as prisoners “can’t fight back”. There are a lot of people who fall into those categories – but I shall refrain from naming any lest I be accused of “politicizing”.
But you know who they are.
Brian+
Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The best index to a person's character is(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and(b) how he treats people who can't fight back.
- “Dear Abby” (Abigail Van Buren), whose
column began on this day, 1956
Hang on gang. This will be a little ….. brusque.
“The poor” are a good example of those who meet both categories. Which is why Jesus had so much to say about how “the poor” are treated. He wasn’t just saying it was “nice” to be concerned about the poor. Or optional. He was saying that we are judged by it on the scale of integrity, character, humanity.
The “Poor” includes a lot of categories.
Which is why torture is so profoundly, shockingly disgusting. In my view as a Christian, anyone who tortures – for whatever reason or justification or rationalization - automatically becomes sub-human. Apparently many people, including in America, seem willing to justify it. Or to accept their sub-humanity in the face of terrorism.
Now. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “This woman doesn’t believe in my religion, and if she doesn’t she is going to hell, so we had better put her on the rack until she accepts me as Lord and Saviour” ?
Many of Jesus’ followers over the millennia have done so, including many in America these days who claim that they are followers of the Prince of Peace and that America is a “Christian Nation”, but who support torture.
Let’s get real folks. Can you see Jesus as a torturer? Recall what He said, “What you do to the least of these, you do to Me”. As I understand it, “the least of these” includes what Abby calls those “who can’t do us any good” or those who as prisoners “can’t fight back”. There are a lot of people who fall into those categories – but I shall refrain from naming any lest I be accused of “politicizing”.
But you know who they are.
Brian+
The best index to a person's character is(a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and(b) how he treats people who can't fight back.
- “Dear Abby” (Abigail Van Buren), whose
column began on this day, 1956
Hang on gang. This will be a little ….. brusque.
“The poor” are a good example of those who meet both categories. Which is why Jesus had so much to say about how “the poor” are treated. He wasn’t just saying it was “nice” to be concerned about the poor. Or optional. He was saying that we are judged by it on the scale of integrity, character, humanity.
The “Poor” includes a lot of categories.
Which is why torture is so profoundly, shockingly disgusting. In my view as a Christian, anyone who tortures – for whatever reason or justification or rationalization - automatically becomes sub-human. Apparently many people, including in America, seem willing to justify it. Or to accept their sub-humanity in the face of terrorism.
Now. Can you imagine Jesus saying, “This woman doesn’t believe in my religion, and if she doesn’t she is going to hell, so we had better put her on the rack until she accepts me as Lord and Saviour” ?
Many of Jesus’ followers over the millennia have done so, including many in America these days who claim that they are followers of the Prince of Peace and that America is a “Christian Nation”, but who support torture.
Let’s get real folks. Can you see Jesus as a torturer? Recall what He said, “What you do to the least of these, you do to Me”. As I understand it, “the least of these” includes what Abby calls those “who can’t do us any good” or those who as prisoners “can’t fight back”. There are a lot of people who fall into those categories – but I shall refrain from naming any lest I be accused of “politicizing”.
But you know who they are.
Brian+
Monday, January 7, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The image is one thing and the human being is another.
It's very hard to live up to an image, put it that way.
- Elvis Presley, born on this day, 1935
Well, Elvis hits it right on the head, yes? I’m sure he was just thinking of himself – what he had to deal with in terms of being Elvis, and what his fans expected him to be. At some level or other, every one of us has to confront this issue. Who are we. Are we being ourselves, or are we letting others “tell us” who they want us to be. How much time do we spend trying to meet others’ expectations?
Christianity, along with other religions, really ups the ante! We are called to be Christlike! Now, if that doesn’t make you feel stressed, nothing will.
But let’s think about this. We seem to think that being Christlike means we have to be exactly like Jesus, behave exactly as He did, love exactly as He did. I don’t think so. There isn’t only one image or definition of “Christlike”. And it doesn’t mean that to be Christlike we can’t be ourselves, the unique self that God made each of us. What it does mean – to me anyway – is that we become “as Christ” in our own unique and individual way. Jesus’ great love may have led Him to a death on Calvary, led him to the Cross - but each of us will have our own “Calvary” and our own “Cross” on the path to becoming a loving human being.
An imposed “image” is false. An “image” discovered in the mystery of finding our unique Self , and embraced, is more what I think God had in mind.
Elvis – and it happens to many – got lost in the expectations of others. Let’s not go there.
Brian+
The image is one thing and the human being is another.
It's very hard to live up to an image, put it that way.
- Elvis Presley, born on this day, 1935
Well, Elvis hits it right on the head, yes? I’m sure he was just thinking of himself – what he had to deal with in terms of being Elvis, and what his fans expected him to be. At some level or other, every one of us has to confront this issue. Who are we. Are we being ourselves, or are we letting others “tell us” who they want us to be. How much time do we spend trying to meet others’ expectations?
Christianity, along with other religions, really ups the ante! We are called to be Christlike! Now, if that doesn’t make you feel stressed, nothing will.
But let’s think about this. We seem to think that being Christlike means we have to be exactly like Jesus, behave exactly as He did, love exactly as He did. I don’t think so. There isn’t only one image or definition of “Christlike”. And it doesn’t mean that to be Christlike we can’t be ourselves, the unique self that God made each of us. What it does mean – to me anyway – is that we become “as Christ” in our own unique and individual way. Jesus’ great love may have led Him to a death on Calvary, led him to the Cross - but each of us will have our own “Calvary” and our own “Cross” on the path to becoming a loving human being.
An imposed “image” is false. An “image” discovered in the mystery of finding our unique Self , and embraced, is more what I think God had in mind.
Elvis – and it happens to many – got lost in the expectations of others. Let’s not go there.
Brian+
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Monday, January 7, 2008
From somewhere in the skies above us come, from time to time,
flaming discs and weird phenomena. What are they? Whence
have they come?
- Voiceover for “Buck Rogers” radio show (1939); the comic
book series started on this day, 1929
Zowie! I remember Buck Rogers. He had been going 17 years before I was born! I think I remember listening to the radio program at night in bed. Could that be right? Would they have had it on so we little kids going to bed could listen? I seem to remember “The Shadow” at that time too.
I am a complete devotee of “science fiction”. I have all the Star Wars DVD’s, and I watch reruns of Star Trek (in any version) whenever I can. I like thinking about what the future can possibly bring. In this sense sci-fi is like Scripture. They both hold out enticing possibilities for us humans. Most sci-fi is hopeful – it is optimistic that we can grow and develop in positive ways. The humans in Star Trek have “done away” with religion (presumable because religion proved basically negative - a warning we need to hear!), but they always explored various aspects of religion in intelligent ways when met in other species.
“Flaming discs and weird phenomena”. We humans are fascinated! A huge numbers of people believe in ET’s, in flying saucers, in aliens. I don’t believe in any of them. But I do believe that we human beings want to become fully and gloriously human. “God” is a path to that becoming. What amazes me is that so many humans cling to gods who offer the opposite.
Give it up! Buck Rogers was a decent guy, fighting for fairness and justice against the forces of evil. We could do worse than emulate him!
Brian+
From somewhere in the skies above us come, from time to time,
flaming discs and weird phenomena. What are they? Whence
have they come?
- Voiceover for “Buck Rogers” radio show (1939); the comic
book series started on this day, 1929
Zowie! I remember Buck Rogers. He had been going 17 years before I was born! I think I remember listening to the radio program at night in bed. Could that be right? Would they have had it on so we little kids going to bed could listen? I seem to remember “The Shadow” at that time too.
I am a complete devotee of “science fiction”. I have all the Star Wars DVD’s, and I watch reruns of Star Trek (in any version) whenever I can. I like thinking about what the future can possibly bring. In this sense sci-fi is like Scripture. They both hold out enticing possibilities for us humans. Most sci-fi is hopeful – it is optimistic that we can grow and develop in positive ways. The humans in Star Trek have “done away” with religion (presumable because religion proved basically negative - a warning we need to hear!), but they always explored various aspects of religion in intelligent ways when met in other species.
“Flaming discs and weird phenomena”. We humans are fascinated! A huge numbers of people believe in ET’s, in flying saucers, in aliens. I don’t believe in any of them. But I do believe that we human beings want to become fully and gloriously human. “God” is a path to that becoming. What amazes me is that so many humans cling to gods who offer the opposite.
Give it up! Buck Rogers was a decent guy, fighting for fairness and justice against the forces of evil. We could do worse than emulate him!
Brian+
Sermon for: January 6, 2008 [Epiphany]
[Is 60:1-6][Ps 72:1-7,10-14][Eph 3:1-12][Matt 2:1-12]
Brian McHugh, priest
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. These are the three gifts that the Magi brought to the young Jesus. They are believed to have been Medean priest-politicians from Parthia or Persia. Jesus was probably somewhere around one year old at the time. They stopped to ask the soon-to-be-dead King Herod, a non-Jew who had bought the office of king from the Romans, where the true “King of the Jews” might be found. I confess to an utter cynicism about anything politicians say, so it does not surprise me that Herod lies to them and uses them to try and ferret out what might be a threat to his power. And while there is no non-Scriptural corroboration, Herod’s reputation for ruthlessness might indeed have led him to the mass murder of children born in the timeframe the Magi indicate. Genocide on various levels is not a new thing. We are acutely aware in our contemporary World what horrors people in power will do to keep it.
Why does Matthew’s Gospel alone include this story, for which there is no parallel historical evidence? I side with those scholars who say that the Matthew version of the Gospel is keen to show that the birth of Jesus is not just of concern to the Jews, but for the whole World. The Magi were non-Jews, and so represent the larger World for Matthew. And St. Paul, in his words to the church in Ephesus, says that through him and through the Mystery of Christ revealed to him, “the Gentiles – more non-Jews - have become “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers of the promise of Christ Jesus”.[1]
Whatever else the Magi came seeking, I deduce by the gifts they brought that they were both seeking and expecting someone unusual. They bring Gold as if to a king. They bring Frankincense as if to a great priest. They bring Myrrh, used in the embalming process of important persons. Yet they bring all these to a child born in a makeshift barn to poor Jewish peasants. Costly gifts to a man who would later be arrested and crucified after a year of two as an itinerant practically homeless preacher. A man who in no worldly sense was anything kingly, anything of importance in the religious establishment, or anything worth the costly process of embalming. What are we to make of all this?
Yes, of course – Matthew’s message of a Divine Saviour for the whole World, revealed in the child Jesus, is deeply important. That’s easy to see. In my view, there isn’t a human being who at some time in her life doesn’t sense the need for a power to get us through Life’s challenges or to confront the power of evil. St. Paul’s famous cry of “The things I don’t want to do I find myself doing; Who will save me?” rings in our ears. The Persian Magi, the bright light or star in the sky, the splendor of the gifts, even the contrast between Herod and Jesus as a leader deserving our loyalty, all help to emphasize the importance of this child.
But I believe that the Magi, appropriately known as the “Wise” Men, have an equally important message for every human person, and particularly for those of us who have answered the call to follow Jesus and proclaim His Gospel.
The story of the Incarnation of Jesus the Son of God to a human mother by the power of the divine Holy Spirit is what I call a “truth story”. In this case, a truth-story about us. It points to the truth that what makes us human is the indwelling of God. That every human being, as the second story of Creation[2] teaches us, is composed of the "dust of the earth" and of the divine breath of God. Jesus Himself made this clear when He appeared in the Upper Room to His disciples. He breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit’. In doing this, He confirmed that we are fully human only when flesh and divine spirit become one. This is why the heart of our worship is the Eucharist, where we are given spiritual food and drink, Christ’s Body and Blood, the “true Bread which came down from Heaven”, food of the spirit to give life to the body.
Gold indicates Royalty, and Royalty reflects the majesty of all of us as human being - which is why kings and queens are called “Your Majesty”. Frankincense indicates Priesthood, even diety, which Scripture tells us we all share through the High Priesthood of Christ, and priesthood points to the intimate bond between flesh and spirit, between us and our Creator. Myrrh indicates preservation at death, and preservation points to the Mystery of Resurrection, of unending life in God.
The story of the Magi is also a “truth story”, seen in Nativity scenes and the Three Kings on Epiphany. It is to remind us that humanity needs to seek and know the compassionate God at the heart of us all. To remind us that we, like the Magi, are to honour the Christ of God who dwells in every human being; to honour the majesty and the godly nature of men and women - ourselves, each other, and all we meet.
Like the over-1000 mile journey of the Magi, becoming fully human is a challenge, often fraught with various Herods. But if we accept the journey of seeking the God Who breathes Life into us and makes us human, we join Mary and the Magi in showing the World where true Life and salvation are to be found – in the God of Love who makes a home with us.
[1] Eph 3
[2] Gen 2
[Is 60:1-6][Ps 72:1-7,10-14][Eph 3:1-12][Matt 2:1-12]
Brian McHugh, priest
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. These are the three gifts that the Magi brought to the young Jesus. They are believed to have been Medean priest-politicians from Parthia or Persia. Jesus was probably somewhere around one year old at the time. They stopped to ask the soon-to-be-dead King Herod, a non-Jew who had bought the office of king from the Romans, where the true “King of the Jews” might be found. I confess to an utter cynicism about anything politicians say, so it does not surprise me that Herod lies to them and uses them to try and ferret out what might be a threat to his power. And while there is no non-Scriptural corroboration, Herod’s reputation for ruthlessness might indeed have led him to the mass murder of children born in the timeframe the Magi indicate. Genocide on various levels is not a new thing. We are acutely aware in our contemporary World what horrors people in power will do to keep it.
Why does Matthew’s Gospel alone include this story, for which there is no parallel historical evidence? I side with those scholars who say that the Matthew version of the Gospel is keen to show that the birth of Jesus is not just of concern to the Jews, but for the whole World. The Magi were non-Jews, and so represent the larger World for Matthew. And St. Paul, in his words to the church in Ephesus, says that through him and through the Mystery of Christ revealed to him, “the Gentiles – more non-Jews - have become “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers of the promise of Christ Jesus”.[1]
Whatever else the Magi came seeking, I deduce by the gifts they brought that they were both seeking and expecting someone unusual. They bring Gold as if to a king. They bring Frankincense as if to a great priest. They bring Myrrh, used in the embalming process of important persons. Yet they bring all these to a child born in a makeshift barn to poor Jewish peasants. Costly gifts to a man who would later be arrested and crucified after a year of two as an itinerant practically homeless preacher. A man who in no worldly sense was anything kingly, anything of importance in the religious establishment, or anything worth the costly process of embalming. What are we to make of all this?
Yes, of course – Matthew’s message of a Divine Saviour for the whole World, revealed in the child Jesus, is deeply important. That’s easy to see. In my view, there isn’t a human being who at some time in her life doesn’t sense the need for a power to get us through Life’s challenges or to confront the power of evil. St. Paul’s famous cry of “The things I don’t want to do I find myself doing; Who will save me?” rings in our ears. The Persian Magi, the bright light or star in the sky, the splendor of the gifts, even the contrast between Herod and Jesus as a leader deserving our loyalty, all help to emphasize the importance of this child.
But I believe that the Magi, appropriately known as the “Wise” Men, have an equally important message for every human person, and particularly for those of us who have answered the call to follow Jesus and proclaim His Gospel.
The story of the Incarnation of Jesus the Son of God to a human mother by the power of the divine Holy Spirit is what I call a “truth story”. In this case, a truth-story about us. It points to the truth that what makes us human is the indwelling of God. That every human being, as the second story of Creation[2] teaches us, is composed of the "dust of the earth" and of the divine breath of God. Jesus Himself made this clear when He appeared in the Upper Room to His disciples. He breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit’. In doing this, He confirmed that we are fully human only when flesh and divine spirit become one. This is why the heart of our worship is the Eucharist, where we are given spiritual food and drink, Christ’s Body and Blood, the “true Bread which came down from Heaven”, food of the spirit to give life to the body.
Gold indicates Royalty, and Royalty reflects the majesty of all of us as human being - which is why kings and queens are called “Your Majesty”. Frankincense indicates Priesthood, even diety, which Scripture tells us we all share through the High Priesthood of Christ, and priesthood points to the intimate bond between flesh and spirit, between us and our Creator. Myrrh indicates preservation at death, and preservation points to the Mystery of Resurrection, of unending life in God.
The story of the Magi is also a “truth story”, seen in Nativity scenes and the Three Kings on Epiphany. It is to remind us that humanity needs to seek and know the compassionate God at the heart of us all. To remind us that we, like the Magi, are to honour the Christ of God who dwells in every human being; to honour the majesty and the godly nature of men and women - ourselves, each other, and all we meet.
Like the over-1000 mile journey of the Magi, becoming fully human is a challenge, often fraught with various Herods. But if we accept the journey of seeking the God Who breathes Life into us and makes us human, we join Mary and the Magi in showing the World where true Life and salvation are to be found – in the God of Love who makes a home with us.
[1] Eph 3
[2] Gen 2
Friday, January 4, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Saturday, January 5, 2008
What is qualified? What have I been qualified for in
my life? I haven't been qualified to be a mayor. I'm
not qualified to be a songwriter. I'm not qualified to
be a TV producer. I'm not qualified to be a successful
businessman. And so, I don't know what qualified means.
- Senator Sonny Bono, who died on this day,
1998. Ran into a tree while skiing (some friends
of mine think it was the Mafia.)
Sonny Bono. Paired with Cher. Wonderful singing duo – at least I thought so. Cher so exotic. Sonny so ….. nerdy and wimpy. I thought it was a perfect symbol of how Life is. You just never know who will match with you. “Jack Spratt could eat no fat, his wife could no lean”. Or my partner and I – connected, both Cancers, same colour eyes - but so many differences.
Qualified? Most of us are not “qualified” for what we do! I wonder about our society some times. People spending multi-thousands to get educated. And what happens? They get “qualified” to be a lawyer, or a musician, or a mechanic. But they don’t get “qualified” be to be a human being. They get qualified to be a robot of service, on the assumption that this makes money. As if money is all we need to have a successful life.
Sad, sad, sad.
“Religion” should be about getting qualified to be human. It very often isn’t. But I’m committed. I spend my life trying to demonstrate how the relationship with “God” shows us how to be Human.
Don’t worry about getting “qualified” to “make a living”. Worry about what it is to be Human. Listen to the Gospel. Listen to the great teachings of the great spiritual teachers. They won’t tell you how to make money. They will tell you how to be your true Self.
“Qualification” resides in knowing what an authentic human being is. And by bringing that to what you do.
Brian+
What is qualified? What have I been qualified for in
my life? I haven't been qualified to be a mayor. I'm
not qualified to be a songwriter. I'm not qualified to
be a TV producer. I'm not qualified to be a successful
businessman. And so, I don't know what qualified means.
- Senator Sonny Bono, who died on this day,
1998. Ran into a tree while skiing (some friends
of mine think it was the Mafia.)
Sonny Bono. Paired with Cher. Wonderful singing duo – at least I thought so. Cher so exotic. Sonny so ….. nerdy and wimpy. I thought it was a perfect symbol of how Life is. You just never know who will match with you. “Jack Spratt could eat no fat, his wife could no lean”. Or my partner and I – connected, both Cancers, same colour eyes - but so many differences.
Qualified? Most of us are not “qualified” for what we do! I wonder about our society some times. People spending multi-thousands to get educated. And what happens? They get “qualified” to be a lawyer, or a musician, or a mechanic. But they don’t get “qualified” be to be a human being. They get qualified to be a robot of service, on the assumption that this makes money. As if money is all we need to have a successful life.
Sad, sad, sad.
“Religion” should be about getting qualified to be human. It very often isn’t. But I’m committed. I spend my life trying to demonstrate how the relationship with “God” shows us how to be Human.
Don’t worry about getting “qualified” to “make a living”. Worry about what it is to be Human. Listen to the Gospel. Listen to the great teachings of the great spiritual teachers. They won’t tell you how to make money. They will tell you how to be your true Self.
“Qualification” resides in knowing what an authentic human being is. And by bringing that to what you do.
Brian+
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Friday, January 4, 2008
Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day.
- Albert Camus, philosopher, who died on this day
in a car accident, 1960
Camus understood. As did Plato. As did Jesus. As did Jung. As have many. “Archetypes” (a typical, ideal, or classic example of something - Encarta Dictionary) are daily realities writ large. “God” is an archetype of the mystery of Life found in all things. “Heaven” is an archetype of the Life Energy that never ceases. “The Body and Blood of Christ” is an archetype of the divine energy that sustains the heart of Life. “Satan” is the archetype of the mundane reality of evil choice and action. On and on it goes.
“The Last Judgment” is the archetype of the daily reality that we are judged by our behaviour as to the quality of our humanity. We are not to live our lives with furtive glances at a coming final judgment, hoping that we will manage to outwit the Judge. Rather, we are to live every day under the watchful eye of Compassion, of Kindness, of Generosity. At the quiet moment at every day’s end, or perhaps at any moment we make a decision, the Archetype of God the Judge blooms and shimmers before our eyes, holding out the scales upon which our character as a person is balanced. Every day, every day, “judgment” is a spirit shaping our growth in humanity.
Camus once said, “In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer”. Oh yes, we will survive the Judge. If we believe in the “invincible summer” of our divine beauty.
Our Life is assaulted in many ways and by many things. We are quick, we human beings, to damn ourselves - having been ill taught by mean-spirited religionists. But Jesus teaches a different standard. We are the Imago Dei. This is the “invincible summer”.
Nothing can overcome it. The “imago dei” is the archetype of the human person.
Never forget it. Thus remembering, you, we, will rise every day letting drop the burden of condemnation, and rise with healing in our wings to soar on the lightwinds of Trust.
What a World we could remake!
Brian+
Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day.
- Albert Camus, philosopher, who died on this day
in a car accident, 1960
Camus understood. As did Plato. As did Jesus. As did Jung. As have many. “Archetypes” (a typical, ideal, or classic example of something - Encarta Dictionary) are daily realities writ large. “God” is an archetype of the mystery of Life found in all things. “Heaven” is an archetype of the Life Energy that never ceases. “The Body and Blood of Christ” is an archetype of the divine energy that sustains the heart of Life. “Satan” is the archetype of the mundane reality of evil choice and action. On and on it goes.
“The Last Judgment” is the archetype of the daily reality that we are judged by our behaviour as to the quality of our humanity. We are not to live our lives with furtive glances at a coming final judgment, hoping that we will manage to outwit the Judge. Rather, we are to live every day under the watchful eye of Compassion, of Kindness, of Generosity. At the quiet moment at every day’s end, or perhaps at any moment we make a decision, the Archetype of God the Judge blooms and shimmers before our eyes, holding out the scales upon which our character as a person is balanced. Every day, every day, “judgment” is a spirit shaping our growth in humanity.
Camus once said, “In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer”. Oh yes, we will survive the Judge. If we believe in the “invincible summer” of our divine beauty.
Our Life is assaulted in many ways and by many things. We are quick, we human beings, to damn ourselves - having been ill taught by mean-spirited religionists. But Jesus teaches a different standard. We are the Imago Dei. This is the “invincible summer”.
Nothing can overcome it. The “imago dei” is the archetype of the human person.
Never forget it. Thus remembering, you, we, will rise every day letting drop the burden of condemnation, and rise with healing in our wings to soar on the lightwinds of Trust.
What a World we could remake!
Brian+
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Thursday, January 3, 2008
I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend
my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more.
For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of
heaven would be even worse.
- Isaac Asimov, thinker, poet, author, fantasist,
born on this day, 1920, in Russia.
I do believe in an “afterlife”. Well - not really an “afterlife”. More an “Ongoing Life”. And I appreciate the metaphors of all faiths about what it will be like. They are colourful and beautiful, as are most metaphors about It. And, as Asimov, who doesn’t fear It because he doesn’t believe in It, I don’t either, because I do believe in It, and Jesus has said it is pleasant.
The metaphors of Heaven are supposed to make us think that Heaven is lovely – and I do. I have no interest in the details; they are irrelevant. The Afterlife will be about Truth, and “seeing through a glass” clearly instead of darkly. And about the giddiness of glimpsing finally what the Journey Onward is a little bit about. We really can’t know here the Reality, unless perhaps our imagination is fresh. And it doesn’t really matter to me.
I am not a person who can appreciate “boredom”. And I have to say that Christianity has produced some pretty boring theological “pictures” about Heaven. Ugh. As have other faiths - including the Muslim one about hoards of Virgins. (A) it makes me shudder yet again about the inability of religion to deal sensibly about sex, and (B) I prefer the idea that, having died, the mystery of sex takes an integrated place in the total reality of Being.
Life goes on forever, in a glorious kaleidoscope of dimensions of Being. One should never fear it - nthat presents a picture of “God” that is perverse. You can only “go to Hell” if you choose it, metaphorically speaking - and God doesn’t want that! And Heaven, well, Heaven, it is the most wonderful and un-boring thing you can possibly imagine. Because God lets us design It!
Sharpen your wits, oh friends!
Brian+
I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend
my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more.
For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of
heaven would be even worse.
- Isaac Asimov, thinker, poet, author, fantasist,
born on this day, 1920, in Russia.
I do believe in an “afterlife”. Well - not really an “afterlife”. More an “Ongoing Life”. And I appreciate the metaphors of all faiths about what it will be like. They are colourful and beautiful, as are most metaphors about It. And, as Asimov, who doesn’t fear It because he doesn’t believe in It, I don’t either, because I do believe in It, and Jesus has said it is pleasant.
The metaphors of Heaven are supposed to make us think that Heaven is lovely – and I do. I have no interest in the details; they are irrelevant. The Afterlife will be about Truth, and “seeing through a glass” clearly instead of darkly. And about the giddiness of glimpsing finally what the Journey Onward is a little bit about. We really can’t know here the Reality, unless perhaps our imagination is fresh. And it doesn’t really matter to me.
I am not a person who can appreciate “boredom”. And I have to say that Christianity has produced some pretty boring theological “pictures” about Heaven. Ugh. As have other faiths - including the Muslim one about hoards of Virgins. (A) it makes me shudder yet again about the inability of religion to deal sensibly about sex, and (B) I prefer the idea that, having died, the mystery of sex takes an integrated place in the total reality of Being.
Life goes on forever, in a glorious kaleidoscope of dimensions of Being. One should never fear it - nthat presents a picture of “God” that is perverse. You can only “go to Hell” if you choose it, metaphorically speaking - and God doesn’t want that! And Heaven, well, Heaven, it is the most wonderful and un-boring thing you can possibly imagine. Because God lets us design It!
Sharpen your wits, oh friends!
Brian+
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The conception of gods as superhuman beings endowed with powers to which
man possesses nothing comparable in degree and hardly even in kind, has been
slowly evolved in the course of history. By primitive peoples the supernatural
agents are not regarded as greatly, if at all, superior to man; for they may be frightened
and coerced by him into doing his will. At this stage of thought the world is viewed as a
great democracy; all beings in it, whether natural or supernatural, are supposed to stand
on a footing of tolerable equality. But with the growth of his knowledge man learns to
realise more clearly the vastness of nature and his own littleness and feebleness in presence
of it. The recognition of his helplessness does not, however, carry with it a corresponding
belief in the impotence of those supernatural beings with which his imagination peoples the
universe. On the contrary, it enhances his conception of their power.
- from “The Golden Bough”, by Sir James Frazer, born on this day,
1854, in Scotland
Well, here it is – 2008. I wish you many many blessings and curiosities and surprises and happinesses and wonders and challenges and mysteries!
I am definitely going to spend a lot of 2008 thinking about the Mystery we call “God”. And reading what others have had to say about It. I have picked through The Golden Bough over the years. I intend to read it all in 2008. I like Frazer’s phrase “a footing of tolerable equality”.
I am caught by Frazer’s idea that the more we sense our own “littleness and feebleness”, the more we abandon our sense of power and attribute more to “the gods”. Is this just an abdication of our responsibility and of our role as creators? Of the fact, as Christmas implies, we share the Divine Life??
So many questions, so little time! But the consolation is, there is always more to learn!
May 2008 be full for you of Amazement!
Brian+
The conception of gods as superhuman beings endowed with powers to which
man possesses nothing comparable in degree and hardly even in kind, has been
slowly evolved in the course of history. By primitive peoples the supernatural
agents are not regarded as greatly, if at all, superior to man; for they may be frightened
and coerced by him into doing his will. At this stage of thought the world is viewed as a
great democracy; all beings in it, whether natural or supernatural, are supposed to stand
on a footing of tolerable equality. But with the growth of his knowledge man learns to
realise more clearly the vastness of nature and his own littleness and feebleness in presence
of it. The recognition of his helplessness does not, however, carry with it a corresponding
belief in the impotence of those supernatural beings with which his imagination peoples the
universe. On the contrary, it enhances his conception of their power.
- from “The Golden Bough”, by Sir James Frazer, born on this day,
1854, in Scotland
Well, here it is – 2008. I wish you many many blessings and curiosities and surprises and happinesses and wonders and challenges and mysteries!
I am definitely going to spend a lot of 2008 thinking about the Mystery we call “God”. And reading what others have had to say about It. I have picked through The Golden Bough over the years. I intend to read it all in 2008. I like Frazer’s phrase “a footing of tolerable equality”.
I am caught by Frazer’s idea that the more we sense our own “littleness and feebleness”, the more we abandon our sense of power and attribute more to “the gods”. Is this just an abdication of our responsibility and of our role as creators? Of the fact, as Christmas implies, we share the Divine Life??
So many questions, so little time! But the consolation is, there is always more to learn!
May 2008 be full for you of Amazement!
Brian+
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
