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”.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
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+
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