12/29/2008

John 1:1-18


2nd Sunday after Christmas

before all time and being
before the light and darkness
was the God of creation
---- the Alpha
before all worlds
---- and Omega
once again in the timelessness of god
who for a brief moment
-------- in this place
-------- this time
Lived among us
the Word and the work of God
uniting
again and always
the Creator and the Creation
the Word and the Work
in one
the Christ
Emmanuel

discover God's handiwork

Sunday January 4th, Sirach 24: Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people. 2In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory: ‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist. I dwelt in the highest heavens, Modern fundamentalism tends to reject wisdom. There is resistance to the study of evolution, and many other forms of science, both physical and social, a resistance to the critical methods of scriptural study. And in some circles there is almost an anti-intellectualism. We can see this most clearly in fundamentalists teachings in other religions, especially Islam, but often fail to see it in our own brand of fundamentalism. But wisdom is a gift from God. A gift that allows us the opportunity to discover in ever widening circles, the wonder of God’s creation. The next time you anti-evolution arguments, or the substitution of it’s close cousin “intelligent design” (as if using the word intelligent makes it so) remember they are just attempts to put square pegs in round holes. In the end they only serve to stifle the wonders of discovering God’s handiwork.

the gift

Monday January 5th, Sirach 24: ‘Then the Creator of all things gave me a command, and my Creator chose the place for my tent. He said, “Make your dwelling in Jacob, and in Israel receive your inheritance.” In Sirach, the one speaking here is wisdom. It is a gift to the people of God. It is a gift to be used and nourished, a gift to be sought. It is a gift through which the wonders of God are revealed. No wonder Lutherans have so many colleges and schools. We love to discover the wonders of God. Learning should be life long and not just for a job.

turn back

Tuesday January 6th, Ephesians 1: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. Going through life it is easy to forget we are here to live and discover the wonders of a loving God. Before long we find ourselves serving ourselves first, and God second. Life becomes un-easy and dis-eased. It is that whole tree in the garden thing all over again. But in the beginning God created humanity in the image of God. Living up to that image brings joy and peace, living up to only our image not only got us kicked out of the garden, but it brings some pain along the way. Life a little out of sorts? Turn back to the calling for which you were created: to live and love in harmony with the Creator and all creation.

refocus

Wednesday January 7th, Ephesians 1: With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Each day we have the opportunity to use the gift of wisdom to discover the wonders of God’s love for us, or find some new way to make a buck at someone else’s expense. I think you current financial crisis has shown us the folly of unrestrained greed and unregulated free market of the later. Now that your retirement has been refocused by free market greed, perhaps it is time to refocus your life in something that can’t be ripped off.

don't fight it

Thursday January 8th, John 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. We, and all that is, ever was and ever will be, are here because God had a plan from before time. Essential elements of that play have to do with loving, caring, growing, and forgiving. Somehow we found ways to usurp that plan, or so we think, for a while. In the end God’s plan will prevail, in this earth and in your life. Time to stop fighting it.

a little more each day

Friday January 9th, John 1: What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. We have gained a little better than one minute today. Here in Alaska there is an excitement when you start to perceive the days getting longer. It may be 20 below outside, but the garden catalogues already are calling. Christ came to bring that kind of hope into the world. No matter the reality of what is; with Christ, there is also a great deal of excitement over what will be.

let this be the year

Saturday January 10th, John 1: 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own,* and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. There is a sign on my door, it shows a picture of Jesus and asks the question, “how can we worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?” How can we worship Christ on Sunday and not see Christ in the eyes of our brothers and sisters the rest of the week? How can we turn our eyes so toward the self that we fail to see God in the other? How can we turn our eyes so toward the self that we find ways to justify the other as not really being out brother or sister and therefore drop bombs in Iraq, shoot rockets in the Holy Land, kill with machetes and starvation in the Sudan, and on and on and on? How can we? Let this coming year be the beginning of a time when all humankind can see in one another, the face of God and begin to put an end to all war.

12/24/2008

the First Christmas Sermon

I received this, the first Christmas sermon ever preached, by St. John "The Golden Throat" Chrysostom in 386, from the Emergent Village email. (http://www.emergentvillage.com/) The Antiochian Christians were the first to celebrate the Incarnation with its own feast day, December 25, and here's how Chrysostom addressed those assembled on the morning of the Christ Mass:

I behold a new and wondrous mystery! My ears resound to the Shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn.

The Angels sing!
The Archangels blend their voices in harmony!
The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise!
The Seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side the Sun of Justice.

And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, he had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things move in obedience to God.

This day He Who Is, is Born; and He Who Is becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became he God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged.

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His Incarnation has he departed from the Godhead.

And behold,
Kings have come, that they might adore the heavenly King of glory;
Soldiers, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven;

Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of child- birth into joy;
Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin, beholding with joy, that He Who is the Giver of milk, Who has decreed that the fountains of the breast pour forth in ready streams, receives from a Virgin Mother the food of infancy;
Infants, that they may adore Him Who became a little child, so that out of the mouth of infants and sucklings, He might perfect praise;

Children, to the Child Who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod;
Men, to Him Who became man, that He might heal the miseries of His servants;
Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd Who has laid down His life for His sheep;
Priests, to Him Who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech;
Servants, to Him Who took upon Himself the form of a servant that He might bless our servitude with the reward of freedom;
Fishermen, to Him Who from amongst fishermen chose catchers of men;
Publicans, to Him Who from amongst them named a chosen Evangelist;
Sinful women, to Him Who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant;

And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world.

Since therefore all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice. I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival. But I take my part, not plucking the harp, not shaking the Thyrsian staff, not with the music of pipes, nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ. For this is all my hope, this my life, this my salvation, this my pipe, my harp. And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels, sing: Glory to God in the Highest;and with the shepherds: and on earth peace to men of good will.

12/23/2008

Star of wonder By Rebecca Ellis

A comet, an eclipse, a supernova, an alignment of planets - was the Star of Bethlehem, said to have led the wise men to the Baby Jesus, a real astronomical event?

Some 2,000 years ago, wise men saw an incredible star shining over the Holy Land. It was their signal to embark on an epic journey to visit the new Messiah. But what exactly was the Star of Bethlehem?

Modern science is unravelling the mystery behind one of the most famous astronomical stories in history. New developments in technology allow astronomers to map the ancient night skies with extraordinary accuracy.

As they study the movements of the planets and stars, experts are challenging the traditional assumption that it was a blazing comet - instead there are several unusual astronomical events that the wise men could have seen in the skies.

The Bible tells us remarkably little about the star, with only the Gospel of St Matthew mentioning it. He records the wise men asking: "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him."

No date or detailed description is given. Even the identity of the men is obscure. Rather than the kings of popular imagination, the wise men are thought to have been priests from Persia, known as Magi. Keen astrologers who looked to the stars for guidance, the Magi combined science with faith to predict the birth of a new Messiah.

So what prompted them to travel to Bethlehem? Most experts agree Jesus was born in 4BC or earlier, as King Herod, who ruled over Judea at the time, is recorded as dying in 4BC. Now astronomers have identified four celestial events in this period that could have been the Star of Bethlehem.

TRIPLE CONJUNCTION OF PLANETS
An ancient clay tablet, now in the British Museum, is a key part of one theory which says the star was a rare series of planetary meetings, known as a triple conjunction.

This happened between Jupiter and Saturn and occurred in the night sky in 7BC, says Dr David Hughes, emeritus professor of astronomy at the University of Sheffield.

Jupiter, the royal star, and Saturn came together three times over several months. Significantly, this happened during the constellation of Pisces, a sign associated with Israel.

There is evidence on the clay tablet that Persian astronomers predicted this. The tablet calculates solar, lunar and planetary activity for that year, and describes the conjunctions.

ECLIPSE OF JUPITER
A 2,000-year-old coin, minted north of Judea, is part of the evidence behind another theory. Dr Mike Molnar of Rutgers University, New Jersey, believes the star could have been an occultation, or eclipse, of the moon with Jupiter on 17 April 6BC.

He argues the Magi saw the star in the constellation of Aries, not Pisces. The coin depicts Aries the ram leaping across the sky and looking back at a star.

According to astrological texts from the time, Aries ruled over Judea, with Jerusalem as the capital of the Near East, making it the sign of the Jews.

Dr Molnar believes the Magi saw this eclipse. Just before sunrise, Jupiter would have risen in the east, just as St Matthew describes their sighting of the Star. Then, as the moon passed directly between Earth and Jupiter, the kingmaker planet was hidden from view.

SUPERNOVA
Some think the star could have been a much bigger celestial event. European Space Agency astronomer Dr Mark Kidger believes it would have taken more than unusual planetary movements to persuade such seasoned astronomical experts to travel to Judea.
The Magi could have seen a star entering its supernova phase, one of the most energetic and explosive events known to astronomers.

He has even identified a candidate - DO Aquilae - which erupted in 1927 and is likely to have erupted several times previously. If it had erupted 2,000 years ago, the Magi would have seen it just above the horizon, in the east.

He hopes radio telescopes in the future will be able to detect a faint bubble of expanding gas around Aquilae and calculate when exactly the bubble started to expand.

TWO PLANETS LOOKING LIKE ONE BRIGHT LIGHT
One theory has the most surprising twist. The date for celebrating Christmas was only fixed centuries after the event - and is questioned by many - but Texan law professor and astronomer Rick Larson believes Jesus really could have been born on 25 December. But on 25 December 2BC.

Unlike other astronomers, he has looked at later celestial events because he thinks the calculation of King Herod's death is inaccurate. The 4BC date is based on the writings of the historian Josephus, but every Josephus manuscript he has studied dating before 1544 is consistent with Herod having died in 1BC.

In 2BC Jupiter met up with one of the brightest stars in the sky, Regulus, known by the Magi as the "little king". Nine months later, Jupiter met Venus, known as the mother planet. These meetings would have been symbolically significant, as was the timescale involved.

The planets would have seemed so close they would have looked like one bright light in the sky. Professor Larson believes this light was what prompted the Magi to travel to the east. As they made their way, Jupiter continued to move across the sky until it appeared to stand still over Bethlehem.

The Choice Is Ours Now by Melissa Etheridge

This is a message for my brothers and sisters who have fought so long and so hard for gay rights and liberty. We have spent a long time climbing up this mountain, looking at the impossible, changing a thousand year-old paradigm. We have asked for the right to love the human of our choice, and to be protected equally under the laws of this great country. The road at times has been so bloody, and so horrible, and so disheartening. From being blamed for 9/11 and Katrina, to hateful crimes committed against us, we are battle weary. We watched as our nation took a step in the right direction, against all odds and elected Barack Obama as our next leader. Then we were jerked back into the last century as we watched our rights taken away by prop 8 in California. Still sore and angry we felt another slap in the face as the man we helped get elected seemingly invited a gay-hater to address the world at his inauguration.

I hadn't heard of Pastor Rick Warren before all of this. When I heard the news, in its neat little sound bite form that we are so accustomed to, it painted the picture for me. This Pastor Rick must surely be one hate spouting, money grabbing, bad hair televangelist like all the others. He probably has his own gay little secret bathroom stall somewhere, you know. One more hater working up his congregation to hate the gays, comparing us to pedophiles and those who commit incest, blah blah blah. Same 'ole thing. Would I be boycotting the inauguration? Would we be marching again?

Well, I have to tell you my friends, the universe has a sense of humor and indeed works in mysterious ways. As I was winding down the promotion for my Christmas album I had one more stop last night. I'd agreed to play a song I'd written with my friend Salman Ahmed, a Sufi Muslim from Pakistan. The song is called "Ring The Bells," and it's a call for peace and unity in our world. We were going to perform our song for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a group of Muslim Americans that tries to raise awareness in this country, and the world, about the majority of good, loving, Muslims. I was honored, considering some in the Muslim religion consider singing to be against God, while other Muslim countries have harsh penalties, even death for homosexuals. I felt it was a very brave gesture for them to make. I received a call the day before to inform me of the keynote speaker that night... Pastor Rick Warren. I was stunned. My fight or flight instinct took over, should I cancel? Then a calm voice inside me said, "Are you really about peace or not?"

I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say "In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him." They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays. He invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids. He told me of his wife's struggle with breast cancer just a year before mine.

When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future.

Brothers and sisters the choice is ours now. We have the world's attention. We have the capability to create change, awesome change in this world, but before we change minds we must change hearts. Sure, there are plenty of hateful people who will always hold on to their bigotry like a child to a blanket. But there are also good people out there, Christian and otherwise that are beginning to listen. They don't hate us, they fear change. Maybe in our anger, as we consider marches and boycotts, perhaps we can consider stretching out our hands. Maybe instead of marching on his church, we can show up en mass and volunteer for one of the many organizations affiliated with his church that work for HIV/AIDS causes all around the world.
Maybe if they get to know us, they wont fear us.

I know, call me a dreamer, but I feel a new era is upon us.

I will be attending the inauguration with my family, and with hope in my heart. I know we are headed in the direction of marriage equality and equal protection for all families.
Happy Holidays my friends and a Happy New Year to you.

Peace on earth, goodwill toward all men and women... and everyone in-between.

12/22/2008

1st Sunday after Christmas

Luke 2:25-40

So long I have waited
So long
Waiting for the promised one of Abraham
To come into the world
And free the people
----free them
to be what they are called to be
from the beginning of time
called to be in the image of God
----male and female created
----and set to have dominion
--------over all the earth
------------to love what God had given them
I have waited
----as has all of Israel
--------until now
for the one who was promised
----for the one who would set the promise of God
--------in motion once again
------------and for all
Thanks be to God for this one
----this child from Nazareth
innocent in his eighth day
knowing only the comfort of his mothers breast
----and the faint confusion of the world around him
----dim to his ears
--------that are yet to define
--------the world he came to heal
Bless this child
------------and give thanks to God
all who are looking for the
----Love of God
--------come t us
and now lettest thou they servants
----who have waited so long
--------depart in peace

The presentation of our Lord (2)

Luke 2:22-40

I sit and wait
wait for when the time will be
that I too may know Lord
that I too may feel
may see
what this life is all about
the reason for our life
and why we are here
to see, know, feel the existence
of evey person’s struggle
called life
some search the mountains
some the valleys
some search for the truth in their heads
some in the cosmos
in the end they al
we all
wait
until
we have exhausted all our own
(Lord)
looking no more to our selves
our books
our minds
our cosmos
or the other amon us
(not let ehy servent)
finding nothing
(depart)
to see the all
(in peace)
among us
Emmanuel

Luke 2:22-40

in the midst of our rituals
made up of what we feel
and our understanding
of what and who God is
we sometimes encounter
in spite of all that we place in the way
God
pure and simple
shining like a ray of joy
into our hearts
and our rituals
Our understandings
make sense in a new way
for we have seen
seen the one promised
to save the people
and bring life to the world
Anna and Simeon came to such a moment
a pureness of time
wrapped in a blanket
helpless
and they felt complete
so now dismiss you servant in peace
allow not this moment to lapse into a memory
for my eyes have seen salvation
prepared for all people
A light to guide all nations
for the glory of Your people
the memory
the moment
the world
Alive
and remembered.

The Name of Jesus


Luke 2:21

Sally, Joe, Abdul, Rebecca and Juan
all names
all given to the ones new born
on their day
Names
that in time invoke an image
of who they are
and what they have done
in this world
Names
that speak of love
----------------- hate
----------------- worry and fear
Names that speak of a promise spoken
I will be your God
and you will be my people
Names like any other names
yet special
because of who they speak of
before time
one name was given
a name of love
a name of change
a name of hope
and at the sound of this name every knee shall bow
that name
Jesus
like another name
except
it changed who we
and
the Sallys, Joes, Abduls, Rebeccas and Juans
of this world
will forever be,
the children of God

New Years Eve


Matthew 25:31- 46
The Sheep and the Goats

In the silence of the evening
Just before blessed sleep brings peace
The tomorrow plan begins
Mental notes
To do’s and timing
(when)
That fill the day
Bring that outgrown kids clothes to that lady at work
Struggling
Single
Three kids
And a nice card for what’s her names birthday
(did I see you)
Pick up some cans for the food drive
(hungry)
At church
And write the letter to the editor
(in prison)
On eliminating the death penalty
During my lunch
Sarah looked a bit down on Sunday
Tough times going through a divorce
Perhaps we could have her over for dinner
(a stranger)
I’ll give her a call tomorrow

Blessed be the lives too filled with grace
To notice

The Holy Innocents


Matthew 2:13-18

Among the Pure and Innocent Cries
of a Newborn Child
Come the shrill reminders
of a world
---- and systems
far from that touch of life
a child brings
Far from
the trusting eyes
of love
that want only someone to show caring
Far from this
lies
our world
of agendas
and power and money
shock and awe
collateral damage
and the bleeding, smoldering bodies
of someone else’s child
and the nations play the game
of vying for position
to make the world a better placethrough the moans of death
and lifeless bodies
that are the victims of
what we claim
is a better world
Hear that cry
so pure and innocent
of a newborn child
and remember
what power and ambition and money
disguised as caring and freedom
can do

Celebrate

Sunday December 28th, Isaiah 61: 10 I celebrate and shout because of my LORD God. His saving power and justice are the very clothes I wear. When we are caught up in the saving power of God, we are no longer caught up in that never-ending cycle of trying to “do” what is right, rightness becomes more a matter of who we are. It is a matter of our very being. When you are caught up in the saving power of God, what we do is celebrate. There is no time for judging others, there is no time for warfare, there is no time for anything other than celebrating God’s presence in your life with all that you think do and say. Your life itself becomes a celebration. The Christmas rush is over, are you celebrating or stressing today?

My Backyard??

Monday December 29th, Isaiah 61: 11 The LORD will bring about justice and praise in every nation on earth, like flowers blooming in a garden. First let us understand that justice is not another name for things done our way. Justice is a two edged sword and cuts both ways. We still live in a world of nations, God’s vision is a world filled with the children of God. Short of living in this God world where we recognize others as sisters and brothers in Christ, we live in a world of injustice. True justice would mean that we would have less so that others could have more. True justice would not focus on tax breaks for the wealthiest among us while cutting programs that benefit the least of these. God’s justice means caring for all of God’s creation, not just our backyard.

Papa

Tuesday December 30th, Galatians 4: 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." The view of God up to the time of Jesus was of a majestic God far off in the heavens. Jesus is God’s revelation for humanity, Immanuel, God with us. What Jesus revealed to us about God is that more than anything else we are called into a relationship that compels us to call out “Abba”. Another word for Abba is Papa. We are not called into a relationship with a God before whom we are to grovel and try to please, we are called into a relationship with a loving God to whom we can go with all our lives and whom we try to please out of response to living in this loving relationship, albeit not very well. An Abba is someone on whose lap you sit. Abba is someone who washes off your wounds and puts on a Band-Aid and kisses your woes and makes them better. Abba is someone you can bring all of your problems and thoughts to and know you will be heard. Abba is someone who lovingly stops you when you are getting yourself in trouble, or sometimes steps back and lets you get into trouble and then helps you set things right, but either way it is done out of love. Jesus tells us that the majestic Lord God Almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth, is Abba, papa, and loves us dearly.

adoption celebration

Wednesday December 31st, Galatians 4: 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. How will you celebrate the coming of the New Year? The tradition is to celebrate with wild abandon and regret it the next day. But you are different; you are a child of God and are loved because of who we are, even if you do celebrate with a bit too much wild abandon. We are not loved because of all the wonderful things we do, just as we are not “not loved” because of all the garbage we pull in life. We are loved because we are the children of God and we are loved as one would love your own children. Yes that means that sometimes the love must come in the form of tough love. Sometimes that love comes in the form of stepping back and letting us find out for ourselves why what were told not to do is a good idea to not do. We are the children of God in all that means. Welcome to the family. And you might think about spending this New Years Eve in celebration of all the wonders God has given you in 08 and in anticipation of all the ministry you will be called to do in 09.

searching

Thursday January 1st, Luke 2: 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 "Lord, now I can die in peace! As you promised me, 30 I have seen the Savior 31 you have given to all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!" The New Year has started, where is the Spirit leading you? Simeon had a longing for the presence of God in his life. When the promise came, all of life was complete, all of life made sense. Jesus calls you this year to have a similar longing for God in your life. A longing that will not stop, or let anything get in the way of a relationship with God. When that happens, everything else will just to fall into place. That doesn’t mean that everything will be perfect, it does mean that everything that is important is in place. From that vantage point, the love flows. What are you searching for that would make your life complete?

Change

Friday January 2nd, Luke 2: 33 Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about Jesus. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, "This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others. 35 Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul." When Jesus came into the world, the spiritual forces knew this world would not be the same. When Jesus comes into our lives, they also do not remain the same. Change does not always come easy, or without resistance. Sometimes the presence of Jesus provokes strong reactions. Mary, as the mother of Jesus would feel that pain of those reactions also, the sword would pierce her very soul. In the midst of the pain, from the cross, Jesus would turn to her and say, looking at John, behold your son, and to John, behold your mother. In the midst of the pain, even there, there was compassion, there was love. Change, from God, does that.

waiting

Saturday January 3rd, Luke 2: 37 She was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about Jesus to everyone who had been waiting for the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem. Luke often pairs stories of men with stories of women. It is way of pointing out that the love of God is for everyone, that all are called to be the children of God. The last prophet and the last prophetess welcoming the new age of love entering into the world, and we are called to continue that proclamation. What would that mean in our world today? How can we practice that type of total proclamation in the name of Jesus?

St. John, Apostle & Evangelist


John 21:20-25

Come shine
---- like the rays of hope
---- dancing across the dusty floor
Come shine
---- in a world sometimes devoid
---- of the light
---- that brings new life
Come shine
---- into the lives of the many
---- who live their lives
---- waiting for that something more
Come shine
---- and let the world know
---- life is now
--------- life is here
Proclaimed by the one Jesus loved
From before time
Come shine
---- and live into
---- God’s love
for the sake of the world God so loved

St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr


Matthew 23:34-39

Standing among the fear filled stones
flung
in a desperate attempt to silence
the message
------ alive
---------- They (we) Killed Him
Killed him in fear
of what could
---------- (would)
-------------- be
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem
killing the prophets all the day
Do you not hear
Do you not see
The battle fought for so long
is over
The fear felt for son long
has no foundation
Hear the story
------ of the Christ
spoken on the lips
of the servants
---- who carry the message
---- Christ is risen
---- fear no more

Mary, Mother of our Lord


Luke 1:46-55

Sing of the Joy that has come
Sing in the hearts of all the people
that now is the time
and the place
for the greatness of the Lord
to come to the people
Sing for the mighty of this world
given new life
toppled from their self made towers
of pride and anxiety
Sing for the powerful of this world
who have been given new life
brought from their mighty thrones of power
with eyes opened toward Christ
seen face to face
in the eyes of poor and hungry
Sing for the humble
in the new hope that life brings
in a world that offered no hope
and Sing for the hungry
who hunger no more
but who are filled with life
and hope
at the one carried in the womb
of Mary
to a world never the same again
filled with Song

The Nativity of our Lord


Luke 2:1-20

Praise to the Lord on High
who is born
among us
A child helpless and wrapped
in the loving embrace of newness
Glory to God in the Highest
with the Praise going to all the earth
and from all of creation
That we may rejoice
not in greatness
------ far off there
by here
------ among us
The Lord God who created all
come as one for us all
The Birth of the Christ Child has come
The Birth of the Messiah
who will
lead the people
You and I
on to love
------ (Victory over death)
on to life
as the one laying here
so innocent
Feel the shadow of the cross
in the night
The angels know
and sing of this one
so innocent
who will save us all

12/15/2008

Luke 1:26-38


4th Sunday in Advent

Mary! Mary!
And the voice was so soft
--Gentle
that she could not be sure
if this was a dream that had awoken her
--so gentle
Mary!
Awake my child
Awake to the promise
-----(Hail Mary)
given to you fro old
in the promise passed on
-----through Abraham
--------Isaac
-----------David
Men of Greatness
-----------and blessing
gone now
---except for the promise
---and the history
-----of God
---------acting in this world of humanity
past
--present
-----and all that is to come
focused now
--on this
-----one
--------innocent
------------young maiden
(full of grace)
from this part of the world so far from all
----that is considered greatness
----by all who are considered great
softly the voice speaks
Mary!
And the dream that has been dreamed
By all people
In every time
Has come
--------(the Lord is with you)
sprung from the loins of no man
is the one who is to come
carried safely now in the womb of
the one
---innocent
------child
to save
all
that the people of power and greatness have dreamed of
for themselves
carried safely now
--to bring light and hope to all people
God breaking forth in gentleness
And greatness
In a new way
Aided by just this one
-----(I am the Lord’s servant)
-----------innocent
-----(May it be with me as you have said)
---------------------child

God's plan

Sunday December 21st Luke 1: 26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. When we trace the lineage of Jesus back to David through the ancestry of Joseph, we honor the traditions of humanity. God chose a slightly different route, Mary, whose lineage is not known all that well. Jesus’ greatness comes from God, not lineage or pedigree or education or anything having to do with human honor, prestige or power. Just like today, all attempts to corral or control Jesus fail. From the very beginning of the birth of Jesus, God’s plan was God’s plan and continues to be God’s plan and has nothing to do with humanities grasps at greatness. Books and movies like “The DaVinci code” which still plays regularly on the movie channels, attempt to bring Jesus down to a purely human level. Others attempt to make Jesus so Holy so as to strip all humanity from him on the one hand and sing “Jesus is my boyfriend” type songs on the other stripping him of his true God given holiness that came through suffering. What came from Mary was a gift from God, and a gift for you and I and all humanity. Emmanuel means God with us, not just God with me.

Highly Favored

Monday December 22nd Luke 1: The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Highly favored!! What had Mary done to make her highly favored? She was not a prophet, a preacher or a poet, she was just a young maiden. The term translated into English as virgin is more accurately translated as a young maiden who may or may not even be virgin as we would use the term. Just a young maiden of no virtue other than that she was chosen by God. When it comes right down to it can any of us claim anything more or anything less? All the greatness we create, all the good we do, all the wealth we have simply comes to us as a gift from God and all too often the manipulation of situations that create victims of children of God. There are times when we get a glimpse of Mary’s response in our own lives and use all these many gifts for the Kingdom. Those are the few times we can almost see the shimmer of Heaven off in the distance and hear the angels sing.

an adventure

Tuesday December 23rd Luke 1: 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. The understanding of the day was when an Angel visits you, you just know the rest of your life is going to be a bit different, out of your control, or most likely, very, very short. All your plans are out the window and you are now on a mission, or shopping for a gravesite. I suppose you could say no, but Jonah among others would advise you against it. What lies before you is nothing less than an adventure. Like Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit, what lays beyond that horizon can only be guessed at, and then you will be wrong for the most part. All you know is that it will be an adventure and you will not be alone. And yet, somehow the thought of staying home and watching reruns on the tube just does not sound all that appealing anymore.

Change you can believe in

Wednesday December 24th Luke 1: 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." If someone in Mary’s position was to be found to be with child, it would be a disgrace to the family and she would most likely be killed to maintain her families honor. Even with the Angel saying “fear not” I have to believe that what we do not read about in the stories were the inner thoughts and a great deal of fear on Mary’s part. Not only was she going to be in a family way, the child she was carrying would change the world, so much for remaining anonymous and living out a nice little life in the “burbs.” But, Like Mary we are all asked, in spite of our fears, to get down on our knees saying “yes” to God right now. Then see what direction your life takes? Try it every morning if you dare.

Possibilities

Thursday December 25th, Luke 1: 34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" We see limitations, God sees possibilities. What are the possibilities in your life? What are your self imposed limitations that are holding you back? Where is God in the midst of it all? Hannah, Rachael, Elizabeth, Mary, they all saw the limitations at first, it was looking back that they were able to see God’s blessings revealed in God’s plan put into action. Going along with God’s plan made the blessing real to them. Going along with God’s plan makes the blessing real for us also. This Christmas day, give yourself the best gift of all, ask God to help you find your part more in God’s plan than in your own. Merry Christmas!!

Comforting wings

Friday December 23rd Luke 1: 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. That overshadowing, what comfort. When you think of overshadowing, think of a hen with her young chicks protected under her wings. There is a church in the shape of a teardrop overlooking Jerusalem with the mosaic on the altar of a hen with her wings spread out, protecting her young. Overshadowing means comfort, protection, warmth, love and companionship. It is what gets us ready for ministry in the real world. It is what accompanies us during our ministry in the real world. It is what comforts us in the midst of ministry and life in the real world. At those times when we need it most, and are open to it, the Holy Spirit covers us with her wings and overshadows us with the love of God. Is there any ministry task that is beyond us with overshadowing on our side?

May it be with you

Saturday December 26th Luke 1: 38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. I can think of no greater prayer than this, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be with me as you have said.” Keep this prayer on your lips and in your heart as you go into the new world in the New Year. Be open to what God has called you to be, and is calling you to do. Be open to the wonders beyond the horizon. Be open to giving beyond graciousness. Be open to all the wonders God has in store for you if you but just open your heart to being the Lord’s servant. May it be with you as God has said!!!!

12/10/2008

Christmas story?

Here is an interesting Christmas story
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1488655367/bctid3893337001

12/08/2008

3rd Sunday in Advent


John 1:6-8, 19-28

Who is the one
Followed by so many
In a land
And a time
Looking
----Longing
For someone to show them
(but only in the place they were looking)
----the Way
are you
----they cried
Prophet
----Elijah
--------Christ?
We are looking for
----------(a handle)
--------------an answer
to help us understand
-----------------(control)
---------------------you
what shall we say
----and in what way
to the system set in place
--------to stay
but full willing within its own definition
--------to change
I am said John
Just the voice of one
Just one
Announcing
The Revolution
In this world
----Heart
--------Mind
------------ Soul
----------------Universe
Just announcing
The end of all
----(as we know it)
is here
and with it
---- the Beginning

love God, love others

Sunday December 14th, Isaiah 61: 1 The Spirit of GOD, the Master, is on me because GOD anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. In Luke 4:14-20 we read where Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth reading from this section of the scroll of Isaiah. One could call it Jesus’ mission statement, and by association, our mission. Christ is coming, that we know, but what should we do in the mean time while we wait and live life? How should we live this life that has been sanctified by the grace of a loving God? Bringing good news to the poor, healing the heartbroken, and working to free all those who are bound by whatever it is they are bound by, these are the marks of the saints who “get it”. In the simplest terms, we are called to love God and love others. Others defined as whoever God places before you or on your heart. Those at the bottom need it more than those at the top and in order for both to get help, the ones at the top should be helping the ones at the bottom, in doing so, both are blessed. We often confuse Jesus message with our own agendas and that often times gets us in trouble as we step outside of the simple message to love God and love others, and end up primarily loving ourselves and the others who are like us. This Christmas, follow the mission of Christ and let God be God.

short term

Monday December 15th, Isaiah 61: 8 "Because I, GOD, love fair dealing and hate thievery and crime, I'll pay your wages on time and in full, and establish my eternal covenant with you. 9 Your descendants will become well-known all over. Your children in foreign countries will be recognized at once as the people I have blessed." Power works in solving problems in the short run. We are not reaping the results of power, financially and politically and it is not a pretty sight. In the long run, integrity wins the day. If you treat others fairly, that will be remembered, not just for a generation, but for generations. Short term solutions tend to result in long term problems. Fair treatment does not always get the results you want when “you” want them, it is a gift however to your children, your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. On the other hand, our short term solutions have left them mounds of debt and distrust and a planet in dire straits. Short term power solutions, like chocolate, sure seem good, but in God’s time and in God’s mind, honesty, integrity and fair dealing win the day.

don't stop

Tuesday December 16th, 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 Always be joyful 17 and never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens; keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do. Never stop praying! That doesn’t mean you need to walk around with your hands folded all the time, it does mean that you live your life in recognition that all you think, do and say is a prayer. Ask yourself at any given moment, is this really what I want to be praying?

chaos

Wednesday December 17th, 1 Thessalonians 5: 23 I pray that God, who gives peace, will make you completely holy. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept healthy and faultless until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. Sometimes our spirits, souls and bodies take a beating, and sometimes, we lose the battle. A dear departed friend of mine, Glenn Growth, when talking of his cancer said the following: “The way I see it, we read that in the beginning God created order out of chaos, and ever since then we have been expecting order to be the norm. I have come to realize that chaos is the norm and that every day I have lived without cancer is a blessing. The question is not why me? It is rather, why not until now.” Sometimes real peace only comes after a life well lived. I pray that God who gives peace, will make you so completely open to the holy that you become aware, even if ever so slightly, that all of life is a blessing to be lived.

flashlights and mirrors

Thursday December 18th, John 1: 6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. We are called to be like John, announcing that the Kingdom is near, or at least we should be. But then sometimes we get a bit enamored with our own light. We start shining it around and feeling good about everything we can accomplish in life. In time we all learn, often the hard way, that in order to see our light shining, we need to be standing in the dark. Instead of a flashlight, God gives us mirrors. Sometimes the mirrors are used to show us who we really are, sometimes they are used for reflecting the light of Christ into the darkness. If your mirror is only used for grooming, you might have trouble seeing your true self because you’re blocking the light. You are standing in the dark.

side roads

Friday December 19th, John 1: 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God That is all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time. Being a child of God is a gift of grace, not birthright. Receiving God into your life is not something you accomplish or find, it is a gift of grace. There are many who do not know or want God in their lives, what of them. God loves them too. They also are made in the image of God. They have just chosen not to accept the gift of grace for right now. God will continue to love them until they do. There are many who follow spiritual roads that do not include Christ as the centerline, Grace will find them too. Jesus always seemed to find examples of faith on the side roads.

potholes

Saturday December 20th, John 1: 23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' “Get the road ready. Get your life ready. Get the world ready. The Lord is coming soon. All this public and private word is done in love you know; all those control issues are just potholes.

Protect Marriage, Protect Children, Prohibit Divorce

Why stop at Prop 8 when you can protect marriage the Biblical way?
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cca5e8a78a/protect-marriage-protect-children-prohibit-divorce-from-jonathan-smith

Note: you might want to stop after this video, some that follow are a bit off.

Peace on Earth, Good will to all, What to get Grandma for Christmas

New gun for seniors could be subsidized by Medicare

Filed by John Byrne

A New Jersey company says they have gotten federal approval to market a gun to the elderly and hopes to have it subsized by Medicare.

Constitution Arms says its Palm Pistol will aid seniors with arthritis who would otherwise have trouble pulling the trigger. The device allows individuals to shoot by squeezing with their thumb.

The company's president Matthew Carmel says its "something that they need to assist them in daily living," and has applied to have the gun approved as a Class 1 medical device, the same designation given by Medicare to walkers and wheelchairs.

Palm Pistol retails for $460.
"The justification for this would be no more or less for a (walking aid) or wheelchair, or any number of things that are medical devices," Carmel told New Scientist Friday.

On the description, it describes the weapon as "ideal for seniors, disabled or others who may have limited strength or manual dexterity.

"Using the thumb instead of the index finger for firing, it significantly reduces muzzle drift," it says, "one of the principal causes of inaccurate targeting. Point and shoot couldn't be easier.

"Carmel told a medical technology blog that they'd applied for FDA approval as a "Daily Activity Assist Device.

"The FDA said it had not yet approved the gun.

"At this time, there have been no formal designations of the Palm Pistol by the FDA as a medical device," a spokeswoman said.

12/07/2008

Prop 8 the musical

you can find a link to "Prop 8, the musical" here. http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8/prop-8-the-musical-starring-jack-black-john-c-reilly-and-many-more-from-fod-team-jack-black-craig-robinson-john-c-reilly-and-rashida-jones

12/06/2008

Our Mutual Joy

Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.

Lisa Miller
NEWSWEEK

From the magazine issue dated Dec 15, 2008

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?

Of course not, yet the religious opponents of gay marriage would have it be so.

The battle over gay marriage has been waged for more than a decade, but within the last six months—since California legalized gay marriage and then, with a ballot initiative in November, amended its Constitution to prohibit it—the debate has grown into a full-scale war, with religious-rhetoric slinging to match. Not since 1860, when the country's pulpits were full of preachers pronouncing on slavery, pro and con, has one of our basic social (and economic) institutions been so subject to biblical scrutiny. But whereas in the Civil War the traditionalists had their James Henley Thornwell—and the advocates for change, their Henry Ward Beecher—this time the sides are unevenly matched. All the religious rhetoric, it seems, has been on the side of the gay-marriage opponents, who use Scripture as the foundation for their objections.

The argument goes something like this statement, which the Rev. Richard A. Hunter, a United Methodist minister, gave to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June: "The Bible and Jesus define marriage as between one man and one woman. The church cannot condone or bless same-sex marriages because this stands in opposition to Scripture and our tradition."

To which there are two obvious responses: First, while the Bible and Jesus say many important things about love and family, neither explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman. And second, as the examples above illustrate, no sensible modern person wants marriage—theirs or anyone else's —to look in its particulars anything like what the Bible describes. "Marriage" in America refers to two separate things, a religious institution and a civil one, though it is most often enacted as a messy conflation of the two. As a civil institution, marriage offers practical benefits to both partners: contractual rights having to do with taxes; insurance; the care and custody of children; visitation rights; and inheritance. As a religious institution, marriage offers something else: a commitment of both partners before God to love, honor and cherish each other—in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer—in accordance with God's will. In a religious marriage, two people promise to take care of each other, profoundly, the way they believe God cares for them. Biblical literalists will disagree, but the Bible is a living document, powerful for more than 2,000 years because its truths speak to us even as we change through history. In that light, Scripture gives us no good reason why gays and lesbians should not be (civilly and religiously) married—and a number of excellent reasons why they should.

In the Old Testament, the concept of family is fundamental, but examples of what social conservatives would call "the traditional family" are scarcely to be found. Marriage was critical to the passing along of tradition and history, as well as to maintaining the Jews' precious and fragile monotheism. But as the Barnard University Bible scholar Alan Segal puts it, the arrangement was between "one man and as many women as he could pay for." Social conservatives point to Adam and Eve as evidence for their one man, one woman argument—in particular, this verse from Genesis: "Therefore shall a man leave his mother and father, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh." But as Segal says, if you believe that the Bible was written by men and not handed down in its leather bindings by God, then that verse was written by people for whom polygamy was the way of the world. (The fact that homosexual couples cannot procreate has also been raised as a biblical objection, for didn't God say, "Be fruitful and multiply"? But the Bible authors could never have imagined the brave new world of international adoption and assisted reproductive technology—and besides, heterosexuals who are infertile or past the age of reproducing get married all the time.)

Ozzie and Harriet are nowhere in the New Testament either. The biblical Jesus was—in spite of recent efforts of novelists to paint him otherwise—emphatically unmarried. He preached a radical kind of family, a caring community of believers, whose bond in God superseded all blood ties. Leave your families and follow me, Jesus says in the gospels. There will be no marriage in heaven, he says in Matthew. Jesus never mentions homosexuality, but he roundly condemns divorce (leaving a loophole in some cases for the husbands of unfaithful women).

The apostle Paul echoed the Christian Lord's lack of interest in matters of the flesh. For him, celibacy was the Christian ideal, but family stability was the best alternative. Marry if you must, he told his audiences, but do not get divorced. "To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): a wife must not separate from her husband." It probably goes without saying that the phrase "gay marriage" does not appear in the Bible at all.

If the bible doesn't give abundant examples of traditional marriage, then what are the gay-marriage opponents really exercised about? Well, homosexuality, of course—specifically sex between men. Sex between women has never, even in biblical times, raised as much ire. In its entry on "Homosexual Practices," the Anchor Bible Dictionary notes that nowhere in the Bible do its authors refer to sex between women, "possibly because it did not result in true physical 'union' (by male entry)." The Bible does condemn gay male sex in a handful of passages. Twice Leviticus refers to sex between men as "an abomination" (King James version), but these are throwaway lines in a peculiar text given over to codes for living in the ancient Jewish world, a text that devotes verse after verse to treatments for leprosy, cleanliness rituals for menstruating women and the correct way to sacrifice a goat—or a lamb or a turtle dove. Most of us no longer heed Leviticus on haircuts or blood sacrifices; our modern understanding of the world has surpassed its prescriptions. Why would we regard its condemnation of homosexuality with more seriousness than we regard its advice, which is far lengthier, on the best price to pay for a slave?

Paul was tough on homosexuality, though recently progressive scholars have argued that his condemnation of men who "were inflamed with lust for one another" (which he calls "a perversion") is really a critique of the worst kind of wickedness: self-delusion, violence, promiscuity and debauchery. In his book "The Arrogance of Nations," the scholar Neil Elliott argues that Paul is referring in this famous passage to the depravity of the Roman emperors, the craven habits of Nero and Caligula, a reference his audience would have grasped instantly. "Paul is not talking about what we call homosexuality at all," Elliott says. "He's talking about a certain group of people who have done everything in this list. We're not dealing with anything like gay love or gay marriage. We're talking about really, really violent people who meet their end and are judged by God." In any case, one might add, Paul argued more strenuously against divorce—and at least half of the Christians in America disregard that teaching.

Religious objections to gay marriage are rooted not in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition (and, to talk turkey for a minute, a personal discomfort with gay sex that transcends theological argument). Common prayers and rituals reflect our common practice: the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer describes the participants in a marriage as "the man and the woman." But common practice changes—and for the better, as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice." The Bible endorses slavery, a practice that Americans now universally consider shameful and barbaric. It recommends the death penalty for adulterers (and in Leviticus, for men who have sex with men, for that matter). It provides conceptual shelter for anti-Semites. A mature view of scriptural authority requires us, as we have in the past, to move beyond literalism. The Bible was written for a world so unlike our own, it's impossible to apply its rules, at face value, to ours.

Marriage, specifically, has evolved so as to be unrecognizable to the wives of Abraham and Jacob. Monogamy became the norm in the Christian world in the sixth century; husbands' frequent enjoyment of mistresses and prostitutes became taboo by the beginning of the 20th. (In the NEWSWEEK POLL, 55 percent of respondents said that married heterosexuals who have sex with someone other than their spouses are more morally objectionable than a gay couple in a committed sexual relationship.) By the mid-19th century, U.S. courts were siding with wives who were the victims of domestic violence, and by the 1970s most states had gotten rid of their "head and master" laws, which gave husbands the right to decide where a family would live and whether a wife would be able to take a job. Today's vision of marriage as a union of equal partners, joined in a relationship both romantic and pragmatic, is, by very recent standards, radical, says Stephanie Coontz, author of "Marriage, a History."

Religious wedding ceremonies have already changed to reflect new conceptions of marriage. Remember when we used to say "man and wife" instead of "husband and wife"? Remember when we stopped using the word "obey"? Even Miss Manners, the voice of tradition and reason, approved in 1997 of that change. "It seems," she wrote, "that dropping 'obey' was a sensible editing of a service that made assumptions about marriage that the society no longer holds."

We cannot look to the Bible as a marriage manual, but we can read it for universal truths as we struggle toward a more just future. The Bible offers inspiration and warning on the subjects of love, marriage, family and community. It speaks eloquently of the crucial role of families in a fair society and the risks we incur to ourselves and our children should we cease trying to bind ourselves together in loving pairs. Gay men like to point to the story of passionate King David and his friend Jonathan, with whom he was "one spirit" and whom he "loved as he loved himself." Conservatives say this is a story about a platonic friendship, but it is also a story about two men who stand up for each other in turbulent times, through violent war and the disapproval of a powerful parent. David rends his clothes at Jonathan's death and, in grieving, writes a song:

I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
You were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
More wonderful than that of women.

Here, the Bible praises enduring love between men. What Jonathan and David did or did not do in privacy is perhaps best left to history and our own imaginations.

In addition to its praise of friendship and its condemnation of divorce, the Bible gives many examples of marriages that defy convention yet benefit the greater community. The Torah discouraged the ancient Hebrews from marrying outside the tribe, yet Moses himself is married to a foreigner, Zipporah. Queen Esther is married to a non-Jew and, according to legend, saves the Jewish people. Rabbi Arthur Waskow, of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia, believes that Judaism thrives through diversity and inclusion. "I don't think Judaism should or ought to want to leave any portion of the human population outside the religious process," he says. "We should not want to leave [homosexuals] outside the sacred tent." The marriage of Joseph and Mary is also unorthodox (to say the least), a case of an unconventional arrangement accepted by society for the common good. The boy needed two human parents, after all.

In the Christian story, the message of acceptance for all is codified. Jesus reaches out to everyone, especially those on the margins, and brings the whole Christian community into his embrace. The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, cites the story of Jesus revealing himself to the woman at the well— no matter that she had five former husbands and a current boyfriend—as evidence of Christ's all-encompassing love. The great Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann, emeritus professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, quotes the apostle Paul when he looks for biblical support of gay marriage: "There is neither Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ." The religious argument for gay marriage, he adds, "is not generally made with reference to particular texts, but with the general conviction that the Bible is bent toward inclusiveness."

The practice of inclusion, even in defiance of social convention, the reaching out to outcasts, the emphasis on togetherness and community over and against chaos, depravity, indifference—all these biblical values argue for gay marriage. If one is for racial equality and the common nature of humanity, then the values of stability, monogamy and family necessarily follow. Terry Davis is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hartford, Conn., and has been presiding over "holy unions" since 1992. "I'm against promiscuity—love ought to be expressed in committed relationships, not through casual sex, and I think the church should recognize the validity of committed same-sex relationships," he says.

Still, very few Jewish or Christian denominations do officially endorse gay marriage, even in the states where it is legal. The practice varies by region, by church or synagogue, even by cleric. More progressive denominations—the United Church of Christ, for example—have agreed to support gay marriage. Other denominations and dioceses will do "holy union" or "blessing" ceremonies, but shy away from the word "marriage" because it is politically explosive. So the frustrating, semantic question remains: should gay people be married in the same, sacramental sense that straight people are? I would argue that they should. If we are all God's children, made in his likeness and image, then to deny access to any sacrament based on sexuality is exactly the same thing as denying it based on skin color—and no serious (or even semiserious) person would argue that. People get married "for their mutual joy," explains the Rev. Chloe Breyer, executive director of the Interfaith Center in New York, quoting the Episcopal marriage ceremony. That's what religious people do: care for each other in spite of difficulty, she adds. In marriage, couples grow closer to God: "Being with one another in community is how you love God. That's what marriage is about."

More basic than theology, though, is human need. We want, as Abraham did, to grow old surrounded by friends and family and to be buried at last peacefully among them. We want, as Jesus taught, to love one another for our own good—and, not to be too grandiose about it, for the good of the world. We want our children to grow up in stable homes. What happens in the bedroom, really, has nothing to do with any of this. My friend the priest James Martin says his favorite Scripture relating to the question of homosexuality is Psalm 139, a song that praises the beauty and imperfection in all of us and that glorifies God's knowledge of our most secret selves: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." And then he adds that in his heart he believes that if Jesus were alive today, he would reach out especially to the gays and lesbians among us, for "Jesus does not want people to be lonely and sad." Let the priest's prayer be our own.


With Sarah Ball and Anne Underwood

12/05/2008

ELCA Presiding Bishop's 2008 Christmas Message


When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go now to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made
known to us.' -- Luke 2:15

Let's go! Now! When angels came to some shepherds with a brilliant message one night long ago, the shepherds had a brilliant idea. Let's go! Let's see what God is doing!

The unknown dangers of the night did not hold them back. Perhaps they knew that some of God's best work is done under the cover of darkness -- the creation of all things, wrestling with Jacob, Israel's escape from slavery.

Or maybe they didn't. Maybe all they needed was the announcement of what God was up to this time. This time God would be conducting a rescue like none before -- saving the whole world, bringing peace and goodwill. Once again it's an undercover operation -- God hidden deep in the flesh and working "under the sign of opposites" (as Martin Luther called it). Arriving as a baby in diapers, God's Son recruited tax collectors and fishermen, social misfits and despised sinners in a rescue mission that culminated in the hidden power of the cross.

What if the shepherds had yawned, "That's interesting, some other time," and remained sitting in the night, in the dirt, in the comfort of predictable hardships and familiar enemies? Would promised joy have found them anyway?

Let's not test that speculation with our lives. Let's go!
Let's see what God is doing!

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

12/01/2008

Mark 1:1-8


Advent 2

Make straight the paths
Prepare the way
the Lord God is come
to you
----to me
to the people and creation
to set right
and make righteous all
the Lord has made
Prepare your hearts
Prepare your world
the heavens will open
and the Lord will appear
to humanity waiting and watching
for the one who will make all things right
Look upon your neighbor
----the child
-------- the world
and see
the coming of the Lord.

Sweet comfort

Sunday December 4th Isaiah 40: 1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. Comfort my people. This is the message of the Lord. When the angels came to the shepherds, there first words were fear not. When the angel came to Mary, the first words were, fear not. This message of Isaiah is do not live in fear, but know of God’s love for you, and find comfort in that. Often we hear the message of the Lord’s second coming as one of fear. Will you be ready? Two going up a hill and one’s left standing still, I wish we had all been ready. Will you be left behind? These are all messages of fear and control, not assurance and comfort. What will the second coming be like? I don’t know, no one does. The first coming was as the babe in Bethlehem and the words, fear not.

Carried close to His heart

Monday December 5th Isaiah 40: 9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!" 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. The messages of judgment, or who cares, just spend, are the ones the world is hearing. Our calling as the children of God is to let the world know the real message of God in Christ. This is a message of one who longs to carry us in his arms and hold us close to his heart at all times and in all places, especially when things fall apart and terrorists and pirates and economies besiege the world. This is a message of one who leads gently those who are fragile or have young. This is a message of God’s love and Grace. Our call is to shout that message of Grace from the mountain tops, don’t let the doom and gloom, you better watch out you better not cry you better believe things only our way, crowd win the day. Our calling is to let the world know of God’s love in the face of all those who wish to destroy the message and turn it into judgment, death and destruction. Spread the Good news that Christ is coming and is already here in your hearts.

live ready, be ready, love ready

Tuesday December 6th 2 Peter 3: 12 Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day-- 13 but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness. Spending all your energy getting ready is vastly different from living a life being ready. We are called to be ready for God. What does that entail? It entails loving God with all your heart, soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself. If you are busy doing that, you won’t even notice all the hype about when the second coming will be. But then, it wouldn’t really matter anyway. It is a small transition from the Kingdom of God in your heart to the Kingdom of God in heaven. Maybe they are even the same place. So, daily expect the day of God, with eagerness.

Rejoice more Boldly still

Wednesday December 7th 2 Peter 3: 14 So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. 15Interpret our Master's patient restraint for what it is: salvation. What God is interested in and predestined for, is the salvation of humanity. The sending of Jesus, the cross, the waiting for us to get our act together and live in peace as the children of God, this is all part of God’s desire to save all of humanity through grace. All those end time prophecies are just trying to throw you off your game. If all that God talk doesn’t fit into loving God and loving others it is just a distraction. Instead of living trying to get you life right before God, live your lives as the saved and blessed children of God. Along the way it may require a bit of what Luther referred to as Sin Boldly, but Rejoice more Boldly still.

It's time

Thursday December 8th Mark 1: 2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"— 3 "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, We too are called to be the messengers calling to the world to prepare the way of the Lord. It is time to set aside all conflict and strife. It is time to set aside all hatred and greed. It is time to view friends and neighbors, enemies and acquaintances as brothers and sisters in Christ. It is time to finally beat those swords into plow shears. It is time to prepare the way of the Lord by turning this Christmas season into a season of love and forgiveness. It is time to prepare the way of the Lord.

Prepare the way

Friday December 9th Mark 1: 7 And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. The very essence of sin in this world is the desire to be like God. It is our not so subtle way of trying to be in control and therefore not let God be in control of our lives. John got that. As powerful as John was with a following far greater than anything Jesus had in his lifetime, John continued to see himself as a servant of God and one who was sent to prepare the way. Preparing the way is our calling also. Prepare the way in your heart through prayer. Prepare the way in the world by telling others of God’s love. Prepare the way by speaking up and correcting the Christian message in love, when it is misused to further the way of hatred and war. Prepare the way by bringing the message of Grace into a world that all too often sees and hears the Christian message as one of hate and self righteousness. Prepare the way.

Create in me a clean heart O God

Saturday December 10th Mark 1: 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." John baptized with water to cleanse our hearts. Jesus calls us to a baptism with the Holy Spirit that not only cleanses, but changes and fills our hearts with love and grace. Go forth from here and spread the word of God’s love and grace. Prepare the way Advent/Christmas season with acts of love and the promotion of peace and justice in the world.

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