Fulfilled in Our Living*

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (RCL Epiphany 3C)

Sunday of the Word of God

Luke 4:14-21

(homily preached at St Stephen's Episcopal Church, Morning Prayer 1/23/2022)

I Searched…but couldn’t find any trouble in the text!

There is always a bit of trouble! 

 

But in Today’s gospel

There isn’t any trouble

There’s no trouble because we only get the first half of the story

 

The trouble…comes next week

When the Golden Boy of Nazareth who wowed everyone

Is going to get run out of town

pushed to the edge of a cliff 

 

TODAY

The lectionary sets up for something different

Nehemiah, Psalm 19, and the happy section of the Lukan episode

Are all brilliantly matched up

 

All three places are examples of scripture talking about scripture

[scripture and interpretation and preaching]

 

In Nehemiah

The Torah is read and interpreted

“they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading”

And “the people” are center-stage

(mentioned 8 times)

The people hear and understand…and they weep

They recognize themselves as having missed the mark

As not always having been faithful

 

But the summons is to Joy

Returning to the Lord is cause for joy and celebration

 

Psalm 19

Is a love song to the Law of the Lord

The Law…God’s loving guidance to God’s people

The Law:

·      Revives the soul

·      Makes wise, the simple

·      Enlightens the eye

·      Endures forever

·      Is altogether righteous

And more:

More desirable than GOLD

Sweeter than HONEY!

 

This is scripture telling…and singing to us about scripture

 

 

TODAY the Gospel is the main attraction

The Gospel text

Goes further in its understanding of what I will call the Event of the Word

The Event of the Word…what we are doing right now!

It is beautifully set up

 

Imagine being the cinematographer

You are on one of those moving crane-like bucket trucks…the camera is rolling

You can zoom all over to capture the action

 

You have been zoomed out as Jesus was baptized…catching the river and the crowd

The Spirit descends on the one in whom God is well pleased

The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert where he was tempted

The camera follows...then

“Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit”

Jesus returns to Galilee

 

And here is where the narrative goes into ‘Real Time”

‘Real Time’ means that the actual happenings that are being narrated

take the same amount of time as the reading does

 

Approaching Nazareth…zoom in a little further

Entering the Synagogue…a little more

Then the assembly inside fills the screen

Jesus stands making his way to the shtender

The scene gets narrower

Now just Jesus and the Attendant

Now just the scrolls unrolling

Just his arm

Just his hand

Then his finger running down the paper

Searching

Aha…found it

 

His finger stops

He reads

Breathe...Proclaim

Then the the zooming out begins

He rolls up the scroll

And hands it back

He returns to his seat

All eyes are on him

 

Do they expect something more?

 

“Today…Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”

 

The content of the Isaiah passage is key to the whole of Luke’s Gospel

The great theme of the Gospel is that God sees all of us…everyone…no one is left out

Especially those who live unseen

 

Choosing this Isaiah passage to inaugurate his adult ministry

Highlights that the Good News is about the business of release

It is about setting people free.

 

But like Nehemiah 

this Gospel reading is an instance of scripture talking about scripture AND preaching 

Scripture and preaching in the life of the community

The Gospel of Luke adds a nuance to our understanding of the place, function and dynamic of scripture in the life of the community.

 

“Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing”

 

The grammar in the Greek makes the translation tricky

 

It isn’t simply the past tense

In the sense of  “Now that’s done…completed…what’s next”

 

Rather there is a dynamic past-perfect-like feel to it

“Today this scripture is fulfilled

…Continues to be fulfilled

…and will keep being fulfilled”

 

The implication is that 

All of us 

[3 of 4 Sundays I am sitting where you are]

All of us (the many) and All of us (the whole of us)

our ears, and hearts, and bodies 

are in charge of completing the Event of the Word!

Fulfillment is on us

 

And that speaks beautifully to the dignity you/we possess as the people of God.

 

Today

On that 4^th Sunday

All I have to offer is my own encounter with the story of God and the person of Jesus whose life is narrated in these sacred scriptures

I invite the Word to change me

And (when I'm at my best) I share that experience using every gift I possess

 

And the hope is that our gathering and singing and praying and confessing

And FULFILLING nudges us to a deeper life of lived faith.

 

 

And what is this faith that hopes to lodge deeper and deeper in us?

That God is with us

That God showed himself perfectly in the person of Jesus

in the events, the words, the deeds of his life

that the mystery of God is revealed 

in the manger, 

on the cross, 

at the empty tomb, 

as we gaze at the Ascension, 

experience the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, 

and walk with him on the road to Emmaeus.

 

And according to Luke

Jesus’ choice of scripture for his inaugural sermon 

sets the theme for the whole of the Gospel

According to today’s Gospel

The epiphany in today’s Gospel

Is that

The best way for this faith to work its way deeper and deeper in us

Is to live and love in such a way that 

We participate in

Releasing people from captivity

in setting people free

Even ourselves

Free from sin

Free from greed and envy and murderous thoughts!

And we can do this

like Jesus

only in the power of the Holy Spirit

Jesus’ power…Authentic Christian power

Is power only when it sets others free

 

The releasing has begun

And is assured

We are not alone in it

It was/is/and continues to be fulfilled

 

 

We all need release

Everyone needs release…the World needs release

What from? Well…I suppose it is different for each of us

That is the fulfillment part!

 

----- 

I hold all my worry and tension in my shoulders

Release for me is like taking a deep breath 

and when I exhale my shoulders relax and I can stand up straight and relaxed.

Rob released me this morning when he accepted my “I’m sorry” (long story)

I felt release when I thinned out our coat closet and took 7 little-used coats to the homeless shelter

 

When do you feel release?

 

-----

TODAY

For this homily

To be fulfilled in our hearing

We might live with this question close to mind this week

The question of our participation in releasing and setting free

If we pay attention

We will notice the times when something we say or do 

Someone we touch or hug

is truly an act of release

(…my guess is that there will be quite a few)

 

And the surprise gift of this noticing

Is that it fills us with JOY

Which makes us want more JOY

Which causes us to simultaneously notice the times when we

…metaphorically speaking 

Ignored the captivity that surrounds us in friend and stranger alike

 

Jesus’ agenda

Echoed in the words of the prophet Isaiah

Is our agenda too

When we come here we confirm that with our many Amens 

 

So here’s the Challenge for all of us:

-pick one fellow St Stephens-ite-person

And before next Sunday, tell that person 

how The Gospel was fulfilled in your living 

 

And in doing so we will have fulfilled 

TODAY’s 

Event of the Word

...In our living

"Sacrament of the Present Moment"

 God is always coming to you in the Sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive [God] there with gratitude in that sacrament. - Evelyn Underhill.

A Lit Candle = An Act of Hope*

3rd Sunday of Advent - Year C

Homily December 12, 2021

TO LIGHT A CANDLE IS AN ACT OF HOPE*

 

SING: 

In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful

In the Lord I will rejoice

Trust in God

Do not be afraid

Lift up your voices 

The Lord is near

Lift up your voices,

The Lord is near! (from Taize)

 

We have a rather obvious theme running through today’s readings

In the order I heard them…here are the clues: 

 

Rejoice

Exult

Do not fear

God is in your midst

Rejoice

Exult

Do not be afraid

Give thanks

Exalt

Sing

The lord has done great things

Ring out your joy

Rejoice

Again, I say rejoice

The Lord is near

Shalom…Peace

 

And then there is theBaptist…who apparently didn’t get the message;)

 

YOU BROOD OF VIPERS!

I AM NOT WORTHY!

BURNING WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE!

EVEN NOW THE AX LIES READY!

 

This is the 3^rd Sunday of Advent

3 candles

Gaudete Sunday

Gaudete means REJOICE

 

John the Baptist, our Retro-Old-Time-Prophet, deserves a closer look

 

Here’s what shocks me 

It’s the crowd…

They get called a BROOD OF VIPERS

They don’t get angry! And they don’t leave!?

 

Not only don’t they leave…they engage!
they continue the conversation 

“What then should we do…kind preacher?”

This question is key to the whole unfolding of Luke’s Gospel

The question of What to do? appears in this Gospel 3x as often as the other three combined

 

Perhaps the crowds are like us

At least the Sunday version of us?

When we ritually confess to our sinfulness together

And we admit “I have fallen short”

…we have broken the covenant 

…we have forgotten whose we are.

Perhaps they have brought their repentant Sunday selves out into the desert 

And sothey listen

And stay

And ask “What then shall we do?”

 

And, honestly, John’s response is rejoicing worthy!

 

After all that fire and brimstone

His answer to the question is surprisingly ordinary

 

1.    To the crowds---presumably rather poor, he says SHARE

2.    To the tax collectors, he says BE FAIR

3.    And to the soldiers, he says STOP BULLYING

 

It all sounds a little “Grade School”

 

That might just be the point???

 

I grew up in the shadows of many catholic catalogue statues of very heroic Saints!

(don’t get me wrong I love a good HEROIC Saint story!)

 

But John seems to be saying that

Being Faithful isn’t the same as being heroic

Being Faithful isn’t the same as being heroic

 

Being faithful means different things to different people

to tax-collectors, or soldiers, or Episcopal priests, or farmers

to New Harmony shopkeepers, orretired educators, 

to welders, or artists, or musicians

 

Each of us has opportunities to be God’s people, 

and to do God’s will

And these opportunities are Shaped  

By our lives…our work…our relationships

 

John’s crowd is Riff-Raff

Poor folks with little to offer

Despised tax-collectors

And feared soldiers

 

Not only are they NOT excluded 

They are singled-out as…at least potentially…fruitful

(…another consistent Lucan theme)

They are not called to sever their relationship with Rome

They are not challenged to live lives of pacifism

They are called to serve Where. They. Are.

 

Right now

When the news I hear continues to distress

When, with increasing frequency, I hear the warning on the radio

“this next story contains graphic images not suitable for children”

 

It’s hard not to shut down

It’s hard not to answer that question differently:

“What then shall we do?”

NOTHING

Pull. Up. The. Covers!

 

Where does hope and joy fit in?

 

To light a candle is an act of HOPE:

In South Africa, during the years of struggle to end Apartheid

Christians would light candles and place them in windows

They were a sign to everyone  

that their’s was a home or family that believed that some day this injustice would end. 

A candle burning in a window

a sign…a sacrament of hope 

as well as a political statement 

This simple act caught the attention of the government 

and a law was passed that made it illegal to put a lit candle in a window

The severity of the offense was on par with carrying a firearm

The government knew the power of a lit candle

Quickly, though, this became a joke and the children would chant

“Our government is afraid of lit candles!* 

 This is the kind of hope that Paul believes in.

The movement of today’s readings, chronologically, is from 

JUDGEMENT IS NEAR 

      to

THE LORD IS NEAR

From John the Baptist

…to St Paul

 

Paul is writing to his beloved Philippians 

It’s a love letter

An intimate love letter from prison

Paul is shackled and locked in a cell 

the outcome does not look promising

But the community has sent one of their own

They NEED to be in communion with Paul 

 

He writes so tenderly

He writes to invite the community’s continued faithfulness

Even amid threat and uncertainty

… Paul is consumed by real joy.

 

He is full…

full of gratitude for the long loving relationship 

he has enjoyed in the midst of the church at Philippi

 

Paul uses the word koinonia

The fellowship…the bond…they shared as, together, they proclaimed the gospel

 

Today’s short passage

Comes at the closing of the letter

Paul urges joy…

Which, for him

Isn’t dependent on circumstances

Rejoicing isn’t simple “Happy Happy”

Rejoicing is a choice…a disposition of faith

 

Even when it seems that some other power is in control

The vision HOLDS

The vision of God’s redemption of the whole Cosmos… HOLDS

WHY? Because…my friends

We are kin to that church in Philippi

We have had real glimpses of this redemption

We have experienced resurrection

A fresh start in ourselves and in others

over and over again

 

Paul reminds his friends

Whatever our present suffering

Whatever griefs burden us

THE LORD IS NEAR

REJOICE the LORD IS NEAR

 

Here is when I need your help.

When I say 

REJOICE!

You say 

THE LORD IS NEAR

 

REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

 

When the fruits of my labors bear visible fruit and I feel the warm companionship of my God

I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

And even when my efforts seem to be fruitless---when they become drudgery and I feel tempted to believe that “I am not enough”

Again, I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

When JOY ABOUNDS at the long-awaited arrival of new life.

I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

And even when I feel overwhelmed by violence and aggression

I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

When finally, after weeks of anxiety ridden waiting, I hear good news from my oncologist

I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

And even when the test results mean a near future of tough treatment and uncertain outcome

Again, I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

When I am on it…when I see clearly the temptation to desire that which can never satisfy

I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

And even when when blindness creeps in and I fall for any one of my pet false Gods

Again, I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

When my heart is at peace and I can echo honestly Paul’s words: “I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me”

I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

And even when I feel at war within myself, not at peace, unable to rest

Again, I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

When joy comes easily

I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

And even when joy is hard 

Again, I say REJOICE!

R/ THE LORD IS NEAR

 

SING: In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful

In the Lord I will rejoice

Trust in God

Do not be afraid

Lift up your voices 

The Lord is near

Lift up your voices,

The Lord is near!

*from Ron Rohlheiser, "The Power of a Candle"  https://ronrolheiser.com/the-power-of-a-candle/#.YbZsiS1h21s

"The servant's name was Malchus" John 18:10*

Homily, November 21, 2021

St. Stephens Episcopal, Church New Harmony, Indiana

Feast of Christ the King

Year B 

"The servant's name was Malchus"

Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost

…I love the liturgical year.

It’s like living here in the Midwest

…all four seasons…each unfolding into the next

This ancient liturgical rhythm nurtures something in me

…it awakens me to the passing of time.

 

Today’s feast of Christ the King is not ancient

It was added to the liturgical year in 1925 

In the aftermath of WW1

I searched “societal upheaval in the 1920’s”

And this is what I found:

 

“Isolationism, unemployment, and a series of terrorist acts provoked nationwide panic over communist radicalism. Alarm manifested itself in vigilante attacks on union rallies and in raids that rounded up thousands of immigrants for deportation.”

 

Sounds a little familiar;)

 

In this time when Czars, and Kaisers, and Kings were toppling

The Church asserts to the world

“Take heart…Christ is King…his kingdom endures forever”

 

This is a feast day of hope.

And hope is a perfect way to close the liturgical year 

and begin again the hopeful season of Advent…

 

So today: Hope to Hope!

 

Our Gospel reading is a slice out of 

what is called the “Trial Narrative” in John’s Gospel

It is scene 2 out of 7

Just to set the scene a little

Jesus has washed the disciple’s feet 

They shared a last meal together

A meal around a table of freedom and service and peace

DO THIS in memory of me is Jesus’ final command

Jesus is in the Garden with his friends

In the garden this peace meets violence

 

Judas leads a “detachment”

…has a SWAT team kind of ring to it

There were soldiers, and police

And the text says

“They came with lanterns and torches and weapons”

Jesus meets violence with peace

 

And Peter messes up again

He draws his sword and cuts off the right ear of the high priest’s slave

…who was named Malchus

 

(I wonder why we get the detail about Malchus? It is important…he has a name…I imagine that at the time of the writing Malchus was part of the community…he became one of them. Which highlights just how wrong Peter was. If Peter’s way ruled the day Malchus would have been collateral damage)

 

Jesus is first put before Caiaphas, the Jewish authority.

And then comes today’s conversation between Pilate and Jesus

The obvious question that the narrative poses is 

Just what kind of King is Jesus?

Jesus runs away from being made king in Ch 6

Kingship doesn’t appear to be what he’s after

 

What kind of King?

What kind of reign?

What kind of power?

What are we talking about here?

 

To put it simply

Jesus’ brand of King, Reign, and power is NOTHING that Pilate can possibly imagine

 

Here is what I believe to be true:

JESUS IS NOT THE NEW AUTHORITARIAN CEASAR/CZAR/KAISER OR KING

AND

WE…ARE NOT POWERLESS

 

So there will be NO “Christ is King so we are off the hook”

 

·      Jesus is not THAT kind of King

·      We are NOT powerless

·      Jesus forgoes violence

·      His army is made up of “feet-washers”

·      Do this in memory of me

 

 

 

 

What settled in my this week is the question:

What informs the way I wield my allotment of power?

 

It is TOO EASY for me 

Reflecting on this reading

to say 

“I am not violent…I don’t bring weapons to rallies ready to fight those who don’t agree with me!”

NO…My style of violence is more subtle

I would call it “aggressiveness of mind and body”

 

Just last weekend I was on retreat with the women of St Bens

And from the get-go

The retreat leader got under my skin

Her language, her style, her energy…I didn’t like it---I didn’t like her!

 

In the first 15 minutes I had decided

…unconsciously until I reflected later… 

to close my ears

I was pretending to listen

I found out last night (when I was having supper with some friends) 

that my pretense was not at all successful

My friend, who was across the table from me at the retreat,

could FEEL my aggressiveness.

 

In the evening when I went home for the night,

I shared with Rob all the reasons the retreat leader got on my nerves.

I decided to skip Saturday and return for the final Sunday morning session.

 

At the close of the retreat

I overheard many women talking 

about what they were taking away from the experience

All of it wise, and inspiring, and challenging

 

This is my confession of how I participate in violence.

How I weild my allotment of power

It is aggressive 

It pretends to be silent

It spreads to those around me

And it costs me!

It costs me the Joy of Generous Listening

 

One more story to communicate my hope and prayer for how I can be different

How to do more than just try NOT to continue as always.

 

On my last visit to see my Dad

I was surprised to find that there was a 25 minutes wait for an Uber

That never happens

SO I check in at the Taxi stand…there too was a 20+ minute wait.
And just as I was grumbling to myself

A woman ahead of me in line

Asked me to join her ride

She must have heard me say my destination 

and knew that it was very close to hers.

 

I am not making this up!

 

So for the next 12 minutes in the taxi

She told me of what a remarkable travel day it had been

How she had witnessed kindness after kindness

There was a story about a guy who lost his cell phone 

And the someone who found it took the time to track him down

And the woman on the flight who gave up her prized aisle seat so that a family could sit closer together

And more

 

I have been flying a lot

I go to care for Dad

And yesterday I got home from Denver 

after responding to an SOS from my Son and daughter in law

 

And I can safely say that no matter when you fly 

Any day of airline travelling there will be plenty “aggressive” behaviors to focus on. 

 

But this woman…

 

Not only did she choose to forgo aggressive thoughts/words/actions

She CHOSE to see the kindnesses

to see and to spread them to whomever she met!

SO full of the goodness of her day she paid the cab fare for both of us.

 

I want to have her eyes and her ears

I want to see and hear Christ’s kingdom of non-violence and peace

 

Early yesterday morning my son drove me to the Denver airport

It was the first time in 4 days that we had the opportunity to talk

For more than 5 minutes

 

He talked about his school where he is the principal

We talked about the church…his is a catholic school so he works for the church which has its frustrations

And we talked about Christ the King Sunday and approaching Advent

 

And somehow during this wandering conversation

Robbie mentioned that he regrets the new translation of Mary’s Magnificat

in the liturgy of the hours 

The Magnificat is a prayer recited every evening 

 

It is the Song of Mary

When Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth

The 2 pregnant women rejoice together

 

And Mary erupts in the song that begins with these familiar words:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit rejoices in God my savior,

For he has looked with favor on

The lowliness of his servant…”

 

Robbie’s disappointment came when the word “Magnifies”

was changed to “glorifies”

…“My soul glorifies the Lord…

 

Glorifies isn’t bad

But Magnifies is so much better!

It’s a bullhorn for our soul

Magnifies speaks to OUR power!

Like Mary

We are NOT powerless

 

Our souls magnify

That is for certain

But…What does my soul magnify?

(Well…I suppose it depends on the day)

 

But I pray

With you and for you

Let it be the Lord

Let it be the Lord who is a servant/foot-washing/King!