embodied faithfulness

 

heart

Jesus said, "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel:

The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your

God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your

mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love

your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment

greater than these."    Mark 12:29-31

 

The new youth pastor of a church in Palo Alto spoke to a group of high school students gathered at Mount Hermon Camp and Conference Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and drawing on Romans (somehow) made a diagram with his hands and forearms, showing a triangle whose points (self, others, God) drew closer together: as you become closer to God you become closer to others; as you become closer to others you become closer to God. I have not forgotten that in 49 years, though that preacher is long retired.

But I would submit, today, an addition to his chart: as we become closer to God or one another we also become closer to our selves - our true selves, anchored in Grace, visible or invisible, sought or not. For as every Southerner knows...

[On the causeway between Daphne and Mobile Alabama, in the middle of Mobile Bay, is a good old diner that serves breakfast. I ordered ham and eggs, and sure enough when the waitress brought me breakfast there were grits on the plate. "But I didn't order grits." - "You don't have to, honey. Grits just come."*]

... grace just comes. It is inexorable as the love of God and we might as well admit it. And if we do -

[Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke at the Trinity West conference at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and said that like many preachers he had only one sermon: his was "God loves you." But the implications of that ...]

- if we do admit the unbreakable unfathomable inexorable grace of God, there are implications for our behavior, toward God, others, and even ourselves.

We can no longer be party to the hate we have absorbed in the past. We must work toward healing, of ourselves, yes, but not through a Ministry of Self-esteem: through the experience of love in action. 

Giving and receiving, noticing, acknowledging, practicing, experiencing, love in action: grace.

And that grace we experience in and through our fellow creatures. 

The famous situation-ethicist Joseph Fletcher summed up his message in a single phrase, which makes more sense now, in light of what we've covered above. He wrote: "Love God in your neighbor."

Because love in reality, though harsher than love in dreams, is indeed grace: it is the proper working out of the good news of Jesus Christ in the world. The beloved community he calls us into - beloved by God, first of all, with all else to follow - is not yet but already being fulfilled in the world.

Love in action is the work of the Holy Spirit, grace working in us, doing more than we could hold in our own arms, do with our own hands, embrace with our own minds: except God is always at work in us.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.   Ephesians 3:20, 21

It is not always easy to see. In the midst of crises - pandemic, political foolishness or uproar, climate worries, cancer or other personal tragedies - that seem to come upon us in waves or from ambush, it is not always easy to see the love of God at work.

 

In the misadventures of our lives, the misanthropy of our fellow humans, the profound or casual discourtesies we experience in interactions with strangers - or loved ones, the cruel moments in our lives, it is not always easy to see God's love at work.

 

We have to build on it. On what we can see - and what we cannot - as we follow the way of love. That is the pathway blazed by the Patriarchs, emboldened by the Kings, laid wide and straight through the wilderness of mercy by the power of God. It is the door opened by the saving action of the life of Jesus Christ. And it is the way trod before us by millenia of believers, of the saints - of all the saints and souls we celebrate this coming All Saints and All Souls (El Día de los Muertos) weekend. 

 

We remember those who love us - and those who cannot. We remember those who remain unloved and unknown - except by God. 

 

Let us then remember more than those we know - and make our behavior bend toward grace, toward the working out in the world of that grace, experienced and received, through love in action, collective, common, individual or corporate. 

 

Let us look at crises of our day with new eyes, and new will to win through to the kingdom of grace. Let us look at blessings with new eyes, receiving and giving and loving together, in the light of God's love.

 

And let us not forget: that every time we grow closer to God we grow closer to each other; every time we grow closer to one another, in the love and grace of God at work in the world, we grow closer to God.

 

And in that gathering unity in the heart of God we come to know truly ourselves.

 

soul

Looking at the first reading for this coming Sunday, October 25, 2020, I see again that the Shema begins with an admonishment to holiness. Before there is even a command to love God or your neighbor there is the invitation, be holy, for God is holy and you are the people of God. 

Well how about it? What does that mean?

It means love in action. It means knowledge that we can act upon (actionable knowledge) : knowing that God loves us - first - gives us call to respond to that inexorable love with our own inadequate but willing and blessed love in turn.

It means embodied faithfulness. That is, not just words, "Lord, Lord" - but deeds. Love in action. 

Our faith in God, our steadfast love (chesed), is shown in how we live and how we pray and how we treat one another (and ourselves). So to love your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength, as Jesus summarizes the law, is to embody that first loyalty in how we choose to live.

 As is pointed out more frequently these days that means not just individual but collective choices, and individual choices that feed the common good. 

Wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic is an action for the common good; it is embraced faithfulness. The mask protects those around me, pretty well, along with the other precautions - social distancing, frequent hand washing, testing and tracing and treating  ... it is not for me alone.

So much for rugged individualism! We need to work together, with God and our neighbor, for the love of God and neighbor and self... that is how embodied faithfulness works.

mind

In his keynote presentation Saturday to the convention of the diocese of western Washington, indigenous ministries leader Bradley Hauff said some things about love. 

 

The Jesus Movement of which we Anglicans & Episcopalians are an integral part emphasizes 

•     loving

•     liberating

•     life-giving

on our way to becoming the Beloved Community that Martin Luther King Jr described as a diverse community embodying "a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth."

Bradley Hauff - an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux - reminded us that all things are our relatives - not just people, all creation. 

And that means that the double commandment Jesus proclaims in the gospels - love God and your neighbor - extends beyond traditional limited understanding of neighbor as fellow Israelite or even sojourner in the land, to other nations, other creatures, and indeed to all of creation. 

"Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is no longer merely a metaphor or a nice song. It is for real: we are all related - in God's love. And as God is love that love is all encompassing, all embracing. While we experience separation from others and from God, and a need for redemption and reconciliation, we believers know that 'there is no better redeemer than Christ'. 

We are all relatives, thanks to Jesus, and we are striding toward right relationship with God, humanity, and all creation.

 

Jesus responds to his Pharisaic interrogator by quoting Scripture, from Deuteronomy and Leviticus, for the first and second commandments he articulates. And when he says heart and soul and mind - and strength - he draws on all aspects of human nature. Heart: the more responsive and emotional reactions of a human being; Soul: the vitality and consciousness of a person; Might: the powerful and instinctive drive in our nature; and Mind: the intelligent and planning qualities of a person.

When we hear that we are to love God with all of ourselves, we are called into a transformation, a conversion, a taking of responsibility for the growth and development of all aspects of ourselves, as persons, in heart, soul, mind, and strength, and as the people of God's love.

 

Let us not then as we go forth into the new world of love's redeeming work that it is the love of God, source of all being, eternal Word, and holy Spirit, into which we are called to live; and on that love we draw in our embodied faithfulness, our love in action, toward friend and stranger, and all of creation.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.    2 Corinthians 13:14

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.    Ephesians 3:20,21

 

For St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Tucson, the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost, 2020.

https://www.earlpalmer.org/

http://edgeofenclosure.org/proper25a.html

*Apocryphal southern story - except for the meal. The grits were excellent.

The call to love God is the heart of faith, and yet it is not disembodied. Loving God manifests itself in love of neighbor. (Diana Butler Bass, The Cottage, October 24, 2020)

• Bradley Hauff’s Keynote video: https://youtu.be/dHzxvJrIbJY

mind

In his keynote presentation Saturday to the convention of the diocese of western Washington, indigenous ministries leader Bradley Hauff said some things about love. The Jesus Movement of which we Anglicans & Episcopalians are an integral part emphasizes 

    loving

    liberating

    life-giving

of our fellowship in Christ on our way to becoming the Beloved Community that Martin Luther King Jr described as a diverse community embodying "a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth."

and Bradley Hauff - an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux - reminded us, that all things are our relatives - not just people, all creation. 

And that means that the double commandment Jesus proclaims in the gospels - love God and your neighbor - extends beyond traditional limited understanding of neighbor as fellow Israelite or even sojourner in the land, to other nations, other creatures, and indeed to all of creation. 

"Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is no longer merely a metaphor or a nice song. It is for real: we are all related - in God's love. And as God is love that love is all encompassing, all embracing. While we experience separation from others and from God, and a need for redemption and reconciliation, we believers know that 'there is no better redeemer than Christ'. 

We are all relatives, thanks to Jesus, and we are striding toward right relationship with God, humanity, and all creation.

 

Jesus responds to his interrogator by quoting Scripture, from Deuteronomy and Leviticus, for the first and second commandments he articulates. And when he says heart and soul and mind - and strength - he draws on all aspects of human nature. Heart: the more responsive and emotion reactions of a human being; Soul: the vitality and consciousness of a person; Might: the powerful and instinctive drive in our nature; and Mind: the intelligent and planning qualities of a person.

When we hear that we are to love God with all of our selves, we are called into a transformation, a conversion, a taking of responsibility for the growth and development of all aspects of ourselves, as persons, in heart, soul, mind, and strength, and as the people of God's love.

 

Let us not then as we go forth into the new world of love's redeeming work that it is the love of God, source of all being, eternal Word, and holy Spirit, into which we are called to live; and on that love we draw in our embodied faithfulness, our love in action, toward friend and stranger, and all of creation.

the man who fell among thieves

CProper10 BCP
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37
Psalm 25 or 25:3-9

"May we ask the Lord to grant us peace, that the day will soon come, when the peoples are unified in love and when Christ is the Lord; the day that fulfils all the prayers of the holy."
(Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, a prayer for peace, 1914)

In high school P.E. class I heard this story – so it must be true: somebody riding his new motorcycle had a breakdown at the side of the road. Up roared a gang of bikers, who stopped, came over, and – fixed his bike. As they left, one handed him a nice white business card, with a big greasy black thumb-smudge on it, announcing, “Your emergency roadside assistance was provided by your local motorcycle club.”

The Samaritan is not who you would expect. Then, neither is the man who was robbed.

As we begin to listen to the story of the Good Samaritan and the man who fell among thieves, we hear a lawyer asking a telling question: Who is my neighbor? We might well ask him or ourselves: Who are you? Responses could include, I am an individual, a person, a human being, a child of God; – or, we are a people of God.

Augustine made the analogy: that the man who was robbed was Adam – any one of us, Augustine, you, or me; that the Samaritan – the outsider – was Jesus, and the inn, providing shelter for healing, was the home of the Holy Comforter, the Church.

What however was Jesus’ response to the lawyer, and what question did he ask in his turn? “Who was a neighbor of the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The one who showed him mercy.

We often think of ourselves in the place of the Good Samaritan, but Jesus has the lawyer put himself in the place of the man who was robbed. Before we put ourselves in the superior position, the “helping” role, first we find ourselves in need of a little traveler’s aid ourselves.

As preacher Fred Craddock points out, this is the first of two stories about the reign of God, about hearing, but not really listening, to the good news of what the reign of God means, who Jesus is, and who we are called to become. In this week’s story we learn about a lawyer who wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Next week, we will hear about a woman named Martha who was anxious and distracted about many things, so busy doing that she forgot to be – just to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus and listen to what he is saying.

Action – going and doing – and contemplation – sitting and listening – are both important in the life of the faithful, but either one points beyond itself to the call to conversion, the change of heart, that comes when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior and begin to take our place under the reign of God. To “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” is part of a process, a transformation that is a continuing action of grace throughout the whole of your life. Hearing who Jesus is and what the reign of God is, and being changed by that Good News, whether you personally need to “go and do” or to “sit and listen”, is what matters.

The lawyer wanted to ‘get it right’, but getting it right is not the point: whether we need to become clearer in what we know of God, or whether we need to become better at doing God’s will, or whether we need to learn better how just to be in God’s presence – listening with an open heart; the point is to become transformed by the Good News into the people of the kingdom of God.

The lawyer didn’t get it – he thought he could ‘justify himself’ by getting it right: by winning an argument about what God really wants. Jesus was more concerned with – the coming into being of what God really wants – the work of grace in creation, in the lawyer, in you and me. This is not a game about winning, the prize ‘eternal life’: this is reality.

God really does want you to love your neighbor as yourself. And when you begin to see with God’s eyes, when you begin to live into the kingdom of God, you see who your neighbor really is. Jesus tells the lawyer a parable, the parable of a man who fell among thieves and the stranger who rescued him, which ends with the famous admonition, “Go and do likewise.” But before we go, he has already revealed to us something uncomfortable: our condition and the condition of our neighbor are in some ways interchangeable.

Who is my neighbor? Who was neighbor to the man who was robbed? The one who showed him mercy: your neighbor is the one who shows you mercy. If we could find ourselves in the place of the man who was robbed, before we cast ourselves in the role of the Good Samaritan, we might begin to understand what the kingdom is, and what God really wants. And what it is to inherit eternal life.

As pastor Barbara Crafton teaches us, faith is not subscribing to a list of propositions: it is a living relationship with God and with the world. It is a living relationship of love. Eternal life is not something locked away that you need a key or a secret entry code to gain access to – it is freely available. It is the opportunity to love, to live as a lover of God and neighbor. “And the Christ, who lives in you, also lives in each of them.”

The opportunity to love actually is all around.

“Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away… No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe… Choose life.” (Deuteronomy 30: 11, 14, 19)

And Jesus identified himself with this: “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” and he will tell them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:37-40)

When did we find you by the side of the road, naked, beaten and bleeding, and treated your wounds and carried you to a safe place where you could be healed? When did we find you wandering through the desert, abandoned and alone and dying of thirst, and give you water and a way home to the homes of men?

During the week of the Fourth of July, in Tucson, a leader and elder in that community received a visit from a new member of Congress. She talked with her about immigration and our need for a new approach – not confronting each other but working together.

She held up her hands as if to push away The Other, and then moved them, turning them around to face each other and interlacing her fingers, to show that we must work together. Speaking practically, she suggested training for employment could begin across the border, so that people who live there could have a future and a hope. Remember this is God’s promise to us, to his people, fulfilled through Jesus and through Jesus’ hands in the world: our own.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Serving Jesus as we serve the least of these we see around us is what we do: not just so that we can all get along, but so that we can all go forward together into God’s kingdom, where peace and righteousness embrace.

Join me in reciting Psalm 85:7-13, found on page 709 of the Book of Common Prayer:

Show us your mercy, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. I will listen to what the LORD God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him. Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him: that his glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring up from the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. The LORD will indeed grant prosperity, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness shall go before him, and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. AMEN.

Sources

Nobel Foundation (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-bio.html)

Uppsala Domkyrka (http://www.uppsaladomkyrka.se/setupups/local/engelsk/pdf/Ecumenism.pdf)

Luke for Everyone by Tom Wright (SPCK, 2001)

The Word Today: Reflections on the Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 3 by Herbert O'Driscoll (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 2001)

"Living by the Word: Who we are" by Patrick J. Wilson, The Christian Century, Vol. 124, No. 13, June 26, 2007, p. 19. (www.christiancentury.org)

Patrick's Well (www.herbodriscoll.com) Herbert O'Driscoll

Geranium Farm (www.geraniumfarm.org) Barbara Crafton et al.

The Word in Time by Arthur J. Dewey (New Berlin, Wisconsin: Liturgical Publications, 1990)

Luke by Sharon H. Ringe (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995) Westminister Bible Companion series.

Luke by Thomas W. Walker (Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press, 2001) Interpretation Bible Studies series.

Luke by Fred B. Craddock (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1990) Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching.

The Gospel According to Luke by Michael F. Patella, O.S.B. (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press) The new Collegeville Bible commentary, New Testament; v. 3.

Preaching the Gospel of Luke: Proclaiming God's Royal Rule by Keith F. Nickle (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000)

Common Worship (Church of England, 2000) http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/

The Book of Common Prayer (Church of England, 1662)

Oremus Bible Browser http://bible.oremus.org/

Nathan Söderblom and the Good Samaritan

July 12, 2007

Today we remember the life and work of Nathan Söderblom, architect of the ecumenical movement of the 20th century, founder of the Life and Work movement that led to the World Council of Churches, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was Swedish, born in 1866 and living until this date in 1931. Early in his life, at the age of 24, he visited the United States, and began to form his future ecumenical work through this prayer, recorded in his diary:

"Lord, give me humility and wisdom to serve the great cause of the free unity of thy church."

Söderblom took a practical approach to ecumenical work, reasoning that in the life of the church right action was as important as right belief-hence the outward, active focus of the Life and Work group.

He had already begun to move toward intercommunion between the Swedish Church and the Church of England as early as 1909; in 1995 the Porvoo Communion formalized recognition between Anglican churches in the British Isles and Lutheran churches in Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

Söderblom was elected Archbishop of Uppsala & primate of Sweden in 1914. That year he led a prayer for peace at Uppsala Cathedral:

"May we ask the Lord to grant us peace,
that the day will soon come,
when the peoples are unified in love
and when Christ is the Lord;
the day that fulfils all the prayers of the holy"

*****
In high school P.E. class I heard this story – so it must be true: somebody riding his new motorcycle had a breakdown at the side of the road. Up roared a gang of bikers, who stopped, came over, and – fixed his bike. As they left, one handed him a nice white business card, with a big greasy black thumb-smudge on it, announcing, “Your emergency roadside assistance was provided by your local motorcycle club.”

The Samaritan is not who you would expect. Nor is the man who was robbed.

In the story of the Good Samaritan and the man who fell among thieves, we hear a lawyer asking a telling question: Who is my neighbor? We might well ask: Who are you? Responses could include, I am a person, a human being, a child of God – or, We are a people of God.

Augustine made the analogy, that the man who was robbed was like Augustine, or me, or you – the soul; that the Samaritan was like Jesus and the inn, providing shelter, was the Church.

What however was Jesus response, and what question did he ask in his turn? “Who was a neighbor of the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The one who showed him mercy.

We often think of ourselves in the place of the good Samaritan, but Jesus has the lawyer put himself in the place of the man who was robbed. Before we put ourselves in the superior position, the “helping” role, first we find ourselves in need of a little traveler’s aid ourselves.


And Jesus identified himself with this: “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” and he will tell them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:37-40)

Serving Jesus as we serve the least of these we see around us is the motivating force behind the efforts of so many ecumenical workers like Nathan Söderblom: not simply that we all might get along but that we might go forward together into God’s kingdom, where peace and righteousness embrace.

And I should point out one more current example of this. Last week in Tucson, a leader and elder in that community received a visit from a new member of Congress. She talked with her about immigration and our need for a new approach – not confronting each other but working together. She held up her hands as if to push away The Other, then moved them, turning them over and interlacing her fingers, to show that we must work together. Speaking practically, she suggested training for employment could begin across the border, so that people who live there could have a future and a hope. Remember this is God’s promise to us, to his people, fulfilled through Jesus and through Jesus’ hands in the world: our own. I will give you “a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. (Psalm 85:8-13)




Sources

Nobel Foundation (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1930/soderblom-bio.html)

Uppsala Domkyrka (http://www.uppsaladomkyrka.se/setupups/local/engelsk/pdf/Ecumenism.pdf)

Luke for Everyone by Tom Wright (SPCK, 2001)

The Word Today: Reflections on the Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Volume 3 by Herbert O'Driscoll (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 2001)

"Living by the Word: Who we are" by Patrick J. Wilson, The Christian Century, Vol. 124, No. 13, June 26, 2007, p. 19. (www.christiancentury.org)

also worth a look:

Patrick's Well (www.herbodriscoll.com) Herbert O'Driscoll

Geranium Farm (www.geraniumfarm.org) Barbara Crafton et al.

The Word in Time (Revised Edition): A Gospel Commentary for Sundays and Major Feast Days (Complete Three-Year Cycle) by Arthur J. Dewey (New Berlin, Wisconsin: Liturgical Publications, 1990)

Luke by Sharon H. Ringe (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995) Westminister Bible Companion series.

Luke by Thomas W. Walker (Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva Press, 2001) Interpretation Bible Studies series.

Luke by Fred B. Craddock (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1990) Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching.

The Gospel According to Luke by Michael F. Patella, O.S.B. (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press) The new Collegeville Bible commentary, New Testament; v. 3.

Preaching the Gospel of Luke: Proclaiming God's Royal Rule by Keith F. Nickle (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000)