17/01/07, week of Epiphany 2
Collect
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ¹s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
++++++++++
Today's Scripture
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/
Ps 119:25-48; Isa 44:24-45:7; Eph 5:1-14; Mark 4:1-20
++++++++++
Today we remember Anthony of Egypt
Psalm 1, 91:9-16 o;1 Peter 5:6-10; Mark 10:17-21
O God, who by your Holy Spirit enabled your servant Antony to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil: Give us grace, with pure hearts and minds, to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
read more: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Antony.htm or
www.newadvent.org/cathen/01553d.htm or
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_the_Great
++++++++++
From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm
Psalm 38. O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God.
I sometimes have a hard time praying the Psalms. There is so much violence there, so much unbridled emotion. In these latter days, when religious emotions in the Middle East and elsewhere run so high and with such threatening force, the Psalms seem all too contemporary, particularly when the psalmist invokes the Lord's vengeance on those perceived as enemies. There are times when there seem to be too many voices of vengeance in the world. I hesitate to add my voice to them, even if the words are the psalmist's and not my own. But then, I hear a psalm like this. It is the kind of psalm that Jesus treasured, even on the cross. And I realize that my own feelings about God--not just my sense of God's presence in my life, but also the occasional aching feeling of God's absence--match the feelings of the psalmist all those years ago. Knowing this allows me to let my voice join in. O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Or as Jesus prayed, save me from the time of trial.
++++++++++
Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Lusaka (Central Africa)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
++++++++++
Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php
The beginner must think of themselves as one setting out to make a garden in which the Lord is to take His delight.
St Teresa of Jesus
Life 11.6
++++++++++
All that Saint John [the Baptist] recommends as the fruit of repentance is
not enough to save the soul from sin,but it is enough to make men worthy to
appear before Christ. The Forerunner's task was, then, to sound the alarm,
for men, even in some small way, to cleanse themselves and be made worthy
to appear before the divine face of the Savior.
St. Nikolai of Zica, "Homily for Sunday Before Theophany," Homilies, Vol.
1, Great Feasts, Lent, Eastertide, and Pentecost, p. 70.
++++++++++
An Old Story:
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said,
'Lord I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."
The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and
the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round
table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which
smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people
sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be
famished. They were holding sthingys with very long handles that were
strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the
pot of stew and take a sthingyful, but because the handle was longer
than their arms, they could not get the sthingys back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the
same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large
pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were
equipped with the same long-handled sthingys, but here the people were
well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I
don't understand." "It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires only
one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the
greedy think only of themselves."
When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you! Do you feed
others, or do you put yourself first?
++++++++++
Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/
Be Yourself
Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.
We will never find our vocations by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do. Be yourself!
++++++++++
Weekly Reflection
On the Journey to Universal Solidarity
written by CLARA FRASCHETTI
I recently spent a week in a small rural village called Sega, in Ghana, West Africa. My purpose was to establish a partnership with the local school where my organization, Intercordia Canada, hopes to place student volunteers. One day I met with about 50 parents, some of who would be asked to host our students for three months this summer. Mister Godwin, the head of the school, introduced me and asked me to say a few words about Intercordia. When I was done, Mister Godwin asked if any parents had questions. A small, older gentleman stood up, his back hunched, his skin wrinkled by the hot sun, and he asked in Dambe, "What are your first impressions of our community?" Mister Godwin translated as I described my time in Sega. I told them about my first morning and how the children had immediately taken my hand and led me through the village. As we passed people on the road, they recognized right away that I was new in town and most nodded or said "You are welcome!" Some enthusiastically took my face in their hands and said something in Dambe and then repeated "You are welcome! You are welcome!" I looked at the man standing there amongst the other parents and told him that if a stranger came to my neighbourhood, with different coloured skin, who dressed differently, no one would offer a greeting. In fact people might look at that person with suspicion and turn away. The old man looked at me with concerned eyes and said, "But, that is no way to treat a stranger". I humbly agreed with him. Then he said with conviction, "Then you must send your students, so that we can help to develop your community".
++++++++++
From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:
The Second Way of Service: Study
(17) 'This is eternal life: to know You the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent.' John 17.3
True knowledge is knowledge of God. We Tertiaries therefore give
priority to devotional study of scripture as one of the chief means of
attaining that knowledge of God that leads to eternal life.
Merciful God, you have made Your church rich through the poverty of
blessed Francis: help us like him, not to trust in earthly things, but
to seek Your heavenly gifts through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
++++++++++
Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
"Called by Name"
Once you know that you and the Father are one, you can take some risks. You don’t need to be the perfect little boy or girl all the time, you don’t need to be the pleaser of the system, because your Father has named you. Isn’t that what happened to Jesus in the desert? At thirty years of age, he heard his name and he went out from that point with great determination and self-assurance. The place within is your soul. It is where you have heard your name spoken, that spiritual name, that sense of yourself. That place within is where you have heard yourself believed in and affirmed, that place where God has given the divine name and self to you, that place where all your names are as one.
from A Man’s Approach to God
++++++++++
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/dsteelman/tradition/sources.html
Who is Christ?
If then you wish to learn or be taught something about Christ, do not resort to arguments or cross-examine some person of great learning, but inquire of a prophet, ask an apostle, consult an angel, and if these should be at a loss, have recourse to the Father. If you inquire of the prophets, "Who is this Christ?" the prophetic choir will answer you, This is our God; no other can be compared to him. He has found out the whole way of knowledge and imparted it to Jacob his servant, to Israel his beloved. At last he appeared on earth and lived among us. Perhaps you will pursue your investigation, asking, "But who is this Christ, and how was he born?" You may indulge your busy curiosity about the divine child, and if so the prophets will curb your boldness, asking you in their turn, "What our reasoning could not compass, do you think to compass? If you wish to learn, learn that he is God. You presume to pry into the manner of his birth, but you must learn from our words: Who shall recount his origin?"
Severian of Gabala, (~400), bishop of Gabala in Syria, was a strong opponent of Saint John Chrysostom and an exegete of the strict Antiochene school.
++++++++++
Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict
http://www.osb.org/rb/
Jan. 17 - May 18 - Sept. 17
Accordingly in every instance, all are to follow the teaching of the rule, and no one shall rashly deviate from it. In the monastery, monastics are not to follow their own heart's desire, nor shall they presume to contend with the prioress or abbot defiantly, or outside the monastery. Should any presume to do so, let them be subjected to the discipline of the rule. Moreover, the prioress or abbot must themselves reverence God and keep the rule in everything they do; they can be sure beyond any doubt that they will have to give an account of all their judgments to God, the most just of judges.
If less important business of the monastery is to be transacted, the prioress and abbot shall take counsel with the elders only, as it is written:"Do everything with counsel and you will not be sorry afterward (Sir 32:24)."
Benedictine monasticism is life lived within the circuit of four guy wires: the Gospel, the teachings of its abbots and prioress, the experience of the community and the Rule of Benedict itself.
The Gospel gives meaning and purpose to the community. The teaching of its abbots and prioresses gives depth and direction to the community. The experience of the community, spoken by its members in community Chapter meetings, gives truth to the community. But it is the Rule of Benedict that gives the long arm of essential definition and character to the community.
Each of us, monastic or not, deals with the same elements in life. We are all bound to the Gospel, under leadership of some kind, faced with the dictates of tradition or the cautions of experience and in need of a direction. Monastic spirituality offers enduring principles and attitudes far beyond whatever culture embodies them. Once embraced, they guide our way through whatever the psychological fads or religious practices or social philosophies of the time that offer comfort but lack staying power. "All are to follow the teaching of the Rule," Benedict, the great abbot teaches, "and no one shall rashly deviate from it." Adapt the Rule, yes. Abandon the Rule, no.
The fact is that it is in the Rule itself that the principles and values of Benedictine spirituality are stored and maintained. No matter how far a group goes in its attempts to be relevant to the modern world, it keeps one foot in an ancient one at all times. It is this world that pulls it back, time and time again, to the tried and true, to the really real, to a Beyond beyond ourselves. It is to these enduring principles that every age looks, not to the customs or practices that intend to embody them from one age to another.
++++++++++
Follow Me
by Msgr. David E. Rosage
"Let the man among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her."
Jn 8:7
How easy to point my finger at another person and project my own guilt onto that person!
Thank you, Jesus, for reminding me to look at my own record. Even a casual glance at it will cause me to lay down my stone.
++++++++++++
Posted with permission from the House of Bishops/Deputies list
"You are not far from the kingdom of God" is Jesus' response to the scribe
who said to Jesus that loving God and loving one's neighbor as oneself was
more important than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. The
scribe had, earlier in the conversation, asked Jesus which commandment is
first of all. Jesus' response is likely to be burnt into the brains of any
of us who have been Episcopalians most of our lives - we heard it regularly
in worship: "Hear o Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall
love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than
these." What is it that makes any of us to be "not far from the kingdom of
God?" It is the very same realization of the scribe who made it clear that
burnt offerings and sacrifices were not important, nor were they the issue.
The exchange between Jesus and the scribe is from one of the Gospel lessons
(there are two from which to choose) appointed for the Lesser Feast of
Aelred of Rievaulx. It's in Mark 12: 28-34a.
What I note as completely missing from this exchange between Jesus and the
scribe is any qualification as to who neighbor might be. Nor is there a lot
of verbiage about loving God, but I would note that there is an admonition
to love God with the MIND as well as the rest of our being. That's
something we don't always make much effort at doing.
It seems to be that the various exchanges over "Christian Unity" might ought
to revolve around the first and great commandment and the second which is
like unto it. I can not fathom how battles about doctrinal purity,
neo-Puritanism, missiles about heresy and apostasy or any of the other
language that gets tossed about so much could be nearly as important as
seeing to the needs of another human being, another child of Almighty God.
This business of beating each other about the head and shoulders and
insisting that "you (whoever "you" might be) must believe exactly like I
believe or we can not share the Christian faith, is one of the great
absurdities of all time. If we look at the four Gospels, it doesn't seem
that Jesus put much emphasis on much other than loving God and loving each
other. His other commentary invariably dealt with right relationship. He
wasn't coercive in his ministry. He didn't threaten anyone with expulsion,
excommunication or our rather modern eccentricities about how we might go
about dispatching those with whom we may disagree on some point of doctrinal
identification.
It's really all so very simple......so simple apparently as to be beyond our
ability to comprehend such simplicity and we stumble all over ourselves
finding ways to complicate it.
When we finally understand that the needs of another human being trump
doctrinal battles, purity codes, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc., then we might
actually find ourselves to be not far from the Kingdom of God. Until then,
we certainly seem to be, as we say in the south, a fer piece off.
May God have much more mercy on us than we exhibit toward each other.
(FYIW, the first paragraph is an adaptation of part of a sermon I delivered
in Columbus, Ohio, on the Feast of St. Aelred last Friday night.)
Bruce Garner, Exec Council
"Since when do you have to agree with people just to defend them from
injustice?" Lillian Hellman, Writer (1905-1984)
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ¹s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
++++++++++
Today's Scripture
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/
Ps 119:25-48; Isa 44:24-45:7; Eph 5:1-14; Mark 4:1-20
++++++++++
Today we remember Anthony of Egypt
Psalm 1, 91:9-16 o;1 Peter 5:6-10; Mark 10:17-21
O God, who by your Holy Spirit enabled your servant Antony to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil: Give us grace, with pure hearts and minds, to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
read more: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Antony.htm or
www.newadvent.org/cathen/01553d.htm or
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_the_Great
++++++++++
From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm
Psalm 38. O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God.
I sometimes have a hard time praying the Psalms. There is so much violence there, so much unbridled emotion. In these latter days, when religious emotions in the Middle East and elsewhere run so high and with such threatening force, the Psalms seem all too contemporary, particularly when the psalmist invokes the Lord's vengeance on those perceived as enemies. There are times when there seem to be too many voices of vengeance in the world. I hesitate to add my voice to them, even if the words are the psalmist's and not my own. But then, I hear a psalm like this. It is the kind of psalm that Jesus treasured, even on the cross. And I realize that my own feelings about God--not just my sense of God's presence in my life, but also the occasional aching feeling of God's absence--match the feelings of the psalmist all those years ago. Knowing this allows me to let my voice join in. O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Or as Jesus prayed, save me from the time of trial.
++++++++++
Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Lusaka (Central Africa)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
++++++++++
Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php
The beginner must think of themselves as one setting out to make a garden in which the Lord is to take His delight.
St Teresa of Jesus
Life 11.6
++++++++++
All that Saint John [the Baptist] recommends as the fruit of repentance is
not enough to save the soul from sin,but it is enough to make men worthy to
appear before Christ. The Forerunner's task was, then, to sound the alarm,
for men, even in some small way, to cleanse themselves and be made worthy
to appear before the divine face of the Savior.
St. Nikolai of Zica, "Homily for Sunday Before Theophany," Homilies, Vol.
1, Great Feasts, Lent, Eastertide, and Pentecost, p. 70.
++++++++++
An Old Story:
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said,
'Lord I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."
The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and
the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round
table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which
smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people
sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be
famished. They were holding sthingys with very long handles that were
strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the
pot of stew and take a sthingyful, but because the handle was longer
than their arms, they could not get the sthingys back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the
same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large
pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were
equipped with the same long-handled sthingys, but here the people were
well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I
don't understand." "It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires only
one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the
greedy think only of themselves."
When Jesus died on the cross he was thinking of you! Do you feed
others, or do you put yourself first?
++++++++++
Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/
Be Yourself
Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.
We will never find our vocations by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do. Be yourself!
++++++++++
Weekly Reflection
On the Journey to Universal Solidarity
written by CLARA FRASCHETTI
I recently spent a week in a small rural village called Sega, in Ghana, West Africa. My purpose was to establish a partnership with the local school where my organization, Intercordia Canada, hopes to place student volunteers. One day I met with about 50 parents, some of who would be asked to host our students for three months this summer. Mister Godwin, the head of the school, introduced me and asked me to say a few words about Intercordia. When I was done, Mister Godwin asked if any parents had questions. A small, older gentleman stood up, his back hunched, his skin wrinkled by the hot sun, and he asked in Dambe, "What are your first impressions of our community?" Mister Godwin translated as I described my time in Sega. I told them about my first morning and how the children had immediately taken my hand and led me through the village. As we passed people on the road, they recognized right away that I was new in town and most nodded or said "You are welcome!" Some enthusiastically took my face in their hands and said something in Dambe and then repeated "You are welcome! You are welcome!" I looked at the man standing there amongst the other parents and told him that if a stranger came to my neighbourhood, with different coloured skin, who dressed differently, no one would offer a greeting. In fact people might look at that person with suspicion and turn away. The old man looked at me with concerned eyes and said, "But, that is no way to treat a stranger". I humbly agreed with him. Then he said with conviction, "Then you must send your students, so that we can help to develop your community".
++++++++++
From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:
The Second Way of Service: Study
(17) 'This is eternal life: to know You the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You have sent.' John 17.3
True knowledge is knowledge of God. We Tertiaries therefore give
priority to devotional study of scripture as one of the chief means of
attaining that knowledge of God that leads to eternal life.
Merciful God, you have made Your church rich through the poverty of
blessed Francis: help us like him, not to trust in earthly things, but
to seek Your heavenly gifts through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
++++++++++
Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
"Called by Name"
Once you know that you and the Father are one, you can take some risks. You don’t need to be the perfect little boy or girl all the time, you don’t need to be the pleaser of the system, because your Father has named you. Isn’t that what happened to Jesus in the desert? At thirty years of age, he heard his name and he went out from that point with great determination and self-assurance. The place within is your soul. It is where you have heard your name spoken, that spiritual name, that sense of yourself. That place within is where you have heard yourself believed in and affirmed, that place where God has given the divine name and self to you, that place where all your names are as one.
from A Man’s Approach to God
++++++++++
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/dsteelman/tradition/sources.html
Who is Christ?
If then you wish to learn or be taught something about Christ, do not resort to arguments or cross-examine some person of great learning, but inquire of a prophet, ask an apostle, consult an angel, and if these should be at a loss, have recourse to the Father. If you inquire of the prophets, "Who is this Christ?" the prophetic choir will answer you, This is our God; no other can be compared to him. He has found out the whole way of knowledge and imparted it to Jacob his servant, to Israel his beloved. At last he appeared on earth and lived among us. Perhaps you will pursue your investigation, asking, "But who is this Christ, and how was he born?" You may indulge your busy curiosity about the divine child, and if so the prophets will curb your boldness, asking you in their turn, "What our reasoning could not compass, do you think to compass? If you wish to learn, learn that he is God. You presume to pry into the manner of his birth, but you must learn from our words: Who shall recount his origin?"
Severian of Gabala, (~400), bishop of Gabala in Syria, was a strong opponent of Saint John Chrysostom and an exegete of the strict Antiochene school.
++++++++++
Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict
http://www.osb.org/rb/
Jan. 17 - May 18 - Sept. 17
Accordingly in every instance, all are to follow the teaching of the rule, and no one shall rashly deviate from it. In the monastery, monastics are not to follow their own heart's desire, nor shall they presume to contend with the prioress or abbot defiantly, or outside the monastery. Should any presume to do so, let them be subjected to the discipline of the rule. Moreover, the prioress or abbot must themselves reverence God and keep the rule in everything they do; they can be sure beyond any doubt that they will have to give an account of all their judgments to God, the most just of judges.
If less important business of the monastery is to be transacted, the prioress and abbot shall take counsel with the elders only, as it is written:"Do everything with counsel and you will not be sorry afterward (Sir 32:24)."
Benedictine monasticism is life lived within the circuit of four guy wires: the Gospel, the teachings of its abbots and prioress, the experience of the community and the Rule of Benedict itself.
The Gospel gives meaning and purpose to the community. The teaching of its abbots and prioresses gives depth and direction to the community. The experience of the community, spoken by its members in community Chapter meetings, gives truth to the community. But it is the Rule of Benedict that gives the long arm of essential definition and character to the community.
Each of us, monastic or not, deals with the same elements in life. We are all bound to the Gospel, under leadership of some kind, faced with the dictates of tradition or the cautions of experience and in need of a direction. Monastic spirituality offers enduring principles and attitudes far beyond whatever culture embodies them. Once embraced, they guide our way through whatever the psychological fads or religious practices or social philosophies of the time that offer comfort but lack staying power. "All are to follow the teaching of the Rule," Benedict, the great abbot teaches, "and no one shall rashly deviate from it." Adapt the Rule, yes. Abandon the Rule, no.
The fact is that it is in the Rule itself that the principles and values of Benedictine spirituality are stored and maintained. No matter how far a group goes in its attempts to be relevant to the modern world, it keeps one foot in an ancient one at all times. It is this world that pulls it back, time and time again, to the tried and true, to the really real, to a Beyond beyond ourselves. It is to these enduring principles that every age looks, not to the customs or practices that intend to embody them from one age to another.
++++++++++
Follow Me
by Msgr. David E. Rosage
"Let the man among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her."
Jn 8:7
How easy to point my finger at another person and project my own guilt onto that person!
Thank you, Jesus, for reminding me to look at my own record. Even a casual glance at it will cause me to lay down my stone.
++++++++++++
Posted with permission from the House of Bishops/Deputies list
"You are not far from the kingdom of God" is Jesus' response to the scribe
who said to Jesus that loving God and loving one's neighbor as oneself was
more important than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. The
scribe had, earlier in the conversation, asked Jesus which commandment is
first of all. Jesus' response is likely to be burnt into the brains of any
of us who have been Episcopalians most of our lives - we heard it regularly
in worship: "Hear o Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall
love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall
love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than
these." What is it that makes any of us to be "not far from the kingdom of
God?" It is the very same realization of the scribe who made it clear that
burnt offerings and sacrifices were not important, nor were they the issue.
The exchange between Jesus and the scribe is from one of the Gospel lessons
(there are two from which to choose) appointed for the Lesser Feast of
Aelred of Rievaulx. It's in Mark 12: 28-34a.
What I note as completely missing from this exchange between Jesus and the
scribe is any qualification as to who neighbor might be. Nor is there a lot
of verbiage about loving God, but I would note that there is an admonition
to love God with the MIND as well as the rest of our being. That's
something we don't always make much effort at doing.
It seems to be that the various exchanges over "Christian Unity" might ought
to revolve around the first and great commandment and the second which is
like unto it. I can not fathom how battles about doctrinal purity,
neo-Puritanism, missiles about heresy and apostasy or any of the other
language that gets tossed about so much could be nearly as important as
seeing to the needs of another human being, another child of Almighty God.
This business of beating each other about the head and shoulders and
insisting that "you (whoever "you" might be) must believe exactly like I
believe or we can not share the Christian faith, is one of the great
absurdities of all time. If we look at the four Gospels, it doesn't seem
that Jesus put much emphasis on much other than loving God and loving each
other. His other commentary invariably dealt with right relationship. He
wasn't coercive in his ministry. He didn't threaten anyone with expulsion,
excommunication or our rather modern eccentricities about how we might go
about dispatching those with whom we may disagree on some point of doctrinal
identification.
It's really all so very simple......so simple apparently as to be beyond our
ability to comprehend such simplicity and we stumble all over ourselves
finding ways to complicate it.
When we finally understand that the needs of another human being trump
doctrinal battles, purity codes, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc., then we might
actually find ourselves to be not far from the Kingdom of God. Until then,
we certainly seem to be, as we say in the south, a fer piece off.
May God have much more mercy on us than we exhibit toward each other.
(FYIW, the first paragraph is an adaptation of part of a sermon I delivered
in Columbus, Ohio, on the Feast of St. Aelred last Friday night.)
Bruce Garner, Exec Council
"Since when do you have to agree with people just to defend them from
injustice?" Lillian Hellman, Writer (1905-1984)
posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 12:37 PM
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