Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Sermon for I Advent- My Hope Is In God!

Advent I, Year B- Mark 13:24-37
To be preached at St. John Lancaster, God willing

Burning buildings in Missouri. Hideous and inhumane executions in Iraq and Syria.  Suicide bombings in Nigeria and Israel.  Long standing social norms questioned and old structures tottering.  I suppose one could make the argument that figuratively at least, the sun is darkened, and the moon does not give her light, and the stars themselves fall from the skies.  If I were so inclined, I suppose I could find several good reasons to be discouraged, and afraid, and even without hope.  But as today’s Gospel lesson points out, our faith does not give me that option.  Jesus often told his followers  not to be afraid.  In today’s lesson he takes the admonition a bit further.  He says that we need to look beyond the troubles of this present age, and remember that at the end, our faith will be vindicated, and he will return to receive us as his own.    


In the days leading up to today’s Gospel narrative, Jesus had been in Jerusalem preparing for the Passover.  He had been attacked by his enemies and questioned and belittled at every turn.  Through false flattery and direct argument and conniving misrepresentation they had attempted to make him mad, or goad him into saying something actionable before the law.  But our Lord kept his head and he did his best to keep the heads of his disciples fixed on the task at hand.  Finally, he answered the questions so many were thinking about and told them that in their lifetime, things were going to get bad- very bad.  And he told them a series of parables which taught them that the people who held to their faith would find a strength beyond themselves  which would ultimately bring them to vindication and deliverance by God himself.  The message holds as true today as it did then, and it is for us the message of Advent, which starts today.  There will be a time in human history, and in each of our lives, when situations will get out of control.  The mess we have made by our bad decisions, bad actions, and omissions, both individually and as a species, will come to haunt all of us,and no real distinction will be made between the innocent and the guilty.  But, says Jesus, look around you and realize that I told you things like this would happen, and that it is the necessary precursor to my Father working in your lives.  Don’t be totally discouraged by difficulty or even by catastrophe.  Rather let those things remind you that I have promised to come again and receive you as my own.  When that happens, we will be together forever, and I will make all things new.


How is your Advent faith today?  Can you look at these “signs of the times” and see in them a call to cling more passionately than ever to the promises of deliverance that Jesus gives to all those who follow him?  As you look upon this font and remember your own baptism, do you sense the witness of the Holy Spirit that indeed you are a child of God, and that he will be with you every day of your life?  As you come and receive Communion today, do you anticipate that miraculous cleansing and sense of belonging that will assure you of the reality of God’s love, and help you to push through your fears and embrace the calling of God in your life?


Some people might say that such a faith is just so much psychological manipulation, and that simple faith is for simple minded people who refuse to acknowledge the realities of the world.  How sad and lonely it must be for them.  Better to face my fears and situations, my doubts and my hardships in the knowledge that Jesus who came once as a baby, born of a virgin in a manger in Bethlehem, will come again to vindicate this faith of mine and yours which may be mocked as childlike, and spurned as simplistic and superstitious.  But we know it on this day to be otherwise than as our detractors would maintain.  Childlike it may be, for our Lord admonished us to come as did the little children in innocence and expectation. Simplistic it may be, for God’s love for us is not a complex formulae that we need advanced degrees to comprehend.  Rather it is a simple proclamation that every man and woman and boy and girl can be called to experience in real time.  Superstitious it may seem to those who have already made up their mind that it is false, but we who have experienced the washing away of our guilt and shame in the waters of baptism; we who have pressed with our teeth the sacrificed  flesh of Jesus Christ and who have drunk the blood of our God,  we know in our hearts the truth of it all, and in that truth we find the strength to press on in the face of every adversity.  ‘Blasoned on our arms is that eternal Name of the Christ, and we cry with our forbearers,  Spes mea in Deo est, my hope is in God!  For as we gaze upon the blessed Name of Jesus, we realize with that Emperor of old, In hoc Signo Vinces,  in this sign, you will conquer!


And so the end of the matter is this.  Never let the difficulties of life cause you to lose sight of the promise of Jesus that he will return to vindicate all things and to receive us as his own.  Things may get worse in our individual lives, or they may get better.  The world will always be filled with inexplicable evil and tragedy.  But we are called to keep our eyes on Jesus, and to face the world without succombing to our fears or to discouragement.  The great fact is that Jesus is coming again.  Hold to that fact.  Remind yourself of it in the jewelry you wear and the artwork with which you decorate your home, and the music you listen to, and the sacraments you receive.  Jesus is true to his promises.  This is a wonderful world, and we are a blessed people to have been placed in it.  Our friends and family are blessings from God, even when they might not seem much like it.  But even with so many good things about us, difficulty still comes into the world, and sometimes it is hard to cope.  When that happens, and it will, might we all remember today’s Good News from St. Mark’s Gospel.  Jesus is coming again, so stay awake, keep doing good, and keep creating beauty, and keep yourself disciplined and committed to demonstrating the reality of our new life in Jesus Christ.  And one day he will come again to make all things right, and to receive us as his own.  


An old story is told of a young squire who faced overwhelming odds when his city was attacked.  Everything seemed to be lost, and as he rushed into the breach he cried out “Spes Mea in Deo est!” (My hope is in God!)  His fellow citizens followed him, and even though he lost his life that day, his example of faith and courage so inspired his fellow citizens that the tide was turned and the city was delivered from those who would destroy it.  The enemy of our souls, Satan, brings many things into our lives which can fill us with fear and discouragement.  This city which we attempt to build for God is threatened by so many different things, by so many realities, and so many fears.  Sometimes it helps us to do something objective which helps us to personify or anthropomorphise the issues we face.  So now I would like you to do something which may seem scandalous, but somehow it seems appropriate, even in a traditional service in the Episcopal Church.  I invite you to assume with me the part of Constans, the young squire.  Stand with me and face the east, towards Jerusalem, where Christ will return.  Imagine in your mind that you are facing those things which make you afraid, or worried, or discouraged. Raise your right hand and at my instruction say with me three times, “My hope is in God!”  Are you ready?  Now, hands up.  Get Ready, Get Set, Go!  “My hope is in God!” “My Hope is in God” “My hope is in God!” You may be seated.  

Do you feel a little silly?   But do you feel better?  Do you feel like you have experienced a thing which will help you to face those realities that crowd into your life?  Remember that Jesus is always with you, and that he is coming again.  Claim his promises as your own.  Face the issues that are so real, with him by your side.  And may this Advent be for you a time of healing, and strength, and assurance that God is with you always.  AMEN.

Friday, November 21, 2014

A Perfect Day

Federal Valley Pheasant Farm in Amesville, Ohio in warmer weather.
http://www.federalvalleyhuntingpreservellc.com/
Chuck and I took Leo the Lab and Oscar the Cocker Spaniel to Federal Valley today for a pheasant shoot.  We harvested 13 birds, and both dogs were magnificent.  Even my shooting was not a complete embarrassment!  Switching to shooting left handed has truly paid off.  I should have done it years ago.  Young Oscar was in his element, and did a great job both hunting and retrieving.

Oscar after a water workout earlier this fall
he was bred and trained at
http://www.flushingstar.com/index.htm
  He bounces through the high grass, a spaniel trait, and is the very definition of joy.  On the way home, we stopped and shared birds with two elderly friends.  For dinner tonight, I cooked pheasant, brown rice, candied yams, asparagus, and seasoned mushrooms, served with chardonnay.  For dessert, we had peppermint ice cream with hot fudge.  Every day should be so wonderful: spent with friends, with opportunities to share God's bounty, and to create what is beautiful and delicious.

Me with Oscar after a squirrel hunt at our farm a couple of weeks ago

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Sermon for Christ the King Sunday: St Matthew 25:31-46

The Division at the Judgment
detail from a larger mosaic in Ravenna

Today's Gospel is not a picture of the simple Galilean carpenter and itinerant Rabbi.  Rather it is the prophesy of the return of the King to judge the nations.  Everyone will be there, everyone who has ever lived, and the Son of Man will be revealed as the King of Glory.  The angels will be with him, and he will be seated on his throne, and we shall all stand before him to hear his righteous judgment. Even as the Son of Man and King of Glory, he remains the great and Good Shepherd, and on that day he will divide us who pasture together into two groups, characterized in today's Gospel as sheep and goats.

Now sheep, particularly in the ancient world, were very useful animals.  They provided meat and wool, and even milk.  They were a staple of the economy, and their fertility, their relative domesticity,  and ability to graze in some of the harshest conditions insured the economic viability of the community.  Goats on the other hand were another story. Goats, while still of some value, were far less profitable, and there were other issues as well.  Their stubbornness, evil odor, and lustful aggression has long made them the very emblem of evil in the world.  They may look amazingly cute at the fair, cleaned and penned- but let me assure you that a Billy  at breeding time is a disturbing and disgusting sight to behold.  And yes, I speak from experience. 

But what is the meaning of this division?  Commentators ancient and modern agree.  Here our Lord and rightful Sovereign Jesus Christ sets forth love as the ultimate test of  true discipleship.  This love is not merely a sentiment, but a series of measurable actions which grow out of an heart which shows forth the holiness and concern for others that are evident in God's gift of Jesus Christ to be the Saviour of the world.  Judgment at the end of the age will consider whether or not we have treated others as Christ treated us.  It is a serious basis for comparison, and a high standard indeed.  The language itself allows us no escape from the reality that is the love of God.  We are not given the luxury of redefining words or parsing grammar in a way that lessens our responsibility.  We are called to a common humanity that exhibits the very character of God.  The words generally translated "you welcomed me," actually mean "you welcomed me into your home, into the bosom of your family."  There is not much wiggle room there.  How are we doing?  Is it uncomfortable yet?  Now, a strict reading of the grammar would seem to imply that the people in whom we serve Jesus are Christians in need, but the blessed Fathers are of one mind and voice when they say that as Jesus lives in the needs of his church, his church lives in the needs of all people, whether or not they are at the time of their need named as members of his one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.

We are all  made in the image of God, and he expects us all to exhibit that basic humanity which Charles Dickens calls, "the milk of human kindness."  It is not optional, and no excuses will be allowed at the great judgment.  Granted, Christians may occasionally differ about the best way to show this common humanity.  There will be honest disagreement about what constitutes actual acts of mercy and what constitutes the enabling of bad behavior, but whatever political or philosophical disagreements we Christians may have about how best to accomplish the love of God in the world, the requirement remains that we cannot ignore basic human need around us.  If we do, we are ignoring the presence of our true King.  If we ignore him in this world, we will be rejected as unfit in the world to come, and will go away into eternal punishment, into that place of eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.   But if we truly model love by our attitudes and our actions here in this world, our discipleship will be vindicated and proved true, and we will inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Com'on Dad, Let's Hunt!

Rector's Rambling, December 2014

Oscar Doing What He Was Bred and Trained To Do!
Cold brings out the best in dogs of all kinds, and Oscar is no exception.  The woods were magical today, and the game was running.  The temperature hung somewhere in the mid teens in the early afternoon, and I was due a break after the responsibilities of last week's Diocesan Convention- so, I think everyone who knows me knows where I was and what I was doing, with faithful Oscar out front all the way. 

Winter has always been my favorite season, and I do love the snow.  But as CS Lewis points out in "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," winter without Christmas just wouldn't be the same.  For those of us who grew up in northern climes, the snow means that our celebration of the Birth of Jesus is just around the corner, and I for one can't wait.  When my world was characterized by barrenness and cold and bone chilling hardship, God sent his only Son into the world to bring me life, and warmth, and plenty.  In short, he saved me and named me as his own, and then Jesus wrapped his arms around me and called me his brother and his friend. 

When we were walking through the woods today, the branches hung low with the burden of the snow, and as I moved through the tangle, a gallon or two of snow fell from the trees and went right down my back.  It was invigorating to say the least, but when we finally got back to the house, the warmth and wetness was almost comforting in a primal sort of way.  I could not help but think of the warming love of God which over the years has melted my icy heart and helped me to be so  much more than I could ever have been on my own.

I hope that all of you, my friends, have a blessed Christmas this year.  Remember that our Christmas Eve services are at 4  & 10:30, and on Christmas Day we will gather at 11AM.  I look forward to seeing you there, and to celebrating together the coming of Jesus into the world to bring us warmth, and healing, and salvation.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Reflection on II Timothy 1:12b


To be delivered at St. John's on November 9th, God willing.

St. Paul writing (perhaps to Timothy?)
probably by Valentin de Boulogne, 17th century

One of the great formative influences in my early life was singing what I believed.  Sometimes those songs still ring in my ears, and I find myself singing along.  One of my favorites was always “I Know Whom I Have Believed” by Daniel W. Whittle, published in1883.  It goes in part something like this:

I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.   
    • But “I know Whom I have believed,
    • And am persuaded that He is able
    • To keep that which I’ve committed
    • Unto Him against that day.”
I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.
    • But “I know Whom I have believed,
    • And am persuaded that He is able
    • To keep that which I’ve committed
    • Unto Him against that day.”

I’m sure some of you noticed that this is a quote  from the Authorized Version of the Bible,  The Second Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy, Chapter one, verse 12b.

I have come to the conclusion that one of the reasons this particular song, and this particular verse of Scripture has been so ubiquitous this week is because of an article entitled “Evangelicals’ Favorite Heresies” in the November 2014 Issue of “Christianity Today.”  The good news is that more than 9 in 10 believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that heaven and hell are real.  I doubt that Main Line Protestant samplings would fare so well.  Some of the more disturbing findings about Evangelical Christians are: 27% either agree or couldn’t deny for sure that Jesus, while the first of creation, is a created being.  58% consider the Holy Spirit to be a force, and not a personal being.  A whopping 77% believe that people seek God first, and then God responds with grace.   A smaller, but still significant 24% are willing to believe that the Book of Mormon might be a revelation from God.  

Another issue that has had doctrine and the methodology by which it is discovered and developed on my mind this week is our own upcoming Diocesan Convention in Chillicothe.  The third resolution proposes that  our Diocesan Convention memorialize the General Convention to modify the marriage ceremony in the Book of Common Prayer in a way that replaces the words “husband and wife” or “man and woman” with the phrase “these two persons.”  Whatever one’s opinion might be on the issue, and whether or not it passes,  The proposal would be a major change in the historic position of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and of how the Church has always interpreted the Bible.  But for the purposes of today’s line of thought, I would ask you to temporarily set aside the issue of same sex union in the Episcopal or any other Church.  Rather I would ask you to think about the ecclesiology, that is the belief about what the church is, which gives rise to such a resolution as resolution three, or for that matter, which allows so many of our Evangelical brethren and sisters to deny the received understandings about our Lord, about the Trinity, about Salvation, and about Revelation.  

Resolution three arises from the commonly held belief that a simple majority vote in constitutional process, taken in a relatively small denomination in one time and place, is sufficient justification for making a major change in the patrimony of the church.  Without consultation with our Roman Catholic, or Protestant, or Orthodox, or Coptic fellow believers, we are willing to declare that what belongs to all of us is ours to modify at will.  That is a dangerous position to take, because it points out the falseness of our membership in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church by rending the fabric of the broader Christian community, which is the body of Christ, and which we claim to be a part of every time we say the Creed.  It is virtually the same position assumed by that individual Evangelical Believer who affirmed to the pollsters that Jesus Was a created Being or that our desires rather than God’s love initiates and enables our reconciliation with God.  We live in a world where individuals and small groups feel very free to place their own feelings and thoughts and impulses above those of the broader Christian community, with little regard for unintended consequences.  Anyone can say that they are a part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  To submit to the Church and actually be so is another thing entirely.

This brings us back to Second Timothy 1:12.  Archbishop Paul is writing to admonish and instruct young Bishop Timothy.  The Apostle claims his authority from Jesus with confidence, and continues his statement of Creedal Orthodoxy from the First Letter, in which he had addressed many specific organizational and moral and relational implications of the faith Jesus left to the Apostles.  Two phrases stand out to me in this particular verse which seem to have bearing on our present situation.  First, he says “I know whom I have believed.”  His faith is grounded in the sure and living relationship that he shares with God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  God’s grace had been manifest in his education and upbringing, in the example of blessed Stephen, the protomartyr, in the loving example of Barnabas and the congregation in Antioch who welcomed him into the Faith he had persecuted.  Then there was the blessed time apart, and so many other things which had caused his certainty of the reality of God to grow and deepen.  And now he called his young protege to share in that same certainty.  It is that certainty of faith to which we are called.  It is based on a knowable and personal ever growing faith in the one who saved us and who calls us brother, or sister, and friend.  It is based on evidence, and is definable in rational terms which are consistent with God’s own character, of which reason is a part.  The second phrase to which I alluded earlier is “I am persuaded.”  Those three words say volumes about this rationality of God’s Character which Apostle and Archbishop Paul strives to employ in his own life.  Rene Descartes, the great French philosopher, is famous for saying that we should methodologically doubt every proposition to prove its validity, or conversely, its invalidity.  Paul cautions Bishop Timothy to make sound and logical decisions, based on his relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the Church’s Husband, remembering that he- Timothy- is a Bishop of the Church, which is Christ’s Bride.  You see, whatever current societal attitudes may say or teach, we as Christians are called to make our decisions rationally and in a conciliar manner which includes all of the great branches of Christianity, based on the relationship which Jesus Christ offers us through his Church.  Our decisions are never our own, nor do they belong to a committee.  They ought always to be taken within the broader historic Christian community in which we live, and in the shadow of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Now what does this mean practically?
  1. If something you desire to do, some change you would like to make, is contradictory to what the Church has always believed to be a part of the received body of teaching which characterizes the Scriptures, and the Fathers, and the Councils, and the Doctors, and the Schoolmen, and the Reformers, and all the rest; you are probably making a mistake and should revisit your thought process and the  teaching of the Church over the last 2,000 years before moving ahead.
  2. You should concentrate on verifiable knowledge and formal logical inference, rather than on  feelings.  Feelings are very real things, and they more often than not lead to justification of things which have terrible unintended consequences.  The words “I feel” usually introduce very bad theology which has serious negative consequences, unintended and otherwise.
  3. Because we all live in our own little worlds, it is important that we consult with others, especially other believers of different denominational traditions and from different countries, and with the teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church if we are to honestly think through the implications of our beliefs and their moral and practical implications for us and for others.  
  4. And finally, we should all resist the destructive teachings of this age that there is no ultimate truth based in God’s self revelation of his own character, and that we as individuals are and ought to be the final arbiters of truth in our own lives.  The societal results of such beliefs are anarchy, selfishness, and irresponsibility.  The end of such a story is always tragic, even though none of the players really meant for anyone to get hurt.

And that is all I have today.  It is amazing what can flow out of one little song.  So keep singing, and serve God faithfully, and think about what you do.  Amen.