Tag Archives: missio dei

Wolves, Rivers, and changing God’s World

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Pentecost 19A (Matthew 22:15-22)  10/19/2014

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” (Matt 22:17), said the disciples of the Pharisees, along with the Herodians, to Jesus as they stood in the temple. An interesting question posed by an interesting group of people; a strange group of “friends” you might say. The Pharisees were more concerned with religious “correctness” and righteousness, while the Herodians, supporters of the royal family of Herod, would have been more concerned with political power. But these strange friends found common ground in their challenge to Jesus…a question that by its very nature had a lose-lose response: if you suggest paying tax to the emperor, you are a friend of Caesar and the Roman empire which was set against the Jewish people; and if you suggest withholding your tax payment, well you are a religious zealot and a dangerous insurrectionist. These Jewish authorities had been listening to Jesus teach the crowd about the kingdom of God and they seem to have had enough of his rhetoric…they were determined to entrap him with a unanswerable question. The problem for the Jewish authorities, however, was that the question is only a trap if you think in black and white, right and wrong: the Roman empire or the kingdom of God, devotion to my worldly life and its success or devotion to God and all that God invites us to be. In this black and white world, the question posed to Jesus was fraught with challenges beyond belief! Jesus’ response to their tricky question might appear black and white in our hearing: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matt 22:21b) But Jesus does not live in this black and white, earthly or divine world; Jesus lives in the fullness and abundance of God’s creation, and his response amazed the authorities and sent them away as they considered all that was given to them from God; and how their lives would change if they listened to Jesus. Continue reading →

No worries, just be a Witness!

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Seventh Sunday of Easter (Sunday after the Ascension) (Acts 1:6-14)  6/01/2014

“As they were watching, Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?'” (Acts 1:9-11) These three short verses of Scripture from the Book of Acts are among my favorite verses in the Bible, for many reasons. Just prior to this description of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, we are told of the many post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and the final lessons he hoped to give to his followers, teaching them how to spread the Good News of Christ. But now the time has come for Jesus to leave them, and leave them he does…and they are left standing by themselves, filled with awe and more than just a little worry in their hearts. Suddenly, two heavenly beings burst into this dramatic moment with a question: “Why are you standing there looking up to heaven?” I really love this question because it is so simple, yet so challenging at the same time. I feel some kinship with the disciples as they gaze to the heavens with their mouths hanging open, the universal sign of “my goodness, what’s next?” The Ascension of Christ marks the 40th day of Eastertide, and in those forty days Jesus continually prepared his disciples for the next chapter of their ministry in the world. And we have heard throughout these past weeks that the disciples often did not really understand Jesus’ lessons to them; again, I feel some kinship with these earliest followers of Christ! And now, Jesus has departed from their midst; their great rabbi, their teacher, has ascended and left them to carry on…a bit overwhelming! What should we think of this story; what can we say about our first class of Christians? Should we understand the Ascension as a graduation story or something else entirely? Continue reading →

Love and sacrifice: the Holiness of God

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Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany (Lev 19:1-2. 9-18)  2/23/2014

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One of my favorite books of the Bible is the Book of Ruth, a short book of only four chapters that centers on the life and relationship of two courageous women, Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth. The story begins as a tale of loss and challenge: After the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi was determined to return to her homeland of Bethlehem and seek a better life. Ruth was equally determined to faithfully remain at Naomi’s side, and although Naomi encouraged Ruth to remain in Moab with her people, Ruth joined the journey and left her homeland of Moab behind. These two poor widowed women reach Bethlehem and begin their search for food and shelter, hoping to find favor with relatives of Naomi’s late-husband. In desperate need of food, Ruth approached the servant in charge of the fields and asked to harvest the grain, following behind the reapers in the field. The servant granted Ruth permission to harvest the grain that was left, and she worked from early morning until late in the day. The owner of the field soon arrived and heard the challenging story of Naomi and Ruth, and he said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not leave this field and do not harvest in any other field, for I have ordered no one to bother you.” Ruth was astonished and said to the man, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take care of me, when I am a foreigner from Moab?” The owner replied, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me…May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!” (Ruth 2:8, 10-12) For Naomi and Ruth, their story of loss, challenge and sorrow was transformed; their story became a new journey full of hope, promise, and joy! Continue reading →

Flashes of Heavenly Light

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Pentecost 19 (Luke 16:19-31)  09/29/2013

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Abraham said to the rich man, “Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26) There are many, many images of heaven in the Bible; some images are glorious, open and expansive, while other images are rather foreboding and exclusive. This morning’s story of Lazarus’ place in heaven and the rich man’s tormented existence in Hades is of the foreboding and exclusive variety. We have a difficult time trying to state with great certainty what any place is truly like when that place remains so elusive, just beyond our earthly grasp. If we desire to know the secrets of the heavenly dwelling place of God, the many and seemingly contrasting images from the Bible do not help us create the one true image we seek. These images may be fruitful inspiration for the artists and authors throughout the centuries who have brought their talents to the fertile ground of capturing the secrets of heaven in their many forms of art and literature. But what about the rest of us? What about our practical daily existence as we live our days with the doors of heaven just beyond our sight? Roger Ferlo, an Episcopal Priest and author, recently edited a collection of thoughtful essays on this very subject in a book appropriately titled, Heaven. In the introduction of his book, Ferlo suggests an earthly method of searching for the mysteries of heaven: “Only by considering closely the things of this world can we have any clue about the things of the next. This is an ancient insight, what the medieval theologians called the analogy of being. It is the conviction that in the [very being] of God’s creation we discern, if only by analogy or metaphor or indirection, a glimpse of the divine beauty and the divine splendor, what the poet T.S. Eliot called ‘a wink of heaven.'”[i] Ferlo’s suggestion is that in the very world in which we live, there are flashes of heavenly light, undeniable moments of God’s grace breaking in to our world. These moments are there for our inspiration and understanding, unless we choose to look the other way. And this brings us back to the rich man and Lazarus. Continue reading →

“Gifts of the Spirit, participating in God’s Love”

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Epiphany 2C (1 Cor 12:1-11)  01/20/2013

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Just a few weeks after my graduation from college, several friends of mine and I moved to Orlando, FL in order to attend a six month Navy training course. I had known one of my roommates throughout my college days and he had become a great friend. A person of integrity and intelligence, he was a steady and thoughtful presence during those demanding days of school. We shared many long days, lots of laughs, and some challenging times, but we were confident of our future and we had great plans. My friend was going to serve his commitment to the Navy and then leave the service behind to pursue other interests. I was sure of my future in the Navy and I fully intended to make a career of it, 20 years or more. We had different visions of our future, but we were both quite confident we knew the things that mattered most in our lives and we were determined to achieve our goals. Continue reading →

“One small step in a journey with Christ”

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Fifth Sunday of Lent (John 12:20-33)  03/25/2012

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Last weekend we were blessed to have The Rev. Minka Sprague lead us in a wonderful Lenten Quiet Day. During the course of our time together Minka provided us with several insightful images of the grace of God, as shown in the lives of King David, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostle Paul, and St. Francis of Assisi. We were treated to a thoughtful day of reflection and prayer on the grace and love of God made manifest through these four people. Throughout this past week I have been particularly mindful of the reflections of Francis of Assisi, the one person of the group not mentioned in Holy Scripture. And although the life of Francis may appear quite extraordinary, there is quite a bit of his story that we might easily connect with our own story. Continue reading →

“Now is the time – Christian witness to the ends of the Earth”

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7th Sunday of Easter (Acts 1:6-14)  6/5/2011

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Many years ago, my first extended time at sea during my service aboard a submarine was spent in the North Atlantic Sea. The journey to the North Atlantic took several days and once the submarine had arrived at its operation area there were not many circumstances that were important enough to cause the submarine to leave its assigned area. But there was one occasion when a Chief Petty Officer’s son was so ill the Navy called the submarine out of its area in order to send the Chief home to be with his son and his family. We left the northern operation area and proceeded to the coast of Norway to meet the Norwegian Coast Guard, who would take the Chief back to shore so he could fly home. When we arrived in the Norwegian Sea, we were met with a blinding snowstorm and large waves – the transfer did not look promising. However, after a few moments of waiting at the rendezvous point we saw the lights of the Coast Guard ship in the distance. We were all amazed to see that shortly after the ship arrived we spotted a small zodiac boat heading toward the submarine. The Chief and the topside crew made their way to the surface of the submarine. The small zodiac boat was soon alongside the submarine, waiting to receive the Chief. As the snow continued to come down sideways and the waves continued to pitch the small boat up and down as it rested against the submarine, the Chief leaned forward, peering into the small boat that waited for him just a few feet away, but he just could not bring himself to jump into the boat. The Chief was frozen; frozen from the cold snow and frozen with fear and anticipation. Is this the time? His son was sick, his family needed him at home; the zodiac boat continued to rock back and forth and the Chief stood wondering – is this the time? Continue reading →

“There are no boundaries to the one we call neighbor – love with great mercy”

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Proper 10C (Lk 10:25-37)  07-11-2010

“Who is my neighbor?” An important question for us to consider and, as we hear this morning, the answer has consequences for our actions. Last weekend, Carol and I spent the first part of the long July 4th weekend in our yard, pulling up weeds and putting down mulch. A lot of hard work, especially in the heat, but our yard looks much better and hopefully our neighbors are happy with the improvements. Who is my neighbor – in this case, the people who live in the area near our house. After working in the yard, we spent the remainder of our weekend at the beach and enjoyed the cooler temperatures and the annual festivities of the July 4th weekend. During our visit to the beach we met many of the same people who are there year after year, but we also saw many new people – visitors we had never met before. For the duration of the weekend, we enjoyed some rest and had the opportunity to share fun and fellowship with others – and all of these people were our beach neighbors. But as the weekend came to an end and many of the visitors began to go home, the focus of attention along the beach turned to a rather large tree. Continue reading →

“Through Christ, we find redemption”

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Pentecost 2C (1 Kings 17:8-24; Lk 7:11-17)  06/06/2010

This morning, we appear to have a single story to consider as we listen to our Scripture lessons. And the story is this: a poor widow is met at the gate of the city by a man who is busy fulfilling the mission of God. The widow, living with very little to her name (other than her only son), eventually loses her child…her last great treasure. Through the divine will of God, the dead son is brought back to life. And the man who has acted on God’s behalf to bring about this miraculous event is proclaimed to be a great prophet and God’s favor is believed to be with the people. Surely, this story is an amazing story to tell and retell throughout the generations. A story that exemplifies the power and authority of God, but when we hear this story from Luke’s Gospel account, the meaning of the story expands beyond the power and authority of God and speaks of Christ’s particular mission of redemption…and as a people redeemed through the saving grace of Jesus, the redemptive power of this Gospel lesson holds special meaning and is a lesson for how we might live our lives with each other. Continue reading →