Rector's Rambling: July 2009
I’ve been reading John and Paul over the last few weeks, and have noticed an entirely predictable pattern. Both of them consider belief and behavior to be very important. What we believe, especially what we believe about Jesus, defines whether or not we are Christians. How we behave is the proof of what we believe.
The Christian believes that Jesus is the only begotten Son of the living God, who lived among us, died for our sins, and was resurrected on Easter to prove forever that God’s power and love are greater than sin and death. Since his glorious ascension into heaven, he is seated in heavenly session, interceding for us and awaiting that day when he shall return to meet us as his own and to vindicate the claims of God forever and ever. There may be some wiggle room about how we interpret and apply these doctrines of the Christ, but they are mandatory components of the faith of the people called Christians. To believe otherwise and yet call oneself “Christian” is somewhat akin to calling a dog a horse, or a chicken a boy. They may have the same number of legs, and may resemble each other in several important ways, but they remain nevertheless separate species. Definitions do matter, and we as individuals are only kidding ourselves if we reject commonly agreed upon definitions in favor of our own wants and desires. To do so is to install ourselves as the arbiters of truth, and such an installation is fraught with dangerous results, including arrogance and exaltation of ourselves to the place of God.
Behavior, the second teaching of the Apostles, has an equally important role in the life of the Christian. Both John and Paul preach that if God has truly transformed our lives, if he has truly brought us from death to life, it should show in the way we interact with each other. While none of us are perfect in this world, we should be drawing closer to the ethical example of Jesus every day. Right belief which is true must inevitably lead to right behavior in ever increasing amounts. Our attitudes should be characterized by love for each other, by humility, by a sincere appreciation of our strengths and our weaknesses, by a willingness to prefer others before ourselves, by a desire to serve God by serving others, and by genuine joy. Such attitudes mean that I will respect the property and opinions of others, even when I believe they are wrong. They necessarily instill in me a strong work ethic and a desire to provide for my own needs and contribute to the relief of suffering in the lives of others. They certainly lead me to exercise restraint and self-control over all of my passions, whether they impact my finances, my relationships, my sexuality, or any other appetite that I may have.
To believe aright and to live in accordance with God’s will are twin indicators of how deep our Christianity really goes. During these dog days of summer, I hope we all might find some time to honestly evaluate how we are doing with our faith, that we might offer ourselves more perfectly to the Father, and become more like Jesus, in the power of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
Bill+
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Morning Resolve
Rawley is at my feet, and just outside my window, chickens and horses range on a luxuriant green pasture filled with white dutch clover. The sky is slate grey and the birds sing. The scene is idyllic, and a heady tonic with which to start the day. Tristan called early this morning to confirm his flight number for some Marine paperwork having to do with his upcoming leave. I’ve made coffee, visited with my dad, pulled weeds in the garden, and taken care of chores around the barn and house, and cleaned up my e-mail. Shortly, I will begin my daily rounds. Most of today will be taken up with visitation, but I will find time to take dad to the pharmacy, and to work on a pre-baptismal curriculum for adults. Along the way, I also need to spend some time in the Psalms and with a couple of Paul’s Lesser Epistles. I’ve just finished a week in the Pastorals to significant profit. How sad it is to realize how I fall short, but how refreshing to experience God's forgiveness and strength for the next round. When Saint Paul used his boxing and track & field images, perhaps this is a bit of what he had in mind.
A report in the Washington Times today alleges that the last administration instructed the Federal Reserve to threaten and bully Bank of America into buying Merrill Lynch, or some other troubled financial concern. A sidebar directed my attention to an earlier story about how the current administration allegedly applied undue pressure in the General Motors bailout and bankruptcy proceedings. If the allegations are true, it occurs to me that we live in a world characterized by coercion. Most of us are very willing to make other people do what we want most of the time. What a sad sate of affairs when men and women employ force to get their way from their fellows. It always leads to hard feelings and violence of one sort or another.
A few days ago, I received a well intentioned, good natured invitation for St. John’s to become involved in the distribution of government faith based programs. I respectfully declined, not because the programs would not help people (they probably will) but because where money flows, regulation and ultimately control follow. I firmly believe that the Church must maintain her independence if she is to function prophetically in society. So often we might temper our words or our actions to protect our capital investments, our clergy remuneration plans, and our structures. I’m not sure it is wise to complicate the matter further and buffer our witness to the Gospel of Christ by tying our programs and budgets to public monies.
It is 7:30, and time to move on to the next item on my list. Today, I will do my best to appreciate the blessings of God all around me, and to do no act or utter any word which might serve to coerce or control any person whom God has made. I shall attempt to model the love of God to all I meet by remembering my own shortcomings, studying to be quiet, and working with my own hands to accomplish the mission God has given me.
Bill+
A report in the Washington Times today alleges that the last administration instructed the Federal Reserve to threaten and bully Bank of America into buying Merrill Lynch, or some other troubled financial concern. A sidebar directed my attention to an earlier story about how the current administration allegedly applied undue pressure in the General Motors bailout and bankruptcy proceedings. If the allegations are true, it occurs to me that we live in a world characterized by coercion. Most of us are very willing to make other people do what we want most of the time. What a sad sate of affairs when men and women employ force to get their way from their fellows. It always leads to hard feelings and violence of one sort or another.
A few days ago, I received a well intentioned, good natured invitation for St. John’s to become involved in the distribution of government faith based programs. I respectfully declined, not because the programs would not help people (they probably will) but because where money flows, regulation and ultimately control follow. I firmly believe that the Church must maintain her independence if she is to function prophetically in society. So often we might temper our words or our actions to protect our capital investments, our clergy remuneration plans, and our structures. I’m not sure it is wise to complicate the matter further and buffer our witness to the Gospel of Christ by tying our programs and budgets to public monies.
It is 7:30, and time to move on to the next item on my list. Today, I will do my best to appreciate the blessings of God all around me, and to do no act or utter any word which might serve to coerce or control any person whom God has made. I shall attempt to model the love of God to all I meet by remembering my own shortcomings, studying to be quiet, and working with my own hands to accomplish the mission God has given me.
Bill+
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
This Sunday's Sermon: Pentecost II, AD MMIX
With Thanks to Christy for her encouragement to post this lesson, here it is!
Pentecost II Proper 6 14 June 2009
I Samuel 15:34-16:13
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. AMEN.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PLANS GO ARWY?
Samuel the prophet had a problem. When he was a young man, the people of Israel had come to him and asked him to anoint a king over Israel, one like the other nations had. He had warned them that a king would draft their children and raise their taxes. When God told him to give the people what they wanted, his heart was broken because of the people’s rebellious attitudes towards the Lord.
In keeping with the faith and practice of the Hebrews, a king was chosen by drawing lots. Saul was strong, tall, handsome and athletic; and seemed to be a humble and devout man. But as time went on, this king whom Samuel had anointed grew prideful and dictatorial. He finally shook his fist at God by arrogating to himself the office of the Priesthood. The king begged for forgiveness, but he had gone too far. God rejected him as unfit for kingship “and Samuel never saw Saul again to his dying day, but he grieved for him, because the Lord had repented of having made him King over Israel.”
Have you ever had such a loss? I daresay most of us have. After so much hard work and happy dreaming, our plans are dashed on the rocks of unforseen occurrences. Today’s Old Testament lesson is an historic account of how the Lord called Samuel to proceed with the business of the Kingdom after the devastating rejection of King Saul. I believe that in it, God gives us a model for dealing with the disappointments in our own lives.
God said to the Prophet Samuel, “I am sending you” to:
1. overcome your inaction, to get up and move!
2. overcome your fear, to develop a plan!
3. overcome your prejudice, see it God’s way!
4. overcome your impatience, and persevere!
It is foundational that Samuel starts with a faith that God is acting in his life; that God is ultimately calling the shots. Whether we recognize it or not, that is as true in all of our lives as it was in Samuel’s. God is even working through the bad things in our lives to accomplish his purpose for mankind and to prepare us for heaven.
And so we start with faith, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. With that faith we approach the numbing and debilitating inactivity that so often accompanies grief and disappointment. The Lord tells Samuel “fill your horn of oil and take it with you, because I am sending you out to do my work!” All of the work we do is God’s work; from the honest godly toil of the laborer to the ministrations of the priest at the altar, from the classroom to household chores, it is all God’s work, and you and I are called to get up and do it to God’s glory.
Samuel points out that there is significant risk involved. “If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” God then dictates the outline of a plan, which if properly executed, will minimize the risk and ensure the success of the mission. A good plan takes every contingency into consideration. It exercises our minds and calls for bold and flexible execution, and like the action called for in step one, it helps to keep our minds off of a past we would prefer to forget.
Saul had been a mighty king and a giant of a man. Samuel could hardly be expected to anticipate any other type of candidate for the office. But God called him beyond his expectations and his prejudices and his experiences. “Pay no attention to his outward appearance and stature…the Lord does not see as a mortal sees; mortals see only appearances, but the Lord sees into the heart.” Are you willing to see beyond the ghosts of the past in order to find deliverance and knowledge of the blessings of God? Along with faithful action and a good plan that addresses our fears, it is the third step of God’s way to see beyond our own expectations.
Finally, after Jesse had brought all of his boys for the prophet to see, Samuel asked, ”are these all the sons you have?” Had the prophet taken a shortcut in his impatience, David would not have been anointed King of Israel that day. Sometimes we are tempted to take a shorter path, but in God’s economy, we are called to perseverance as we wait for the blessing.
In the life of Samuel the Prophet, God gives us a way to approach the very real disappointments in our own lives:
1. He calls us to have faith that he has a plan for each of us, and he expects us to put some muscle into the accomplishment of that plan.
2. He calls us to think through the implications of our actions or lack thereof, and to develop a good plan for pushing through our fears.
3. He calls us to broaden our vision to see the possibilities of his grace, and never to be held back by the terrifying, or the comforting ghosts and memories of the past.
4. He calls us to persevere in the face of every difficulty, in the sure knowledge that whoever endures to the end shall be saved.
So may it be among all the people of God. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
Pentecost II Proper 6 14 June 2009
I Samuel 15:34-16:13
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. AMEN.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PLANS GO ARWY?
Samuel the prophet had a problem. When he was a young man, the people of Israel had come to him and asked him to anoint a king over Israel, one like the other nations had. He had warned them that a king would draft their children and raise their taxes. When God told him to give the people what they wanted, his heart was broken because of the people’s rebellious attitudes towards the Lord.
In keeping with the faith and practice of the Hebrews, a king was chosen by drawing lots. Saul was strong, tall, handsome and athletic; and seemed to be a humble and devout man. But as time went on, this king whom Samuel had anointed grew prideful and dictatorial. He finally shook his fist at God by arrogating to himself the office of the Priesthood. The king begged for forgiveness, but he had gone too far. God rejected him as unfit for kingship “and Samuel never saw Saul again to his dying day, but he grieved for him, because the Lord had repented of having made him King over Israel.”
Have you ever had such a loss? I daresay most of us have. After so much hard work and happy dreaming, our plans are dashed on the rocks of unforseen occurrences. Today’s Old Testament lesson is an historic account of how the Lord called Samuel to proceed with the business of the Kingdom after the devastating rejection of King Saul. I believe that in it, God gives us a model for dealing with the disappointments in our own lives.
God said to the Prophet Samuel, “I am sending you” to:
1. overcome your inaction, to get up and move!
2. overcome your fear, to develop a plan!
3. overcome your prejudice, see it God’s way!
4. overcome your impatience, and persevere!
It is foundational that Samuel starts with a faith that God is acting in his life; that God is ultimately calling the shots. Whether we recognize it or not, that is as true in all of our lives as it was in Samuel’s. God is even working through the bad things in our lives to accomplish his purpose for mankind and to prepare us for heaven.
And so we start with faith, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. With that faith we approach the numbing and debilitating inactivity that so often accompanies grief and disappointment. The Lord tells Samuel “fill your horn of oil and take it with you, because I am sending you out to do my work!” All of the work we do is God’s work; from the honest godly toil of the laborer to the ministrations of the priest at the altar, from the classroom to household chores, it is all God’s work, and you and I are called to get up and do it to God’s glory.
Samuel points out that there is significant risk involved. “If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” God then dictates the outline of a plan, which if properly executed, will minimize the risk and ensure the success of the mission. A good plan takes every contingency into consideration. It exercises our minds and calls for bold and flexible execution, and like the action called for in step one, it helps to keep our minds off of a past we would prefer to forget.
Saul had been a mighty king and a giant of a man. Samuel could hardly be expected to anticipate any other type of candidate for the office. But God called him beyond his expectations and his prejudices and his experiences. “Pay no attention to his outward appearance and stature…the Lord does not see as a mortal sees; mortals see only appearances, but the Lord sees into the heart.” Are you willing to see beyond the ghosts of the past in order to find deliverance and knowledge of the blessings of God? Along with faithful action and a good plan that addresses our fears, it is the third step of God’s way to see beyond our own expectations.
Finally, after Jesse had brought all of his boys for the prophet to see, Samuel asked, ”are these all the sons you have?” Had the prophet taken a shortcut in his impatience, David would not have been anointed King of Israel that day. Sometimes we are tempted to take a shorter path, but in God’s economy, we are called to perseverance as we wait for the blessing.
In the life of Samuel the Prophet, God gives us a way to approach the very real disappointments in our own lives:
1. He calls us to have faith that he has a plan for each of us, and he expects us to put some muscle into the accomplishment of that plan.
2. He calls us to think through the implications of our actions or lack thereof, and to develop a good plan for pushing through our fears.
3. He calls us to broaden our vision to see the possibilities of his grace, and never to be held back by the terrifying, or the comforting ghosts and memories of the past.
4. He calls us to persevere in the face of every difficulty, in the sure knowledge that whoever endures to the end shall be saved.
So may it be among all the people of God. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Praised Be Our God!
Our prayers were answered when Tristan marched into the Regimental Area at Camp Lejeune this last Monday. Many thanks to all of you who prayed for him and his fellows. And Rebecca and I send out our deepest condolences to the families of the seven Marines from Lima Company who lost their lives on this deployment. May their souls, and the souls of all the blessed departed rest in peace.
We were gone for a few days over a week, and in that short time so much changed at Briarwood. Chuck, our good neighbor, got the back pasture fenced, which should save me a lot of money on chows over the years to come and make the eggs my girls produce even more packed with healthy things. The weeds have almost taken over the garden, in spite of my best efforts. A long and hot day's work tomorrow should take care of that little inconvenience. The peas and turnips and chard are ready for harvesting, and the lettuce and spinach bolted in my absence. It is wonderful to live in a place where so many things are alive.
Last Tuesday, Tristan and I were able to go to lodge together in Jacksonville. Here in Ohio, we are "moderns" in Masonic parlance. In North Carolina, the brothers are "antients." So many things were so very different, but all of the essentials were the same. The mystic tie is truly never broken, and it was good to sit with my son as the men of Lafayette lodge took care of the business at hand.
Over the last few weeks, I've been thinking about what my professors used to call "the art and craft of sermon construction." With my advancing years, I've noticed that my organizational skills are not what they once were when it comes to public address. My visits in other faith traditions have led me to the conclusion that I am very glad we have a prayer book, even if it is not the one I would have chosen. And so it occurs to me that perhaps the meanderings of an old man might be better managed by a manuscript, or at least by extensive notes on Sunday Morning. I've just finished my first sermon, or rather homily, since taking this line of meditation to heart. It is a reflection on Samuel's grief and recovery over the rejection of Saul in the 15th and 16th chapters of I Samuel. I believe God was in the preparation, but it remains to see how the good folks of St. John's will respond. I suppose Sunday will tell.
With that said, I'll close for now. I hope to be a bit more regular with postings in the days to come. And I pray to God that this small discipline of mine will be of godly assistance to some fellow traveler on the way to heaven.
Bill+
We were gone for a few days over a week, and in that short time so much changed at Briarwood. Chuck, our good neighbor, got the back pasture fenced, which should save me a lot of money on chows over the years to come and make the eggs my girls produce even more packed with healthy things. The weeds have almost taken over the garden, in spite of my best efforts. A long and hot day's work tomorrow should take care of that little inconvenience. The peas and turnips and chard are ready for harvesting, and the lettuce and spinach bolted in my absence. It is wonderful to live in a place where so many things are alive.
Last Tuesday, Tristan and I were able to go to lodge together in Jacksonville. Here in Ohio, we are "moderns" in Masonic parlance. In North Carolina, the brothers are "antients." So many things were so very different, but all of the essentials were the same. The mystic tie is truly never broken, and it was good to sit with my son as the men of Lafayette lodge took care of the business at hand.
Over the last few weeks, I've been thinking about what my professors used to call "the art and craft of sermon construction." With my advancing years, I've noticed that my organizational skills are not what they once were when it comes to public address. My visits in other faith traditions have led me to the conclusion that I am very glad we have a prayer book, even if it is not the one I would have chosen. And so it occurs to me that perhaps the meanderings of an old man might be better managed by a manuscript, or at least by extensive notes on Sunday Morning. I've just finished my first sermon, or rather homily, since taking this line of meditation to heart. It is a reflection on Samuel's grief and recovery over the rejection of Saul in the 15th and 16th chapters of I Samuel. I believe God was in the preparation, but it remains to see how the good folks of St. John's will respond. I suppose Sunday will tell.
With that said, I'll close for now. I hope to be a bit more regular with postings in the days to come. And I pray to God that this small discipline of mine will be of godly assistance to some fellow traveler on the way to heaven.
Bill+
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)