whole in our brokenness booklet final 2015

 80 A word about this book… Let me begin by expressing my deep gratitude to all those who have contributed reflections to this book and for the courage of those engaging something like this for the first time. The reflections come from folk in at least three countries, three provinces, lay, ordained and from a wide variety of expressions of the Christian faith. I am thankful for the richness and diversity of the voices and images that have been captured for a moment in these pages and I know that they will add richness to our Lenten journey. I would also like to thank Toad Hollow Photography (www.toadhollowphotography.com) for the use of their beautiful photographs (including the front and back cover photos) and Jessica Ziakin Cook for the use of her amazing art and to Rob for his infinite patience, support and graphic design work! In the pages that follow, you will find an order for morning and evening prayer (and an optional Penitential rite). At the back of the book you will find a resource section to supplement the liturgy (Pg. 74). These liturgies will be used in the Emmaus Community through Lent and we welcome you to join us in them or to simply move on to the daily readings. The Emmaus community meets for prayer Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:45am, Tuesday at 7:30pm and Monday and Friday night at 8:30pm at 1702 Belmont Ave. Victoria, BC The selected scriptures follow the daily Eucharistic readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for each day and I have underlined the scripture that is being reflected on each day. I have also included the Saints that the church remembers during this season. In addition to the daily reflection, you will notice that from time to time there will be blank pages for you to add your own thoughts and reflections as you mark this pilgrimage through Lent, Holy Week and into the Light of the Resurrection. Liturgical References Confession ‘God of healing, God of Wholeness’ © John Birch. http://www.faithandworship.com/Prayers_comfort_healing.htm#ixzz3S8sTv0bZ Absolution: [alt] Resources for THE WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY and throughout the year http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/week‐of‐prayer Confession & Absolution Book of Alternative Services of the Anglican Church of Canada (1985) 46. Optional Collect Morning Prayer: Praise God in Song. G.I.A Publications, Inc., Chicago, Illinois (found in The Book of Alternative Services page 64) Optional Collect Evening Prayer: Morning and Evening Prayer for Lent 2015: Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 76 alt. The Apostles Creed: The Book of Alternative Services (1985) page 52, alt. A New Creed: The United Church of Canada, General Council (1968) ‐Voices United page 918 Declaration of Faith – Common Prayer: A liturgy For Ordinary Radicals (2010) page 31 Declaration of Faith ‐ Challenge to the church: A Theological Comment on the Political Crisis in South Africa | The Kairos Document, 1985 Morning Closing Prayer ‐ A prayer for the journey – Janet Cawley (1996) Voices United 648. Evening Closing Prayer: Celtic Daily Prayer from Ebba Compline, Northumbria Community. Trisagion Music– Fernando Ortega 2004 Cerdo Verde Music (Admin. by Curb Music Publishing) Curb Songs (Admin. by Curb Music Publishing) CCLI O Gracious Light (Phos Hilaron) Book of Alternative Service (1985) Page 61 Joyous Light 2004 sixsteps Music Chris Tomlin, David Crowder,John Henry Gower, Louie Giglio (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) CCLI Holy Is His Name John Michael Talbot 1980 Birdwing Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) (Admin. by BMG Music Publishing) ‐ BMG Songs, Inc. (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) (Admin. by BMG Music Publishing) . CCLI Taize Songs (O Lord Hear My Prayer, In The Lord, Our Darkness, and Stay With Me)‐ Jacques Berthier ‐Ateliers et Presses de Taize (Taize Community, France) OneLicense. May God richly bless the steps of your Lenten journey. In Christ ‐ Meagan Crosby Shearer The Emmaus Community / www.emmauscommunity.ca 2 79 The Magnificat (Sung) – Holy Is His Name Whole In Our Brokenness From the outside, Iglesia El Rosario in the city of San Salvador is not much to look at. The grey cement walls that rise into the sky are broken with holes and the doors still carry the scars of the civil war. As you step inside, your breath is captured for a moment in wordless awe. Those broken pieces are filled with stained glass that fill the dome with light and colour; a sacred kaleidoscope filtering through the dark. As you move toward the back of the church, you come to a small chapel and there in the wall is a tabernacle (it is a small box that holds the 78 3 bread for communion which is understood in some traditions to be the physical body of Jesus.) What is startling about this tabernacle is that it is shattered. At the start of the civil war, many people gathered in Plaza Libertad across from the church to demand change. They were violently dispersed and many sought shelter in the church. The bullets followed them in, scarring the doors and floor and one piercing the very center of the tabernacle. Instead of replacing it, they have glued the shattered pieces back together and the tabernacle, like the church, stands as a witness to the solidarity of Christ with his people. It testifies to the fact that no matter how deep the darkness or how fragmented the pieces of our lives, in Christ through the Spirit, we can find the strength to stitch these broken pieces together again. As we enter this Holy season of Lent, I invite us to see those broken pieces of our life and the life of the word with new eyes; expecting to see and find the face of Christ within each moment. May this wilderness wandering allow us to move away from the things that distract us from being the hands and feet of Christ in the world and give us fresh eyes to see the light in our own and each other’s brokenness. May this Lent move us ever deeper into communion with God and with each other. Amen. 4 Joyous Light (Phos Hilaron, Revisited) Hail Gladdening Light, sun so bright Jesus Christ, end of night, sing your praises Hail Gladdening Light, Eternal Bright At evening time, 'round us shine, sing your praises Hail Gladdening Light, such joyous Light O Brilliant Star, forever shine, sing your praises We hymn the Father, we hymn the Son We hymn the Spirit, wholly Divine No one more worthy of songs to be sung To the Giver of Life, all glory is Thine David Crowder, Louie Giglio, John Henry Gower, Chris Tomlin, alt. (for Lent) audio version http://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/joyous‐light/ guitar chords: http://www.higherpraise.com/lyrics/awesome/awesome3419.html The Magnificat My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; God has looked with favour on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed; the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is God’s name. God has mercy on those who fear him, from generation to generation. God has shown strength with his arm and has scattered the proud in their conceit, Casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up the lowly God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. God has come to the aid of his servant Israel, to remember his promise of mercy, The promise made to our ancestors, to Abraham and Sarah and their children for ever. 77 Declaration of Faith We believe that God is at work in our world turning hopeless and evil situations into good. We believe that goodness and justice will triumph in the end and that tyranny and oppression cannot last forever. One day all tears will be wiped away; the lamb will lie down with the lion, and justice will roll down like a mighty stream. True peace and true reconciliation are not only desired, they are assured and guaranteed in Christ. This is our faith. This is our hope. ‐ 20th century South African creed. We believe and trust in God the Father Almighty We believe and trust in Jesus the Son We believe and trust in the Holy Spirit We believe and trust in the Three in One ‐ Common prayer: A liturgy for Ordinary Radicals Phos Hilaron O gracious Light, pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven. O Jesus, Christ, holy and blessed! Now as we come to the setting of the sun, and our eyes behold the vesper light, we sing thy praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thou art worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices, O Son of God, O Giver of life, and to be glorified through all the worlds. 76 Penitential Rite (for use with Morning and/or Evening prayer) A bell may be rung + Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Trisagion Holy God Holy and Mighty Holy Immortal one have mercy have mercy on us. (Musical setting on page 74) Confession God of healing, God of wholeness, we bring our brokenness, our sinfulness, our fears and despair, and lay them at your feet. God of healing, God of wholeness, we hold out hearts and hands, minds and souls to feel your touch, and know the peace that only you can bring. God of healing, God of wholeness, this precious moment, in your presence and power, grant us faith and confidence that here broken lives are made whole. – John Birch Silence is kept Absolution O God, fountain of mercy and grace, pour over us your pardon. Forgive us our sins, transform us with your love and lead us in the paths of peace. Amen. or 5 Confession Almighty God we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may delight in your will, and walk in your way to the glory of your name. Amen. Absolution Almighty God, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Affirmations of Faith: Toad Hollow Photography 6 The Apostles Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. A New Creed We are not alone, we live in God's world. We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit. We trust in God. We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God's presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. (United Church of Canada) 75 Morning Prayer
Resource Section Responsory (may also be used as a Psalm Tone) A bell may be rung + Lord Open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen. (optional sung tone page 74) Or Glory to God, Source of all being, eternal Word and Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now and will be for ever. Amen. The Trisagion Opening Prayer Oh God, who brought us from the rest of last night, guide us into the new light of this day. Lead us on the journey of justice; Guide us on the pathways of peace; Renew us by the wellsprings of grace; This day and always, Amen. Song: In the Lord I’ll be Ever Thankful (Ateliers et Presses de Taize) The Readings Reflection and Silence 74 7 Affirmation of Faith (various options, page 75‐76) Your own Resurrection Reflections: Prayers of Lament and Rejoicing Optional Collect Artist of souls, you sculpted a people for yourself out of the rocks of wilderness and fasting. Help us as we take up your invitation to prayer and simplicity, so that the discipline of these forty days may sharpen our hunger for the feast of your holy friendship and whet our thirst for the living water you offer through Jesus Christ. Amen. The Lord’s Prayer Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen. Sending (please stand if you are able) God of the Way, you are the road we travel, and the sign we follow; you are the bread for the journey, and the wine of arrival. Guide us as we follow in your Way, holding on to each other, reaching out to your beloved world. And when we stray, seek us out and find us, set our feet on the path again, and lead us safely home. In the name of Jesus, our Companion, we pray. Amen. ‐ Prayer for the Journey VU # 648 by Janet Cawley As we go in the peace of Christ let us share with each other the sign of peace. A bell may be rung + 8 73 The reading speaks to us of Jesus’ appearance. He appeared to the disciples; they are witnesses of the resurrection, witnesses that the God of life is stronger than death. The belief that Jesus conquered death encourages us when we have to risk going down unknown paths, seeking justice, love... Jesus helped his disciples to revive their faith and hope. This faith makes it possible to overcome the fear and terror that death sows, and to work for the Kingdom of God, for justice, for truth, life, in the midst of the Anti‐
Kingdom. To be resurrected it is necessary to have died, and to have had a life of service, with a clear vision: that being the Kingdom of God. Today, therefore, we must not look for the resurrected in the tomb. He is alive; he appears in the disciples of yesterday and today; he is in them and in us every time we undertake to build the Kingdom of God—to speak for social justice, truth, solidarity... So our faith teaches us that God is greater than all human dispositions; our God is a God of life. In him we believe. ‐ Anita, El Pueblo de Dios en Camino leader, San Ramón community, San Salvador (Christian Base Community in San Salvador) Evening Prayer (Service of Light)
A bell may be rung +
Jesus Christ is the light of the world
A light no darkness can extinguish
Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense
The lifting up of my hands as the evening Sacrifice O Gracious Light (Candles are lit) spoken and sung settings on page 76‐77 The Readings
Reflection and Silence
Our prayers of Lament and Thanksgiving
Song: Oh Lord hear my prayer (sung at the beginning and end of our prayers) Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!!! 72 9 Optional Collect: Holy One, in these forty days you lead us into the desert of repentance so that in this pilgrimage of prayer we might learn to be your people once more. In fasting and service you bring us back to your heart. You open our eyes to your presence in the world and you free our hands to lead others to the radiant splendor of your mercy. Be with us in these journey days we ask, in Jesus name, Amen. [1] The Lord’s Prayer Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen. Song: Our Darkness is Never Darkness 10 April 5 ‐ Easter Day Isaiah 25:6‐9 • Psalm 118:1‐2, 14‐24 • Acts 10:34‐43 •John 20:1‐18 or Mark 16:1‐8 (English translation follows) Los textos nos revelan que Jesús, aparece. Aparecio a los dicipulos/as, ellos son testigos de la resurrección, son testigos que el Dios de la vida es mas fuerte que la muerte. El creer que Jesus a vencido la muerte, nos anima cuando tenemos que arriesgarnos por caminos desconocidos, buscando la justicia, el amor... Jesús ayudaba a sus discipulos/as a resucitar su fe y esperanza. esta fe permite superar el miedo y el terror que siembra las de la muerte y permite trabajar por el Reino de Dios, por la justicia, por la verdad,, la vida en medio del antireino. Para que haya resurreccion tiene que haber habido muerte y para esto tuvo que haber habido vidamy una vida de entrega, con un ideak claro. El Reino de Dios. Por eso hoy, al resucitado n o hay que buscarlo en la tumba. El esta vivo, aparece en los discipulos/as de ayer y de hoy, el esta en ellas/os y en nosotros/as, cada ves que nos comprometemos, por construir el Reino de Dios, es decirr por la jsuticia social, la verdad, el amor solidario... Entonces, nuestra fe nos enseña, que Dios es mayor que todas kas disposiciones humanas, nuestro Dios es un Dios de la vida.En el creemos. 71 April 4 ‐ Holy Saturday The Magnificat (sung and spoken versions page 77‐78)
Job 14:1‐14 or Lamentations 3:1‐9,19‐24 • Psalm 31:1‐4,15‐16 • 1 Peter 4:1‐8 • Matthew 27:57‐66 A Blessing for Holy Saturday I have no cause to linger beside this place of death no reason to keep vigil where life has left and yet I cannot go, cannot bring myself to cleave myself from here can only pray that this waiting might yet be a blessing and this grieving yet a blessing and this stone yet a blessing and this silence yet a blessing still. © Jan L. Richardson The Sending
Sleep, O sleep in the calm of each calm. Sleep, O sleep in the guidance of all guidance. Sleep, O sleep in the love of all loves. Sleep, O beloved, in the Lord of life. Sleep, O beloved, in the God of life.
The peace of all peace be mine this night http://paintedprayerbook.com/2012/04/05/day‐40holy‐saturday‐therefore‐i‐will‐hope/ and www.janrichardson.com 70 +in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Song : Stay with Me A bell may be rung. + We depart in silence.
[1] Revised Common Lectionary Prayers (2002), 76 alt.
11 Your own reflections in the waiting: Reflections Toad Hollow Photography 12 69 implications of this prophetic work of God. The church is left with an enduring reminder that when faced with all of life's complexities and confusion, in the darkest of days ‐ such as what the disciples faced as they witnessed Jesus' last breath ‐ God always has a plan. Today, God's power over evil reverberates through every generation in which the gospel is proclaimed. During the darkest years of apartheid in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was famous for walking into hostile gatherings of white government and church officials, and inviting them to give up and join the 'winning side'. As you can imagine, Tutu was scoffed and ridiculed for such a preposterous claim, for as those in power were quick to point out, they had the guns, the army, and all the economic and political resources at their disposal! Nothing appeared to give Tutu any credibility. And yet, unbelievably, the bells of democracy would ring across South Africa, and history would vindicate him. Tutu would never admit to knowing anything more than this ‐ God had a plan. That was all the confidence he needed to claim the oppressed had already won. Which brings us back to Good Friday. Februaary 18, 2015 ‐ Ash Wednessday Joel 2:1‐2, 12‐17 • Psalm 103:8‐18 • 2 Corr 5:20b‐6:1‐6 • M
Mt 6:1‐6, 16‐21 dusty echoes of Hosanna return us
What Jesus did on Good Friday was truly beyond our comprehension. He fooled Satan. Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross as a ransom for us ‐ but that sacrifice turned out to be 'the trojan horse' into the stronghold of the Devil! You see, Satan's fatal mistake, like the evil witch of Narnia, was overestimating his own power and underestimating the mind of God. Death, Satan presumed, was the great enemy of God. But Christ proved him wrong! Jesus went into the center of hell, the death of life, and broke the very bonds that hold us captive to the tyranny of the Evil One. a baptismal dignity1 in this solemn sp
pring. Rend our hearts As we gather this Good Friday, the only fitting act is to kneel in awe, in wonder, in admiration, in sheer joy and surprise, in absolute gratitude, and sing 'our soul to savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art'. Before the cross, we acknowledge that nobody but Jesus fully understood God's plan ‐ and that's okay. We couldn't have known ‐ for then Satan would have figured it out as well. So let us simply be still, and ponder the sheer divine brilliance of the moment. For in the dying of Christ, grace was set free in each of us. Grace through the death of Christ. And, by the grace of God, life was set free. I could not think of a better climax to our story, which of course is the point. Thanks be to God! ‐ Lance Dixon 68 Return e are made God kknows of what we
an appeal
dust and ashes a sign to the glory of God. ‐ A
A. Privett 1
Fairweather, Eugene R. The Meanning and Message of Leent. New York: Harper &
& Brothers, Publishers, 1
1962. 13 February 19, 2015 Deuteronomy 30:15‐20 • Psalm 1 • Luke 9:18‐25 "You may be the king of England or France, you may like to gamble, you may like to dance; but you gotta serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody." These words of Bob Dylan come to mind when I read Luke 9: 18‐25. The passage seems extreme, radical ‐ 'give up your life for me.' Jesus seems to promote religious behaviour that scares well‐rounded, measure‐twice and cut‐once people. The passage challenges cautious common sense. It says ‐ 'put all your eggs in one basket' or 'push your chips to the centre of the table; go all in.' It seems fanatical until we recognize that every person is 'all in' to something or someone. We're all sacrificing our lives to more or less worthy ventures. The question isn't really whether you and I will 'give up' our lives. The question is whether what we give our lives to is worth our lives. In Luke 9:51 Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem, where he will be handed over, be rejected, be killed. He's about to go all in for the love of God and the world. I think our passage calls his followers to do the same. Human flourishing is all tied up with corresponding to the life of Jesus. Losing your life to God and the Gospel is to follow Jesus in the hope and trust that if we share in his 'death', we shall also share in resurrection. 'If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it.' ‐ Richard Topping (Principal of the Vancouver School of Theology) 14 April 3 ‐ Good Friday Isaiah 52:13‐53:12• Psalm 22• Hebrews 10:16‐25 or 4:14‐16,5:7‐9 • John 18:1‐19:42 "God's Brilliant Plan" ‐In C.S. Lewis' tale of Narnia, Aslan the great lion, who all of Narnia had rested their hopes on, brings himself to the altar before the wicked queen. Then, all the animals hide in horror as he is beaten, shamed, and slaughtered before them. Their hopes are wrenched from their hearts. Fear overwhelms them. The evil ruler has won. Little do they know, not long into their days of grief and sorrow, that a fatal flaw in the wicked queen's plan would be revealed. Aslan, in the flash of sunrise, steps from the shadows of death, and now stands as victor over it! The children would soon learn, that while the wicked queen knows the ways of their created world, she is still a part of it. Aslan, though, arrives to Narnia from before creation began, and therefore sees what the witch cannot; "But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward." (Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) These few words cast a brilliant light into our own universe, for we are left with the startling notion that Satan, in all his power over this world, is still circumvented by the mind of God. There is a vision of justice and righteousness that transcends the ingenuity of evil. At the height of unrest during the American civil rights movement, when the force of injustice seemed intractable against the march for change, Martin Luther King Jr. stood determined in the midst of it all, and reminded the oppressed that right temporarily defeated is still stronger than evil triumphant, that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. This was King's way of explaining the brilliance of God's plan on Good Friday. After almost every sequence and action in the two chapters of events leading to Jesus' death, St. John writes; "This fulfilled what Scripture said...". John is clearly amazed, and wants us readers to be as well, at how carefully God had planned Christ's final act. And John, writing to a beleaguered and persecuted young church, appreciates the pastoral 67 Prayer Lord, help me to be willing to surrender my pretense, my sense of entitlement, and my need for power or control over life’s circumstances. Help me to offer myself genuinely and humbly to you and the other without fear or agenda, giving my deepest self, as I have been created, as a reflection of your glory. Praxis Sitting silently for a few moments, sense any tension in your body: shoulders, back, neck, jaw, etc. Sense the spacious place of welcome and opening that arises as you let go of tension and resistance. Taize Chant Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us. Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me. Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us. Let my heart always welcome your love. February 20 Isaiah 58:1‐9a • Psalm 51 • Matthew 9:14‐17 “Is this not the fast that I choose: . . . when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin.” This passage from Isaiah 58 is often used as a warning about misconstruing what is pleasing to God. But on this Lenten journey, I would encourage you to see the lines offered as an invitation. The story embraces a memory, a thread, that goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:10, Adam says to God, “I was afraid, because I was naked and I hid myself.” Through Isaiah, God says to us, ‘you are covered’ – You don’t need to be ashamed. You don’t need to ‘bow down your head like a bulrush’ or ‘lie in sackcloth and ashes.’ Be free; be well, be whole, be holy: “loose the bonds, . . . undo the thongs, . . . break every yoke.” When you are open and free, you will be just and generous. “Here I am" (verse 9) is declaration of the presence of God among the people. This theme continues through all of scripture: Jesus says, “Lo I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). But we cannot have a full relationship with God without a just relationship with each other. So remember this day, that God does journey with us: we are covered –we have enough, ‐ enough to share with all. Thanks be to God. 66 ‐ Heather Page ‐ Gillian Fosdick 15 February 21 April 2 ‐ Maundy Thursday Isaiah 58:9b‐14 • Psalm 85:1‐6 • Luke 5:27‐32 In today’s reading, Jesus and his disciples scandalize the Pharisees by sharing a meal with tax collectors. Any conquering force needs local collaborators to act on its behalf, and in the Roman Empire, this is a role that tax collectors played. The wealthy tax collectors Jesus and his friends ate and drank with would have been shunned by many of their fellow Jews for profiting from the disempowerment of their own people. Communities throughout history, up to the present, have singled out comparable categories of profiteers for particular abhorrence. Jesus, instead, accepted their invitation to dinner. The Pharisees object to this turn of events, no doubt feeling the righteous indignation we ourselves might feel upon learning that the unjust have escaped consequences. Yet Jesus’ embrace of these social pariahs shows up the supposedly principled policy of the religious leadership for the pettiness it truly is. Jesus neither criticizes the Pharisees’ intolerance, nor denies the tax‐
collectors’ wrongdoing. Instead, he shifts the frame of reference from one of spiritual crime and punishment to one of spiritual illness and healing. He reveals his divine mission as that of a doctor, treating the spiritually sick by accepting their repentance and welcoming them as members of the human communion. The passage challenges us to open our hearts even to the heartless, greedy, and disloyal—seeking, not to punish them with rejection, but to offer them the curative power of loving justice. 16 ‐ Martha McGinnis‐Archibald Exodus 12:1‐14 • Psalm 116:1,10‐17 • 1 Corinthians 11:23‐26 • John 13:1‐17, 31b‐35 Three Sacred Gestures “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” This passage in which Jesus washes his disciples feet graphically and practically models a love poured forth in reckless kenotic outpouring to those who loved him and those who would turn away from him. We are called to do the same. Gesture One: He “took off his outer robe”. Jesus’ first action was to remove his outer coat, which gave him protection and security. In this gesture he demonstrates a willingness to be vulnerable, to offer himself to the other without pretense. Gesture Two: He “began to wash the disciples’ feet” modeling humility, compassion, and tenderness. Jesus the teacher, the king, who had only a few days earlier been hailed as the coming Messiah, now bends his knee and carefully takes the calloused and worn feet of those whom he loved and mindfully washes each foot. Gesture Three: “ ...he loved them to the end”. What might this gesture look like? Knowing he would soon face his betrayer, that the crowds would turn against him, that his beloved Peter would soon deny him, and that he must face his own death, yet he still loved them to the end. This gesture is one of gentleness, embrace, and openness; a willingness to meet all of life’s forces as they are encountered with an attitude of “not mine will, but thine be done”. As Jesus loved, we too are called to welcome and pour forth this love given freely to all including the ones who let us down, the ones who fail to meet expectations, and the ones we may deem unworthy. 65 April 1 ‐ Wednesday in Holy Week February 22 – The First Sunday in Lent Isaiah 50:4‐9a • Psalm 70 • Hebrews 12:1‐3 • John 13:21‐32 What a scandalous passage! What drama! What deceit! and what mercy! Here the real scandal of God is reveal, not only God in the flesh, but that God will submit Himself so fully to the ways of the world that He will allow for Himself to be betrayed. Here our Lord submits to the prince of this world so that His kingdom can be revealed by the glory that is to come: the cross; this glory shall appear as defeat to the world, but shall come to be seen as a the symbol of its redemption. In these verses two great things are in conflict: The Love of our Lord, and the devil's hatred of Him. Here our Lord sits his enemy, Judas next to Him, the host of the feast. Judas accepts a morsel, a special offering to an already honoured guest, and then steals off into the night. Indeed, in John's phrasing it is almost as though Judas makes the night, brings the darkness, in his act of betrayal. But let us not focus on the all too common evil of the money‐holder, but rather on our Lord’s continual offering of repentance. In these verses Jesus is always offering Judas a way out, till at least he orders him to complete his task and in doing so complete His mission. Let us always turn our face there, to our Lord’s never ending call to repent, to turn to Him, trusting in his mercy, and assured of His grace. ‐ Matthew Cook Genesis 9:8‐17 25:1‐9 • 1 Peter 3:18‐22 • Mk 1:9‐15 64 Like a peace treaty or contract, the ancient world observed solemn covenants between rulers and nations to define the relationship, the responsibilities and undertakings of both parties as well as penalties for breaking covenants. This promise of God’s mercy, the primary covenant pre‐dating the covenant of Moses’ time, holds good for all of God’s creation and is to be everlasting. God’s bow, a weapon, standing as a reminder of this promise, points away from the earth and, perhaps, represents protection rather than threat. What does this story tell us about the nature of God and about the nature of our relationship with God? What does the Noah story say about judgement, justice, mercy and redemption? This story relates that God has judged humanity and found us to be violent and corrupt. In effect God undoes the work of creation where God separated the dry land from the waters, and then recreates the earth after the flood. God relents and realizes that humans are frail, sinful creatures despite having been created in God’s image. Nevertheless, God wills to be in relationship with humans and makes this promise of everlasting mercy. Our Christian theology of the Holy Trinity views the three persons of the Godhead as an eternal, timeless flow of mutual love where God has loving relationship as integral characteristic of being. We believe the essence of the triune God is social, relational and a dynamic of shared love. Of a triune nature, it is in the nature of God to be in communion with and in Godself. In God’s incarnation in Jesus, as in God’s covenant with Noah, humanity is invited into an everlasting covenant relationship with God. What a wonder that more than 25 centuries ago, the Genesis authors perceived that the Creator and Sustainer of all that is, the Ground of Being, has made us to be in relationship with Godself. We live because of and for God’s loving‐kindness. The God that transcends all knowing, the Other beyond all things, is nevertheless immanent; intimately involved with us! What great mercy! What great Love! ‐ Marilyn Gough 17 February 23 ‐ Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna 156 Leviticus 19:1‐2, 11‐18 • Psalm 19:7‐14 •Matthew 25:31‐46 March 31 ‐ Tuesday in Holy Week “Though you do not see Him, you believe, and in believing there is unspeakable joy.” ‐ Polycarp Jesus’ Parable of the Sheep and the Goats I occasionally find myself doing something that has become a mindless habit. For instance, when I am in a store and I see that an item has fallen on to the floor, I will invariably pick it up and return it to its proper place. I have been doing this for so many years that I don’t know what got this habit started or why it continues. Less impressively, I have also inoculated myself to walking past street people without so much as catching their eye or saying even as little as a quick word‐ I probably have come to do this for a bunch of reasons which I could build a solid case for, but which also fly squarely in the face of this parable. This came to a head within me several years ago‐ at that time my siblings had agreed that we would each donate Christmas gifts to a charity in each other’s names, and one year I gave them each a handful of toonies and asked that they give one to each street person who somehow caught their attention. Each sibling approached me separately and asked to return the coins to me. All of them have great hearts and are extremely generous givers, but this was too much. The point is that without doubt, I have developed a multitude of habits which have become for want of a better word‐ habitual, or perhaps mindless. I don’t give it much thought when I greet a stranger, and I don’t give it much thought when I pass another one by on the street. This has struck me while I have read and re‐read this parable during the past few weeks. I don’t think it is about sheep and goats, nor do I think that its essential message is one of eventual judgment. (We do seem to forever struggle with the question of whether the God of Love is capable of judgment and punishment, and that debate is as alive today as it ever has been, but within this parable, I’m quite sure that Jesus uses the imagery simply because it works so well. How else could he powerfully create the contrast so starkly and efficiently?) 18 Isaiah 49:1‐7• Psalm 71:1‐14 • 1 Corinthians 1:18‐31 •John 12:20‐36 There’s nothing like a good mystery novel! Whether it’s a cozy evening with an old Agatha Christie and a cup of tea, or an exciting bout with a cutting edge Scandinavian author, or even a return to classic Sherlock Holmes, I always love mysteries. It’s great to be able to keep track of the plot and characters, and see if I can work out who the culprit is before the detective does. A really good mystery has a lot of twists and turns, but in the end the crime is solved, the perpetrators apprehended, and all the loose ends are tied up. So I guess what I’m saying is that I like a story that’s interesting, complex, but ultimately wrapped up neatly by the last couple pages. Which is exactly the difficulty with the story of Holy Week, and Easter. It doesn’t wrap up nicely. It doesn’t even quite make sense, according to our usual way of thinking. This is what Paul is getting at in the reading from Corinthians. How is it that the cross is transformed from a symbol of death and oppression to a symbol of life and freedom? Where is the wisdom in worshipping a man executed by the authorities? Our faith is a mystery. It’s not easily explained, it sometimes appears as a stumbling block, or as foolishness. This is the mystery of Easter, and the good news as well – that God work despite our not understanding, that God works in mysterious and wonderful ways to reconcile humanity to Godself. The cross is an instrument of death that has become life to millions of people. It doesn’t quite make sense, but it’s still amazing, and it’s still life changing. ‐ The Rev. William Ferry 63 but Jesus said “Leave her alone!” “Why are you mad at her?! Does she embarrass you? Does she put you to shame? “She has done something beautiful for me.” ‐ Jaqueline van Voorst I do think that it is a parable about character. The King confronts sheep and goats with a description which neither of them comprehends. The ones who love their neighbors have built that into their DNA just as much as the ones who pass them by. That is the essence and it is the gift of this parable‐ we are invited to examine ourselves and to hopefully take the risk of examining our hearts. Coincidentally, I have been reading through Romans during the time when I have pondered over this parable, and Paul enriches it so much. There is a law of stone‐cold words and there is a law of grace. It is without doubt the most stunning thing in the world to allow our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to shift from one place to the other, and to somehow allow the Lord of the Starfields to work within rather than through laws and stumbling blocks. ‐ Chris Harvey Toad Hollow Photography 62 19 February 24 ‐ Bishops Lindel Tsen, Honan 1954 & Paul Sasaki, Mid‐Japan and Tokyo 1946 Isaiah 55:10‐11 • Psalm 34:1‐8, 15‐24 • Matthew 6: 7‐15 “To me Christianity is a Person, Jesus Christ, who is my Saviour, my Companion, and my Lord” ‐ Philip Lindel Tsen The Perfect Prayer for All. It is understandable why people of other faiths, or no faith at all, would find it unacceptable for a daily prayer of Christian roots to be recited each morning in schools across any mixed culture nation. What complicates this truth is that in reality The Lord’s Prayer, so simply recounted in this version in Mathew, is the perfect prayer for humanity, for all breathing, struggling, and life‐loving people of all beliefs and philosophies. “Our Father in heaven” This assumes a divine and loving presence in the universe. This states that GOD IS. Any adherent of a world faith rests upon this most basic tenet. This line says that God has the nature of an embracing and protective father. True, atheists would beg to differ. But even atheists need order and predictability, to trust that the sun will continue rising and that the laws of nature will follow their course. And, that loving and being loved, beginning with our own fathers, is as essential as air to full life. “Hallowed by Your name” A name in Jewish culture had particular significance. One’s name informed their nature, their purpose in life. In this verse, for God to be hallowed means to be held in awe, to be respected, the inherent “set apartness” of God’s goodness. All cultures, ancient and modern, seek a higher standard and have an inherent knowledge that perfection can be, that true goodness is worthy, that sacred ideals exist and in some rare instances can humanly be attained. “Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be done on earth as it is in heaven” We all ache. Reading the daily news is heart‐wrenching. Thinking of the horrors going on in the Central African Republic or the mental health struggles of our neighbour’s son causes us to long for healing, for things to be straightened, for things to be RIGHT. This is a universal cry. 20 March 30 ‐ Monday in Holy Week Isaiah 42:1‐9 • Psalm 36:5‐11 • Hebrews 9:11‐15 • John 12:1‐11 The Passover was a couple of days off and the chief priests and scribes were working out how to seize Jesus and kill him. They wanted it secret to avoid a riot. He was at Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper; he was reclining at the table and a woman came in: Mary She had in her hands a vial made of alabaster and in it was a very costly perfume of pure nard She broke the vial and poured it upon his feet Fragrance filled the room She fell to his feet. Her face, her tears, her kisses bathed them. Her hair was undone as it might be privately within her chamber She gathered his feet with her hands and surrounded them with her hair. Her crown of glory Every bit of oil, water, salt, dirt, hurt, cut, bruise was bathed softened by her weeping Her hair wiped his feet clean She knew a hard road was to follow. The men were disgusted “ Put it away woman!” “What a waste!” “This is no place for tears” “This is no place for that!” while they watched her on the ground. 61 And one only cries when one hopes, believes, that there is an ear to hear ‐ That there is a “heaven”, a place where things are as they should be. And that that “right Kingdom” can flesh itself out, however imperfectly, here and now. Heaven and earth are intertwined, not bound by time and space. Give us today our daily bread” The most basic of requests. This line resonates back to the Old Testament “manna” story. All on earth desire and need to have their daily needs met. All need to not worry and be anxious for what they will eat on the morrow. And all need to let go of grabbing, hoarding, saving more than is required for that day. All committed environmentalists, believers or not, are committed to this concept. Take what we need and leave the rest, for the land or for others. It is not capitalism which has led to current woes, it is greed. May we be thankful for this meal, this moment, this day, and let go of the rest. “And forgive us our trespasses as we also have forgiven our debtors.” An ocean of psychology courses, of counselling practices, and of international conflict resolution efforts need take hold of this most profound and powerful verse. All human beings have need of mercy. How transformational it would be if we could pray this daily, and live this daily at the most inter‐familial and inter‐national level. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (or‐ the evil one)” Evil exists. Law makers know this, police know this, anyone in relationship knows this! All humanity has an inclination to err, to be swayed, to fall short of the mark, and in some instances demonstrate unimaginable ugliness. Is this not a daily prayer we need, all of us? Finally, Jesus introduces The Lord’s Prayer with this truth. Words in prayer are actually not necessary – God knows what we need before we say it – and too many words are even less necessary, and too often for outward purposes. One can infer that any honest heart anywhere, when feeling the pain of life, or an inner urging towards justice is, in reality, is uttering this most perfect prayer. ‐ Alix Harvey March 29 Palm/Passion Sunday Psalm 118:1‐2, 19‐29 • Mark 11:1‐11 Here comes our Lord. Some call him King. He is riding on a donkey. Hosanna! We shout. Hosanna! But why are his eyes so sad? Jesus, Lord, I drop into quiet and weep. Your body, simply clad, is open, your senses assailed. Hot air infused with the smells of village life, The clamour of the crowd, Bright colours and joyful faces that you know will soon turn, The taste of bitterness yet to come, The movement of the young animal beneath you carries you, surrendered, towards your destiny. You grieve, utterly, losing all this that you love. Shining presence is still within you. On the outside, chaos, Inside you, peace. You go to the temple and look. Just look. For today this is sufficient. Tomorrow can wait. ‐ Liz Vickers 60 21 February 25 – Ember Day Jonah 3:1‐10 • Psalm 51:1‐2,11‐13 • Luke 11:29‐32 The crowds were increasing. The people were looking for a sign ‐ a saviour to rescue them, a miracle to get them out of their oppression, a military genius to overthrow the exploiters. Jesus has some hard sayings in response. There will be no miracle, no magic cure for the Roman oppression, no magnificent saviour to put it all right. The only miracle, the only salvation, the only way out, will be the sign of Jonah, the call to repentance. Only this time the call is infinitely more powerful than Jonah's. The Queen of Sheba and the people of Nineveh will be appalled if the people ignore it. Jesus is saying so much about our hope for a saviour. Do we think that by counting on Jesus to put things right, everything will be fixed? No, Jesus says, there will be no magical withdrawal of greenhouse gases. God's not going to fix things for you magically in your family life. There is only one way forward ‐ changing priorities. Greed, disguised as 'growing the economy', selfishness, disguised as looking for someone who 'really understands me' don't work. What works is changing priorities, setting a new agenda, taking seriously the sign of Jesus, the only life‐giving sign. This is Jesus refusing to be a security blanket, refusing to be an easy way out, refusing to be an easy miracle. Jesus pulls no punches. Take his call to inclusive sacrificial love seriously and you'll receive more than you ever hoped for. Ignore his sign, and the worst of the pagan sinners will lament over the consequences. Giving up those false hopes will feel like death to us. Embracing his life already within us, pressing us to his agenda of holiness, justice and life, will be life and resurrection. That's his sign, that's his miracle. The only one that works. ‐The Rev. Harold Munn “YES,” you insist, and show us sticks bound together, spin a tale of unity; tears glisten in your eyes like sun‐sparks playing on Flood waters. “Your own land – your own humanity – is given back to you! The waters are drying up! The ram is in the thorn bush! The idols are shattered on the ground! Rejoice, for the two are made one!” Did God not make two from one? Did God not make North and South? Did God not make Abraham and David? What a gift you see in this absorption. What a redemption you see in this swallowing up. You think you are a dove, but you are a raven. You think you are an angel, but you are a knife. ‐ Clare Morgan 22 Toad Hollow Photography 59 encourage a body and soul reunion, invite others to join you. Savour the quotidian slog of staying connected and when all else fails: return to the place of your baptism, where bright angel feet have trod. Let the water dance between your toes As you gather new stones: Insight, sanction, serenity ‐ and out of the corner of your eye a feathery reminder that you are beloved. ‐ The Rev. Dawna Wall c2015 March 28 Ezekiel 37:21b‐28 • Psalm 121 • John 11:45‐57 After the Bones The bones were enough. After the wind filled us up until life burst from our eye sockets and spewed from our mouths after the graves vomited their dead and the Voice called us forth: clothed with flesh, underneath bones still thrumming like a bell after the morning, you returned with more words. Must there be a coda? 58 February 26 ‐ Florence li Tim‐Oi, Priest 1992 Additonal Esther 14:1,3‐5,12‐14 • Psalm 138 • Matthew 7:7‐12 Photini, Witness to the Faith – In the Orthodox Churches of the East, the Samaritan Woman, traditionally known as Saint Photini, is commemorated on February 26. When I read this passage, I am immediately transported back to my days in Sunday School as a young child. I hear the song in my head as clear as if it were yesterday ‐‐ perhaps you know the one too? I remember the feeling of the simple message: You can trust God. You can trust life. You will be cared for. As the chorus sings, Alleluia! And to me that harkening back to childhood feels fitting for this passage, because it speaks so deeply to having the trust of a child who has been well‐cared for. It can be such a hard thing to hang onto in adulthood, as we have all had experiences of feeling as though our needs were not met after all, that the door was not opened after all. Those experiences can lead us to decide that life cannot be trusted unless we remain in control, unless we are ever‐vigilant ‐‐ and so leave us clutching tightly to the steering wheel of our lives. Jesus reminds us to let go. Take a deep breath. This isn't about waiting for everything to be delivered to you, but it is about relaxing into a basic trust, and from that place being able to discern the next right steps to take. What we need will be given, somehow ‐‐ even if not in the form that we thought we wanted. Alleluia! ‐ Sarah Pullman‐Irons Jessica Ziakin Cook 23 February 27 ‐ George Herbert, Priest & Poet 1633 March 27 ‐ Charles Henry Brent 1929 Ezekiel 18:21‐28 • Psalm 130 • Matthew 5:20‐26 To “Surely Live” The world God appears to describe in Ezekiel chapter 18 is a world that does not seem to be based in reality. It is such a tidy picture. Jeremiah 20: 7‐13 • Psalm 18:1‐7 • John 10:31‐42 When bad people turn from bad things and obey God’s laws, the past is forgotten; their good deeds earn them God’s blessing. When good people commit evil deeds, their past good behaviour counts for nothing and they die. In reality I see many evil deeds that appear to go unpunished and many good deeds that pass without any visible reward. It often seems that “the Lord is unfair.” Good things happen to bad people and the finest people experience terrible suffering. But, when I listen more deeply I hear truth in Ezekiel’s words. There are deeds I do that bring death and there are choices I make that tend towards life. When I brace, clutch, and grab, I move towards death. When I surrender, soften, and open, I receive life. When God says, “if the wicked turn away from all their sins… and keep all my statutes… they shall surely live; they shall not die,” God is expressing a fundamental reality. When I align myself with that truth and beauty I call God, I come into touch with the power of life that never dies. When I live in accordance with the way God has designed life, I find at my core an indestructible, peaceful, grounded force of love and life. Ezekiel’s words guide me to the place the Psalmist found when he wrote of standing on “the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). This is the place of true life from which I will not be moved by iniquity, hardship or disaster. 24 ‐ The Ven. Christopher Page “We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell.” ‐ Charles Henry Brent Pebbles by Kathy Fitzsimmons c.2015 For an audio version of this reflection, please download the powerpoint at http://emmauscommunity.ca/dawnareflection/ Returning When those who are confused about who I am, threaten to throw stones, how tempting it is to reach into my amassed arsenal of assault. To root around and recognize the familiar rough edged stone of retaliation, and ahh, the smooth pebble of sarcasm, and there at the bottom, the gravel and grit of suppressed anger. These will hit the mark, or at least buy some time while I run away… but no, Jesus says, take your hand out of that slingshot satchel: Reflect on the works ‐ ‐ caress life, 57 March 26 Genesis 17:3‐9 • Psalm 105:1‐9 • John 8:51‐59 Your name shall be Abraham for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God. I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all the tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” Before he even reproduced, God had made Abraham the father of a multitude of nations. It still seemed impossible – there was not even one child, let alone a multitude of nations. And before Abraham was even conceived of, Jesus is. In the beginning was the Word… Time and space. What is time to God? A thousand years is like a day to God, we are told. Yesterday is last year, tomorrow is 2019. Or 2130. Or 1875. God was, God is, God will be. That multitude of nations? God knew them then. God knows them now. God sees and knows those that will be. Each and every one. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again: And yesterday, today, and tomorrow we all join together; with Abraham, with the angels who heralded Christ’s birth, and with the multitude from every nation envisioned by John, praising God. ‐ Gillian Hoyer 56 February 28 Deuteronomy 26:16‐19 Psalm 119:1‐8 Matthew 5:43‐48 Photograph of an original woodcarving of Jesus with the crowds speaking from the mountainside (Michael Ambery) “You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. When I meditate on these words I find myself perplexed by their challenge. How would I deal with being hurt by someone with pain and suffering, by cunningness of deceitful greed, or human irresponsibility revealing carelessness and resignation? I look within myself and discover a guiding rational, a trusting foundation. The power of love seeks to look through the masks of hatred and dishonesty. Deeper in this power it becomes possible to recognize the humanness within someone who wishes to see you as an enemy. It is this recognition that bridges the awareness of love. This awareness brings the peace of God, and a knowledge that He watches over me, and us. 25 My birth father told me as I grew up, “Love is unconditional, but relationship is not.” To love someone who calls you an enemy is all that can unconditionally be done. Seeking relationship with someone who desires to hurt you isn’t seeking to love them. If another does not desire to know another because of hatred, than the other must love them through the power of prayer. By doing so I place myself in the hands of He who lives in heaven. By resting in heaven, I am home, and how will the Father work through me? I recite words from the Lord’s Prayer. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. ‐ Michael Ambery Meagan Crosby‐Shearer, Walsingham UK 26 March 25 ‐ Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Isaiah 7:10‐14 •Psalm 40 or 45 •Hebrews 10:4‐10 • Luke 1:26‐38 “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” I've liked Jim LePage's work for a while. He's a graphic designer who uses scripture to bang out some honest, thoughtful design pieces. the one he's done for the Luke telling of Mary learning about her being with child is beautiful (take a look). When Mary learns she is pregnant with the Christ child, she's incredibly young, and with this new turn of events that God has given to her, she has found herself signed up for a lifetime of being shunned, poor, and ultimately: to watch powerless while her son dies brutally and violently. Naturally (?), she responds like so: I am the Lord's servant. Let it be to me according to your will. Not me. Not most of us. We wouldn't, couldn't respond like Mary. Understandable, then, why the Church sainted her. Her selfless courage has inspired us, the church, ever since. During this Lenten season, I give thanks for the life of St. Mary, the mother of God, who surrounds us as part of a great cloud of witnesses. Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ‐ Naomi Wildflower 55 March 24 ‐ Archbishop Oscar Romero, Martyr Your own reflections on these first days of Lent: Numbers 21:4‐9 • Psalm 102:1‐2,15‐22 • John 8:21‐30 In this passage, Jesus speaks with unbridled confidence and authority about His mission, His destiny and His ‘cosmic’ connection to God the Father. He is willing to speak a difficult and beautiful truth to His followers – who, frankly, are missing the point. In this day and age, there is reluctance, often with good reason, to speak with too much authority. There are those who speak with authority (often from the pulpit or in the name of the Church) who just shouldn’t. The voice and air of authority has been abused, misused and manipulated for violence – sometimes to terrible ends. Yet the kind of authority that Jesus speaks out of is an authority that is untainted by a desire for power‐over (in spite of His own evident Divine power) – but is meant to correct and lead his followers into deeper spiritual truth and peace. It was 35 years ago today that Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was gunned down by assassins while celebrating the Eucharist in the midst of a bloody civil war. As a follower of Jesus, Romero also spoke with a deep authority. Take this famous quote: “I have often been threatened with death. I must tell you, as a Christian, I do not believe in a death without resurrection. If am killed, I shall arise again in the Salvadoran people...You may say, if they succeed in killing me, that I pardon and bless those who do it …. A bishop will die, but God´s church, which is the people, will never perish.” How are we too called to speak with confidence and authority in our hope, without crossing a line into exercising ‘power‐over’ others? How are we, as Jesus’ followers called to speak with an authority and confidence in Jesus, in His Church – and in a hope for our own resurrection? ‐ Rob Crosby‐Shearer, n/EC 54 27 March 1 ‐ Second Sunday in Lent Genesis 17:1‐7, 15‐16 • Psalm 22:22‐30 • Romans 4:13‐25•Mark 9:2‐10 We’ve spent the last few Sunday mornings in the youth room at St. Philip church here in Victoria talking about Jesus’ Transfiguration. There are usually about 7‐12 of us – between 11 and 15 years old. As we looked over a few of the movie renditions of the Transfiguration, we realized that there are almost no great representations of the transfiguration in modern film The first cultural reference we thought of was of Harry Potter – and we noted that Harry Potter had a Transfiguration class – a clip of which can be viewed here ‐ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veYjCdtcbFo. We talked about the connection with Elijah (the prophets) and Moses (the law) – and talked about Jesus’ Jewish roots – and how his role is tied to a long tradition. Some of us were surprised that Jesus was Jewish – or at least that he was so deeply connected to the Jewish religion. There are two songs that we mention. One is Days of Elijah by Robin Mark (which can be viewed here ‐ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjJ0tyXKhc8 ) ‐ and the other was Rand Collective Experiment’s My Lighthouse (which can be viewed here ‐ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPtIv2lnkTY). We talked about how the disciples seem to get it wrong – wanting to be tourists instead of just basking in the literal glowing light of Jesus. We wondered why Jesus asked them to tell no‐one about what they had seen. Was it because he knew what might happen if word got out? We decided to take some of our discussion and act out the story. This is what we came up with filming it one Sunday morning. We looked at both the Message paraphrase as well as a couple other translations to make this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpW6aLWd1lI (thanks to Philip Pierce for editing!) ‐ St. Phillip Anglican Church Youth Group 28 On the evening Oscar Romero was shot he was preaching on this very passage. Moments before his death he said the following: “You have just heard in Christ’s gospel that one must not love oneself so much as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and that those who try to fend off the danger will lose their lives, while those who out of love for Christ give themselves to the service of others, will live, live like the grain of wheat that dies, but only apparently. If it did not die, it would remain alone. The harvest comes about only because it dies, allowing itself to be sacrificed in the earth and destroyed. Only by undoing itself does it produce the harvest.” As we move into the final weeks of Lent may we have the courage to risk being ‘undone’ so as to see more clearly the new pattern God is weaving with the threads we have set free. Amen. ‐ Meagan Crosby‐Shearer, n/EC March 23 ‐ Gregory the Illuminator 322 Susannah 1:41c‐62 • Psalm 23 • John 8:1‐11 God will judge us with compassion! We all do things that we wish we didn’t, we all fall short of our own standards, as well as God’s. Or, we are victims of other’s failures. When we come to a place on the edge of our own life, we need another chance; we need freedom from condemnation and help to see a different possible future. This woman will still need to account for her life and her choices in the future. But today could be a turning point. Jesus asks her to change her life and her choices. He may be asking us to do the same today ‐ to embrace any second chance we might have. Or he may be asking us to pause and think more deeply, to live without judgment. Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. ‐Margot Spence, n/EC 53 March 22‐ Fifth Sunday in Lent March 2 ‐ Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary 672 Jeremiah 31:31‐34 • Psalm 51:1‐13 • Hebrews 5:5‐10• John 12:20‐33 It seems like a long journey since the wedding at Canna with Jesus saying to his mother “My hour has not yet come.” to today’s reading in which Jesus proclaims that the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified”. This proclamation follows after the breathless journey from Bethany, where Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and where he was anointed by Mary, through the streets of Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, to this moment where we hear that now even the Greeks wants to see Jesus. I wondered about why it was important that the Greeks are mentioned, but if we back up a verse we hear in response to the enthusiastic Hosannas of the crowd the Pharisees say ‘You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!’ The ‘whole world’ perhaps represented by the Greeks, finding themselves drawn and warmed by ‘this son of man.’ Maybe it was for the chance to catch a glimpse of glory, after all this was the guy who had just raised a man from the dead! But Jesus is clear that being glorified might look a little different than we expect. “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” This kind of glorification calls us to a life of deep trust and surrender. Can we trust that the seed of our vision, our dreams, our vocation, our carefully laid plans, will bear fruit in Gods time? Can we trust the transformation of that seed out of death and into the resurrected life even if it looks very different from what we had expected? Can we follow the way of Jesus; sharing in the journey to live a life of love, justice and peace even if it costs us what is most precious to us? Daniel 9:3‐10 • Psalm79 • Luke 6:36‐38 Mercy: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone; performed out of a desire to relieve suffering; motivated by compassion Judge: form an opinion or conclusion about Forgive: stop feeling angry or resentful Give: freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone) Hmmm….I look at these definitions and see our humanness being such a problem! If we could strictly follow these verses in Luke daily, with the apt definitions, we would be perfect in God's eyes. However, this is way easier said than done, of course. I must say, I love the word that continues to arise in much of scripture when talking about our Father, God and His actions. Compassion…all of the words used above, mercy, judge, forgive, give, have a strong connection to the underlying compassion we are all called to live by. When we truly live with compassion steering all these actions, behaviours and thoughts, we will have our hands filled with God's grace ‐wouldn't that be wonderful! I pray that I would live with compassion in every word and action I breath, that my compassion for those around me every minute of every day, would be felt as the compassion of Christ. Truly… a challenge. ‐ Katherine Haupt 52 29 March 3 ‐ John & Charles Wesley Priests/ Evangelists March 21 ‐ Thomas Cranmer, Arch. of Canterbury, 1556 Isaiah 1:10‐20 • Psalm 50:07:15 • Matthew 23:1‐12 Jer 11:18‐20• Psalm 7:1‐2,9‐12 • John 7:40‐53 “What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies.” – Cranmer Have you heard? Here we have Jesus at the Feast of Booths, having quietly left Galilee for Judea and the festivities. The ‘Great Day’ of the feast was extraordinary for its joyous water festival, when celebrants prayed for life‐giving rain for their crops. Never one to pass up an opportune metaphor, Jesus preached, offering himself up as a life‐giving drink and promising His believers to bring forth in them a flood of living water. Jesus being Jesus, of course, what ensued was division. But did the Jesus create division on this occasion? For the Lord of Unity, unlikely. Rather, Jesus’ provocative words served to expose existing divisions between peoples’ attitudes about what they’ve heard. In the first division were those who heard something from Jesus that made them believe He is the very Word made flesh, dwelling among them and revealing His glory. They recognized in His words the Word of Life and that, simply, was enough for them. The Pharisee’s police officers, and also one of the Pharisee’s own, formed another division. They had heard and didn’t really know what to believe, but they could at least keep an open mind, listening for the penny of understanding of this unusual man to drop. Division three lacked the ability (or willingness?) to see past the superficial Jesus; they simply were not inclined to look deeper to discover the true Jesus, originating not in Galilee but in Bethlehem. They heard words but in their tragic ignorance were disinclined to listen, the truth within their reach and yet sadly outside their grasp. The last division, the Pharisees, were so bound by fear, so steeped in cultural prejudice and so entrenched in elitism, all they could hear was the broadside salvo of their own self‐righteous scorn brought to bear against the uneducated, accursed masses blindly duped into accepting the water Jesus offered. How heartrending. Two thousand years later are we any less divided? But there is hope; those with ears to hear the Word of Life must live boldly in the light where that Word may be visible to all, for those who cannot yet hear may still be able to see. Thanks be to God! ‐ Larry Anthony “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” ‐ John Wesley O Lord, You have released our burdens yet we put them on others. You have told us to pray in secret yet we want all to see. You have told us to be like servants yet we want to be the guest. You told us to turn the other cheek yet we want to be greeted with respect. So may it be that: You alone are to be called Father, for You are our Father in Heaven. In You alone we are humbled, for You have exalted us by calling us Your children. You alone are to be called Teacher, for You are our Messiah In You alone we are humbled, for You have exalted us by calling us Your students. You alone are to be exalted, for you were forsaken In You alone we are humbled, for You have exalted us by calling us Your redeemed. O Lord, may it be so. Amen. ‐ Margaret Trim Jessica Ziakin Cook 30 51 March 20 ‐ Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 687 Wisdom 2:1a,12‐22 • Psalm 34:15‐22• John 7:1‐2,10,25‐30 (Wisdom is a Deuterocanonical text – so will not appear in all Bibles) March 4 ‐ David, Bishop of Menevia Wales, 544 Jeremiah 18:18‐20 • Psalm 31:1‐5,13‐16 • Matthew 20:17‐28 What does it mean to be a child of God? To claim that identity? Based on what we know of God through the Bible, what would a letter from God look like? My Child, You may not know me, but I know everything about you (Ps.139:1). I am familiar with all your ways (Ps. 139:3). Even the hairs on your head are numbered (Mt. 10:29‐31), for you were made in my image (Gen.1:27). I knew you even before you were conceived (Jer. 1:4‐5). I knitted you together in your mothers womb, (Ps.139:13) and brought your forth on the day you were born (Ps.71:6) You are not a mistake; all your days are written in my book (Ps. 139:15‐16). I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me (Jn. 8:41‐44). I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love (1 Jn.4:16), and it is my desire to lavish my love upon you (1 Jn. 3:1), for I am the perfect Father (Mt. 5:48). Like a shepherd carries lamb, I have carried you close to my heart (Is. 40:11). I am your greatest encourager (2 Thess. 2:16‐17). I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles (2 Cor. 1:3‐4) When you are broken hearted, I am close to you (Ps. 34:18). One day I will wipe every tear from your eyes (Rev. 21:3‐4). I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my Son, Jesus (Jn. 17:23). For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed (Jn. 17:26). He came to show you that I am for you, not against you (Rom. 8:31), and to tell you that I am not counting your sins (2 Cor. 5:18‐19). Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen! (Lk. 15:7). Simply because you are my child and I am your Father (1 Jn. 3:1). “Be joyful, brothers and sisters. Keep your faith, and do the little things that you have seen and heard with me.” – St. David, Bishop of Menevia, Wales 544 “Servant.” “Slave.” “Serve.” “Give his life a ransom for many.” Too often we think of the death of Jesus as somehow abstracted from his life. In orthodox, catholic theology this is manifested in the creeds, which make much of his passion and death, and the Nicene Creed is concerned with Christ’s ontological status – but we hear nothing of his teachings, his peripatetic ministry, the miracles, his community building, his challenge to those with power. Too often evangelical theology is reduced to a mere personal acceptance of Christ’s death as a substitution for one’s own capital punishment, with a morality that is encouraged but is actually strictly irrelevant to one’s salvation. It’s a no‐
obligation “Get out of Hell Free” card. This passage from Matthew places the death of Jesus in the context of his life – a life of servanthood, of humility, of giving – and the expectation that if we are to sit with Jesus at his table we are also to live like him, and perhaps, die like him. Are we able to drink the cup that Jesus drank? Or, perhaps because most of us using these reflections are comfortable people living in nice homes in western Canada, are we willing to work for God’s justice locally and beyond? Are we willing to challenge theologies which minimize this justice? ‐ The Rev. Bruce Bryant‐Scott March 5 My question for you is: will you be my child? (Jn. 1:12‐13). I am waiting for you. (Lk. 15:11‐32). Love, your Dad (Almighty God) ‐ Lucy Price Jeremiah 17:5‐10 • Psalm 1 •Luke 16:19‐31 Who are the Lazarus’ in our lives? As I ponder the passage in Luke about the rich man and Lazarus, that is the question that emerges. I, as opposed to the majority of the world, 50 31 am a rich person. I have enough to be well clothed, fed and housed. Many of my friends are not: they, like Lazarus, find themselves begging for nourishment and are willing to even eat the leftover scraps from meals where they are not welcome. “Jack” is one such friend. Jack is living and stuck in generational poverty. He has a dream to break the cycle, but always seems to come up just short. His mind is full of voices that I cannot hear. Between this, his tattered clothing and inability to care for his own basic hygiene, Jack regularly sees people physically repel from him. I think that this move away from Jack is rooted in fear. I say this because I have felt it myself: if I get too close, I might just be overwhelmed with Jack’s very real pain. Further, by feeling his pain I will become more attuned to my own. In verse 26 Abraham talks about the abyss that lies between the now two deceased men. That abyss already existed on earth, where the rich man was oblivious to Lazarus’ need. That same abyss exists between Jack and the people who walk by him day after day without even a second look and it challenges me daily to be in relationship with him. It is in the context of our friendship that I have learned about who Jack is, what his childhood was like and what his dreams are, while he in turn has learned the same about me. I have discovered the number of things that actually make us alike. I see how human we both are. I have also realized how much support Jack needs and will admit there are days when it scares me. I confess how incompetent I feel. Those feelings of fear could keep me from enjoying what many view as an unlikely friendship. My relationship with Jack is valuable though not just because I have something to give him; he has something to give me. Jack rarely complains about his situation, and when he does it is honest and vulnerable. He gives to others in need out of his nothing without question. He doesn’t even resent when my riches allow me to do something extravagant like go on a vacation. The challenge of Luke 16:19‐31 is as real for us today as it was then. It is an invitation to cross the abyss that exists between those who on the surface seem to have and those who don’t. As Jack has taught me, we all look the same underneath. ‐ Erinn Oxford 32 March 19 – St. Joseph of Nazareth 2 Samuel 7:4,8‐16•Psalm 89:1‐
4,26‐29•Romans 4:13‐18 •Luke 2:41‐52 “St. Joseph’s mission is certainly unique and unrepeatable, as Jesus is absolutely unique. However, in protecting Jesus, in teaching him how to grow in age, wisdom and grace, he is a model for every educator, and in particular for every father. … I ask for you the grace to be every closer to your children, allow them to grow, but be close, close! They need you, your presence, your closeness, your love. Be, for them, like St. Joseph: protectors of their growth in age, wisdom and grace. Guardians of their path, and educators: walk alongside them. And with this closeness, you will be true educators.” Pope Francis God promises David amazing things in this passage‐ protection from all enemies, fame and prestige, a permanent homeland, freedom from wicked oppressors. And this not only for David himself, but also for his offspring forevermore. My initial response from a suspicious, guarded place: this all sounds wonderful but‐ what’s the catch? What does God expect from David in return? Is this a pact between political or business associates, each seeking to advance their interests by backing a winning lineage? Or is it a show of magnanimity by God, to remind David (and everyone else) who is the Master and who is ultimately in control? Later on God says to David about his offspring, “I will be his father, and he will be my son.” So God (re)frames the relationship between David and God, his offspring and God, and thereby ourselves and God. It is a parent‐child relationship based on love and commitment, so much richer and complex than a master‐servant relationship, or a shallow political transaction. Like David, maybe we too have to learn how to be children of God, neither helpless nor full of pride, grateful but not cowed by fear. How do we follow Jesus into this kind of relationship with God? Perhaps the catch is that God is there to do the catching, just like the good parent. ‐ Anonymous Contributor 49 March 18 ‐ Cyril of Jerusalem 386 Isaiah 49:8‐15 • Psalm 145:8‐15 • John 5:19‐30 “Let us then, my brethren, endure in hope. Let us devote ourselves, side‐by‐side with our hoping, so that the God of the entire universe, as he beholds our intention, may cleanse us from all sins, fill us with high hopes from what we have in hand, and grant us the change of heart that saves. God has called you, and you have your calling.” — St. Cyril of Jerusalem The context of the text is that Jesus is receiving criticism for working on the Sabbath, accusations that could eventually put his life in Jeopardy. Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish authorities began persecuting him. So Jesus told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.” For this reason the Jewish authorities were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God. At the end the verse reflects on Jesus’ mission which is the same as his fathers, he is not acting outside of his “competency” yes, he is acting outside of society’s rules but he is only responding to his calling, to his mission. In a way he also sends a message to all of us to use our good judgment to do what god expects from us to do what’s fair and just even if it’s not what it is exactly stated in the scriptures. ‐ Ernesto Zelayandia 48 March 6 ‐ World Day of Prayer http://www.wicc.org/ Genesis 37:3‐4,12‐28 •Psalm 17:1‐8 • Matthew 21:33‐46 The Parable of the Wicked Tenants: Jesus relates the following story to the chief priests and elders: After a landowner puts a lot of work into planting a vineyard, making it beautiful and secure, he decides to move far away and leases it to tenants. The rent comes due, but the tenants decide not to pay, and they either run off or kill anyone (including the landlord’s son) who is sent to collect it. Later in the story he quizzes them about what will happen when the landowner himself comes to collect the overdue rent. They all agree the wicked tenants will meet a miserable end and proper new tenants will be found. The wicked tenants had a good deal going, but through their greedy and murderous deeds they forfeited their rights to tenancy and the opportunity for a rewarding life. Of course, the chief priests and elders recognize that Jesus is talking about them; but instead of realizing the error of their ways, they seethe in anger and eventually plot to destroy him. What does any of this have to do with my life or yours as we begin this new year of 2015? Surely neither of us could be compared to the wicked tenants or chief priests. Most of us pay our bills in a timely manner and don’t kill people. This story couldn’t possibly have any value for you or me because we do the right things and follow all (okay, most) of the rules. Our pride never gets in the way, and we’re always willing to admit our mistakes. We never sacrifice our true self for the sake of ego. Or do we? ‐ Br. Gene Sederstrom, OSBCn, Community of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne 33 March 7 ‐ Perpetua & Companions Micah 7:14‐20 •Psalm 103:1‐12 • Luke 15:1‐3, 11‐32 "Stand fast in the faith, and love one another. Do not let our sufferings be a stumbling block to you." ‐ Saint Perpetua There is a clear, luminous thread throughout scripture, revealing the God of the universe as infinite love – faithful, merciful and just. Because we, as God’s human creatures, are not that, it’s hard for us to grasp that no matter what betrayal or cruelty, what selfishness or self‐
destructiveness, what greed or oppression we perpetrate on one another or the world, God’s default response is always steadfast love, faithfulness and mercy. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus makes the point once again. In response to the Pharisees grumbling about his habit of hanging out with society’s outcasts, Jesus tells the story, using the familiar relationship between a parent and an adult child. He sets up a situation where a selfish, rebellious, disrespectful child asks the impossible of his father, his inheritance while his father is very much alive, and then literally throws it away in the most irresponsible, self‐indulgent way possible. Then he comes home remorsefully, hoping that his father will allow him to be a field hand so he won’t starve, and his father runs to embrace him and throws a big party to celebrate his return. Any of us who have been parents, or children for that matter, stand open‐mouthed. Are you kidding me? A party? No recriminations, or punishment? Human beings have consistently made God into what we needed – tribal, condemning and vengeful; distant and uninvolved; mild and accommodating. But then there is this shaft of bright, sharp light of revelation that pierces the darkness and leaves us awe‐struck and open‐
mouthed. Are you kidding me? ‐ Karen Turner 34 man at the pool points Jesus out to the authorities and they begin to plan to kill Jesus. When I turn away from God (sin), firstly, I miss the joy and love God has to offer, and ultimately, I open myself and others to potential disaster. “My Father is still working and I also am working.” vs.17 Can I fully appreciate that God and Jesus are always available to me, that they are always at work in my life and in the lives of others? During Lent I am invited to turn back and accept the grace of God. First I must decide if I want to be healed, only then can I acknowledge with love and gratitude God’s holy grace and healing in my life, and begin walking in the way of God’s kingdom. It is true that miracles happen when our will and God’s power co‐
operate to make them possible. ‐ Robert Crosby Toad Hollow Photography 47 reality exists ‐‐ spiritually and theologically it is real, even if the physical reality can never match the theological one . As all prophetic vision makes clear, earthly physical‐spatial reality and earthly temporal reality are never the whole story. Just as pulling back a curtain on Job's suffering revealed the transcendent stakes at work in a spiritual world, so too Ezekiel's remarkable vision reveals the lush and flourishing spiritual reality that overlies a place and a people in the midst of whom God dwells, despite the seeming physical deadness of deserts and salt seas, of barren lands and empty hearts. ‐Jordana Lobo‐Pires * * * Questions of Healing, for Lent John 5: 1‐18 “When the soul has laid down its faults at the feet of God, it feels as though it had wings” (Eugenie de Guerin). In this season of Lent, we can experience a lifting up of our self‐imposed burdens as we open ourselves to the love of God. “Do you want to be made well?” vs.6b If, in our inmost hearts, we are well content to stay as we are, there can be no change for us. Do I understand the possible reasons for not wanting to be healed? I identify with my affliction. It is part of who I am. I gain comfort from the sympathy and care I receive. I am (possibly) supported financially because of my affliction. My affliction gives me an excuse for non‐participation in both worldly and kingdom work. I fear the change and challenge of becoming healed. “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?” vs.12 Do I understand and appreciate God’s healing grace in my life? Am I grateful to God for his mercy or do I see my blessings as mainly self‐ achievement or the work of other people or things? “Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” Vs.14b Do I recognize that Jesus is not threatening me here but is speaking the truth? When I go my own way, I set in motion things that can have catastrophic consequences for me as well as for others. The 46 March 8 ‐ Third Sunday in Lent Exodus 20:1‐17 • Psalm 19 • 1 Cor 1:18‐25 • John 2:13‐22 35 March 9 ‐ Gregory of Nyssa 395 2 Kings 5:1‐15a • Psalm 42:1‐2,11‐15 • Luke 4:24‐30 Prayer is the delight of the joyful as well as the solace of the afflicted. . . Prayer is intimacy with God and contemplation of the invisible. –Gregory of Nyssa What I saw in this passage is that it combines a story of powerful people with mundane tasks. Na’aman is a powerful man‐we may not know exactly what ‘leprosy’ was among the Biblical peoples but it sets him apart from others. Even though he is powerful and successful, Na’aman is incomplete in his relationships to other people. To fix this, he has to step out of the usual relationship of the Syrians and Israel—at the time, Syria clearly has an upper hand in a long‐running conflict, and Na’aman would not expect to reach out to Israel in order that he be restored. And when he takes this step—a courageous one for a leader with a reputation to maintain‐he would expect a “cure” with more ceremony than being asked to wash in the river of another people. Instead of getting the treatment one might expect for a leader, he is asked to submit‐to washing, to the instructions of another people’s prophet, to the power that is inherent in the land and water of Israel. Many times I feel asked to “submit” in ways that I don’t expect—and maintaining integrity, or restoring relationships, involves moving onto someone’s territory. It involves momentarily letting go of the parts of life where I feel in control or personally affirmed, in order to put myself in proper relation with the things that matter and the people I love. This is a daily challenge that I pray for the strength to take up. ‐ Mitch Hammond 36 March 17 ‐ Patrick Missionary, Bishop in Ireland 461 Ezekiel 47:1‐9,12 • Psalm 46 • John 5:1‐18 Today we have reflections for both the Ezekiel and John readings. Ezekiel 47 Ezekiel's vision of a river that originates at the temple and transforms the land into a green, lush paradise is on one level a simple and obvious enough ideal image of a land transformed into a lush, paradise since God Himself dwells in it. But it is startling in its context ‐‐ a shift in register which I'd like to explore. From chapters 40 to 46, Ezekiel was provided with the precise measurements and a detailed description of the rebuilt temple. The language is exact: 'so many cubits for the door of the temple ‐‐ for its height, its depth, its width ‐‐ so many cubits for the wall of the city, so many cubits for the east gate, and the north gate, and the south, to the south is the altar, x cubits high...'. This is all a vision, of course, since the temple hasn't yet been rebuilt, and yet the exactness of the description belies its fictionality. When, many years into their future, the Israelites return from exile to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, they could take Ezekiel's description and follow it as one would a detailed architectural plan. Physical reality can be made, in time, to match the theological reality of the vision. So it is a surprise when in chapter 47 the description of the land with the temple shifts into a different register. The architectural concreteness vanishes, and the geography of the land takes on an ideal form. We suspect that physical exactness has morped into metaphoric exaggeration, and this is indeed the case. The vision retains its power from its heightened, exaggerated idealism. With God Himself dwelling in the midst of the people, He is the sole source of grace and blessing that flows so strongly out from the place of sacrifice and worship, that it brings flourishing plenty to the land, and turns even dead places such as the Dead Sea into ones that teem with life. Going east was the direction of movement away from God ‐‐ when Adam and Eve were banished from Eden, they were sent away to the East ‐‐ and yet here the river flows east, bringing blessing and life to the places that symbolically lie removed from grace. And unlike the earlier chapters, the topographical description here cannot be made physically real. Yet, this spiritual 45 March 16 Isaiah 65:17‐21 • Psalm 30 • John 4:43‐54 Prayer for a New Earth Holy One, we take this moment to become aware of Your Presence. We breathe in, and out, and knowing it is You who creates and sustains us. We share the air, the water, the soil ‐ the mystery of Creation with all: help us remember this and so be moved by awe and gratitude. Help us to align ourselves with your covenant, your commitment to justice and peace: give us courage to comfort the weeping and to support the workers in the vineyard. You are relentless in Your love, you never give up on us. We have so much to learn, help us stay fluid, open, curious and passionate. Let the beauty we perceive and the love we receive become what we do, who we are. May others come to know You through the way we engage with You. Help us surrender to the Divine flow which is Your Life. Let us yearn to hear Your still small voice. Whisper, tease, remind us to cooperate, create and give thanks without judgment. Help us realize our full size and fill us to the brim. Tune us to hear the music of Your new creation, entreat us to join the dance, even when we don’t yet know the steps. Breathe in our ear, tickle our fancy, and nudge us to laugh and cry. You are the reason we’re here; we serve no other purpose than what is Yours. Help us serve this Your World as we ponder and wonder at your Creation. You who love diversity, expand us to love all you have created. With Jesus, master of the finite and infinite, we pray unceasingly. Amen. ‐ Selinde Krayenhoff 44 March 10 ‐ Robert Machray 1904 Song of The 3 Young Men 1:2,11‐20• Psalm 25:3‐8 • Matthew 18:21‐35 The Unforgiving Servant His fist is fast, his heart’s a weather‐vane; now here I am: strung‐out, laced on this rack. I’ll never get into his debt again! His offer of forgiveness was a chilblain on my soul. At all cost – stay in the black! His fist is fast, his heart’s a weather‐vane. Don’t ask me what I owe him – let him explain: the whip‐hand can relax, or it can attack. I’ll never get into his debt again! The game is fixed: we can’t even complain when it’s mercy that perpetuates our lack. His fist is fast, his heart’s a weather‐vane. We’ve got no choice but to cha‐cha on the chain when he pulls the string on all outstanding tax. I’ll never get into his debt again – but went out and squeezed a throat, trying to gain distance from the jealous egomaniac whose fist is fast, whose heart’s a weather‐vane. I’ll never get into his debt again. ‐ The Rev. Travis O’Brian 37 March 11 ‐ Edward King Bishop of Lincoln Deuteronomy 4:1,5‐10 • Psalm 147:13‐21 • Matthew 5: 17‐20 It is never easy to hear Jesus speak these words about the eternity of the entirety of the law, preferring more readily the lens of Paul: “Christ is the end of the law…” (Romans 10:4). But Jesus is very adamant here – beginning with an admonition – “Don’t you even think about it!” – something I sternly counsel my son as he raises his fist ready to smack his big sister. “Don’t even entertain the notion that I’ve come to abolish the law and the prophets”, Jesus insists. The matter is so serious that even every itty‐bitty stroke of each of the smallest letters – like the dot of one of the ‘i’s – will outlast this world. It seems to me that it is continuity and conversation that Jesus wants to emphasize. Even as we prepare for an event that shakes us at our foundations where all becomes new, we are given the stern warning not to fool around with the very core of our call, the ancient ethical commandments that have as their purpose and goal to enable and enact our love of God and of others (righteousness). We have the written words of the Torah as one of God’s ways of remaining in relationship with us and with our communities – words meant to help keep us attentive to God’s will and the path of right‐relationship which leads towards the kingdom of heaven. Truly we have been told. Amen. ‐ Anita Fast 38 March 15 ‐ Fourth Sunday in Lent Numbers 21:4‐9 • Psalm 107:1‐3,17‐22 Ephesians 2:1‐10 • John 3:14‐21 As this passage describes how the children of Israel slipped into grumbling and complaining about their lot after having been freed from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, it reminds us how easily we can get mired in the mundane and minor ups and downs of everyday life. In doing so, we can easily lose sight of the big picture and longer term view of our life’s journey with God. It takes a plague of lethal snake bites for the Israelites to recognize their sin of their grumbling, and regain perspective on the goodness and grace of God. When the Israelites turned to God, he offered an antidote to the snake bites: the simple act of looking skyward to the bronze image of the snake, symbolizing a contrite and submissive heart, and healing took place. God is always available to us, and offers us the inner resources that we need to face life’s challenges. We only need to acknowledge his presence, and turn our faces to him to experience his goodness and love. ‐ Joan Sedgwick Meagan Crosby‐Shearer, Ireland 43 Your own reflections on this wilderness journey: 42 March 12 Jeremiah 10:11‐24 • Psalm 95:1‐9 • Luke 11:14‐23 "When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice." ‐ Gregory the Great Bishop of Rome 604 I find myself reflecting on the “divided kingdom not being able to stand” and the passage in Jeremiah which reminds me to keep focusing on the fact that God is greater than my idols. Should I; shouldn’t I Illusionary experiences of grace? Think one thing; behaviour another away Self ‐ protection perhaps? Long for silence; keep myself busy What am I afraid of? Want to do God’s will; will not listen to others Self‐justification perhaps? March for peace; and ignore those at home My love seems more imaginary than real! And so forth. Today, God, Jesus and Holy Spirit let my divided heart know oneness with you. As I bring myself before you, pour your grace of singleness of heart upon my heart. Heal my divided heart and help me sort my priorities. Where idols divide my heart, may I more fully comprehend your greatness over my idols and know your love for this world of yours and for me till I have no need of my idols. Amen ‐ Brenda Jenner SSJD 39 March 13 Hosea 14:1‐9 • Psalm 81 • Mark 12:28‐34 The First Commandment When we love God with our whole heart, our whole strength and whole understanding, we are like a radio receiver that tunes to the beloved. We tune our bodies to receive God, to be aware of God, to know God and to know we are one with God and neighbour. When I teach a healing workshop, we first form community by sitting in a circle. We invite God’s light and love into our hearts and then through intention, we offer that to the person on our right. This of course means we receive from the person on our left. Love is about offering and receiving, creating an endless circle of love. Those of us in the circle, become one with God and one with each other. We end by releasing that love to the world. When we love God with our whole heart and ask that love to work through us offering that to our neighbour, God communes with human beings, we become God’s hands and hearts in the world. It is that simple and yet complex. It means we must surrender to the love that will radically change who we are and our role on this planet. The Kingdom of God is near, are you ready? Radical love once tasted, once felt creates a craving that is only satisfied by drinking more from the cup of Divine love! Drink deeply and be ready, the Kingdom of God is near! ‐ Rochelle Graham 40 March 14 Hosea 5:13‐6:6 • Psalm 51:1‐2,17‐20 • Luke 18:9‐14 What goes up… As I sat down in my seat on the airplane I noticed a well‐known Canadian celebrity in the row behind talking loudly on his cellphone for all to hear. As I fumbled with my seatbelt, I could not help but hear this man shout at his agent, “You tell Jian Ghomeshi that I’ll never do another interview with him. And tell Peter Mansbridge that next time he needs to show me more respect.” As I tried to engage the passenger beside me in polite conversation, it sounded like the agent at the other end of the phone was attempting, in vain, to soothe the man. Finally, the celebrity screamed into the phone, “You don’t understand. I am the centre of the universe!” The passengers around me were speechless except for the woman beside me, who rolled her eyes, leaned over and said to me in a thick Newfoundland accent, “Somebody needs to save this guy from himself!” In today’s gospel reading Jesus tells a story of a righteous religious leader so “full of himself” that he was proud to proclaim in his “high brow” way that he was better than all the others around him. The Tax Collector, a social pariah for working with the occupying Roman regime, offers a different image. Repentant. Humble. Broken. The man names his sin before God and asks for mercy. So much of our own human effort is spent trying to demonstrate our worth and masking our shortcomings. Christianity, however, is not a “high brow” or upwardly mobile faith. No, God elected to be demonstratively “downwardly mobile” in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Paul wrote in Philippians 2, “Christ Jesus…emptied himself, taking the form of a slave…(and) humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” Part of our walk on this Lenten journey is to get down on our knees, confess our sin and trust that Jesus can and will save us from everything and everyone – including ourselves. Prayer: God of abundant life, we praise you for the ways in which you call us to servant leadership in this world. Help us to be humble disciples, eager to live and work for the sake of the gospel. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. ‐ Rev. Dr. Ross Lockhart ‐ Associate Professor at St. Andrew’s Hall, UBC. 41