God one, God three

When you pray to God, what do you see in your head?

Where does your imagination lead you when you search for God?

When my daughter was little, in Seminary in New York,

a colleague was writing a research paper on the spiritual development of children.

As part of her work she asked the children of seminarians to draw a picture of God.

They all came up with different images. Light, fire, wind.

My daughter was 4 and she drew a being that was half man and  half woman.

When asked about it she said that God is not really a boy or really a girl and that was it.

When you pray to God, whom do you pray to?

What is the source of your image of God?

Poetic imagination, art, tradition?

God is the ultimate mystery.

The first cause that brought all life into existence cannot be defined or described,

because although we all experience God, nobody has ever touched, smelled, really seen God.

And as much as we try we really don’t have enough words, the right words.

God, the ineffable.

God is honored under many names throughout scripture and within the tradition of our faith -

Elohim, Yahweh, El Shaddai to name just the most frequent.

And through the history of human relationship with our Creator,

we have come up with plenty of metaphors, similes, descriptions

of a God that is beyond our naming:

judge, midwife, gardener, rock, fortress, comforting mother (yes, Isa 66:13),

good shepherd, lion, she-bear.

In Resurrection, Rowan Williams - former ABC - writes:

Jesus language about God is not monolithic but is diverse and colorful,

as can be seen in the imaginative parables he spun out.

A woman looking for a lost coin, a shepherd looking for the lost sheep,

a bakerwoman kneading dough...the birth experience that delivers persons into new life,

an employer offending workers by his generosity.

God mysterious and ineffable becomes human to overcome the chasm between us.

God untouchable and indescribable becomes one of us,

so that we may touch, see, experience through our limited human senses

what would be otherwise beyond our comprehension.

We have many names for Jesus too:

the Messiah, the Christ,

the Word of God, God incarnate, Son of David, Son of man.

And we have metaphors: gate or door, water, brother, savior, redeemer,

nursing mother (for St. Augustine and Dame Julian of Norwich), Logos and Suffering servant.

Of the Incarnation, Karl Barth wrote:

“Here the hidden, the eternal and incomprehensible God has taken visible form.

Here the Almighty is mighty in a quite definite, particular, earthly happening.

Here the Creator has become creature and therefore objective reality”

That God chose a specific age and a specific place for the Incarnation

and as a consequence a specific gender,

has been for centuries a stumbling block on the spiritual journey of many.

In spite of the fact that we all know that Jesus was a Jewish man from a land in Western Asia,

between the Mediterranean sea and the Jordan River,

representations of him as a pretty blond with blue eyes abound.

And of course the fact that he was male

has lead theologians to assert that God is revealed as male,

and therefore exclusively masculine imagery and pronouns for God are appropriate.

And it has been used for centuries as the primary reason why women shouldn't be ordained.

I won’t belabor the point since I believe you all know where I stand on the matter.

The point is that once God made the choice of giving up divine attributes to become creature,

the scandal of particularity was unavoidable.

But that is our problem, not God’s.

God became incarnate as a Middle Eastern, Jewish male

of what we now define as the first century,

limiting God-self in a very real way,

because God so loved the world that God wanted to be known in a way that was real to us.

And that is all that matters.

And when God-in-Christ had done what he had come to do,

he still loved us too much to leave us behind, lost and alone.

He did not abandon us to our own feeble devices.

He promised: “ I am with you always, to the end of the age."

And God-the-Holy Spirit came to us.

Wind, Ruach, agent of Creation, source and nurturer of life,

the Holy Spirit speaks to us in the voice of the prophets

who are willing to make themselves vessels of God’s words.

The ancient ones, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Amos and the contemporary ones:

Joan Chittister, Desmond Tutu, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Oscar Romero, just to name a few.

The Holy Spirit also guides us when we gather in the community of the faithful to prayerfully

-that’s the operative word - prayerfully make decisions for the good of the whole.

By the way, in my prayer life the Spirit has a more feminine nature

so I always use the feminine pronoun to talk about - well - HER.

If this offends your sensibilities I am sorry, but that’s my spiritual life and not yours.

You are free to address Her as whatever you want,

just remember that the third person of the Trinity is still a person

and not a specter, a phantom, or a fairy

and as the fifth article of religion states  (page 868 in the BCP):

the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son,

is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son,

very and eternal God.

So, when you pray to God, what do you see in your head?

When you pray to God, whom do you pray to?

The one Jesus calls Abba?

The Incarnate God, with the dirty feet and the soft voice?

The whimsical Holy Spirit who indicts and heals in the same breath?

Maybe all of them, God in three persons, blessed Trinity,

or each and everyone of them at different times in your life, depending on your need.

Today we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

It is a very good day to reflect on the image of God we carry

in our minds and in our hearts.

What does it say about us, about our spiritual journey,

and what impact that image has on our everyday life?

In 1670, philosopher Blaise Pascal published Pensee,

a defense of the Christian faith, in which he wrote:

There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person,

and it can never be filled by any created thing.

It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.

Each and every human heart is missing a piece.

The hole in my heart may be slightly differently shaped

than the one in yours, but the desire to fill that hole

with the love that creates, redeems, and gives meaning to all life

is the same for all of us.

That desire is what unites us and brings us here today

because whatever image of God you carry in your mind,

whatever shape the hole in your heart is,

it is still in the one God that we all live, and move, and have our being.

Amen

Leading . . . from behind

Pentecost, the celebration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the first followers of Jesus, has traditionally been considered “the birthday of the Church”. Today, just like on that day long ago, the community of the faithful comes together is a special space to rejoice in the power of the Spirit

This is indeed a special day, and we will celebrate the presence of the Spirit among us by baptizing some new Christians. Yet, every Sunday is the day of the Lord and every Sunday we are called to come together in a special place to speak to God in prayer and to “hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people” in Scripture, in music, and in the shared liturgical actions.

At the heart of our common identity is the sharing of the Eucharistic meal: we come to the altar to be nourished and empowered for our ministry in the world. We receive the Body and Blood of Jesus not because we deserve it, but because we need it to accomplish the work that Jesus has given us to do. The point is made especially clear in Eucharistic Prayer C, in which we ask: Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. It is from the same altar that we are to be sent into the world: we are apostles, we are “the sent ones” and Jesus “pushes us” out of the building and into the mission field from the same place where He welcomes and nourishes us that we may have the strength and the courage we need for the work that lies ahead. This is the message embodied by the deacon or priest who dismisses the congregation from the altar. The same liturgical action also has the clergy embody Christ the Good Shepherd by “leading from behind”. The good shepherd knows that sheep don’t follow a leader like others are prone to do. The good shepherd may set a safe course, but in order to make sure that the sheep stay together on the path, he/she needs to remain behind the flock to make sure that everyone is unharmed. In this way he/she can leave the flock to attend to the one that is hurt or lost. Hence the dismissal from the altar “go to love and serve, I will be right behind you to ensure the safety of the community”. It is a powerful message and an honor for the one who is delivering it every Sunday morning.

Liturgy, Formation, and now . . . mission

This is the last part of a series. You can find part I, II, and III on our website.

Liturgy, Formation, Mission. The three most important components of our Episcopal identity.

This week, Mission is at the forefront of my mind as we commission the team that will visit our partners in mission in Mtoto, Kenya. It happens often that when we talk about Mission, people think about pioneers schlepping bags of Bibles to some remote corner of the world, but for us the word has a much wider meaning. It comes from the Latin verb missio/mittere, which means to send. All Christians are called to mission because all Christians are sent by Jesus who said: go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matt.28:19-20a) We may respond to Jesus’ command in different ways, living out our mission among different communities, yet we are all sent: to offices, schools, hospitals, and shelters, to the centers of power, and to remote villages in Africa - the whole world is our mission field; we are sent to friends and neighbors, to the poor and forgotten, to the wealthy and to those in authority, with the charge of showing them all how to become more like Jesus. We do that by building loving relationships with them and by serving them in whatever way is needed. St. Francis of Assisi famously said “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words” and we take his words at heart by feeding, sheltering, teaching and mentoring, advising and advocating, providing, and caring for all our brothers and sisters in Christ. By the grace of God we are all given gifts for the common good and empowered for the work ahead of us. No one is exempt, everyone is sent. And we are sent together, in pairs and in groups so that we can support one another and hold each other accountable. And, of course, we are never left to our own human devices, because the very One who sent us promised: And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:20b)

Education . . . the Episcopal way.

This is Part III of a series. See the latest post for Parts I and II

When I said that Education is at the core of Episcopal identity, I actually should have used the word Formation. 

The general understanding of the word Education may lead us to believe that the only thing we care about is the acquisition of knowledge through traditional study. This is not the case. We believe that Christians are on a constant journey toward the goal of being more and more like our Savior, and that happens in many different ways.

As the famous collect in the BCP says we like to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” Scripture, yet at the same time Episcopalian enjoy exploring the thought of scholars and theologians from different religious background, and even the holy texts of other traditions. 

We also appreciate to meet with brothers and sisters who experience God in a different way, and find the One not only in books, but also in the beauty and complexity of nature, in music and song, in art and human endeavor.

At Saint Anne’s we enjoy a variety of opportunities for personal and spiritual formation. Formal classes and casual Bible studies in large or small groups, on and off campus, provide everyone with food for thought. Sermons and articles challenge our minds and our hearts on a regular basis. Training for service keeps us focused and sharp in our ministries. Our worship services contribute to the formation of good practices for a healthy spiritual life. 

As I work on the calendar for Adult Formation for the new programmatic year, I am pleasantly surprised at the variety and depth of talent that can be found in our community. If you have suggestions for classes or experiences for us to share, please get in touch with me. I am open to new ideas! Licia+ 

Catching up with myself

Transitions are hard.
So much to do, so much to plan, so much to think about.
No wonder I haven't posted since NOVEMBER?!
It was in November that I received communication from St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Atlanta, that I was one of the finalists for the position of Rector.
It was in November that three members of the search committee came all the way from Georgia to Phoenix to meet me and my family.
It was in November that the journey with the lovely people of St. Anne's became "real" in my mind an din my life.
Did I stop preaching at All Saints' Phoenix? Of course not. But I stopped posting and I am sorry I did.
January was the time for a short visit to Atlanta to know and be known,  to have deep conversation with my family, to make important choices. In February the call came and the whirlwind of preparations, prayers, and farewells that are necessary when we leave a piece of our heart in one place to take the rest somewhere else.
March brought the long drive from PHX to ATL with best friend Lynn who wouldn't let me drive all the way on my own (God bless her), followed almost immediately by Holy Week and the resurrection of Easter.
Now, after two long months of late nights and early mornings trying to find myself in this new place and this new role, I believe I am ready to start again with the sharing of reflections and sermons.
Last week I started a four part meditation on Episcopal identity. It is being published on the B'Anne'R, our newsletter, so it is tailored for my new community - I think you may find it interesting too.

Below find part one and two.
Licia+

What is the Episcopal Church about? What do we value the most? What is our "elevator speech" if we have to describe who we are to someone who doesn't know?

A few thoughts.

Liturgy. We have an awareness that in our communal worship we speak TO God (and strengthen, deepen our relationship with God) and ABOUT God (to those who are participating, observing, sharing). That is why we care. Because in the Liturgy we are called to be hosts to the holy banquet that Jesus has prepared for us, and we cherish that role, we want to do it "right".

Education. We value our God-given gift of reason, we value doubt and incertitude, and we appreciate the struggle with Tradition and Scripture that invites the Holy Spirit to move among us. We encourage community study and shared conversations about anything that has to do with God and the Church.

Mission. We strive to live our sacred calling in the world. Even when it's hard. Even when it's exhausting, frustrating, disappointing. Even when justice is nowhere to be found and peace is a mirage. We still try to find answers for the disenfranchised and remedies to the evils of the world. We show our love for God by loving the unlovable and putting up with the stumbling blocks we ourselves place on our own path.

How are we embodying this at St. Anne’s? Liturgy, Education, Mission are at the heart of who we are, and over the next few weeks I will be reflecting on that in the B’Anne’R. As always, I welcome your comments. Licia+

Last week, I began a reflection on the Episcopal Identity. I said that we find it in our emphasis on Liturgy, Education and Mission. Today I’d like to expand on our understanding of Liturgy.

Since 1979 Episcopal Liturgy is really “the work of the people” in the sense that it encourages high level of participation from everyone in the assembly. Since we believe in “the priesthood of all believers”, our liturgy embodies our desire to see everyone, not just the clergy, use his or her gifts for the common good. Some read, some share bread and wine, some welcome current members and guests into our sacred spaces, some carry our holy objects in procession. Anyone who wants to contribute is welcome.  Everyone prays. In our communal worship we talk to God and talk about God, sharing our love for our Creator, inviting others into our relationship with God. Our music is evocative and supports our prayer life. Everything we say and do has multiple layers of meaning: practical and symbolic; everything we say and do points at something deeper and has the power to transform us and make us more like Jesus.

Here at St. Anne’s many are involved in our communal worship in a variety of different roles. Serving is a joy, but we understand that it is also a responsibility since our ultimate purpose is to bring others closer to God. We take pride in what we do and at the same time we are not so limited by our attention to the details that we forget what is really important: thanking our Creator for the bounty of the gifts we receive everyday through God’s grace.

A really heartfelt THANK YOU to all those who make our Sunday morning a memorable experience for members and guests. Licia+

A lack of imagination a.k.a. marriage in the Kingdom of God - Pentecost XXV

Luke 20:27-38

It all started with the cleansing of the Temple.

Now all the religious authorities have a major beef with Jesus and are out to get him.

Their underlying question is

“by what authority is this man defying our leadership, our authority”

in society, in our political and religious circles?

They all want him out of the way, and the easiest solution is to trap him into a conviction for sedition, rebellion, slander, or blasphemy.

So, according to Luke, they “watched him and sent spies”.

Since time immemorial, money and sex are powerful tools to make human being look like fools,

so first, we see how the Pharisees place in front of Jesus the stumbling block of taxes,

"Do we or don't we pay them? Does Roman law supersede Jewish law?"

As we all know Jesus gets quickly out of that particular quagmire.

You know, being Jesus and all...

Now the Sadducees want to trip him with a question about relationships in the afterlife.

To begin with, a word on the Sadducees – in case you don't remember who they are.

The Sadducees were a Jewish sect that belonged to

the upper socio-economic echelons of Judean society.

They had the extremely important responsibility of maintaining the Temple.

Which mean sthat they had a lot of power and a lot of financial resources.

And were friendly with the Romans.

They differed from the Parisees on an important theological point:

they believed that the soul is not immortal, and that there is no afterlife with penalties/rewards after death.

The Sadducees’ question was making fun of the idea of resurrection, 

embraced by the Pharisees, and their purpose was to make it sound ridiculous

thus making Jesus look ridiculous through the use of simple logic.

Their question has to do with Levirate marriage as it is set in Deuteronomy.

According to Jewish law, if a man died childless,

his widow was to marry his brother (the one next in line to inherit)

and their first male child would be considered son and heir of the first husband.

In this way the family name would be perpetuated.

In Hebrew scripture – in the very genealogy of Jesus,

two famous women found themselves involved in such marriages.

Tamar with terrible results that led her to take radical and scandalous action,

And Ruth, who found in the practice a redeemer for herself

and her mother-in-law, Naomi.

The law of Moses was meant for two reasons: to perpetuate the family name, to insure a legacy, and to protect the widows, whose fate was potentially really grim if they didn't have a male relative (including a male child) to take care of them.

Now let's go back to the Sadduccees.

Their problem is a lack of imagination.

They are starting from the presupposition that if it even existed, life in the Kingdom of God

would be like life in this broken world of ours.

And why not? They belonged to an upper-caste, they were perfectly happy with life as they knew it, they had no interest in believing in a nebulous better place someday/somewhere.

Jesus disabuses them of the notion.

The rules of “this age” are for us in the here and now,

where the weak need the protection of law and tradition,

where we all need clear, codified rules of conduct that apply to everyone.

Pay taxes, get married: it's the way of the world.

But the Kingdom of God is not the world.

And eternal life, resurrected life, is not the life we know.

Human rules do not apply in “that age”.

When that age comes, all human bets are off.

It will be the Kingdom of God,

something so “other than” the world we know

that we cannot imagine it, let alone find words to describe it.

All human constructs will become useless.

There will be no need for a law to protect, and guide, and order.

God will be completely in charge

as all that we now see through a glass darkly

(as Paul says) will become clear.

God, who knows all, and sees all, and loves all,

already lives in that Kingdom, in that age.

God already lives the eternal life that we are promised

and will share when God's time comes for us.

God is already the God of the everliving joy, peace,

and love that we can barely, just barely begin to imagine.

The Sadduccees are unable to imagine the Kingdom and therefore do not believe in it.

The Sadduccees are unable to believe that Jesus is the emissary

and the promise of that Kingdom.

But we- the Church, the Body of Christ - are called to be better than that.

We are called to faith and to hope.

We are called not to limit our imagination,

so that we may bear all things, believe all things,

hope all things, endure all things (1Cor 13:7)

as we await the coming of Christ in glory.

OR, as somebody aptly put it:

imagine the universe beautiful and just and perfect,

then be sure of one thing:

God has imagined it quite a bit better than you have.

Amen

All Saints' Day at All Saints'...a sermon on a plain

Here it is, the Sermon on the mount.

one of the most famous readings in the lectionary.

quoted and misquoted here and there,

appropriated by many to prove a point or another.

We are all very familiar with it and we all feel that we know what it means. Right?

Well no. Not really.

First of all this is no Sermon on the mount.

See, most people have Matthew's version of the discourse stuck in their minds,

but this is Luke’s version so I’d like to clarify a few things, like the where, when, who and why of this passage.

Bear with me.

On one fine evening, Jesus went out on a mountain to pray.

He spent the night in prayer and when the day came, Jesus called his disciples

(all of the disciples who had camped right around there) and chose 12.

And those 12 he named Apostles.

This is very important: of all the disciples (the followers) around him,

Jesus picks 12 and names them Apostles which means messengers, those who are sent forth.

A huge change in job description if I’ve ever seen one.

And then, he comes down with them and stands on a level place-

I am not making it up, I am quoting Luke!

I told you it was not on the mount: this is the Sermon on the Plain.

AND he is surrounded by his brand new 12 Apostles AND a great crowd of disciples (followers)

and a great multitude of people coming from all over the place

Judea, Jerusalem, as far as the coast of Tyre and Sidon

and this multitude is eager to hear him,

and also (probably especially) to be healed of their diseases.

We need to see in our minds where we are and who is there

b/c through all these details Luke is alerting us to the fact that

what is going to happen now is supremely important.

Before major events Jesus prays - that’s our first indicator.

And here we have a multitude of people and they come from really far - another indicator.

Imagine concentric circles around this amazing man-God

who then looks up at his disciples and speaks.

he is talking to his disciples, the ones he is training,

those men and women who had already made the choice of following him,

who had already dropped everything to make Jesus a priority,

who had already found themselves in difficult places,

unexpected even dangerous places b/c of him

and who will soon find themselves in places even more painful,

more overwhelming and difficult to understand:

the passion, the cross, the death

And this is what he tells them:

Love your enemies.

Do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you.

Pray for those who abuse you.

Give to everyone who begs from you

and if anyone takes away your possessions, do not ask for them again.

In other words: do to others as you would have them do to you.

This is what it means to be a disciple - a follower.

You can take it or leave it, but here it is.

And Jesus also says, as you do all this, remember

that you who are choosing to be poor with me are blessed.

you who are choosing to be hungry with me are blessed

you who are choosing to weep with me and to be excluded, reviled, and defamed with me, you are blessed.

Because you have ME. Because you are following ME, because you are becoming like ME.

And for emphasis, he adds that if you instead choose otherwise as is your prerogative -

if you choose to focus on your needs and desires,

to accumulate riches for yourself, in simpler words,

if you put not to put Jesus at the center of your life -

then you will be in trouble, you will not be blessed.

Because you will not be following ME, you will be separated from ME.

It is not a threat.

Not everyone is cut out to be a disciple.

But if you say you are one, if you choose to be one,

don’t say that Jesus didn’t tell you how it was going to be.

It’s right there, spelled out with extreme clarity.

Love your enemies.

Do good to those who hate you.

Bless those who curse you.

Pray for those who abuse you.

Give to everyone who begs from you

and if anyone takes away your possessions, do not ask for them again.

In other words: do to others as you would have them do to you.

Now Jesus is not expecting immediate perfection.

Jesus is not telling us

Woe to you if you don’t give to every single charity that sends you an envelope in the mail

or if you ask your neighbor who borrowed your toolbox two months ago to kindly give it back.

Jesus understands that when pledge time comes you want to take some time

to think about how to allocate your money

and that when someone hurts you it may take some time to forgive them.

Jesus understands that. And more.

That is why we have community around us.

The community of the Church, of all the baptized all around us,

men  and women like us who struggle as we do to be disciples.

That’s why we have the Saints who have gone before us, to be role models of discipleship.

That’s why we have the Sacraments - tangible, visible signs of God’s constant presence in our lives.

Of how the Holy Spirit protects, empowers, and readies us for discipleship.

In his sermon on the plain,

Jesus is not expecting immediate perfection.

Jesus is defining discipleship.

WE don’t have to be disciples.

We can be like those who showed up on the plain to be healed and then once they got what they wanted went back to Tyre and Sidon to live regular lives of selfish behavior and personal gain.

But if we do that, we miss the blessing.

The joy of discipleship.

The amazing reward of a struggle conquered,

of a job well done,

of the love of God given freely,

of knowing that by loving our neighbor we love God first.

Amen