The Prayers of the People within the worship at St. Margaret’s in Palm Desert, CA this past Sunday began with the words of a prayer attributed to St. Francis: “Lord, make us instruments of your peace.” The prayers were part of the Service of Remembrance, Reconciliation, and Hope.
View or download the Prayers of the People used on September 11, 2011 at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, CA.
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9
In the course of our conversation on Sunday (9/4) Suzanne observed that it is very difficult to love your neighbor if you cannot love yourself. Think about it: if you have only loathing for yourself, if you’ve already given up on being lovable, if you are so acutely aware of your own shortcomings to the point that you are afraid of being revealed a complete fraud so that you do nothing and risk little, well . . . it is going to be difficult to love anyone else.
As I’ve considered this during the week (oh yeah, I listen on Sunday and think about what I’ve heard throughout the week) I was put in mind of Moses. Over the last several weeks we heard about how he came to be adopted instead of killed. Amazing. We didn’t read about his murder of an Egyptian, his rejection by his own countrymen, nor about his speech impediment, but we know his story pretty well and remember what kind of a guy he was when called to serve. So it was that two Sundays ago we read about his encounter with God at the burning bush.
God chose this ill-mannered, murdering, rejected, and self-deprecating man with a speech impediment to lead his people from slavery to freedom. If anyone had good reason to be self-loathing rather than self-loving, it was Moses. Somehow he managed to trust God’s love and God’s call (oh, he argued first, but in the end went forward) to overcome his self-loathing long enough to do the work God had given him to do. God in Moses, Moses in God, shows me the way to a healthy self-love that can actually do good—with God’s amazing grace. How about you?
Are you ready to take off your sandals and listen to the love God has for you? Can you move past your self-absorption (and deprecation) long enough to allow God’s love to do amazing things within you and for the benefit of others? I’m counting on your “Yes, I am” answer.
In the Forum on Sunday (9/4) we considered Paul’s wisdom “The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 8:9
In a previous post I shared a “spiritual exercise” with you and invited you to, well . . . exercise. In the Forum we discussed the notion of “neighbor.” Of course, “Who is my neighbor?” was the question put to Jesus who answered by telling the story of the Good Samaritan and then asked the questioner (at the conclusion of the story) “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” Luke 10:36 “The one who showed mercy” was the (correct) answer and Jesus instructed his questioner (a lawyer) to go and do likewise.
Within the Forum as we wrestled with the question ourselves some began with the “neighbor” they could see and touch and interact with—beginning in their own families. To love this flesh and blood neighbor was their challenge. Others looked into the immediate community—the homeless, the hungry, even the violent—as the neighbor they were called to love. Still others looked into the “whole world” and included “enemies” in their neighborhood. All this to say that there are many answers to this question and that the best place to start to answer is the place you find yourself in right now.
Jesus through his stories, through his teaching, in his life and in his death opened his heart and opened his arms wide enough to embrace all who came to be in his presence, beginning with the flesh and blood family into which he was born, the flesh and blood group of disciples he gathered around him, and then he kept expanding his embrace until he opened his arms wide upon the cross and embraced us all. He sent his apostles and disciples into the whole world. Over the centuries, at our best, we the church have understood our mission as being an inclusive mission. At our worst we have drawn boundaries and counted some in and some out (and sadly this practice continues into our own day).
Let’s behave well, be on our best, as we answer the question, “Who is my neighbor” for ourselves. We have lots of information, now we need to match that with our actions.
On Sunday we heard from the Apostle Paul (talking plain enough to understand for a change)
++from Sunday 9/4: Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 8:9-10
As a way to extend the Sunday (9/4) lesson this week I invite you to try this “spiritual exercise” during the “other 6 days.”
One way to begin to love your neighbor (especially the neighbor you find unlovable) is to take that neighbor with you into your prayer time with God (the exercise I have just suggested).
Complain to God (if you must, or if it just “feels” good to complain). Express your exasperation with this neighbor, detail the many shortcomings you have discovered with this neighbor, God is a good listener. Perhaps, if you listen closely, you’ll be able to hear the complaints about you made by your neighbor. Perhaps, even if you don’t want to hear it, you’ll hear the detailing to God of your shortcomings made by this neighbor you have brought with you. The two of you, or the group of you, sitting with God for a spell; sitting with the same God who loves you all equally (see Matthew 5:43ff below) — it promises to be quite an experience. And, yes, I’m doing this all week myself. More later.
PASSAGES
++You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18
++“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48
+ + [The lawyer asked] “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, ” “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40
+ + But wanting to justify himself, [the lawyer] asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers . . . . Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37
This past Sunday (8/28/11) we talked about encounters with God (Moses and the burning bush being our inspiration). In the conversation we noted our belief that God reaches out to us constantly—sometimes we’re paying attention, sometimes not. We noted that as we adjust our sight and hearing in prayer and worship and service, we become more and more aware, and more ready, to encounter God in the “ordinary” events of our lives. In the course of the conversation David shared a poem to highlight our understanding:
“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning
We talked about coincidences, too. As if to highlight what we considered “God’s timeliness” (versus coincidence) this arrived in my email this morning:
Holiness comes wrapped in the ordinary. There are burning bushes all around you. Every tree is full of angels. Hidden beauty is waiting in every crumb.
—Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B in A Tree Full of Angels
Pay attention, today (always), encounters with God are bound to be numerous.
Save the date (and time)! You are invited to save the dates and times for 10th Anniversary remembrances at St. Margaret’s and in the community of Palm Desert, CA.
Details are being finalized as this is written, times and dates are firm—plan now to attend one or more of these events.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good
—Paul to the Romans a long time ago
“Do something extraordinary!” was probably not in the mind or heart of Susan Retik as she grieved the loss of her husband in the events of 9/11. Susan was pregnant with their third child, at home in Boston, when she heard that her husband had died as United Flight 11 was crashed into the North Tower in New York by terrorists.
At the right time, however, she and Patti Quigley, another 9/11 widow, did something extraordinary. Together they started Beyond the 11th Foundation. The Foundation helps widows in Afghanistan to earn a living to support their families.
We have presented Susan’s story here: Is it possible to forgive? It is the subject of a documentary, Beyond Belief, available on DVD (and streaming on Netflix). I bring her story to your attention again after reading it again in USA Today: “Lessons from one widow to another”
As we prepare for Sunday (8/28/11) I offer this to you: What Susan and Patti did in the sorrow and grief following 9/11 was (purposefully or not) to give flesh and blood, voice and touch, to the words of the Apostle Paul: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)
In our day with the 24/7 stream of news about evil and its aftermath it is so tempting to do nothing because the evil is so great and so pervasive. Long ago Paul spoke words to shatter such temptation, inaction, and defeat. In our own country, in our own day, Susan and Patti have not only spoken the same words but they have acted, they have done something extraordinary, to shatter the same temptation and defeatist attitude. They continue to work to overcome evil with good. And so must we.
What small, ordinary, commonplace action are you called to share in order to overcome evil with good? What community, working to overcome evil with good, are you invited to join (for many together can do more than one alone)? To what community do you already belong where, working together, you strive to overcome evil with good? How will you overcome evil with good in your own time, with the skills you have, in the time you have, in the place you are? Be sure to leave a comment here to encourage me and others.
This week we have (haven’t we?) been thinking about Spiritual Gifts (the main topic of conversation on Sunday Morning in the Forum). Rather than cite scholarly sources (which I have been reading), rather than offering extensive quotes, I will offer my current understanding of Spiritual Gifts as an invitation for you to also share.
You and I do not have to be experts, scholars, or theologians, to have an opinion and an understanding by which we live our faith—though it is helpful to let these opinions and understandings mature as they guide us (i.e., let them change as we gain more experience and understanding).
For brevity I will offer an “Executive Summary” of my current understanding. This is not meant to be exhaustive or the definitive “last word” on the topic of Spiritual Gifts—you know, I’m still learning a lot.
That’s probably enough for now. What do you think? What would you like to add (for me and others)? How can we grow together in our understanding of God’s generosity? Leave a comment, please. Let’s see where the Spirit will lead us.
Here is another story from our own day about forgiveness of “biblical proportions.”
As I re-read this article (from my “clippings” file) I thought again about the small acts of forgiveness that I have been asked to make. I thought again of the little annoyances that have the potential of becoming destructive prisons if simple words of forgiveness are never spoken. I also thought about the stories shared with me over the years of “heroic acts” of forgiveness that proved liberating: forgiving betrayals in the marriage relationship, forgiving coworkers whose dishonesty cost a job, forgiving family members for lies and half-truths leading to estrangement, and more. In both the little and the big moments of forgiveness there is seldom forgetfulness—one remembers the hurt, the wrong—but there is always a sense of freedom from the pain when the words of forgiveness can be spoken.
Let the big stories, such as these, inspire the small stories of forgiveness in your life. Also, let the big stories, such as these, inspire the the heroic acts of forgiveness to which you may be called. ~dan
Before the men sat in the kitchen, a humble place for such an event, they had walked in the garden. Two fathers, both raised in Catholic schools, both divorced from their children’s mothers, both who helped raise a son and a daughter, talked for more than an hour.
That the meeting took place seems miraculous. One man owns a business and had traveled from middle America. The other, in whose house they met, works in a New York state factory. They want the same thing: to save the son of the New York man from execution.
The father from Oklahoma, Emmett E. “Bud” Welch, had buried his daughter, Julie-Marie, on a 1995 spring day.
New York state resident William McVeigh is the father of the man sentenced to die for killing Julie-Marie and 167 others on April 19, 1995, in the Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah Federal Building.
Ah, Joseph! His own brothers hated him, (Genesis 37:4), and kidnapped him, (Genesis 37:23). They had even planned to murder him, (Genesis 37: 18ff). They “settled” for selling him into slavery, (Genesis 37:28), a possible if not likely death sentence. (1)
As Sherry and I prepared for Sunday’s Forum (8/14) she asked a really good questions:
A spectacular example of forgiveness and generosity of spirit: how can Joseph do that? Is forgiveness on this scale unreasonable to expect of mere mortals?
The Forum took up the question. Some of our number felt that Joseph may have needed to ask forgiveness of his brothers, suggesting that he may have baited them into their treachery. The discussion was lively and not always what you would expect.
My answer to Sherry’s question about forgiveness: “Yes, mere mortals are capable of such forgiveness.” You and I are, with God’s grace, capable of both ordinary and extraordinary forgiveness. Some examples:
The effort to forgive requires effort (and grace, I believe). We all have stories to tell. We can help each other by telling the stories. What stories inspire you? Leave a comment, start a conversation.
Hear what the Spirit is saying 