Author: Daniel Rondeau

I am a husband and father and an Episcopal Priest (now retired) in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego.

Ever want to “smite” someone?

Joseph made himself known to his brothers…

Hated by siblings? Betrayed? Treated unfairly? Abandoned? Sold as a slave? Hurt? If you are Joseph this is part of your story as you encounter your brothers after their destructive actions (See Genesis 37 read in church on 8/7/11 and Genesis 45 read in church Sunday 8/14/11 ).

How great, if he was human at all (and I believe he was), must have been his desire to take revenge, to “smite” his brothers then and there, to wreak his own kind of destruction on them and their families? He had the power to satisfy that urge.

Instead of smiting (what we expected, if we were honest) we heard that Joseph revealed who he was (apparently he was unrecognizable at first), invited his brothers to draw closer to him, he forgave them their hatred and treachery, and he embraced each one and wept with them in the moment of forgiveness. Here is a story of forgiveness of “biblical proportions.” It leaves me with many questions.

Foremost question: Is this kind of forgiveness (of biblical proportion) possible today? My one word answer, “Yes.” Which then leads to a host of questions: How is this possible? Are there any contemporary (20th and 21st century) models of such forgiveness out there? Am I capable of such forgiveness? Are we capable of such forgiveness? What role do we play in such forgiveness? What is God’s role in such forgiveness? What is at stake? I’ll admit I have more questions than answers. How about you?

I’ll have more to say about this passage—it is rich with mystery—but for now, I offer this poem as a way into the mystery of forgiveness:

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the windblown bud
which blooms in placid beauty at Verdun.

Forgiveness is the tiny slategray sparrow
which has built its nest of twigs and string among the shards of glass
upon the wall of shame.

Forgiveness is the child
who laughs in merry ecstasy beneath the toothed fence
that closes in Da Nang.

Forgiveness is the fragrance of the violet
which still clings fast to the heel that crushed it.

Forgiveness is the broken dream
which hides itself within the corner of the mind oft called forgetfulness
so that it will not bring pain to the dreamer.

Forgiveness is the reed
which stands up straight and green
when nature’s mighty rampage halts, full spent.

Forgiveness is a God who will not leave us after all we’ve done.

____________
A poem by George Roemisch and quoted by Dear Abby in her column Feb. 10, 1998.

What do you know about faith within the chaos? Maybe more than you think.

Remember? The week began with a story about Jesus walking on the water. Before heading into the weekend and the next (lectionary) story let’s take one more look at Matthew’s account of Jesus and Peter and water and storm and … faith. Let’s take another look at what it could mean to us, far removed from that night and the Sea of Galilee, but plenty acquainted with chaos. I commend this reflection about our Gospel Story to you:

In Matthew’s Gospel, the story of Jesus walking on water morphs into a story of Peter walking on, then sinking into, the same water. It begins as a statement about Jesus’ authority; for Jesus’ contemporaries had learned from scripture that such mastery over the waters is God’s accomplishment. When Peter tells Jesus to call him, too, onto the lake, the story transitions into an illustration of what it looks like when people express faith in Jesus. Read the entire post: Matthew 14:22-33: Faith within the Chaos

I invite you to also check out St. Peter is walking on the water by Luis Borrassa in our Art & Music category.

Please make the time to leave a comment or two. Please get a conversation started as you consider this reflection on an ancient story which has a lot to say to us 21st Century citizens.

Ever heard someone talk about “lectio”? Want to know more?

Lectio Divina is Latin for spiritual or sacred reading. It is a simple method of praying the scripture that has deep roots in the Benedictine tradition. —Monasteries of the Heart

If you have ever heard someone say they were doing, practicing, or simply “in” lectio it was their way of saying they were reading sacred texts in a prayerful way. I have also heard it used (and use “lectio” myself) to mean prayerful reading of non-biblical texts meant to excite, enlarge, expand, or even quiet, the spirit.

Today, in the time I set aside for lectio I found this post. Like the author, Lowell Graham, I have found the practice of lectio has opened “a rich, luminous connection with the sacred text” and, I would add, even texts like his.

Whenever I read the story of Bartimaeus, something settles deep inside of me. This was the story that I first used when I was taught how to pray the scriptures using the ancient Benedictine method of Lectio Divina. The story has never been the same. From that brief time of prayer has come a rich, luminous connection with the sacred text.

He goes on to share the method of Lectio Divina that he—and so many others—use. I encourage you to read his short post: Lectio with Bartimaeus. Please note his counsel:

[The method I describe] is not intended as a four-step linear process, but rather as a movement between states of consciousness. Let your practice move naturally back and forth through these moments.

I also encourage you to investigate Monasteries of the Heart and their introduction and invitation to Lectio Divina.

Finally, I encourage you to try to make lectio part of your daily routine. Share your questions or comments here. Start a conversation about lectio, find encouragement for making this part of your daily routine, or find affirmation for something you have been doing for a long time without knowing it had a name and a rich history.

Remembering artists

Things are not all so comprehensible and expressible as one would mostly have us believe; most events are inexpressible, taking place in a realm which no word has ever entered, and more inexpressible than all else are works of art, mysterious existences, the life of which, while ours passes away, endures. —Rainer Maria Rilke from Letters to a Young Poet.

On August 5th the Episcopal Church remembers Albrecht Dürer. Matthias Grünewald, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Artists.In doing so the Church commemorates all artists and the celebrates and give thanks for the role of art in forming faith and encouraging faith. I tend to be a “visual learner.” Seeing is, for me, the key to learning. As I think about art in the church I am amazed by how much of my faith is informed by what I have seen.

Pictures in story books and illustrated bibles, mass produced plaster and plastic statues, rosaries with beads of all kinds, crucifixes (I grew up Roman Catholic) with poorly formed bodies or bodies gruesome and bloody (but modestly clothed) in their depiction of death, and so on. The art was all around me; I was learning something, (most of which is still being “unlearned”), but mostly this art was simply “background noise,” static. My entry into mystery was unexpected and unforgettable. Having arrived in Rome to continue studies and seminary formation, a group of us were taken from the airport in Rome to the Piazza San Pietro and then into the basilica.

The proportions of the building were certainly awesome but the moment of mystery came as we moved to Michelangelo’s Pietà. In the blink of an eye I was moved from tourist looking at art treasures in a big church to a man in the presence of a profound mystery of life and death, of sorrow and hope, of brutal reality and fragile tenderness. I had forgotten to breathe, I was looking through eyes filled with tears. How did this happen? What just happened? How can stone have such power? How can a “mere mortal” find such power and mystery and beauty in a hunk of quarried marble?

Since that day I have continued to learn. I continue to seek out such beauty and mystery. In my own feeble way I have enjoyed opening my heart to the mysteries seen by the artist and shared with us. I am proud that our church chooses to remember all artists as we commemorate these artists. I hope that you have your own story to tell about the art that has whisked you from this world into realms unexpected, mysterious, and transformative. Please do leave your story here. Leave a comment, start a conversation.

We have selected one work from each of the artists commemorated by the church and will post them here with additional links and more information. Perhaps you would share some of your favorite works by these artists. Perhaps you will share links to your favorites. Keep the conversation going. Thanks.

Martha, Martha, you…

Vincenzo Campi - Christ in the House of Mary and Martha - WGA03831
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha by Vincenzo Campi
Every July 29th the Church commemorates Mary and Martha. Let Vincenzo Campi’s visual meditation open up your own exploration of this story. Click the image to go to the web gallery. Once there, click the image again to see an even larger presentation of Campi’s work.

What do you see? What do you feel? What difference does it make? Tell a story. Leave a comment. See also Who showed hospitality? as we try to hear what the Spirit is saying.

Who showed hospitality?

Today the Church remembers Mary and Martha (and Lazarus in the Episcopal Church’s trial Holy Women, Holy Men calendar). Earlier today (7/29) I posted a link to a Jesuit site called Pray-as-you-go. The meditation offered for today (offered by the Jesuits) was on the Lucan text (Luke 10:38-42) describing Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. In the meditation we are asked: “Who showed hospitality?”

It is a fair and decent question. It is a reminder that it is as valid a question as “Who chose the better part?” Asking about hospitality is a reminder that Jesus needed both Martha and Mary. Jesus needed the hospitality Martha extended and he needed Mary to listen as he told the Good News. Ever since that day in Bethany the Body of Christ (the Church) has needed faithful men and women to both listen to the Word and then do the Word/work in the world. So it is today. We need to constantly strive for a balance in our being (listening) and doing.

As a further meditation on Martha and Mary I’d like to introduce you to Shawna Atteberry (“Writer. Storyteller. Poet. Feminist Theologian. Episcopalian. Married with cat”) and her blog. She has posted her own research and meditation involving Martha and Mary: The New Testament Church: Built by homemakers like Martha.

What do you think about the “Church’s one foundation” calling upon women to build the home and care for the household? What do you find most attractive in this story of Martha and Mary and Jesus? What do you find least attractive? Leave a comment here. Read about the New Testament Church and leave a comment for Shawna. Let’s talk and listen to each other as we strive to hear the Spirit.

Pray-as-you-go . . . try it . . . like it . . . make it a habit

Have you ever decided to do better at praying daily? Or, pointing the finger at myself, how many times have you determined to pray better, pray more frequently, pray daily, pray always? David Burgdorf recently shared a prayer resource with me that I now share with you. From their website:

Pray-as-you-go is a daily prayer session, designed for use on portable MP3 players, to help you pray whilst travelling to and from work, study, etc.

GO TO: Pray-as-you-go . . . daily prayer for your MP3 player.

I encourage you to give it a try. I have found it a beautiful way to slow down, breathe, rest in God, pray. I use the iTunes podcast (accessible through the website).

Be sure to come back and post a comment about your experience with Pray-as-you-go. Come back and share prayer resources you have found and use. Let’s keep the conversation going. Let’s pray up a holy storm!

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! | Episcopal Arkansas

Some of you may remember Mary Vano—St. Margaret’s Palm Desert sponsored her in discernment and seminary. She was ordained a priest right here in 2003 with Margaret Watson and then served as an Associate at St. David’s Church in Austin, TX. Married and the mother of 2 boys she was called to be Rector of St. Margaret’s Church in Little Rock, AR this year. Here she shares her insight into the Gospel parables we shared on Sunday, July 24th. Enjoy.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus has given us five little parables. Each one begins with the phrase, “the kingdom of heaven is like…”  If you like a good surprise, you should enjoy these!

Read: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! | Episcopal Arkansas.

Being the Beloved

In the past couple of weeks we have read and heard thrilling, comforting, and amazing words about who and whose we are and what that means from the Apostle Paul (his letter wasn’t just to the Christians in Rome, but to you and me as well). In a variety of ways we have heard “You are my beloved child.” (See Mark 1:9-11 and understand you are in Christ, these words are words addressed to you)

From Romans 8

all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (v. 14)

you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!”16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (vv. 15-17)

God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spiritintercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (v. 27)

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (v. 28)

If God is for us, who is against us? (v. 31)

in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (vv. 37-39)

Begin and continue the conversation (leave a comment, reply to comments)

  • Do you believe this? Do you believe that you are God’s beloved child?
  • Is it “easy” to believe this? “Hard” to believe this? “Impossible” to believe this? How does this statement “You are God’s beloved child” sit with you?

Need more prompting? Henri J.M. Nouwen presented a Sermon Series “Being the Beloved” at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA. I’m not sure what year this was presented (Henri Nouwen died in 1996), but the message is timeless. The series consists of 8 videos on YouTube (the link is to the first in the series; just above the video you will find a menu item “8 videos” which you can click and all 8 video links will be presented to you). I commend this series to you. –djr

LISTEN AND VIEW
Being the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen

The kingdom of heaven is like

On Sunday, July 24, 2011 Brian got us all thinking about the parables of Jesus in his sermon. We were invited to consider Jesus’ words more deeply, including the fact that his images may not be as neutral as one would think (or as you have been led to believe). While we wait for the podcast and posting of his sermon, here is another preacher, a Lutheran, raising the same issues for us in her own words:

… Today we heard Jesus say that The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that when it has grown becomes the greatest of all shrubs. Um, the greatest of all shrubs?  What kind of off-brand kingdom is this?   It’s like saying someone is the smartest of all the idiots or the mightiest of all baby dolls. Yet he says Heaven’s kingdom is like Shrubs, and nets and yeast  – and the yeast part might be the worst when you realize that yeast is considered impure – we’re not talking little packets of Flieshman’s we find at King Soopers – we’re talking big lumps of mold which contaminate….and that in fact, Jews were required to  rid their entire house of yeast before celebrating some Holy Days.

We mistakenly may think that the kingdom of God should follow our value system and also be powerful or impressive and shiny. But that’s not what Jesus brings.  He brings a kingdom ruled by the crucified one – populated by the unclean, and suffused with mercy rather than power. And it’s always found in the unexpected.… Read the whole sermon

Share your thoughts about Brian’s sermon  and Nadia’s sermon and the words of Jesus in Matthew 13. Keep the conversation going, leave a comment; two fine preachers have set us to thinking about the kingdom…