But, I’m not covetous…

The discussion in the Forum yesterday was quite lively. Understandings and opinions varied widely. Karl Jacobson, in his commentary on this parable for WorkingPreacher.org reminded us “A parable is essentially an elaborate allegory. We are invited to see ourselves in the story, and then apply it to ourselves.” I invite you to re-read the parable. Then I invite you to consider Jacobson’s commentary as you see yourself in the story and apply it to yourself.

We covet what God chooses to give to others. A parable is essentially an elaborate allegory. We are invited to see ourselves in the story, and then apply it to ourselves. The wages at stake (even at the moment of Jesus’ first telling of the parable) are not actual daily wages for vineyard-laborers, but forgiveness, life, and salvation for believers. We need not literally be laborers in a vineyard, as we are all of us co-workers in the kingdom (1 Corinthians 3:9).

And in relationship, one believer to another, covetousness is a problem. The point here isn’t necessarily that other folks receive blessings from God that we don’t — that they get more or better or lovelier gifts from God. The problem is that they get the same as us; and they don’t deserve it, do they? They are less worthy, or later arrivals, or just plain worse sinners. They don’t deserve the same as we get, do they? Not nothing maybe, but certainly not the same. The parable’s day laborers parallel perfectly with today’s forgiven-sinners in both our pews and pulpits.

We have a tendency, as the parable aptly illustrates, to covet and to be resentful of what others receive from God. The owner of the vineyard asks those who have worked longest and (presumably) hardest for him, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” The point is that God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness are God’s to give away as God sees fit.

Read the entire post at WorkingPreacher.org. “Gospel” for September 18, 2011

What do you hear in this parable? What do you feel as you listen to the story and apply it yourself and journey into the Kingdom of God where the first are last and the last are first? Leave a comment, continue the conversation.


A Proper 20 Art for Readings September 18, 2011

TINTORETTO
(b. 1518, Venezia, d. 1594, Venezia)
Click to open Web Gallery of Art Artist Biography and to explore other works by this artist.

The Miracle of Manna
c. 1577
Oil on canvas, 550 x 520 cm
Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice
Click to open Web Gallery of Art display page.
Click on their image to enlarge/fit page etc.

Manna as communion wafers (Christ.)
Click for an article on typological interpretation.

The Will of God: A reflection from a bombed out city

On Sunday David introduced the Forum to Leslie Weatherhead and his reflection on the will of God. The reflection was given at the London City Temple during the bombing of London (1940-41). Here is the extended quote from which David spoke:

We therefore divided our subject into three as follows:

  1. The intentional will of God – God’s ideal plan for man.
  2. The circumstantial will of God – God’s plan within certain circumstances
  3. The ultimate will of God – God’s final realization of his purposes.

Once again, even at the risk of being tiresome, let us look at the supreme illustration of the Cross.

  1. It was not the intentional will of God, surely, that Jesus should be crucified, but that he should be followed.  If the nation had understood and received his message, repented of its sins, and realized his kingdom, the history of the world would have been very different.  Those who say that the Crucifixion was the will of God should remember that it was the will of evil men.
  2. But when Jesus was faced with circumstances brought about by evil and was thrust into the dilemma of running away or of being crucified, then in those circumstances the Cross was his Father’s will.  It was in this sense that Jesus said, “Not what I will, but what thou wilt.”
  3. The ultimate will of God means, in the case of the Cross, that the high goal of man’s redemption, or to use simpler English, man’s recovery to a unity with God – a goal which would have been reached by God’s intentional plan had it not been frustrated – will still be reached through his circumstantial will.  In a sentence, no evil is finally able to defeat God or to cause any “value” to be lost.

Leslie Weatherhead, The Will of God (from a series of addresses given at the London City Temple at the time of the German bombing raids)

The Forum then spoke to these questions:

  1. Have you ever said “it is the will of God” (or had that said to you) in a way that was offensive? How do you picture the will of God?
  2. How do you discern the will of God for yourself? Where is there an authoritative source for you?
  3. Ten years later, do you think the “attack on America” was God’s will? If so, how so? How about America’s attack on al-Qaida?

You may join this conversation (ongoing) by leaving a comment. Thank you for being part of the Sunday Morning Forum.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace

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.

A Proper 19 Art for Readings September 11, 2011

ROSSELLI, Cosimo
(b. 1439, Firenze, d. 1507, Firenze)
Click to open Web Gallery of Art Artist Biography and to explore other works by this artist.

Crossing of the Red Sea
1481-82
Fresco, 350 x 572 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican
Click to open Web Gallery of Art display page. They mistakenly say Miriam is holding a drum, probably following the text which says tambourine. Artistic license has given her what looks like a type of zither. By including Miriam this painting works for both the Crossing of the Red Sea and the Song of Miriam – alternative readings for today.
Click on their image to enlarge/fit page etc.

Me? Love myself?

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.

Who is my neighbor?

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.

How do you love a “neighbor” who is unlovable?

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.”

  1. Go through the newspaper, or magazines you have lying around, photo albums, internet images whatever you have or can find and. . .
  2. . . . PICTURE (at least) 3 “NEIGHBORS” YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY LOVING. Folks or groups of folks you may even find “unlovable” period.
  3. Post the images someplace you can find so that you can see them every day, maybe even in a place you see them throughout the day.
  4. Day be day read the passage(s), that grab your attention, look at the images you have clipped, speak a short prayer in response. (See below)
  5. Write down (or not) your prayer (or anything else) as the Spirit leads you. Bring your insights (even your prayers) with you on 9/11 (to church) or share them here on our blog.

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.

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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

A Proper 18 Art for Readings September 4, 2011

BOUTS, Dieric the Elder
(b. ca. 1415, Haarlem, d. 1475, Leuven)
Click to open Web Gallery of Art Artist Biography and to explore other works by this artist.

The Feast of the Passover
1464-67
Oil on panel
Sint-Pieterskerk, Leuven
Click to open Web Gallery of Art display page.
Click on their image to enlarge/fit page etc.

It’s easy to spot the Jews – they’re in the pointy hats. Although widely used in a variety of works, this is not just an artistic convention. Follow the links below to explore the wearing of the Judenhut. sch

Click here for the Wikipedia entry ‘Jewish hat’.

Click here for the canons of the Twelfth Ecumenical Council: Lateran IV, 1215. Scroll down to canons 67 thru 70 regulating Jews.

Your attention please . . .

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.