Today is April 8, 2024. Where I live the sun is shining and there’s warmth in the air. Looking out my window I can see the daffodils bursting with glorious new color as the blooms stretch their necks to let the warm face of the sun shine on the bright, yellow faces of the flowers. As Fred Rogers would say, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” Today is also the day when Luna will pass before the face of Old Sol. I’m fortunate in that I live directly in the center of the Path of Totality. So, I will be on my patio with my special ISO approved glasses watching as this event crosses directly over my head. As I reflect on this a few things pop into my head like sparks rising from a fire and drifting into my consciousness to illuminate whatever it is that may be hiding in the nooks and crannies of my mind. This particular eclipse has a fairly lengthy lineage. About 13.8 billion years ago the Universe which we call home exploded into life. As the gasses and various atomic “stuff” that makes up everything that we can see sped at nearly the speed of life in all directions, clumps of it began to gather and coalesce. Approximately 4.6 billion years ago a hot mess spun into shape. Over the next bunch of billions of years that hot mess began to form and differentiate into balls of hot gasses and matter. These slowly cooled and formed the Solar System that we love and know. During this process the earth and the moon began their dance of joy around one another. Sometimes, as we’re spinning our beloved partner she takes her place between Old Sol and our Terra. We are truly “Leapin’ and Hoppin’” in a Moonshadow. Such things are blessings made. There are many, perhaps too many, who think that such an event is a ‘sign’ or ‘portent’ of something much more sinister and supernatural. To them I say, “Let’s talk tomorrow when everything is still the same.” For me, I am quite happy to share in this Super event that is truly Natural. Too old souls simply enjoying the music of the heavens and dancing with joy.
Lent is a season when folks are encouraged to look within. Introspection and reflection are as much a part of this season as candles and greenery are part of the Advent season. Many people and groups use some kind of Lenten devotional or 40 day plan to help with reflection during this time. Our church is no exception. We are using a book by Brad & Eden Jersak entitled, “Rivers from Eden: 40 Days of Intimate Conversation with God.” While it’s not strictly an Lenten book, it serves well as a source that helps with prayer and reflection. This past week there were two days in which we were encouraged to ask God about things in our country that grieve God and bring God joy. These questions seemed appropriate considering the current divisive culture that holds the country in its grasp. Surely, God would find plenty that causes grief. And, not a lot to bring joy. However, God is not us. Thankfully. In the book Eden Jersak wrote about her own experience of listening to the Bat Qol, the Daughter of a voice, with which God so often speaks to us. In her reflection God stated that one thing brings tears to the Divine Eyes. Selfishness. Very simple. So many people are willing to trample the rights and lives of others in order to ensure that their own rights and demands are met. I have to say that God is pretty darned observant. Eden’s reflection goes on to say that such self-centeredness is not a necessary nor inevitable action. If folks would simply take time to look outward to others. She wrote, “If this nation became less interested in what it needed and more interested in what others needed, it would become a very powerful nation indeed.” But that simple action is so very difficult for folks. On the other side, joy comes to God as He looks at the whole of the country. Not everyone is caught up in the rip tide of selfishness. There are points of light all over. Lights of people who have turned to God and Others in order to build up and not take away. Our country is not a monolith where every single person is defined by the same buildings or people or whatever we set up in the middle as My Country. We are diverse. We are many colored and multi-vocal. These are people whose citizenship is first with the Kingdom of God. Geographic nationality does not define them. Thomas Merton was a Cistercian Monk who lived in a monastery in Kentucky. In 1958 he was in Louisville running some errands when he had a special moment of revelation. He wrote, “In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world. . . .
This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud. . . . I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God’s eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. . . . But this cannot be seen, only believed and ‘understood’ by a peculiar gift.” ― Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
This is what it looks like when we see others through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. There are no longer divisions in which we define “Us” over against “Them.” It’s for this reason that I can pray for Donald Trump. Not that God would squash him. Nor that God would pour out wrathful judgment. But, that God would be present with him. That God’s Holy Spirit would touch his heart and mind and reveal Godself to him. It’s why I can be dispassionate about the issues that tear families and friends apart. We are, all of us, in need of grace and mercy. All. Of. The. Time. I’m writing this today primarily to the community of faith that professes Jesus as Messiah and Lord. This is our calling and vocation. We are the light of the world. The Temple of the Holy Spirit. The Body of Christ. Ours is the obligation to live and work to establish God’s Kingdom. For those who do not profess Jesus, there is still the responsibility to treat others as we would desire them to treat us. We are a Community of Humanity. In this community we ARE our brothers’ keepers. If we can all turn our gaze outward for just a moment, perhaps we can bring joy. Not only to God, but to the World.
Well, it’s Friday morning. I finished the dishes and took Josie for a walk. She loves watching the squirrels and chipmunks. Actually, she’d like to play with them. But, that’s not a great idea. We know that spring has arrived. The ducks are back. Yeah, Josie wants to go swimming with them. They don’t seem too keen on that. It’s really wet back in the woods, so I have to wrestle with this 60 lb. dog to keep her out of the mud. She loves the water and the wet. If I let her she’d splash through the muck with a great big doggie smile. But, for my sanity and the condition of my house, we need to keep her to the trails.
Andrew Zimmern’s on the tube with his Delicious Destinations show. I like Andrew. I’d never eat half of what he considers edible. His other show, Bizarre Foods has some nasty looking concoctions. My wife won’t even watch it because of the stuff that Andrew calls ‘food.’ It’s not. It’s offal and it’s insects and some things that I have no clue what it is.
After I get done here I need to continue my search for some kind of part time employment. Nothing much, but something to help out with bills and such. You’d be surprised at what a Master’s degree costs!
It’s a Friday in Lent. We usually do fish on these days. Last week we decided that a veggie pizza works. So, maybe that’ll become our new Lenten go to meal. Gotta love jalapenos! Do any of you follow any kind of Lenten tradition? When I was a kid I never even heard the term ‘Lent.’ If I had I would have probably thought that it was stuff that was on your clothes when they came out of the dryer. We had Lent Rollers to take care of that.
I know that this post is a tad strange. After all that I have written lately, I needed to take a break and write about nothing at all. Clear the mental palate. Next week it’s back to the words that I need to write. It’s not really a matter of what I want to do. To share God and God’s Love is more like a vocation, a calling, that I have to follow. But, til then, enjoy the weekend. Take a walk. Breathe.
Some medical providers say that it’s not healthy to stuff emotions. Holding feelings deep within us causes all sorts of issues, both mental and physical. So, I’m gonna blame my venting in recent posts on maintaining my own mental health. There. Now that that’s done, I can move on to a similar topic from a different angle. I have spent a lot of time writing and talking about the shortcomings of the Church. It’s really easy to point out the negatives. And, the Church has quite a list of outstanding needs. I mentioned only a few in these posts. Today, however, I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about what I think the Church can look like. In the mind of Mike, what would the ideal Church be? So, let’s have a look, shall we? First and foremost, the Church must be wholly devoted to God. Without that devotion, frankly, there is no such thing AS Church. Without it the Church is nothing more than a social justice organization. Or, worse, a clique of angry people who have no clue what it is that they are doing. Messiah Jesus made it possible for the world to experience the fruit of the defeat of sin and death. He, alone, has made the Way for the world to know God. Jesus did provide an example of how humans can, (should?), live together, that was not His primary goal. His primary goal was to reveal to us the Reign of God in the world. In Biblical terms that’s called the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus ushered in a new age where humanity may be restored to the true Image Bearers of God in the world. To be stewards of the world. To work in partnership with God to be a blessing to what God said in the beginning, was the Tov Me’od creation. That is, the Very Good creation. What that may look like deserves a series of blog posts of its own. Let’s just say, God thinks the world is very good. The Church has an obligation to care for it. Second, the Church is a community like no other. The Apostle Paul used the image of a human body to describe it. We are all different, re. Diverse, yet members of One body. He wrote that a toe can’t say that it’s not part of the body. I think we’ve all experienced that. Stub a toe and the whole body is acutely aware of it. The Church as body is one organism that is made of many parts that are completely dependent on one another. Only Messiah Jesus is the head. I am certainly not. What would this look like in real life? Well, competition among various members would need to go away. Trying to cut off or remove another member would result, at best, despoil Messiah’s Body. At worst? Well, just take a look around at all of the divisions and fighting that goes on among those who consider themselves “Us” as they flip the bird at “Them.” This can only change if we are all devoted to God alone. Third, the Church is by definition a Welcoming Community. Now, I don’t mean that we’re nice to people. Nor, when someone new steps into our church we nod our heads and smile at them. It’s not even going up to them and shaking their hand. It is those things, to be sure. But, it is far more than that. Being a Welcoming Community means that we are proactive and take our Welcome to where it is most needed. The Bible gives us a very basic outline of who that is. They are the widows, the orphans, and the foreigner who dwells among us. The outcast; the leper; the Other…whoever is NOT welcomed by those outside of the Welcoming Community. In the early centuries of the Church when plague ravaged the countryside, it was the Church who entered into harms way to offer comfort and care to those who were sick and dying. St. Francis is known for his entering into the leper colonies to cleanse the sores and to comfort those who were the most forgotten. Jesus went to those who were considered less than human by the powers that be in order to heal and to share the Good News that God loved them and cared for them and WELCOMED them. That’s what Welcoming Community looks like. I could go on and on about how the Church is a sacrificing body. That it is the Temple where the Holy Spirit lives. How it has an obligation to speak prophetically to the world by speaking truth to power. These are only a few of the attributes that I think would go a long way toward defining the Church. What are some of your thoughts? Can you add to this list? Are you a part of this?
“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” cried Shakespeare’s Richard III. A king desperate for something as common as a horse, is willing to give his entire kingdom away. There are several things that we can learn from this. But, this is not the time. This is the time to discuss something much more important. What the hell is a kingdom? It’s probably a good bet that no one reading this has ever been a subject of a king. Nor, a citizen of a kingdom. Even those who do have royal heads of state don’t live in the type of feudal world in which Richard III is cast. So, our understanding of these terms is fairly limited. The only ‘Kings’ that we have ever had any contact with come from ancient literature, or sadly, from the Silver Screen of Hollywood. With such data we can only use our imaginations to try and construct a world where knights were bold and battle filled the air. Oh, sorry, that’s Hollywood speaking. Certainly, not the reality. Perhaps, in our imaginary quest to realize what a king and kingdom are we can start with sovereignty. A king was a Sovereign. A simple definition would be to have “supreme power and authority.” For our kingdom in the mind, a Sovereign King would be that person who has supreme authority to rule without any outside interference. He would be a person who could assimilate the title of “Your Worship” and it would have real meaning. Any person who refused to bow in obeisance to the Sovereign could expect to learn very quickly that he was truly mistaken. Our kingdom would likely include several vassal states. These would be lands held by people who had expressed fealty to our sovereign in homage and loyalty. They would also be expected to pick up the costs of our king. These vassals had people who actually did the work on the land. These folks are known as serfs. Serfs have no rights, no land, and no life that their lord and master did not give permission. I know that this is an extremely simplistic view of Kings and stuff. Hey, I don’t live in a feudal culture. None of you have, either. And, yet we do, in a way give our loyalty and obeisance to others who are not royalty. We don’t always think about this, but it’s true. Everything we do is an act of giving homage and loyalty to those we consider important, if not sovereign. Now, the rest of this post is directed specifically to the Christian Church. To those who consider themselves followers of Jesus. Listen up! Jesus came to Israel and proclaimed the Gospel. “Repent! For the Kingdom of God is near!” There’s that word “Kingdom” again. He pronounced this Gospel everywhere that He went. To lepers and tax collectors. Pharisees and learned scholars all got to hear this message from the man from Nazareth. Jesus called people to “Come! Follow me!” And, they did. Leaving hearth, home, and lives they set out on the road with Jesus in order to join Him in that same proclamation, “Repent! For the Kingdom of God is near!” These people even thought that they would join Jesus in ruling this new kingdom. Two of his followers even enlisted their mom to ask Jesus if her two sons could sit on His right and left. These were positions of power in any kingdom. There was just one catch to all of this. Jesus mentioned that little bump in the road to this new kingdom. He told the Roman prelate, Pontius Pilate that if Jesus was a king, that kingdom was not of this world. What?! A kingdom with no land? No palace where the vassals and other subservient subjects could come to grovel at the king’s feet? NO TREASURY?!?!? Well, yeah, that’s pretty much the definition of a Kingdom not of this world. Isn’t it? But, YOU have made it about a kingdom of this world! You have put your trust in human leaders; their so-called power; their riches and treasures! From the earliest days of God’s kingdom revealed in the people who followed Jesus, you have sought to make peace with the ways of these kingdoms of men. You codified it under the banner of Constantine. And, you have made it your sworn duty and calling to subject all who you encounter to your false king and god. For, if you say that you are members of god’s kingdom and serve those who are Not god, are you not idolaters? John the Seer wrote to a church that was in the city of Laodicea. He wrote, “You say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” That is what the Church has become. And, the sad part is that you don’t even realize your poverty. For, you have given up the glory of God’s promise in order to eat the slop that this world’s ways offer you. John also offered hope to those at Laodicea. He encouraged them to seek the true gold and the true riches that are found only in the kingdom in which God is sovereign. He asked them to change the direction of their hope from the kingdoms of this world. Their hearts and minds needed a new object of trust. For, this world offers nothing but smoke and mirrors. Dust blowing in the wind. I know that this isn’t a typical blog post from me. But, it is what I had to say. I don’t want to leave on a down note. That’s not my way, not is it God’s. God is nothing if not a God of Hope. If my words offend you, well, ok. But, I rather hope that they may cause some to pause and reflect on where their true hope and life are found. In the kingdoms of folks like Richard III? Or, in the One Kingdom that entered this world with the voice of a lone Galilean, “Repent! For the Kingdom of God is near!”
Earlier this week I wrote about my passion for God. I also expressed a defense for my Orthodoxy. Then, I wrote a bit about the inadequacy of any kind of correct belief that finds its object in dogma, doctrine, or propositions. That’s the world of Systematics. At best that world is too small. At worst, well, it is destructive in more ways than I care to mention right now. Maybe some other time. What I didn’t discuss was what my own orthodoxy is founded on. In what, or Whom, do I ground my ‘right belief’ on? I’m glad you asked that question. Let me start by sharing a couple of things that it is Not. It is not grounded in the Bible. Whoa! Say what?! I can see all of my fundagelical friends clutching their pearls and wringing their hands. Isn’t the Bible the inerrant Word of God? Isn’t the Bible the only trustworthy way that we can even know God? How can we know what’s true and good? More importantly, how can we know if we’re IN? Don’t get your boxers in a bunch. There is no one on the planet who loves the scriptures more than I do. I read, study, and dwell in them every day. I have an extremely high view of them. They are inspired by God the Holy Spirit. What I don’t do is venerate them. I am not a bibliolater…I don’t worship them. The Bible is a book. Granted, it’s an ancient book filled with even older texts. But, it is a book. It’s a tool. At best, it’s a sign post that points in the direction of what is truly worthy of veneration and worship…God. Most people view the scriptures as a working document that one can use in order to find their way in life. To them it’s a road map or a users’ manual. If they follow the directions all will be well with the world. If not, well, bad stuff happens. God will getcha if you don’t follow the rules. It’s not only Christians, but so-called orthodox members of any religious movement may fall into that trap. Rules are meant to be followed. Rules inspired by God inhabit an especially important space where any sign of rule breaking or bending can have eternal repercussions. Ok, not to be too crass, I call bullshit. At least in the case of the Christian Bible I can be fairly certain that it was not designed to be taken as a literal treatise on the Ways and Workings of the God-fearing Person. Nor is it a book of history or science or any of the other things that bibliolaters claim. If the creation story didn’t happen just as it is written, how can we trust any of it? The short answer is, in respect to science, you can’t. That’s not what the Bible is for. You folks are asking the scriptures to carry something that they were never meant to carry. So, stop it, already! The Bible, at its best, points to God and God’s plans for the world. And, those plans don’t include the rules and regulations that so many people like to impose. Again, stop doing that! Thirty plus years ago I began to realize that the Bible is a love story. Yeah, that’s right, a Love Story. The Lover in this story is God. The scriptures are full of stories about this love. God’s love sustains the world. It is what moves the Cosmos forward. It is the all-encompassing love of God that leads us to worship and adore God. But, it is NOT God. Orthodoxy, correct belief, can never be focused on anything or anyone other than God. Period. End of story.
I’m pretty much giving up on watching or listening to what the media claims is ‘news.’ It doesn’t matter what perspective the particular medium holds politically, socially, or economically. They all seem to be nothing more than providing scintillating gibberish in order to garner clicks or viewer. Gotta make the advertisers happy! No matter how much the stories must suffer. And, suffer they do. Some subjects seem to be considered “hands off.” We don’t want to offend our cash cow, er, constituent followers. This already tints the reporting. There is necessarily a bias toward any story that may make some folks uncomfortable. That is truly devastating to people’s ability to know what’s going on. We aren’t trusted to be able to determine how an event or story will impact us. We are spoon fed the useless pablum of the current news cycle. Then we wonder why so many people miss the reality that is our life together. One of my pet peeves, (you had to expect that there would be a peeve in here somewhere!), is how the media misrepresents the Church in the U.S. The most common misrepresentation is how the conservative evangelical church has become the action wing of the GOP. When religion and politics mix anywhere it’s a bad thing. When that happens within a reactionary political environment the outcome gets down right dangerous. Religion politicized is theocracy. Theocracy breeds things like the Inquisition. It makes the genocide of Indigenous People acceptable. Or, so says the Doctrine of Discovery. What we’re seeing in today’s world politic is the weaponization of religion in culture wars. In those, all are punished. There is another side to this, however. One that isn’t so obvious. Yet, it is just as detrimental to the so-called sanctity of the Fifth Estate. This is how those who are progressive or liberal also use the news as political cannon fodder. They project their perception of their god onto the same social and cultural issues that there conservative sisters and brother. God is pro whatever it is that they believe holds people back from attaining their greatest potential. Of course, that potential is defined by themselves without the benefit of opinions of those who are affected by their humanitarian sensibilities. Then, of course,there are the majority who really don’t give a damn. All they want is the weather forecast and the sports news. The rest is just something that allows them time to go to the bathroom and get a snack. Some of you readers may wonder why I wrote this during the season of Lent. It all sounds like a rejection of turning religion into a political tool. And, it is that, to be sure. However, it’s also a call to repentance. And, repentance is kind of a key element to the Lenten season. It’s a time to reflect and introspect. During Lent we are told that from dust we come, to dust we return. Our perspective on our own importance and raison d’etre is held up to the Light of Messiah Jesus. In that light we may be able to see our folly and foibles as they are. Our politics may be important to us. But, in that bright light they may become transparent, unable to be seen at all. When I consider this, I see God shaking the Divine Head. I’m not sure whether it’s in wonder, disbelief, or disgust. For when we put our politics and our perceptions of what’s good and important above the knowledge and love of God, well, repentance is necessary. So, in this Lenten season I would call on the Church, big “C,” to repent. Put aside privilege and priority in order to sit and listen. Listen. Listen. Perhaps once we shut up we will be able to actually hear God weeping.
It’s Thursday. Since this is my blog I have made a Magisterial Decree that I would write something lighter than many of the other missives that I have graced the World Wide Web with. So let it be written; So let it be done. This morning as I was journaling, my mind drifted to something that’s been on every one’s minds. Well, maybe not the GOP. But, that’s a story for another time. That thing is the possibility of a Mass Extinction Event occurring in the not too distant future. (See, I told you it would be lighter subject matter!) What this event might look like is anyone’s guess. We can choose from Climate Change to Nuclear Devastation. There is always the possibility that a chunk of rock and ice from the outer reaches of the solar system could smash New York City. Or, just maybe the Earth herself will simply open up like she’s had enough and finish us off. What isn’t discussed too often, though, is what might happen after such an event. There have been 5 Mass Extinction Events over the course of the Earth’s existence. They have been caused by diverse conditions. From catastrophic climate swings to the big one that finished off the dinosaurs. That one, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 65 million years ago, reset the evolutionary trajectory of the world. The giants who ruled were reduced to stone and dust. Whereas, the small mammals who effectively hid, evolved into us. Pretty slick! I wonder, though, what the next event will change. Will mammals survive? If the sun is hidden behind a layer of thick atmospheric gases, that seems unlikely. Other terrestrial critters my also find survival difficult. What if the next evolutionary step takes place under the sea? What would the world look like at the end of another 65 million years of aquatic evolution? Rather than land based animals growing into humans again, what if our gilled and scaled friends became true Merple? A very advanced submarine life that became sentient. These creatures might learn how to control the vast currents of the oceans in ways that could control the climate around the world. Of course, by that time the land masses that we know would likely be different. The tectonic plates of the world slowly returning to some future version of Pangaea. So, the oceans would also look much different. I know that some of you are thinking, “Wouldn’t it be more likely that the mammalian sea life that we know today would take the next step toward sentience? Not if the air breathers like dolphins and whale couldn’t continue to breathe a possibly toxic atmosphere. We must consider that. No, I think fish make that leap.* Now, what if two lines of evolution take place. A sea based one and a land based one. Would one serve the other? If, like I speculated, and enlightened civilization of Merple learned to control the currents, and therefore the climate, would they be regarded as gods? Creatures who could decide where the rain fell and the crops grew might be seen as divine. It wouldn’t be the first time that climate gods were worshiped. But, we also need to consider the fact that the Merple can’t walk on land. Would that give the land-dwellers the upper hand? As we have witnessed in our run on the planet, land-dwellers can learn to travel on and under the oceans. Might that allow them to retaliate and control those in their coral castles under the water? Or, would they learn to cooperate? The Merple helping the land-locked species by providing a suitable climate. And, the land-dwellers providing from the bounty of the land food and assistance with whatever needs the Merple might have. I’d like to think that this would be the outcome. Species living in caring relationships knowing that they could harm the other at a moment’s notice. But, choosing not to.
*No, Q people. The reptilians don’t win. It’s the fish. Guaranteed.
This weekend is a pretty special one for the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio. We will join together for our annual Diocesan Convention. Yeah, sounds exciting, right? Kinda like watching paint dry. But, it is important. We will set the agenda for the coming year as well as elect officers for various committees and such. It is truly like a big corporate meeting of stockholders.
This year, however, we will also be electing a new Bishop. Our current Bishop, The Right Reverend Mark Hollingsworth, Jr., is retiring in 2023. We will be choosing the person who will lead our diocese into the next chapter of our life together. And, in a way, we will also be actually choosing the direction of that next chapter. The person chosen will imprint her own life and character on who we are and where we go as a diocesan community.
Oh, did I mention that there are three candidates? And, they’re all women?
Not that it should matter, but in a highly patriarchal culture, electing women to the highest authority is both noteworthy and long overdue.
But, that’s not what I wanted to write about today. There are lots of others who are carrying that load.
This morning in prayer, I reflected on the choice we will make this Saturday. We’re fortunate in that all of the candidates are eminently qualified. So, in a way, we cannot lose. Whomever is elected will do an outstanding job as we move forward together. We’re also fortunate that we have clear choices. We will not be simply choosing who our favorite is out of 3 clones. They each have different character, temperament, strengths, and opinions.
So, who to choose? If all three are great choices, does it really matter who gets the nod?
Yeah, I kinda think it does. Let me explain…
Throughout my life following Jesus, I have been lead by men, (it’s always men, amirite?), who were alpha males and authoritarian control-freaks. They ran our church(es) with iron hands and would not entertain any questions to their decisions. After all, wasn’t Jesus the Lord over His disciples? Didn’t Paul and Peter and James hold the early church to strict adherence to their rule? These men made sure that their idea of what being a christian was enforced as the ‘Only Way to be a True Christian.’ Any deviation was met with swift rebuke.
However, for the last few years I’ve experienced a different sort of leadership. I’ve been blessed to work with a person who seems to trust God with much of what we do. He has been a pastor and shepherd, to be sure. But, he hasn’t told us how we sheep should chew our grass. For the first time in my life in Jesus, I think that I’m experiencing what some call Servant Leadership. While he knows clearly and accepts his position and responsibility, he also seems to understand, when the people are doing well and are happy, so is the church. And, so is his job, I’m sure.
The reason I mention this at all is because that is the choice we have this weekend. While all three candidates are good ones, only one has revealed a Servant’s heart. The other two will certainly be good. Much will get done in the diocese. Many very good things. But, only one, I think, will bring life to the position. Life that she will share with all of us who live and work in our churches.
I don’t usually write much on Sunday. I take that whole day of rest thing pretty seriously. Mostly, just because I need it! I stay pretty busy during the week. So, when Sunday comes along I try to kick back and enjoy it. I find it good for my body and mind. Today, however, I want to share something simple that came to mind this A.M. The Gospel lection for today was from the Gospel According to Matthew. The selection was from the story just after Jesus had fed a huge crowd of people with only a few fish and a couple of loaves of bread. It goes:
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 14:22–33). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Now, I’ve read this passage and heard preachers talk about it far too many times to recount. They talk about how life is like the storm that Jesus can calm. Some really bad songs have been sung about that. These folks like to talk about how Pete would have been just fine if he had just “kept his eyes on Jesus” rather than allowing himself to be distracted by the wind and waves. There are the classic ones that speak to Pete’s lack of faith. “We must not lose faith like Peter did!” they say.
These are all well and good. There is a whole lot packed into these few verses. And, all of those options for sermon material, and much more, are viable.
There is one thing hidden in there that I had never noticed before. And, like I said, I’ve heard and seen a lot in this passage over the years. When I was in seminary I had a professor who introduced me to a certain way of reading the Greek text. No, I’m not going to give you a Greek lesson. But, I think this is kind of neat for getting a handle on the above passage. While studying Paul’s Letter to the Church at Rome we came to a verse that is traditionally translated, “Faith in Jesus.” A believer must have faith in Jesus in order to be saved. Simple. All of the old theologians and Bible folks agree on that. I learned, however, that because of the way Greek works, there is another way to read these texts. This way would render the translation, Faith of Jesus.” See the difference? In one, Jesus is the Object of our faith. In the other, Jesus is the subject of faith. Another way to read it would be that we are saved by the “Faithfulness” of Jesus.
When I learned that my eyes lit up! I’m sure that everyone in the class could see that giant light bulb pop on above my head! Suddenly, so much clarity came to me that I just sat there with my teeth in my mouth and my bare face hanging out.
So, this morning as I listened to our Priest’s homily on the above text that light bulb went off again. This time it was an LED, not incandescent. I saw Peter step out of the boat. I imagine him thinking that if Jesus can do this, so can I. Lo and behold! It worked! He stood on the water! Then, he lost it and began to sink. He cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Jesus immediately reached out an caught him. They got into the boat and the weather became calm.
Did ya see what happened there?
Peter lost sight of Jesus and floundered. Jesus reached to him and lifted him up. Jesus saved him. This had nothing to do with Pete’s faith in Jesus. I imagine the only thing that Pete was thinking about was not drowning. In total panic mode I doubt that he stopped to think, “Ok, ok…I believe, I believe, I believe!” No, he was probably think, “Oh My God! I’m gonna die right now!”
Jesus lifted Peter out of the water because Jesus had faith. Not Pete. It was the Faith of Jesus that saved Peter that day. And, it’s that same Faith of Jesus that still saves today.
