Br. Anselm Philip's Many Thoughts

Last Sunday After Pentecost: Christ the King: The Cross: The Reason for Inclusive Love

2016-11-19T16:30:00.000-06:00

Luke 23:33-43, NRSV

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. The people stood by, watching Jesus on the cross; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Today's Blog Reflection

As I have written in previous blog posts this past year, this will be the final blog entry for Br. Anselm Philip's Many Thoughts. The blog itself will remain up and available for those who wish to read the seven years of posts that are on here. However, I will not be writing new posts after this one.

I want to thank those who have followed my blog since I began writing it in the Fall of 2009 following The National Equality March. Thank you if you began reading this blog at any point since then. Thank you if you just stopped by and read one post or a few. Thank you if you liked it. Thank you if you didn't. There are memories, stories, commentaries, rants, celebrations, lamentations, spiritual direction, etc throughout the blog posts. They will remain here for you to read.

I will be making regular additions to the other blog I started entitled Simple Reflections for a Deeper Spiritual Life, beginning with the First Sunday of Advent. By this time next week, it will be it's own domain. I look forward to sharing with you on that blog.

In my final installment, I want us to think about what the Cross means to us as Christians. What does the Cross mean for us in this political environment where racism, sexism, islamophobia, trans-phobia and all the others now have a license to thrive? How do we see our role as Christians who look to our Lord Jesus Christ as King, who gave His life for us on the Cross?

I invite all of us to consider the thoughts I am sharing here today.

On the Cross, Jesus our King met scapegoating at its very worst, and pronounced it unacceptable. It really doesn't matter if every person believes in Jesus in the same way as Christians do. It really doesn't matter if one is Jewish, Muslim, Native American, African American, white, male, female, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer. It does not matter if we are disabled or able to leap to the moon. Whether we are rich or poor. A "legal" or "illegal" immigrant. What matters for Christians is that our Lord Jesus Christ, who is King for us, declared that sacrificial love as His ultimate power; and no one was excluded from God's love. Hatred hurled at the Word made Flesh with all fury. Jesus who was the Son of God and Son of Man (or the Human One), was stripped, beaten, nailed to the cross next to two thieves and even gave over His relationship with God to love the most and the least of us. At His Resurrection, the story began in new life.

Why is the unconditional and all inclusive love of God in Jesus Christ not the best reason for Christians to love others without exception? The sin of Christians is not whether we all agree with every installment of the Nicene Creed. It is our refusal to allow the love of God in Christ to penetrate us to the core of ourselves by way of those who are lonely, weary, different from us and in need of love. It has something to do with what our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls the Jesus Movement that empowers Christians to make the world a better place.

In The Rule of Saint Benedict ( you didn't think I wouldn't use that in my last blog post did you? LOL), Chapter 53, he wrote "Let all guests who present themselves be received as Christ." On the Cross, Jesus promised the other thief who mocked him, and suddenly believed in him the promise of paradise. The thief was the presence of Christ to Christ Himself. He listened. He welcomed Him. He found a place in God's Kingdom even for him. So Jesus made a place for each of us at His Father's table.

Today, Jesus our King, calls on us from the throne of God's love on the Cross to receive Christ in those who are different from ourselves. Jesus asks for us to listen to Him speak to us through their stories. Jesus calls on us to give to Him a place of love. Jesus seeks someone to love Him in those who are marginalized, beaten and left in the trenches of our social and political system. He asks us to reach out our hands and voices to support them, give them a place in our churches, our communities and hearts; so that they may find a home with Jesus in this world and the next.

Imagine what the Church, what society would look like if we met Jesus at the Cross, claimed Him as King and allowed His unconditional and all-inclusive love to transform us and the world around us.

I am sure many who have read my blog posts over the years have asked if this is possible. I believe the Angel had something to say about that at the Annunciation. "With God, all things are possible."

I think this is a good answer. Don't you?

Amen.

Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all
things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of
lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided
and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together
under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.236).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.260).

Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost: Proper 21: Remember Your Good Things and Others Without

2016-09-24T15:43:00.000-05:00

Luke 16:19-31 NRSV

Jesus said, "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.' But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.' He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Blog Reflection

The words that catch my attention in this Gospel reading are: "Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things" (Luke 16:25).

This parable is one of those that is somewhere between making no sense, to one of the scariest Jesus told thus far. It paints a picture through words of what heaven and hell might be like. Or are we over interpreting Jesus and not seeing what He is telling us is in front of us in the here and now?

Abraham reminds the wealthy man of the good things he was given during his lifetime. The wealthy man's situation in Hades is now opposite of Lazarus: and Lazarus is on the other side from the now miserable former rich man. This story sounds a lot like those amazing words found in the Magnificat. "[God] has cast the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty" (Book of Common Prayer, p.119).

I think that Jesus is suggesting that we remember the good things all of us are given in the here and now: while not forgetting those who barely have the necessities of life. In our day and age of economical inequality of those with wealth and power affecting the rest of us; whether we are middle class or at the bottom of the food chain of life. This does not only apply to the matter of economics and poverty; it also applies to how we view ourselves in light of our relationship with God, vs others who may not share our views or opinions.

Sister Joan Chittister in her book Illumination: Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light wrote,

Life is not perfect and people are not perfect. Only understanding and compassion--the ability to bear life with the rest of humanity, whatever burdens the bearing brings--perfect us. When that concept gets lost in the name of religion, gets forgotten in the name of goodness, religion has gone awry and virtue has lost its meaning. God is compassionate and gives us what we need. No one can possibly be truly contemplative, truly in touch with the God-Life, truly infused by the spirit of God, who does nothing less for the sake of the other.

Contemplation is the mirror through which we come to touch the greatness of God, yes, but contemplation is also the filter through which we discern that scope of our smallness and the potential of our greatness. The contemplative looks for perfection in nowhere but God. The contemplative understands brokenness. And, most of all, the contemplative realizes that it is precisely at the point of personal need that God comes to fill up the emptiness that is us.

If we are going to see clearly who God is, we must remember that we live in community with others. Our relationship with God finds its holiness of life in our relationships with others; including and especially with those who are different from ourselves.

I believe that Jesus is telling us this parable so that we may know that there is just as much heaven and hell for those who are poor as well as those who are rich. What places us in heaven or hell is what we are doing with the good things we are given in the here and now. When we remember the good things we are given, we need to remember those who are without such things and share from our abundance.

We are called to share the freedom of our lands with the immigrants who come to live here from their oppressive governments.

We are called so seek the safety of every person who everyday face the threat of gun and racial violence.

We are called and empowered to give to LGBTQ people that piece of equality shared by those who are heterosexual, cis-gender and know who they are.

We are called to share our religious freedom with those who are in the prison of marginalization because they are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhism, Hindu and/or even atheist.

How is God calling you to remember the good things you have, and how you can help others who are not so fortunate?

Prayers

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing
mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we,
running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of
your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for
ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 21, The Book of Common Prayer, p.234).

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Poor and Neglected, The Book of Common Prayer, p.826

Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost: Proper 20: Whoever A Little

2016-09-17T20:10:00.000-05:00

Gospel Reading

Luke 16:1-13 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' Then the manager said to himself, `What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.' So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?' He answered, `A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, `And how much do you owe?' He replied, `A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill and make it eighty.' And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

"Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Blog Reflection

Verse ten of this Gospel Reading can be summed up like this. "If you are faithful in a little, if you are dishonest in a little, you are faithful in much and dishonest in much."

I feel drawn to how the words little in whatever the word that follows it, leads to much.

So often we are drawn to what is huge. It is what seems more powerful and faster that draws our attention. While that which is little goes unnoticed. Our attention seems focused on what is far off. That which is here and now is too little to seem to make a difference. The truth of the matter is, it takes a lot of what is little to become part of the larger whole.

Our current political campaigns are full of little stabs and jabs from one party or candidate to the other. Many may think that small one liners aimed at another person's race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, immigration status, or is suggestive of a dangerous action are of no consequence. It is all of the small liners rolled into one gigantic media filled mega field of sound bites that creates a stigma around any number of minorities. Each comment made that comes from each small remark, winds up affecting that which is much bigger. Part of the goal of the campaigns, are to throw a little bit of a punch in each statement, a few dollars or more from the pockets of those who are fortunate to have the reserves in their budgets, and suddenly what was small, becomes the responsibility of the whole. Faithfulness and dishonesty become the larger consequence of what was so small.

Each one of us contributes a small amount to the larger whole. What we say, who we say it to, how we say it or do it, has an effect on the larger context. Free speech is not free if it interferes with another persons freedom. The so called "free" speech comes with a very large price tag for those who listen to, respond to or are affected by what is said.

Each of us carries a responsibility to the greater whole with what our little bit of faithfulness or dishonesty brings upon those affected. A harmful slur about people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning, results in the loss of equal rights, and can bring on physical violence. Just a few little things said by one man in Germany in the 1920's and 30's about Jewish people, resulted in the mass murder of over one million Jewish people. The killing did not stop there.

If we are to seek peace and justice among all people and uphold the dignity of every human person without exception as our Baptismal Covenant calls us to: then we might want to think a bit more carefully about the little things we say and/or do. At the same time, striving to b faithful in the little things that help build up each other, while we support one another has the power to build and rebuild the Reign of our loving God anywhere it can reach. Imagine what a better world we would have if we all said a little more good things to one another. It just might be the best conversation we ever had.

What could you do a little more of to make a bigger difference in the world?

Amen.

Prayers

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to
love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among
things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall
endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 20. The Book of Common Prayer. p. 234).

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for Social Justice. The Book of Common Prayer, p.260).