June 19, 2011 - Holy Trinity Sunday

Oh, my goodness! It's Fathers' Day, Trinity Sunday AND baptisms on top of it all! No one can speak intelligently about all of those things in one sane sermon. The most we can hope to do is remind ourselves of the God before Whom we stand, and see how that relates to everything else! I've chosen, this Trinity Sunday, to do something I haven't done before--simply to translate the Hebrew text of the first reading for  you...word for word...hoping you will see something of what I see hiding deep within it, revealing to us the beauty of the God we serve. The description God gives of Himself in this reading is "the" mystical understanding of God in the Bible. The Rabbis refer to this as "THE 13 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. So let's pay attention to it for a few minutes, then go to breakfast. OK?

 

Adonai, Adonai, eil rachum, vchanun, erech appayim, rav chesed, v rav emet, notzer chesed laalafim, noseh avon, v'feshah, v'chatah, venakeh.

 

We begin with God's first two attributes: Adonai is the word for LORD. The text begins "adonai, adonai," The Lord, the Lord (why repeated twice? if we look at the rest of the text it speaks of a God who is forgiving, so repeating the name of God twice tells us that God is our God before we sin, and after we sin. Before we sin God is helping us to walk in beauty, and after we sin God is urging us to repentance and better living. So, the before and the after each have The Lord at the center. These two words then tell of us of the first two attributes of God--with us always, both before and after we fall--never giving up on us. These are the first two attributes of God--presence to us before we sin, helping us be all we can become, AND after we sin, helping us to heal and be whole. What these attributes tell you is that God knew you before you were here, and will be with you long after you've ceased to be here. He is the Alpha and Omega. He has always been with you, and will always be with you!

 

Next comes the phrase "Eil rachum"; the word "eil" in Hebrew can be translated two ways:  "El" can mean "god" and we'd have god of mercy, (mercy is the 4th word) but "eil" can also mean "mighty," so mightly merciful is also a good translation of these two words, and they form the 3rd and 4th attributes of God--a mightily and merciful God, or a merciful God. Sometimes we need God's "might, sometimes God's mercy. Which do you need today? (Probably both, if you're like me!) For the women in the congregation, today, on this feast of fathers, YOU will be pleased to learn that the description of God's mercy, comes from the word for "womb." Rechem, is womb, and rachum is merciful, God's mercy towards us is that "womb love," that has gestated this child  that is YOU, and will never give it up! It's the "mother tiger" love that is fierce and awesome. God's mercy comes from God's unclenching love that can't let us go! God's got your back, in might and in mercy!

Then we move to the 5th attribute of God, "v chanun" which means "gracious," and, to those in distress, God is always most gracious--trying not to humiliate, but to encourage. Then, comes attrbute #6, "erech appayim," Slow to anger. I think this is one of the qualities that really separates us from God....we can fly off the handle, and our mood can collapse under disappointment. God watches us with compassion as we struggle and often fail. Rarely can we affront God, for God understands us from the inside out...so knows how to deal with us graciously, and lift us out of our distress. God is SO slow to anger, that His merciful love is always visible--God's leniency. Such a love may make us uncomfortable, but it's there when we need it. Graciously merciful in his failure to be angry...such is the God of God's understanding.

 

Next, with attribute #7 comes the wonderful phrase "rav CHesed," GREAT or PLENTEOUS in MERCIFUL LOVE. Chesed is the love that is expansive, and gauche--the gift of diamonds on a first date kind of love--over the top...the love that doesn't give up...ever....the crucifix is an illustration of the length that Chesed will go to to show its depth. Attribute #9 is "rav emet," the adjective "great" modifies both "hesed," merciful love AND "emet," truth. God is extravagant in truth. That's why you can be completely honest in prayer...for that is what God wants. God is the soul of truth, and we approach God best when we are totally transparent--including when we state how angry we are with the way the universe is running! Shaking our fist at heaven, like St. Theresa of Avila, or questioning heaven, like Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, "Would it disturb some divine plan IF I WERE A WEALTHY MAN?" If we can't be honest in prayer, there is no place in the universe in which we can be honest. Never feel afraid or ashamed to state your truth to God--for remember, God already knows it, and is waiting for YOU to recognize and own it!!!! But, truth is built into the universe, as well. That's why when we sin, we often have to suffer some consequences. It's a "truth-teaching" device, to help us be all that we can be! It's part of God's loving us.

 

Well, on to Attribute # 9 "notzer Chesd laalafim, "Keeping faithful love to thousands of generations! So much for thinking that God will give up on the world and destroy it! Long before fearful prophets threatened people with destruction, God promised to "the" prophet, Moses, "faithfulness to thousands of generations. On the one hand, it's probably hyperbole--like you use when you tell a kid, "If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times to stop that!" But, remember, God is also the essence of truth. So there's truth even in the hyperbole of divine speech. God will be faithful to YOU! If nothing else, I want us all to leave here, today, trusting in God's faithfulness to each of us.

Attributes #10, 11, and 12 all go together, Noseh is the verb for all of them, it means "lifting up": Noseh avon, vafesha, vachatah, translated, "forgiving iniquity (avon), willful sin or rebellion (fesha) and carelessness or error (Chatah)," but more than forgiving, God "lifts up" the acts of human iniquity, rebellion and stupidity. God lifts us out of the mire of our own neurosis. Some of the "lifting" comes with repentance, but some of it is the initial "lifting" that brings us to the point of repentance, and some of us have to be lifted higher than others to get to the point we can see what we've done, own it, and repent. And finally, the last attribute: "v nakei," God cleanses us or purifies us. Rabbis speak of the closeness of the repentant sinner to God--how the repentant one is actually closer to God than the one who never strayed, for the one who has fallen and been helped to rise, knows something deeper about God than the one who never needed such a lift. The Church fathers speak of this, but they also speak of baptism--the sacrament we will administer in a few minutes to our newest members....this is the "purification," the "cleansing," that places the broken human vessel on the path of Grace that leads to the Mercy Seat of God. This IS the LIFTING par excellence...echoes of which we've all experienced over the years of our lives.

 

Now think of the qualities of a parent...and since it's Fathers' Day, let's think of fathers. Are not these qualities or attributes of God the qualities a father wants to embody? I'll bet they are. While I can't speak from the personal experience of being a father, I'll bet that every father here wants to be mighty in compassion, merciful, truthful, bountifully extravagant in love, gracious and slow to anger, lifting their children up, and helping them to heal and find wholeness.

 

No father, or mother here, is perfect. We can all use this reading as a guilt trip, or we can use it as a prayer. Let's use it as a prayer. O God make us faithful, and merciful, truthful and compassionate, gracious and slow to anger, lifting up our children, and helping them to heal and be whole. In fact, let's invite all the fathers here to stand--all fathers, step-fathers, male guardians, fathers to be, men trying to become fathers--teachers and mentors, too--to stand for a blessing:

 

O Gracious God, these small human vessels stand before You seeking Your help in being the kind of father or to do the sort of "fathering" You have challenged them to be and do. Inspire them with Your wisdom, strengthen them with Your Grace, give them words to inspire and to heal. You Who are the author of all Truth, bless them. Wrap them in the light of Your Protection and lift them to Your Heart. Hold them always in Your care. In the Name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

You may be seated, and on this Trinity Sunday, as we meditate on the Nature of God as God revealed Himself to be, let us pray that each of our lives may in some small way mirror those qualities, and that our lives may be benedictions of kindness and peace in our world. And may God bless you all. +

June 12, 2011 Pentecost Sunday

The readings remind us that the Church was born preaching goodness—that's what "Good News" is, at its root---GOODNESS. And we did so by forgiving, the Gospel says.

 

For those of you who were here a couple of weeks ago,  you heard me speak of the Mystery of Moses on Mount Sinai when the Torah was given…for that is what Pentecost remembers—that 50 days after the Exodus, God gave the law at Sinai. And I hope you also remember that when God spoke, the legend says that all the earth stood still. Winds died down; the waves of the sea grew calm, birds ceased chirping, animals in the forest paused. And in the silence God spoke the silent letter ALEPH, the first letter of the word "Ani" Ani, I, I am the Lord your God. (Ani adonoi eloheka.) This is the first commandment. Now the legends say that all God spoke was the aleph, the silent first letter, and in that silence the first 3 commandments concerning God were given, and immediately the silence of God echoed, and the mountain quaked, the lightening flashed, the wind blew and in the noise of the echo, the next 7 commandments were heard—the ones that deal with how we treat each other. There is a deep theology in this—it tells us that "not to kill another" "not to steal," not to defraud," are merely echoes of the command, "I am the Lord you God, have no other gods before me, make no images of them, nor serve them, and worship me on the Sabbath." Morality is an echo of spirituality. Now why is it important to review all this as we read the lessons of Christian Pentecost?

 

Let's look, shall we?

 

We have 2 Pentecost stories today. Luke's from the Book of Acts, and John's from his Gospel. In Luke, the Spirit comes in wind and fire and the house shakes, and the disciples become apostles, go forth speaking good tidings for all to hear. In John's memory we are in that same, locked upper room, but it was quieter. The still small voice like a breath on the face from the risen Christ forgave them all betrayals and empowered them to be forgiving people.

 

Do you see the mirror of the Midrashim? John recalls the silence of God—Jesus walking through locked doors and whispering "Peace," and breathing softly and empowering them to forgive. Luke, writing in the Book of Acts, hears the echo of that silence—the shaking, the wind and the fire, and the apostles go forth to proclaim what "goodness" is truly about—how to treat others as Christ had treated them.

 

Today's feast, many say, marks the birth of the Church. (Others see it being born at the crucifixion with the flowing of the blood and the water from Christ's side—signifying Baptism and Eucharist. I, personally, like to think of it being born at the Last Supper, when Christ was on his hands and knees washing the feet of betraying humanity, and showing us, thereby, how to treat each other.) IF today IS the anniversary of the Church's birth, then I think we should all try to claim our birthright. I think we would do well to plan to come to the Family Forum we are planning for this afternoon at 2 PM. It isn't convenient for everyone—no time is—and to that Forum I think we should bring our energy for building Church—for treating the world as Christ has treated us, and by bringing our humility and our forgiveness. If we can do that, God's power will be as much at work as it was in Jerusa lem 2000 years ago.

 

Whether or not we can get to today's Family Forum, let us pray that in the coming week we will all be able to show God's forgiving kindness to folk we meet and that our lives will be benedictions of goodness in our world. And may God bless you all. +

June 5, 2011 - The Ascension of the Lord

If Jesus were still here, in his historical form, He would be "counting the omer," today. Counting Omer is a ritual that the pious did in His day, and still do, today. Each day of the 50 days between Passover and Shavuot, between the anniversary of the Exodus from Egyptian slavery (Passover) and the anniversary of the day when the Torah was revealed on Mt. Sinai--on the 50th day--(Shavuoth in Hebrew, Pentecost, in Greek)--was a day of bringing an offering of grain to be waved before the altar. And the person bringing the grain would pray, "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Master of the Universe, for You have sanctified us by Your commandments, and commanded us to count the omer offering, of which today is the 30th or 32nd, or 49th day, as we prepare our hearts to Hear Your Voice and Your Will." Seven weeks, or seven days times seven of offering our harvest to God so that we might be worthy,,,or at least in a proper frame of mind...to receive His finest Gift to us: the revelation of His will in the laws He gave us to live by....the 613 commandments of the Law of Moses....given originally on Sinai, 50 days after the Exodus. A ritual of "counting" was done annually--and still is in Orthodox Jewish homes--to focus the mind on the beauty of the Gift that God's Will enshrined in commandments truly is. The Feast of Pentecost, two weeks away, is the anniversary of the Giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. These days between Passover (Easter) and it, are days of spiritual preparation. I suppose we could say that in a wry way, Jews in a sense, do their Lent AFTER Passover.

 

So, what happened on Sinai? Much of the New Testament is a commentary on a theology of Sinai, and we would do well to know what the writers were talking about before we begin to see other things in their writings. Of course, we are free to get ANY meaning for ourselves from a biblical text, but it makes more sense to start where they started, to try to see what they wanted us to see, before we try to see what maybe they, themselves, didn't even see, but which is included in their struggling to get their minds around God and His Will.

 

Back to Sinai! What happened there? An ancient Midrash that was current at the time of Jesus and the evangelists said that when God Almighty spoke at Sinai, all the earth became still. Not a bird flew or chirped. Frogs were strangely sitting in quiet anticipation. Waves and breezes stilled themselves. And in the total and all-encompassing silence God spoke, and what He spoke was the ALEPH, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, for that is the first letter of the word, "I" in Hebrew, Ani. Ani begins with an Aleph. And as God said the initial letter of his name, all creation heard it in the silence. Isn't that a profoundly pious thought? But, what is the sound of an aleph? The aleph is a silent letter. It has no sound whatsoever. So, God's voice spoke silence into silence, but all the earth heard LOUDLY and CLEARLY that God is God and there is no other. The first three commandments which deal with who God is, were included in this speech--the aleph. Then, the thunder and lightening echoed this silent sound, repeating it and reverberating it, and from that "echo" came the next seven commands--on how we are to live with each other--how to treat each other--which makes morality a mirror of how we treat God--which is why when Christ gave his 2 Great commandments, he said "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and the second is "like" the first--in Aramaic, "the same as the first"...love your neighbor as yourself, for its merely an echo of the first commandment.

 

The silence revealed God to us, and to this day, God is found in silence, and silence is His language--all other language is a translation. This is what Elijah heard in his cave on Mt. Horeb. He erroneously thought he alone was left in worship of God, and he ran to the Mountain where it all began--Mt. Sinai, now known as Horeb. There he stood in the mouth of a cave, and heard the wind and the thunder and saw the lightening--the echoes of the Voice--but he sensed that God had not yet been revealed to him, and as he continued to stand in silence, he heard "the daughter of a whisper of a voice," which we translate into English, "a still, small voice." He heard the Aleph. The Voice. The silence of God.

 

This is what Jesus tells the disciples they will receive in the upper room on Pentecost. On the anniversary of Mt. Sinai, the day of silence and its echo, you will hear the still small voice, and after it, the thunder and the wind and shaking of the mountain...in your upper room--like Elijah's cave atop Horeb, you will, in your high room, hear the silence and then the echo...in fact, you yourselves will be a part of the echo...babbling it forth into the world. And you will feel so full!

 

BUT...I won't be there, physically, like I am now. The silence will be there, and the wind...the echo...but not I. Yet, I will be there, too, in the silence, for the Advocate--the spiritual presence, the wind of God, the soul of the universe will be there...the heart of your heart will recognize my Voice in your own. You will hear your own voice and know it is mine. For I will be in you and you in me, and as the Father is in me, and I'm in you, the Father will be in you through the Advocate's silence and presence, and His love for the earth will go forth from you in your echoing speech.

 

So, what does this reading tell you? It tells you how to read the story of Pentecost which we will hear two weeks from today. It says that like those first apostles who left the upper room to speak the will and love of God to the world, and whose message was welcomed by the people of every nation, for they heard in the words that came forth an echo of their OWN inner truth--for it was in their own voice and their own language, SO will the words you use be sent out onto the airwaves of the universe, and people will hear them. So.........PLEASE make those words that come forth from you words of welcome and words of blessing. Don't condemn the world, Jesus didn't come to do that. He came to bless it and save it.

 

We Christians have such potential for goodness. We have a mandate from the God of Love to assure the world that it is loved and blessed, and to call forth the best in it.

 

But, let's face it, the history of Christianity shows two tendencies: 1) the broken part of us (and who of us isn't spiritually broken in some way?) will twist that into words of condemnation...we will find everything that we think is wrong with the world, and threaten it with God's damnation. But those words come from brokenness, from a bruised place, they do not come from a place that is healed.

 

And, then, 2) there are those broken parts of us that we cannot recognize for what they are. Though they are broken and sinful, we seem to have to call them good. Then we are so afraid to ask for healing, for fear it will force us to change into something we don't want to be. So, we assure ourselves and the world that all is well, as we look onto a landscape of inner emptiness and out onto a landscape of corpses.

 

The truth is with neither, according to John's Gospel. The truth is that sin is real, and it kills. It killed Christ. It kills potential in each of us. But goodness is also real, and sometimes it has its day and knows its own quiet triumph. And we have all experienced that. BUT above both sin and grace is a Magnificent God who finds lost sheep and hoists them onto His shoulders and brings them home, and heals them. Above it all is a Father who sees through the guise of a non-repentant prodigal, and before the lad can add perjury to his list of crimes, the Father wraps him in loving arms and puts rings on his fingers and shoes on his feet. The God before whom we stand knows our sinfulness. He doesn't "mistake" sin for goodness, but He knows how to heal sins, and he would rather die than give us up. And, then a 3rd, and spiritually more wholesome path opens for us: we welcome in the sinner, the leper, the woman caught in adultery, the blind, the lame, the broken, those attempting to be good, those who've given up on goodness, and don't know how to find their way. We welcome one and all to the banquet of the King for His Healing Grace is here. Lives are remade and made new, here. This is the place of healing. We welcome those parts of US to the table, and we welcome those parts of others to the table, and we all stand at the foot of the Cross in need of redemption together, and we all sit at the Banquet Table hungry and waiting to be fed.

 

According to St. Hilary, the Church is never a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners. And such is the promise of the reading today. The Christ we enthrone in our hearts, as the letter of Peter puts it, is the Christ who heals the broken in the silence and the echo of the daughter of the whisper of the Voice. So, come, and listen with us. Dine with us. Heal with us. Let the Voice that all creation heard be heard in your heart, in your own voice. And may our lives, together, broken people that we are, become benedictions of goodness in our broken world. And may God bless you all. +