Christmas 2018 Jer 23:3-8, Gal 4:4-7, MT 2: 1-12 Christ is born!

As preached by Sister Cecelia

Holy Wisdom Church

It is not easy to be a Christian today but it never has been easy. Where do we go for help to know what we need to do, what choices we are to make today, tomorrow and the next day? Scripture, the Good News of our Bible is one of the places to turn to. It is a formidable task and one that we frequently put off for the quiet time that never seems to come. Trying to understand the lessons we might glean from our Liturgical feasts this week though, is a start.

While there is much written about the symbolism of the gifts the Magi brought to the infant, it is understood that the Gold is a gift fit for a king. Jesus’ kingdom was not what the Hebrews were expecting. Jesus was to rule by love and not by force, ruling our hearts, not from a throne but from the cross.

Frankincense is a gift fit for a priest for the worship of God. It was in the temple worship and temple sacrifices that the sweet perfume of Frankincense was used. Opening the way to God was the function of a priest. A Latin word for priest is pontifex which means bridge builder. The priest is the one who builds a bridge between God and humankind. In some theological circles all believers are priests which follows then that we all have the responsibility of opening the way to God for others by our lives.

Myrrh is a gift for one who is dying or died. Even at the cradle of Christ, the gifts of the wise men foretold that He was to be the true King, the perfect High Priest and in the end the Supreme Savior of humankind.

After finding and worshiping Jesus, the Magi were warned by God not to return to Jerusalem and Herod. Finding Jesus may mean our lives must also take a different direction, one more responsive and obedient to God’s word. Are we willing to be led in a different way?

Let us notice that it is not the wise men from Jesus’ own country that came to pay him homage but the learned philosophers from Persia or Babylon. To both the Romans and the Hebrews the belief systems and dress of these travelers must have seemed very strange. What must Mary and Joseph have thought of them?

What would we have thought of their strange dress and ways?

Think of all the great diversity among the entire human race. It is not only the wide variety of the shapes of our noses, mouths, hair color and sizes. We have vastly different languages, cultures, styles of behavior and beliefs. If we find ourselves among people vastly different from what we are used to, we can feel threatened, and hostile. Much of the fighting occurring through the history of the human race has been over these kinds of differences. We are much more prone to kill people over their skin color, language or religious differences than over economic or political ideologies.

Early in Jesus’ ministry it seemed he came only for the house of Israel but before his ministry ended, he made it clear that he had come for the entire world. He told his followers to spread his good news to all.

Throughout much of history it was thought that others would have to give up their own cultures, their own belief systems entirely and become just “like us” in order to be followers of Christ. It was thought that salvation would involve a denial of everything in their past and the accepting of only our past. Exactly how Jesus perfects the best in every human tradition is difficult to say, as some things do have to change. We can now see how wrong it was for Western Christians to demand converts to become good Europeans as well as Christians.

To be a true follower of Christ, people only need to accept the loving tender, passionate Father in heaven that Jesus came to reveal. Remember how often Jesus said: “It is written in the law...but I say to you, etc”. It is difficult for many to believe those who are different from us can equally share in the graces of God. They do not have to have the same customs, the same culture to be part of the body of Christ. There is much work to be done to help bring about these real connections, this genuine understanding. If we have not been bridge builders before, let this Christmas be a beginning even if it means being led into different ways of being.

Christ is born!

Sermon 162. 16 Dec 18 Dn 14:31-42; Col 3:2-9; Lk 13:18-30 Daniel & 3 Youths

Preached by Brother Luke    
Holy Wisdom Church   

We may all have our own experiences of being on the hot seat, but we must admit that these three youths turn in the marquee performance. To get the whole story of Daniel and the three youths you need to read all of the book of Daniel. In there you would notice that when the king questions the three about their god and what help they might expect from him they reply, either he will help them or he won’t, but either way they will praise the name of the Lord their God. Now that is a challenge to us and it is what I believe is a very important lesson of this story.  When faced with a crisis in our lives, can we praise God without regard to the outcome? Certainly, these three asked for God’s help, but they also sang his praises as the fires burned all around them.

        At final exam time I’m sure God’s message board lights up with an overload of requests for help to get through the exams. But of course, we can list many examples of our own trials and tribulations and look at how we approached God in each circumstance. An IRS tax audit, a major presentation in a court case, getting through a whelping with all the puppies alive, preparing a meal for special guests and hoping it will all go well, going to the doctor for an important check-up and hoping that whatever problem we might be facing will be solved without something worse happening, getting safely to the bottom of our road on an icy day, surviving a plane trip in the midst of a storm, etc. Can I praise God for my life and all the glories and graces I have enjoyed even when things seem to be going wrong?  That is a challenge.

        Let’s take it one step further. The early Fathers and Mothers of the church often counseled their petitioners to guard against the passions of the world. To set one’s focus on God’s Kingdom. If we are to live truly in the peace of the Lord, how can we do that if we are always or frequently angry, depressed, disturbed, upset, anxious, irritable, annoyed, rattled, sullen, and the list is endless. These feelings are telling us that we have allowed the “passions” of the world to hook us into the world’s maelstrom of distress. So, I believe, more pertinent for us today than the hot seat image, is the image captured by the quote from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”: “if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.”

        Richard Rohr, in one of our recent morning matins readings was saying much the same thing but using the images of light and darkness. We wish we could stop all the darkness in our world, “But at a certain point, we have to surrender to the fact that the darkness has always been here, and the only real question is how to receive the light and spread the light.” He goes on to say: “What we need to do is recognize what is, in fact, darkness and then learn to live in creative and courageous relationship to it.” ^[1]This does not mean we don’t care about the cares of the world, it means we don’t let the world rule our lives, especially when we realize that we are not really in a position to change the world. This is the world Jesus is telling us to leave behind. Point to the light and keep going in that direction rather than be drawn into the darkness that can seem all pervasive around us. If we don’t, we may find ourselves contributing to the problem rather than making it better.

        The Battenkill Chorale this January will be singing James Whitburn’s Annelies which is based on the Diaries of Anne Frank who in the midst of her trials wrote: “If you become part of the suffering, you’d be entirely lost.” The outcome for her did not change, but this teenage girl faced it with courage. Not unlike our three youths in the fiery furnace. Truly a lesson for us in our times.

        Glory be to Jesus Christ!

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^[1] Richard Rohr, Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent. Cincinnati: Franciscan Media, 2008, p. 27.

Sermon 161. 18 Nov 18 Sir 24:9-12; Heb 2:11-18; Lk 2:41-52 Entry-Dedication

As Preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Chapel


Whenever I think about the life of the Theotokos a theme that always emerges is her willingness to hear [harken to] the word of God and go where that word is leading, exemplified by the story of the Annunciation. But today’s feast goes back to when Mary was a very young girl and under the guardianship of her parents. It is their action that inaugurates Mary’s very special life’s journey. Their decision to take her to the Temple, not just for a blessing but to dedicate her to a holy life under God’s protection, is a response of gratitude to God for the gift of the child Mary coming to this couple despite their advanced age. The story of this Temple visit and the early life of Mary come to us from a proto-evangelical source, the Gospel of James, that did not make it into the canonical corpus of the Bible but was of great popularity in the early centuries of the church. So, it is no surprise that the church incorporated this feast of Mary into the festal cycle of the church year, possibly in response to the popular affection for Mary and this event, but also as an important element in what the church wants to teach us by this story.

Mary’s early life becomes a process of purification preparing her to be the vessel used to bring God’s son into this world. For the church these stories are all about bringing Jesus Christ into the world as a human being and thereby affording humankind a pathway to salvation as the letter to the Hebrews proclaims. Since God’s motives and actions are always pure love, then Jesus’ birth from a virgin is symbolic of that purity made available through this particular human agent. Mary’s willingness to listen for and then carry out God’s word is the first lesson of her life for us.

But I think linked to this is another message that we might pay attention to. Like “willingness” noted above, another characteristic runs throughout the story of Mary’s life, namely: “dedication”. Mary dedicates her life to Jesus, first by bearing him and nurturing him during his childhood, but also by standing by him throughout his ministry.

The common understanding of “to dedicate” is to assign, to commit or to give over. If you dedicate a song you’ve written to a friend, it means the song belongs to them. If you dedicate yourself to a project, it means you give yourself to it. Joachim and Anna took the first step in this dedication. But Mary continued to live her life with renewed dedication to what her parents had initiated.

I can remember hearing that a tradition in some Roman Catholic families was to dedicate the first son to the church, usually by guiding him toward the priesthood. This was also common among Orthodox families. And today’s gospel lesson reminds us of how Jesus’ parents annually took their son to the temple to accomplish a similar duty. That begin with his presentation as a child. The Feast of the Theotokos we celebrate today is about the same desire, only it is for Mary. It is a sign of gratitude for a gift freely given.

Our life, indeed all life, is also a gift from God. Mary, prompted by her parents’ action, becomes a model of dedication to this special mission of God, first by her agreement to bear the Son of God, and then to be a faithful participant in his life and work all the way through to his death on the cross and beyond. For many believers she is the compassionate human access point to her son and through him to God. The numerous shrines around the world dedicated to her are a living testimony to this reality. A path to Wisdom as the one praise in Sirach.

To what do we dedicate our lives? How do we show that dedication? God loves all creation and creatures, including human beings, flawed though we may be. That love is given to us freely. That love is also translated into support for what we have chosen to do with our lives. We have many options, and by the way we live, we give birth to Jesus Christ over and over again.

A celebrity from the middle of the 20th century, in speaking about approaches to life concluded by saying: “...and the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.” It may be no surprise to some that this quote is from Vince Lombardi, a very successful professional football coach, known also for his ardent dedication to equality and justice within his control. Mary’s example would fit this image perfectly. Might we strive to do the same?

OCTOBER 21, 2018 ISAIAH 25:6-10, 2 CORINTHIANS 1:8-11, LUKE 5:29-39

As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Chapel

There is a common thread in all three readings this morning. 

First, Isaiah tells us of God providing his chosen people all kinds of rich food—a real feast. The pall of tears and disgrace would be lifted, and salvation granted to those who had waited for the Lord. Who would not be joyful?

St. Paul found his terrible heavy burden lifted, and he was able to hope that any other hardship he endured would also be aided by God enabling him to be joyful and give thanks to God.

Matthew was so joyful at having been chosen by Jesus to follow him that he gave a great banquet. It must have been an open-door policy. The pharisees and scribes were there, besides many tax collectors and others from all walks of life. The pharisees and scribes might not have been so joyful at being answered in the way Jesus answered them by saying, in effect, “The righteous do not need me, but sinners do, and when the bridegroom is present there is no fasting.”  The others at the banquet had many reasons to be joyful upon hearing Jesus’ answers.

A common thread through all three is this: Be joyful in the lord! 

Mother Antonia Brenner spent 30 years in prison, although she had committed no crime. Twice married and divorced, and having raised her seven children, she determined to devote her life to the service of Jesus after he had appeared to her in a dream. A priest invited her to help him in his prison ministry at La Mesa in Tijuana, Mexico. It was an overcrowded prison that housed over 8 thousand inmates. Eventually Mother Antonia made private religious vows, and obtained permission to live in one of the cells in the women’s section of the prison. In the prison she walked freely among murderers, gang members, and other desperate inmates. Her loving presence often quelled violence. Near her death she said, “Happiness does not depend on where you are. I live in prison, and I have not had a day of depression in 25 years. I have been upset, angry, sad, but never depressed.” 1.

 

This is the kind of joy we can strive for.

The third thing Jesus said does not resound with any particular encouragement to be joyful: Don’t use new cloth to patch an old garment, and don’t put new wine in an old wineskin. Jesus is speaking not only to the pharisees who had disapprovingly asked him questions, but to all the other people there, and to us.

 Jesus was pleading that we not shut our minds to new ideas. The Holy Spirit is ever leading us to be open to grow in truth and wisdom. If we think we have the whole truth already, what would make us keep looking and searching? We all need to make time in our lives to ponder the mysteries of our faith. We don’t necessarily need heavy philosophical and theological books for our meditations. Take the Apostle’s and Nicene creeds. Take the Our Father, and ponder how we understand what any of these phrases means to us now, as perhaps differently from when we first learned our faith. 

 Take time to spend in contemplation of the God we have come to know.  Perhaps the creeds, the Our Father, and a few favorite prayers are all that some of us need to spend our time well. If they are joyful throughout the day and night, no matter what hardships and pleasures have come their way, they can be also grateful to God for this grace. The rest of us need more to satisfy our longing and searching.  Flannery O’Connor reflected that we live in a world increasingly convinced that there is no ultimate divine source. Many people are more concerned with the processes of consciousness than with the objective world outside the mind. Our experiences of God come to us through our bodies, through all of creation. Let us ponder well what our entire life means. 

 If, like St. Paul, life is so difficult we feel like despairing, remember God is with us as we suffer.  Nothing will befall us that will destroy us if we can but trust in God’s goodness. In the meantime, pray that we may be joyful in the Lord.

God is with us!

 1. (From Blessed Among Us by Robert Ellsberg.)

Sermon 160 Oct 7; Is 61:1-9; 1Cor 15:1-11; Lk 4:16-24. Rejection

As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Chapel

        “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

“A prophet is never welcomed in his own town.”

How well do we respond to rejection? Not always very well, speaking for myself. The emotional field that is stirred up can be vast and varied: Anger, dejection, self-doubt, self-pity, or self-justification, rejection of the other to just scratch the surface. And how much more difficult it is when the rejection comes from family or close friends? But for Jesus Christ, this rejection is part of a larger message St Luke is laying before us with this incident.

This morning’s gospel reading is really the third tableau of a series that St Luke is painting to show us how Jesus’ mission came to be.  Prior to this scene, we have the baptism of Christ and the temptations of Christ in the desert.

Some commentaries point to the role of the Holy Spirit making Jesus aware of his vocation through these three experiences. At Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descending on Jesus in the Jordan brings the opening message from God that this Jesus is God’s son. A message for Jesus and for us. Then the spirit leads Jesus into the desert where he needs to face those inner yearnings for power and prestige common to human beings. The smooth-talking devil delivers the temptations and Jesus fends them off with scriptural authority. Finally, today’s event involves Jesus selecting a passage from the prophecy of Isaiah, not by chance but by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The text describes what the Good News is that Jesus is to bring to Israel.  It’s not a new message, but rather the revivification of God’s long-standing call to humanity, one too easily ignored.

So, Jesus quotes scripture in a way that challenges his listeners. They do not want to hear it and they reject him and his message. But this is God’s message. When Jesus says this passage is being fulfilled at this time, he is saying that the fulfillment is coming through him, through Jesus, and his mission, the mission he is now embarking on.

That mission, articulated long ago by Isaiah, is: “to bring glad tidings to the poor... proclaim liberty to captives... recovery of sight to the blind... let the oppressed go free... proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” But his listeners will have none of it. This is not the kind of liberation they are expecting. Even more, when he goes on to point out that God’s favor fell on the Syrian Naaman and the woman from Sidon rather than on God’s chosen, allowing the Hebrew God to break out of the confines of being their local tribal god to a universal God, this they cannot process. So, they run Jesus out of town and try to push him off a cliff, as Satan tried to do from the pinnacle of the Temple.

St Luke, more than any of the other gospel writers, returns over and over again to the theme of Jesus being on a mission to the poor and outcasts of society. Jesus is undeterred by rejection. He knows his mission and he will carry it out as it is his Father’s will.  So, for us to participate in Jesus’ mission, we need to pay attention to the mission statement from Isaiah. Take it to heart and act upon it.

As for Jesus’ example in the face of rejection, we can take away this lesson: know who you are, know what you’re about and do not let detractors deter you.

Glory be to Jesus Christ!