Sunday after the Blessing of the Waters January 14, 2024

 As preached by Sister Cecelia

Holy Wisdom Church

Amos 8:1-7; Colossians 3:12-17; Luke 16:1-9 

About the rich fool who built bigger barns to hold his extra grain, St. Ambrose quoted when preaching that the bosoms of the poor, the houses of the widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever.

The Hebrews, too, believed that charity to the poor would stand to a person’s credit in the world to come. Making friends of the poor and needy by sharing one’s wealth with them was the way to go through life. A person’s true wealth consisted in what was given away, not what was kept for the self.

In one sense, that is what the steward did in this morning’s parable, and the master appreciated his shrewdness. The steward’s largesse, however, was not because he was thinking of helping others, only himself. The steward in today’s gospel had not been faithful in small things and eventually lost his job. If our integrity slips in small matters, it will certainly fail in more crucial matters.

We are only too aware of the tragedies and natural disasters that darken the present time, as well as our histories—to say nothing of the effects of human weakness, blindness, and malice. Nevertheless, those who have chosen to serve God will work together despite their differences.

I’m reminded of Samuel’s response to God after the 4th time he was awakened from sleep: “Here I am, Lord, your servant is listening." At our baptism we become not only God’s children but servants of God. Rebuilding is one of the charisms of creation. Creation is ongoing, and we can choose to help with the rebuilding or add to the tearing down. It is a decision, a choice to add to the building up.

Today’s Epistle indicates the qualities that enable us to make the choices to bring about a rebuilding of the future. Dealing with our everyday life with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience requires forgiveness on our part. It is by the dynamism of the desire to be instructed in the ways of God that we are gradually enlightened about the nature of divinity. Even though not an autumn leaf falls in vain, and does so without our understanding or permission, it is difficult to reach the point of believing there is a meaning behind all that happens in life. In the personal experience of God’s kindness, we begin to accept the possibility that there is meaning behind every event.

Very rarely, we can clearly spot God’s fingerprint in the details of a situation or a decision.  Most of the time it can feel like guesswork. Knowing how we can best serve God, how to go about the building up, can be anxiety producing. God’s will for us is not usually marked with a “Sign here” tab. Therefore, we shouldn’t worry about getting everything right on the first try. The aim at all times is to shift the focus from oneself as the center of the universe, in order to place oneself at the service of the Creator.

 It is much more important to be ready and willing, like Samuel, to repeat, “Here I am, Lord, your servant is listening.” Then we will find ourselves on the right path despite any detours we take in life. Spending our energies to come to an understanding of what is within our reach. and then working to improve matters. is a great accomplishment.

What choices will promote peace within ourselves and in the whole creation?

What do others learn of Christ by observing us?

 

"Then Jesus appeared..." (Mt 3:13) Theophany 2024

As preached by Brother Christopher
Holy Wisdom Church

“Then Jesus appeared…” (Mt 3:13)

 

Why did Jesus get baptized? As biblical scholars and historians attest, that Jesus was baptized can hardly be doubted. Since John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance and those who went out to the Jordan to be baptized simultaneously confessed their sins, why would Jesus— whom we believe to have been the sinless one— why would he have joined their ranks? John the baptist himself protests initially, “It is I need baptism from you and yet you come to me…” I don’t think it was a display of false humility on Jesus’ part but instead an action that was drenched in meaning, in solidarity with humanity. On the one hand, Jesus recognized that it was God’s will; when he responds to John by telling him it is necessary that they fulfill all righteousness, that’s what he was getting at. Jesus recognized that in submitting to baptism not only was he identifying fully with the human condition, but also in his person he was bringing to a close the old covenant and ushering in a new age. In this sense, his baptism was a prophetic act, one that was radically eschatological. That this is so is shown by the fact that as he emerges from the water, heaven opens and the Spirit of God descends on him like a dove and the voice from heaven says, ‘This is my Son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ This is the revelation of the Trinity. All three persons are present: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The evocative symbol of the dove that hovered over the chaotic waters in Genesis, now is present at the new creation, and the voice of the Father confirms Jesus’ true identity before his public ministry. To quote John the Baptist, he will be the one in the new age to baptize in the Holy Spirit and with fire.

         Yet the significance doesn’t end there. On a liturgical level, theophany is an incredibly rich feast that expands the mystery of Jesus’ baptism to a more cosmic level. Water is a symbol of life. Without it, there is no life. In the context of the liturgy, water becomes an image of the whole of life, the world and all creation. No matter how dirty and polluted life has become, it is never beyond purification and transformation. When Jesus enters the water, he enters as the God/Man, possessing both a human and divine nature in one person. In one of the prefestive hymns we sung, “Neither simply God nor plainly human, but, in both his natures, he is one only-begotten Son. In his humanity, he asks the prophet to baptize him; in his divinity, he takes away the sins of the world.” Being immersed fully into the waters of the Jordan, Jesus symbolically unites himself with all creation, with all matter, and as he rises from the Jordan the whole world shimmers in its aftermath, transformed into an eschatological vision that is radiant for those with the eyes to see it. The liturgy gives us such a glimpse. Think of the verse in the 2nd lity hymn of this feast that we sang last night, “Today, Christ the Savior is baptized. As he comes forth from the waters, he raises all the world as well…”

         Today is Theophany, the appearance of God, God appearing in sensible form. It is a feast of lights, of revelation. Jesus’ baptism reveals a world transformed by God, restored to its pristine beauty by virtue of an unconditional love that overcomes every temptation to despair. That is worthy of our every hope.

Sermon 194 January 7, 2024: Mal 3:20-24; Eph 5:8-20; Jn 1:19-34 Sunday after Theophany

 As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Chapel

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

 

         Was John the Baptist out of his mind? Why would anyone do what he did? Would you? He heads out into the wilderness, rails against the sickness of his society, calls on people to turn away from their evil ways and seek the Lord. He attracted crowds of people who took his message to heart. But he also attracted a board of inquiry that wanted to know just who he thought he was and by what authority he was baptizing. He was a latter day Jeremiah and he ended up getting thrown into jail and beheaded. Job security wasn't his thing.

         John the Baptist was a prophet. But he wasn't a Wall Street type prophet, selling inside information on how to make a financial killing in a fickle market in the midst of an uncertain economy. John was talking about a change of life and investing in a future that was out of this world. He was a voice in the wilderness crying out for a change that his society needed desperately but was loathe to pursue. Expediency was the watchword for the leadership of his day. Play it safe. Stick to the rules. If you rock the boat we will all be lost!

         Even more, John was also going against the grain in his approach. He was not promoting himself, he was pointing to someone else. Standing among you is someone whose sandals I am not fit to untie. What looks like hubris turns out to be the ultimate humility. And wouldn't it be refreshing for that approach to be available to us today? For the one he was pointing to was Jesus Christ. The one who enjoys God's favor. And like John the Baptist, was always pointing to someone else, namely God.

         Everything we do in church points to the alternate route. The route that does not take us deeper into the morass of society but raises us up to a vision that turns the Holy Trinity from a construct into a pattern for new life, a life of awareness of the other, mutuality, forgiveness, compassion, support, self emptying, receptivity - all of those things that contradict the impulse in the world today to build walls between us rather than bridges; to bomb to oblivion those who look, act or believe differently than we do.

         The message that John the Baptist was proclaiming 2000 years ago is the same message we need to hear today. Like then, it is still a voice crying out in the wilderness. It is a lonely occupation, but it remains the one thing necessary.

         John was pointing to Christ and preparing the way for him to enter the world to proclaim his message of salvation. And if we hear the message, how do we put it into effect? By the way we live and treat each other and the world around us. It's not a complicated agenda. The problem is that it goes against the human instinct for self preservation and self promotion. You follow a path that leads to crucifixion or decapitation, you're not likely to be a candidate for an appearance on "America's Got Talent." It doesn't fit into the popular culture of our day. But the good news is that some people are discovering that today's culture is sadly lacking any depth that satisfies the deeper human yearning for meaning in their lives that is not superficial.

         So each one of us in our own lives can do what Isaiah called for: to clear the way for the Lord [Is 40:3] to enter. Where? Into each one of our hearts. Our baptism is where it begins. Our lives is where it unfolds. Our challenge is to not let the light that entered into us at our baptism flicker and fade, but rather to take every opportunity to protect it and nurture it. To bring that light to others. Each one of us can make a difference.

 

Christ is in our midst!

 

 

 

Christmas 2023

As preached by Brother Christopher
Holy Wisdom Church

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” Gal 4:4

 

 

Christmas is such a blend of powerful stories that have the potential to renew us. In Luke’s presentation of the incarnation which we heard last evening, the angel announces to the shepherds, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior is born to you, the Messiah, the Lord...” Truly this is good news, news we have waited for during the entire pre-Christmas season. Yet with every Christmas there is always the temptation to reduce its mystery to a historical event long past, one that makes us feel sentimental and nostalgic but misses its real significance for this present hour. Today Christ is born, born anew in our hearts if we allow the mystery to be rekindled again. This is what we do at liturgy. Part of what makes the liturgical year so engaging is its unique ability – year after year – to re-open the mysteries of our faith at ever deeper levels, allowing us to become contemporaneous with them, knowing them from the inside, from the heart, and in the process, continuing to grow and change. We get to become Christ bearers, not only to each other, but to a world that is in desperate need of Christ’s presence.

          For this is the longing of every human heart, which is highlighted in this morning’s gospel from Matthew. We can easily imagine the Magi, symbolizing the entire Gentile world, traveling miles and miles over desert sands responding to that inner yearning. They travel principally at night, by faith, doggedly following the star that illumines their path. For this was no ordinary star; as St John Chrysostom observes, ‘no other star has this capacity to guide, not merely to move but to beckon, to go before them, drawing them and guiding them along their way, first to Jerusalem where they learn of the biblical prophecy, then on to Bethlehem, directly over the place where the child is to be found. There, in the most ordinary of circumstances, they find Jesus with his mother Mary and significantly, they immediately prostrate themselves and do him homage. They prostrate on behalf of the whole Gentile world, all those who are not part of Israel. Here, at the very beginning of the Gospel we see the tearing down of the dividing walls between races and cultures. This Messiah, the true King of the Jews, is God’s revelation to the entire world and from an eschatological perspective, it is already being realized.

          These stories are formative, having shaped our identity as Church and as individual believers. The fact that they have been retold so often over the centuries points to their power, and their potential to transform us. But only if we allow them to speak to our hearts. Can we find ourselves in these stories? Can we feel the joy of the Magi as they see the star long-guiding them reappear after their meeting with Herod? Can we know the awe they experienced as they gazed on the newborn Jesus with his mother? Can we, just like them prostrate before the newborn child and offer him our lives? Finally, can we feel Mary’s continued bewilderment and awe at the infant nursing at her breast, the one who just as surely holds the universe in the palm of his hand?

These stories are the very antithesis of anything nostalgic or sentimental. They seek to be living and active in us, agents of transformation that bring us into ever deeper relationship with the mystery that reveals itself this day. Let us use this feast as a launching point for the renewal that God seeks to inspire in our lives and in our world.  Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

 

 

 

Homily: Luke 11:1-13, December 10, 2023

 As preached by Sister Rebecca

Holy Wisdom Church

In today’s Gospel, Luke writes about the disciples who are asking Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Implicit in that request is their admission that there are things that they don’t understand about prayer. I wonder if the disciples, while observing Jesus in prayer, were drawn to imitate him.

 

Jesus responds:  When you pray, say “Our Father in heaven,” meaning that God is infinite, mysterious, and beyond human comprehension. Yet, this transcendence of God doesn’t mean that God is remote or unknowable. C. S. Lewis writes that as humans we need “limping metaphors” to express our relationship with God in his “magnetic mercy” which draws us to himself. There is no need to stress or strain, to grope in the darkness, for God has created us; he is near to each one of us, as close as breath itself. Jesus indicates that God is not only “in heaven” but is also near and dear as a loving father to every person. God is infinite, yes, but he’s also intimate. And so, of the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father,” Paul says the same thing in the Epistle to the Romans. We shouldn’t relate to God as a slave who fears a master, but as a child who feels safe with a parent: “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6). “Abba,” the Aramaic word that Jesus used, means something like “Papa.” The word is used only three times in the New Testament, and it conveys a startling sense of human intimacy with the divine Infinite. It was a word that little children first learning to speak used for their father, and that Jesus himself used to pray to God in the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

Because God is like a tender loving father, Jesus invites us to pray, to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, he tells us. “And when a child asks for food, like a fish or an egg, no parent would ever give him a poisonous snake or scorpion. How much more will God give good gifts to his children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask?” says Jesus.

 

So prayer at its deepest level is not about getting something, solving a problem, or resolving issues. Rather, all prayer is a radical receptivity to the Holy Spirit, which itself is inspired by that same Holy Spirit! We will come to know that it is God who creates within us the desire to pray for whatever we need or want. But we need to surrender to the Divine Spirit, letting go of our small minds, and embracing contemplative practice.

It is here that we experience moments of awe and wonder.  Returning to Jesus’ prayer to the Father: “hallowed be your name”: the word “to hallow” is in old English term for “to sanctify,” to make holy, sacred. When we experience moments of awe, we are allowing God to be hallowed in us—and in the midst of this sacred presence we know we are forgiven and loved unconditionally.  At the same time, all is forgiven. We hold no grudges, negativity toward others or any of creation. This is a sheer gift of the Spirit.  But in order to live in this sacred atmosphere we need daily nourishment—not just for our bodies, but soul food—the manna.  This bread is received in many ways, especially in the Eucharist, but is available also whenever we need it. It comes in many forms: grace, guidance, trust, consolation, moments of enlightenment, friendships, loving kindness. This latter, in unexpected ways: a smile, someone holding a door for us when we happen to need it, and even in little silly ways that bring a bit of humor into our frustrations:  What comes to my mind right now: I was shopping at Hannaford and picked up a little netted bag of tomatoes.  As I was pushing my cart down an aisle, several little tomatoes escaped through a hole in the net, and they went sailing down the aisle!  I was very worried someone might step on one, slide, and fall! As I went after them a tall, lanky 16-year-old came from behind me, looked at the tomatoes rolling down the aisle, turned to me and said: “Lady! That sucks!” And I couldn’t help laughing.  Small stuff! But many such things like this can cut through our over-seriousness and worry.

In the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, there’s a story about Macarius the Great (born c. 300), a former camel driver. One day someone asked him how to pray. “There is no need at all to make long discourses,” he advised. “It is enough to stretch out one’s hands and say, ‘Lord, as you will, and as you know, have mercy.’ And if the conflict grows fiercer say, ‘Lord, help!’ He knows very well what we need and he shows us his mercy.”

 

“Western culture today and in our times presents us with an incredible challenge: it tends to be an extroverted culture and a ‘can-do’ culture.  Prayer too easily has become an attempt to change God and aggrandize ourselves instead of what it was meant to be—an interior practice to change the one who is praying.  This interior transformation will happen if we sit calmly before this uncanny and utterly safe Presence, and allow the Divine Gaze to invade and heal our unconscious, the place where 95 percent of our motivations and mindless reactions come from.”  (Paraphrased from a quote by Fr. Richard Rohr.)

We need to stand back:  go to that space of loving Presence, be open to God’s gaze and return the gaze.  Then, as Meister Eckhart so perfectly said, “the eye with which we look back at God will be the same eye that first looked at us.”  We just complete the circuit!

I’d like to end these reflections with a poem by Edwina Gateley, entitled “Silent Prayer.”

This is my prayer—

That, though I may not see,

I be aware

Of the Silent God

Who stands by me.

That, though I may not feel, I be aware

Of the Mighty Love

 Which doggedly follows me.

That, though I may not respond,

I be aware

That God—my Silent, Mighty God,

Waits each day.

Quietly, hopefully, persistently.

Waits each day and through each night

For me.

For me—alone. 

Sermon 193 December 17, 2023: Dn 14:31-42; Col 3:2-9; LK 13:18-30 Three Youths

As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church


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

What do a walk in the woods, a gaze into the night sky, peering into a microscope, and a flight across the ocean all have in common? The wonder of how small one human being is next to the vastness of God's creation. What does the Psalmist ask? "What are mere mortals that you should even think of them?" [Ps 8:4] And yet, Christ's mission is to remind us just how much God loves his creation. How much God wants us to grow into the loving and compassionate people that Christ is modeling for us. If we manage that, what is its fruit? I think this morning's gospel lesson gives us a clue.

Something small has within itself what it takes to become something large, even beyond imagining. What is the Kingdom of God like? A mustard seed, a measure of yeast? That is what God has planted in our hearts. That's where the kingdom of heaven starts. But it needs to be nourished to grow.  How we do that will begin to give us a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God is like. One thing we can say for sure at this stage is that it is bigger and more awesome than anything we might imagine.

Contemplating the night sky and the cosmos it unveils, always stirs up both wonder and tension. The tension is one's inability to truly grasp the nexus of time and space with the infinite. We live bounded by our experience of finitude. What we touch, what we see, what we hear starts and stops. But God is beyond such boundaries. And so is the Kingdom of God. But we can at least begin to imagine what the boundless possibilities are.

Our life on this earth is like the mustard seed planted in the ground. It begins to grow and it pokes it tender first shoots out of the ground into the air to meet the rays of the sun. The nutrients in the ground and the energy from the sun are both required for the plant to grow and meet its full potential. The ancients thought of the sun as a god, and in Christian thought we often refer to Christ as the Sun of Justice, particularly at Christmas time.  This Sun of Justice is bringing us a message from the God beyond our bounded horizon, a message we need to pay attention to if we are to grow to our fullest potential.

So what is that message? St Paul reminds the Colossians that now their "life is hidden with Christ in God [3:3] so they "must get rid of ... : anger, passion, and hateful thoughts." [3:8]. And St Matthew recounts Christ's description of Judgment Day, which has echos in this gospel passage: I don't know you if you forget to help those in need, the poor, widows, prisoners, marginalized. For in the Kingdom of heaven everyone without exception lives by the two great commandments; to love God and to love your neighbor.

How is that working in our world today? We can find many examples of people doing just that, however, we also continue to see some of the worst examples of human folly, especially the wars we continue to inflict on each other for purposes that are far removed from God. By so doing, we forsake heaven and create hell. Which is why following Christ along the narrow path is essential to bring about a glimpse of heaven on earth and prepare is us to be co-creators of heaven here and beyond. And if we seek divine help we will discover as did Daniel: "You have kept me in mind, O God; you have not deserted those who love you." [14:38]

Glory be to Jesus Christ!

Sermon 192 November 12, 2023: Hos 10:2-8, 11-12; 2Cor 9:6-11; LK 7:36-50 Magdalene: Gratitude

As preached by Brother Luke

Holy Wisdom Church 

In the name of the Father and of the Sone and of the Holy Spirit. 

     Party crashers can be so annoying! They are unexpected. They stress out the host and guests alike. The mind goes wild. One wonders what are they going to do to upset well-laid plans? How can we get them out as quickly as possible? If they really disrupt things will we have to face the authorities? And the worries go on and on. And of course, they weren't invited for a reason, they are most like very unsavory characters! 

    To catastrophize is so easy to do. It is a thin line between strategize, that is preparing for future eventualities, and catastrophize, imagining the worst. However, for Simon the Pharisee, aka Simon the Leper, the host of the dinner party for Jesus, his failing was not to catastrophize but to criticize, not so much the behavior of the uninvited guest, but Jesus' response to her. For Simon, she was who she was and Jesus should have known better. "If he were really a prophet he would know what kind of a person she was." 

     We humans tend to put people in boxes and leave them there. Jesus, however, is always showing us another way. In today's gospel lesson, Mary is our party crasher. In so many of Jesus' encounters with people in need, he goes to them, or meets them in an apparent chance encounter, under a tree, by a pool, on the road, by a well, and then responds to their requests. But something different happens here. Mary goes to him. She intentionally seeks out Jesus, but asks for nothing. Instead, she pours out her heart to him, not in words but rather in gestures. She doesn't have to say anything. She weeps on his feet and then dries them with her hair. She kisses his feet, then pours expensive perfume on them. 

    Jesus is always reminding us, by word and deed, of the two greatest commandments: love God and love your neighbor. How we do this varies from person to person and from circumstance to circumstance. This dramatic story is designed to get our attention, to magnify the underlying message. But we can't love our neighbor if we only love the neighbor who behaves according to the rules or conventions that we prefer. There can be no litmus test for love. No qualifying formula. 

     And Jesus' response to this love shown him by Mary, is to assure her that her sins, those actions she now regrets and wants to leave behind, are forgiven. They are forgiven not only by his word but by her faith that drew her to him and led her to show her love for the one who can save her. And her sins may have been great in her mind and in the opinion of those who knew her, but they could not prevent her from receiving the forgiving love of God. Her demonstration of love toward Jesus in advance of hearing the word from Christ, was a sign of gratefulness to him for being received and not being rejected. The world may well reject her, as did Simon, but God is not like us and sees to the core of the person where the true self created by God is still available to be uncovered and released. 

    By contrast, the Pharisee, Simon the leper, had been cured of his disease by Jesus, and yet his attitude toward Jesus remained restrained and skeptical. He did not show even the simplest gestures of love on greeting Jesus. And he questions whether Jesus is really a prophet at all, much less the Son of God. 

    Jesus knows Simon's thoughts, but in his response, Jesus is not angling for praise and recognition, he doesn't need that. Rather, he is demonstrating to Simon, and to us, what God's love really looks like. It comes without precondition and it looks beyond our many failings. And when our hearts and minds finally absorb the enormity of that reality, love can burst forth from us just as it did from Mary Magdalene. And the more often that happens, the more widely the healing impact of God's love will spread throughout the world. And how glorious will be the praise we and all God's creation will sing in thanksgiving and adoration! 

Glory be to Jesus Christ!