The Tests that God Requires

The past two months of May and June are normally times for tests and examinations.  School children are tested to see if they are ready to advance to the next grade.  College students have tests and exams to assess their progress and pass their courses.  Teenagers often have drivers’ tests so they can be licensed to drive a car.  Many professions require continuing education courses to obtain credits in order to stay current with the latest developments in their field.  And most of us undergo a yearly physical examination to monitor our health.

At another level our government is constantly tested about our involvement at home with Constitutional questions, and abroad with the affairs of other nations.  The present situation in Iraq concerning the religious conflict between the Shiites and Sunnis is a case in point.  How involved should we be having withdrawn our military forces from that country?  What about the situation in Afghanistan?  Just as we are withdrawing most of our military personnel, the election of new leaders is happening in Afghanistan.  How will we be affected by the results?

A present level of testing is about climate change and the national debate about this issue.  Is the debate about our economy and the effects of renewable energy?   Is it a matter of glacial ice caps melting and oceans rising to a level that may well impact our Atlantic coast?  How are we responding to the drought in the Southwest and Western states?  Or the torrential rains and floods in the mid-west?  Are such dramatic climate changes normal fluctuations or are they the result of our dependence on fossil fuels and other causes of our own making?

These are among the many tests that happen constantly throughout our lives.  In ancient times, in the time of Abraham it was no different.  The story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son Isaac is a story about God testing Abraham to see if he is trusting and obedient enough to offer his son as a “burnt offering on one of the mountains that [God] would show him.”  What is Abraham’s  testing about?

The Torah: a Modern Commentary is a book that was given to me by a rabbi friend and colleague several years ago.  In the story about Abraham as we heard in our first reading from the Book of Genesis, God put Abraham to the test, but the story does not state exactly what the test was for.  Was it to test Abraham's faith that God will not go back on his promise, that somehow his design could be trusted?  Or was it to test Abraham's unquestioning obedience, his faithfulness and total submission to a mysterious divine will? 

There are several questions and possible interpretations of this story about human sacrifice.  Perhaps the real question is why must God test anyone this way?  The ancient scholarly rabbi Maimonides said,   “God tested Abraham precisely because God knew he would pass the test.  Abraham's faith would shine like a beacon and be a sign to the nations."  This is one explanation.

A related question to consider, however, is how can a compassionate God be portrayed as asking for the sacrifice of a child?   Could it be that the test came at a time when human sacrifice was still an acceptable practice and that, in terms of its own age it was merely an extreme test?   God may require people of every age to give up something they love the most.  God sometimes asks what is completely unexpected.  Perhaps the ultimate test of faith is in attempting the impossible for the sake of God.

Here is an alternate explanation: "Abraham's hand was stayed before the fatal act was completed.  This showed, once and for all, clearly and unmistakably, that, in contrast to what was imagined of the heathen deities worshiped by Israel's neighbors, the God of Israel did not demand human sacrifice of his worshipers.  God demanded in reality only the surrender of Abraham's will.  Abraham, by his obedience, demonstrated his readiness to part with what was dearest to him, and with something on which all his hopes for the future depended.... Abraham's devotion to God was strengthened and confirmed.  It was the supreme trial of his faith; and it triumphed.  And so, the sacrifice teaches two great lessons: the value set by God on the surrender of self and obedience; and the moral superiority of Israel's God over the [pagan] gods of Israel's neighbors.”

To examine the meaning of this story for us in the 21^st Century is to ask how is our faith being tested today?  How do we surrender our individual and collective self in obedience to the will of God?  And, secondly, how do we exercise our moral and ethical commitments in what we say and do with respect to one another and our neighbors?

In the 6^th chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Romans it says we are to “present ourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present our members to God as instruments of righteousness…. Now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification….  The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus said that those who lose their life for his sake will find it.  He told his disciples, "Whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me,… and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple --truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

When we are tested by God, and when we persevere and complete those tests by surrendering our selves to God’s will and giving to others according to their need, we can then joyfully sing that great Easter hymn, “’Welcome happy morning!’ age to age shall say: hell today is vanquished, heaven is won today!  Lo! the dead is living, God forever more! Him their true creator, all his works adore!  ‘Welcome happy morning!’ age to age shall say.”  Amen.

Creator, Redeemer, and Life-giving Spirit

Today is Trinity Sunday.  It is a festival day celebrating the Triune God. Trinity expresses the concept that God is one Being involving three distinct Persons who exist in co-equal essence and co-eternal communion as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   Does this sound confusing?  It is for many people.  There are three things I choose to express about the Trinity.  They have to do with mystery, with belief, and with action.

In our Eucharist this morning we include a Proper Preface before the prayer of Great Thanksgiving. The Preface for Trinity Sunday is found on page 380 in the Book of Common Prayer.  It says, “For with your co-eternal Son and Holy Spirit, you are one God, one Lord, in Trinity of Persons and in Unity of Being: and we celebrate the one and equal glory of you, O Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

The point is that God is One; there are no other gods.  The language of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while used separately, always refers to the Unity and Eternal Being of God.  In some ways our understanding of the Trinity is difficult to comprehend.  Its origin as a doctrine dates to the Middle Ages while the three-fold statement of faith as we have it in the Nicene Creed is much earlier, dating to 325 AD.

The purpose of the Trinity is to draw us into the mystery of God.  Our knowledge of God is beyond our understanding.  No words are adequate to describe God; we can only be drawn into an awesome silence before God.  It is our worship before the Divine Presence, the Creator and author of all that is yesterday, today, and forever.  When we gather as a congregation our best worship draws us into an awesome presence of this tremendous mystery named God.  It is the God who is the Creator Father of all, Redeemer anointed Son who reconciles what is broken or divided, and the life-sustaining power of the Holy Spirit.

What I want to stress for all of us is that our comprehension of the Triune God is not only a matter of belief.  What we affirm as Christians relates to what we do with our lives.  In giving our hearts to God, in our loyalty and trust of God, we carry out our ministries of compassion and care for one another and for others according to their need.

Our scripture readings today are important guideposts for what we do.  In the Book of Genesis we heard the story of creation:  “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good…. [When]  God finished the work that he had done, he rested on the seventh day…. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.”

Our responsibility is to care for the creation that God has made.  This involves everything from keeping the air and water clean, maintaining our ecosystems and honoring all that we discover through scientific research.

To this latter point Charles Blow, writing in last Monday’s edition of the New York Times said, “I am both shocked and fascinated by Americans religious literalism.  One Gallup report issued last week found that 42 percent of Americans believe God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago.  Even among people who said that they were very familiar with the theory of evolution, a third still believed that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago.” 

My response to this is that what we have learned through our understanding of evolution, the discovery of DNA, and the human genome project has to do with our growing understanding of God’s creation.  Creation is not a once-and-for-all proposition; it is ongoing and dynamic.  What we know today is far more than what we knew when the Bible was written, and far more than what we knew 50 years ago.  I cannot imagine what we will know in the next generation or in the next 50 years.

In Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians we heard Paul admonishing his readers to “Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.”  Paul’s desire was and is that the Church continues to work for reconciliation to bring all people into “unity with God and each other in Christ.”   There are divisions between religious traditions, and divisions exist among nations and races.  The work of reconciliation, the end of war and violence are constant struggles.  Being ambassadors of reconciliation, to use another of Paul’s phrases, is what we are called to be and do.  It is our belief realized in action.

Finally, Matthew at the end of his gospel tells us that Jesus said to his disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

In our baptism we vow to work for the spread of God’s kingdom and to respect the dignity of every human being.  We do this by living into Christ’s ministry to all in need, offering hospitality and compassionate care to everyone.  So let us on this festival day celebrating the Trinity, the Unity of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, maintain a sharp focus on our ministry fulfilling God’s command to love God and our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Our assurance in how we live and what we do is in knowing what Jesus said to his disciples, ”Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  Amen.

"Receive the Holy Spirit"

Yesterday we had the great privilege of hosting the Diocese for the Eastertide confirmation service.  There were many people from several parishes who confirmed and received into our Episcopal Church.  We prayed that God would strengthen them with the Holy Spirit, empower them for service, and sustain them all the days of their lives.  It was a good day, a great service, and I thank everyone who contributed in making our church a place of hospitality for the Diocese.  Our choir and organist did a magnificent job in supporting the liturgy and singing the anthem, Harold Friedell’s  “Draw us in the Spirit’s Tether.”  We also had two of our members confirmed, Jamesetta and Sammy Cooper, and one member received, Marybeth Hanavan.

Today is the Day of Pentecost.  Pentecost commemorates God’s gift of the Holy Spirit.  At Pentecost we celebrate the church's outreach to all nations, and we renew our commitment to the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel of John we are told, "Jesus came and stood among the disciples and said, ‘Peace be with you.’…. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”  Jesus then said to them, ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

Jesus breathed on them.  "Jesus breathed the Spirit upon the disciples."  The word for breath in John's Gospel is the same word as found in the Book of Genesis when God blew into Adam's nostrils the breath of life so that he became a living being.  As a biblical image, breathing is a sign of life.  When Jesus breathed upon the disciples, he shared with them the Spirit that conveys Jesus' life-giving power to forgive sin.  In Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin, the word for spirit suggests the idea of a driving wind.  Jesus' breath is a holy and powerful force. 

Bound up with this gift of the Spirit and the forgiveness of sin is the sending forth of the disciples.  "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  It is through this giving of the Spirit, the breath of life, that Jesus has effected a new creation.  It is a transformation of humanity, the forgiveness of sin, and a mission to the world.  God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is a tall order for anyone who professes the Christian faith.

The gift of the Spirit comes to the community.  It is the responsibility of the church to work for reconciliation and unity among all people.  Reconciliation, restoring to wholeness what is broken, and bringing women, men and children into a community of loving worship of God, are the ministries of those who have received the gifts of the Spirit.  To accept God's Spirit in our lives is to realize everything that separates us from God, from other people, and from other religions and creeds.  We accept the Spirit in the knowledge of our need for God's cleansing spirit of love and truth.

According to the Book of Acts, when they were "filled with the Holy Spirit they began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability."  The late Krister Stendahl, former Dean of Harvard Divinity School wrote, "the first item on the theological agenda for Christian[s] …should be to find a theology of religions that frees us from coming out on top; to find a theology wherein I like to say, We Christians can sing our song to Jesus with abandon, without feeling that we have to find what is better with us than with others.'"  (Harvard Divinity Bulletin Fall/Winter 2003)

St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians supports what we heard in the Acts of the Apostles and in what we can glean from Stendahl’s statement.  "There are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.  To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." 

From these readings it is clear that the Holy Spirit did not come to each person alone, or to scattered individuals, but to "all of them" as they were engaged in the customary act of communal prayer.  The point is that we receive the Spirit as a community, and we receive it when we are engaged in prayer as Jesus taught us.  This is why baptism is a public event.  We welcome the newly baptized into the household of God, into the community of the Holy Spirit.

Religion and life in the Spirit belong together.  Religion, broadly understood, has to do with ways of living, ways of being, knowing and doing.  Those of us who are concerned about living into God’s gift of the Holy Spirit should connect their religious life with their spiritual life.  In creation when the earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep, a wind from God swept over the face of the water.   The wind from God was God’s breath, God’s Spirit creating light and life. Everything was created for goodness, the earth and all that is in it, and “Behold, it is very good.”

The Book of Common Prayer states,, “The Holy Spirit is...God at work in the world...The Holy Spirit is revealed in [the Hebrew Scriptures] as the giver of life, the One who spoke through the prophets, [and]...in [the Christian Scriptures] as the Lord who leads us into all truth,.. [who] brings us into harmony with God, with ourselves, with our neighbors, and with all creation” (pp. 852, 857).  It is through the blessing of the ordinary things of life -- water, bread, wine -- that we are in communion with God and with one another, and we are in touch with the loving and graceful power of spiritual living.  Amen.                 

Strengthen, Empower, and Sustain

Diocese of Rhode Island Eastertide  Confirmation Service, June 7, 2014

It is a pleasure to welcome you to All Saints’ Memorial Church.  We are a multi-cultural, vibrant and growing congregation, and we are honored and delighted to host the Diocese on this significant occasion.  We have all come together to celebrate with those of you who are renewing your commitment to Christ and being received into the fellowship of our Episcopal Church.

When we gather for a service of Confirmation I often recall the time of my own confirmation.  So, today I invite you who were confirmed or received in past years to take a moment to recall that time.  What do you remember?...  In my case the date was Palm Sunday, April 6^th, 1952.  The place was St. Stephen’s Church, a small stone church building in a suburb of Cincinnati.  During weeks of preparation we had to become familiar with the Offices of Instruction in the 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer.  A question and response in the Second Office has always stayed with me.  Question: “What is your bounden duty as a member of the Church?  Answer: My bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of his kingdom.”

I found this to be an awesome responsibility, and when I knelt at the Communion rail for the Laying on of Hands, my bishop, Henry Wise Hobson, a rather large man with very big hands, placed those hands on my head.  They were massive and the weight of them was real as shivers went up my spine.  In his deep voice Bishop Hobson said those unforgettable historic words, “Defend, O Lord, this thy child with thy heavenly grace; that he may continue thine for ever; and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom.  Amen.”

Today, 62 years later, you and I are together as our Bishop Nicholas Knisely will place his hands on those of you being confirmed and then offer his hand welcoming those of you being received into this branch of God’s Holy Church.

The passages we heard from the Prophet Jeremiah and the Gospel of Luke are about God speaking through the history of the people of ancient Israel, and the Spirit of the Lord anointing Jesus to bring good news to people in need.  The point of these well-known statements is that God also speaks through our own individual and collective history.  The Spirit of the Lord anoints us to bring good news to all in need, a ministry of Christ’s promise of freedom and compassion.

The selection from the 31^st chapter of the Prophet Jeremiah is possibly the most hopeful passage in the entire Hebrew Bible.  It describes the new covenant that God would one day give to the people.  Their sins would be forgiven, God’s law would be written within their hearts, and all of them will know God.  It is the high point of Jeremiah’s theology, and it is one of the most significant and moving statements in the Bible.  The climax of Jeremiah’s prophecy is the complete transformation of Israel.  In time to come God will give Israel “one heart and one way” and make with her an “everlasting covenant” that will never be violated.  “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Many years later, as a member of his synagogue community Jesus recalled the history of God’s relationship with Israel when he read from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Jesus said his own prophetic message was “to bring good news to the poor,… to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  He said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 

Luke’s gospel has woven together passages from the 58^th and the 61^st chapters of Isaiah.  Those are the chapters in which the prophet talked about "loosing the bonds of injustice," "freeing the oppressed," and being anointed by the Spirit to bring good news to the poor.  Jesus was filled with the Spirit and his mission was to fulfill God’s promises.

Luke's purpose was to give an interpretation of what God was doing in Christ.  There was and continues to be universal appeal and an interest in social relationships.  There is concern for people who are outcast, who exist on the margins of society; for women; and for those who are oppressed.  There is also an emphasis on joy and the Holy Spirit, on the graciousness and sovereignty of Christ, and an interest in Christ’s second coming.

As he wrote his account of Jesus' life and ministry Luke interpreted what he understood God to be doing in Christ.  What would you and I write if we were to share our story of Christ?  Would we write about the poor in our communities, prisoners, or those who are blind?  Would we discuss how the good news of the Gospel is shared?   Would we include illustrations of people being released from bondage, having sight restored, being given freedom from oppression, and being welcomed into our church communities?  How are we proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor?

We might include a section in our story about what God is doing in our world.  Does God speak through the diversity of religions throughout the world?  Bishop Knisely recently returned from a visit to Israel where he saw the place of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion.  Can we say something about our understanding of the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection?  What is God saying to the people of Israel and Palestine?  What is God saying to all who live with the threat of violence and death?

Our story about what God is doing needs to be shared. We need to discuss how Jesus Christ is alive both in our historical memory and in our world.  The Spirit of the Lord anointed Jesus to bring good news to the poor, the captive, the blind and the oppressed.  This means that as Christians we are to invite those in our communities who hunger for the compassion of God to join in relationship with us in the life of the Spirit.  That is the ministry exemplified for us in the anointed Jesus.

We have been anointed by our baptism to announce that God’s day is today, that now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.  In our life within the Christian community each person is commissioned and anointed by the Spirit of God to bring Christ’s promise of freedom and compassion to those in need.

When we come together to renew our baptismal covenant, when we have our bishop lay hands upon us and pray that the Lord will strengthen us with the Holy Spirit, empower us for service, and sustain us all the days of our lives; and when we gather at the Altar, God’s holy Table, to offer ourselves, our praise and thanksgiving, and to present bread and wine "that they may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant," we are nourished and renewed to carry on the ministry of invitation and hospitality to all people.  Let us proclaim the year of the Lord's favor for all creation.  Today the scripture can be fulfilled in our hearing for the Spirit of God is upon you and upon all of us.  Amen.

Out of Our Sight

Today is the Sunday after Ascension Day.  The feast of the Ascension was this past Thursday, a day during the week, 40 days after the Easter Resurrection.  Because it falls on a weekday we don’t pay much attention to it.  Or, because we live so many centuries later we simply do not understand it the way the disciples did.

In the Gospel of John Jesus said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you…. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.  So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.”  Then, the Acts of the Apostles tells us the disciples were watching as Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

In the time of Jesus and the first disciples it was not possible to see beyond the clouds or the moon and the stars.  Today is different.  We have telescopes, a space station circling the globe, and thousands of satellites in orbit.

So, when Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of sight, we cannot understand this statement in a literal way.  The disciples’ experience was different; what they observed was all they could see.  As we heard in Acts, “while he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?  This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Was this a reassuring message?  How did the disciples respond to the two men in white robes?  The gospel appointed for Ascension Day is from the 24^th chapter of Luke.  It is at the very end of the gospel and Jesus is blessing his disciples.  Luke writes, “While he was blessing the disciples, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.”

Just prior to this statement in Luke’s gospel it is stated that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations…. You are witnesses of these things…. So stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

There are a couple of things that are significant here.  First, the disciples finally understood what had been written in the scriptures.  Their minds were opened and they realized that Jesus, the Messiah, had to suffer death and rise from the dead on the third day.  Just as Jesus said from the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they are doing,” so the disciples learned that repentance and forgiveness is to be proclaimed to all nations.

Second, given what the disciples could see as Jesus was carried up into heaven, they were moved to worship.  The joy they experienced as they returned to Jerusalem brought them into the temple blessing God.  There they joined with all the disciples and with several women and Mary, Jesus’ mother and his brothers, as they devoted themselves to prayer.

The disciples during the early days of the Christian movement lived with suffering and persecution.  They knew first hand about the suffering and death of Jesus, and they experienced the joy of his resurrection and ascension as he withdrew from them and was lifted up where a cloud took him out of their sight.

Suffering is part of our human condition.  It is prevalent all around us.  Some of it is beyond our control.  There are natural disasters, environmental damage, certain diseases and various hardships brought on by external forces.  Other kinds of suffering can be managed and even curtailed: violence, wars, and damages due to neglect.  It is important for us to know that no matter what happens, the message of the Gospel is that God is present with everyone who suffers.  God is present within all creation.  It is our responsibility to participate in correcting the problems within our control that lead to suffering and death.  This is what repentance and forgiveness are about.  In our understanding of the scriptures we are to be moved to prayer and worship, acting as witnesses to the good news of God’s love and compassion, and experiencing the joy of Christ’s life among us as we await his coming again in glory.

This morning, following the Nicene Creed, we are honored to share with Barbara and Bob Lawton who are celebrating 55 years of marriage.  They will renew the promises they made in holy matrimony.

May the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, restore, support, strengthen, and establish us in unity with one another and with God.  To him be the power forever and ever. Amen