Preached on the 3rd Sunday in Advent

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Perfect Love

(Pharisee):  Which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ [Jesus] said to him, ‘”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matt. 22:36-39 (NRSV)

I am a part-time religion and ethics teacher at a local parochial school.  I am always amazed at the clarity children desire regarding assignments. “Pen or pencil, one page or two, wide or narrow margins, font size, and can we include art?” are big concerns. They want to get it right.  In fact, they sometimes appear more concerned about the rules than the content!  That’s the feeling I get from the Pharisees.  “Just give me a list of things you want me to do so I can check off the box!” they seem to say. 

Jesus’ response is not what they were expecting.  AND, the box he presents them to check off is so BIG!  How can I love God with all my heart, soul and mind to say nothing of loving my neighbors and myself? 

I have sort of a hit or miss love affair with Jesus.  The interruptions in communitcation are on my side of the conversation.  I’m blessed to have some great triggers though that put me back into a space of grace.  I try to use them as often as I can – they’re more effective when they are established in my heart, soul and mind.  I’ll tell you what they are:  pipe organ music, gospel music with a heavy, heavy left hand, Fauré’s Requiem Mass, raking leaves, Muir Woods, Mercy Center’s Chapel in Auburn, a slow meal with a good friend mulling over whether Jesus was “begotten” or “made”, listening to Canon Carey either reading the laments during the Tenebre service or praying the Psalms, taking digital pictures.  This is an odd list to be sure, but they work.

What works for you?  I’m convinced that if you’re doing what you love, you’ll be more disposed to loving all that is around you.  May Advent be a time of discovery of what draws you close to the heart of God.  Amen

Canon Walker+

Wake up, get dressed!

Jesus said to his disciples, “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit… 

(Luke 12:35 NRSV)

Bishop Ambrose

Today the Church remembers Ambrose, Bishop of Milan who died in 397.  Ambrose was elected bishop during a time of great tension between the Arians and the Trinitarians.  When Bishop Auxentius, an Arian, died a successor needed to be named.  Ambrose went to the election and while giving a speech began hearing his name being chanted by the crowd that he be called their next bishop.  His response was to hide out in a friend’s home until the noise died down.  He believed himself to be totally unprepared for the task at hand.  He had never had any religious training and had never been baptized.  Ambrose eventually emerged under pressure and persuasion and within one week was baptized, ordained and called as Bishop of Milan.

Ambrose is an interesting contrast to the Gospel text for today.  He was neither dressed for action nor had his lamp lit!  But he was called by God and compelled to respond in spite of his own resistance.  There were many around him who could see what was not apparent to him.  They held on to that vision for Ambrose long enough that he finally relented, in spite of his best efforts, and grew with grace into a place of enormous historic prominence in the history of the Church. 

Where are you hiding this Advent in the face of the One who calls you and equips you for your particular ministry?  What gifts for ministry do you see in another that you are willing to call forth, without fatigue, until they catch it for themselves?

In an ideal world, we’d wake dressed for action.  It helps to have that call confirmed by a community that loves us.  Amen

Canon Walker+

Prepare ye the way of the Lord

Sunday – Advent II

Dec. 6, 2009

Collect:  Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Gospel:  Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,  make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

 and the crooked shall be made straight,  and the rough ways made smooth;

 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

Homily:

Here we are at the beginning of the second week in Advent, that wondrous season of mystery where we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child into our lives.  It’s a season that speaks words of HOPE in the midst of a season of waiting. 

It’s a pregnant time where we are growing in anticipation of something that has yet to be expressed.  The church colors are deep blue like the colors of the sky just before sunrise.  In a few short days, something wondrous is about to happen in this place and in our lives. 

Luke sets the stage for the coming of Christ by beginning his Gospel narrative with the story of Zachariah and Elizabeth, a temple priest and his barren wife.  The King James Version remarks that they were both “stricken” with years!

In a story that seems without hope, Elizabeth and Zachariah conceive a son as foretold by the angel Gabriel.  John the Baptist’s birth is a witness to Luke of God’s capacity to act when the evidence is to the contrary. 

And in today’s Gospel we have another such story of hope.  Luke goes to great lengths to make a point of naming the adversarial climate into which Jesus’ life and ministry would come.  Luke sets up the powers of this world against which God must compete for the human heart.  On one hand you have:

Tiberius – 2nd Emperor of Rome and one of Rome’s greatest generals
Pilate – Prefect of Judea, known for his brutality even by Roman standards
Herod – Tetrarch, ruler of Galilee
Philip – Herod’s half brother, ruler of the northeast part of the empire
Lysanias – Ruler of a territory on the western side of Mt. Hermon
Annas – High priest appointed by a Roman governor, later remembered for striking Jesus at his interrogation
Caiaphas, Annas’ son-in-law, chairman of the Sanhedrin, who later accused Jesus of sedition against Rome and turned Jesus over to Pilate for execution

On the other hand you have God who appears in the voice of one lone person named John, the one born to aging parents.  And what is John doing to counteract the powers of the Roman Empire just listed?  He’s out in the desert preaching repentance!

What was God thinking?  What kind of a strategic plan was that for ushering in God’s reign?  Do you ever marvel that these stories were ever remembered beyond their generation?  The plan seem so flawed from the beginning – the forces of evil against the good appear so overwhelming.

But God had a plan. 

John of Damascus

John of Damascus, Priest, c. 760

Today the Church remembers the life of John of Damascus, one of the brilliant minds of the early church.  He is often remembered for his involvement in the argument over the use of icons.  The Iconoclasts vehemently argued that the use of icons was in contradiction to the second commandment: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 20:4, KJV.  John and the opposition – the Iconodules – argued that the ultimate argument for icons was the incarnation itself, that God honored matter in the specific expression of God’s Self in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Praying with icons is a particular piety in the church that has deep historic roots.  Just as some find it helpful to pray simple, repetitive “breath prayers”, others find the tactual practice of praying with rosary beads helpful in entering God’s presence.  We are sensual human beings and the use of icons seems quite natural.  We are all triggered by the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of worship.  The use of incense at the Cathedral, for example, tells us that this particular worship service is of extraordinary importance.  The elevation of a host over a chalice calls us to respond to the deepest meanings expressed in  Holy Communion. 

What helps you pray?  Being in a holy space?  Organ pipes?  Meditating on sacred scripture?  Repetitive breath prayers?  Let Advent be a time to try something new.  Let your prayer refresh your life.  Let your life refresh your prayer.  Amen. 

Canon Walker+

An Advent Psalm of Hope

Week one in Advent focuses on Hope.  In the Psalm for today that follows (Psalm 18:1-20 NRSV) David utters a love poem to the God who has rescued him literally from enemies set on destroying his life.  I have always longed to hear it prayed as a dramatic reading – someone with a compelling  Maya Angelou or James Earl Jones voice.  But it would need to be read by someone who loves God because God tore up heaven getting down to the pray-er’s life just in time to save the beleagured from total destruction.   The more I read it, the bigger it gets.  Note, the punch line of the whole thing is in the closing lines.  

So read it slow, know how much God loves  you by what God does to get to you on time.  Savor the closing verses and allow the One who made you…to love you.

Canon Walker+ 

Psalm 18:1-20 NRSV

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
   my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
   my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
   so I shall be saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me;
   the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
   the snares of death confronted me.

The cords of death entangled me

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
   to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
   and my cry to him reached his ears.

Then the earth reeled and rocked;
   the foundations also of the mountains trembled
   and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
   and devouring fire from his mouth;
   glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens, and came down;
   thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub, and flew;
   he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering around him,
   his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
Out of the brightness before him
   there broke through his clouds
   hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
   and the Most High uttered his voice.*
And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
   he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
   and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
   at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

He reached down from on high, he took me;
   he drew me out of mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
   and from those who hated me;
   for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity;
   but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a broad place

He brought me out into a broad place;
   he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
   according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.

Having harvest hands…

Harvest hands! 

Today, on this fourth day of Advent, the Church remembers the life of Channing Moore Williams (1829-1910), missionary Bishop to China and Japan.  He was a true evangelist and remained faithful to his call though the rewards of his labor were not easily measured.  If his efforts were to have been measured by new members and pledges, his career would have been considered a total failure.  He labored seven years in the vineyard for a single baptism yet he gave himself over to ministry with simple trust and faithfulness to God.

It’s utterly fitting that the propers for this day include this reading from St. Luke:

 ”What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands. “On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. …”Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage…”  (Luke 10:2-4, The Message)

 

What was Jesus looking for in seeking willing pairs of harvest hands?  This passage speaks to open hands of acquiescence and surrender, empty hands for sharing in the burdens of another and willing hands that simply say “yes” when summoned by their Maker.

May the gentle Spirit of Advent open our hands to those who need it most.  Amen.

Canon Walker+

Advent: A Call to Ardent Prayer

                                                 

                                                    

Nicholas Ferrar, Deacon (1592-1637),          Little Gidding

from a portrait by Cornelius Janssen

Today, on this third day of Advent, the Church celebrates the life of Nicholas Ferrar. Among his achievements he is most remembered for his founding of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, England in 1626.  Little Gidding, founded by Ferrar, was the home of an Anglican religious community of family and friends devoted to a life of ardent prayer, fasting and acts of charity.  They gathered regularly to read the offices and pray the entire Psalter each and every day.  The rule of their community held that one member was to be in prayer at all times before the altar while others tended to the needs of the poor and the education of children in the local village.  Ferrar took Jesus’ call to live a holy life of prayer and service quite literally and modeled his commitment to that call until his death in 1637. 

One of the Psalms chosen as a lesson for Ferrar’s day reads:

LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?

Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart. [Ps.15:1-2 NRSV]

Ferrar understood that such words would overwhelm the soul.  Were it not for God’s abiding grace, who could pray such a text?  He knew too well the limitations of his own will.  He saw the formation of a religious community as a place where one could daily conform to the image and likeness of Christ. He sought to find truth within his own heart through meditation, discipline and acts of charity.  He knew he could not do it alone but needed to find a community where accountability would keep his wandering heart on track. 

Ferrar’s life calls us this Advent to share in a worshipping community that seriously takes Jesus’ call to live a holy life.  Advent summons us to prepare to receive the Christ Child with intentional times of prayer and acts of charity.  Who is the mentor God has put in your life to keep your heart in check?  Amen.

Canon Walker+

Just say “Yes”!

November 30 – The Feast day of St. Andrew the Apostle

Apostle Andrew (left) in Calling of Apostles Peter and Andrew by Caravaggio

On this second day of Advent the Church remembers the life of St. Andrew.  He, along with his brother Simon Peter, was first among those who responded to Jesus’ call to follow him.  The story goes like this:

Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.  [Matthew 4:18-20, The Message] 

Two parts of this story intrigue me.  One is that Jesus called them to follow him while they were in the midst of tending to the daily stuff of life.  They weren’t on a mountain top praying nor were they in the synagogue pouring over the scriptures.  They were at work – hot, grungy and undoubtedly smelled like fish.  I love going to holy places where the noise and chaos of the world subsides if only for a short time.  But if the truth were told, those moments of holy intimacy I treasure the most seem  to have happened by accident – something that slipped in the peripheral while I was in the midst of the daily.

The second place of intrigue is the ease with which Andrew laid down his nets to follow Jesus.  What was it in Jesus that so overwhelmed Andrew’s rational sensibility about livelihood that he dropped his nets to the ground to follow a new call?  What would it take to dislodge me from safe places to risk a new kind of life I’ve yet to imagine?

The calling of Andrew reminds me that the God of Advent seeks me out in the ordinary story of my life – at work, feeding the dogs, and circling to find a parking place at the mall.  Andrew reminds me that in spite of my preoccupation with the important stuff of the moment, I too am made to be overwhelmed by God.  Advent is living in the wonder that I, even I, have the capacity to drop my net and follow the One who calls.   Amen.

Canon Walker+

Advent – A Season of Hope

Advent – A Season of Hope

Has all hell broken loose?  There are all kinds of hell along our life’s journey and all quite real.  Jesus seems to have understood the human struggle.  The gospel lesson for today quotes Jesus as saying:

 ”It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking. And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!” [Luke 21:25-29, The Message]

Sometimes it feels like the situations we are in exceed God’s capacity to act.  Often in life there are particular stories so close to the heart that they seem beyond possible resolution.  Advent is a wonderful time to hold those stories open that the Christ child might be born in our mangers of desperation.  What’s most difficult in this journey is to remain open to the possibility of things becoming new when the negative evidence seems so established.  Advent is the time of year when we wait with joyful anticipation of the coming of Christ into our darkness…our hell. 

And in our season of Advent waiting, let us remember to hold open the story of another who needs to know that “help is on the way!”  Hell or not, that’s what Love does.

Canon Walker+