Calling of Delight - Greg Boyle, Mark 6:34,, 9:42-50

The Calling of Delight - Greg Boyle

Esther 7:1-4

Mark 6:34; 9:42-50

[Quotes from Fr. Greg Boyle come from an interview with Krista Tippett as publicized on OnBeing]

In 1986, the Catholic Order the Society of Jesus, aka the Jesuits placed Father Greg Boyle in the Dolores Mission.  In other words, Fr. Boyle was being sent to the poorest parish in the city, which had the highest concentration of gang activity in the world at that time.

We are in a season of learning from teachers who live into the spirit of Jesus’ messages in any number of ways.

SLIDE: Today’s teacher - Fr. Greg Boyle.

His book, Tattoos on the Heart, tells some of his reflections and experiences working with youth who come from situations hard to imagine.

like a kid whose father left the home on his sixth birthday. They were all waiting for his dad to come home to light the candles and he never showed up.

There's drug and violence and incarceration in these kids' families.

Kids who've ceased to care.

In the light of Father Boyle’s work with young people, I was reflecting on this challenging passage from Mark.

Jesus doesn’t hold back when talking about what happens if anyone causes a little one to stumble.  

Slide:

The phrase “cause to stumble” comes from the greek Scandalizo - like our word scandelous.  

I’m bringing the heat when I bring out the Biblical greek!  

Biblical greek can take on a variety of meanings given the context.  And one meaning of “cause to stumble” is, to quite literally put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall.  

Life is full of obstacles--so many things that can cause us to trip and fall.  

What does it mean to put obstacles in the way to those Jesus called the little ones, the least of these, those most vulnerable in society…

Who are these little ones?

SLIDE: REFUGEES

Certainly the plight of refugees fleeing desperate situations has been brought to our attention in recent weeks--never has the world experienced such a displacement of people fleeing war, and unihabitable lands due in part to explotation and climate change.

 

It’s a terrible situation, some respond by putting up barrier, we need to erect huge walls over all kinds of borders, keep them out.  

Jesus offers a different message. The scripture says, Jesus saw the great crowd, and he wasn’t overwhelmed.

He didn’t throw up his hands and say what can I do?  He didn’t run!  He didn’t propose building a big wall - scandelous -

Scripture says, he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  

SLIDE: Compassion - from one of my favorite greek words - splanchnizomai -- my password for everything so go ahead and write it down!

Literally, to be moved as to one’s bowels (Touch your belly)- there was thought to be the seat of love and pity.

Compassion - the passion of the Christ - to suffer with.  

That’s what we all felt when we saw the image of that little 3 year old Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, washed up to shore.  

We felt it deep inside---

Compassion for the parents, for all who resort to such measures

And what do we do with that feeling?  

I think Father Boyle has some helpful words for us from his work with gang youth--lost youth,

sheep without a shepherd

He talks about three things:

compassion, the importance of relationship, and hope

First, compassion:

Father Boyle was inspired to ministry by the words of St. Ignatius, who says very simply,

"See Jesus standing in the lowly place."

See Jesus standing in the lowly place..and stand there with him.

It's about walking with Jesus and being a companion.

Father Boyle learns how to be compassionate by standing with kids like Jose:

Jose tells his story like this:

"You know, I guess you could say that my mom and me, we didn't get along so good.

I guess I was six when she looked at me and she said, 'Why don't you just kill yourself? You're such a burden to me.'"

Usually when Jose says this his audience reacts like you did, and he says, Yeah and it sounds a lot worser in spanish!

“I guess I was nine when my mom drove me down to the deepest part of Baja California, and she walked me up to an orphanage and said, 'I found this kid.'”

He was there about 90 days before his grandmother could find out where his mother had dumped him.

“[My grandmother] came and rescued me.”

Growing up

“My mom beat me. I had to wear three T-shirts to school every day.”

When Jose tells his story he kind of loses the battle with his own tears a little bit.

“I wore three T-shirts well into my adult years because I was ashamed of my wounds. I didn't want anybody to see them.

But now my wounds are my friends. I welcome my wounds.

I run my fingers over my wounds.”

You see, now Jose is working to help other youth who’ve gone through hard times and he sees it this way, "How can I help the wounded if I don't welcome my own wounds?"

Most people see Jose, may initially put him in a box, and write him off as a detriment to society, basically put a stumbling block between themselves and him, “because we're so inclined to judge this kid who went to prison, is tattooed, and is a gang member, and homeless, and a heroine addict.”

But when we hear his story, we realize he was never seeking anything when he ended up in those places. He was always fleeing his own story.

compassion…

Father Boyle says it’s moving past judgement to a place of openness,  to listening to stories, and welcoming.

And more, The measure of our compassion lies not in our service of those on the margins but in our willingness to see ourselves in kinship with those we feel called to serve.

SLIDE: Kinship.

We can speculate about strangers all day long,

but Jesus calls us to relationships of kinship, and in those relationships, that's where we discover God.

Father Boyle says it’s not so much about helping others--but a common calling to delight in one another-- delight that comes from relationships with those most different.

This is what he calls mutuality in relationship.

Not, this distance between helper and the one being helped, but that there is something mutually beneficial in any relationship, no matter how foriegn it may seem.

Father Greg Boyle calls the youth he works with homies, which means friends.

They call him Father G:

When speaking of kinship he tells about an encounter with Louie when he’d just turned 18.

He describes Louie’s as “kind of a difficult kid.

He's exasperating. he's whiny.”

He works in one of our shops, “although work may be too strong a verb,” Says father boyle.

It’s not unusual for the homies to ask Father Boyle on the street or in his office for a blessing.

They never say, "Father, may I have your blessing?"

They always say, "Hey, G, give me a bless, yeah?"

So Louie, is talking to Fr. Boyle, complaining about something. Finally, he says, "Hey, G, give me a bless, yeah?"

“Sure,” He says.  So Louie comes around, he knows the drill... He bows his head, and Father Boyle puts his hands on his shoulder. His birthday had been two days before, so it gave him an opportunity to say something to Louie:

“You know, Louie, I'm proud to know you. My life is richer because you came into it. When you were born, the world became a better place. And I'm proud to call you my son, even though," — and he says, I don't know why I decided to add this part — "at times you can really be a huge pain in the ass."

And Louie looks up at Fr. Boyle, smiles and says, "The feeling's mutual."

Suddenly — kinship--that's where the place of delight is.

By blessing Louie, maybe he returned Louie to himself, but, Father Boyle says there is no doubt that Louise returned him to his true self.

In ministry of mutuality, we’re not the great healer and that desperate person over there is in need of our exquisite healing.

In kinship, we're not this delivery system dropping off food at the food bank.

In Relationship, we are called to bridge the distance that exists between us--to remove the stumbling block that would separate us.

This church has many who serve others and understand well the blessing that is received in that service because of relationship.  

The session and others are exploring ways this church can be a blessing and receive blessings in the community,

one concept is mission-in-a-mile, which is to look at what is within a mile radius of the church campus -- The schools, the food bank, low income housing, the boys and girls club.

-- see how to get plugged in through ministries of caring and relationships.

It is awesome to see how this church is responding to the challenge of raising money for the Boys and girls club--but equally, more important? is volunteering there and forming relationships with some of the boys and girls there.  

SLIDE: Father Boyle says, “The delight in mutuality came by way of knowing that the day won't ever come when I am as holy as the people I'm called to serve,

that the day won't ever come when I have more courage or am more noble or am closer to God than this 16-year-old gang member I’m sitting with on his porch.”

“Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.” Jesus says.

Lastly, we come to hope.

Father Greg Boyle  

says his ministry of compassion and kinship is to infuse young people with hope, even when it seems that hope is foreign.

As you can imagine: There's so much grief and so much heartbreak in the kids he works with...just as there can be found in so many places.

Kids who can't imagine a future for themselves.

Kids who aren't seeking anything when they join a gang.

They're always fleeing something, always, without exception.

Sheep without a shepherd.  Little ones stumbling left and right.  

Father Boyle calls it a lethal absence of hope.

it's hard to imagine where they would draw hope from, and the hopelessness is lethal.

One of the ways the Dolores mission offers hope--jobs.

We know so well much of our self worth comes from our jobs.  

Employing the young people no one else will employ.

The mission first formed a job employment referral center, trying to find felony-friendly employers, but not many were willing to hire these youth.

They couldn't wait. The demand was so huge, and gang members kept saying, “If only we had jobs.”

SLIDE: So they started Homeboy Bakery in 1992.

And a month later, Homeboy Tortillas.

Eventually it became the highfalutin Homeboy Industries: Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silk Screen,  Homegirl Café Homeboy Maintenance, Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise,.

It’s not just to have a paycheck, it’s about community that trumps gangs.

Gang members work along other members of opposing gangs, and they start to get along.

The motto,  on their T-shirts, is "Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job."

When Jesus saw the crowd he had compassion.

A ministry of compassion, of tearing down stumbling blocks requires sacrifice and is hard work.

Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.

Father Boyle says nothing has brought him

“more life, more joy than standing with Jesus, along with standing in the lowly place;

standing with the easily despised and the readily left out;

with the demonized so that the demonizing will stop;

with the disposable so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away.

Standing there with them brings fullness in life.

In some ways, hearing about Father Boyle and the resilience of the youth he’s working with is inspiring;

and in some ways it can make you feel bad, or it makes me feel bad I don’t have the courage to do more!

But the good news is that Jesus doesn’t give up on us

We are and we can continue to be salt.

And let us look forward to experiencing the fullness in life when we stand with others in the lowly places through ministries of hope and compassion that we are doing now, and that we can only dream of doing in the not too far off future.

In the name of the father son and holy spirit. Amen.

Far Shore of Aging - Mark 4:35-44

The Far Shore of Aging - Mark 4:35-41

A college football player had to skip some of practice everyday to go see his father in the hospital, He’d been in the hospital for some time now...awaiting a heart transplant..

We live in a period of a new old age.

A mother who is also a grandmother is preparing for a lengthy time away, as her mother has taken a turn and is needing more help.  She is not sure what this means for her, what her responsibilities may be in the near future..

we live in a period of a new old age.

Parents sit down with their adult children to talk to them about things to consider as they get older, their desires, plans they are making, and who might take on what responsibilities.  

One of the children gets up and leaves during the conversation.

After a recent cancer diagnosis, adult children attempt to talk to their parents about what they may be thinking down the road for care. The parents change the subject.

We have entered into what has been called a period of a new old age.

So much about how life is lived has changed in the past 100 years.

One significant change taking place before us is the nature of aging.

Like all changes, this has an upside and a downside.

Blogger and author Jane Gross has reflected a lot on this new reality of aging.  

She wrote a memoir entitled A Bittersweet Season: Caring for our aging parents--and ourselves, which she wrote as her mother went through a long decline after her mid-80s.

Jane Gross says poignantly: "We live too long and die too slowly."

Jane Gross, born in 1947, doesn’t remember a lot of older people around when she was growing up.  By the time she was born, only two of her four grandparents were alive. One died suddenly; he had been a vibrant man and then, kerplunk, in the street the next day.  

This is how my great-grandfather died as well. literally, from vibrant getting around to Kerplunk in the street.

Fast forward to 20 years or so later to the time when my grandparents were dying, and these were long drawn out deaths, thanks to so-called “advances” in medicine.

My grandfather, for example had a living will, had a heart attack when he was 93, but they resuscitated him anyway, and he spent his last several months of life in hospice care, during a period he called, the worst days of his life.  

I have visited with any number of parishioners who are living this new old age reality, they or their relative is living this in-between time that didn’t used to exist to the extent that it does now, and we are all trying to make sense of it.

I loved visiting with Alice Martinez of my church in Santa Fe who was 95 when I met her. She would insist I visit her once a week to plans her funeral. She would tell me, “I’m dying.” If her daughter, a nurse and the primary caregiver was there she would say, “Mom, you’re not sick, your heart is healthy; You’ve got to die of something!”

When considering this new old age reality the first question we have to ask:

Is it okay to talk about this topic of aging and dying?

Something everyone can relate to, but not everyone wants to acknowledge.

When geriatrician, Joanne Lynn asks her audiences of health experts: "How many of you expect to die?" Not everyone shoots up their hands!

In the period of a new old age --  

Everybody wants to believe that we are going to be perfectly healthy, climbing the Himalayas one day and dead the next.

But the reality is something like what Jane Gross experienced with her mother who was fine and independent and then in 100 small ways, none of which were going to do her in, was not fine and became dependent on other people, strangers, her children.  

Cuba - Let's Learn While We Still Can

"The Great Turning"
Challenge yourself to imagine:

"It is the year 2275. 500 years after the birth of the social experiment in 1776
known as the United States of America, and I can assure you - life is good.  The Great Turning,
as depicted by Joanna Macy, has actually happened: we humans have learned to thrive without
utterly destroying ourselves or our precious habitat. God’s longstanding desire to make 'earth as
it is in heaven' is coming closer to reality, thanks to an amazing collaboration between spirit, earth, and humanity. From 2275, going back 250 years to 2025—the midpoint in the life of the USA—the human experiment was looking bleak. We humans were heading down a path toward annihilation--
extreme economic inequity, violent competition for dwindling resources, cultural colonization,
unsustainable practices and environmental devastation were driving our species, and many
others, to extinction. Despite the advanced technologies and richness of the planet, billions of
people were impoverished, many were desperate. The very life systems of our planet were being
threatened.

"Amazingly, we changed our path and learned to honor one another and the earth. It took 250
years, but look at us now in 2275! Who knew, from the challenging situation we faced in the
early part of the 21st century, that we would end up with healthy abundant local food for
everyone—with food systems that provide fair compensation, retained cultural diversity and
ecologically sustainable.  How humans came to this new food reality in 2275 is an incredible story. " (- reflection from Andrew Kang Bartlett, of the Presbyterian Hunger Program).

As I considered the impossibility (and I think I'm a bit of an optimist) of this idyllic scenario recently with a small group of people of faith, it occurred to me that something really could lead to this huge change necessary to take us in that direction; and it has the potential to happen right now.

Cuba. 

Normalization...?
Secretary of State, John Kerry is in Cuba today Friday August 14 to raise a US flag at the once de facto and now actual U.S. Embassy whose location is signaled by Cuban forefather at the Tribuna Anti-Imperialista or Anti-Imperialist Platform.  The Cuban Embassy in the United States was just opened weeks ago. 

As relations are "normalized" between the two nation states, it is easy to imagine the policies and social practices of the US will have a much greater impact on Cuba than will policies and social practices of the socialist island nation. But, Cubans have a strong proud history of resistance, and they will not easily succumb to that which they perceive to be good for their society. 

A brief history: After the Cuban revolution claiming independence from Spain around the turn of the 20th century, interest groups from the United States began to harvest the "fruit" of Cuba. By the 1950s, the U.S. fully supported an oppressive government led by President Batista. Poverty and crime were rampant, health care and education were accessible for only the rich, and economic disparity was widespread. US corporations and citizens owned a great majority of the island's land and resources. The people of the island were overlooked and/or exploited, as was the case on other islands in the Caribbean. A bold revolt took place led by a young lawyer named Fidel Castro. It's beginnings on the Granma were humble, even laughable, seemingly posing little threat as they gathered in the remote western mountains on the island. But slowly, as the group made its way toward the capital, people joined in and a force was mounted strong enough to overthrow the existing Batista government. During the years of revolt, the US government was unsure which party they should support, so they supported both. 

Castro and his rebel group claimed power 1 January 1959. Initially, when Fidel Castro claimed power, he was cautiously embraced by the US government and President Eisenhower .  But, as, he and his appointed ministers began to implement sweeping reforms, nationalizing many of the major industries, and eventually converting almost all major interests, to ownership by the commons or the state, meaning US entities no longer had ownership or profits, US policy shifted dramatically. Most Cuban citizens on the island who opposed losing their property and having their bank accounts ceased by the government fled if they were able to do so with what little they could hold onto. Some who resisted were disappeared or executed. Cuban pastors with connections to US churches through historical relationships fled as well. As one elderly church member in San Antonio de Los Baños told me, "Eran nuestro ejemplo y nos dejaron por el dinero...they [our pastors] were our example, and they left us for money."  This was the case for many who left. I would not have wanted to be in their shoes to have to make that decision in a time of uncertainty and unrest. 

At his famous 1960 UN speech, Castro strongly condemned the pressuring actions of the United States and as a result. This is when he and the people of the island were ostracized in earnest, and the embargo began. The so called "Cuban missile crisis" in 1962 still strikes a nerve of those where were alive at the time to remember it. The discord among governments was uncharacteristically prevalent due to the reality that the island's proximity to the U.S., and yet, Castro and the island was able to successfully implement that which U.S. policy so adamantly opposed during the cold war, something seen as the antithesis of the American way of life - their fledgling version of Communism/Socialism.

For over 50 years, despite sanctions, trade restrictions, threats, even attempted coup d'etat, the United States could not twart the efforts and determination of Castro and the people, Los Revolucionarios.

Image of Fidel Castro and the Granma in the ocean with caption: "Combat continues."

As a result of a concerted effort over the course of decades of formation, a society has emerged with a particular set of values--community, care, health, well-being, good for all, respect, education, as well as remarkably relatively low crime, drug use and violence, and sexism and racism--values well esteemed and desired by many in the world, but have been elusive, especially in the US in recent decades.


"Teach children to be honest and to defend nature with sensibility." - José Martí, Bosque Martiano, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba

At the same time that these values were implemented and widely adapted, the Cuban people had very little access to resources and emerging technologies that developed and developing nations had; "development" was stymied. Living on an island, land use was maximized where human living was restricted to certain centers with significant but not unbearable density so that land could be used for farming and ecological preservation. Population and health control was implemented through education, societal practices, and proper resources for women and families. Due to lack of petroleum products, such as fertilizers and equipment, farming practices were organic complemented by innovation. Animal use and consumption was regulated by what was available and what was practically needed for health.


For so many reasons, Cuba had to and in some cases chose to do things differently from so many countries experiencing development and industrialization. As a result, life looks very different there; but just how different? What does that difference look like?

The Good Ole Days
When I was a child growing up in a decade of significant societal changes--the 80s, when Regan implemented neoliberal economic policies coupled by "trickle down" theory, as well as toppled governments in many parts of the world which didn't conform to US interests, most notably in Central America --it was on a fairly consistent basis I would hear from my elders about "the good ole days."  "The good ole' days," referring to a simpler time guided by particular values and norms--honesty, integrity, community, well-being, concern, care--which they would describe with nostalgia and a certain lament. I didn't know what the good ole days were. All I knew was what  I was experiencing in my life around me, and grew weary of hearing about days gone by.

In 2010, I spent a month in Cuba serving a church as part of a pulpit exchange. It was my second relatively lengthy stay on the island.  My first time was in 2002 for three weeks accompanying a group of economic students. I had a very unfavorable impression of Cuba after my first visit--it was just too different (and this was after having spent two years living in Mexico). But, when I returned, my eyes, ears, and heart had a new openness to being there. After the pastoral exchange, I was commissioned by the people to share their stories and life there as often as I was given an opportunity.  In lectures and presentations and conversations, it is not uncommon for elderly listeners to comment on the way I describe day-to-day life and general health and well-being within the community where we were living by saying, "that's how things used to be here."  It occurred to me that Cuba gave my family and I, to a certain extent, a unique gift--experiencing a form of "the good ole days"...and yes it was very good.


Ruby sniffing the national flower of Cuba - White Ginger Lily - Mariposa

The Cuban people have long suffered during the period of the Revolution. Things have been tight due in no small part to the US embargo; yet, they have learned to cope/live and even celebrate with very little resources relative to their "neighbor" to the north. They have learned to value one another and community more than possessions and the pursuit of  individual wealth and domination of others. Yet, they have been asking for decades for a lift to the embargo.  As I have heard their stories, it is clear, they want access to modernity.

As relationships normalize between the US and Cuba, and the embargo subsides, travel restrictions are lifted, and trade begins, - things in Cuba will change dramatically.  These are the early beginnings of the end of what remains of a form of "the good ole days."  At least, perhaps they are.

This could also be a time when those of us who take interest in the island could approach the island, not with blind ambitions of conquest--"Been there done that," or with a desire to exploit and consume for pleasure or potential economic gain, and not with an intention to "help" or convert the people to the "American way of life" particularly under the auspices of religious motivations; but instead to approach the island nation with openness to learning--with a cup of knowledge not full but that needs to be filled--and gleaning from their reality ways we might make aspects of their reality our own.  This is a unique time in our history. My prayer is that we, as a society with our many gifts but also with abundant flaws, may seize an opportunity to consider something which might not actually be that different from how our society once was.  Most of all, I pray that which is good and honorable in Cuba may be preserved for generations to come as the respective flags are raised on one another's soil.

Two revolutionary combatants, Jose Baujasan and Elandio Aguiar in an interview this morning reflected the changing relations with confidence about going forward. Note the conclusion of Baujasan in his comment:

JOSE BUAJASAN: [translated] We think rapprochement with the U.S. is a success of Cuban policies. They have been unable to destroy us. Now they will use the second lane, as they say. It’s fine. They will come here precisely using the economic problems we have. They will use them. Evidently, they will try to capture people. But we can also teach them many things.

Will people in the U.S. be open to learning?

And this from Eladio Aguiar expressing a determination to hold on to their way of life, and perhaps even subversively influencing the U.S. way of life as well:

ELADIO AGUIAR: [translated] We are prepared for that, for a long fight, and to finally overcome all these difficulties. Of course, we do not expect the U.S. to become a socialist country in the long run. Nor do we claim that, either. But they should at least learn to live civilly with us, who have never caused any harm to the U.S.

Socialism may not be the answer for the Great Turning as described above, and it certainly has it's drawbacks, but perhaps for those who desire a Great Turning the human social experiment that is Cuba may actually provide a insight into possibilities for such a turning. 


Pristine beaches at Varadero.

Worship at Mother Emanuel AME Church, July 26, 2015

The emotions--grief, anger, resilience, hope, resistance, love--were as palpable as the muggy heat on this July morning.  

Walking down Calhoun Street, named to honor a defender of slavery, John C. Calhoun, we looked for a steeple, of which there were many, to guide us to our destination. Finally, we arrived at the now unmistakable white faced building with a tall steeple and a proud people called Mother Emanuel AME Church whose slogan on the bulletin reads: “Unashamedly Traditional, Surprisingly Progressive.”  Outside her walls were symbols--flowers and candles, posters of white and black hands fist bumping over a caption, “One Skin,” banners with hanging pens inviting one to add a name to those who care--baring the aforementioned sentiments. It was the setting of a vigil where people come to mourn and pray in the heart of downtown Charleston.

We navigated passed tourists taking pictures in order to ascend the stairs leading to the church sanctuary doors. The place which seats some 400 was filled with people who squeezed into its dark-wood cushion-backed pews. Most of those in attendance were familiar with the unairconditioned space as they waved their bulletins to fan them, rocked back and forth to the rhythm of the liturgy, and stood and waved as part of the lively worship; but, a significantly large number of us were new to the place, as we had come to be present and join in the grieving process, and the journey to healing and reconciliation. My family and I were among these hundreds of newcomers who gathered to worship, delighted in the youth praise dancers, sang with a choir and soloists, kneeled to pray together, and were challenged by the word from the Book of Esther given to the preacher, “you gotta speak up!” and share the difference making good news of the gospel.

There was no denying this was a community in mourning, still needing to heal, but it was also a community carrying on with the business of being a gospel people--welcoming the stranger, praying for the sick, serving in the city, seeking to be a beacon of light. The interim pastor, the Rev. Dr. Norvel Goff, Sr., filling shoes lost in a tragedy, was boldly at ease with the congregation and guests. Some guests were invited to come and offer a word to the congregation, including three representatives from various families who were gathered for reunion--two of whom sang solos spontaneously!--as well as an elected official from the Commonwealth of Virginia who joined others in offering words of condolences and encouragement by citing scripture. I loved to hear the minister negotiate with the congregation about how long his sermon might be as the numerous seemingly spontaneous acts were proposed and later agreed upon, "If ya'll give me twelve minutes to let me allow this young man to sing, I'll take 12 minutes from my sermon." It was a beautiful solo by a young man, and elder, visiting from a Church of God in Christ. This was a youth led service, meaning the various aspects of the service were led by the church's young people. 

Ruby Gene and Zia stood mesmerized by the young girls liturgical dance praise team.

 

During the time of prayer, worshippers streamed down the aisles to gather around the altar as the minister uttered a litany promises of God from scripture. Just when most had cleared the altar, a bent over elderly woman, surely a church Mother, dressed elegantly in a blue dress and hat, was escorted by two other women to the altar, where she knelt down to pray, and as she did so, the minister placed his hands on her head and lingered to pray with her as well. 

The sermon was inspired by Esther and Mordecai's willingness to speak up during a threatening time (Esther 4:14-17). Using that underlying theme, the minister encouraged all of us to speak up when we see troubling circumstances, when we see people in need of prayer, when we see injustices, "you gotta speak up"--as it may make all the difference for, even save the lives of, your friends, your neighbors, this country, this world.    

About halfway through the two and a half hour worship service, Trasie took the girls down to the basement/Fellowship Hall where they could be less confined (it was hot and hard to keep them still at this point). The worship service is broadcast on a video stream into the basement and chairs and tables are set up for people to worship there in an airconditioned less formal setting. I joined them after the worship service was over, and saw the community beginning to set up for a meal they would be having later, which explained the fried chicken I smelled as I walked down the balcony stairs!  Completed in 1891, this Fellowship Hall has been home to countless prayer meetings, bible studies, and seniors gatherings, and seen many bellies filled; and is also the place where the Emanuel 9 lost their lives in one horrific act.  It was humbling to witness the welcome and resilience of those most affected by such a tragedy, and join with thousands of others to offer our prayers for healing and reconciliation, and speak up the name, which has come to encompass so much good and inspiration for so many people in this church and community, the name of Jesus-- the Prince of Peace.   

Ruby Gene begged for a picture to be taken with Jordan, a member of the Emanuel AME Church Praise Dancers, July 26, 2015--the Fellowship Hall in the lower level of the church. 

 

 

Intended for Evil, God intends for Good

Commerce Presbyterian Church

Sunday June 28, 2015

A selection of Scripture for this morning:

At the end of the book of Genesis chapter 50, We find the story of Joseph and his brothers. His brother had sold him into slavery.  In an ironic twist, they find themselves at his mercy later in life and here is what Joseph said to them in verse 19 and 20:

‘Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.

In the gospel of Matthew we find Jesus’ sermon on the mount in which he said...

‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

And from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus:

“...Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

The word of the Lord.

People of faith who make particular claims about God have a fundamental problem that cannot be resolved--it is the problem of theodicy--the reality of evil in the world.  

How can God be all good and all powerful and there be evil in the world?

If God is all good and not able to do anything about it, then god is not all powerful.  

Or, If God is all powerful and does not do anything about evil in the world, then how can we say God is all Good?

We try to make sense of it:  

-- it is because of the free-will of humans that evil exists..

-- or it is some third agent, Satan, the devil, who is responsible for evil.

-- Or that evil is part of God’s plan -  

but even in these scenarios an All powerful and All Good God doesn’t fit with the reality of evil. Evil exists…and as people of faith we are called to live and be present in that reality, and work toward resist evil by doing good.

This is the road of discipleship.

imitators of God

“...be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

Jesus never promised the road of discipleship of Jesus would be easy or smooth. Christians can easily fall under the delusion that once we are “saved” or have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior life will go well for us, be quite straightforward, and we can pretty much continue to live as we had before. This is not what Jesus taught. It seems that once we are “saved” or commit our lives to Jesus the real challenge begins. If we are truly walking in his steps, or being “imitators,” this suggests a pretty radical shift from the way we had been living has taken place; instead of nothing really changing, almost everything changes because, if we’re honest, most of our living focused on fulfilling personal interest and self-preservation. Time and again, Jesus shows the path of discipleship at its core leads to sacrifice after sacrifice for the benefit of others, to the point of losing one’s life.

When we imitate Christ:

- we are living a life of sacrifice, which means living in obedience to God--not my will but thy will;

- we are living in faith not fear. I am told “do not be afraid” appears in some form 365 times in the Bible!

- we are living to be ambassadors of reconciliation; meaning working to tear down walls of division and hatred.

Does this suggest that life in Christ puts one on “easy street” or that everything remains as it was?

I have been deeply challenged by the Emanuel AME Church massacre of nine people studying the Bible in church, and what has come as a result. Major issues that have emerged since the event revolving around such as:

• guns. Should there be tougher laws restricting possession of guns? Should we be armed in church?
• systemic and structural racism.  Does it exist? Should there be such separation in communities?  How might these issues be overcome?
• Symbols--particularly the Confederate battle flag, but also names of Confederate leaders marking places and streets. How should we remember history? Whose history is to being told and commemorated and to what end?

As we approach these conversations, it is important to attempt to distinguish between what we might want to do or what we think is right, and what Jesus would do and our own call to be imitators of God.  WWJD doesn’t get old!  So often we want to hear easy answers, answers that confirm our own opinions, and answers the justify our actions--but does that positioning reflect the nature of discipleship?  

I had lunch with the Rev. Cheryl Barnes of Sardis Presbyterian, a black Presbyterian church in Jackson County. We considered the way the Rev. Pinckney was gunned down in his own church, as was Archbishop Oscar Romero, Martin Luther King, Jr’s mother, the list goes on. Were we to be in that type of situation, Rev. Barnes and I both felt our calling to follow Christ compelled us to a preference of a death while praying rather than a death while trying to defend ourselves, in our own church or anywhere. We took solace in remembering we are witnesses to the resurrection. The path of discipleship is not an easy one.  

It is so powerful to hear and see the way church members have responded to the gunman with words of forgiveness.  Rev. Barnes reflected, had Mr. Roof chosen to carry out his crime in a setting outside the church his intention to incite a race war might have been more successful as there most likely would have been retaliation. But, he went into a church and chose to do battle with Christians who, in obedience, are reacting by taking the steps toward forgiveness and loving their enemy. The path of discipleship is not an easy one.

Seeing the community of Charleston come together to pray and work out differences is inspiring.  There is significant transformation underway there and elsewhere.  My cousin, who lives in Charleston, wrote to me, “It has been a crazy week here as you can imagine. Our community is solid and has responded beautifully..with as much grace and poise as can be expected during a confusing and sad time. I'm proud of my community, and my state.”

During our church service Sunday, June 21, we took time to reflect on our experiences of how we have been made aware of racial differences in our lives, and how we might be ambassadors sent out to do the active work of reconciliation.  For the offertory Jennie Snare played, “Proud to be an American,” which I heard in a different light given the context. May we all emulate the Christlike response my cousin describes of his city, “coming together with grace and poise” by “proudly stand[ing] up next to” brothers and sisters of every race and creed because we are called to live in love. The path of discipleship truly is rewarding.    

God’s Grace and Peace be with you all, each and every day,

Pastor C. Craig Topple