March
1, 2009
Doug Clay
The First Sunday in Lent
Year B, RCL
To read the
lessons for the day click here:
http://www.io.com/~kellywp/YearB_RCL/Lent/BLent1_RCL.html
Genesis 9:8-17,
Psalm 25:1-9, 1 Peter 3:18-22
, Mark 1:9-15
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
In those days
Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John
was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and
saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the
Let the
words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be
acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
I think there
little doubt that we are in the midst of troubling times. For the past several
weeks (months?) the ongoing news of economic troubles around the world appear
to be surrounding us and infiltrating our lives in many ways. It is easy for me
in my day to day routines to feel overwhelmed by this. I make it a habit not to
watch the television news regularly, I only read the newspaper on the weekend
and listen to the radio during my relatively short commute to work and home
daily. Even with this limited exposure, the conflicts in our governments of how
best to reverse the decline and support our society’s way of life have seeped deeply
into my awareness. After all, our federal government is planning the most
massive package ever conceived – as only a first step and our
The statistics of how much our economy has contracted, the decrease in value of retirement plans, home values that are thousands of dollars less than the amount owed by homeowner mortgages, and the rapid rates of unemployment are staggering.
I know that these events have affected many on a local level and have even directly affected some of you here today. Retirement incomes that appeared adequate not many months ago have decreased to a trickle requiring some drastic cut backs in spending. The forced furlough of state employees has affected some, making the most secure positions about 10% less secure financially and opening doubts about the future. School loans and scholarships are becoming harder to obtain decreasing the opportunity for learning and future job improvement for some.
Even those who have not been directly impacted by these events are certainly aware of the possibility that the situation could affect them.
I, as many of you have heard, have been considering and exploring options for changing my career path. I am finding that there is no such thing as a “recession proof” job or “recession proof” industry as even the largest health care systems are delaying expansion plans and tightening their spending (including a decrease in hiring).
It could be very easy for me to get caught up in my own troubles (whether they
are actual, current, perceived or even projected future troubles). And it is in
times like these that I become most aware of and rely on the power of my faith.
One of my basic understandings of my relationship to God is that the world, everyone and everything in it are connected through the creative power of God. My spiritual connection, although unique in nature, is not for my individual benefit only. What pulls me out of my self absorption is beautifully depicted in west side windows of this building in the images of Faith, Hope, and Love (or Charity).
Today in the church cycle we commemorate the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is the time of year, leading up to Easter where we are encouraged to reflect on our lives, on the world and on our Christian actions. One of the small practices in which I have chosen to engage is to read and pray daily from the lessons in the Episcopal Relief and Development Lenten Meditations titled “Peace and Compassion”. The lesson for yesterday, Saturday March 28 struck me perfectly as a template for our actions and response to these stormy times.
It begins from a reading from Matthew 14:15-16 in which the disciples seem “self-absorbed” much as I can be and maybe not as concerned for the welfare of the crowds as it might first appear to be.
“When it was evening, the disciples came to
him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the
crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”
“Today, we are beginning to realize that there is no “away”. Everything is everybody’s problem. The hazards of life in poverty and war affect the lives of those who live in peace and plenty. It isn’t just the case that we shouldn’t “send them away.” The truth is, we can’t.”
“Christian love is all about valuing another’s life as much as we value our own. This is why the Millennium Development Goals are recognized by the Church as an eloquent expression of Christ’s love for the world. The MDGs recognize the oneness all human beings share, rich and poor alike. We are all in this together.”
My meditations
this week brought me to think about the deeper question of what is faith and
how are we to put our faith into action. I picked up one of the books which has
been in my collection for a number of years named, “The Kingdom Within” by John
Sanford and which is subtitled The Inner Meaning of Jesus’ Sayings and
came upon this description: “Eros (which
in a very simplistic way means a desire for life or feeling) gives us the
capacity to love, and is also the ground of faith. It is out of Eros that faith
springs, and from faith springs hope, so that a connection to the soul is
fundamental to our capacity to affirm life meaningfully and positively. This
may be why
When Jesus speaks of faith, he is not thinking of what we might call doctrinal faith. He never asks anyone to believe in any doctrinal philosophical or metaphysical creed of any kind. When Jesus speaks of faith, he is speaking of a certain capacity of a person to affirm life in spite of what life may bring, and even in the face of doubts It has little or nothing to do with one’s formal intellectual beliefs, which may actually get in the way of faith. It has a great deal to do with the relationship to one’s soul, for the soul, with her capacity for love, is in touch with the fundamental meaningfulness of life and so can inspire faith.”
We are here today at the First Sunday of Lent called upon to meditate upon our lives and our world. Today is also dedicated as Episcopal Relief and Development Sunday and we are called to put our faith into Christian action. It is faith (not beliefs) that ties our souls to the rest of creation. How do we translate faith into Christian action? The first step is to release our fears which will then allow us to turn our focus from ourselves. With our focus on others we can palpably feel the connection of all life and physical creation.
One of the descriptions of what has happened in the world economy involves the concept that the problems are not actually caused by a physical lack or scarcity. There are still the same number of homes as before the real estate collapse, there is as much “real money and property” as well. The problem is a problem of inaction. The money and resources are not moving. This concept applies also to the flow of love and compassion which cannot grow or even exist in a static form. They must be passed on to maintain their value.
I ask you today, to join me in putting Christian faith into action. I ask you to join me in moving past the fears and insecurities of the times and to take the opportunity to help heal the hurting world. Our special offering today to the Episcopal Relief and Development will be designated to fight deadly diseases and save lives every day around the world. I don’t want you to get me wrong. This is not just a “plug” for a favorite charity. I think that when we hear about all those destroyed in “The Flood”, we are hearing about a society in which the people were each concerned about their own lives. Noah, on the other hand, first tried to save everyone by warning them of the impending catastrophe. He acted on his compassion.
And those about whom Jesus spoke when he talked about those who were “following the law” were not evil because they were following the law but because they were doing so only for their individual benefit.
It is our compassion, charity or love which enlightens our own actions. Then as we journey through the rest of the Lenten season I ask you to remember, better yet I ask you to embrace and experience your inter-connectedness with creation. Allow yourself to feel your desire for life and put into action your compassion and love for others – in whatever opportunity comes your way.
On three occasions in the recent past, I have observed rainbows between the showers. On each occasion I was struck by the beautiful sight of all the colors spread across the sky. I am always affected by a feeling of renewal of the freshened air and the sun gleaming through the clouds to form this wonderful sight. I know there is a scientific explanation for how light is refracted in a certain way but the explanation just deepens the sense of awe of the colorful bow appearing in the sky, a pure gift and delight to the eyes and heart. Beauty and hope appear after a storm.
In ancient times the bow and arrow were the primary instruments of war. A warrior returning from war would hand his bow on the wall of the house depicting that the war was over and it was now a time of peace.
After “The Flood”, God made an unconditional covenant with Noah and through him with all humanity and all creation. God did not say “if you love me,” or “if you obey me”, or “if you are kind to others, then I will be good to you.” This covenant of love is a covenant in which god promises to remember us even if we forget God.” Then God hung his bow in the sky (in peace), not pointed down on people to destroy them, but hung upward in the sky disarmed and colorful as a reminder that we are all included in God’s love and graciousness.
Amen
Doug Clay