"God's Dream for Us" Feast of the Transfiguration

 

It's not every day that a major feast of the church falls on a Wednesday. But when it does...I figure: hey, let's have church tonight. 

Being bivocational and very part-time in this vocation limits my ability to do a lot of the "things" they told us we'd be doing when we were in seminary. But I do love sharing the faith, and especially the key elements of the Christ story. And so if the holiday happens to be at the time I would normally be in Valdosta....bring a potluck dish for afterward and let's gather! 

Luke 9: 28-36

+++

Our Gospel presents the human Jesus at a critical moment.

He’s steeped in prayer.

Suddenly he becomes bright and glowing.

This light is enough to catch the attention of his sleepy-eyed friends.

And what they saw were the two giants of Judaism…Moses and Elijah…on either side of Jesus speaking to him.

Moses…the one who brought the Torah to his people…and Elijah…the prophet who lived and breathed and demonstrated Torah in action.

The symbol of the Law and the Prophets.

We don’t know what these two were saying to Jesus.

Perhaps this appearance was the answer to Jesus’ prayer up there on the mountain.

Maybe Jesus was seeking the strength to carry on in the mission that had been laid upon him when he came out of Jordan at his baptism.

Or when he read the prophetic words of Isaiah in the temple.

It’s possible he was seeking a clearer sense of what his purpose was on earth.

Moses would know and understand the struggle to lead people and guide them to stick close to God when there were so many temptations not to do so.

Maybe Elijah was there to give him the reassurance that he must make the trip to Jerusalem…even though it was not going to go well.

Elijah knew what it meant to be rejected!

Sometimes…we get so caught up in emphasizing Jesus as part of the Godhead that we forget he was not play acting at being human; he was human.

And his humanness shows up at different times in the biblical stories.

I think this is one of those times where the human Jesus…after so much teaching and healing…needed a little help from his friends.

And of course…this moment on the mountain top…doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

In the ten verses before our Gospel…Jesus is again praying…alone. He then goes to his disciples and asks,

“Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Lk. 9:18c).

Like you and me…Jesus knows fear.

He’s undergone testing in the wilderness and understands that he’s on a mission.

He also knows that this calling is leading him into the mouth of a roaring lion called the Roman Empire.

And he knows that he’s going to pay a price for that.

Do the people get it? Do they know?

His followers give him various answers to this question—“Oh, some think you’re John the Baptist, others say your Elijah, maybe one of the other prophets”

Everyone with their ear to the ground is playing a guessing game about him.

But Peter is the one who blurts out “You’re the Messiah of God!”

You—Jesus—you’re the one who is going to take the fight to the Roman Empire and save the Jewish people from this oppressive regime.

This is what Jesus has in his head and what’s weighing on his heart as he takes Peter along with James and John to the mountain top about a week after this conversation.

And he prays.

And God comes to him…with Moses and Elijah…to illuminate his mind…and to command to his friends:

“This one…this Jesus before you…he is my Chosen One. Listen to him”

There’s quiet. And as the cloud lifts to the astonishment of Peter and the others…the only one before them…the chosen one…is Jesus.

They’ve now witnessed something breathtaking. The scales have fallen from their eyes and they’ve seen that this teacher who they’ve been following is embodying something more than just rabbinic wisdom. This is God’s son.

Not only have they seen Jesus changed. They’ve been changed because they have been witnesses to this change.

This is a lot to process.

Life is different now for all of them.

For Jesus…this mountain top moment is the final sharpening and shaping of who he is and what he must do.

Because… fifteen verses later in this chapter of Luke…we will hear that “the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)

I think this feeling of groundbreaking…and life-changing shifts in the world…is something we all can relate to.

Those of us who have lived for any significant amount of time have seen lots of world-changing events.

We’ve likely felt those moments where we bear witness to something and know that this is so big…nothing will be the same.

I like history.

In my home office…I have calendar that focuses on big moments from our past.

And on this particular day…as we are celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration…we are also marking sixty years since the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

Talk about a moment of illuminating the conscience of the nation.

Despite amendments made to the Constitution at the end of the Civil War granting black men the right to vote…several Southern states found ways to disenfranchise blacks.

They’d make up all kinds of trials and tests.

Hopeful black registrants would be asked to recite the U.S. Constitution.

Clerks of Court would require them to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar.

What finally moved President Johnson to act on behalf of black voting rights were the images of peaceful protestors marching from Selma to Montgomery in March 19-65.

When white police attacked the black marchers with clubs and dogs on the Edmund Pettus Bridge…that was enough.

About a week after the incident…Johnson spoke before a joint session of Congress and demanded they pass voting rights legislation…and within four months…both chambers overwhelmingly adopted the Voting Rights Act.

The legislation banned the use of literacy tests….provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50 percent of the non-white population had registered to vote… and authorized the U.S. attorney general to investigate the use of poll taxes in state and local elections.

While it didn’t solve all the problems of racism in America…it was a momentous occasion that shined a new light on the abuses occurring…and brought more people into participating in democracy.

And it worked.

In Mississippi…in 19-64…blacks made up six percent of the voting population.

Five years later…by 19-69…it was 59-percent.

The tragic violence of the March to Selma caused a new light to shine in the country that moved us forward.

A light that should and must be passed on from one generation to the next…shared from parent to child…so that all will be lit up with that sense of self-worth…knowing that they have a stake in the larger world.

That is the struggle we’re in now…to keep the light of love…life…and liberty shining.

That is the dream of God…that we learn to live in Love with one another and all of God’s creation….granting everyone respect and dignity.

Because Love is the source of life and liberty.

May we continue to work toward transforming this world from God’s nightmare into God’s dream.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

The Importance of Naming: A Sermon for the Feast of the Holy Name, Year A

Just because the Gregorian calendar says it's a new year, our lectionary decided it wasn't going to provide a new Gospel. OK, so this time we heard verse 21 from the pericope out of Luke 2. But my goodness this was the third service that we were hearing the story of Jesus' birth with the angels and the shepherds. 

Thanks be to God for verse 21...the only thing that links this Gospel to the action that would have been  happening in the Temple on the eighth day after Jesus' birth....

Text: Luke 2:15-21

+++

I imagine everyone here has a story about their name…whether it’s your first name, middle name (if you have one), or maybe even your last name…where your family came from originally.

The story my mom told me about my name is that she chose  “Susan” because there were too many “Lucys” in our family.

I had an Aunt Lucy…and then she had daughter…my cousin Lucy.

 I think there might have been yet another Lucy somewhere else on my mom’s side of the family.  

We don’t often hear people’s middle names…except when a parent invokes it… and that’s when we know we’re in trouble, right?

My middle name…”Chase”…came from my father’s side of the family.

Rufus Chase was my maternal great-great-grandfather.

He was a shoemaker in Haverhill Massachusetts…and died in 1865.  

I shared my middle name with my Aunt Helen…who was Helen Chase Gage. She would add a name… Miller… when she married my Uncle Arthur.

Women taking their husbands last names at marriage. That’s become something of a postmodern discussion point: A lot of women are choosing to keep their family names. Some couples decide to simply hyphenate both their last names.

Sometimes people change names.

We all know Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz as Judy Garland…who grew up with the name “Frances Gumm” in Minnesota.

People who are transgender often arrive at a new name… one that feels more fitting to who they are.

In massage school… we were offered the opportunity to choose a new name for ourselves. No one in my class did. But it made sense why the school opened that door for us. The experience of massage school education can be a very transformative journey especially for anyone healing from any type of hurts that come from living in a world where people are hurting each other all the time.

In many cultures…names are carefully chosen.

Shannon Crossbear…an elder in the Ojibwe Nation of Ontario Canada… says First Nation people have a naming ceremony where they choose a sacred name for a child.

Grandparents…who can be simply close friends of the family…spend time praying for the newborn…asking

“Who is this child?”

“What has this child come to do?”

When the name emerges from their prayers… they have a ceremony to announce the name…which serves as a life guide for that child.

Names… and naming things… is so important.

We can see that here in the last verse of our Gospel story.

The Holy Family is taking part in the Jewish ritual… called the brit milah… or bris milah…as the Eastern European Jews call it.

This ritual involves the circumcision of male babies and then giving them their Hebrew name.

It’s one of the important ceremonies in the life of any person in the Jewish faith.

And lest we forget Mary, Joseph and Jesus are Jews.

This naming ceremony is a sign of belonging to God and it brings the newborn into the tribe of Israel… and giving them a name to live by.

One source says that the reason this ritual happens on the eighth day is to signify it’s something that occurs beyond the bounds of the natural order of things. There are seven days in the week; the eighth day makes it extraordinary.

Tip the number eight on its side and it’s the symbol of infinity… the never ending…and ultimately boundless nature of God and God’s Love.  

Just as with the naming ceremony for First Nation people… Mary and Joseph give the name the angel told them to give to their baby…Jesus…the Hellenized version of “Joshua.”

His name means “God saves.”

How fitting for the life and mission of this one who has come into the world to reclaim and redeem God’s people.   

Sometimes I think there is such a focus at Christmastide on Baby Jesus that we don’t remember that the name given to him carries an extraordinary weight.

Baby Jesus is going to grow up.

And this God incarnate is going to experience all the trials and tribulations that are part of human existence… not because he has to but because he wants to.

By becoming one of us and joining with those struggling to breathe free in an occupied land… Jesus is bringing God and humanity closer together.

His persistence…and laser-focus on a mission to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, release to the captives and freedom to the oppressed…will be encouraging to some…and will irritate and anger many others.

The powerful never take kindly to being told that they should use their talents to make things better for other people.

And it is through Jesus… we… too… have that same adoption into the fold of God through His name.

When we’re baptized…our parents or sponsors announce our names to the whole congregation. They make a commitment to raise us in the Christian faith.

The people of the congregation offer prayers on our behalf.

And then we are baptized in the Name of the Holy Trinity…Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We are anointed with oil…made one with Christ’s Body throughout the world as we are marked and sealed as Christ’s own forever.

We may not receive a Hebrew name…or a special sacred name…

But our given name has now been christened into a life of faith, hope, and love.

We have gained a relationship with God…as our Galatians reading says… which is so intimate that we are right to call out to God as if he is our daddy… our papa… or whatever name you would use for a loving father.

As children of God… we have gained an inheritance to do the work of love in our families and our communities.

We…like Jesus… have the power to lend our names… our hands and our hearts… to the mission of making this place where we live, work, and play a more just and merciful society than what has existed before.

We can name those things that are right, and good, and joyful…while also naming those things which need to change.

Because that act of naming is powerful and important.

In all that we do…may it be done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Come, Holy Spirit

 The vote is official: 62-percent of the electorate in Ireland has approved marriage equality for the Emerald Isle, making them the first country in the world to approve by popular vote a constitutional change in favor of lesbians and gays getting married. It was such an overwhelming majority that the opposition leaders conceded defeat before all the votes were in because the writing was so clearly on the wall.

“The people have spoken,” Irish Senator Fidelema Eames, an outspoken opponent of the referendum campaign, told the English newspaper The Telegraph. Eames says all the polling had shown support for the referendum but added that some of the No voters were afraid to express themselves because they felt intimidated by the other side.

 In both Dublin and Cork, people reported seeing rainbows in the sky, a sign that even the heavens were rejoicing in this amazing moment.

The Anglican Church of Ireland, however, was not as excited by this development. In a news release put out today, the Church remained firm in its opposition to marriage for same-sex couples:

The archbishops and bishops of the Church of Ireland wish to affirm that the people of the Republic of Ireland, in deciding by referendum to alter the State’s legal definition of marriage, have of course acted fully within their rights. 

The Church of Ireland, however, defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and the result of this referendum does not alter this. 

The church has often existed, in history, with different views from those adopted by the state, and has sought to live with both conviction and good relationships with the civil authorities and communities in which it is set. Marriage services taking place in a Church of Ireland church, or conducted by a minister of the Church of Ireland may – in compliance with church teaching, liturgy and canon law – continue to celebrate only marriage between a man and a woman. 

We would now sincerely urge a spirit of public generosity, both from those for whom the result of the referendum represents triumph, and from those for whom it signifies disaster.

Disaster? You would have thought this public exercise of democracy had been a terrorist attack.

The Church of Ireland is not alone in the Anglican Communion in holding this type of attitude about the advent of marriage equality. Even in the United States, where 37 states have adopted marriage equality, there are Episcopal dioceses that are slow to change or are flat out refusing to reflect the reality that is around them.

This stuff was very much on my mind as I served at St. John’s 12:10pm service on Friday. The Gospel lesson was from John 21, the portion right after Jesus has prepared a fish breakfast on the beach. He takes Peter aside and quizzes him:

 "When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep." --John 21:15-17

I thought about that mantra, “Feed my sheep; tend my flock; feed my sheep” and reflected on the state of affairs for the LGBTQ+ faithful. There are those sheep who are there, week after week sitting in the pews, waiting to be fed. There are many who have been scattered and haven’t heard the call to come home or, in some cases, they have come home only to be run off again because the shepherds left in charge haven’t tended to them, but instead used their crook to strike them. Not many are going to stick around a place where they’re going to get beaten up in the name of God. They are in need of shepherds who will feed them and tend to them and be willing to be led into places where the shepherd may not want to go but has to if he or she is going to tend to these “other sheep.”

A prayer that has been on my lips this week is the Thomas Tallis piece my choir at St. Thomas will be singing this Sunday:

“If ye love me keep my commandments and I will pray the Father will give you another comforter that he may bide with you forever e’en the spirit of truth.”  

If we keep the commandment to love one another as we are loved by God, then that love must continue to extend. One of the complaints I have heard from those who are “Millennials” is that we, who call ourselves Christians, are hypocrites. We say we love and God is love, and then we fight against marriage equality or letting lesbians and gay men adopt kids, including their own! They see that as judgmental because, well, it is. And there’s been so much time and effort put into keeping the LGBTQ+ community out that they aren’t anxious to come back in and neither are their many straight ally friends.

So here we are on the eve of Pentecost, and the Church of Ireland is using words such as “disaster” to describe the reaction of those on the losing end of the referendum, and making sure everyone knows that just because secular law is changing, their canons have not changed. Are they not sensing the power of that blowing wind?

As we prepare for the arrival of the Holy Spirit, I would hope that those who have such fear of the change that is bringing about marriage equality in places such as Ireland might remember that the promise Christ gives to all of us at the end of Matthew’s gospel is that he will be with us always to the end of the age. His presence is not absent in these votes or these changes or in the years of struggle that got us to this new place. The Holy Spirit has blown a new wind into the Emerald Island. That same wind is blowing across this nation, and it is even reaching into states such as Florida which cannot withstand the hurricane of change that is coming. Resisting the reality that is to come and is now here is futile, and only serves to feed the belief that the church is irrelevant.

Come, Holy Spirit. Breathe new life into these places and give them the courage to live into a gospel of love and freedom.

Epiphany Brings Equality

At 12:01AM, January 6, 2015, the LGBTQI community of Florida will receive a gift. It won’t come in a box, wrapped in paper with a bow on top. It’s not something that can be contained in a bottle of bubbly, or put in a stocking. It’s a gift that comes in a legal opinion authored by United States District Court Judge Robert Hinkle declaring Florida’s laws, both in the state constitution and state statutes that limited marriage to heterosexuals only, to be in violation of the United States Constitution; hence marriage equality will be coming to Florida. In the words of Judge Hinkle:

"When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida's ban on same-sex marriage... will again seem an obvious pretext for discrimination. Observers who are not now of age will wonder just how those views could have been held. The institution of marriage survived when bans on interracial marriage were struck down, and the institution will survive when bans on same-sex marriage are struck down. Liberty, tolerance, and respect are not zero-sum concepts. Those who enter opposite-sex marriages are harmed not at all when others, including these plaintiffs, are given the liberty to choose their own life partners and are shown the respect that comes with formal marriage. Tolerating views with which one disagrees is a hallmark of civilized society." (Judge Hinkle, August 21, 2014)

Pardon me while I wipe away tears.

This has been a long slog for many of us. When my partner and I were first dating and I asked about having some kind of a commitment ceremony that was all we could hope for. It wouldn't come with state and federal recognition, so that we might have benefits and protection of our property. And certainly, neither of us at that time conceived of having our union blessed. (Neither of us was active in a religious community, and the Episcopal Church wasn't

anywhere close to blessing same-sex couples!) When the movement for marriage equality began in Hawaii, and then had success in Massachusetts, it was intriguing, but still seemed a far-fetched notion that this would catch on, especially in Florida.

Then came Iowa.

And Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, California (on again, off again, on again) the District of Columbia…

As marriage equality was becoming a reality, opponents continued their fight. It wasn’t enough to have marriage outlawed in four places in the Florida statutes; they needed a constitutional amendment. 

And they got it…with just over 61-percent of the vote in 2008. It was a moment of bitterness to realize that a majority of those who cast ballots in an election that helped put Barack Obama in the White House also brought out voters who were willing to make me and my partner second-class citizens. It was devastating.

And so we marched. We shared our lives and our stories. We organized. And we filed lawsuits.

And we won a victory in June, 2013, in the United States Supreme Court with the Windsor decision.

Quickly, the dominoes began to fall. State after state, some by popular vote, many by court order. Secular and religious leaders were standing up for our rights. Even President Barack Obama arrived at a place where he was comfortable saying he had no problem with marriage equality.

Still, as all this happened, those of us in Florida kept wondering, “When will this be our reality?”

That time has arrived. Not without pain and suffering through the attempts to stall Judge Hinkle’s order. But it has now really arrived.

That this moment is coming to pass on the day that Christians celebrate the Epiphany, the arrival of the Magi bearing frankincense, gold, and myrrh, could not be more perfect. These wise men following a star in the east come bearing gifts to one whose purpose will be to spread the Good News of Love. They are overjoyed at the sight of this child, born in exile, and unpack their treasures for him. 

This is very much what this moment in our state’s history feels like. The courts have followed Wisdom that has led justices to bestow upon a community, singled out for who we love, with the gift of equal rights in marriage.

It is also not lost on me that our wonderful happy day is coming on the same day that the opponents of the LGBTQI community will be taking the oath of office for another four-year term. John Stemberger, the man who put the noxious anti-marriage amendment on the ballot in 2008 is on the guest list for the pre-inaugural prayer breakfast. There are clerks of court in Baker, Clay, Duval, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa Counties who have responded to the ruling by ending the tradition of courthouse weddings for anyone rather than be compelled to marry a lesbian or gay couple. Without statewide, or in many places county protections from discrimination, we may get married, but we aren’t necessarily protected from losing our jobs, housing or access to public accommodations. After the Magi left the manger, Mary and Joseph had to stay on the run with Jesus because King Herod was out to kill him. Love seems to never know complete peace or absence of fear and loathing in the world. We are still a long way from reaching full equality.

For now, however, the celebrations are on. My partner and I will be heading to the clerk’s office to make our application for a marriage license. It will be a lovely step forward in this 23+ year “courtship” and the start of the state-recognition of our marriage. Let the wedding bells of freedom peal out over the Sunshine State.

Being Transfigured

Happy Transfiguration Day!  

I know: not a big day on the calendar.  The mail still was delivered, the banks were open, and no stores were running any sales (although this would be a great day for a laundromat to proclaim that they can get your whites radiantly clean!)

Even for the church, this isn't a day special enough to transfer its celebration to the nearest Sunday.  But this is a really big day, even if its not tied to a special season or grand occasion.  Because what sets this day apart, amidst our "ordinary" time, is the pulling back, momentarily, of the veil to show Jesus standing between the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah), his clothes a dazzingly white, and the cloud comes down on the mountain and announces to Peter, John and James: "This is my Son, the Beloved.  Listen to him!"  Jesus himself, the man, has not changed in his outward appearance.  But Jesus, as well as his friends who witnessed this incredible event, have been transfigured by what's happened.  Or more plainly stated, they've been transformed and changed.  The disciples have seen that Jesus is completely at One with God.  Jesus, from here on out in the Gospels, understands that he must go to Jerusalem to complete the work that he's been given to do.

The longer I keep on this journey, the more I realize that the transforming nature of contact with the Holy is not just a one-off; each moment, each encounter, each experience of the Presence of that power shapes and changes us.  We don't come in contact with the Holy and stay the same.

I think back on Holy Week 2013 in which I had two very profound moments in which I engaged in actively ministering to another.  There was the woman who was anguished because she said her husband was in a county jail and accused of a crime he didn't commit.  She was with a few others protesting for his release in front of the state Capitol building where our PFLAG group was about to have a rally. I wanted her to know that she was welcome to stay there, but we had booked the space and would be occupying the area by the steps.  This woman opened up to me, tears in her eyes, as she poured out her story.  In the back of my mind, I knew I needed to keep working on getting things set up for our rally.  But in front of me was a woman who was hurting and burdenened.  I listened patiently and, for this moment, went into that pain with her, acknowledging her hurt and frustration at the system.  She brought up God, and I assured her that God had not forgotten her or her husband.  We hugged and she and her friends moved on.   That same week, I intervened to stop a sheriff's deputy from arresting a tall African-American man named Moses for the crime of praying in Carter Chapel at St. John's during the Maundy Thursday vigil.   A part of me had wanted to move on and not get involved in this.  But the better part of me forced me out of my silence to not only speak up and get the officer to see reason, but also go so far as to say, "I will vouch for this man."  

Sandwiched between these two events was my mom's massive stroke, and that feeling of fear and helplessness, and reliance on the kindness of strangers... and my rector... to minister to me at a time of great need.    Each of these moments transformed me and served as the reminder of what we heard today in 2 Corinthians at Morning Prayer:

 "(S)ince it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practise cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

It's up to us to allow our compassionate selves to shine, and be willing to get involved when it is necessary and when it is truly the need for us to reflect the glory of God to one another.

May we all be so moved and transfigured in our beings!