Reflection on St. Patrick's Day

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my god to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
--St. Patrick's Lorica

Amidst the music, the corned beef and the beer dyed green, there is the story of the saint who gives us this holiday where we all declare ourselves Irish.
St. Patrick didn't think much about God when he was a teenager. It wasn't his thing, even though his dad was a deacon. But at 16, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and taken to the Emerald Isle where he was sold into slavery. He escaped six years later, and made his way to a port town where he convinced sailors to take him back to England, a much changed man. He entered the priesthood,and was later elevated to bishop and sent back to Ireland. There, through his missionary work, he established a school and helped Christianity to take root. It was his victory over paganism that supposedly inspired the poem "St. Patrick's Lorica (breast plate)".

As I looked at the readings assigned for his day in the Episcopal Church, I was drawn to the gospel lesson which comes at the very end of Matthew. Jesus tells the disciples, "I will be with you always to the end of the age." It made me reflect upon St. Patrick's time in slavery when he really hadn't believed in God. And I wondered if in his conversion he hadn't come to see that promise as something that was for real in his life. That, even in the moments when he might have thought he would never see his family again, there was a glimmer of hope that let him know "this too shall pass".
Those words from Matthew are the ones that often crop up in my heart during those times when I am in greatest doubt or feeling discouraged. They have been helpful to me when I've been locked in struggles for human rights for LGBT people, which feels not like a literal slavery, but as if we are under a yoke of oppression from those who want to deny us our full humanity. Knowing that Jesus (God) is present and is watching and moving through the muck made by humankind to get us all to a different place is a comfort. The more I trust in that promise, the more I am able to endure life’s abundant challenges.

O God who guides us with a light upon our path in times of darkness; lead us and teach us trust in the promise that we will never be alone in this journey into eternal life; through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, the blessed Trinity. Amen.

Woo-Hoo! Wakefield!!

First English diocesan vote rejects Anglican Covenant

Modern Church, Inclusive Church and the No Anglican Covenant Coalition are pleased with the result of the first diocesan vote on the proposed Anglican Covenant.

Both clergy and laity (the latter overwhelmingly) rejected the Covenant at the Wakefield Diocesan Synod meeting on Saturday 12th March.

While recognising the need to avoid the bitter controversies of recent years, we are glad that this Synod does not believe the Covenant is the way to do it. You can read the rest of the news release HERE at Thinking Anglicans.

Needless to say, this is hopeful news, especially to read that the laity were so strongly opposed to the document. And it is good to see that there is some independence of thought happening across the pond, and not just a "Oh, let's do this for ++Rowan" attitude. The Covenant, despite words to the contrary from some within the hierarchy of the Church of England, has the possibility of deepening the divisions that already exist and permanently rupturing trust. As Ms. Trentmacher in my last "Bishop Yellowbelly" series put it:

"This (the Anglican Covenant's section four which outlines settling disputes among covenant members) is like telling a mouse that is in trouble with other mice that it must go before a committee of cats."

So glad those in Wakefield understand that!

Defining A Ministry

We will be getting another priest at my church this summer, and it's a good thing. We're a downtown parish with your typical cross-section of downtown parish humanity: lots of senior citizens, college students, single people and those in relationships. The church building itself is constantly hopping with worship services, classes, lunches, group meetings. So it all makes sense that we need another priest.

Some of us were discussing what her role would be. And that's when I heard that she will be dealing with "young marrieds."

I'm not entirely sure what "young marrieds" means, except it clearly doesn't include me. I'm learning that, in church circles, I'm on the older side of "young". And I am not married, and can not be married in the state of Florida.

I understand the need to designate roles among multiple clergy members. It's a way to distribute the load of caring for a large and diverse parish. I wonder what it does, though, when a term like "young marrieds" gets used to describe a segment of the church population that are to be served? A population which includes a lot of unmarrieds, and constitutionally-banned from being marrieds? For me, I hear an unconscious heterosexual prejudice in the term. There seems to be an assumption by some in the church that anyone in the 20-40 year-old set is a potential "married". I think that's because with the potential married comes the additional title of potential "parent" which leads to the potential "baptism" and the potential report back to the diocese saying, "Look, Bishop: we're growing!!"

I don't begrudge the need to reach out and involve the "young marrieds" in the church. Certainly, families help to keep a parish growing. But I think we need a different term for who we are talking about when we we are discussing those of us in our 20s, 30s, and 40s. Otherwise, it can become a stumbling block for some, and an unintentional, if thoughtless, one at that. I think something that is a little more inclusive of all the people in that age group in their various walks of life is in order. Perhaps, "Young adults?"

Alone in the Desert with the Devil

"The Temptation of Christ" by Ary Scheffer

For forty days and forty nights, Jesus fasted in the desert. At the end of that time, the tempter came. And Jesus, no doubt, was feeling his humanity. He's tired and hungry and feeling alone in the desert with the devil putting him to the test:

Make these stones bread!

Throw yourself from this pinnacle of the Temple!

Rule over all the kingdoms of the world!

"You can have it all!" says the tempter. "Just fall down and worship me!"

That really is the crux of where the devil is headed in this scene with Jesus. The temptations are one thing, but ultimately it's the "fall down and worship me!" that is the ultimate goal.

These are the same temptations that we face each day. There is the desire to eat our fill (and then some). The craving to feel immortal. And then the crown jewel of them all: to be ruler of everything and totally in control. It's greed and pride and gluttony all rolled into a fine package. And it's all about who and what do we place first in our lives. And what God will we serve.

One of the most popular of the "other Gods" is money. We need money in order to buy stuff. And even if we have plenty of stuff, sometimes there is the temptation to buy more stuff. Because this extra stuff will make us feel younger, look thinner, and is just plain better than that other stuff we already have. The God of Money offers security, and not having money can make us anxious or depressed.

This is where we have the collapse of the kingdom. Because of our worship of money, we fail to see how money traps us into behaving in ways that are far from being reflective of the God that promises eternal life. In fact, money leads to death. When we withhold tax dollars from funding services such as schools, for example, we are choking off our future. Rather than building up our communities, we are ripping them apart. Our temptation to hang onto "our" money will leave us as a society alone in the desert.

If we are in a position of power in our jobs, how we handle that responsibility may be another moment that we find ourselves alone with the devil in the desert. Back when I worked in radio, and I was in the thankless job of interim news director, my superiors asked during my interview for the permanent position about one of the people in the newsroom. She had secured a grant to do some important environmental reporting involving the tri-state water wars. My managers suggested to me that perhaps I should take that grant away from her. They were ostensibly worried about whether she was up for the task (she had issues with depression). But what I saw in their request had nothing to do with caring for her mental health. This employee was a bit of tinderbox who already suspected I was out to do her in and one of the managers was encouraging that paranoia in her. I knew this: she already had the grant and was the most knowledgeable person in our department on the issues involving the water wars, and I knew that this grant was a big win for her. To take it away might have caused her to snap.

"No," I said, "I think she can handle this assignment, and we've been working on a schedule to allow her time to do the reporting." And the tempter in the form of those managers glared at me, but could do nothing. Well, almost nothing. They passed me over for the promotion. But the reporter completed the radio special on the tri-state water wars.

Jesus rebuffs the temptations laid before him at the time when he was most likely to stumble. He finds his strength in the surety of God, and is now even more prepared to embark upon a mission where he is the embodiment of this extraordinary and unconditional love. We, like Jesus, are going to find ourselves alone in our most desperate moments facing the temptation to give in to our weaknesses. That's the rub in this human business. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to not lose sight of God.

Prayers for Japan... and the Pacific Rim

This is the English-language version of Al Jazeera's report on the tsunami. An 8.9 earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan, triggering the massive wave that has engulfed homes, ports and farmland. In Tokyo, most structures have kept in tact but others have been damaged and fires are breaking out.

Tsunami warnings have been issued to other Pacific areas from the coast of Russia to Hawaii. Prayers ascending for the safety of the people and animals in the warning area and for those affected by this natural disaster.

The Balm of a Psalm

We are back to doing daily Morning Prayer at St. John's, and not a moment too soon. The timing of Lent falling completely within the 60-day legislative session when things seem to be in a free-fall of madness in the city is perfect. Today, as we gathered as a community in prayer, I had the images of Tuesday on my mind, along with what I saw playing out in Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Here enter Psalm 37. Just a portion of it read:

The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash at them with their teeth.
The Lord laughs at the wicked,
because he sees that their day will come.
The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
to strike down the poor and needy,
to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.
Their sword shall go through their own heart,
and their bow shall be broken.

It has often been the case that the psalm assigned for the morning has a way of tapping into the reality of either what I'm feeling personally or what I'm observing. Today, it was both. I've listened to my friends and my clients as they unload their fears of what they are seeing happening all around them in the state agencies. People joke about whether this state department or that one will be in existence by the end of the 60 days. They're joking... sort of... because with a state legislature that is seriously contemplating putting golf courses in the state parks... nothing is beyond the realm of the possible. As I listen, I can feel the grief. And all I can do is be an empathetic ear. Yes, I will go hold a sign on a busy street corner, decrying the works of "the wicked." That's the least I can do. But I also know that this is not the time to hardened my heart, and for every moment that I stand with union organizers, teachers, students... I know that I also need to sit with the person who feels the weight of the situation as a jabbing pain between the shoulder blades.
The psalms provide me with "the message" and the words of wisdom that I need to both act as a protester and a peaceful listener. Because what is going on in the world is beyond me, and in the hands of God. And this is where I have to place my hope and my trust.

The little that the righteous has
is better than great riches of the wicked.
For the power of the wicked shall be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

I pray for the patience to stay with the trust that God has all of us in hand and is moving in-between the poles of our debates.

Spare Your People, O Lord

The latest out of Wisconsin where Republican lawmakers have pushed through a bill stripping public employees of collective bargaining rights. Will we see such a circus in Florida, where we too have an open government law? We'll see.