Meditating on Proper 8: Being Made Acceptable to God

 

Proper 8    

The Sunday closest to June 29

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Preface to the Lord's Day

I have always enjoyed DIY, construction, and remodeling shows on television. I enjoy seeing how some projects can be undertaken by a homeowner and how some ought to be left to professionals. I enjoy doing little DIY projects around the house and am fine with fixing things up, repairing or replacing light switches and outlets, installing fixtures, and that sort of thing. But when it comes to plumbing, that’s where I draw the line. I may be an Episcopalian, but when I do plumbing, I become an instant Baptist, and everything gets immersed and the Lord’s Name is invoked with great intensity.

Salvation is NOT a DIY project. As Saint Paul makes clear, our works don’t save us (although Saint James adds a wonderful corrective reminding us that faith without works is likewise dead). Our prayer today reminds us we are all a work in progress, and we’re part of a construction project that will never end. The apostles and prophets didn’t just “lay” the foundation; they ARE the foundation, and Jesus is the cornerstone.

Sometimes these metaphors become trite through over-use. For two thousand years we have thought of the church as a holy temple being constantly built. It’s easy to take a glance, nod in agreement, and then flit off to the next image, the next concept, the next big thing. But I would invite us to stop a moment and consider the words of our prayer. “Grant us to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching …”

“By their teaching.” The other day I was asked to engage in some continuing education courses that are required to maintain one’s license to function as a priest in retirement. Yes, one may retire, but one never stops learning, never stops working to remain qualified to function. I like that word “function.” That means it works the way it’s supposed to. We pray, asking God to keep us functioning properly. How?

By doing and saying things that are pleasing to God (“acceptable to you”). Think about a temple for just a moment. Yes, a physical temple. What do you notice about it? In our tradition, you’ll likely note beautiful stained glass windows. Many traditional stained glass windows tell stories, like the stilling of the storm, the farmer casting seed, women weaving, shepherds standing watch, apostles writing, Jesus preaching and teaching, the Good Samaritan, etc. Those aren’t just stories “of old.” They are our stories, too.

We, too, have dramatic stories to tell of God working in our lives. We, too, have stories of being helped by total strangers. We, too, have stories of being protected at times we were most vulnerable. We, too, have stories of being fed when hungry, visited when lonely, given a drink when thirsty, cared for when wounded or in prison. We have been the recipients in those stories, and oftentimes we have been the heroes in the stories of others. Ironically, we seldom look or feel like heroes. That’s because we’ve just done the right things as the occasions fell to us. Why? Because we are made of god-stuff, filled with angel-fluff, and have found ourselves set in place by the One who is not just the chief cornerstone, but the chief bricklayer, glass blower, framer, dry-waller, hod-carrier, roofer, electrician and, yes, plumber (although he may have delegated that to Johnnie B,* but who knows?).

Keep looking at that temple in your mind. Does your temple have a single spire pointing heavenward, or does it have twin towers representing the divinity and humanity of Jesus? Is it wood framed or solid stone like the great cathedrals of Europe (or our own national Cathedral)? Is it small, or does it have room for everyone? Does it have steps up to the Great Entrance; does it include a ramp to enable folks with mobility needs to enter? Does light shine from within? Wait; is that your light we see reflected on those massive walls as you approach, making the temple visible to all the world?

Suddenly, I see this prayer as more than just a quaint request to spiff up God’s kingdom here and there, sweeping dirt and dust off the furniture and beneath the rug, and setting out a few store bought cookies and microwaved coffee for our guests (whoever they might be). God sees each and every one of us as a precious and necessary asset for the building up of God’s kingdom. We are not a vanity project for the Divine, but a living, breathing member of the Divine. Jesus has placed each of us right where he knows we belong, and where we will do the most good. Stand firm. Stand tall. And if you see a leak, for heaven’s sake, call Jesus!

Amen.

* John the Baptizer

Meditating on Proper 7: Make us have perpetual love!

 

Proper 7    

The Sunday closest to June 22

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Preface of the Lord's Day

Matthew 10:24ff

Have you ever seen one of those “perpetual motion” machines? You know what I mean. Like the rack of steel balls that constantly clack back and forth, demonstrating Newtonian physics. Or the revolving pendulum on an anniversary clock that runs one direction for a bit, then back the other way.

There is no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, of course. The clacking steel balls come to a standstill eventually as the energy dissipates little by little. Anniversary clocks and pendulum clocks keep moving as long as the battery or spring mechanism has energy to keep them going. The idea of anything being “perpetual” is attractive, but is it realistic?

“Make us” have perpetual love, we pray. Perpetual love? What’s that? How does that work? What do we mean? Is this a sort of Ronco Set-it-and-forget-it kind of love? And what do we mean by “make us”? That sounds like compulsion. Compulsion isn’t loving, is it?

Our prayer reminds us that we humans have a tendency to let things go. Deferred maintenance creeps up on us. We’re supposed to change the batteries in our smoke detectors every six months – and no longer than a year. Yet how many people die because their batteries died first? 

I had a fellow come in for an oil change (back when gas stations actually serviced cars). I opened the oil pan and what came out wasn’t oil, but more tar-like sludge. He hadn’t changed oil since the age of the dinosaurs! Deferred maintenance to a whole new level.

We ask God to “make us” because it is so easy to let things slide. We’re not evil. We’re not even lazy. We’re simply so involved with life and living we lean on our habits. We take care of what’s in front of us – and that’s a good thing! 

So we need reminders about other important stuff, too. Love is a moving target. We don’t chase after it to catch it like a cat after a mouse or dog after a car. Love is a relationship that is ever-evolving, and what we’re doing is asking God to help us keep after it. We need help keeping it fresh, keeping it alive – help “keeping on keeping on” as we used to say back in those good ol’ hippy days of yore.

So what does that perpetual love and reverence for God look like? Well, it doesn’t take too much most of the time. Just as the clacky balls need a fresh push every now and then, and alarms need fresh batteries to sniff the air and keep us safe, so we need to learn to “hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.” 

We keep our relationships with God and neighbor fresh by spending time with them. Daily prayer. Yes, I can whip off the Lord’s Prayer lickety split, but I think what I’m asking God to help me do is slow down, taking as much time to listen to God’s Spirit as I do giving God a divine honey-do list that sloppy prayer often sounds, looks, and feels like. So God, help me slow down and just enjoy some time with You, for when I do that, many of my anxieties fade away.

Reading scripture daily is also helpful. Not as one of those anxiety-building exercises for which we feel guilty if we don’t get so much read daily or let slide because we’ve got meals to make or things to do. Oh my, the dishes need washing! No, don’t worry about quantity. Forget about trying to read the Bible in a year or a Gospel in a month (unless you find those exercises helpful or useful). No, just find a system that works for you. Find a passage and ask, “Where is God in this story? Where am I in this story? What would I be doing? How would I be reacting? What would happen if the characters did something different? Where would the story go if someone had a different choice or made a different decision, or chose a different path? What should I believe or do differently if I took this tale to heart? 

Attend church. It ain’t magic, but the fact is we live in a world that is so fractured and lonely, we need to come together to remember that we are not alone. We may feel like Don Quixote off on some crazy quest, but Quixote had his Sancho, and the fact is, sometimes I’m the knight, sometimes I’m the Sancho, but always I’m in need of a foil against which to exercise my faith and judgment, and to challenge the practicalities and ideals I am sometimes prone to overlook. 

In sum, “making us” isn’t compulsion, as such. Another way we use the word “make” has to do with production and manufacturing, like making breakfast or dinner, or making one’s bed, or even making up one’s mind. We are asking God to make of us a meal that’s nourishing and palatable for the world – to help the world see the love God is pouring out upon the people of the world – including those who don’t look, feel, act, or believe like us.

Perhaps if we focus on letting God change us, the world may eventually come around faster than if we try to change the world, for God has set us upon the sure foundation of (God’s) loving-kindness. 

God, please do this for us, we pray. Amen

Meditating on Proper 6: Keep, O Lord, your household

 

Proper 6    

The Sunday closest to June 15

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Preface of the Lord's Day

I like the term “household.” Many times we refer to the church as a “family,” and that’s OK. We are the children of God. We are the family of God. We often call our priests “father” or “mother,” although that has changed a lot over the past half century. Before the ordination of women, clergy were solely men, and were usually referred to as Father so and so (if they were more high church “Anglo-Catholic”), or the Reverend Mister such and such (if they were more low church “evangelical”).

Broad church clergy tended to be a mix of either Reverend or Pastor. There was greater diversity in Episcopal churches back in those days which has been largely lost with homogenizing effects resulting from the liturgical renewal of the 1970s, not to mention the tectonic changes roiling the Church with the ordination of women and people the church often thought were “beyond the pale” of God’s grace. 

Through all this, we are (and remain) the household of God. Messy. Complex. Egotistical in our pride and ashamed in our failings; alternating between submissives and dominators; holier-than-thous and we’re-all-imperfects.

It is in this messiness we pray to God to “keep” us. Hold us tight. Like those disciples holding on for dear life in the stormy tempest whilst their so-called loving savior sleeps ever so peacefully at the stern “upon a cushion” no less (!). Their salvation lies not in the seaworthiness of their boat or strength and skills of the crew, but in their daring to scream at their Lord and Master: “Do you not care we’re about to die?” Roused from his slumber, Jesus rebukes the wind and waves. Not only does the world settle down, but so do the disciples.

Keep us, we pray. Keep us in your steadfast faith and love. Wait a minute. YOUR steadfast faith and love? Not “our” steadfast faith and love? 

Nope. Like the disciples, we have no power to save ourselves. We have no power over the wind and waves. We may think we know what to do. We may drop the sail, set a drogue or sea anchor, or bail like heck. But salvation? That is to be found in God’s hands, in God’s keeping. It is God’s faithfulness we look to. It is God’s love that gloms onto us. So our prayer begins and ends with this reality. We are God’s, and it is God who keeps us.

And why does God “keep” us?

So that “through God’s grace” we may have the courage (boldness) to “proclaim God’s truth …”

Which is what? 

That we are loved. Not just we in a particular house, home, family, or tribe. But WE … all of us. Having received mercy, we are called to extend the hand of God’s grace to everyone, with mercy and compassion. 

How do we do this? If we look at the lessons for this Sunday (June 14, Proper 6), we see that God considers those who listen to and obey the Divine One are God’s treasure (Exodus 19). We are made right with God by Christ’s faithfulness; God’s love has been poured into us by God’s Spirit (Romans 5). And we carry out God’s work by venturing forth to those who are unclean and sick. We extend to the world the same compassion Jesus extends to us. No more. No less. That’s what we’re praying for this week.

Go and do thou likewise.