Category: Sermon

“Receive the kingdom of God like a child”

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with you all.

We have come to live in a fast paced world, driven forward by our scientific and technological discoveries and advancements. Our daily lives are filled with emails and texts. Where once we would return home to check our answering machine messages, our telephone calls can now follow us wherever we go. So too the news, as we are bombarded at nearly every turn- “breaking news- this just in!” We are “in the loop” twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

While it is fascinating, it can also be very overwhelming. Coming to understand what I know and knowing what I don’t understand. Most of these being the very concept of all these technical developments. I had a problem with my personal computer, it took my youngest nephew to fix the problem for me.  This drove home a point to me. Many of our youth today cannot recall a time when we did not have these technological advancements.  These aforementioned things are commonplace for them.

I can recall my summers spent outside in the backyard playing in the dirt with Matchbox cars. This has been replaced with time inside the den playing with an X-Box.  Bicycle rides and softball games, have been replaced by “surfing the net” and competing with others in online video games or wii.  As we are exposed to horrific  news of child predators, gang violence and global atrocities; so to are our youth.  I pause to wonder- with all these advacements and media intrusion, at what age is the innocence of childhood lost?

Our quest for knowledge-  for news, for advancements, for change; have played a part in stealing our childhood innocence. The world, with its harsh realities, have forced our youth to grow up to quickly.  Even now as a spiritual adult, friends question me with regards to scientific explanations of heaven and matters of faith.

Christ tells us, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child, will never enter into it.” (Luke 18:17) While some may say this passage encourages us to introduce children to Christ, I believe Christ reminds us not to loose our childhood innocence. For it may be, only through the eyes of child like wonder can we truly appreciate Christ and His creation.

While many adults will question and challenge with analytical vigor, anything they cannot see or put their hands on, we must be reminded that matters of faith are truly that- matters of faith.  This is the faith- the wonder, the innocence, that each and every child has.

During the early 1970s while in high school, I belonged to a national organization known as “Up With People”. It was a musical movement that sought to get youth involved in changing world problems. While national casts played before Presidents in concerts, on television shows and even a Super Bowl halftime appearance; our “local casts” sung at fairs, school auditoriums and nursing homes.

One of my most favorite songs we sang was called “Children”, written by Frank Fields of the National Up With People in 1968.  The lyrics of that song, are poignant to my subject:

“Children know of little else, but how to need our love. They’re the closet thing I know to angels up above. Feeling much the same love for everyone they meet, aren’t they really better off with knowledge incomplete?

“The children laugh when the sun comes up in the morning, loving life everyday. They cannot hide what they feel or what they’re needing- what if we were all that way? Yes Lord, what if we were all that way?”

Almighty and most merciful God. Help us to retain our childhood innocenc. Help us to see the world through the eyes of a child with wonder and joy, and not eyes blurred by the cynicism and mistrust of age. Give to us the ability to find in all people, in all things, in all circumstances- that beauty, trust and love we saw there as a child.  But caution us, merciful God, not to venture to far- so that our adult eyes may become blind with ignorance to the suffering of others. We ask this humbly, in the name of our Savior and our salvation- Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Prepare Ye The Way of the Lord: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist~Fr. Bryan Wolf

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all.

I was asked by our Father General, to prepare a sermon for today- June 24,2012.  When deciding upon a topic, I reflected that today is the celebration of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.  A significant day for which to write a sermon for a mostly clerical audience, as many would consider Saint John the Baptist the first “real” preacher to the common people.

As the Archangel Gabriel had foretold the Annunciation of our Lord to Mary, so to did Gabriel appear to the father of John the Baptist, Zechariah, and tell of his coming birth.  Gabriel gave biblical prominence to John, telling his father; “many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” (Luke 1:14-15) “He will bring back many people to their God […] and go before the Lord […] and turn their hearts […] to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:16-17)

Even after her own visit from Gabriel, when Mary learned of Elizabeth’s pregnancy (Zechariah’s wife, mother of John and Mary’s own relative) she went to visit them, congratulate and spend time before the birth. It is even reported that when Mary arrived, Saint John “leapt in the womb” (Luke 1:44) with great joy and knowledge that Mary was carrying the Christ child even then.  So it is even before the birth of either that these two souls, cousins, were destined for God’s service and forever bound together in history.

“[a]s it is written in Isaiah the prophet: I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way- a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare they way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:2-4)

John becomes the Baptizer, fulfilling his purpose charged to him by God; attracting large crowds in the wilderness, preaching the Word and preparing the way for the Lord. At first many thought John himself might be the long awaited Messiah, but he reminds them that: “After me comes one more powerful then I, the straps of whose sandals I am not even worthy to unties. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:7-8)

John even feels uncomfortable and unworthy when Jesus presents himself to be baptized. John recognizes Jesus as “the lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29) “John gives his testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. […] The one who called me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one who you see the Spirit come down and remain upon, is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” (John 1:32-34)

Biblical prophecy is fulfilled. Christ is baptized by Saint John in the River Jordan and begins the ministry that will forever change the world and the hearts of men.  Even up to his crucifixion and his glorious resurrection, Christ has charged those He has called to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded of you. And truly I am with you, even until the end of all time.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

So in all of this we  learn we, those of us men and women religious who have felt called by Christ, have ourselves become the new “voice of one calling in the wilderness”. It will be our voices, and that of our Church- God’s Church, that will call out to others the Good News. It will be our voices- our actions, our deeds, our love; that will serve to bring others to know and love Christ.  We are the new baptizers! Charged by the call of God within our heart, and the inspiration of our Bishops and clerical mentors, that we venture out into the “wilderness” to proclaim the kingdom of God!

Almighty God, we pray that you give your grace upon our voices. Make our words clear and strong. Make our words one of love, mercy and compassion. Make our voices many, as we join together with out brother and sisters in The Reformed Catholic Church; to call out into this “wilderness” that God is with us today and his message of love and hope lives! Baptize upon us anew, your Holy Spirit to stengthen, guide and inspire us.  For as we are now in all these things, your messengers and servants. We pray this with humble hearts, in the name of our Lord; our Savior and our salvation, Jesus Christ. Amen.

“This is how it is with the kingdom of God”

Mark’s Gospel shows a fondness for seed parables. They have a unique way of pointing out the nature and reality of the kingdom of God. There is an emphasis on sowing the seed and the size of the harvest. The seed sown is the Word of God. Thus, preaching and teaching and living the Christian message—the Gospel—is at the very heart of the kingdom of God.

Being in the Order of Preachers its our duty to live and go out and sow the seed of the Gospel, and sometimes even use words to spread it to the world. This Sunday we read the famous parable of the Mustard sead. Christ said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

If the word is sown, somehow God will make it grow. It requires a great deal of faith for a sower to sow the seed, and then believe that God will do whatever it takes to make it grow.  Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God is a small seed planted into darkness, promising nothing. Mysteriously the process of growth begins until finally the grain is ripe for harvesting. But only God can make things grow! He is the one that determines when and what hapens with the seeds that we plant, and in his time,  NOT ours, will the harvest grow and be ready for His Kindom. Don’t be discouraged if we don’t see the seed grow within a few days, weeks, months, or even years. We must remember He works in His time, not ours.  Therefore,  be glad that we have sown his seeds and done his work. He will in his time bring light and hope to the world. “This is how it is with the kingdom of God”

The Holy Eucharist, an On-going Romance by Fr. Seraphim McCune

I have many friends, Catholic and Protestant alike, who wonder why I am so enamored by my belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I am constantly promoting it without reservation (if you’ll pardon my pun). But why? In our day and age increasing numbers of Catholics, Orthodox, and other sacramental Christians are questioning this doctrine – a doctrine that was never questioned until the beginnings of the Radical Reformation. I went the other direction. From a mocking unbelief to utter belief.

It all started in the late 1990’s. I had been raised as a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). The Mormon church denies anything like the sacramental understanding of the Holy Eucharist of historic Christianity.  Like many Protestants, most Mormons mock the Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I was no different. I looked down over my nose at those ignorant and superstitious Catholics.

In the early 1990’s I converted to Christianity in its Pentecostal variety. Pentecostals generally have no use for sacramental theology, either. Not much changed for me there. Then I began to attend a Seventh-day  Adventist church. Adventists are generally nice people and sincere in their faith, but for them anything whatsoever that they associate with Catholicism is utterly anathema, from the anti-christ. The “wafer god” of Catholicism is not just mocked, but derided as a satanic counterfeit. In short, everything in my Christian experience set me up for just this sort of future.

Back to the late 1990’s. It was November, 1998. I was working grave yard shift in an auto parts supplier factory in northeastern Michigan. We were working 7 day weeks with only an occasional and rare day off. One of those nights I sat up listening to the radio as my wife slept in the next room. I decided that I would find one of those good Christian stations on the AM dial that came in after dark. I stumbled on this pious sounding preacher man and stopped to listen. It was not long before he had started preaching on the rosary and the Blesséd Virgin Mary. That angered me. I believed that not only was veneration of the Saints a violation of the First Commandment, but that the Virgin Mary had absolutely no contact with this sinful world and would roll over in her grave if she could see the “worship” all those awful Catholics were rendering her!

I determined right then and there that I was going to start doing my homework, deeply researching Roman Catholicism’s unique claims and I was going to write the tell-all, end-all refutation of Roman Catholicism. But God had other ideas.

      • I was at that same time very interested in the “Celtic Church” (which I mistakenly believed to be a proto-Protestant body). I decided that they were, if I interpreted Thomas Cahill correctly, the precise model that I would offer the reader as a counter-Catholic model from the ancient Church. I had started my interest in the Celtic Church after reading Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization. That had happened about the same time as I had noticed that Protestant churches that had competing claims were always saying that they did things “just like the Apostles did it.”

      •  It was all a big, potent, and very Providentially timed mix. As I said, I had my ideas, but God had His. And they weren’t the same.

      •  As I began to study Roman Catholicism, I read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and kept saying to myself, “They’re right! Oh my gosh, I did not know that!” and lots of similar things. About the same time I began to understand the Roman view of the Eucharist, I also noticed that the pre-Roman Celtic view, as well as that of the Orthodox, the Copts, and other branches of the Christian Faith were all saying the same thing about the Eucharist: Christ is Really Present in the Blesséd Sacrament. I was cornered by the evidence to agree with what I had set out to refute.

      •  It led me to seek out a Celtic church that would have me as a priest. I approached several bodies. Then, a short time later, I discovered the Independent Catholic Movement. I found a body, Friends Catholic Communion, one of whose bishops would take me on as a candidate for Holy Orders. The more I studied, the more I came to love St. John’s Gospel, chapter 6, where Jesus gives His “Great Eucharistic Discourse.” In time I would discover a book on the Real Presence given at the English College in Rome in the Nineteenth Century by an archbishop who was a Protestant convert himself.

      •  In time I would experience three Eucharistic miracles. At the request of Father General Myke Beckett, I am sharing them with you. Please share them with others who you believe will benefit from them or who will at least be respectful of our belief in the Real Presence. If you are so lead by the Holy Spirit, share it with the disdainful. It may be a seed of faith for them, or else water a seed already planted.

      •  First: I was in my apartment in Beaverton, Oregon, just outside Portland. I was saying mass for a small house church we had started. One of our regulars had brought a guest. I counted out just enough hosts for everyone present to receive. The guest declined to receive and when I went to put away the one left over Host, there were two! The extra one was carefully placed in my mass kit as a precious relic of the Faith.

      • The second time: We had been homeless in Bryan, Texas. I had gotten work and with some help we got into a trailer house of our own. I celebrated a mass of thanksgiving the first Sunday in our new home. Again, I counted out just enough hosts for those present (just my family this time). When I went to put the paten away after communing my last child, there was one Host left again! This extra Host was added to the last one. (Eventually, I built two monstrances by hand for them and one was gifted to the Augustinian order I would briefly join as a oblate member.)

      •  The third time was a much more precious story. After getting to Texas, God began to start teaching me about the real meaning of Divine Providence, that is, the care He has for His creation in all things. It was an hard lesson to learn. Part of that lesson was that God does everything He does for multiple reasons. After four and an half years of being either on time or early with our rent, we were cornered into seeking legal help against a property manager who was abusing the lease. In the end it cost us because a vengeful land lord told us we would be able to renew the lease only to be told just days before it came to an end that we would not be allowed to do so.

      •  I fled from Bryan to Austin, Texas to look for new work and housing. Work was easy, but I knew I faced homelessness again. I lived with my best friend in my van for about a month as we prepared to bring my family to Austin. One night as I sat in the van in a grocery store  parking lot eating canned chow mein I realized that we were low on gas. My friend, John, knew where I could get a voucher, but to be there in time (they only took the first fifty people needing help) we’d have to be there at 4:30 in the morning. We decided to sleep in the church parking lot that night. I went to start the van and the starter gave the most horrible grinding noise I have ever heard from a car. I was terrified that my van had just died and I was about to be out of a job.

      •  About an hour later, I got the guts up to try again and the engine turned over just fine. I pulled out with a huge sigh of relief. There was micro-SUV coming at us that I wanted to beat to that left-turn lane (because it was a short green with a very long red after it at the light). I looked back in my rear-view mirror. Mom, Dad, and two car-seated small children. I commented how little tiny plastic SUV’s should be illegal because they are so dangerous in accidents. When I looked up, the light turned green. I pulled out. As I look to my left, there are two headlights coming at me at a tremendous speed – well above the speed limit. I rammed the gas and turned to deflect as much of the impact as possible and told John to “hold on! We’re about to get hit!”

      • I found myself in a chapel with no doors and no windows. The place was candle lit, but did not need the light. There were flowers in the vases at the front, but they were fully alive. In the center of the altar at the front was a monstrance. The host glowed with a light far above the noon-day sun, but not blindingly. There was no awareness of anything beyond this room. I was barely aware of the room as I contemplated the Eucharistic Lord in the monstrance. I began to sing Tantum Ergo in Latin with deep devotion. Then, as my custom usually is, I began to sing it in English. Then the Voice said to me, “Stop. You can’t sing that now.” I began to form the question, “But why?” but before it even formed in my mind the Voice answered me like Isaiah promised (i.e. “Before you call, I will answer”), “You have to go back.”

      •  I suddenly was aware once more of my family, my earthly life, all those things I had “left behind” in coming to this place. I began to cry. I did not want to go back. This place was so beautiful, so peaceful, so desirable. I so did not want to go back! Then the Voice spoke again, “Your family still needs you. They’re not done with you yet. You need to go back.” I knew that this was not an option, and yet there was no violation of my free will. I really don’t understand that, but I just know that it was. “You need to go back,” the Voice said one more time. I acquiesced that my family needed me and that I had to go back.

      •  When I woke up a cop was looking at me and asking, “Are you okay?” Blood was all over my face and chest, but I walked from the accident. I had been hit by a drunk who had hit me at 55+ miles per hour. My 3,300 pound all metal full-sized van had absorbed the impact. When I looked back at the micro-SUV that I was in such a hurry to get in front of, I realized that had I gotten behind them, I would be witnessing the death of the child and probably Dad who was driving. They would at the very least be cut out with the ‘jaws of life.’ God never does anything for a single reason – of that I am sure. God knew that confronted with Him asking me to take the place of that micro-SUV, I would have done it, so He simply put me up front. God compensated me with a personal audience – a visit to Him I could never have dreamed of.

      •  Two days later, as John and I surveyed the damage in the tow yard, we realized that we had totally forgotten about the container of pres-Sanctified Gifts that we had with us. John said, so poignantly, “Jesus was with us in the accident. I have been in a car wreck with Jesus!”

      • And so it was. That day, I went from believing ardently in the Real Presence, to knowing the reality of it. For me, this is no longer a matter of faith. It is not “the evidence of things not seen,” as the writer of Hebrews says.  It is clear and present knowledge for me. When Jesus said, “I will neither leave you nor forsake you,” He meant so much more than we know. “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age,” is no simple platitude. He really meant it.

Am I Good Enough?

Last Sunday, I was received into the Rerformed Catholic Church.  Am I good enough? Here recently I keep asking myself that question more and more. Am I good enough to claim the title, Child of God? Honestly, I am so not worthy, and I find myself questioning Him, (I know, I know, I shouldn’t), as to the reasons He chose me to go forth, and spread word of His grace and love. Surely God, I query, they are others more devout, more spiritual, more willing to do good works?  Oh it’s not that I don’t want to be a worthy vessel of God’s love, but some days I struggle with that big question: WHY? As I look around me at the works of others more spiritual than myself, I just cannot believe my beloved Father, has in His tender mercies, chose me to be a Sister, in the Dominican Order. My fellow Brothers and dear Father Myke Beckett are obvious choices. But ME, nope just could never imagine God’s reasons, then I read the scripture for today, and there is my answer.

Ephesians 2:1-10
2:1 You were dead through the trespasses and sins
2:2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.
2:3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.
2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us
2:5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved–
2:6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
2:7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God–
2:9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
2:10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Now let us examine this line by line. 2:1 You were dead through the trespasses and sins
2:2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, Don’t know about you, but my trespasses and sins would make one blush, yet He set my feet on a different course, despite my past. And He will you, all ya gotta do is ask. Honestly, its that easy.

2:3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. “Like everyone else” I like that because it shows me that despite my past, or your past, God does understand. He gets it, knows we are all human and have made mistakes in the past. Though our sins may be different, it really doesn’t matter now. As long as we acknowledge our past, and ask for His forgiveness.

2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us
2:5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved—Hmmmm, seems pretty self explanatory here. But let’s explore it further, Not only is God showing us mercy, but love and grace. And through such tender blessings, He is making “us alive together with Christ”.  He is lifting us up; wiping away our past sins, such as a Mother would do as she wipes shed tears from a child’s checks, and saving us by His merciful grace. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it?

2:6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
2:7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  When God does something, He surely doesn’t do it halfway. Not only is He promising to save a seat for us in heaven, but he is demonstrating here that He’s in this for the long term.

2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God–2:9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. Now we come to the answer to my question of WHY. See, it’s not anything you, or I have done or not done, but it is by faith we are saved. You say faith is doing something, to have faith is to believe, and to believe is an action, but seriously folks, is it so hard to believe in a loving God? Yes, I will admit here I struggled with faith for a while, but a funny thing happened. I asked…….I simply asked God to show me how, and He did, in so many ways that I am still amazed at his power and love. And let me also mention here that one word, GIFT. See you and I have been given a gift by God, one that keeps on giving, and He further goes on to state that this gift is not the result of our works, it just is simply a gift from God.

2:10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. He made us to do his work, no other purpose, But its for good works, and is to be our way of life. “For we are what he has made us”……….this is a powerful message here. You and I were not created by accident; we are not just here on earth for any purpose. We are “created in Christ Jesus for good works”, meaning our lives have purpose, and direction.

There’s my answer as to WHY me? I am here for God’s purpose, not my own. I was saved by faith and not by anything I’ve done or didn’t do, and I am not alone. I now know why He chose me, all that’s left is to praise Him for the love, and grace He has shown me, and to share this message with His children.

WORDS!

WORDS!  KNOWLEDGE! POWER!

How many of us have heard the trite phrases “Knowledge has power”, or “the power of the written word”?  Yet have you ever stopped to think where in history these phrases come from or if they actually mean something?

“Knowledge is power” is a quote by Sir Francis Bacon, from Religious Meditation of Heresies, 1597. This quote means to say that the more knowledge you have, the more you can do, which leads, in a sense, to having power.  Said during the Age of Enlightenment, when many new theories and ideas were being formed, meaning if you had more knowledge, you were able to think for yourself, which was in itself a powerful thing to do because in those days, people just accepted what the ruler of the country said and would not challenge them.  How far have we come?

“Power of the written word” The quote “The pen is mightier than the sword” is a famous line from the 1839 play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy. Though it’s well known today; its meaning is not new and there were many others who wrote of the power of the written word.  Take Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) who said “he feared hostile newspapers more than he did a thousand bayonets”, as an example.

As I ponder on this day’s bible passages:

1 John 5:9-13

”9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.again”.

I am once again reminded how something seemingly so innocent, merely words, black marks on a white paper, can have such power. It constantly amazes me how what originally started out first as a way to pass on history to future generations, has now become almost a weapon in our modern times. Do I speak of weapons of mass destruction, do I speak of some unknown biological virus, do I speak of some new modern technology device? No, I speak of, and about, simple words. Whether spoken, as in biblical times, or flung out in cyberspace, via e-mail or the latest android app, mere words now have such unimaginable power.

Yet in our past, and in God’s time, words had more power than even today,

“13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. “

Words have the metamorphic ability to build up or to destroy. They can help transform those who are weak, discouraged and cowardly to become strong, encouraged and courageous. They can also tear down a person; causing a person to become weak, cowardly and discouraged.

Words have the ability to transport us in time. There are a few specific incidences in the past where I received a compliment for something I did. I can easily go back in the memory of my mind to those events. I can also just as easily remember words that I would much rather forget.

The power of words is limitless. Their ability to tell a story is only as limited as the persons ability to tell it. With words we can describe places, communities, creation, worlds and universes that have been, are yet to and perhaps never will be discovered; apart from the adventure that takes place within the imagination of our minds. As in the following biblical passage, this could not be clearer.

John 17:6-19 (NIV)

 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you.  For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.  All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of[b your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[c] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”

“Your word is truth”~what a powerful message, even for today. How many of us are lost, seeking an answer to our internal turmoil, or external political, societal struggles? And yet, though many reject the truth, the word, an answer to what truly ails us, ails society, has already been spoken, and written. All we have to do is seek, and read, His words.

I Am the Vine, You are the Branches Fr. Micheal Brown, RSJ

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

These are simple words, and a simple concept.  But like so many things that are simple, it can be difficult to express.  Jesus says he is the vine, the vine through which all things come to be.  Like the vine Jesus is the basis from which we all spring.  It is through His grace and mercy that we are here, and that we raise from the dead on the last day.

Last week we spoke of being a Good Shepherd.  We talked of how Peter, the very rock that Jesus would build his church upon, was not a good shepherd at first.  Peter denied Christ three times on the day of His arrest.  That is not the action of a Good Shepherd.  But, with faith in Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit Peter did indeed become the rock that the church was built upon.  He became the Good Shepherd.

So it is with us.  With the help of Christ we also can become good shepherds.  As Christ is the vine, and we the branches, it is through our faith in Him, and our prayers for both guidance and wisdom that we allow Christ to transform us.  As we think upon this simple statement, let us consider the rose.  Does a rose grow only through the nutrients it absorbs through the soil?  No, it needs those nutrients, but without sunlight from the branches the vine will die.  So it is with Christ.  He gives us the Holy Spirit, as the vine gives the nutrients, and we give him our faith, as the branches give sunlight.

Wait you say, there’s something missing!  Indeed there is.  With the rose it’s the water, which flows both ways.  Both from the branch, and from the vine.  With our relation to Christ, it’s the love.  Which also flows both ways.   Christ showed his love for us by spreading his arms on the cross, and dying for our sins.  How do we show our love of Christ?  By our works.

It is through our works that we express both our love, and our faith in Christ.  And what works should we do?  Those same works that Christ did.  Preaching and teaching the gospel, caring for those that society has pushed to the outskirts.  Healing the sick, comforting the grieving.  Living lives of simplicity and faith.  These are the works that Christ asks us to do.  He doesn’t demand anything outrageous, or difficult.  Or does he?

You decide.  Are the works Christ asks us to do more than you are willing to perform?

Living Simple to Simply Live!

Well its 3 am, and I am once again running my To-Do list through my head. That’s when it hits me……….maybe I have to re-evaluate my priorities, pare down my list of to-dos.  It was then I had a revelation, I’m in the midst of too much clutter. That’s my problem, too much STUFF in my life. Too much clutter in my home, too many people depending on me for something, too much mental chatter in my head. I’ve always envied those people who can throw or give away their belongings, and live simply. I’m also a big fan of TV shows such as Clean House, or Extreme Home Makeover. Wouldn’t it be great if someone came in to your home, cleared out the clutter, and then remodeled the inside of your home so it would appear new again? My only problem with that is, I so do not want my stuff, clutter, etc. put on display for a national audience. Its not that I’m ashamed of my home, but I’m a very private person and to know millions of viewers are staring at what’s in my fridge is a little bit disconcerting.

As a nation of consumers, I’m sure you all can relate to this……..instead of fixing something that is broken, such as a cell phone, computer, or a major appliance, we usually go out and buy another. Or if you are an avid reader like me, you already own more books than you can possibly read in a lifetime. Or maybe you have a hobby, or two, but lament the lack of time needed to enjoy them. You see where I am going, before long you simply have too much stuff in your house. And we haven’t even talked about the children’s clutter.  Maybe your spouse is the one who collects Mickey Mouse memorabilia and now is running out of storage room for such trinkets.  But all this adds up to clutter, and in time you may find it all becomes unbearable.

Then there is the mental noise, or clutter, we all carry around in our heads. It’s either the voice of your conscience telling you to please put that donut down, and save your diet, or maybe it’s a small voice from your childhood. This one I think we all hear at some point in our lives, the one telling us we aren’t pretty enough, smart enough, or maybe even just saying, Why Me? Or maybe you hear the voice of a parent, always nagging in the back of your mind, like a broken record.  Then there is that To-Do list mentioned earlier, the one that seems to be keeping me up way past my bedtime. What’s sad, is most of the items on my mental list are tasks that I really don’t have to do, but feel I should. Some days my life is filled with more should do’s, instead of want to’s. I imagine your days mirror my own in this respect.

I sometimes wish I could escape all this mental and physical clutter. Just shuck it all and live possibly as I imagine a monk does, cloistered in a monastery.  But I know for me it’s not an option, but maybe possibly an idea for a spiritual retreat. I would miss some of my busy, cluttered life, but definitely not all of it. And then there is the actual noise of living in a city that seems to contribute to my sense of overwhelming clutter.

You ask……where is all this leading? Well in my own meandering way, I am trying to confess something here. And maybe this isn’t the place, and since God is all-knowing, and hears my pleas, He already knows this, but I feel we all in some way can relate to my dilemma. As I am reviewing my mental list, I realize that here recently I’ve let the busyness of life, the plethora of a cluttered home, and nonsensical mental chatter, to slowly intrude in my personal relationship with my Father. Yes, I know as the loving Father he is, I am forgiven, but still I realize this is not a good thing.  In Psalm 46:10 we are told, “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God”. Well, I have been far from still, and yes I can come up with many reasons why I get caught up in life, but that really is no excuse.

Then as I glance around my home, it comes to me that not only should I clear out some of the mental clutter, but maybe its time to do my own version of Clean House.  See, I’m not the most organized person, so all my precious books are helter skelter, and being a bibliophile, I have a ton of books. More that can be read in a lifetime, and yet the stress of not being able to enjoy them as much as I would like, adds to my sense of unease. I feel, for me, that all this STUFF, has gotten in the way of living a life of intent and purpose. I’m a huge fan of, shall I say it, How-To books on living simply, or de-cluttering your home.  But as stated in Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Isn’t this exactly what it means to live simply? To cut the physical and mental clutter, to not be “conformed to this world”?

How can we focus on God and his purpose for our life, when we are constantly distracted by things in this world? So where to begin……..we all know about de-cluttering our home, but what about the mental chatter? Maybe the first step is praying to our Father, beseeching His help, and then we can begin to clear the cobwebs from our overloaded lives, and focus on what’s really important. Knowing God, learning all we can about His grace and salvation, discerning His will for our lives, and in the process, becoming a true child of Christ. As I learn, pray, and talk with others on this same rocky path, I know I am not alone, and help is only a prayer, or phone call away.

Lent 1: Keeping Up With the Joneses?

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 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 kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Mark.1:9-15

Like Jesus we are often taken into the wilderness, although in a more superficial way. We are tempted by the pressures of society to “keep up with the Jones’.” We value ourselves only when we compare what others have that we don’t. We strive to be better than our neighbors, and to show that we can outdo them: My car is better than theirs. My house in larger than theirs. Our financial restraints are tested daily if our neighbor acquires self-recognition through their possessions, and we soon find ourselves pursuing the same task, regardless of the cost.

The cost of this is often is our spiritual guidance and our spiritual lives. No longer do we think of the message of God. In reality our material satisfaction overshadows who we are within our souls. We do not acknowledge the simple things in life. We fail to love ourselves and others in the name of greed. We must learn to be content with who we are and look at how we can share with others the Good News that represents the message of Jesus. Our failure to accept what we have, true friends and a loving family, divides us as God’s children. We soon find ourselves trapped in the constant upheaval of modern society. We lose our ability to relate to others the way Jesus does.

We must look at our neighbors as people we can turn to in a time of real need, and to look at ourselves as people to whom they can turn. Who cares how big their house is, or how new their car is? Jesus doesn’t care! He simply wants us to love and respect one another.

Some day we might need to open our doors to our neighbors and should expect the same in return. We must ask ourselves why we live the way we do. When will we change? Who is looking out for us? There are times in every one’s lives when we discover that we are lost. Take me for instance. When I was in high school, I found myself following others as a way to fit in. I had few friends but when someone approached me as a potential friend, I quickly attempted to give answers on various issues that I thought they would like to hear, such as “Do you think so and so is pretty?” or “Have you tried this? or that?” Not to be ridiculed, I would respond with” no, not really” and “yes I have done this or that.” What was my purpose? Why did I need to lower my expectations? I never wanted to feel like an outcast, but to be seen be part of the group, I went along with them, so I could fit it. It took me time to realize that my lack of spiritual guidance, created an emotional scar on who I was as a person.

So, I took the time to re-evaluate what was important to me. In my effort to “fit in” with God’s plan I had to look deep inside myself and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and my select friends, I was able to build a life for myself. Embracing others allowed me to see my true friends and how, in their strength, they would accept me as I was. I no longer used my opinions to harm others, but used the common sense of a good Christian to learn and to share in the goodness of others. To this day my true friends are my equals and we care not for who has what, or who knows whom and so forth. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit, that all of our friends and family create a lasting foundation on which to build a purposeful life.

Over time I was able to repent from my judgmental ways, knowing that God will be there for me. The good news that Jesus shared with his disciples will always live. It is for us to take this news and grow from it. Our hearts and minds will open up to their fullest and in essence we will love ourselves and others unconditionally just as Jesus does. Remember, it is not our material items that make us, but our ability to live and share the good news.

I challenge you, as we strive to become more Christ-like during this Lenten season, to concentrate not on the material things in life, but on the spiritual, so that you, too, may hear the words, “This is my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Amen.

Dirty Faces In Holy Places

Fine, powdery, dark gray and black ashes, smudged onto our foreheads in the shape of a cross, for all the world to see, and then imagine what we’ve been doing…. looking like we bumped our heads while cleaning out the fireplace, and forgot to wash that part of our faces…

Just a few ashes…symbolizing more than most of us realize as we go through the motions of Ash Wednesday.  What do we say to people who ask us the obvious question:  What IS that on your head?  Why do you have black stuff on your face?

Why WILL we participate in this strange custom this afternoon or evening?  What DOES it mean?

The spiritual practice of applying ashes on oneself as a sign of sincere repentance goes back thousands of years. Frequently in the days of the Old and the New Testament, when someone had sinned, he clothed his body with sackcloth and covered himself with ashes. [Jer. 6:26]  The sacramental that we are observing today arises from that custom, the spiritual practice of observing public penitence.  Church history tells us that the liturgical practice of applying ashes on one’s forehead during the Lenten Season goes back as far as the eighth century. This was accompanied by different forms of fasting, prayer, sacrifices, charity towards others, etc… The writings of St. Leo, around 461 A.D., tell us that during the Lenten Season, he exhorted the faithful to abstain from certain food to fulfill with their fasts the Apostolic institution of forty days.  In the days of the Old Testament, many tore their clothing as a sign of repentance.

Today, we use the ashes as a reminder of who we are.  The Bible tells us that we came from the dust and to the dust we shall return.  The first human was formed out of the dust of the earth by God and then God breathed life into that dust.  That is a powerful image.  One that is meant to remind us that without the breath or Spirit of God moving in us, we are just like these ashes: lifeless – worthless.

The ashes that many of us will wear today are meant to be for us symbols of our repentance and signs that we truly seek to follow in God’s path.  The people in the Biblical stories probably put the ashes on top of their heads – so why do we, instead of putting these ashes on our heads, put them in the sign of the cross on our foreheads?

We do so because it is a reminder of how we are sealed for Christ.  In most churches when a baby is baptized the minister or priest uses oil to mark the child with the sign of the cross.  The mark of the cross is a mark of ownership.  Again, when we are confirmed, we are marked as the Lord’s own forever.   The ashes of Ash Wednesday  remind us that we are Christ’s – that he died so that we might live.  These may be just a few ashes but they mean a lot.  They are a symbol of our need for God.  We are nothing but dust and ashes apart from God.

But what about Lent itself?  What is it?  Why do we have this season?  Most of us were taught that the lengthy period of Lent was one of penitence and fasting, a time provided for those who were separated from the church by their sins, so they could be reconciled by acts of penitence and forgiveness.

For most of us, Lent is the time of sometimes painful self-examination, during which we scrutinize our habits, our spiritual practices, and our very lives – hoping to make ourselves better, trying to make ourselves worthy of the love of God.  We “step up” our prayer, fasting, and self-denial in order to remove worldly distractions from our lives. And we take on Bible study, classes, and service projects in order to add meaning and depth to our existence.  For some children, Lent means no sweets, for teenagers, less time on Facebook. For adults, it may be consuming less meat or alcohol, or attending that Lenten course offered by the Church.

However we go about it, the goal is pretty much the same: Lent makes us ready for Easter. Quite simply put, we are better able to appreciate Resurrection joys come Easter Day by enduring these Lenten disciplines now.

The Old Testament Lessons, the Psalm appointed for today, and today’s Gospel Reading (Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12  • Psalm 51:1-17  • 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10  • Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21) all tell us the “how” and “why” of Lent.  But then, there is Paul.  Saint Paul tells is, right off the bat, in the very first verse of the Epistle for today, to “BE RECONCILED TO GOD.”  Nowhere does he say, “Observe a Holy Lent, THEN be reconciled to God.”  Not after enduring a forty-day fast. Not after lengthy Bible study. Not even after prayer, but now, here, today: Be reconciled to God.  Paul not only invites us to be reconciled to God, he actually beseeches us. That is, he pleads, implores, presses, begs, and demands. “We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. … Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.”

If we but recognize this, if we are but reconciled to our God NOW— and THEN work toward our Lenten goals of fasting, of prayer, and of penitence; if we seek to discipline ourselves during Lent, and make those disciplines into daily habits, we will not only most assuredly have the Holy Lent we all desire, but will come to live a more holy life in general.  And isn’t that, really, what Lent is all about in the first place?  Amen.