Mary is My Hero. Advent 4C St. James Batavia

 

Today is typically called “Mary Sunday,” the Sunday in Advent when we hear a part of her story. Today we hear about her visit to Elizabeth, but for me, to really know Mary is to remember what happened right before today’s gospel, what is commonly referred to as The Annunciation—the visit of Gabriel.
I love Mary: she was his first disciple, and the only person present at the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus…Mary’s little boy.
But what I love about her isn’t the Mary of adoration, mysticism and almost God-like status, but the young woman who was, by all accounts, a faithful servant, a good daughter and well…regular…
living an ordinary life when, suddenly, her life was turned inside out and upside down after a visit from Gabriel.
Gabriel was an angel…and you need to know that I have a thing about angels. And not always good thing. I’m just not sure what to make of them.
Something about the wings and the harps turn me off. I prefer my angels to be more like Clarence from It’s a Wonderful Life. I’m more comfortable with angels who look more like you and me and less like, well…angels….
So that’s why I’m pretty sure I’d like Gabriel. I  have a sense that he was regular enough that his initial appearance to Mary didn’t freak her out. I think Gabriel fit right into the landscape of Mary’s world.
So when he appeared at Mary’s door, or when he encountered her at the market or down by the river while she washed clothes or out back as she gathered pomegranates from the bushes, wherever it was that the encounter happened, Mary was receptive to him.
She received the message— outrageous and fantastic as it sounds —Mary said yes. [although my guess it was more , ‘errrr….ok……” than “Absolutely!”]  Mary received the message. She accepted it. And then she waited.. wondered…pondered.
    Mary’s also my hero because not only did she accept the Word of God through Gabriel she literally BORE the Word of God. Mary, the God-Bearer, carried the incarnated God in her womb for nine months. The word of God grew within her until it could no longer be contained and it burst forth, changing the world. Forever.
And Mary’s my hero because after that birth she led the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, her baby boy…through all the trials and tribulations of childhood.
Nursing him.
Weaning him.
Soothing him when he fell.
Encouraging him as he grew into his role, as he learned the fullness of what it meant to be the Prince of Peace, the Messiah.
And she was there when that role reached its necessary conclusion on that hilltop called Calvary.
Mary bore the Word of God and together with Him she bore the slings and arrows, jubilation and joy of being God in the Flesh, Emmanuel.
Most of all, Mary’s my hero because she said yes.

Would we? Do we?
How does God ask us to bear the Word of God? And when asked, do we say yes?
That’s our task during these days of a miracle birth in Bethlehem---to ask ourselves, how has God come to us? Like Clarence?
Like Gabriel?
Or has God come to us in the neighborhood child who could use a smile?
Or the elderly woman in the grocery store who cannot reach the top shelf?
Or the homeless and the hungry?
The destitute and the depressed?
The lost and the lonely?
Perhaps God has asked us to bear the Word of God while we stood in the voting booth, or while we decide where to spend our money, or when we know a friend or family member is in an abusive relationship.

You see, God asks us to bear God’s Word at all times. And in all places.

And maybe that’s the point of God coming to be among us in the first place…to show us that bearing the Word of God is not a once in a lifetime thing, it’s a lifetime thing.
Mary’s my hero because in all that she was and in all that she did she was the God-bearer.
May we, in all that we do, be that as well.
Amen.

From viper to disciple with one deliberate turn Advent 3c 2021

 

The prophet Zephaniah tells us: God will rejoice over us with gladness, God will renew us in God’s love.

The prophet John (as in Baptist) tells us that we are a brood of vipers who must bear fruits worthy of repentance.

         So which is it—-vipers in God’s sight or objects of God’s Love? Are we worthless or worthy? Have we messed up big time or are we ok? Which is it?

Well it’s both or maybe, better put, it is whatever it is and no matter, at the end of the day, God rejoices when we turn toward God and live in God’s love and light.

         So are we a brood of vipers? Sure we are. Do we mean to be? Nope. But that doesn’t stop us from our missteps, our wrong turns, our sinfulness. We mess up. All the time.

God loves us. All the time.

Both things can be—and are—true. We’re vipers who God longs for. We’re disciples, whom God adores.

The tricky thing is, even when we’re vipers, God adores us….and because of that love, God is saddened by our viper-ness. [ok, so that’s not a word, but I hope you get what I mean]—assuming we don’t want to make God sad, we want to be less viper-like and more disciple-like

         But, just how do we make the switch? How do we transform from vipers to disciples?

Through the change of direction known as repentance.

The German theologian , Karl Rahner, maintained that all people, in every action of their lives, are either moving more toward God or away from God. That we are either serving the greater good: God; or the lesser  (but more immediate) good: us.

         So to force an image: Viper-ing is moving away from God discipling/loving God in all that we do, is moving toward God. The turning from one toward the other is repentance.

And it is what John calls us to do.

God’s love doesn’t waver, our turning toward it and embracing it? That does.

John’s asked, what do we do? How do we stop being a a brood of vipers? John answers by proceeding to outline the basics of our Christian faith:

Give to others. Care for others. Think of others.

Intellectually we all know this, and we proudly tell ourselves that we do it. But when we get down to it, in the daily living of our lives, do we do all that we can to move ourselves closer to God? Probably not;  as.one commentator noted, to repent is to tell the truth to ourselves. It means taking a daily inventory of our actions and asking, did I do unto others as I would have done unto me? Did I today, treat my neighbor well? Did I share? Did I step aside in order to let someone else shine? Did I think about how the decisions I made that day, the actions I took affected the world around me.

Repentance, turning toward God, is what all the prophets—the matriarchs and patriarchs of our faith—call us to do.  

         As we head into the final two weeks of Advent we’re asked to repent—to turn away from our viper-ness and turn toward our God-ness—we do that by taking a daily, rigorous inventory of ourselves: what did I do today that brought me closer to God, and what did I do today that took me farther from God? For the next two weeks I encourage you to ask yourself that question every evening—I guarantee that by engaging in that honesty you’ll find yourself choosing more and more to move toward God. To turn away from viper-ness and turn toward discipleship. Rejoice, my friends, I say rejoice, repent and return to the Lord, for the Lord is waiting,the Lord is nigh…all we need to do is keep turning toward him.

Amen .

 

 

Receiving God as a Child Advent 1c December 2021

 

 

On this First Sunday of the church year, on a Sunday when we welcome two new members into the household of God, beginnings are on my mind.

Much like a secular New Year, today we have the opportunity to begin again, to face this New Year with a fresh and earnest resolve. “This year I will read the Bible more, pray more regularly, seek to be the light of Christ to all those whom I encounter, live into the unconditional of love of God etc etc.” On this First Sunday we resolve to be better practitioners of our faith.

But how do we keep our church year resolutions? How do we become more faithful? Read more, study more, pray more, give more, hope more? Sure, all of those are good ideas. But before we embark on any of these resolutions perhaps we should consider the little children…those who have been here, those who are here, those who will be here. Perhaps we should consider the children.

People are fond of saying that “the children are the future of the church.” And while that is true, they are also the present and the past. As Jesus states in the gospel reading for today—-“whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it.” Jesus doesn’t say—if you don’t have children in your church the church is dying. He doesn’t say, your prayers are more likely to be heard if you have a bunch of kids running around coffee hour. He doesn’t say that young people will make your stewardship campaign more successful. Jesus says:

“whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it.”

We aren’t to try and populate our churches with children—although that would be awesome—-we are to approach our relationship with God as a child does. The kids clamoring to touch Jesus weren’t doing it because they agreed with his theology or even cared what he preached, what he said, who he socialized with. No they clamored for Jesus because they felt his love and wanted to reciprocate.

They clamored to be with Jesus because being with Jesus felt good. Safe. Nourishing. Fun. They sought out Jesus because they knew Jesus was longing for them.

And that’s what Jesus is telling us to do—-to enter the wonder of God with the wide eyed excitement, joy and trust of a child.

On this baptism day, as we promise to support Damian and Johannas in their life in Christ, may we make one more promise—-to engage in our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, with the unbridled hope, unabashed love and utter trust of a child. Let us love God, ourselves and one another with the same love we all feel as we witness these two babies enter the kingdom of God free of doubt and full of hope.

Let the children come to me, says Jesus, not to save the church but to save you and me. The future of the church isn’t children, it’s the child-like love of God expressed through us, in all that we do and with all those whom we encounter.

Now, let’s baptize us some babies!

Amen.

From Hateful Speaking to Truthful Hearing Proper 19B Trinity, Buffalo Sept. 5, 2021

 +Nobody wants to consider what Jesus is ACTUALLY saying to the foreign woman in today’s Gospel.
Nobody wants to hear that Jesus’s calling the woman a dog was akin to the worst racial slur anyone could utter.
Who wants to hear that Jesus’s behavior was elitist, that his message of Love for All really did have exceptions….that Jesus was sure he was the Savior for the Chosen People—never even considering that what was meant by Loving Everyone Everywhere really meant EVERYONE and EVERYWHERE.
Jesus didn’t know that until a certain woman taught him a thing or two.
The protagonist in this story is a foreign born, non-Jewish woman. A desperate mother who is demeaned, insulted, hated and all but spat upon by Jesus. But does she turn in shame and slink away, does she lash out in anger, does she beg?
No.
She peacefully stands her ground teaching the teacher respectfully debating him, and then, in a glorious example of Jesus’ humanity, the Savior of the world listens, learns and changes.
    Many scholars now agree, this event was a significant turning point in Jesus’ life and ministry. His rhetoric toward the Syrophonecian woman was a common response to those outside of the House of Israel—“get out, this land, this religion, this salvation is only for us, the Chosen Ones.” But this mother with nothing to lose, refused to accept the status quo and her little girl was healed. And Jesus? Well, He learned, he changed, he evolved.
He who was lost was found.
Thanks to the Syrophonecian woman who wouldn’t be denied grace.
The good news of this harsh, difficult to hear Gospel is this:
Even Jesus can learn. Even Jesus can be wrong and through listening, change.
    Can we?

For years many of us here gathered have worked diligently on our own internal racism, striving to learn and to change. And yet….our communities, our nation and our world continue to reject those with whom we don’t agree, those who look, love, worship and live differently than we. It’s normal to ask, well what more can we do? We have worked so hard and yet and still, hate seems to win. We may be so tired of it all that we want to stop trying…closing our eyes, plugging our ears and holding our tongues.
What more can we do?
Maybe we need a bit of that spit and prayer found in the second half of today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark.
    This coupling of readings in the gospel today---the bigotry of the first and the straight out healing of the second---may seem a bit odd, but I think it’s perfect.
You see, no one ever told Jesus that he was only the savior for one particular group of people---he just assumed it. When he said he was Love and he came to spread Love  I REALLY think He thought that meant all of the Jews not all of everyone, everywhere, always. It wasn’t that he was deliberately exclusionary, it’s that it never occurred to him that it could be any other way. That’s why this add-on reading about the deaf man is sooo clever. With some spit on the man’s tongue and His fingers in the man’s ears, Jesus says, “Ephphatha,” “Open up,” and the man? He’s healed.
These two stories, one with Jesus being closed and the other with Jesus “opening” the man’s ears  are connected through the actions of the Syrophonecian woman teaching Jesus the truth about his mission on earth. …that loving everyone always, everywhere, no exceptions really means EVERYONE. EVERYWHERE. ALWAYS. NO EXCEPTIONS.
We do a pretty good job of this when it comes to the traditional outcasts—those who are not white, the poor, the mentally ill, the non-Christian etc.
But what about the ultra-conservatives? What about the anti-vaxxers? What about the white supremacists? Do we remember that everyone, everywhere, always, no exceptions means them too? That is a tougher nut to crack, isn’t it?
Today’s gospel takes us from hateful speaking to truthful hearing. Jesus was blind, but now he sees, Jesus was deaf but now he hears, Jesus was closed, but now he’s open.
Are we?
Amen.

proper 17 Church of the Advent Aug 29, 2021

 +For most of my life I’ve experienced chronic anxiety—and because of this I have a rule before I go someplace unfamiliar : I check out “google earth” before I go, so I know what the place looks like— I don’t like surprises. Following this self-imposed rule is a useful coping strategy for me.
For many of us, coming to a complete stop at a stop sign on a deserted street early in the morning when no one is around seems absurd. I dare say some of us, after looking both ways may roll through the stop sign.
 That’s what rules, expectations, guidelines do…. they help us to manage our behavior so that nothing gets out of hand. My checking out the lay of the land before I go to an unfamiliar place is a functional coping mechanism but, if I needed to do that sixteen times before feeling comfortable then this coping mechanism would go from functional to dysfunctional….or if the police had a camera recording whether everyone came to a full and complete stop in a deserted part of town on a Sunday morning at 5 am and sent out tickets to those who failed to completely stop…then there might be a bit of an uproar.
   It’s a matter of degrees.
So when the Pharisees in today’s Gospel get upset over the cleanliness practices of the disciples, they’re putting the cart of rules ahead of the horse of living. As Jesus says, if what comes out of your mouth is vile, then what goes into it doesn’t really matter. If your “coping mechanism” your “rule” your “guideline” get in the way of being a compassionate, loving, responsible, caring person, then what’s the point?
     Which brings us to our reading from the Epistle of James: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”
James is onto something here---don’t just spew commandment after commandment, rule after rule— rather allow these guidelines to lead you into living a good, a Godly life.
According to James all we do that is good, the big stuff--like helping the poor and the needy, standing up against injustice and caring for our environment-- to the small stuff like holding the door open for someone—all of these actions are us doing our very best to honor God, to be like Jesus….
Think about this: when you’re driving to work or to school and wave a car into the lane ahead of you; when you help a classmate or a co-worker with a problem, when you lend your Wegmans or Tops card to the person in front of you in line; when you thoughtfully choose the candidate to vote for based on what they say they will do for the needy of our community---every single good thing you do comes directly from God, directly from, as James’ puts it: above.
 We’re all INSTRUMENTS of God’s Love, God’s Grace, God’s Goodness.  In all we do. All the time. Wherever we find ourselves— work, school, volunteering, recreating, socializing, God is at work, through us.
 In all we do, God is there, USING us to further God’s purpose: to bring the entire world --all 7.64 billion of us-- within God’s Loving and enduring embrace. This is Jesus’s message to the Pharisees and it’s James’s message. -There are behaviors to avoid: not listening, being quick to lose our temper and lavishing in sordidness. And behaviors to embrace, to cultivate:
-- being quick to listen, slow to speak, and eager to care for those most vulnerable.
      James encourages us not just to think the faith, but to do it. To not just hear it on Sunday but live it Monday through Saturday. James is reminding us that Hearing the Word, learning the Word, proclaiming the Word as we do every Sunday should refresh and re-new us for living the Word, being do-ers of the word the rest of the week.
Jesus was telling the Temple authorities—-it doesn’t matter how much you follow the letter of the law, if you violate the reason for the law—- in this case making yourself pure in the sight of God—-then what is the point? What good is being a faithful church-goer if the rest of the week you forget God and treat others without dignity just because you don’t like their politics, their belief system, their identity?
       Rules aren’t bad things— they give us a certain order in our lives— but when rules become the thing we worship, then we have a problem.
Jesus and James ask us to do more than know what is right, they expect us to do what is right.   Amen.

Funeral Homily Duane Woodhouse 8/25/21

 
Begin with intro

Hear these holy words of scripture from the book of  Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.


Beloved of God: The steadfast love of the Creator never ceases,
God’s mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is God’s faithfulness.
Though there is grief, God has compassion according to the abundance of steadfast Love;
where there is grief there is love.
Dwell in Love, grief will not prevail.


To love one another as we ourselves are loved and wish to be loved, is generally known as The Golden Rule and this tenet is found throughout religious and spiritual literature:


From the Babylonian Talmud:
What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.
From the Quran
[God has many name]s:
Al-Raḥmān (the Merciful), Al-Wadūd (the Loving), Al-Ghafūr
(the Forgiving), Al-Ra’ūf (the Kind), Al-‘Adl (the Just), Al-Karīm (the Generous)
[God isn’t someone to simply worship, God and God’s ways must be our ways: Live thisway]
From Christian scripture
Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself."
He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live."
Luke 10:25.[43]
Homily
“Do this and you will live.”?
I didn’t know Duane but I have heard a lot about him these past weeks and months since his illness and death. I asked Colleen and Tammy to describe him to me. What came out was clear—Duane was 100% human. He didn’t put on airs, he called it as he saw it. He kept his circle small and in many ways was the typical chef—-demanding, grumpy and particular. But while creating gorgeous and delicious food was a huge part of who he was, he was, above and beyond that, something infinitely more. While not an organized religion kind of guy, Duane got the thing that holds almost all world religions and philosophies together:
Love others as you yourself are loved. Love others as you yourself wish to be loved.
He loved his  people fiercely. What a gift to be loved that way, fiercely. Whether he knew it fully or not he was loved back by them. Fiercely. What a better place this world would be if we all, in all our doings, loved one another. Fiercely. Beyond all measure. Completely.
So why did he have to die? Why did he leave us so soon? Did God need another “angel?” NO. Ws it his time? Maybe….but I am not sure the Creator of heaven and earth has an excel spreadsheet about such things. No he died because we die. The one truth of life is that we all die and that we know not the time. Does that mean we should be ok with the fact that he left you all so soon? Nope, it just means that we all need to take what is given to us this day as all that there is and love it fiercely and fully and without restraint. Whether it’s blasting music, watching cat videos, driving in rush hour traffic, shopping for groceries or wondering if the Emergency squad will make it to Rampart on time, we are to take this day, gift that it is,  and live it with love, forgiveness, kindness and generosity because today is what we have. Live fully, love fiercely and do unto others as you would have done unto you because that is what Duane did and it is what you can still do in his name. Do this my friends and you will live.
Amen.
Let us pray:
O God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother Duane. We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us quiet confidence that we may continue our course in this life, confident in the glorious life to come. Amen.
Creator and Sustainer of All, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding, deal graciously with Tammy, Paul, Colleen, Mary Lou and all who love Duane, in their grief. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; in all that is Good and Holy we pray,  Amen.
Into your hands, O God, we commend our brother, Duane. In your infinite goodness, wisdom, and power, work in him the merciful purpose of your perfect will, and bring us, at the last, into the company of all the saints in light, who, this day and forevermore, include your precious son, Duane. Amen and Alleluia.
We close now, holding our memories of Duane in our hearts, ready to live this life given to us in his memory which, for all time, will be a blessing to all who remember.

Funeral homily for Deniis Netzel 9/4/21

 I wish I could stand here this afternoon and explain why it is that Denis died so young, leaving behind his children, wife, mother and others who loved him. I wish I could make sense of this sudden and seemingly senseless death. I can’t. I dare say no one can. This is why those of us with faith in God hold hard and fast to that faith in these times. But even faith can seem hollow when wracked with so much grief and so many questions. But as it says on the front of this service leaflet, the liturgy we offer today is an Easter liturgy which finds all its meaning in the resurrection. Jesus suffered and died. We suffer and die. Jesus was raised from the dead. As all of us here will be. As Denis has been. Nothing—nothing-separates Denis from the glories of heaven, the unending light and love of God as given to us through Jesus Christ. This day and forevermore, Denis resides in paradise—any pain from this life has been wiped away, any regrets from this life have been redeemed for Denis, any mistakes he made, hurt he caused, hurts he felt, losses he suffered, questions he had---all has been answered.     This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grieve. To love another leads us to grieve their dying. Tears are not wrong, they are human. The comfort of our faith is knowing that for all the pain we feel this day and the days to come, is the pain that comes from love and that love, in its purest form, is God. Today Denis resides in that full and perfect love and though we grieve, question and perhaps even rage in anger that doesn’t mean we haven’t loved. And it doesn’t mean we aren’t still loved. For now and forever you will miss Denis and yet he remains with you. It is a mystery how this all works.
    For those who mourn so much this day I hope you remember that as it is written “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The very love we have for each other brings great sorrow when parted by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus. So, while we rejoice that Denis has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow that his physical presence is gone. So as best you can, be grateful for his ascension into heaven and be kind to yourselves as you mourn; for mourning is sacred, mourning is normal. For we do not mourn if we have not loved. May God comfort each of you. Amen.