Compassion Feels, March 25, 2012

^{Compassion Feels}

^{Rev. Kathryn Ransdell}

^{5th Sunday of Lent 2012}

³¹The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

²⁰Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. ²¹They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

²⁷“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.²⁸Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. ³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

There is an employment trap for new college grads:  you've worked heard, incurred the debt, and now you want the job in the career you envisioned for yourself.  And then ad says, "experience required."

You have no experience, so you can't get the job that would give you the experience.

The best advice?  Do  internships if possible in college, or after-college, find ways to volunteer in the realm of the experience you need as a way to gain an aspect of that experience, and then, network, network, network. 

What made me think of this bind college grads find themselves in after graduation? 

It was Karen Armstrong's public lecture, "What is Religion" that she delivered Thursday night to the 600-some Vancouverites who had participated in a book study of "The Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life.  I'm quite proud that a little more than a 1/6th of those Vancouverites are people who call this church their spiritual home. 

I wasn't able to see the lecture in-person, but with the use of technology as a tool for expanding the reach of the message, I was able to watch the lecture live, via webcast.  Consider how technology is seen as a tool rather than the battle line between traditionalists and non-traditionalists.  But that's another message for another day. 

Armstrong explained how in the history of religion, experience came before belief, until about the last 200-300 years.  Somehow it flipped, and belief came before experience experience. 

People had experience of a loving God and it was this deep experience that so moved them to believe.  There was not this issue of having to reconcile intellectualism so that you could believe. 

But then something changed.  And people learned that they had to believe in God, the mystery of the trinity, and the divine nature of Jesus, and then, once you believed that, experience would come. 

Armstrong said this approach is simply not correct or in-line with what religion has been all about. 

Hearing her speak made me remember the early days after I committed my life to Christ.  That's right...I will use that evangelical language because for me, that was what it was about.  I made a 100% commitment that I would live my life for God, no matter what that meant. 

One of my favorite songs had become Michael W. Smith's "Place in this world." 

                        Lookin for a reason

                        Roamin through the night to find

                        My place in this world

                        My place in this world

                        Not a lot to lean on

                        I need your light to help me find

                        My place in this world

                        My place in this world

And something inside me knew that my place in this world had something to do with being located within God.  So I committed my life to Christ in 10th grade.

The religion that met me in this commitment, translated the commitment to a set of doctrine, so that for me to commit my life to Christ, it meant I believed this set of beliefs. 

And that was it.  Belief was an act of signing on the dotted line.  I am a Christian because I believe....

But there was always this voice in the back of my mind, or heart, that would question whether something would now be different about me, and, why is the totality of belief located in intellectual understanding.  It was almost a bit unsettling that my belief was tied to my ability of my mind to think in a specific way.

Looking back, I can see that nowhere in the process was there space to speak about the experience of being a Christian and how experience would bring about belief which would then bring about experience. 

The prophet Jeremiah, aka the doom-and-gloom prophet, was not a well-received man.  God’s personal message to Jeremiah, “Attack you they will, overcome you they can’t," was fulfilled many times in the Biblical narrative, Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers, beaten and put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet, imprisoned by the king, threatened with death,^]thrown into a cistern by Judah’s officials, and opposed by a false prophet.

Jeremiah's job was to tell the people what their sin was and tell them why the impending destruction would happen. 

After describing the destruction, Jeremiah gives a glimpse of hope for the future:

³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

God will inscribe on their hearts the law.  No longer will they teach one another, or say to one another, "Know the Lord..." for they shall all know me. 

The Hebrew word and meaning for heart and know are what we think they would be...the heart representing the center of life and "know" having a range of references but all ultimately pointing towards the mind. 

You probably "know" the Hebrew word for "know" without even "knowing" you know.  If I were to ask you what episode from Seinfeld not only was nominated for an Emmy but introduced a popular cliche into society, would you know the answer? 

Yada, yada, yada... that is the Hebrew word for know. 

No longer shall they say to each other, "Yada, yada, yada...the Lord."   Don't get me wrong.  The yada, yada, yada is incredibly important and one of the main focus points of why I approach the Bible and doctrine through historical theology. 

Yada, yada, yada.   Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.  Thank you very much. 

No longer is it about yada, yada, yada, this thing with God is inscribed on the heart--it's here--and my friends, this is an experience. 

But to be willing to release the mind from being in control and instead, simply being in experience...the fear of experience can be as strong as the desire for experience, and my hunch is that when belief came first and experience second, what happened is that fear of experience defeated the desire for experience.

Karen Armstrong strongly suggested that all religions must turn back to this place of experience prior to belief. 

I was taught something similar, in that Christianity is only known through the habits and practices made manifest by the one who professes to be Christian. 

Cultivating Christianity meant cultivating the habits of those who follow Christ and practicing what Christ practiced. 

Participating in worship was one habit of being a Christian; but it didn't make you Christian.  There is a range of habits that mark someone as Christian, and these aren't habits you master in one-day.  No, life becomes the practice field for developing these habits. 

In some ways, I like this.  It makes more sense to me that what makes me Christian is the habits in my life rather than my intellectual capacity to believe doctrine. 

And in some ways, this scares the h-e-double hockey sticks out of me. 

Look at the habits of my life for the signs of Christianity? 

Look at the habits of my life for the outward and visible signs of an inward and invisible grace? 

I feel as vulnerable as someone who just graduated from college and wants the job but has no experience.  

I want to be Christian but how do you gain experience?

Our 5-week sermon series during Lent wraps up today with this idea that Compassion Feels.  

The definition of compassion is: wanting others to be free from suffering.

To really want others to be free from suffering, we must practice with every day daily habits.

I like this Buddhist prayer: 

"May I become food and drink in the aeons of famine for those poverty-stricken suffers.
May I be a doctor, medicine and nurse for all sick beings in the world until everyone is cured. 
May I become never-ending wish-fulfilling treasures materialising in front of each of them as all the enjoyments they need. 
May I be a guide for those who do not have a guide, a leader for those who journey, a boat for those who want to cross over, and all sorts of ships, bridges, beautiful parks for those who desire them, and light for those who need light. 
And may I become beds for those who need a rest, and a servant to all who need servants. 
May I also become the basic conditions for all sentient beings, such as earth or even the sky, which is indestructible. 
May I always be the living conditions for all sentient beings until all sentient beings are enlightened."

It might also be helpful to think of works of piety and works of mercy that we can be doing every day: 

Works of Piety, such as:

Individual Practices--Prayer, Fasting, Searching the Scriptures, Healthy Living

Communal Practices--Holy Communion, Baptism, Christian Conferencing (or "community")

Works of Mercy, such as:

Service focused toward individual needs--Doing Good (Good works); Visiting the Sick; Visiting the Imprisoned; Feeding & Clothing those in need; Earning, Saving, & Giving all one can

Service focused toward communal/societal needs--the Seeking of Justice; Opposition to Slavery.

Experience...and then, may we believe.

Compassion Stands, March 18, 2012

Psalm 19 and John 2:13-22

Compassion Stands

Rev. Kathryn Ransdell

It's all about this elusive thing we call balance.  At least for me.  The past 2.5 months have been 

an interesting experiment in finding the balance in the mix of being a working person, a parent, a friend, 

a spouse, an adult daughter with a sick father.

Some of you have commented to me, "I don't know how you are doing it."  And my immediate 

reply is, "How are any of us really doing this thing called life?"  There is not a person in this room that is 

not keeping multiple balls in the air.  At least I hope there's not someone in the room like this--I would 

really hate to find myself not liking one of you this morning. 

With balance, I believe we don't find it in any one day.  But hopefully over a period of time, 

with good intentions and good work, we can go to sleep at night knowing we maybe didn't do it 

perfectly, but it was the best thing for me and my particular place in life.  

In other words, balance cannot be evaluated by external voices.  Sure, they may tell you from 

their needs that you are out of balance.  If Anna and Oliver even get a hint that I'm leaving, they both 

cling to my legs like little animals.  But like my mentor said, Working moms can't judge themselves as 

parents when they miss a game or play...they can't judge how they did until the kids turn at least 25."  

Only you know or feel in your soul if you are aligned with your purpose here in this world and 

whether you are attending to that purpose or getting sidetracked by the bright, shiny things that come 

our way.  

If we realize we've lost the balance internally, we have to take a stand on behalf of our own self.  

Identify the boundary that needs to be in place, and then live into it for the sake of our own soul.  My 

hunch is that this is probably one of the most difficult stands to take because it is about loving our self 

enough to treat our own self as good as we would treat someone else.   

Karen Armstrong defined this taking a stand for your own self as being Compassionate to 

yourself. 

Maybe it's not internal, but external...something with our children, our family, our extended 

family...something comes along and we need to take a stand on their behalf.  We might call this being 

their advocate.  Probably more socially acceptable to take a strong stand on someone else's behalf.  We 

look saintly to be caring for someone else.  

Draw the circle wider, and it gets complicated:  What does it mean to take a stand at work?  or 

on neighborhood issues?  Or taking a stand in local politics?  Economic injustices?  Provincial or federal 

matters?  

Sometimes I wonder how to hold the balance between the realities of the world and taking a 

stand, or, if maybe we have lost the balance and become a bit apathetic, possibly accepting. 

And it comes down to the smallest things...like how we speak of these issues, that embodies how 

we take a stand...for instance, in this church, we have a group who feels called to the ministry of the 

homeless. 

But that's not what they call themselves.  They call themselves, "End Homelessness Now."  

Their words take a stand.  

As individuals connected to an inner calling that all people deserve a place to live, they come 

together to find very real ways to take a stand as a group.  Jesus said that he poor would always be with 

us, but it doesn't mean poor people don't deserve a home. 

How do we find the balance between surviving this thing called life and taking stands? 

Because I believe we are called to take stands and hold boundaries.  Take a look at your marble.  

One unique thing about your marble is that it maintains its shape by holding its boundaries.  The stand it 

takes is that it will be a marble in this world.  You can press against it, but you won't squash it or pop it 

or cause it not to be the very essence of what it is:  a marble. 

But when the marble presses against something else, it holds no sharp edges; it cannot poke or jab 

or stab someone in the back as it holds its boundary...

There is compassion in its spherical nature.  

There is compassion in taking a stand. 

So where is the compassion in today's story from the Gospel of John?

It's interesting that in the other gospels, this story comes at the end of Jesus' ministry, 

leading up to his arrest and trial.  

In John, this story comes at the beginning of his public ministry, setting a tone that this 

person is willing to take a stand.  

Here in this gospel, Jesus said they were turning his Father's house into a 

marketplace.

In the other gospels, Jesus said they were turning the Temple into a den of 

robbers. 

If it's not a marketplace and not a den of robbers, then what is the Father's house, the Temple?  

Simple:  the prophet Isaiah said that God's Temple is a house of prayer. 

What is prayer?  Sincere, deep, communion with God.   

What did this story mean for the early followers of Christ who took a stand for their faith, living in exile 

in caves in fear of their lives, about 70-80 years after Jesus' death and resurrection? 

1.  Jesus' cleansing of the temple was a sign to them of God's prophetic action, and, it was a sign 

that Jesus was the divine Son of God.  ("Zeal for your house will consume me." ref. Psalm 69:9).  In 

other words, they weren't off-base in taking the stand they were taking; they were aligned with what 

they believed to be the divine working of God.  

2.  For those who wanted a sign as to what authority Jesus had in cleansing the Temple, Jesus 

replied, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."  Jesus foreshadows the resurrection. 

3.  And because this early group of people held this story that Jesus had been raised from the 

dead, it convinced them even more that the stand they were taking was the divine working of God. 

What does this story mean for us a little less than 2000 years later?  What in this story calls us to take a 

stand? 

1.  I truly believe that Jesus did not give us this story so that generations later we could use it to 

define what can and cannot happen in what we call a Sanctuary, especially when it comes to legalistic 

issues like coffee, children, etc.  If we don't want these things because we don't want wear and tear on 

our furniture, then let's just say that.  But don't use this Scripture as a justification for including or not 

including food; children; pets; in the space where we worship.  Because unlike the Temple Jesus referred 

to, if this building fell down, it would not be rebuilt in 3 days.  And guess what, even then, we would 

still be a church.  

2.  If we think back to 1st century Judaism, we know there were 4 sects:  Pharisees, Saducees, 

Essense and Zealots.  The Zealots were just that...full of zeal.  They were strongly convinced that 

Judaism needed to resort to military action against the Roman Empire.  Again, though, this kind of 

reaction is what I call the sharp edge...it is meant to hurt the other.  

3.  A Psalm is quoted in this morning's text:  Psalm 69:9....Passion for your house has consumed 

me....  A theologian whose first name starts with a "J" and last name starts with a "W" defined zeal, as 

used in today's passage as this:  "Zeal - That fervent love which I have for thy house and service, and 

glory, and people."

I believe this story calls us to take a stand for God's house, to take a stand in the service of God, to take 

a stand for the glory of God, and for goodness sake, to take a stand for God's people.  

So how do we do this?  It's not easy.  If we could interview Jesus about the experience, he would 

probably tell us:

1.  1/2 of the people will cheer you on.

2.  1/2 of the people will ask who do you think you are?

3.   And only time will tell whether you got it right or wrong in taking your stand. 

And that's okay.  I think when my life is over, I would rather be known for taking a stand and getting it 

wrong rather than watching it all pass me by. 

But I want to go back to this image of a marble...the individual...you.  Here you are, taking your stand in 

the life of this Christian community.  It's a stand for you to even be here to say that faith matters so I 

will spend some of my time each week with others who believe.  

And you put all these marbles together, inside one container, and there's something interesting to notice:  

The marbles maintain their marbleness even when pressed against one another; and even when pressed 

against each other, they don't absorb or stab the other...each marble holds its boundary and the 

gentleness of the sphere allows us to bump against one another and not stab the other.  And, even when 

the marbles are all pressed together, there's still space in-between.  

That space is called grace. 

Grace, given to us by God, freely, before we ask, --grace balances us.  

As much as we have been absorbed in this conversation about Compassion...about our need to cultivate 

it, if we could only try harder to be more compassionate towards others, that we can't forget that before 

we cultivate an ounce of compassion, God has given us a pound of grace.  

In this morning's Psalm, there is a list of 6 words that describe the things that God has given us through 

the law, decrees, precepts, commandments, awe and ordinances...

* The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; 

* the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;

* the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; 

* the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;

* the awe of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; 

* the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

If these things burn strong in us, then my guess is that with a whole lotta grace, we will take stands and, 

we will find the balance.  

Thanks be to God.  

Refugee Report 2012

REFUGEE REPORT FOR ST. ANDREW’S-WESLEY UNITED CHURCH              February 2012

Our congregation has provided a wonderful opportunity this past year for our newcomer family (Mahmoud, Salina and Asma) from the El-Hol Refugee Camp in Syria to start a new life in Canada.  Our official sponsorship comes to an end in April. 

More than $24,000 has been raised to enable us to provide rental accommodation, living expenses, and winter clothing for our family.  On their arrival at their apartment in Burnaby the evening of April 2011, our family had the joy of seeing a place decorated with good furniture, cupboards filled with linens, house wares, and a refrigerator filled with a wonderful variety of fresh foods. The welcoming committee and the Palestinian family members who had come to the airport brought their enthusiasm to their apartment and gave them a sense of coming home.

During the year we have met the family twice during worship: In May we celebrated a Palestinian meal with everyone, and then in November for Asma’s first birthday.  We invited them for a meal on Bowen Island, an experience of a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner, and an Advent meal where we practiced singing Jingle Bells in Arabic. Mahmoud and Salina also hosted the committee for a wonderful lunch at their apartment where we met some of their extended family and spent a pleasant afternoon.  At Christmas time all the Palestinian sponsoring groups and the newcomer families met at South Burnaby United Church hall for an afternoon party that was characterized with good food, great energy, much laughter, and fun.

When it was first suggested we sponsor a refugee family, none of us realized the commitment that would be required, but we have gained understanding and enjoyment from knowing our family and working with our committee.  There were others on the committee who were not part of our congregation, but who wanted to assist.  At one point, we had 3 Arabic speakers who made communications with our family much easier.   To complement Salina’s English classes, one of our committee members provides further ESL support on a regular basis.  Mahmoud is currently working at an entry-level job and Salina is working to be accepted into the Vancouver Community College's education completion program.

Our committee is grateful for the support of the congregation.  We have journeyed together to make a difference in the lives of our newcomer family.  Mahmoud, Salina, and Asma are a part of our lives and we are part of theirs. 

May they be happy and secure in their life here in Canada.  May it be so.

Community Healing Pole, March 11, 2012

From Gleanings for Sunday March 11th, 2012

Two Worlds and a Healing Pole

“I would like to carve a residential school healing pole!” Isadore exclaimed one Sunday morning. We were sitting in a class of about twenty-five adults at our church, identifying some of the barriers that keep settler and indigenous peoples from experiencing closer relationships. The unfortunate legacy of church-run residential schools was one of those barriers and Is...adore, a former student himself, was helping us to understand the need for reconciliation. He explained that if we carved a pole together he would be able to tell his story in a culturally appropriate way and the process of carving would help us, experientially, towards the path of peace. The finished pole would have indigenous images of protection, family, security and healing, many of the things lost in residential school.
I must admit, this sounded strange to me. But as my friendship with Isadore grew, I saw the need to see things from his point of view, as he sought to understand mine. Here’s a story that might help illustrate this journey of new understandings.
“Hey Don, I don’t think I can come. My car won’t start.” Isadore’s voice was strained with frustration. “I can’t afford to fix it,” he moaned. “I might as well just give it back.” I encouraged him to go to the dealership to see what they could do. So I picked him up and we drove from the potholed, gravel road of the reserve onto the fresh blacktop by the gleaming new auto dealership. It was like leaving one world and entering another. Isadore looked so small in the high ceilinged reception area adjacent to the spotless service centre. It was this dealership that sold him the car and where he bought an extended warranty. Quietly, Isadore approached the service manager. “I thought that since we have a relationship, maybe you could do something for me?” I was startled. Relationship? I knew that approach wouldn’t get him anywhere in this place!
The manager didn’t sound promising. The car would have to be towed at his expense and warranty coverage was not assured. Isadore was given an 800 number to call and register his complaint. Turning his feet, Isadore started for the door, conceding defeat. “Wait a minute!” I blurted out indignantly. “My friend has an extended warranty that is still good for another 40,000 km and one more year. Who will pay for the towing and the repair?” “Well…,” came the meek response, “I think we will.”
Isadore smiled. “Wow! This is a really good day!” With gleaming faces, we started back to the reserve. Isadore called the tow truck driver and insisted that his car be taken to the dealership.
A little while later, I was following Isadore as he drove his newly repaired car to the longhouse on the neighbouring reserve. “Just follow me,” he said. Isadore entered with sure steps, me in tow… and somewhat hesitant. We walked through a kitchen into the long hall, down a ramp onto a dirt floor. A simple meal was served. I hung back and waited at the end of the line before serving myself. I wasn’t sure if there was some protocol, some way of doing things that I wasn’t aware of. I didn’t want to mess up. After eating, Isadore joined his fellow elders at a table and the real meeting began.
And what a meeting it was! Age was respected, first names were used, participants deferred to one another, relationships were valued and decisions were made based on consensus. Congregationalists could really learn a thing or two from this.
I watched Isadore as he participated. He looked so at home and comfortable. And near the end of the meeting, he shared his plans for the residential school healing pole. I was now starting to see how important this project was to him. . . and to me. The pole was a way to connect worlds that are still largely disconnected and unknown, a way to hear another’s story, and a way to bring understanding and experience the beginnings of a relationship. And relationship is critical.
Last month the pole carving was featured at Missions Fest in Vancouver in the main display hall. Hundreds of people saw indigenous carvers and non-indigenous ‘apprentices’ working together on a yellow cedar pole that will tell the story of how pain and separation are finding a path toward truth, healing and trust. Just the process of shaping this tree together – a tree that grew tall and strong in the midst of that residential school era – is incredibly powerful. Many stopped to help and to listen to stories of redemption.
The pole will now travel to churches and communities throughout B.C. and perhaps beyond. Isadore and I will tell the stories of our journey, our common faith in Christ and how our lives are being enriched by one another. We hope many more will join us on this path. While the pole is only a small gesture, our prayer is that it can become a rallying point, a beacon of hope, and the start of some amazing friendships, like the one I’m blessed to have.

Don Klaassen, Yarrow, BCSee more

 

Compassion hears, March 4th, 2012

Compassion Hears by Rev. Kathryn Ransdell

St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church, Vancouver, BC

March 4, 2012

Week 2 of "On How to Doodle your way through Lent."  Anyone in here want to confess to being more aware of their doodles this past week?  I found myself observing when I physically or verbally doodled in straight lines or circles and found that fascinating. 

Let's go back to our 5-pointed star, which is our guide as we enter into being lost and dislocated this Lent, hopefully to emerge found and located on Easter Sunday. 

One of my mentors who has gone on--blessed be his soul--once said about preaching: "If you can't say it in 10 minutes, then you can't say it.  And if you can't say what you were going to say in 10 minutes in one sentence, then you really can't say it."

I have something better (I think) than one sentence for today's sermon:  Four words--Hearing.  Mindfulness.  Communion.  Compassion. 

We enter in the story today via the Gospel of Mark, which is an enigma to the scholarly world.  Authorship is a mystery.  The way the gospel is told infers there is an unfamiliarity by the readers as to Jewish customs, Aramaic terms and Palestinian geography (sounds like us).  Infers an origin beyond Palestine.  There is a use of Latin customs and vocabulary which points to its community being in Syria, Italy or elsewhere in the Roman empire.

We know it to be the earliest of gospels.  Once thought in the 50s, but perhaps as late as the burning of Rome in 64, with composition as late as 70. 

Not knowing its original readership or its author, it's difficult to understand the author's angle.  Strong sense of immediacy in this gospel.  Shortest.  Original ending includes the disciples locking themselves in a room once they encounter the resurrection, and ending with "they were afraid."  Imagine how  Easter Sunday service would be embodied if all we had was the gospel of Mark.  [Everybody in.  Check.  Lock the doors.  Check.  Okay, be afraid.] 

In Epiphany, I gave you an example of how the narrator juxtaposes the reality of empire with the meaning of the good news...

            1.  "After John was arrested (commentary on the empire and danger), Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God (commentary on the kingdom of God)."

            2.  As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and Andrew casting a net--for they were fishermen (commentary on empire and economic injustice), and Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people (commentary on the kingdom of God)."

            Another way to look at this, might be...

             the Noise of the empire

                  and underneath that noise 

                         the Way of Jesus

Today's Gospel reading follows this pattern:

            1.  "Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."  He said all of this quite openly.  (commentary on the empire and ideological battle)

            2.  "He called the crowd with the disciples and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.  For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?  Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?  Those who are ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."  (commentary on the kingdom of God, and for all you feeling a bit guilty because we happen to find ourselves in a city where you try your best not to tell people you go to church, go ahead and squirm a bit in your seat.  It's good for the soul.) 

                        the Noise of the empire

                                    and underneath that noise

                                                the Way of Jesus arises

Can we hear the Way arising?

Today, we get to insert Peter into the story.  We take someone like Peter who is the archetype for the person whose heart is in the right place and wants to follow the leader but God love 'em, he never quite gets it. 

Peter encounters the Noise of the empire.  What does he do?  Verse 32b.  While Jesus is saying all of this quite openly, Peter takes him aside and begins to rebuke him."

And what does Jesus do?  Jesus takes the conversation from the side, turns back to the disciples, and rebukes Peter in front of them. 

"Get behind me Satan!  For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

Poor Peter.  In his eagerness to defend and follow Jesus, he seems to put his foot in his mouth, say the wrong thing, deny that he knows Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. 

Jesus tells them what shall be.  We might think it from a chronological perspective, as if he is telling the future.  But from a [what is the word that starts with an a....] it is the reality of this world in this moment...

And in that moment, Peter hears with physical ears and abandons mindfulness. 

Well, how can you blame Peter?  On the Myers-Briggs he was probably an ESFP.  Spontaneous.  Action-oriented to what happens next.  Responds in the moment.  Leads with the heart, with little to no thinking.  And if that's not enough, he was never a Buddhist so how can we even expect him to practice mindfulness?

Ah...there it is.  The belief that Buddhists have a corner on mindfulness.  This concept is foreign to those of us raised in the Christian story of "Jesus dying for our sins so that we may go to heaven." 

Jon Kabat-Zinn defines Mindfullness:  "Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgemental.  This kind of attention nurtures greater clarity, awareness and acceptance of the present moment reality.  It wakes us up to the fact that our lives unfold only in moments."  (Kabat-Zinn, Jon.  Wherever You Go, There You Are:  Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.  Hyperion, 1994.)

Here the good news:  There's more to our Christian story.  Let me introduce you to the Desert Mothers and Fathers who want you to hear the spiritual inheritance they have given you.  (Proceeding description from Mundy, Linus.  A Retreat with Desert Mystics: Thirsting for the Reign of God. St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1989) 

A.  The Desert Mothers and Fathers were curious about God.  They went into trances, levitated and sat on top of poles.  They lived in the 4th and 5th centuries and were scattered in the deserts of Egypt, Syria and Palestine.  (Illustrate geo-doodle) Some lived the life of a hermit, others lived in a loose community.  They participated in fasting, deprivation of sleep and body mortification.

            1.  Best known is Antony, who died in 356. 

            2.  Abba Moses: "Go sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything."

            3.  Macarius the Egyptian, 300-390 in Scete

            4.  Arsenius, who was of the Senatorial Rank and was the tutor to princes, left it all in Rose and became known for his silence and austerity.

            5.  Evagrius, who lived in community of monks scattered among the hills in Egpyt in individual huts outside Alexandria, who described the life of the Desert Monk as a life of the solitary, "separated from all, and united with all." 

 

B.  Why?  They wanted to escape NOISE so that they could enter into pure, undisturbed prayer and in so doing, be with God. 

C.  What they found was that even in the desert, you still have noise. They called them δαιμόνιον  (demon), whose single objective was to keep the monk from praying and being with God.   Two words became synonymous in their writings:  logismoß (thought) and δαιμόνιον (demon).  What they found in escaping the NOISE is that their thoughts became their demons.  These thoughts that were their demons are what we call DISTRACTIONS.

I'm thinking you can empathize...you finally find some time in your day to be still and pray, or meditate, and at that moment, you suddenly remember what you need at the grocery store, who you need to phone, what color curtain really would look best against that window, how that person at the office really did undermine you, wonder what's on tv tonight, how Gary is doing in Israel, when the rain will end, what I want to do now to be beach ready by summer,

Thoughts become your demons.  In battling these demons, which means in practicing mindfulness, they became spiritual masters, teachers and sages, composers of practical wisdom based on their experiences of facing down the demons of the mind and distraction.

I want to be mindful of the one who in describing the life of the Desert Monk, said it was the life of the solitary, "separated from all, and united with all."

"Separated with all, and united with all." 

Today is Communion Sunday.  Another chance to come and be present to the mystery of grace. 

What I know to be true is that as we enter this Sacrament, there will be:

                        the Noise of the mind,

                                    the Noise of moving 300 people around a room in 15 minutes

                                               

                        and underneath that noise, and above that noise, and in that noise,

                                    hear the compassion of a God who invites us to a table

                        and says, "This is my body, broken, so that you may no longer be broken."

May we enter into the mystery of Communion, awaiting how God just might surprise us today by grace.  May we enter into the mystery of Communion with mindfulness,

            "paying attention in a particular way

            on purpose

            in the present moment

            and non-judgemental."

May the grace of God "(wake us up) to the fact that our lives unfold only in moments."