The Bethlehem Community

ROGARE> latin, "to ask" Sunday, May 17, 2009

2009-05-13T18:29:00.003-04:00

The Sixth Sunday of Easter used to be known as Rogation Sunday. The fact that Rogation Sunday was once an annual observance marked by prayers asking for protection of herds and for a thriving crop explains why the day fell out of use in a culture of suburbanites and city dwellers.

In the early church (we're talking 400AD), the days in the week before Ascension Thursday were set aside as days of prayer and fasting as part of the rigor in focusing on the work of tending crops and shepherding herds. In the 5th Century, too, it seems that a certain volcano threatened an Italian diocese, so the Bishop ordered special prayers on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension. In later years (the 16th Century, and still in some districts today), rural Brits "beat the bounds" on Rogation Sunday, walking along the parish property lines in order to establish the boundaries in the communal memory of the people.

By parish property lines, we don't mean the block on which the church building is situated, nor even if we include a rectory where such church property still exists. We don't even really mean property in the ownership sense. Rather, the parish boundaries, or "bounds," is the extent of a geographical area that a particular church serves. Now, for Saint Luke's Church here in Forest Hills, walking the route of our parish boundary would be quite a path. We'd have to walk from Ridgewood, Queens to Rego Park to Forest Hills to as far east as Westbury in Nassau County. Ok, that's not the Far East, but you get my point: parish boundaries are fairly ambiguous since the automobile.

There's another way to beat/walk the bounds-- in prayer.

Though the observance of Rogation Sunday has pretty much evolved out of our calendar, there are still prayers in The Book of Common Prayer which can help us set our sites on what to ask for this coming Rogation Sunday.

There are three Rogation prayers:

* for the good use of land and sea (for healthy and just distribution of foodstuffs);

* for all people and their jobs (that all work is for the glory of God and our co-creative participation in God's plan);

* for our care taking of God's earth (so that neither our harvesting or extracting gets out of hand).

Seems like there are still relevant and contemporary reasons for Rogation Sunday!

Certainly, the prayer for all people and their work could include our concern for those presently unemployed, and our working to help those out of work.

The Day of Resurrection

2009-04-12T07:29:00.003-04:00

How do you know when you are looking at The Risen Christ?

What does the Re-surrection Body look like?

What does your Resurrection body feel like?!

(Go to http://www.stlukesforesthills.org/ and click on "Sermons" to read my responses to the above questions.)

Why settle for an Easter Bonnet when you can live in the Resurrection Body !

Happy Easter.

Holy Saturday

2009-04-10T23:31:00.002-04:00

Still, even though you might have taken the walk from Sunday of The Passion, to Maundy Thursday, through Good Friday, be still. Don't yet leap to Easter.

Jesus was laid in the tomb. A rock was rolled over the opening to seal it.

Visit the tomb. Pay respect to the dead. Remember those you love but see no longer. Feel the admixture of loving and missing. Faith does not take away the bitter and leave only the sweet. No, but by faith one can continue to live and love, though the bitter is a stronger taste at some times more than others.

What do you taste?

Ponder the limits, the boundaries and borders you experience in your body.
Yet while you live, what/where are the graves you obsess over?
Can your moaning be turned into song?
"All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: -------------"

What is that song; and how is the bitter taste cleansed so that we might form the notes that sing?

See the Book of Common Prayer p. 499 and 497.

Prepare to attend The Great Vigil of Easter

Good Friday - How Good?

2009-04-10T10:00:00.002-04:00

I remember a conversation with my grandmother, when I was likely 9 or 10 years old. She was talking with me about the approaching Easter celebration at church. She had always wanted me involved in church as an acolyte, but I balked. However, when the new assistant priest held auditions for a children's choir, I finally gave in. We had been rehearsing for weeks before The Great Vigil, at which we were to sing a Gregorian Chant Mass and Panis Angelicus as the anthem. I was staying with my grandmother; she lived next to the church. It was Good Friday; there was no rehearsal, in keeping with what she said was the solemnity of the day. That night, she asked me a question: "What do you suppose it means that God's Son was crucified?" I very quickly responded that it showed how evil the world could be, that people would kill Jesus. She looked at me with a lot of love in her eyes and then said, "No, the cross is not about the evil of the world but about the goodness of God. God loves the world so much that he is willing to die for the people. God will do whatever it takes to help people love."

Today, The Passion of Jesus Christ is read from the Gospel according to John 18:1-19:42

Take the time to read it, if you cannot attend a liturgy where you can hear it.

Read or listen, asking yourself:
What is so Good about Good Friday; What does it mean that Jesus dies on the cross?

Maundy Thursday: The Last Gift - Peace

2009-04-09T12:05:00.002-04:00

If you read the Gospel account from John 13:1-35, you will be able to ponder Christ's gift of peace, as given in his washing of the disciples' feet.

What is the heart of Jesus' action in washing their feet?
How is it a call to service on the Church's part, as the Body of Christ in the World?
How well does the Church embody this servanthood ministry?
How might you help the Church to serve?

Wednesday in Holy Week -- Who will you bring to church for Triduum?

2009-04-08T07:04:00.002-04:00

The Epistle reading appointed for today is Hebrews 12:1-3.

Two phrases that catch my attention are the following:

-- we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses --

-- Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith --

Scripture is not the only text that touches upon us and informs our faith. Other bodies of text that are rich with the experience of God are those persons who have deeply touched our lives. They are among the great cloud of witnesses; they have been and are a Christ-presence in our lives.

Who are these people in your life who have been sacred text to you, who have encouraged you to be "pioneers" in setting out on the faith journey, who have helped teach you the faith-- in word and deed?

Specifically, as we approach Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Great Vigil), who are they who have been revelations of
--Christ's mandatum/commandment to express servant love?
--Christ's willingness to love thoroughly, totally, unconditionally?
--Christ's love rising again?

Carry these people with you in your heart throughout your participation in the coming Christian Passover which begins tomorrow. Let them be the cloud of witnesses with you. Celebrate their love of you and your deepened love of God as a result of their pioneering efforts with you.

Tuesday in Holy Week - Glory in the Cross of Christ

2009-04-07T10:16:00.002-04:00

The prayer for the day admits that Jesus' love of God and fellow humanity transforms the cross from "an instrument of shameful death" into being "for us the means of life". As a result, we who follow Christ ask God for the grace to help us to "glory in the cross of Christ."

What does it mean to glory in the cross of Christ?

1Corinthians 1:18-31 is helpful.

Monday in Holy Week - Both/And

2009-04-07T09:56:00.002-04:00

The Collect (Prayer) for the Monday in Holy Week reads as follows:

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord... (The Book of Common Prayer p.220)

Note the sequence of "not...joy but first...suffered pain, ...not into glory before he was crucified..."
This sequence tends to suggest a chronological order which, practically speaking, is the case in Jesus' walking in the way of the cross. Yet, there is also a God-time order in the mystery and wonder of Holy Week which is neither chronological nor causal. That is, we should not equate the Good Friday cross with only suffering the pain of death and Easter's resurrection with a rewarding joy and glory. The heart of Easter is centered firmly in the Cross. If we would walk in the way of Christ's cross, we need to ponder this reality now; we need to look for the glory and even the joy of Christ in the Cross.
What/where might that be?

Holy Week Begins -- Where Are You?

2009-04-05T06:48:00.002-04:00

The waving of palms and the hurling of insults collide existentially and liturgically.

Today is The Sunday of The Passion. Corporate worship begins with the gospel account of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and quickly moves to Arrest and Crucifixion-- How soon accolades mutate into curses!

Where are you this day? Where would you be, how would you be, if you had witnessed those events that forcefully unfolded? That is, rather than being able to worship on this day with the faith knowledge already in hand and in heart that this Jesus would be raised from the dead, what might you be going through were you there when they crucified him? You would not have yet come to faith-- at best, you might have been a trusting follower. To you, what would have just happened?

The Sunday of The Passion prepares us for Triduum-- Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter. However, do not rush. Walk the walk "as if" on this day you do not yet have the faith to call it Christ's Passion-- you might see some things in a different light.

Read the Gospel According to Mark 14:1-15:47.
Read Psalm 31:9-16 "as if" your own words, having witnessed the event.

Walking in The Way of The Cross - Preparing for Holy Week

2009-03-28T11:01:00.005-04:00

Way back when, Holy Week was actually the original Lent (the seaon of penitence and preparation for Easter). These days, Holy Week is still regarded as particularly important days of preparation for Easter. May I suggest, though, that the importance is such that we should also be thinking about preparing for Holy Week itself.

Holy Week begins with The Sunday of The Passion, this year April 5, and continues with Holy Monday through Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

So-- how to prepare?

* In the coming week, organize a space on your desk (or pc desktop) where you can place a copy of The Bible, The Book of Common Prayer and The Hymnal. There will be daily blog entries here April 5 through 11, with prayer, meditation and reading cues for each day.

* In the next few days, check your calendar and make a plan to dedicate time for participation in the events of Holy Week.
+ The corporate liturgies marking the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with the waving of palms and the Arrest, "Trial," Torture and Execution of Jesus are observed together in worship on The Sunday of the Passion. Saint Luke's Church, Forest Hills offers liturgies at 8:30 and 10:30am. If yo do not have a home church, come worship with us. If you are too far from Forest Hills, now is the time to check out the web and decide where you will go to begin Holy Week.
+ Holy Monday through Holy Wednesday you could come here, online, and use the daily posted cues for prayer and meditation; you could read Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer; you could check out a church near your place of work--urban parishes tend to have Noon Holy Eucharist during Holy Week.
+ On Maundy Thursday Saint Luke's offers a 6:30pm Community Supper as a quiet prelude to the 7:30pm Holy Eucharist which includes the Ceremony of the Washing of Feet. This is a real roll up your sleeves and get down on your hands and knees act symbolizing the servant ministry to which we are are called. Other churches do the same on this day; again, if you do not have a home parish, check out what is available in your area if Saint Luke's is not a convenient commute.
+ Good Friday-- A Noon service and Evening service (7:30pm) takes place at Saint Luke's. As with April 5 Sunday of The Passion and April 9 Maundy Thursday, check out the space and plan the time for corporate worship.

Don't let the planning slip by, don't skip church, don't say "I don't do Maundy Thursday or Good Friday"; don't say "I'll do it my own way at home or in the office"

HOLY WEEK is both/and-- BOTH corporate worship AND personal/individual prayer and meditation.

"Walking in the Way of The Cross" is the pathway--Christ's way of true life.
The profound depths of Easter/Resurrection cannot be plumbed apart from the walk that begins on Sunday of the Passion; nor apart from the larger community which we profess to be The Body of Christ.

Do the prep! The above entry outlines the worship and study aspects of preparation. There's still one more: preparing for works of mercy.
Holy Week bring us back to our true selves in Christ. This involves giving ourselves away--giving of ourselves freely in service with/for others.

Plan to make your self-offering during Holy Week. Here are four suggestions:

1) Check out http://www.pajamaprogram.org/
This is Saint Luke's Church Lenten Project. We're making our offering on Sunday, April 5. Bring new pajamas (sizes Large children and Small adult) and new reading books (for middle school-aged children, grades 6-9); you can also bring monetary offerings (checks made out to the Pajama Program); or, if Saint Luke's is too far from you, contribute online.

2) www.er-d.org/GiftsForLife is another option. ERD, Episcopal Relief and Development, is the outreach arm of The Episcopal Church. Your individual contribution helps us to offer both arms in a whole embrace as the Body of Christ with people in need.

3) Offer your services to your parish church during Holy Week. Perhaps you could be one of the people participating in the footwashing ceremony on Maundy Thursday or you could read a lesson at the Good Friday service.

4) Perhaps, as you walk in the way of the Cross on The Sunday of The Passion, Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, in addition to whatever financial offering you place in the alms basin, you could write down a note with your name, email and phone #, offering one of your talents to the church. Whether you are a cook or an accountant, a teacher or a plumber, a teen-ager who babysits or a senior who is retired from publishing: whoever you are and whatever your gifts-- you can make space and time sacred by your joyful offering of self.

HOLY WEEK IS A WHOLE WEEK ABOUT THIS KIND OF OFFERING.
Holy Week-- the dedicated space and time to say (as did the Apostle Paul)
"Christ is Life to Me"

[Easter Worship--
The Great Vigil of Easter on Easter Eve, Saturday, April 11 at 7:30pm;
The Day of Resurrection, Easter Day, Sunday, April 12 at 8:30 and 10:30am.
More on Easter next week!]

Lent> "lengthen"> Springtime

2009-03-19T16:08:00.003-04:00

The season of Lent so often enters upon us as a wintering -- a somewhat cold reminder of our darkness and dislocation. Yet, even in the come-uppance of Lent's arrival, there is a note, a hope, a not-yet-warming trend but certainly a sensed promise of regeneration. Hear it in the early Lenten prayer that focuses us upon the gifts of bread and wine:

"...Jesus Christ... was tempted in every way that we are, yet did not sin. By his grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer for ourselves alone, but for him who died for us and rose again" (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 379)

The season then lengthens (Lent is from the German for lengthen, from which the word spring time blooms)-- As we allow the fertilizing, ground-turning Exhortation for living a holy life to become our spiritual almanac, buds do appear, even in the midst of drizzle and grey gloom, with more than words of promise. Yes, we experience the turning over and turning around and growing in us, of us... with Christ.

Just as the coming season of spring already has its heralds in slightly warmer temperatures and less gruesome downpours, to say nothing of that bush near your front door that POP is in bloom, as if overnight, the focusing words of the prayer over the gifts this Sunday shift to a more springlike tone:

"[God:] You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by your Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace which you have prepared for those who love you" (379).

Tomorrow is the first day of spring; and Sunday, the fourth in Lent, is traditionally called "Refreshment Sunday." We are being prepared to bud, blossom and burst forth into the world as the flowering of love-- the bodily presence of care and compassion for others; the Real Presence of Christ. You can feel the refreshing change with all of your senses.

The WEEKENDER -- (not just for Lent)

2009-03-10T16:36:00.002-04:00

I am sure you have seen the ads for the NYTimes "weekender" at-home delivery of Friday, Saturday and Sunday newspapers. Well, there's a spiritual weekender, too. In a way, Lent is the time for a 'trial subscription'.

In brief, here's what it's about:

- Friday is The Day of The Cross

- Saturday is The Sabbath, a Day of Rest

- Sunday is The Lord's Day, a Day of Action

FRIDAY - CROSS

The traditional scripture passage can sound a bit daunting: "If anyone wants to follow me, then deny yourself and take up your cross and follow" (Mark 8:34). Perhaps, it helps to know that the meaning of this Gospel passage can be rendered by reading Galatians 6:2, "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ".

On Good Friday, Christians are not commemorating a murder. No, we are remembering that Jesus willingly gave his life for the good of others.

So, every Friday is a day to remember Jesus' self-giving by our own expressions of giving. The traditional phrase for this is 'self-denial' but the dynamic goes beyond denying the self through connecting with the other.

Thus, as the first part of your spiritual weekender, you are encouraged on Fridays to live simply:

* have a plain lunch; spend time instead of money by praying for the poor, the oppressed, victims of war, the homeless, the hungry, the vulnerable...

* dedicate your saved lunch money to help bear someone's burden in a concrete way: give to Saint Luke's Church Lenten Project: The Pajama Progam (http://www.pajamaprogram.org/), Episcopal Relief and Development (http://www.er-d.org/) or to any worthy agency where your offering will partner your prayer.

Yes, on this first day of the 'weekender', don't miss out on the opportunity to turn other people's crosses into tastes of Resurrection!

Saturday - Sabbath/Rest

"...whoever enters God's rest also ceases from laboring as did God" (Hebrews 4:10). You don't exactly need a line from scripture to remind you of the importance of taking time to smell the flowers. However, did you realize that God basically commands enjoyment and recreation? Saturday is that time during the weekender for taking time to have a good time. After all, recreation involves us in Reenacting Creation. God's six-day work week was not a drudgery; God enjoys creating-- it is all good. By our resting on the Sabbath/Saturday, our recreation and leisure comprise not only a day of rest from our usual labors but a reminder that the spirit of joy on the rest day needs somehow be present even in our work the rest of the week. So, take advantage of weekender Saturdays:

* spend time with the people who mean the most to you

* surprise friends and family with some fun

* be hospitable for an hour or so--visit the home bound, hospitalised and those in nursing homes

* say a prayer of remembrance for departed loved ones--let their love live on in you.

And then day two of the 'weekender' gives you another taste of Resurrection!

Sunday - Lord's Day

"On this day the Lord has acted; we will be glad and rejoice in it" (Psalm 118:24).

You are likely now getting the idea about the three-fold opportunity of this 'weekender'. If, on Fridays, Christ's giving becomes our giving and, on Saturdays, God's resting becomes our rest, then what of the first day of the new week on which God acted in raising Jesus Christ to new life? We act in worship:

* attend the Parish Eucharist

* take part in the liturgical action (volunteer to be a reader, sing those hymns with vigor, bring up the bread and wine, add your out loud petitions and thanksgivings during The Prayers of The People

* make your main Sunday meal a festive one; every Sunday is a little Easter. Let the food you prepare and share be a tasting of Resurrection.

That's the spiritual weekender.

Try it during Lent and then subscribe to this practice year-round. You don't have to call an 800 number to get it started. Your credit card won't be billed. There won't be any piles of paper to bundle for recycling. What there will be is a gift.

“Almighty God… Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations…”

2009-03-04T17:25:00.003-05:00

What is either getting or distracting your attention these days:

Making ends meet in your household economy? A parent’s health; your own? War? Relationship? Children? Aging?

Can you see how a lot of what might be on your mind and in your heart are ‘temptations’? Temptation isn’t just about whether or not to eat that doughnut. Neither does all temptation start out by moving you in the direction of doing something wrong—thoughts, words and things done or left undone that will result in what we classically label as ‘evil’. Temptations are also those worries that weigh upon us good folk and cause anxiety. For that matter, we might even be tempted by the idea of doing the good (that we, ourselves, could do such and such in order to bring about a better situation, a better world). Then again, that same noble ‘to do list’ might lead you and me to fret that there is no way we could accomplish x-y-z, that it is best we disabuse ourselves of such utopian fantasies, that it might just be smarter to mind one’s own little patch of turf. That leads to the temptation to just be and do what tends to cultivate and maintain a sense of normalcy. Yeah, I’ll just take care of my own little patch of turf—not disrupting anything or bothering anyone. I’ll be a good neighbor; wait and put my trash out the evening before pick-up.

Hmm, might this be the really big temptation—attempting to enclave myself in my own little world. If that’s so, it would be better to eat the doughnut this Lent, with a cup of coffee, while reflecting on the ways we shy away from truly engaging with others—especially others who appear different or who are particularly in need.

Yes, for that matter, rather than “giving up” for Lent, maybe it would be better to “take on.” True, eschewing the sweet for a time might help you reduce your dependency on it. However, that is all about you. So instead of giving up, what might you give during this season—how might you practice going out of yourself for others, so that after the Lenten season, you will have established a discipline of being for others?

Yours needn’t be some monumental project. Rather, what small steps can you take in the direction of the other person rather than back stepping your way into your own safe space?

Why bother? Because most of us, when we experience the interconnections between people, then experience a richer, more beautiful life. That’s what Jesus was teaching: that the things which distract and worry us (remember that list at the beginning of this piece?) come to be understood and felt in a whole new way as a result of being open to and active about the interconnectedness of being. Everything is all interconnected—no my space, your space; rather all in all. God all in all. It'sall God's time and space, and we all are related in it.

Lent does not usually win popularity contests

2009-02-24T16:21:00.004-05:00

Even a lot of church folk resist it.

So here are a few phrases to ponder. Roll them around in your mind. Share the resultant thoughts with a friend, or post them back here.

The thing about Lent seems to be this: what we resist about Lent are the same things with which we struggle most about in life.

Here are some suggestive thoughts at the beginning of Lent--

Wholeness entails a dismembering.

Dismemberment is part of the transformation that brings atonement-- at-one-ment.

Such oneness is a change.

Such change cannot happen without a dying.

Lent is pilgrimage: a conscious engagement of suffering and death

and a taking stock of the gift of life.

That does NOT mean you are supposed to go looking for suffering. That is a blasphemous insult to those who are suffering and an affront to the Divine by mistaking God for an executioner.

So, back off from suffering. Instead, go looking for support!

Joining this pilgrimage with others will rescue the individual from being his or her own judge, jury and gallows guard. We will be reminded, instead, of the grace of God (and just when we were ready to lock one's self up, too). Lent is not an arraignment; rather, Lent-- the scripture readings, the symbols, the ritual actions--is spiritual training. In your "cell" instead of feeling locked up (ok, honestly you might feel locked up for a longer period than you'd like), the world will open up to you.

Yes, the ritual acts are acts of mortification--dying to the self.

Nobody said the pilgrimage is going to be a vacation.

However, it will be a breath of life, the breath of God.

"Breathe on us, breath of God."

Help us remember not so much that we are nothing but ashes but, rather, in our being touched by ash, humus, dirt we become more in touch and brought down to earth--back to the basics of life.

Lent readies the ground for planting--turning us over, breaking up our clods, that we might accept the fertile basic fact of life: love.

Lent's spring training gets us ready for Holy Week-- that dramatic enactment of the way things are: showing us that the most basic and fertile love of all is that between Jesus and God. Their love bears us and carries us to birth.

What's Love got to do with It?

2009-02-20T10:47:00.002-05:00

No, I'm not humming a Tina Turner favorite.
And the quick response is certainly "Love has everything to do with it."

What am I writing about?
Well, last weekend a reading group gathered to discuss a short story entitled "The Book of Martha" by speculative (science) fiction writer Octavia Butler. If you know Butler at all, you know she wrote some fairly wild yet engaging fiction that involved everything from time travel back to a southern plantation during slavery, and vampire-like human-sort-of people who have populated the earth, to novels on how religion in America can lead to disturbing and distorted rather than Utopian possibilities.

And then there's "The Book of Martha"--
It seems a West Coast writer, who loves her craft, has died-- she thinks; though she wonders if she's gone nuts or is somehow aware of her dead self on a slab in the morgue, since everything around her is gray and amorphous.
So she's dead, because next thing that appears against the gray is God-- or someone she thinks must be God (that bearded, enthroned king image is what she is seeing... at that particular moment).
If that's God, then she must be in heaven? she queries.
She queries because if it is heaven, it's all just gray and God and her. "Where's everyone else?" she wonders out loud. "Why?" God asks, in a sort of set up that then plays out throughout the story. "What do you see?" God more or less asks; and Martha says "only you." God then implies that is Martha's vision situation (and that plays out throughout the story too because God goes from being a bearded old man to eventually being a middle-aged African American woman who says yes to a tuna fish sandwich, who Martha thinks could be her own twin and about which God is not so much amused as God is suggesting that Martha (and the reader) should spend some time thinking about how and why we imagine God as we do/need to.

You really need to read this short story to both enjoy Butler's way about certain issues (like What do we know and How do we know it and communicate/process/interpret it?) and then to ponder the issues.

These are important questions both for people of faith and for people who are wondering about faith (and if you are wondering about faith, then you are likely, also, wondering about doubt, too). For that matter, Butler, like the prophets of The Old Testament, might be trying to both comfort the oppressed (those oppressed by doubts) and challenge the comfortable (those too snug in their faith assumptions). For when you do take a sober look at all the violence and enslavement that continue in our world, one then does begin to ask, "What's Love got to do with It?" What does it mean to say we believe in a God who is Love in a world which is so full of un-love? That's not a new question. People ask that question a lot, and have through the ages.

However, what Butler does is pose the question in her narrative (without ever asking it) in such a way as to be able to speak to both the believer and non-believer at the same time. That's the big project at the heart of all Octavia Butler's writing: traversing the divide, not taking Us/Them as a given and, instead, trying to speak to both-- to uncover how we construct reality so as to assure and secure ourselves, and that such constructions often have blueprints that keep the other out.

In "The Book of Martha" Butler teases the reader about Heaven, God and Self (freedom, responsibility, control, power) so that when Martha gets sent back to earth, the reader is brought to an earthly contemplation of what we might mean by "God."

It is a very interesting read; a good way to apply a lens on our own faith texts--the beliefs we carry around inside ourselves and even within our community. Butler is not discounting faith, just challenging faith assumptions so that we do not have too ready an answer to the question "What's Love got to do with It?" She even embeds a Christ-figure in the narrative so as to suggest a response to the question. Can you spot it?

By the way, if you are wondering why "It" is capitalized, that's just me suggesting that not only do we need to consider what we think love is/means, we also need to ask ourselves what is the "It" to which we want God's love applied (e.g., What's love got to do with salvation, my trusting God, God's being good to/with/for me, health, happiness; as well as pain, suffering, things not turning out good etc)

Any thoughts? Leave a comment.
Need a copy of "The Book of Martha"?
Let me know and I can email it to you.

The Heart of February 14

2009-02-14T13:44:00.004-05:00

Sharing something I found in my email inbox today.

From the Fifth Chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew:

I am telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves.

This is what God does. God gives God's best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.

If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

V. The Word of the Lord
R. Happy Valentines Day!

Advent 4 -- Song of Praise -- December 21

2008-12-18T14:47:00.002-05:00

[guest blogger: Lori Sbordone]
The woman
She is a teenager - an oppressed member of an oppressed people. Like most teenagers, people can’t seem to figure out what she’s good for. And she’s a woman. She has heard how men pray, “Thank you God, that I am not a woman.” If she were a mule, at least she’d be good for pulling wagons and plowing fields. She is a nobody. She’s an orphan. According to tradition, her parents both died when she was young. The closest thing she knew to a home was the Temple in Jerusalem, but she is a teenager now and there are things happening in her body which makes her “unclean” once a month. It’s time that she be married, although she has no father for young men to approach asking for her hand. A local rabbi makes the arrangements, and she is betrothed to a good man, an older man with children of his own to raise. It’s time to grow-up, leave her childhood behind and care for other children now.

She is waking up to discover the world about her is not kind. She has experienced the capricious violence of the Roman soldiers, and she has watched the tax collectors snatch the few coins from the poor who were clinging to that money to feed their children. She has watched the older people in her village hang their heads, sit on their anger, clench their fists around their frustration until their nails tore holes in their palms. She has watched hot tears fall from their faces when the rabbi read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, “Arise. Shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has arisen upon you…for the LORD will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in His people. No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress…They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity…before they call, He will answer; while they are yet speaking, He will hear. (60:1; 65:19, 23-24) The cry now leaps from her own heart, “When! When will you fulfill the promises? When will you send another to march up to the throne of Pharaoh and demand, “Let my people go!”?

The rabbis say that when God appeared to Moses, He chose an ordinary bush, not a useful tree such as the olive or the fig, put a plant of no account so that His glory might be revealed within it. So Mary comes before the God of her people; “LORD, I am a useless bush. Be it done unto me according to your word.” And so it is done. In the dark of the night, an angel appears to her and announces that she will bear a son who will be called great – the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His ancestor David, and of His kingdom there will be no end. For nothing is impossible with God.”

I imagine Mary sitting up all night, watching the sunrise, still shaking her head and wondering, “How can this be?” Life in her village cannot seem much different to her this morning; still the mothers will wake to feed their hungry children, and the fathers go out to tend their fields; still the merchants will drag their goods to the market and Herod’s agents will stand by the fishermen’s boats to take their cut of their labor. Nothing has changed, and yet everything has changed, and she is the only one who knows this. But how can it be? Perhaps she was just dreaming. God, in His wisdom and mercy, gave her something to hold onto, something concrete. She rises and heads toward the house of her aunt, Elizabeth, who the angel said was now in her third month of pregnancy. Elizabeth who is old, and to this moment has been childless, is singing a song of miraculous pregnancy as her ancestor Hannah had. If Elizabeth is singing when she sees her, then she will know that the angel was indeed a messenger sent from God, and all he said was true. Mary greets Elizabeth, and at the sound of her voice, both she and the child within her leap for joy. Everything has changed. God has heard the cry of His people.

Her Song of Praise
The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) is a song of revolutionary victory. As a revolutionary I think of the surrender of Kerensky to the Bolsheviks in Russia, the fall of the Batista government in Cuba or Somosa in Nicaragua, the end of apartheid in South Africa, people streaming into the streets to discover that Pharaoh’s army has been drowned in the Red Sea. They breathe for the first time, the sweet air of freedom. Mary’s song is at least as big as this. Bigger, because “of His kingdom, there will be no end.” This revolution is God’s doing, so there will be no undoing.

3 Advent 2008 -- John The Baptist "Stir Up" Sunday

2008-12-11T16:18:00.002-05:00

[guest blogger: Joe Occhiuto]
The mission before us is Continuity and Change.
When times are tough, many tend to dwell on the past. Many also tend to fill themselves with comfort food.
However, it must be noted that living in the past can stunt your growth. Too much comfort food can make you fat!
Living without change that is driven by the Holy Spirit will stunt your growth and make you fat.

This coming Sunday (Dec. 14th), Advent 3, is often referred to as "John the Baptist Sunday" because the Gospel message is the preaching of John, the last prophet. In the preaching of John the Baptist there is no room for dwelling on the past, or seeking any kind of comfort. Recall that John was the man who wore only camels fur and ate bugs and honey. John proclaims not what was, but what is and what is to come. John proclaims the Light - a new and improved Light. You cannot turn on a light in the past. But you can turn on a light in the present, and you can prepare or make ready to turn on a light in the future.

To be sure, there is much that can be learned from the past (Continuity) - not everything done in the dark was bad, But something new is about to dawn. Don't you want to be in on it? It's going to be good!

Come - let's talk
Sunday Dec 14th - Noon - in the Church

Our study of Change Continues - Advent 2

2008-12-05T14:22:00.004-05:00

[guest blog: Joyce Egginton]
Last week we focused on Change-- the ways in which the Divine does not stay in one place or time; the ways in which Change, or the prospect of change, can produce anxiety. Yet, this week's scripture readings begins with Isaiah 40:1-11. The prophet's words, rather than warning about change, announce a promise of comfort for a people who have been buffeted about. The compassionate comforting that God brings is heralded, just as the herald of change, John the Baptist, shows up on the scene in Mark 1:1-8.

Join presenter Joyce Egginton following the 10:30 liturgy on Sunday as we continue to ponder the reality that we are in for a change.

Advent Bible Study Series Preview: Advent I

2008-11-26T16:14:00.002-05:00

[guest blogger: Bill Paine]

First, thanks to Father Reese for allowing me to lead Advent I's bible study session. I look forward to a wonderful shared learning experience with everyone who can join us at 12 Noon this Sunday, November 30th.

We will be taking a look at the three scripture lessons and the psalm appointed for this Sunday, Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, and Mark 13:24-37, through the lens of the Advent Series theme, "We're In For a Change."

There's an old joke that goes something like this... Question: how many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb? Answer (delivered in a horrified voice): Change??

Change is scary. Change is coming to the Big Game in a football uniform and being handed a squash racquet. Change is uncomfortable and challenging. Even our language celebrates things that do not change, calling them traditional, familiar, steady, unwavering—you can probably think of half a dozen more adjectives.

So why, then, talk about change during Advent, a season that culminates in what is probably the single most tradition-laden, timeless, warm-and-fuzzy, we-always-do-it-this-way holiday of the year? Because underneath the traditional hymns, the decorations, the anticipation and all that makes Advent familiar is a seldom acknowledged truth: Advent is not a celebration of the road to the manger; it is a warning that ahead of us is the road to the Cross.

Yours in Christ,
Bill

Formation in Faith

2008-11-12T13:06:00.003-05:00

Greetings,

Throughout October we were considering the meaning of faith--experiencing the 'Real Presence' of God. Now, we take some time to consider our experiences of absence--when we do not feel as if God is really present or when our life experiences threaten to eclipse our seeing God really present.

The Wilderness Experience is our context for considering 'absence'. please read through the following questions as a way to consider the presence and absence of God in your life, as well as--very importantly-- your presence or absence before God.

Faithfully yours,
Tom

THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE
For the ancient Israelites it was 40 years in the desert
with many and long stretches of experience and emotion
as strangers in a strange and hostile environment.
Of course, on the move through the desert, the people did not feel at home in this world.
More than once, they did not feel at home with their leader Moses, or even with their G-d, Yahweh.

What about for you; what have your desert experiences been like?
[Have you experienced any scary last minute escapes from trouble, crossing a kind of red sea of your own, coming out on dry land on the other side and rejoicing; yet soon finding yourself again in a confusing or painful desert which depleted you and threatened to deplete you even more?
What about hungers and thirsts?
Metaphorical as well as actual sickness, loss and death along the way(--after all, not everyone you started out with is still with you on the journey)?]

Are there ways in which you feel not at home, or out of place,
in the world?
[What have been some of your experiences? How did you respond/react/deal?]

Do you ever experience feeling not at home or out of joint
in the church?
[Again, what is that like and how have you handled it?
Also, are any of your experiences of feeling not at home in the church connected to that same stranger/alien feeling about "the world"--society, work, politics, retirement, money, family and friendslover/partner/spouse, values, time:continuity and change or relentless sameness?]

Mountain tops and Promised lands--
Have you had expectations of church
that have not come through for you?

What did Moses and the Hebrews do throughout their desert journey?
As the journey neared its end, what happened to Moses and the Hebrews?
What are you doing?
What is going to happen to you?

The Newly Confirmed and Received Share Their Faith and Invigorate Ours

2008-11-06T13:29:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends,

What follows are the affirmations of faith made by those who were presented to the Bishop during the All Saints' Day liturgy at our diocesan cathedral on November 1. Please read their statements and feel free to respond by adding your own thoughts about the two questions we have been considering this Fall:

What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is distinctive about being a Christian in The Episcopal Church?

First, you will read responses from three of our teen-aged members Anthony, Joe and Rowena), then from the three adults (Chris, Sal and Gabrielle).

(Anthony Lenti)
Being a Christian means having a unique relationship with God. It is not better than any other religion, nor is it worse. Being a Christina means holding true to your belief no matter what life throws at you. Being an Episcopalian is different because this group of church-goers has a more community view. At a bigger church, one would not be able to get to know every other person who goes to the same church. I feel more comfortable being a member of the Episcopalian church, more so than I would anywhere else.

(Joe Dinas)
To be a Christian is to believe that there are other worldly powers out there that are completely pure unlike what we know of here on Earth. I am not talking about aliens! I am talking about how one being somewhere has infinite powers and uses them to shape our lives so that hopefully we can do the right thing or help someone else do the right thing. Now there are a lot of different ways to express this belief. Not just as a Christian, but as a Jew, Muslim or even a Buddhist. These religions are all different with all their rituals and other beliefs. But one thing is always constant no matter how you re-word it, or try to change it. That fact is that they all believe in God or at least some form of great power that we live by. Now I feel that The Episcopal Church is different from all other churches (not necessarily other religions) in that they aren’t “brainwashing” you could say. The church lets you believe and have your own feelings about the faith. Unlike in the Middle Ages when the Church used the faith to make people their pawns. Or even something more current like fundamentalist churches that tell you how you must believe in God. That just isn’t what faith is at all. It is just gathering together with a group of people to listen.

(Rowena Chodkowski)
To be a Christian means to be a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. A Christian is a person who seeks, throughout his or her life, to understand God and seek him in all his different expressions. They do this through a variety of means. Personal introspection, scientific research, the study of religion and philosophy, regular church service and prayer, meditation and religious discourse—these are all ways that Christians seek to better understand God. A Christian lives by the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and understands the greatest human virtue not to be adherence to piety and dogma, but kindness and love. A Christian strives to follow the Ten Commandments of Moses and the Two Commandments of Jesus in order to better understand both God and his fellow man. A Christian employs what he or she learns through his or her faith and reason to live the best life possible—one in which the individual strives for an understanding of the infinite and unfathomable God. Most importantly, this is not done through dogma alone; it is done through tolerance, exploration, understanding, moderation and love. A Christian understands both sin and repentance, but does not dwell on the latter to erase the former. A Christian uses a close bond with God in order to find a path of moderation and kindness that leads him or her along the healthiest, most stable path along life: the one that is right for both the individual and his or her peers.

The Episcopal Church varies drastically over its scope: there are both highly liberal and highly conservative churches within the same communion. However, I will focus on the Episcopal Church that I have known for all twelve years of my religious education. The Episcopal Church understands the beauty of tradition and ceremony, but it does not place them above practicality and societal change. The Episcopal Church expresses the importance of dialogue and exploration of religion: it does not preach dogma for its congregations to memorize, but it teaches its members how to question their everyday activities and apply what they know to be good in order to be good to their fellow man. It understands the Bible as a document inspired by God but written by man, and does not take its word literally, instead encouraging exploration and discussion. Finally, it is a church of acceptance. The Episcopal Church does not harbor disdain for its members based on their current or former color, creed, race, religion, or sexual orientation. The final criterion in this list is especially important to me: I believe firmly that sex is a beautiful expression of love, affection and intimacy: it is not something dirty and abhorrent, nor should it be limited to heterosexual expression. Love is something for all people to share with each other, whether platonic, fraternal or erotic, depending on what is appropriate for their relationship. The Episcopal Church does not dispense with traditional morals entirely, but understands how best to negotiate their change as society changes over time.

(Chris Dippel)
To me, being a Christian is about answering Christ’s call to Love. He teaches us that in order to
find salvation, we must love God and one another. But what is love and how do we express it?
To paraphrase the Oxford English Dictionary, to love someone is to delight in their presence and
possess an earnest concern for their welfare. I like this definition. And love is expressed
through service– we help those we love; we sacrifice for them. We don’t think twice about
going out of our way for a family member in need. In fact, in our heart of hearts, we welcome
moments when we can help because it is an opportunity to show loved ones how much we truly
care. Christ’s challenge to us is not an easy one. To care for everyone in that same way, to see
the Christ in everyone, requires faith and sacrifice. I know that I fail more than I succeed. But
when we try, when we open our minds and our hearts to others, we are answering Christ’s call.
When we love each other, we show our love for God.

When I was a kid, my family did not attend church, but my mother taught me to be a Christian.
She told me about Jesus and read to me from a children’s book entitled, “The Greatest Bible
Stories Ever Told.” She taught me to be patient and kind, to accept others for who they are and
not what I want them to be, to love everyone. All wonderful things to learn, but as I got older, it
ruined me in terms of finding a church home. As I began to understand the stories of my father’s
break from the Catholic church because of their refusal to allow my mother, a non-Catholic, to
receive communion with her family, and I witnessed those who professed to be Christians
thumping their bibles and condemning those whose beliefs differed from their own, I became
aware of the closed-mindedness of many churches. None of that sounded like what I had been
taught by my mother. I began to believe that my relationship with God would have to continue to
exist outside of a church family. For a while I wanted nothing to do with any church. My faith
in God continued, but my contempt for organized religion grew. Then I met my wife, Claire.
She was brought up in the Episcopal Church, attended an Episcopal High School, and was the
most loving and accepting person I had ever met. When we got engaged, we decided to get
married in her home church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Del Mar, California. This is how I
became acquainted with her priest, Father Tally Jarrett, the most wonderful human being whom
I have ever had the pleasure to know. This man knew love like my mother. He opened
his heart to others in ways I didn’t know were possible. Over the next seven years, we stayed in
close contact with Father Jarrett, and my conversations with him helped me to realize that The
Episcopal Church was the church I had looked for as a young man, and hadn’t found.

What is distinctive about The Episcopal Church is that it allows people to remain
individuals and helps to support personal relationships with God. It is accepting of everyone and welcomes all to Christ’s table. Members can disagree and still remain members. In fact, debate is welcomed. How wonderful is that! Ours is a church that believes that “continuing debate brings continuing insight.” It is a church whose core beliefs are so strongly rooted in the teachings of Christ that it can accommodate differences and remain unshaken. The Episcopal Church is a family, and “a family is bound together not by its ability to agree, but by its ability to love.”

(Sal Amato)
I was born into a Roman Catholic family. I grew up accepting my family religion as a matter of fact, never really feeling committed in any way. It was in my senior years that I became disillusioned with this faith for reasons both academic and personal. As a consequence of my wife being Episcopalian I would attend services at St. Luke's occasionally. Over a period of time I began, for the first time, to appreciate the beauty of Christ's teachings. I began to feel the place they had in my life, and the freedom to practice this new found spirituality in a free and thoughtful environment without being judged. I embraced my new found faith and wanted to be a part of it, not just an observer. I have to say a lot of how I feel has to do with the wonderful place that St. Luke's is and the kind and gentle leadership of Tom. It all adds up to a convivial faith community where all my former ambivalence melted away.

(Gabrielle Tafuro)
Christians are people who believe in Jesus Christ. It means you have a personal relationship with Jesus by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior. Being a Christian to me means being true to yourself and to God. It means living a life that I know in my heart pleases the Lord. It means being a disciple of the Lord Jesus and to love one another as he loved us.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, the Son of God, our Lord. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body And, the life everlasting.
I went through a difficult time in my life when I wasn’t sure if I believed in God anymore. I was watching a little boy suffer and eventually die of cancer. It made me question my beliefs….how could God let this happen? I began to lose my faith. I was angry at God. I was also not happy with the religion in which I was raised. It was not giving me what I needed. I felt disillusioned.

I guess in my heart I did not entirely turn away from God and I was able to open my heart and mind to follow God. It took the birth of my son to restore my faith and help rebuild my relationship with Jesus Christ. I could not believe this miracle God had given me. I was overwhelmed with love. It is difficult not to believe in something more when you hold a perfect little baby in your arms. I needed a way to thank God for what He had given me. But I knew I needed a more fulfilling way to worship and be part of a church where I felt comfortable.
I was drawn to the Episcopal faith and church through my mother .She and I would discuss how the Episcopal Church believes through baptism of any Christian denomination we become part of God’s family-any baptized person is welcome and encouraged to share in Holy Communion.
First of all, the sign outside every Episcopal Church reads “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You.”

I love that all are welcome to participate in worship together as a Christian family, that Scripture is the foundation of worship and that every worship service includes the reading of Holy Scripture from the Old and the New Testaments.
I want to be part of The Episcopal Church because it does not control interpretation and practice. Its members are encouraged to use reason to explore and comprehend God’s works. I want to be part of a community that strives to be open and inclusive.
I paraphrase what I have read through this journey Tom has taken me on as I prepare for my Reception into the Episcopal Church when I write… God does not call us to agree. God calls us to communion.
The Episcopal Church focuses on love, not sin. And, all are welcome.

(You) [post your responses by clicking on "COMMENTS."

Baptism - Eucharist - Ministry: Confirmation of Faith

2008-10-22T13:28:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends,
If you have been following The Bethlehem Community blog lately, you know that we are praying for our confirmands and those who will be received into the Episcopal Church on All Saint's Day, November 1st. In this space, we, too, are considering the life of faith, using the preparation materials that candidates have been thinking about and discussing in their meetings together. Having already considered Scripture (see earlier blog entries), we now take a look at The Book of Common Prayer-- with a close look at Baptism, Eucharist and the Ministry to which all Christians commit.

What follows here are the Prayer Book pages to read and the questions to be thinking about--

301 - 305: These pages are from the Baptismal Liturgy. They will be very familiar to you.
1) On the bottom of page 302 (and top of 303) you find six questions and responses.
What's going on here?

2) On page 304 you find "The Baptismal Covenant" which begins with The Apostles' Creed--that's the statement of faith that those to be baptized have always recited (that's a 2000 year plus tradition). Notice that the Creed is broken into three parts (one for each person of The Trinity)--
a) Do you believe in God the Father? Read this section (it's only two lines) and then write it down in your own words.
b) Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? OK, now, this time list three things from this section that you do believe and also write down one thing about Jesus Christ that you have some trouble believing (or that you have your doubts about).
c) Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?

361 - 363: These pages contain one of the four Eucharistic Prayers. The Eucharistic Prayer is the Thanksgiving Story for Christians. Eucharist is a Greek word that means Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving Story for Christians is God's Gift of Love given in Jesus Christ, shared by those who follow Christ, and then given again by the Church (that's us) to be shared with and in the world.
3) How would you tell this story?

** We have looked at Baptism and Eucharist, the sacramental focus of our lives.
4) What is a sacrament?

309 - 310: These pages are found found at the conclusion of the Baptism section in the Prayer Book. They are the special prayers at Confirmation.
5) What is Confirmation and Reception, based on the prayers on these pages?

365: This page has a Postcommunion Prayer, the closing prayer following Holy Communion. There's another one on p. 366 but we are just looking at this one.
6) How is the Postcommunion Prayer similar to a "Commencement Address" ?

OK, now go back to pages 304 and 305: Following the Apostles' Creed, five questions and responses are found (beginning towards the bottom of page 304 with the words "Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship..."). These are the Baptismal Promises-- they were made for us at Baptism. At Confirmation, when we affirm our faith, we reaffirm these promises. Basically, the five promises comprise the blueprint of what it means to lead a Christian life.
7) Very carefully, read the five questions that the Celebrant (priest) asks. Be thinking about the when, where, how and why of these questions; the "Who" is You! So, how you might keep these promises-- when, where, why?

Also, keep in mind that you are invited to post a response on this blog.
The candidates are working on statements that answer these two questions:
What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is distinctive about being a Christian in The Episcopal Church?

If you'd like to respond to these questions, please post your response here.

AFFIRMING FAITH -- An October Discussion (posted October 1)

2008-09-25T17:48:00.006-04:00

Dear Friends,

I invite you to participate in an online discussion throughout the month of October.

In the Episcopal Church, we speak of the many ways in which members feel 'at home' and welcomed--included in the community of faith. This affirmation of our being accepted by God is a joyful and empowering gift.

At the same time, having been affirmed by God in Christ, and affirmed and welcomed by the other members of the community of faith, we are also called upon, in word and deed, to make an Affirmation of Faith.

What is the faith we affirm? What do we mean when we say we are Christian?
Such questions are on the minds of a number of people at Saint Luke's who are preparing for Confirmation on All Saints' Day, November 1st.

Suppose you were approached by some one who is not Christian but who wants to understand a bit of why you are. How would you respond? What does it mean to be Christian?
That same person then has a follow-up question for you: Why would somebody choose to be Christian in The Episcopal Church?

PLEASE POST YOUR RESPONSES. That way we'll be helping our candidates for Confirmation (and Reception*) prepare for their November 1st Affirmation of Faith and we'll be learning more about faith from our shared affirmations.

BY THE WAY: Among the topics that candidates will be studying and discussing are The Bible and The Book of Common Prayer.

DURING THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE we have been focusing on The Gospel According to Mark. You might want to read it. It's a fast read--both by length and by the evangelist's tempo. It's a good place to begin a study of The Gospels. One particular section you might attend to is Mark 8:27-10:45. In this section, we read of how the followers of Jesus, and early Christians in Mark's church community, were misunderstanding what it means to call Jesus the Christ. It seems people had the idea that you could follow Christ as a way to be relieved of whatever ailed you. However, Jesus (and Mark writing about Jesus' ministry and message) warns people that to be a true disciple or follower does not mean a life of tranquillity and calm. GIVE THESE CHAPTERS A LOOK! Three times, Jesus predicts his Passion (suffering and death); three times his disciples don't want to hear it and as a result are misunderstanding the heart of Christ's mission; three times Jesus offers a teaching to correct their (and our?) mistaken views on what it means to call Jesus Christ and to follow him in faith as a disciple.

A CLUE TO SEEING THE THREE-FOLD PATTERN IN THIS SECTION OF MARK: As I said, there are three repititions of a) Jesus Predicts His Passion, b) the Disciples Misunderstand what it means to follow Jesus, and c) Jesus teaches them about Christ and Faith. The clue is that each of the three sections begins with a geographic reference-- it almost makes it like a mini-chapter heading: Section One starts at 8:27 (with a reference to Caesarea Philip); Section Two, at 9:30 (referencing Galilee and Capernaum); and Section Three, at 10:32 (Road to Jerusalem).

Next week (after Oct 7) check back here for some focusing questions on The Book of Common Prayer.

Faithfully yours,

Tom

(*Reception is the term used when a person, having been previously confirmed in another denomination, desires to be received into The Episcopal Church, making an adult affirmation of faith)