In this way, forgiveness is not passive. It is not unexamined. It is not a mind at rest or emotions perfectly in check. It may very well be accompanied by lamentation, righteous anger, and calls for change. There are enemies out there. And these enemies have the power to hurt us and do us harm. Sometimes, these enemies would even call us friends, or, in Joseph’s case, family. And yet, we are called to forgive, because we are called to love. And if we, like Joseph, have the courage to say, “Come closer,” we may very well glimpse not only our own faces in our enemies but the very face of God.
Read MoreThe people in our Gospel story came seeking Jesus. They wanted to be with him, to touch him, because when they touched him they felt the power of God. People came to be healed, healed of their physical and mental illnesses. They were hungry for what Jesus had to offer. They knew if they just touched him, that power would come out of him and their spirits would be restored. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.” We need Jesus to fill us with good things. Our world is hurting, deeply, deeply hurting. We come together, Sunday after Sunday, to be filled, to touch Jesus, to be restored, and to claim hope for ourselves, for the people we love and for the world. Each of us needs the healing that only Jesus can give. And we come together to receive it so that we can offer it to others.
Read MoreContrary to popular belief, in the Church, being a lay person is not simply what you are by default if you don’t wear a collar. Being a lay person is a calling, just as true and just as vitally important to the Church’s mission as any other calling. By your baptism you have been commissioned, by the sacraments you are strengthened, and in this community and in the world you are called to be faithful ministers of Christ’s reconciling love, each according to the gifts given to you. The Church quite literally could not exist without you because you are the Church. I know it’s cliché but it’s worth being reminded of.
Read MoreI think that Paul is doing something very clever here from a theological and pastoral point of view. Rather than simply criticizing those whom he regards as involved in quarreling, he portrays the divisions of the congregation at Corinth as a result of their effort to respond seriously to the gifts that God has given them. They have not fallen into problems because of lack of faith or of disregard of the word of God, rather they have fallen in division precisely because they have taken faith seriously and are trying to be good Christians, but they have to remember not to elbow one another out of the way in their effort to exercise the gifts they have been given..
Read MoreI’d reframe the question like this: As we stand in the crowded public square, how do we remain attentive to the Word of God when it is spoken amid destruction, oppression, sickness, grief, anger, or fear? How can we remain present to a hurting world while appropriately tending to the Christian hope in our own hurting hearts?
Our Baptismal Covenant calls us to attention, perseverance, proclamation, service, and a commitment to striving for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being (BCP 305).
How are we meant to do this and not to also weep over the state of the world? And yet, our first lesson brings with it a word from God: Do not be grieved (Neh. 8:10).
Read MoreAs Christians, we are called to minister to the oppressed and lift up the down-trodden because God is particularly and peculiarly interested in the marginalized, the oppressed, those that our society often sees as “less than”. People of color, people who identify as LGBTQ+, people who are poor, people who have mental health challenges. In God’s eyes, there are no “less-than” people, only God’s beloved ones. Martin Luther King Jr understood this. Our faith is not only about our own private salvation, although it is most certainly that as well. It is primarily about the salvation of the world. And God’s kingdom starts now.
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