Category: Current Affairs

Taking Time for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving may be a teachable moment, when we can connect the dots that form a picture of family life and family identity.

Families seem busier now than when I was a child. It's easy to understand, particularly with more two-career households, more activities for children and youth, and significant shifts in cultural values. When something has to give, family meals may fall by the wayside. And yet, family meals are not only a time for strengthening family ties and keeping track of your children's lives, they can actually lead to better physical and mental health for your children and for the entire family.

Studies in recent years have concluded that family meals are a central feature in better nutrition, mental health, academic achievement, vocabulary, parenting, and family life in general. Many of us can recall how we learned the story of our family and came to an understanding of our place in that family while sitting at the table with our families.

Have you noticed that as the trend away from family dining has increased, worship patterns on Sundays have also changed? I suspect the same factors that make it more difficult to gather the family around the dinner table also make it more difficult for Christians to gather around the Lord's Table. I invite you to consider that the health and well-being of the Church is impacted by regular worship in ways that are similar to ways our families are impacted by regular family meals. When God calls us together to recall the family story and share in the family meal, we are nourished and formed as Christians. We remember who and whose we are.

Maybe the adage, "The Family That Prays Together Stays Together," is not so trite after all. I do understand that many people do not have good memories of family and home. Many have not found the church family all that wonderful either. However, there is universal hunger for a sense of belonging and identity that we might call "family feeling." Those who have found surrogate families will tell you how much it means. Those who have returned to their church families or found new ones will tell you how it has impacted their spiritual journey.

Now is a good time to pause and reflect on the busyness of our lives and consider what valuable times with our families and our church family have been crowded out. And, it is a good time to recall and give thanks for the good things that have not been crowded out. It is easy to focus on what we lack. Occasions of thanksgiving help us focus on the abundance of our lives.

If we are too busy to gather around the table – at home or at church – maybe we are just too busy for our own good and the good of those whose lives are closely linked with ours. At home and at church, we need that time together!

Here's a prayer and a selection of music to share with those whom you care about this Thanksgiving:

• The Collect for Thanksgiving Day from the Book of Common Prayer

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the
fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those
who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of
your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and
the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

• The hymn Now Thank We All Our God, performed by The Cambridge Singers and the City of London Sinfonia, conducted by John Rutter.

November 22, 2011
Perfect Freedom: Reflections on Liberty

Liberty. It’s a word we hear a lot around the Fourth of July every year. Many of us recall studies in American History or in Philosophy that attempted to deepen our appreciation for the value associated with the word, particularly in relation to the revolt against British rule and the founding of the United States of America.

The Liberty Bell is so called because of the inscription it bears from the 25th chapter of the Book of Leviticus: “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.”

Patrick Henry (1736-1799), one of the most influential advocates of the American Revolution, is probably best known for his “Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” speech.

Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with the year 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. That sculpture, The Statue of Liberty, was not dedicated until 1886. She stands today as a lasting symbol of the friendship established between French people and the American people at the time of the American Revolution. The pursuit of liberty is at the heart of that friendship.

These are but a few of the many reminders of the significance of liberty that come to mind as we celebrate our nation’s birth. Nineteenth century abolitionist Wendell Phillips cautioned, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." This would be a good opportunity to heed his words, examine ourselves, and seek a renewed appreciation for liberty and a renewed commitment to value liberty enough to use it wisely.

Liberty, in the philosophical or political sense, can be viewed both as the freedom to act and as the absence of coercion. In both cases, an individual is responsible for how he or she exercises that liberty. People of faith – any faith – will look to the teachings of their faith for guidance in the decisions liberty permits them to make. What should I do with the freedom I have to exercise my will and from coercion to act against my will? How does my relationship with God influence the way I express the liberty that has been made possible for me and my neighbor?

The founders of our nation differed in some significant ways in their religious views. However, there seems to have been a common conviction that liberty was a basic and inalienable human right endowed by the Creator. Indeed, the theme of liberty is woven throughout the scriptures that are sacred to Christians. The theme is so prominent that one would have to be blind to miss it even a casual reading of either testament.

A short summary of how liberty is treated in the New Testament might prompt us to find ways the liberty we have in Christ will help us better exercise the liberty we have as Americans.

The biblical theme of liberty has to do with freedom from any form of slavery or oppression. Spiritually, the power that enslaves is sin (John 8:34) and liberty is deliverance from sin and for a right relationship with God and our neighbor. When the Seventy returned from their mission to their neighbors, they were excited that they were able to perform so many miraculous feats. But Jesus exhorted them not to be so excited about the miracles they performed and the power they had over people and things, but instead to rejoice that their names are written in heaven. In other words, to focus on their relationship with God which can never be taken away. So, we are liberated for a divine purpose; to live in relationship with God, to serve God, and glorify God for ever.

With liberation from the enslavement of sin comes holiness of life, the desire and capability to do what is right and good. It comes as the free gift of God’s grace declared in Baptism. In Romans and Galatians, we read about the liberty that is the possession of God's children (e.g. Romans 8:21 KJV and Galatians 2:4). In 2 Corinthians, St. Paul associates liberty with the presence of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17). In the Epistle of James, we read about "the perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25). The Gospel of John says that the instrument through which this liberty is imparted is "the truth" (John 8:32). And Christians are warned not to abuse their liberty in Christ (Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16).

St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians has been called “The Magna Charta of Christian Liberty.” In it, the Apostle writes, “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). He concludes his discourse with these words about the use of our freedom in Christ, “If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith” (Galatians 6:8-10). Thus, we often pray, “O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom.”

As followers of Jesus Christ and citizens of his kingdom, we are in possession of a spiritual liberty that no earthly authority can take away from us. May our citizenship in that realm guide the exercise of our liberty we also enjoy as citizens of “one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.”

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

– The Book of Common Prayer, 1979

June 30, 2011
Birth and Death, Similar Transitions Into Mystery

We have had two large funerals this week at our church. The church was packed on both occasions. As I have listened to members of the parish speak of the two wonderful women whose funerals they attended, I was impressed by how difficult this week has been on us as a parish. We are painfully aware of how important it is for all of us to learn to face death, both our own and that of others about whom we care.

Both of these women took time with family and friends to talk about their own mortality. They encouraged everyone around them to deal with their feelings. They discussed their burial plans. And they sorted through their own feelings about the experience before them.

In the Episcopal Church, one of our Eucharistic prayers speaks of our conviction that in death, “Life is changed, not ended.” In my conversation with one of these women, I suggested that in some ways, the transition we know as death is similar to the transition we know as birth. I shared a story that I thought might be helpful in illustrating my point. Henri Nouwen related this story or one similar to it in his book Our Greatest Gift. Following her death, her husband told me that she had appreciated the story. Here it is:

Once upon a time, twin boys were conceived in the same womb. Weeks passed and the twins developed. As their awareness grew, they laughed for joy: “Isn’t it great that we were conceived? Isn’t it great to be alive?”

Together, the twins explored their world. When they found their mother’s cord that gave them life, they sang for joy: “How great is our mother’s love, that she shares her own life with us!”

As weeks stretched into months, the twins noticed how much each was changing. “What does it mean?” asked the one, “It means that our stay in this world is drawing to an end,” said the other. “But I don’t want to go,” said the other one. “I want to stay here always.”

“We have no choice,” said the other. “But maybe there is life after birth!”

“But how can there be?” responded the one. “We will shed our life cord, and how is life possible without it? Besides, we have seen evidence that others were here before us, and none of them have returned to tell us that there is a life after birth. No, this is the end.”

And so the one fell into deep despair, saying, “If conception ends in birth, what is the purpose of life in the womb? It’s meaningless! Maybe there is no mother after all?”

“But there has to be,” protested the other. “How else did we get here? How do we remain alive?”

“Have you ever seen our mother?” said the one. “Maybe she lives only in our minds. Maybe we made her up, because the idea made us feel good?”

And so the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear. Finally, the moment of birth arrived. When the twins had passed from their world, they opened they eyes. They cried. For what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams.

St. Paul summed up the wonder of the mystery of what God has in store for us in I Corinthians 2:9, in which he quoted two passages from the Prophet Isaiah (64:4 and 52:15):

But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him’

Like birth and death, all transitions involve mysteries of the unknown. We incorectly assume that the status quo insulates us from the necessity of change with its uncertainties. That is why we fear and resist change. Yet our inheritance as people of faith is a bountiful reservoir of wisdom that assures us that God has wonderful things in store for us just around the next corner. Let us live our lives day by day in that kind of hope. Our two parishioners did and the hopefulness of their lives in their last days and in their passing brought hope to their families and to their friends.

June 9, 2011
What then are we to say about these things?

There have always been and perhaps always will be those who believe God uses natural disasters to punish humanity and those who try to pinpoint the end of history when God’s judgment will be rendered.

These issues have been around so long we even have terms for theological discourse concerning them. For example, Theodicy attempts to deal with how and why a benevolent God allows evil and suffering. And, Eschatology is the study of questions about the final events of history or the ultimate destiny of humanity.

Our response to human tragedy and our beliefs about God’s intentions probably say more about our own personality and outlook on life than about God. It is understandable when people are hurting and need to assign blame for the events that caused harm. And people whose experience of life involves heavy doses of righteous indignation and divine retribution naturally want God to take charge and straighten out everybody they disapprove of.

For my own part, I’m impressed with the complexity of the physical universe. The more science discovers about things like quarks, chaos, leptons, and pheromones, the more my view of the Divine Being expands. Why would God go to so much trouble just to perplex humanity and then to destroy us? Isn’t it just as likely that God created all things for good and gave human beings the resources to discover ways to cherish and protect creation and its creatures? For me, life is one big epiphany!

When I peer into suffering, I see the God of compassion not causing harm but caring for those who are hurting. When I ponder the end of history, what comes to mind is not a so-called “rapture” or celestial supreme court, but instead a cosmic “Ah-ha” experience in which “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear” (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, and Philippians 2:10,11.

The issues are far from settled and the discourse will continue. Those who need a wrathful God and an end of things characterized by judgment and retribution have plenty of preachers and churches to reinforce their viewpoints. But I am grateful to be a part of a tradition that believes “the universe is good, that it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it” (BCP, 846). I am privileged to foster a view of the Christian hope, which is “to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God’s purpose for the world” (BCP, 861).

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?… Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31, 35, 37-39)

May 26, 2011
Being sorry is not the same as repenting

I was especially moved by these words in the Litany of Penitence in yesterday’s Ash Wednesday service:

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of
concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

We've been praying that prayer for a long time! This prayer book was published in 1979, 32 years ago. That we’re sorry about our poor stewardship of creation is clear. That we’ve repented is not so clear, because to repent means to change behavior. Our sorrow must be strong enough to motivate us to make a change. However, as I lamented the sloth in my own green habits, I also noticed some signs of hope, some of which are fostered by the city in which I presently reside, Lexington, Kentucky.

Curbside Recycling ~ We have two cans, provided by the city. One can is green and is for household trash. The other can is blue and is for recyclables. We put paper, glass, plastic, aluminum, and a number of other items in the blue can and set it out by the curb every Thursday morning. A city crew comes by and picks it up. They take it to a place where the items in the can are sorted and recycled.

Bicycle Lanes ~ Lexington has bicycle lanes on roadways all over the city. They connect to some very nice bicycle trails. Cyclists ride them to work, to school, to church, and for recreation seven days a week. Motorists watch out for them and slow down. Unless otherwise posted, the speed limit in Lexington is 25 mph. In most other cities, it’s 30 mph. That 5 mph can make a big difference in an encounter between a passenger car and a bicycle. I don’t want to suggest that instituting bicycle lanes here was a simple thing, but mainly it took creative thinking, leadership, and application of some white paint on pavement.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs ~ Gay and I almost never buy an incandescent bulb anymore. The improvements in compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) and the number of options now available, the energy savings, and the availability make this kind of energy conservation a no-brainer! To make it even better, our local electric utility provider sent us some coupons that provided significant savings on the purchase of CFL's. We’ve come a long, long way from those fixtures with the “starters” my parents used in the 1950’s. But I am grateful for the example they provided. My dad was a homebuilder and he used fluorescent fixtures wherever possible. Lexington, like many cities, now has reasonable building codes that foster more extensive use of energy efficient lighting.

I am grateful to be living in a city where it easier to practice "green" habits. I feel that I've moved a little beyond sorry and am actually demonstrating some repentance in my care of creation. Thanks, Lexington, for fostering such a climate. Other cities can learn a lot from your good example.

A friend of mine was complaining about “tree huggers.” I confessed to him that I am a tree hugger and always have been. He pointed out that peoples’ livelihood depended upon the ability to harvest lumber from old forests in places like the Pacific Northwest and that the needs of people outweighed the needs of the Spotted Owls. I had to point out that human beings are endowed by the Creator with more options than the other creatures with which we share this planet. When God entrusted the stewardship of creation to humanity, it was because God had specially equipped us with cognitive resources not given to any other creature. We are supposed to be smart enough to figure out how to steward the resources of creation in a way that respects and sustains all life, not just humanity.

One of my Lenten disciplines is going to be to find more ways to be a good steward of creation, with or without the help of municipal resources. I want to be a contributing citizen of “this fragile earth, our island home.”

March 10, 2011
What do you worry about?

Jesus said, "… Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear” (Matthew 6:25).

On Sunday, I’ll be in a place where this gospel will be read to a congregation of people who have plenty of things. I wonder how the same gospel might sound to people in Haiti or Darfur or, closer to home, our neighbors in Appalachia or our Room in the Inn guests. People who really don’t have enough may have difficulty finding the good news in Jesus’ words.

Those who have enough and those who do not will perceive the message differently. But the message is the same: don’t be anxious about these things, instead, look beyond them to see God’s hand at work.

This passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount and part of Jesus’ challenge: life in the kingdom of God has different values. It includes the poor, the merciful, those who mourn. It includes our privilege and duty to bring light to the darkest places, to salt the world with mercy and justice. These words of Jesus, taken out of context, sound unrealistic to someone who is suffering. But seen in context, we realize that Jesus is reminding his followers of God’s love for everything and everyone God has created and encouraging his followers to focus on their lives as citizens of God’s kingdom.

Jesus’ aim is to disconnect the link between value and virtue. God did not send a hurricane to New Orleans, but God inspired thousands of compassionate followers of Jesus to help those who remain rebuild their lives. God did not send an earthquake to Haiti, but God moved the hearts of thousands of Christians to bind up their wounds. God did not drive people out of their homes in Darfur, but God led people to build schools for their children to restore their hope. God did not curse the people of Appalachia with poverty, but God blesses them with believers who help them repair their homes. In God’s kingdom, we know that God’s bounty often passes through our lives on the way to others who need it most. We who are blessed are privileged to bless others.

Now, on to Egypt, Syria, New Zealand…

February 24, 2011
Today

Those of us who are old enough to remember the 1960’s will recall how important a genre of music called “folk music” was in that era. One of the early folk music groups was The New Christy Minstrels, founded by songwriter/guitarist Randy Sparks in 1961. One of Sparks’ hit songs, recorded by this group in 1964, is entitled simply Today. Some of the words of this song came to mind as I reflected on the relationship between the past, present, and future.

Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine
I’ll taste your strawberries, I’ll drink your sweet wine
A million tomorrows shall all pass away
‘Ere I forget all the joy that is mine, Today

I can’t be contented with yesterday’s glory
I can’t live on promises winter to spring
Today is my moment, now is my story
I’ll laugh and I’ll cry and I’ll sing

In this bit of poetry set to a lovely tune, Randy Sparks and The New Christy Minstrels reminded us to appreciate the present moment and cherish the joy of now. I once heard a preacher put it in a less poetic but equally effective way: “Yesterday’s gone. Tomorrow hasn’t come yet. Today is all we have. Use it!”

During a time of transition between rectors, our church is engaged in a process of reflecting upon the past and discerning the future into which God is calling us. As we do this, we want to remember that if heritage and hope do not inform the way we live today, we are destined to be prisoners of our past or disciples of our daydreams. Either way, we are disconnected from the present, which is the scene of the greatest reality.

A visitor to the Vatican was approached by a sidewalk peddler outside the walls. He was offering a hen, a very special hen, for sale. “This hen is a direct descendant of the cock that crowed when Peter denied the Lord,” said the peddler. “Yes,” responded the visitor, “but does it lay eggs?” Whatever the hen’s past or future, the visitor wanted to know if she was doing what hens do today.

Jesus joined the past and the future together in a new way. He is the intersection of the horizontal dimension of time and the vertical dimension of spiritual reality. He warned the religious leaders that their genealogy did not relieve them of responsibility for their present actions. Likewise, he warned the rich young man that good intentions, no matter how worthy, could not give him the eternal life he was seeking at the present moment. Addressing the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times…but I say unto you.” He said to the woman at the well, “The time is coming and now is.” Each step away from the past and into the future is dependent upon the spiritual dimension we refer to as “The Kingdom of God.”

Let us enter faithfully into this process of discovery and discernment so that this community of faith may be fruitful and vibrant in the here and now. And may we cherish the opportunity and the joy that are ours today!

February 17, 2011
Collaboration and Community

When I started the car and the radio came on, an interview was already underway with the author of a recent book about the significance of civil discourse at every level of our lives. I was unable to get the name of the author or of his book. However, in the course of the interview, he made this statement about the statutes, ordinances, policies, guidelines, and customs which govern us: "These are the structures we have set in place to make it possible for us to collaborate."

I'd like to add that followers of reveal religions like Judaism and Christianity believe some of those structures are God-given. The Ten Commandments come to mind. They are given to us as a revelation of God's desire for the children of God to live together in ways that advance God's vision for creation.

Because human beings are by nature more or less suspicious of authority, if not defian of it, we tend to resist rules that are imposed upon us. And, yet, the author's words remind us that we need such things to make it possible for us to work together toward common objectives and shared visions. If our human structures for collaboration are ineffective, then we have structures to guide us through an orderly process of improving them. We have been given higher order thinking ability to move us past our fears and mistrust into collaborative behaviors.

Theologian and University President George Rupp wrote a book about community and commitment in which he points out that there is no life without community and no community without commitment. God created us for community. We have been placed in families, tribes, nations, societies, nations, and organizations. Jesus' first act in his public ministry was to form a community when he called his disciples. The call to follow Christ is always a call to life in community with others of his followers. Continuation of community requies something of us. We need each other!

In our life together in the Church, the nation, or the global village, we accomplish more together than apart. We live in an increasingly interdependent world. At the same time, we are more aware of the differences that threaten us. In light of that interdependence and diversity, perhaps effective collaboration is more critical now than at any point in human history. Our world and our progress as God's children requires that we devote ourselves to working together in effective ways.

The Baptismal Covenent in The Book of Common Prayer of The Episcopal Church contains two questions that invite us to commitment to civility, collaboration, and community:

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

Our answer to these questions is, "I will, with God's help." Those of us who have given such an answer to these or similar questions are in the best possible position to become specialists in civil discourse and collaborative behavior in pursuit of our Creator's vision of healing and advancement of human life on "this fragile earth, our island home." God help us do it!

February 10, 2011
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Day 8 ~ January 25

Called for the Service of Reconciliation

Day 8 concludes the journey with a call from the Jerusalem churches to the wider service of reconciliation. Even if Christians achieve unity among themselves, their work is not done, for they need to reconcile themselves with others. In the Jerusalem context this means Palestinian and Israeli; in other communities, Christians are challenged to seek justice and reconciliation in their own context.

Reading

Genesis 33:1-4     Esau ran to meet Jacob, and embraced him…
Psalm: 96:1-13     Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is King!’
2 Corinthians 5:17-21    God… has given us the ministry of reconciliation
Matthew 5:21-26    Leave your gift before the altar, and go: first be reconciled…

Commentary

Our prayers of this week have taken us on a journey together. Guided by the scriptures, we have been called to return to our Christian origins – that apostolic Church at Jerusalem. Here we have seen devotion – to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. At the end of our reflections on the ideal of Christian community presented to us in Acts 2:42, we return to our own contexts – the realities of divisions, discontents, disappointments and injustices. At this point the Church of Jerusalem poses us the question: to what, then, as we conclude this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are we called, here and now?

Christians in Jerusalem today suggest an answer to us: we are called, above all, to the service of reconciliation. Such a call concerns reconciliation on many levels, and across a complexity of divisions. We pray for Christian unity so that the Church might be a sign and instrument for the healing of political and structural divisions and injustices; for the just and peaceful living together of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim peoples; for the growing in understanding between people of all faiths and none. In our personal and family lives, too, the call to reconciliation must find a response.

Jacob and Esau, in the Genesis text, are brothers, yet estranged. Their reconciliation comes even when enduring conflict might have been expected. Violence and the habits of anger are put aside as the brothers meet and weep together.

The recognition of our unity as Christians – and indeed as human beings – before God leads us into the Psalm’s great song of praise for the Lord who rules the world with loving justice. In Christ, God seeks to reconcile to Himself all peoples. In describing this, St. Paul, in our second reading, celebrates a life of reconciliation as “ a new creation”. The call to reconcile is the call to allow God’s power in us to make all things new.

Once again, we know that this ‘good news’ calls us to change the way we live. As Jesus challenges us, in the account given by St. Matthew, we cannot go on making offerings at the altar, in the knowledge that we are responsible for divisions or injustices. The call to prayer for Christian unity is a call to reconciliation. The call to reconciliation is a call to actions – even actions which interrupt our church activities.

Prayer

God of Peace, we thank you that you sent your Son Jesus, so that we might be reconciled to yourself in Him. Give us the grace to be effective servants of reconciliation within our churches. In this way help us to serve the reconciliation of all peoples, particularly in your Holy Land – the place where you demolish the wall of separation between peoples, and unite everyone in the Body of Jesus, sacrificed on Mount Calvary. Fill us with love for one another; may our unity serve the reconciliation that you desire for all creation. We pray in the power of the Spirit. Amen.

The materials contained herein are drawn entirely from materials that are jointly prepared and published by The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and The Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

January 25, 2011
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Day 7 ~ January 24

Living in Resurrection Faith

Day 7 takes us beyond the four elements of unity, as the Jerusalem church joyfully proclaims the Resurrection even while it bears the pain of the Cross. The Resurrection of Jesus is for Christians in Jerusalem today hope and strength that enables them to remain constant in their witness, working for freedom and peace in the City of Peace.

Reading

Isaiah 60: 1-3, 18-22 You shall call your walls Salvation…
Psalm: 118:1. 5-17     I shall not die, but I shall live
Roman 6: 3-11            …we have been buried with Christ by baptism
Matthew 28:1-10         Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid…

Commentary

The first Christians’ devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of the bread and the prayers was made possible, above all, by the living power of the Risen Jesus. This power is living still, and today’s Jerusalem Christians witness to this. Whatever the difficulties of the present situa-tion in which they find themselves – however much it feels like Gethsemane and Golgotha – they know in faith that all is made new by the truth of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

The light and hope of the Resurrection changes everything. As Isaiah prophesies, it is the transfor-mation of darkness into light; it is an enlightening for all peoples. The power of the Resurrection shines out from Jerusalem, the place of the Lord’s Passion, and draws all nations to its brightness. This is a new life, in which violence is put aside, and security found in salvation and praise.

In the Psalm we are given words to celebrate the central Christian experience of passing from death to life. This is the abiding sign of God’s steadfast love. This passing from the terrors of death into new life is the defining reality of all Christians. For, as St. Paul teaches, we have, in baptism, entered into the tomb with Christ, and been raised with Him. We have died with Christ, and live to share his risen life. And so we can see the world differently – with compassion, patience, love and hope; for, in Christ the present struggles can never be the whole story. Even as divided Christians, we know that the baptism that unites us is a bearing of the Cross in the light of the Resurrection.

For the Christian Gospel this resurrection life is not some mere concept or helpful idea; it is rooted in a vivid event in time and space. It is this event we hear recounted in the Gospel reading with great humanity and drama. From Jerusalem the Risen Lord sends greetings to His disciples across the ages, calling us to follow Him without fear. He goes ahead of us.

Prayer

God, Protector of the widow, the orphan and the stranger – in a world where many know despair, you raised your Son Jesus to give hope for humanity and renewal to the earth. Continue to strengthen and unify your Church in its struggles against the forces of death in the world, where violence against creation and humanity obscures the hope of the new life you offer. This we pray in the name of the Risen Lord, in the power of His Spirit. Amen.

The materials contained herein are drawn entirely from materials that are jointly prepared and published by The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and The Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

January 24, 2011