Trinity Sunday
Category: Current Affairs
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On Memorial Day
Today we remember those who gave their lives in the service of their country. Their sacrifice contributed to the preservation of our national life and, in many cases, the peace and security of other nations. Whether they enlisted or were compelled to serve does not matter. When human beings failed to resolve conflicts by other means, their lives were set apart and sacrificed in the service of their contemporaries and future generations of Americans. That is why we consider their memories sacred.
We denigrate their sacrifice when we take our liberties for granted or use them in self-serving ways. We cheapen their sacrifice when we tolerate people seeking and holding public office using freedom to propagate misinformation and disrespectful behavior to advance any interest. We disrespect their sacrifice when we allow oppression, marginalization, and persecution of members of our society. Every time a member of the American military dies in the line of duty, the value of those freedoms increases and the more determined our generation must be to find more effective ways to wage peace. The government we elected sent them into harm's way. We ignore their sacrifice when we do not insist that our government provide adequate services for the families they leave behind as well as for their comrades who return from the field and their families. That is costly, but it is part of the cost of making war. Hard-won liberties must be exercised responsibly and protected daily by each one of us. That is costly too, yet it is the price of making peace.
When we even glance at human history, it is pretty clear that warfare is the result of somebody wanting something that is not theirs, somebody else defending what is, and utter failure to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Memorial Day is not a time to glorify warfare. It is a time to mourn those whose lives were cut short by the failure of humanity to fulfill our God-given potential for living in ways that make wars unnecessary. Christians, Jews, and Muslims, in particular, have yet to set an enduring example for peacemaking for the rest of humanity. While we have been given the vocation and the teachings to bring peace and lasting freedom to the rest of the world, we have listened to other voices and followed other precepts.
Central to the message of the Bible is the belief that Almighty God created human beings to live in freedom. Just as central to the message of the Bible are examples of how people acting in the Name of God thought combat was the way God wanted to accomplish the liberation of humanity. Jesus repeatedly confronted whatever interfered with freedom and he paid the ultimate sacrifice to secure that freedom for all people in all times. His own disciples had difficulty understanding that he was instituting a kind of liberty that could not be won by warfare but, if embraced, could make wars to cease forever. St. Paul summed it up for those early Christians in the Roman province of Galatia. He wrote to them in their own unique context, but his words are universally applicable: “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).
The Episcopal Church has for many years given a special service medal to its members who are
deployed in military service. I have personally presented them to members of my parishes and will continue to do so as long as necessary. The Episcopal Church Service Cross was the first cross to be approved by the U.S. for wear by military personnel. Its circular shape prevents injuries from the ends of the arms of the cross during strenuous physical military activity. It weighs less than a quarter of an ounce. Written on the bars of the cross is the inscription, “Christ Died For You.” If I were facing armed combat, that message would comfort me. But there is a sad irony in it, isn’t there? The same Christ who died for me also died for my enemy. The same Christ who died for me died to keep us from having to kill one another. The same Christ who died for me is revered as “The Prince of Peace.”
Peace and freedom for humanity are God’s desire. Christ came to secure the reign of peace and freedom. You and I are called to live our lives in harmony with God’s reign and God’s desire. We have to learn to so effectively wage peace, with God's help, that warfare will become obsolete. "It is God who makes war to cease in all the world; God breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire" (Psalm 46:10). Can we trust God enough to join God in making war to cease?
I submit to you on this Memorial Day that whenever we are faced with opportunities to wage peace instead of war – in our homes, our families, our communities, our nation, or across international boundaries – we stand upon the shoulders of all those who have died in military operations and under the protection of the Savior of the Nations, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again so that all people in all times might live in peace and freedom. So, I commend two prayers from The Book of Common Prayer for your use today as we remember those brave women and men and as we renew our commitment to the One who calls each of us to participate in the divine peacemaking initiative.
For Heroic Service
O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Peace
O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I'll see you in Church!
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Managing Our Fear in the Pursuit of Faith
Last weekend, Dr. Richard Blackburn, Executive Director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, was at Christ Church Cranbrook to lead a Healthy Congregations Workshop. The guiding principles of this workshop are derived from the work of Dr. Murray Bowen and Rabbi Edwin Friedman in family systems theory.
“Family systems theory postulates that the operation of the emotional system reflects an interplay between two counterbalancing forces – individuality and togetherness.” Of particular significance is their study of how anxiety affects any emotional system and the individuals in it.
Anxiety is the response of an organism to a real or imagined threat and is present in every person and relationship. Acute anxiety is a response to a real threat and most people usually adapt fairly successfully to acute anxiety. Chronic anxiety occurs in response to imaginary threats and often strains people’s ability to adapt to it.
An emotional system may be a family, a company, a sports team, a governmental entity, or a congregation. Individuals find ways to adapt to the anxieties of the family systems from which they come and bring those behaviors into other emotional systems.
Two key objectives of the workshop were to help each person explore and manage the anxiety in his or her life and to learn to recognize and appropriately respond to anxiety at work in the emotional systems in which they are involved.
An example from the story of our faith is the reaction of the Hebrews when Moses was on the mountain and did not return to them as soon as some expected (Exodus 32). Aaron was left in charge of the people while Moses was away. The people gathered around Aaron and expressed their anxiety about the delayed return of Moses. Instead of responding to the anxiety of the people from grounding in the divine values and principles that shaped them as a people and him as their leader, he reacted by abdicating his leadership role and instructed them to make a golden calf, which they could worship. As a poorly defined leader, Aaron let the anxieties of the herd take charge and proposed a quick-fix solution to the imagined problem they brought to him. When Moses confronted Aaron about what he did, he blamed the people instead of accepting responsibility. He even went so far as to give a completely passive explanation for the idol’s existence: “So, I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off’; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
Moses himself failed in leadership in the face of the fears of the people at Kadesh-barnea. When the spies brought back a fear-laden report from the land God had commanded them to enter, the people said, “Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear” (Deut.1:28 NIV). Instead of responding to their fear of an imagined threat from the reality of God’s promise of protection, Moses reacted by caving in. The result, as you know, was that the people had to wander around in the wilderness until that faithless generation had died and Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land.
Contrast these two examples with the leadership of Jesus during his temptation in the wilderness, where he responded to Satan by managing his own inner being, during the occasion at Caesarea Philipi when Peter urged him to take another path than the one that would lead to the cross, and during his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane when his struggle with anxiety was so intense that he sweated blood.
Maybe Lent can be a time for us to search ourselves and discover the anxieties that interfere with our life in community and our ability to remain calm when others around us are losing their heads. When we do that, the life of the emotional systems of which we are members become healthier and we become more human, because we make better use of the uniquely human part of our brain that allows reason to overcome the reactions that come from the more primitive parts of our brains.
I am aware that many of the things that emerge from those more primitive parts of the human brain are necessary for survival. But when we are faced with imaginary or even potential threats, we have the God-given resources and opportunities to more fully express our humanity. And, as St. Irenaeus once said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God.” It is God who calls us to live our lives from divine values and principles so that we can build up the Church, advance God’s reign on earth, and embrace God’s vision of a creation restored in God’s Son.
That’s a worthy objective for the observance of a holy Lent.
I’ll see you in Church!
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A Wonderful Example of World Scouting’s Messengers of Peace Initiative
Dan Ownby, who represents the Boy Scouts of America on the World Scout Committee shared this wonderful story and I wanted to pass it along. Click HERE to read Dan's story of Messengers of Peace in Nicaragua. Please pass it along as a reminder that youth can make a positive difference in our world.
To learn more about Scouting's Messengers of Peace initiative, click HERE.
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The Renewal of the Baptismal Covenant
Yesterday, on the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, we renewed the Baptismal Covenant. We do that from time to time so that we can remember that we are God’s beloved sons and daughters whom God has invited to live in a covenant relationship. A covenant relationship is one in which each party is bound to remain in relationship even when the other does not live up to the promises of the covenant. The most important thing to remember about our covenant relationship with God is that God always remains faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to God. God is always there, calling us back into that unique relationship.
I suppose the most impressive thing about this God of ours is the fact that, instead of sitting upon a throne, aloof and disinterested in the affairs of the people he has created, our God has chosen to enter into a covenant with us. This is a difficult thing for some to believe. I even find myself sometimes asking, when I sense my own unfaithfulness and that of the world around me, "What's a nice God like you doing in a covenant like this?"
As God's covenant promises were declared and established in the Baptism of Jesus – so God’s covenant promises are declared in our Baptism. In our Baptism we, like our Messiah who has gone before us, are anointed and our identity as God's children is established. Through Baptism we become members of God's family and are ordained to the priesthood of believers.
Whenever Baptism is administered, it is a sign of God's action and God's intentions toward us. God gets involved with us in a covenant relationship because God desires to be in fellowship with us and wants to work in and through us toward the fulfillment of our lives and the life of all creation. Who we are determines what we do, how we respond to the world and all the people and events of life.
Carl Sandburg once told a group of students at a Harvard commencement, "you need the spirit of Lincoln, who in the divided house of his day knew what to do because he knew who he was." To be taught that we are children of God and to define ourselves in that way changes what we do with our lives. It is news we can embrace or resist. The fruit of our lives reveals which we are doing.
In Baptism we are marked as Christian disciples and heirs of God's grace. Few of us can actually remember our Baptism – its precise details. But we can remember that we are Baptized just as we can remember that we are born. In remembering our Baptism, we get back in touch with who we really are, God's children, called and set apart for a special purpose. We renew the covenant God has established with us so that there may be a renewal of forgiveness, faith, and ministry in our task as God’s own beloved people.
In Alex Haley's book, Roots, there is a memorable scene the night the slave, Kunte Kinte, drove his master to a ball at the big plantation house. Kunta Kinte heard the music from inside the house, music from the white folk's dance. He parked the buggy and settled down to wait out the long night of his master's revelry. While he sat in the buggy, he heard other music coming from the slave's quarters, the little cabins behind the big house. It was different music, music with a different rhythm. He felt himself carried down the path toward those cabins. There he found a man playing African music, his music which he remembered hearing in Africa as a child – the music he had almost forgotten. Kunta Kinte found that the man was from his section of Africa. They talked excitedly, in his native language, of home and the things of home.
That night, Kunta Kinte went home changed. He lay upon the dirt floor of his little cabin and wept. Weeping in sadness that he had almost forgotten, weeping in joy that he had at last remembered. The terrifying, degrading experience of slavery had almost obliterated his memory of who he was. But the music had helped him remember.
This is a parable about Baptism. It is a parable about how easy it is to forget who we are and whose we are. So the Church is here to remind us, to remind one another, that our freedom has been bought with a price, that someone greater than us has named us and claimed us, seeks us and loves us, with only one good reason in mind – to love us for all eternity. Whenever we see the water poured and each time we feast on the bread and wine of the Eucharist, let us renew the Baptismal Covenant, which we, from time to time, have broken. Each time someone is brought to these holy waters, let us remember our Baptism and be thankful. And each time we step back into the mission field at the Church’s doorstep, let us remember that we are beloved of God so that we can share that blessing with others.
I once had a small piece of one-way glass on my desk with an inscription that said, “Lord, make my life a window for your light to shine through and a mirror to reflect your love to all I meet.” That is exactly what God hopes will come of my Baptism, and yours as well.
I’ll see you in Church!
P.S. Thanks to Tom Booth for his photo of the Baptism of Christ panel in the East Window above the High Altar of Christ Church Cranbrook.
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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
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Sermon at Christ Church Cranbrook ~ June 16, 2013
The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
(Father's Day)
Listen to the Sermon for June 16, 2013
Read the Sermon for June 16, 2013 -
Pray for Oklahoma!
We are shaken by the news of the massive tornado that touched down yesterday, May 20, in Moore, Oklahoma. Here are some resources for responding in ways that will help those whose lives are affected by this devastating storm.
PRAYERS
On the Occasion of a Disaster
Compassionate God… Draw near to us in this time of sorrow and
anguish, comfort those who mourn, strengthen those who are weary,
encourage those in despair, and lead us all to fullness of life; through
the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, who liveth and reigneth
with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen— Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (Church Publishing: New York), page 733
A Prayer for First Responders
Blessed are you, Lord, God of mercy, who through your Son gave us a
marvelous example of charity and the great commandment of love for one
another. Send down your blessings on these your servants, who so
generously devote themselves to helping others. Grant them courage when
they are afraid, wisdom when they must make quick decisions, strength
when they are weary, and compassion in all their work. When the alarm
sounds and they are called to aid both friend and stranger, let them
faithfully serve you in their neighbor. We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.— Adapted from the Book of Blessings, #587, by Diana Macalintal
Prayer for Preparedness and Response
O God, our times are in your hand. In the midst of uncertainty lead
us by your never-failing grace as we seek to be agents of healing and
hope. Walk with us through difficult times; watch over us in danger;
and give to us a spirit of love and compassion for those who suffer and
mourn. And finally remind us that you have promised never to leave us
so that even in the valley of the shadow of death your love may be felt,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.— The Rev. Lyndon Harris, from the Episcopal Diocese of New York disaster preparedness plan
For a Person in Trouble or Bereavement
O merciful Father, who have taught us in your holy Word that you do
not willingly afflict or grieve your human children: Look with pity
upon the sorrows of your servants for whom our prayers are offered.
Remember them, O Lord, in mercy, nourish their souls with patience,
comfort them with a sense of your goodness, lift up your countenance
upon them, and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Book of Common Prayer, page 831
CONTRIBUTIONS
Give through your local church, your denominational relief agency, or to a church or judicatory in Oklahoma. Here are some Episcopal Church links:
Episcopal Relief and Development
TALK WITH CHILDREN AND TEENS
Many of those who were injured or killed in this tornado were children. Our own children may have fears about their own safety as they hear the news and identify with them. HERE are some helpful thoughts to guide you as you spend time and talk about this tragedy with the children and teens in your life. This resource was originally prepared following the Haiti earthquake and contain appropriate guidance in any tragic situation that touches the lives of those for whom we care.
A public official in Oklahoma, speaking with a reporter this morning, said, "In Oklahoma, when a neighbor comes to your home asking for help, we take them in and care for them. That's what we do." Those of us who are far from Oklahoma can't provide that kind of direct care for our neighbors in Moore, Oklahoma. But we can "take them in" to our homes through our prayers, our contributions, and by caring for those near us who look to us for wisdom and reassurance.
Blessings to you and yours,