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A Topic for a Month of Sundays

In Year B of our Eucharistic Lectionary, the semi continuous reading of the Gospel of Mark is interrupted by a sequence of five excerpts from the sixth chapter of John on the Bread of Life. This happens once every three years and when it does, people in the pews ask why we spend so many Sundays hearing about Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life. It’s a great question and I hope my attempt at an answer will be almost as great, or at least helpful.

Each one of the three synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – has its own year in the three-year Revised Common Lectionary. John is sprinkled around during Lent, Christmas, and a couple of other times. Because of this, there is no really suitable niche for the important teaching on the Bread of Life. Since our lectionary is a Eucharistic lectionary, it would be inconceivable for those who developed the lectionary to omit this important discourse in the three-year cycle. They decided to interrupt the semi continuous reading of the Gospel of Mark at the point when Mark is about to recount the story of the feeding of the multitude in order to give us John’s more elaborate account.

We are a Eucharist-centered Church and we need the instruction provided by the Bread of Life Discourse of John’s Gospel in our Eucharistic lectionary. It is so important and so powerful that we devote five Sundays in a row to explore the depth of its message.

This Sunday, we will read the account of Jesus’ feeding of the multitude at the beginning of the sixth chapter. As we continue to read from this chapter for the next four Sundays, we will examine John’s indirect account of the Eucharist. Bear in mind that in John’s report of the Last Supper there is no mention of the bread and wine.

The crowds that both witnessed and participated in the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes didn’t really understand that Jesus came to give more than the bread that satisfies physical hunger. In this discourse, he refers to himself again and again as “The Bread of Life.”

Jesus is inviting everyone to eat this living bread. The bread our Hebrew ancestors in the faith ate in the wilderness sustained them in their journey. The Living Bread, Jesus Christ, is food that sustains the cosmos – not just our tribe, or race, or nation, but the cosmos!

That means that if we feast at the table with The Bread of Life, we are not the only invitees. There are others, many of whom are not like us, some of whom we don’t like, and plenty with whom we will disagree.

Several years ago when I was a Canon at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas, I was giving a tour to a confirmation class from one of the parishes in the Diocese of Texas. We were exploring the Chancel and the Sanctuary when some of the youth spotted the needlepoint cushions on the Altar rail. I asked if they could figure out the meaning of the symbols on those cushions. One boy said, “That cross and crown in the middle is probably Jesus and the other twelve symbols represent his disciples gathered around the table with him.” That seemed like a pretty satisfactory answer, until a girl pointed out that one of the symbols looked for all the world like the symbol for Judas Iscariot. “He doesn’t belong here?” she said. “He betrayed Jesus.”

I pointed out to the class that a number of ladies from the Cathedral had painstakingly and lovingly applied every single stitch by hand on those cushions and that I would be very cautious about telling them that one of the symbols didn’t belong there. “If that’s Judas and they went to so much trouble to include him, I wonder what that might mean for us?”

After some conversation, one young man said, “Maybe it means that God’s love big enough to include Judas along with the rest of us.”

My response was to suggest that there will be times when we come to the Altar to dine with Jesus, the Bread of Life, and notice someone we can’t abide kneeling beside us or across from us. “When that happens,” I said, “remember this moment and remember that the same divine Love that welcomes you to this feast welcomes others who need it just as much.” After all, as someone has said, the bread that Jesus gives for the life of the universe (John 6:51) is multigrain.

John 6:51 says that those who eat of this bread will “live forever.” That is the consistent translation in almost all the versions of the Bible. However, some scholars point out that the literal translation of the Greek text says we will “live into the age.” The “age” – eternal life, abundant life, kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven – is a state of being where we live with God who is both in and beyond time and space. When we feast upon the Bread of Life, we are living into this divine cosmic reality. It nourishes us for the ways we touch and change that reality.

So, in this banquet, we all become one body not because we all agree or because we all are alike. We become one body because we share in one bread – the Living Bread, Jesus, who is present for us in a wonderful and mysterious way in this banquet that is happening in the here and now and at the same moment in the age into which we are living, with faith, hope, and love. This Bread of Life is our true sustenance. As we are fed, so we are sent to feed others.

It really is going to be good to spend a month of Sundays on this topic!

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

July 27, 2018
The Dynamic Relationship Between Mission and Transition

Here is a question I am often asked: What has been the most valuable learning experience in your work as an interim minister and why? Here's my response.

Mission and transition are dynamically related.

When a faith community is intentional about discerning the mission entrusted to it and committed to engagement in that mission, it is also willing to be intentional about the transitions that are necessary. The dots have to be connected.

While considering leaving the parish I had served as rector for almost a decade, I was intrigued by the work being accomplished by colleagues who were intentional interim rectors. In conversations with them, I was encouraged to explore service to the wider Church through transitional ministry instead of as a settled rector in one parish. That discernment led to training in intentional interim ministry, during which I suddenly realized that all churches are in some sort of transition most of the time, although often unconscious of it.

Transition training should be core seminary curriculum. Transitions between settled rectors provide a unique opportunity to explore transition – remembering where we’ve been, clarifying where we are, discerning where God is calling us, making changes that are needed, connecting with the wider church, and embracing a new era of mission with a new spiritual leader. But that is not the end of transition!

During this epiphany, I recalled some words of Titus Presler: “Mission is not fundamentally something we do as Christians but a quality of God’s own being. It is not a program of ours but the path of God’s action in the world. The mission of the Church, therefore, derives from the mission of God, and it has meaning only in relation to what God is up to in the universe. Already engaged in mission, God simply invites us to participate in what God is doing.”

The Church doesn’t have a mission. The mission has a Church. Everything we do as followers of Christ in community is related to and in the service of that mission. And God’s mission is constantly in transition. It became clear to me that when a church continues to function as if nothing has changed, the mission suffers. It also became clear to me that the mission suffers when changes are needed but are avoided or resisted.

So, intentional transition work in the Church, whether between rectors or at any time, must involve discernment about mission, participation in what God is doing for the sake of the world at our doorstep. Transition work matters only in relation to mission.

This insight guides my leadership so that after our interim time together, consciousness of the dynamic relationship between ongoing mission and ongoing transition will continue. Churches that are engaged in mission are healthier, happier, and more attractive to those who are seeking what Christ offers through them. In such places, transition evokes transformation.

I would like to leave a legacy of healthy, mission-focused, transformative congregations in my service to the wider Church.

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(The Book of Common Prayer, Collect for Proper 10)

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

July 20, 2018
Epiphanies at a Barbeque

The Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson Hole, Wyoming also has responsibility for The Chapel of the Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park and The Chapel of St. Hubert the Hunter in Bondurant, Wyoming. Following an outdoor service on the last Sunday in June each year, the folks at St. Hubert's host a barbeque, to which people come for miles around. Gay and I were privileged to participate in one of those during my interim appointment in Wyoming.

In the service of worship, at which I presided and preached, and in the crowd at the barbeque, I was conscious that I was there on a mission from God. I didn’t just happen by or show up. I was sent there on a mission and equipped by God with “good news” of the kingdom of heaven for all sorts and conditions of people. But when I started out that morning I did not realize that, in the midst of that mission to others, I would experience God’s reign myself.

At the barbeque, seated at one end of our table were two young men from Israel. They were driving along, saw the sign, and turned in to enjoy some genuine western barbecue beside an Episcopal Church. They asked about lodging and things to see on their way to Yellowstone. We took delight in suggesting things we’d seen and done during our brief time in the area. Having been welcomed in their country when we traveled there, we were glad to have an opportunity to extend hospitality to them as they traveled through ours. When they started to leave, we wished each other “Shalom.” In the exchange of that ancient word of peace, our eyes met. We understood one another in some new way. Strangers became friends as our kinship with our Creator was acknowledged. I experienced God’s reign on earth, transcending time and space and even barbecue.

At the other end of the table was a couple from a neighboring state. They have been riding their motorcycles to Bondurant for years to participate in this annual event. After a short conversation, one of them raised the subject of the Church’s view of homosexuality. Gay gently expressed the inclusive view one finds in The Episcopal Church and what that means for so many people whom we cherish. Silence. Then, they opened up and talked about what it means for them, their daughter and her partner. Our eyes met. We understood one another in some new way. Strangers became friends as our kinship with our Creator was acknowledged. I experienced God’s reign on earth, transcending time and space and even barbecue.

On my way to the car, a member of the band that played for both the service of worship and the barbecue approached me. She thanked me for the service and told me that although she was Baptized at an early age, this was the first time she’d ever received Holy Communion. She said that her decision to come forward on this occasion was made when she heard me say, “Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and wherever you may be on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here.” In that moment in time, in that particular location, she knew that she is included in God’s love and hospitality. Our eyes met. We understood one another in some new way. Strangers became friends as our kinship with our Creator was acknowledged. I experienced God’s reign on earth, transcending time and space and even barbecue.

Our recent readings from Mark’s Gospel concern Jesus during his Galilean ministry, crossing back and forth between Jewish and Gentile territories. God’s reign became evident in the encounters between Jesus and the people to whom he was sent. You and I are called to recognize the signs of God’s reign when we see them in our encounters with others. Even more, we are privileged to be heralds of God’s reign wherever we may be to help others recognize God’s reign for themselves.

Let us pray.

O heavenly Father, you have filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

P.S. The theme of our fall stewardship season is drawn from this prayer. “Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works.” Consecration Sunday, with one great morning worship service and a complimentary brunch celebrating our life together is October 14. Please make plans to join us!

July 13, 2018
The Sacrament of Failure

Several years ago, when I was jogging along the Seawall in Galveston one morning, I noticed that someone had written the following message with chalk in large letters:

The Race Goes Not Always to The Swift. . .But to Those Who Keep On Running.

Encouragement! Someone put those words there to encourage people who were running the race. Don’t give up! Keep on keeping on! There is value in the running of the race. There is victory in completing it.

When Jesus sent the twelve apostles out on their mission, he let them know that not everyone would welcome them. “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them” (Mark 6:11).

Encouragement! Jesus gave them those words to encourage them to continue in their mission even when they were not welcomed. A friend of mine once called this “the sacrament of failure.” Jesus gave his apostles permission to fail and an outward sign that would help them leave that failure behind and continue in their mission.

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews also knew there is value in running the race to its completion. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Encouragement! Both Jesus and the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews intended their words to encourage Christ’s followers to keep on keeping on, because they knew there would be plenty of times when being Christian would be difficult.

Faith Derickson echoes these words from Hebrews:

Keep us faithful always to You
Whatever the path we trod
That we might run with patience, Lord,
The race that is set before us.

And through it all may we praise Your Name,
For it is only by Your power,
That we can run with patience, Lord,
The race that is set before us.

A missionary people need encouragement to persevere in the work of Christ. He’s in it with us. Every age and mission outpost has its challenges. If we will continue to faithfully put one foot in front of the other, Jesus will provide what is needed to endure and to transcend the challenges. When we fail trying, he will keep us from settling into that failure and help us move on toward completion.

As my wife, Gay, often reminds me, “Life is not about falling down. . .it’s about getting up and trying again.” Let us always encourage one another to continue in the life and work of Christ.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

P.S. I did a little online research and found the quote in a number of places with an anonymous attribution. However, I believe it may be a paraphrase of Ecclesiastes 9:11 “Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skilful; but time and chance happen to them all.”

July 6, 2018
Precious in God’s Sight

Watching all the children in Vacation Bible School this week brought back memories of my own childhood experience in Church.

When I was a child, I loved attending Sunday School. I had some amazingly loving and deeply faithful teachers whose influence profoundly affected the formation of my faith in a loving God. I can see them and hear their voices now as if it were only yesterday – Mr. Frantis, Mrs. Brittian, Mrs. Baber, and others. They loved us and shared their faith in Jesus with us. They reinforced the faith into which our parents were trying to guide us.

However, when I looked back on that time from the perspective of a young adult in the late 1960's, I realized something was wrong. They taught us to sing (with gusto) "Jesus Loves the Little Children." In that song, there is a line that says, "Red and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in his sight." But the church I attended was 100% white. From its members I overheard conversations from time to time about the place of our neighbors who were black, brown, and yellow. When I looked back, I realized that, while Jesus loves people besides white people, my white church people didn't. Jesus might love them, but they weren't really welcome in my church. Jesus might love them, but they weren't worthy of the dignity and respect enjoyed by white people. Jesus might love them, but our behavior toward them didn't have to look like we love them as he loves us. Jesus might love them, but they had better not act "uppity." (And what about brown children?)

If you grew up in a racist culture like I did, you know what I am talking about. Perhaps for you, as for me, recognizing that something was wrong was an epiphany, a time for repentance, and the beginning of transformation. My world could no longer be all white with a little color around the edges.

This all came to me during a time when black people were turned away from white churches. It was a struggle for one like me, who was taught that people of all colors are precious in the sight of Jesus, to reconcile that message with the actions I was witnessing. Given the rhetoric of the day, I suppose I could have rejected that message and clung to what seemed to be the majority view reflected in the rhetoric and behavior of my white world. But the security, control, and privilege of that world was slipping away. Abandoning it or confronting it could be dangerous. White people said harsh and hateful things to other white people who didn't participate in keeping non-white people "in their place." The message wasn't wrong; my white, privileged, dominant world was wrong and I couldn't live in it anymore. I had to set out on a journey toward someplace else. I'm still on that journey.

Recent events in our nation have brought me to the sad truth that many of my fellow white people are still trapped in that world. It is even sadder that they seem to be completely unconscious of it. They say and do things that are blatantly racist yet are oblivious. I know it's true because I've been there and I still find myself trying to overcome some of those prejudices that were planted in me long ago. People of color who loved me enough to point out the harm, sometimes hatefulness, of my words and actions stuck with me until I began to understand where they were coming from and how my words and my behavior affected them. Many of those people are still in my life. I give thanks to God for them. I've sort of been their lifelong project and I'm still not finished. They patiently continue on the journey with me. And as we travel, we sing that song hoping our rainbow beliefs are evident in our lives. Maybe the colors of our rainbow are still a little bit pastel, but we hope they are growing stronger with each step we take together. Together.

So, what I wanted to suggest today to my friends of all colors, races, religions, genders, and nationalities is that it might help heal our fractured, hurting world if we would sing this song and test ourselves to see if our words and actions show that we really believe it is true. Whether you believe that Jesus is God Incarnate, a wise prophet, or just a very gutsy nice guy, could it be true that he loves all the children of the world? Are all of us – red, yellow, black, white, brown – really precious in his sight? If I am one of the Jesus people, shouldn't they be precious in my sight as well? How do I love and treat people who are precious in Jesus' sight? Who are precious in my sight?

This isn't a final exam! It's a pop quiz to monitor progress in a lifelong course. I invite you to take it with me and see if we can be the difference we'd like to see in God's amazing, changing world.

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

June 28, 2018
Protect the Children First, Then the Border

On several occasions during the past weeks, I have commented and asked questions regarding the new policy of President Trump that separates children from their parents along the southern border of the United States of America. Several people have asked if I don’t hold the parents accountable for putting these children in harm's way and bringing them across the border. My answer is, “I certainly do.” Here’s what I mean.

Among the stories that form and shape our faith, there are certain stories that rise to the level of paradigms. Paradigmatic stories in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament are told again and again to shape the faith of a people. Two of those faith-forming stories directly address the responsibility of parents protecting their children.

The first is the story of the Hebrew parents of a newborn son in Egypt who placed him in a waterproof basket and hid him in the tall grasses of the Nile because Pharaoh was threatened by the Hebrew slaves due to their large population (Exodus 2:1-10). He had ordered the murder of infant Hebrew children. It was an early example of population control. Pharaoh's daughter, who was bathing in the river, heard the baby cry, found him, and rescued him. She named him “Moses,” meaning “drawn from the water.”

I hold the parents of Moses responsible for placing their son in harm’s way when a tyrant was murdering Hebrew children. They took extraordinary steps in desperate hope that his life would be spared. He grew up to lead God’s people out of the slavery into which he had been born.

The second story is found in the Gospel According to Matthew (Matthew 2:13-15). Mary and Joseph had a son and named him Jesus. After the visit of the Magi, King Herod gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, “in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi” (Mt. 2:16). Joseph had a dream in which an angel warned him to flee (Mt. 2:13). So, Mary and Joseph took the infant Jesus across the border into Egypt to save him. The life of Jesus was spared while Herod slaughtered many innocent children.

I hold the parents of Jesus responsible for placing their son in harm’s way when a tyrant was murdering Hebrew children. They took extraordinary steps in desperate hope that his life would be spared. He grew up to bring salvation not just to his own people, but to all people for all time.

Beyond these biblical paradigms, there are other stories of parents putting their children in harm’s way in desperate hope that their lives would be spared. For example, English Colonists came to North America in the 17^th an 18^th Centuries fleeing tyrannical monarchs and undesirable conditions in England. Others colonists came also from other countries, seeking a better life.

I hold the parents of those colonial children responsible for placing their children in harm’s way when conditions in their homelands had become unbearable. They took extraordinary steps in desperate hope that their lives would be spared and their future brighter.

History is replete with accounts of parents fleeing danger and tyranny to save their lives and the lives of their children. These parents crossing our border have similar stories. Many of these families are walking and hitchhiking across Mexico in desperate hope of reaching the United States of America, where they will seek asylum and a new and brighter life. I hold them responsible for that.

In the past, our government has normally kept families together in detention facilities while their cases were being processed. The exception has been in those instances where minor children appeared to be in physical danger or were unaccompanied. Under this new policy, all children have been separated and placed in 100 detention facilities in 17 states, to remain there for an unspecified period and without a plan to ensure that they will be reunited with their parents.

The President has signed an executive order to halt his earlier policy of separating children from parents. However, some 2,300 children and youth still remain separated from their parents, some under one year of age.

Borders are the invention of human beings, not God-ordained. While I do hope our government finds reliable and just ways to secure our national borders, I don’t believe God cares about borders. However, I do believe that God cares about how we treat people who cross our borders.

There are at least 97 passages of Scripture that address the treatment of foreigners. Here’s one: “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Ex. 19:33-34). The protection of the rights of aliens under the United States Constitution is grounded in that Scriptural admonition. In numerous instances, God’s people are admonished to care for foreigners, widows, and children. Jesus became indignant when his followers were trying to keep children from him. He commanded them to bring the children to him, “For it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs” (Mk. 10:13-16).

In our Baptismal Covenant, we vow to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” I don’t see how I can honor those vows and stand silent while these children are being separated from their parents.

Those persons who are trying to bring order out of this chaos and care for these children are doing the best they can under very difficult circumstances. It is the separation from their parents that I believe is causing them harm, not the actions of their caregivers. I raise my voice to call upon our elected officials at every level and in all three branches of government to end the practice of separating children from parents whose only crime is crossing the border of our country.

Attorneys and jurists are pointing out that these actions are not proportional to the crime. I join my voice with theirs.

Elected officials are challenging the use of children to leverage immigration legislation. I join my voice with theirs.

Historians and social scientists are calling our attention to the similarities of statements about criminals among the undocumented immigrant population and historical accounts of the Jim Crow era in our country. They are insisting that lies and hyperbole must not be used to foster fear and bigotry against a class or race of people. I join my voice with theirs.

Physicians are speaking out about the harmful medical and psychological effects of “captivity trauma,” which these children are experiencing. They are calling for an end to this harmful practice. I join my voice with theirs.

Our Presiding Bishop and most Bishops Diocesan, including our own Bishop Brian Seage, have spoken out against the policy and denounced it as immoral. Leaders of many other religious bodies have also denounced the policy and called on the government to return those children to their parents. They are also condemning the heretical misuse of sacred Scripture to justify the actions of the state as “ordained by God.” I join my voice to theirs.

I hold these parents responsible for putting their children in harm's way in desperate hope of saving them and giving them a better life. That's what responsible parents do! For Christians, the family is sacred. This issue is, for Christians, first and foremost a spiritual and moral issue. It has become political because those values have been violated by our political leaders. It's not "who we are."

Our government leaders have the ability to uphold our laws, protect our borders, and ensure that families are not separated. It doesn’t matter what political leaders put such a policy in place or what political party you belong to. The policy is contrary to the Scriptures and teachings of our faith. Please join me in calling on our leaders to find better, just, and effective ways to secure our borders.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

June 22, 2018
The Seeds You Sow

Our Cathedral kids and counselors will soon be enjoying an amazing week at Camp Bratton Green, the camp for the Diocese of Mississippi in Canton. While there, they will sing a grace before meals that is often called “The Johnny Appleseed Grace” made popular by a Walt Disney film. It goes like this:

Oh, the Lord is good to me,
and so I thank the Lord,
for giving me the things I need,
the sun and the rain and the appleseed.
The Lord is good to me.

In fact, those are the words of the first stanza of a hymn from the Swedenborgian Church (The New Church) of which John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed, was a missionary.

Johnny Appleseed was not just a Disney Character, he was a real person. I have visited his grave in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The inscription on his headstone reads, “He lived for others.” This humble nurseryman went around sowing seeds, planting nurseries and orchards, and preaching. He sowed a lot of seed in his lifetime. His life had meaning and hope because he relied on the principle that “Anybody can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed.”

A lot of seeds will be planted in the souls of the campers at Camp Bratton Green this summer. I suspect some seeds will also be planted in the souls of their counselors. T his video for the upcoming Campaign for Camp Bratton Green and Gray Center tells about how such seeds have been planted in the souls of thousands through the years and expresses the hope that there will be thousands more in the future. The campaign is appropriately called “The Seeds You Sow.”

Through our support of the campaign we will help sow seeds in the souls of children, youth, and adults. Let us contribute and let us pray for the souls past, present, and future campers, counselors, and visitors to Camp Bratton Green and Gray Center, where the seeds of faith, hope, and love take root and grow. Those seeds grow in souls and bear world-changing fruit.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

June 8, 2018
Give pride of place to one another in esteem!

A verse of scripture has been on my mind all week and I can’t stop thinking about it. When that happens, I assume that it may be a prompting of the Holy Spirit that is important for my life and ministry.

The verse is from St. Paul’s exhortation on Christian behavior found in the twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Romans. It is verse ten and the translation that keeps coming to mind is from the New English Bible. It reads, “Give pride of place to one another in esteem” (Romans 12:10b NEB). Most other translations use honour instead of esteem, but those are not the translations that keep popping up in my mind.

Our English word esteem is derived from the same Latin root (aestimāre) as estimate and means “to assign value.” If I were to try my hand at a Ron’s English Version of this particular verse, I would write it like this: “Put others ahead of yourself to demonstrate how much you value them.”

The late Scottish Biblical Scholar, William Barclay, offered the following insight in his commentary on this passage: “More than half the trouble that arises in Churches concerns rights and privileges and prestige. Someone has not been given his or her place; someone has been neglected or unthanked. The mark of the [true Christian] has always been humility” (William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, Westminster, Philadelphia, 1975, p.164).

General Conventions, Episcopal and National Elections, Committee Meetings, as well as day-to-day life in churches of all sizes and locations afford many opportunities to practice being mindful that humbly loving one another as Christ loved us is a prime directive. The world at our doorstep is watching to see how we behave toward one another!

In the Baptismal Covenant, we vow with God's help to “seek and serve Christ in all persons” and to “respect the dignity of every human being.”

Do I look for the image of God in every person at every turn? Do I work at treating others as I would treat God? When I disagree with a fellow Christian, how will I tailor my response in a way that demonstrates esteem for that person, in spite of differences? When I prefer one candidate over another in an election, will my comments about the other candidate be tempered by my awareness that I am speaking about one who is the apple of God’s eye? When someone does something that bothers me, do I speak about the person or to that person? Am I more concerned with being valued by others than I am about putting others ahead of myself to show how much I value them? Am I more concerned about what I am getting than what I am giving?

If every Christian works at showing esteem for others, there will surely be enough esteem to go around, and then some. There must be a way for us to run our meetings, our elections, and our churches that puts others first and values them as those who are “Christ’s own for ever.” My reflection on all of this has helped me realize that I need to try harder. Let's see what happens if we all try harder, trusting that God will multiply our efforts.

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

June 1, 2018
Strategies for Summertime Spirituality

Memorial Day signals opening of swimming pools, buzz cuts for boys, weekday outings to museums and zoos, homemade ice cream, watermelon season, an upswing in agricultural enterprises, and the beginning of summer vacations. We also start the summer slump in churches across America, with a decline in attendance and anxious messages from church treasurers about cash flow because offerings go down when the people are not there.

On several occasions, I have tried to counteract the summer slump. Call me a die hard, but I’m going to try again. Any success at all is better than none when it comes to reminding God’s Holy People what our relationship with the world is supposed to be.

St. Paul put it this way, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Jesus called his followers to be light and salt and leaven in the world (Matthew 5 and 13). Light, salt, and leaven are agents of transformation – light dispels darkness, salt adds flavor, and leaven causes the dough to rise. When the agents of transformation are present, things are no longer the same. Through our prayers and our lifestyle, we are God’s change agents.

With that in mind, I have a few suggestions for how to enjoy summertime while still fulfilling our sacred purpose.

Maintain the spiritual discipline of worship. If you are home on Sunday morning, your presence in worship with your community of faith helps keep the emphasis on God, both for you and for your fellow worshipers. HERE is St. Andrew's Cathedral's Summer Sunday Morning Schedule. When you are there, you are making a statement – a witness – that God’s reign in your life is not suspended just because it is summertime. Vacationers may be visiting our church while you are out of town. You may also use the time in worship to contemplate the different things you are doing/seeing/experiencing during the summer.

Find a church in which to worship while traveling. While you are in a different place, you may discover new friends, new ideas, and elements of diversity you have not known before. Maybe you can bring something back that will enrich the life of your own community of faith. The churches you visit will have an opportunity to extend their hospitality to you and hear about the church you love back home. If you have children or youth who will be traveling with you, ask them to get on the internet and find a church where your family can worship “wherever you may be.” Check The Episcopal Church Asset Map.

Don’t send your pledge on vacation. The operational costs of your church continue even when you are not there. In warmer locations, such as Jackson, the costs increase significantly because of the need for air conditioning and watering. There is no legitimate reason why church leaders should have to experience anxiety over cash shortfalls in the summer (or anytime of year for that matter). Make it a matter of faithful stewardship to bring or send your contribution before you leave on vacation. Or, if you forget, you may still mail a check or use online banking to get your gift to the altar while you are away.

Get involved in ministries you don’t normally have time for. If summertime affords you a little extra free time or a slower pace, use some of that time to serve Christ and the Church. Summertime may open up some new possibilities for you in the ministries of the Cathedral or one of our community partners and blessings will flow into our lives.

Remember us when you are away! We’d love to know what you are experiencing in the places where you are traveling. Social media is a great way to share your experiences and discoveries with us. Cut out and take Flat Andy along and include him in some photos, then post them to @standrewsjxn so we can see.

Whatever you do, think God! Be intentional about your spiritual journey. Begin and end your days with prayer, so that, in all the cares and occupations of our life, we may not forget God, but remember that we are ever walking in God’s sight. Look for signs of God’s hand at work in the world around you. Habits that affect the rest of your life can be formed during a three-month period. Don’t let a hiatus become a habit!

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

May 24, 2018
Deep Breathing Exercises

Approximately sixteen times every minute we human beings do something we all take for granted…we breathe. About sixteen times every minute we inhale and exhale air, and we usually do it without a second thought. The process started at birth and will continue until we draw our last breath. Breathing was a deep mystery to the ancients, before we learned about the biological process. And, like all mysteries, breathing has been an integral part of the religions of the Tibetans, the Indians, the Chinese, and the Japanese. It was a feature of the cults of the Egyptians. We see it also in the Bible. The ancient Hebrews used the word wind, the breath, in context with soul. In the Biblical account of creation, we read that, “God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul.” In the NT, the Greek word pneuma is used in speaking of the human soul. Our word, spirit, is from the Latin verb spirare, which means “to breathe.”

Jesus gave a breath of fresh air to his disciples. On the first Easter Day, he came into the place where the disciples were, breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” It was this same breath of fresh air the disciples received on the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection. This Holy Breath in turn came out of the apostles that day as they witnessed and preached so that those around them heard in their own languages. On this Day of Pentecost, I’m here to tell you we dare not take this spiritual breathing for granted because the quality of our breathing affects the quality of our lives – our health, moods, energy, creativity. Likewise, our spiritual lives are dependent upon the breath of God supplying the invisible virtues that are necessary for spiritual health, moods, energy, and creativity. How can we be more receptive to the breath of God?

First, we can seek inspiration. Most of my life, I have associated inspiration with enlightenment. In a sense, this association is correct. But, in another sense, inspiration refers to something else. When Rhabanus Marurus wrote the Veni Creator Spiritus in the 8^th century, he had this “something else” in mind. In this hymn, which has become one of the beloved canticles of the Christian liturgy, we sing “Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire, and lighten with celestial fire.” Inspiration and illumination are segregated in his thought as two essential aspects of the work of the Spirit.

To inspire is to breathe in. If you want to be more receptive to the Breath of God, take a deep breath. The result will be new life. The psalmist celebrated inspiration: “When you take away their breath, they die…but when you give them breath, they are created, you give new life to the earth…” Corrie Ten Boom spoke of inspiration this way: “I have a glove here in my hand. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, it can do many things. True, it is not the glove, but my hand in the glove that acts. We are gloves. It is the Holy Spirit in us who is the hand, who does the job. We have to make room for the hand so that every finger is filled.”

And, if you want the Holy Spirit in your life, try conspiracy. The late theologian John Courtney Murray effectively used the word conspiracy in its root sense. The word literally means to breathe together. That’s what Pentecost was – a conspiracy, not in the sense of a sinister gathering for dark purposes, but as a consensus for good, a breaking down of barriers, a breathing together. Have you ever sat with someone else and tried to breathe together? I recall sitting with a group of about 15 people around the bed of my father during the final hour of his life. He was struggling for breath so hard that the bed shook. After the longest time of silence, one man put his hand to his chest and said, “we’re all trying to breathe for him.” In a real sense, we were.

We frequently breathe in unison when we are singing or reciting a creed or prayer, together. Whenever we join together in the conspiracy of Christian fellowship, worship, and service, the Holy Spirit has a chance to move among us, uniting our hearts and minds in a consensus. And, the breathing that is usually so silent, begins to sound like the rush of a mighty wind. When we open ourselves to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we are also drawn to one another.

Finally, for the breathing process to be complete, it has to be respiration. Breathing in is only half of the process. Breathing out is also necessary. We need to pay attention to what we are breathing out because just a second earlier, it was what we were breathing in. If we breathe in hate, it will probably be hate when we breathe it out. If we breathe in peace (as Jesus disciples did) it will probably be peace when we breathe it out.

If we are constantly putting ourselves in a place where we can breathe in the Breath of God together, it will not be long before we will be breathing out the Breath of God in the world around us. Magnifying Christ and proclaiming the good News of what God has done, offering hope in the face of despair, peace in the face of hatred, comfort in the face of pain and suffering, and the eternal God in the face of the uncertainties of human existence. Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote, “He lives most life whoever breathes most air.” Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Let us make a new resolve to join with one another in the greatest deep breathing exercise ever known – to receive the Holy Spirit, let our lives bear the Spirit’s fruit, dream dreams, see visions, and experience the mighty works of God first-hand by becoming one of them!

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

May 17, 2018