Tag: Ronald D. Pogue

Take a deep breath!

Dear St. John’s Friends,

Let me begin this week’s reflection by saying how excited Gay and I are about the new Rector of St. John’s Church! Jimmy and Cindy Bartz, along with Jas and Jade are perfect for this parish and community. The Search Committee and Vestry have discerned wisely.

And, I am now able to tell you that Gay and I will be moving to Denver at the end of June where I will serve as Interim Dean of St. John’s Cathedral. This will be a very different challenge and blessings you have given to us during our time with you will make a difference in our life there.

Now, let’s reflect on Pentecost.

Approximately 16 times every minute we human beings do something we all take for granted…we breathe. About 16 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.

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!

P.S. Here is one of my favorite hymns about the Holy Spirit, "Come Down, O Love Divine," sung by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. I've included the text beneath the video.

Come down, O love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

Let holy charity
mine outward vesture be,
and lowliness become mine inner clothing;
true lowliness of heart,
which takes the humbler part,
and o'er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace,
till Love create a place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

Words: Bianco da Siena, d. 1434; translation by Richard Frederick Littledale, Jr., 1867
Music: Down Ampney, North Petherton

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue, D.Min.
The Interim Dean
Saint John's Cathedral

May 12, 2016
Sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church ~ April 24, 2016

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

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April 24, 2016
What then are we to say about these things?

As if the tragedy of earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador and fatal flooding in Texas isn’t bad enough, the world is subjected to the predictable voices of those who claim that these disasters are signs of divine retribution. There have always been, and perhaps always will be, those who speculate that 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 confess” (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. However, 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” (Book of Common Prayer, 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” (Book of Common Prayer, 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)

I suggest that participation rather than speculation is a more appropriate faith-based response to disasters like these. Episcopalians can make a contribution to Episcopal Relief and Development through a parish church or directly. If you are a member of another religious body, consider participating in the relief agency associated with it. I suggest also that a prayer is more helpful than a scare. Here’s one that is adapted from the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer.

God of consolation, grant to those who suffer and sorrow at this time of devastation in Ecuador, Japan, and Texas the spirit of faith and courage, that they may have the strength to meet the days to come with steadfastness and patience; not sorrowing without hope but clinging to your goodness and love, through Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life. Amen.

I’ll see you in Church!

April 20, 2016
Sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church ~ April 17, 2016

The Fourth Sunday of Easter

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April 17, 2016
The Good Shepherd

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday every year. Our collect and readings remind us that in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the New Testament, the Middle Eastern shepherd is a metaphor for the divine nature.

Like the flocks they tended, the shepherds of the Bible were often dirty and woolly, enduring sun and rain for days or weeks on end. But unlike their flocks, they were vigilant and uncomplaining, watching for danger and trouble, providing pasture, and allaying thirst. The shepherd knew his flock as no one else. And the sheep followed him “because they know his voice.”

Jesus speaks of himself as “the gate for the sheep.” Some scholars contend that shepherds of the period would often place their own bodies across the small opening of the sheep enclosure at night and during times of danger, risking their lives for the sake of their flock. Perhaps it is this image of the shepherd as human gate that Jesus has in mind with this metaphor, his own presence stretched out and bridging our insecurities. “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me,” he assures us, “will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture” (John 10:9).

Sometimes we are like lost sheep. We live in a world where it is easy to lose direction, to lose our bearings, and to lose a sense of who we are and where we are going. It is easy to go astray. It is then that we are most vulnerable to the “thieves and bandits” of the world. We are also most vulnerable to the more destructive animal instincts that lurk in every human heart, such as hatred, anger, and violence.

Week by week, we come to the Paschal Banquet ready to keep the feast, eager to partake of the Lord’s abundance, and to be nourished for the journey ahead. But the world is still a dangerous place. The human heart listens for the voice of the Shepherd who brings peace and God’s reconciling love. He is the Gate through whom we pass as we come to be fed and as we go back out to feed others in his Name.

I’ll see you in Church!

P.S. I want to share with you one of my favorite musical settings of the twenty-third psalm. It is by composer Howard Goodall and some of you will recognize it as the theme song from a BBC television production about a flock that was tended by a very interesting shepherd. The choir is that of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

April 13, 2016
Now the Green Blade Rises

Three weeks ago, the Lawn of St. John’s Church was covered with snow. A few days after Easter the snow is gone and the grass is amazingly green. I'm reminded one of my favorite Easter hymns, Now the Green Blade Rises. Take a moment to read these wonderful words of new life, hope, and springtime:

Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many years has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

In the grave they laid Him, Love Whom we had slain,
Thinking that He’d never wake to life again,
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

Up He sprang at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain;
Up from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

When our hearts are saddened, grieving or in pain,
By Your touch You call us back to life again;
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

We all know those seasons of life when things seem frozen, lifeless, hopeless, or entirely unfair. Easter is God's word of hope that life and love will triumph over all that. In the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we find that news most perfectly expressed.

May the Great Fifty Days of Easter be filled with reminders of that good news. And, beyond that, may we all be Easter People throughout the year, bringing that message of hope to others.

Enjoy this rendition of the hymn by the Choir of Ely Cathedral.

I’ll see you in Church!

April 8, 2016
Sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church ~ March 27, 2016

Easter Day

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March 27, 2016
Easter is more than a day.

During the forty days of Lent each year we spend time getting ready for the celebration of Easter. There is fasting, self-denial, prayer, intensified devotion, scripture study, and other disciplines designed to cleanse our hearts.

Then, comes the big celebration. Easter. Like so many Christian holy days, Easter seems to disappear the next day as life returns to "normal." But Easter should be more than that to us! It certainly was to those early disciples. Easter is more than a day!

Easter is a season of celebration. The Risen Christ walked among his disciples for forty days after his resurrection. He taught them, ate with them, prayed with them, and loved them. Before he was taken up into heaven, he promised to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The promise was fulfilled on the fiftieth day when they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish feast of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. In Greek, it is called Pentecost. Pentecost is seven weeks, or fifty days, after the observance of Passover and commemorates the spring wheat harvest. This feast has also been associated with the remembrance of the giving of the Law to Moses. As the law was written on tablets of stone, the Spirit would write God's law upon the hearts of believers. When Moses came down from the mountain, he found God's people worshipping an idol and 3,000 of them died. When the Spirit was given, the disciples were obediently waiting in Jerusalem. 3,000 people were saved! The New People of the New Covenant were empowered by the Life-giving Spirit to be Christ's Body in the world, proclaiming to everyone the Easter message that Christ is alive.

Easter is a lifestyle. We are Easter People! As those early disciples in Emmaus and Jerusalem and in Galilee experienced the living presence of the Risen Christ, so we recognize that he stands among us today. To paraphrase Jesus, "believing is seeing." When we gather to hear the Word and share in the Holy Meal, it is usually easy to experience his presence "enthroned upon the praises of his people." The challenging part comes when we disperse. When Christ's Body touches the world through you and me when we are apart from one another, do you suppose the Living Presence is felt?

Easter is our only hope. St. Peter writes, "By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…" There is a lot of help out there for people with all kinds of needs. But Christians believe that beyond help, people need hope. So what if you are physically or emotionally well. Life is just not complete without hope. The Easter faith gives the world hope.

So, don't let Easter fade like the blooms on your Easter Lily! Easter is more than a day; it is a season, a lifestyle, and a faith that fills our lives with hope.

I’ll see you in Church!

March 23, 2016
The Way of the Cross is the Path of Obedience

One of the most poignant passages we will read during this Holy Week is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Church at Philippi:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Phil. 2:5-11

I am struck by the description of the depth of Jesus’ obedience “to the point of death – even death on a cross.” His journey, especially during the days leading up to the Crucifixion, was a journey of obedience. That gets right to the heart of Holy Week, doesn’t it?

We know that the journey was not without its moments for Jesus. He prayed about it until he sweated blood. The temptation to take another path, to escape, to avoid the cross, was always there. But he knew his mission and was obedient to the One who had set this path before him.

By his obedience to that higher vocation, Jesus was able to overcome his inner conflict. By his commitment to the mission entrusted to him, he was able to remain steadfast until he fulfilled it. By his discipline in the midst of confusion, he was able to discern the way forward toward his redemptive objective.

In the story Ninety-three, Victor Hugo tells of a ship caught in a violent storm. When the storm was at its height, the frightened crew heard a terrible crashing below. A cannon they were carrying had broken loose and was banging into the ship’s sides, tearing gaping holes with every smashing blow.

Two men, at the risk of their lives, managed to secure the cannon again, for they knew that the loose cannon was more dangerous than the storm. The storm could toss them about, but the loose cannon within could sink them.

So, too, the outside storms and problems of life aren’t the greatest danger. It’s the terrible destructiveness of a lack of obedience to the highest, best, and noblest dimensions of life that can send us to the bottom.

The cross could have destroyed Jesus. But it didn’t because in humility he submitted himself to a discipline that kept him within the Divine Will. We could use some of his obedience in our own lives. Maybe some will rub off on us as we walk with him in the Way of the Cross during Holy Week, through the Crucifixion, into the Tomb, and into the glorious Resurrection on Easter. Let’s do it together!

I’ll see you in Church!

March 17, 2016
Sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson Hole ~ March 13, 2016

The Fifth Sunday in Lent

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March 13, 2016