Tag: Ronald D. Pogue

The Way of the Cross – The Path of Obedience

During the first week of April we will observe the last week in the life of Jesus. 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!

March 29, 2012
Sermon at Calvary Church ~ March 25, 2012

Lent 5B

Listen to the Sermon for March 25, 2012

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March 25, 2012
There’s a man on the cross!

Several years ago, a friend and I were driving on a freeway that passes along one side of downtown Houston, Texas. As we approached the downtown area, there was a traffic jam and all the lanes of the freeway were almost at a standstill. Since it was not during either of those times of the day we have misnamed “rush hour,” I was puzzled as to why there was congestion.

I was concentrating on the cars ahead of me, but my friend was not and it was he who discovered the reason for the traffic problems. Off to the right of the freeway is Annunciation Roman Catholic Church, one of Houston’s historic landmarks. High atop that church’s spire is a beautiful gold cross. When we were passing that church, my friend cried out, “There’s a man on the cross!”

A workman was repairing the cross and everyone who passed was stopping to see. It was my companion’s exclamation and my own first glance rather than the subsequent explanation that left an indelible impression in my mind. I recalled the words of scripture, “If I am lifted up, I will draw all people to me” (John 12:32). Think of it; there’s a man on the cross and the city stops to see!

Why do we stop? Why do we come to the church during Lent and Holy Week and fill our souls with thoughts of the sorrow and death of Jesus?

We come because in Jesus we see a courage we would make our own in the face of trouble.

He went to the cross after a long period of inner struggle, after his friends denied and betrayed him, and after mockery and scourging at the hands of God’s elect. It was not easy. There was pain both of the spirit and of the flesh. Recognizing that we too must face times of pain and death, we come to see this man on a cross and draw courage. This sort of courage is necessary to live the life he calls us to live. It is more than we can call forth from within ourselves. We need our portion of his in order to take up our own crosses.

We come because in Jesus we see one who leaves an indelible imprssion on our lives.

Throughout our experience, the really tough decisions are wrought in prayer and deliberation. The choices and commitments we make call forth the greatest energies of the spirit. Bishop Walpole knew this when he counseled a friend about his ministry, “If you are uncertain about which of two paths to take, chose the one on which the shadow of the cross falls.” He was saying, “Christ died for you so that your life would count. Choose the way that has the impression of the cross on it. We know in our own experience how indelible this impression is when we encounter Jesus Christ on his cross.

We come because we still marvel that God has chosen this peculiar manner to bring salvation to the world.

We’d love to clean it up a bit. We’d like to think it wasn’t so messy, but it was. A man died in agony at a place outside Jerusalem. George McLeod’s famous words describe the place so well:

I simply argue that the cross be raised again
at the center of the market place
as well as on the steeple of the church,

I am recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral
between two candles:

But on a cross between two thieves;
on a town garbage heap;
at a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan
that they had to write His title
in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek . . .

And at the kind of place where cynics talk smut,
and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.

Because that is where He died,
and that is what He died about.
And that is where [the Church] ought to be,
and what [the Church] ought to be about.

This is the strange story of salvation. It is a story filled with pathos and irony and paradox. It is a story in which the Sovereign of the Universe becomes the Paschal Lamb. And, through this one act of self-offering, the gates of salvation are permanently opened for all people to enter.

There’s a man on the cross – drawing all people to himself.

That’s why we come.

March 22, 2012
Sermon at Calvary Church ~ March 18, 2012

Lent 4B

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March 18, 2012
Something More About Making Church a Safe Place

Like many other denominations, The Episcopal Church has developed a series of courses that are intended to help make the Church a safe place. We have courses called Safeguarding God’s Children, Preventing Sexual Harrassment in the Church, and Preventing Sexual Exploitation in the Church. Those who work with children and youth, clergy, employees, vestries, and others are required to take this training.

I’ve been thinking it would be helpful to add a course to help our leaders recognize and address other behaviors that compromise the wellbeing of our communities of faith. To be truly safe places – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – our congregations and schools need to be havens of blessing and places of peace where people know they will not be subjected to emotional terrorism, disrespectful criticism, gossip, bullying, power and control tactics, and other such characteristically unchristian behaviors.

Well-meaning clergy and leaders often allow people to behave in these ways because of some notion that disruptive behavior has as much of a place in the Church as any. We’ve been heard to say, “Bless her heart, that’s just Mattie. We’ve just learned to tolerate her.” Hmmmm… Really? Why would we tolerate behavior that undermines our efforts to serve Christ “in unity, constancy, and peace?” Why would we ignore words and actions that are in stark contrast to the Baptismal Covenant in which we promise to “persevere in resisting evil…proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ…seek and serve Christ in all persons…strive for justice and peace…respect the dignity of every human being?”

My interest in this topic is heightened by next Sunday’s Gospel (John 2:13-22). There is Jesus standing in the Jerusalem temple as Feast of Passover was drawing near. The scribes and Pharisees he has encountered so far in his ministry make it clear that Jerusalem, the center of their power and influence, is a dangerous place for him. Nevertheless, it is the center of religious life, and the temple is the most sacred of places. It is natural that he would want to be there in spite of the risks. Jerusalem is the holy city of that time and the temple its most holy place. One would expect it to embody all that invokes the most holy feelings. In a people set apart, commanded to behave in “peculiar” ways, one would expect no less. Yet what Jesus finds is no different from the street outside the temple gates.

Some scholars say that his outrage came from the dishonest commerce going on. Animals offered for ritual sacrifice had to meet rigid requirements. Those purchased from approved temple vendors were guaranteed to be acceptable. Those brought from home may not be. Purchases could only be made with temple currency. It has been suggested that both the sacrifice acceptance policies and the required currency exchanges were opportunities for corruption that created a scandal and an additional burden for the poor. These abuses would have given Jesus adequate cause for righteous indignation but he may have had reason enough without them.

Quite simply, this holy place looked just like the marketplace. What should have been a model of another way of living, of relating to one another, an example of God's ways, had become no different from the ways of the world. “The model of God had become the mimic of man.” Jesus expected his Father’s House to be a House of Prayer.

As Christians, we are called to be witnesses to our neighbors, not their clones. If our beliefs do not lead to conforming our lives to the life of Christ, what is the point of believing? If the ways in which we conduct our affairs in the Church are indistinguishable from the ways of secular commerce, how can we sincerely pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven?”

Our Baptismal Covenant calls us to be peculiar in the eyes of the world. Our presence in divine worship expresses our desire to do so for the purpose of affirming Christ's presence wherever we may be. It is not an easy task. But it is a task of such importance that it gives our lives a richness of meaning and purpose that transcends anything offered by the world.

The history of the world, and especially our religious history, suggests that sin can always draw us from our best intentions. Will we continue to be tempted to think churches should be run more like business instead of suggesting that business would be better if they were run more like Church? Will we look for salvation in self-help publications instead of the holy habits of prayer, Sabbath keeping, offerings, and worship? Like Paul, we find ourselves saying "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."

I submit that critical, disrespectful, grouchy, disruptive behavior should not be tolerated in our communities of faith any more than Jesus tolerated those unholy behaviors in the temple. Each one of us can be a better manager of our own behavior and attitude. We can also watch over one another in love and confront our sisters and brothers in Christ when their words and deeds have a negative impact on the safety and sanctity of our faith communities.

There are times when to be “nice” is to avoid being “Christian.” After all, Jesus was anything but “nice” to the people he confronted in the temple. Take comfort from the spectacle of Jesus overturning the tables of the moneychangers. Know that this same strength, courage, and righteousness upholds us every day of our lives and especially when we need to say to the Matties of our congregations, “No! That tone is not acceptable here among us. It disturbs our peace and Jesus has higher expectations.”

March 8, 2012
Sermon at Calvary Church ~ March 4, 2012

The Second Sunday in Lent

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March 4, 2012
May God continue the good work begun in you!

My service as Rector in the Interim at the Church of the Good Shepherd is drawing to a close. I will begin a new interim assignment at Calvary Church in Ashland, Kentucky on Shrove Tuesday. You are preparing to welcome your new spiritual leader, The Rev. Brian Cole. The community to which I am going has just said farewell to The Rev. Jeffrey Queen, who served as their interim for two years. In the midst of all this change, I am reflecting on the wisdom St. Paul shared with the Corinthian Church regarding transitions in leadership.

The Corinthian Christians were having difficulty adjusting to new leadership. In his first letter to them, St. Paul describes how transitions are a normal aspect of the life of Christians in community. His focus is upon the common purpose of building up the Church in its mission.

For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. – I Cor. 3:4-9

I might have written it this way:

It is human nature for one to say, ‘I liked Fr. So and So’, and another, ‘I didn’t like Fr. Such and Such’. Both are Pastors who tried to help you in your journey of faith using the gifts the Lord gave to each of them. One planted seeds, another watered them, but the resulting growth came from God. So, it’s really not about the Pastor, it’s about God! Each of us Pastors has a common purpose and that is to help you have enough faith to do the work God has prepared for you to walk in. – I Ron 3:4-9

I am not the Pastors who came before me. Nor am I the Pastors who come after me. God has gifted each of us in different ways according to the leadership God desires the Church to have in a particular place and time. Each of us brings something different to the communities we serve. Each one builds upon the work of those who came before, so the changes each one brings are not intended to dismantle things. Instead, the changes are related to the common purpose we share and are to be understood as additions or enhancements to what has been. Our common purpose is to help you be the Church in mission. It’s not about Fr. So and So or Fr. Such and Such. It’s not about me. It’s about God and God’s mission of reconciliation in the mission field at your doorstep.

You have been very open to changes during the last eighteen months. However, change is difficult for many people. We don't like it when something upsets the equilibrium and pushes us out of our comfort zone. So we resist and complain. Resistance to change, while human, can undermine the true spiritual discernment that has led to this union of Pastor and People, thwarting God's purpose. Most complaining about change when a new Pastor arrives constitutes avoidance of the real work to which God is calling the faithful. Valuable spiritual energy is wasted in an activity that is useless to the cause of Christ! So, I urge you to embrace the changes that are coming your way as new ways for God to work through you and your community of faith.

This time of transition is a unique opportunity for God to work wonders through divine interaction with the new relationships that are being formed. That is why departing clergy must step away. God is creating a new context in which to bring about growth. Trust God enough to invite your new Pastor and encourage one another to fully express the gifts God has given to help you be the Church. You will grow, the Church will grow, and the Kingdom of God will grow.

So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. – I Cor. 3:21-22

Gay and I will continue to hold you and your new Rector and his family in our prayers. We will miss you, but we will rejoice as we watch from a distance as a new era of fruitful ministry unfolds. May God continue the good work God has begun in you!

Faithfully yours,

P.S. – Here is the diocesan leave taking policy, which the Senior Warden and I have signed.

February 16, 2012
What moves you?

Mark uses miracle stories in his gospel to illustrate a point the way Matthew and Luke use parables for that purpose in theirs. Jesus’ cleansing of a leper as recorded in Mark 1:40-45 is an example.

A man who was afflicted with leprosy confronted Jesus. The leper broke the code of ceremonial cleanliness just by speaking to Jesus. It was a very bold thing to do. Here is one who is considered unclean and wretched by his people because he has contracted a hideous disease. Leprosy represented sin to the people of Jesus’ day and, like sin, it was considered contagious, more to be cleansed than healed.

A leper was banished from the community and had to dwell alone or with other lepers outside the community. This man had to go about with torn clothes, bared head, and a covering upon his upper lip. As he went, he was required to give warning of his polluted presence with the cry, “Unclean! Unclean!” The leper had not only to bear the physical pain of his disease, he had to bear the mental anguish and heartbreak of being completely banished from human society and totally shunned. So, it is incredible that he would approach Jesus at all, let alone dare to speak to him.

Even more remarkable than that is the fact that Jesus responded to him as he did. He could have run away. He could have had the leper killed. He could have reacted with horror. But he didn’t. Instead, we are told in the story that his response was one of compassion and understanding. Jesus was “moved with pity.” He broke the code and defiled himself when he reached out and touched the leper. In so doing, his power over evil was demonstrated by a miraculous cure. He broke the law and, at the same time, he fulfilled it.

Then he sent the man to the priest and in so doing placed before the religious establishment a difficult problem. Only the priest could certify the cure. To reject it would be to break the code. To accept it would be to acknowledge Jesus’ power and authority. To make matters even worse, this cleansed leper couldn’t keep all of this to himself, even though Jesus had asked him to. Is it any surprise?

In this miracle story, we see that it was Jesus’ nature to be moved by the sight of human need. But sympathy isn’t worth a dime unless it leads to action. Jesus was first moved to pity, then to action. He continues to be moved to compassion and he still reaches out and touches those in need of help. People who have experienced this compassionate power find themselves moved. They become enthusiastic about life and they glorify God in whatever they do.

I recently streamed the movie Bad News Bears. It had been years since the last time I watched it. There is a character in the movie named Lupus. Lupus is a little boy who had a runny nose all the time and was smaller than the others. He had learned to stay in the background because that’s where everyone else told him he belonged. One day, some boys on another team put ketchup in his hat and slapped it back on his head. One of his teammates took both of them on in defense of Lupus. He lost the fight, but afterwards, Lupus said to him, “You’re the first person who ever took up for me.” A short time later, the coach sent Lupus in to play during the championship game and he actually caught a fly ball. Nothing could ever stop Lupus again because someone finally believed in him. That gave him the courage to get out of the background and take his God-given place as a full-fledged member of the team.

Like the story of the cleansing of the leper, the story of Lupus is a miracle story. It tells us what can happen on an infinitely greater plane when Jesus Christ touches a human life. His touch tells us that he believes in us and when we know that touch, we’ll never be the same. We’ll have a new perspective on life, a new confidence in ourselves, and a new ability to reach out to others, especially those who have been pushed into the background, marginalized, and condemned.

Today is a good day to keep my eyes open to watch for a miracle. Today is a good day to experience a miracle for myself. Today is a good day to help a miracle happen for someone else. God, let me live today in miraculous expectation!

P.S. That leper could have written this hymn! Maybe the fact that the tune is not as familiar to American ears will help you listen to the words a little more carefully.

February 9, 2012
Entrepreneuerial Christianity

My wife, Gay, has become a quilter. Shortly after arriving in Kentucky, she became involved with a group of women in a ministry of the Church called “Cross Quilts.” They gather weekly in the home of a member and make quilts to give to veterans, homeless persons, and children who are Baptized at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Working together adds something to their mission.

She told me about an experience she had recently while shopping for fabric for one of her quilts. As she was walking through the fabric store, a young woman stopped her and asked for help in selecting some ribbon for a project she was working on. Gay was intrigued that this complete stranger would ask for her opinion and curious to see where this encounter might lead. The young woman explained the project to Gay and they discussed the ways in which the ribbon would be used with different fabrics. At some point, she made her decision, thanked Gay, and took the ribbon to the cashier.

What fascinated me about this story is the openness to collaboration between these two women, who had never met before and will probably never meet again. I’ve seen a lot of that since coming to Kentucky, such as the man I wrote about last week who helped me with my shopping cart. I’ve seen a spirit of collaboration in the churches, in the communities, in circles of friends, and among complete strangers.

I don’t know if it is primarily a cultural phenomenon or if it’s in the water or the air we breathe here in the Bluegrass, but people here seem to value each other’s opinions and appreciate opportunities to work together toward some purpose. Perhaps that is why economists point out “entrepreneurial support” as an attractive economic feature of the Lexington area. Entrepreneurs know the wonder of collaboration in bringing together assets in new ways to develop new things.

There are parallels with the Christian mission. From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he worked collaboratively with his disciples and others to open hearts and minds to the new thing God was bringing about. He was critical of those who were locked into one way of doing things and who resistant to the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit. But to those who were willing to enter into a trusting relationship with him and each other the way to abundant life.

In her sermon today, during a celebration of The Holy Eucharist at Christ Church Cathedral here in Lexington, Dean Carol Wade told us that she has established commissions to explore various aspects of the Cathedral’s life and witness. I was fascinated to hear her say that one of those commissions is “The Entrepreneurs Commission.” She described their role as “discovering resources for the increase of ministries.” What a great concept! What an expression of a theology of abundance!

God has provided all the resources we need to do what God is calling us to do. Our job is to open our eyes to see God’s hand at work around us to discover those resources and employ them in new ways in the service of the Gospel.

At the top of the list of resources is people who share a love of Jesus Christ. Christianity has been a collaborative and entrepreneurial enterprise from the beginning. Despite tendencies of the culture to cast Christianity in terms of a private relationship between the believer and Jesus, authentic Christianity is always corporate and collaborative at the core.

A good example is Matthew 18:19-20 where Jesus says, “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” The Greek word for agree in this passage of scripture is συμφωνία, meaning "agreement or concord of sound", "concert of vocal or instrumental music", from σύμφωνος, "harmonious" (Oxford English Dictionary). It is also the origin of the word symphony.

Is it any wonder that Christians sing when we gather? When we live and work collaboratively in Christ’s mission, we make beautiful music that expresses our life in Christ.

February 2, 2012
Sermon at St. Mark’s Church in Hazard, Kentucky ~ January 29, 2012

Epiphany 4B

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January 30, 2012