Reflection for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Leave the weeds.

His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest

My mom had a great bookshelf in her room. I used to sit in front of that bookshelf just pondering the titles – classics of literature, a book on the adopted family, and a set of books in a series about homes and gardens. These books had to date from the late 1950s or early 1960s. I can imagine my parents amassing this encyclopedia of home and garden just after they purchased their house.

These books were beautifully illustrated. They had architectural drawings, garden layouts, and idealized drawings and photos of beautifully manicured and cultured lawns and gardens. I wanted that! I would look out the windows of our home, holding the books, and imagined creating that look in our small back yard; its existing look not perfect enough. Oh, and there were weeds. Weeds were the enemy of perfection.

You can imagine my surprise on one of those idyllic summer Sundays as Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds was read. We had to leave the weeds. My little structured world of perfect lawns and raised flower beds had to take a back seat to Jesus’ command. Some in our congregation live this today. They allow nature to take its course, not disturbing the wheat or the weeds. I think they understand better than I did.

In its essence, Jesus’ parable is about conflict and destruction. The Jewish people would have understood that enemies sowed choking weeds in crops, a war tactic aimed at destruction. Jesus likened the sowing of weeds to the work of the enemy, Satan, who in all respects seeks to destroy us. The slaves, we who follow Jesus, have an initial reaction to destruction that itself focuses on destruction. Let’s go out and destroy the weeds. Abigail Van Buren once said, “People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.” Destruction of the weeds only leads to the destruction of the good. The result of the sinful tendency in us is our giving in to destruction.

As Jesus’ people, we are called to plant, nurture, feed, grow, and also bear the weeds. We are not called to the position of harvester. That is Jesus’ job. By our action, perhaps in the weeds, we will find a new crop for the Lord. We will give all the chance and opportunity to grow. In the midst of conflict we are to reject destruction and leaven the world for growth.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord 2020

Bruised and
smoldering.

a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench

On this Third Sunday after Christmas we celebrate, recall. and honor the Baptism of the Lord.

As we honored the Lord’s revelation to the Shepherds, as we honored the Epiphany of the Lord, His revelation to the nations, so today we see the next step – His revelation to His own people at the River Jordan.

Reluctantly, John baptizes Jesus. As He comes up, out of the water: the heavens were opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Who Jesus is is revealed by the Father and the Holy Spirit.

In the next several weeks, as we continue the forty-day celebration of Christmas, we will see Jesus revealed in other ways. The totality of Christmas is about opportunity, it is about the opportunity to see Jesus for Who and What He is and the opportunity to reveal that.

We, Jesus’ Church here locally and throughout the world, are charged to do what Peter finally figured out in Cornelius’ house – make Jesus known to everyone! 

Living Christmas is living the opportunity to reveal Jesus, to show Him forth in a world that is running in every direction, looking for – well something unknown, and of course, unable to find it. Revelation is our job opportunity. It is our call to provide the definition of that which people seek and to open the door to their finding what has been and will be eternally available – Jesus.

Confusion, uncertainty, conflict, answers that are empty and without life cannot bind up the bruised nor re-ignite the smoldering. Yet we can by taking the opportunity to reveal Jesus. What Isaiah tells us is so key, so very important. Jesus came, not to find the bruised and break them, to find the smoldering and quench them, but to bind and reignite. Jesus came to build the family of God. That, at its core, is what our baptism in His likeness is about. We too are to reveal, bind, build, and reignite like Jesus. 

In baptism we are commissioned in the mission of revelation, and in revealing to bind up and re-ignite. We are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, coming up out of the waters of baptism to show the way to a seeking humanity bruised and smoldering.

Reflection for the 3rd Sunday in Lent 2019

Our Lenten Journey
with Dismas – Part 3

Today I offer three scriptural quotes:

God called out to him from the bush, God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.

Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert… These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us

“Do you think that because [they] suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all [the others]? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will perish as they did!

Pretty scary stuff, because when we hear the honest word of God, the alternative to living in Him and in His way, we face eternal reality. Live in God, follow His way, be His disciple, or die. When we are clearly told to set aside sin, walk away from it, to repent and go in the opposite direction, it is frightening. We face our weakness and wonder if we are strong enough to do it. In fact, we know we are not strong enough.

Dismas wasn’t strong enough. He wallowed in a sinful and destructive life that led him to a tortuous death on a cross. As a fellow Jew he certainly heard of God’s word to Moses. He knew the commandments and the penalties, the blessings and the curses. He was dying on a cross in consequence. The curses all came home at once.

We all must face the God of consequences, the honest God Who tells it like it is, without shadow or excuse. Reflecting on this, how do we see Him?

Do we picture this God as god in a Yul Brynner disguise? Is he god as the King of Siam in the ‘King and I?” Is he in a stance of strength, bald headed, bare chested, fierce, calling for his whip so might beat his slaves?

As Dismas looked to his left, in the midst of his curses, he saw a short, bearded, dark haired Jewish man. He suddenly he saw through his sin and inability, past the curses to the reality of God. God is the Gardener Who says: “Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate it and fertilize it.” Dismas saw his chance to grow and produce even in that moment where his curses were overwhelming. Let us recognize our chance, the reality of God’s truth. He seeks only our growth and production. We must be honest in the face of weakness and rely on His strength. Let us see clearly and grab His chance.

Mentors needed – RAMP Program

YOUTH POWER!‘s Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP) is actively seeking dedicated and caring individuals to serve as mentors to help young people grow in their knowledge of careers and themselves.

RAMP is a high tech, career focused mentoring program for youth ages 11 to 17 who have a disability (diagnosed or perceived) and are involved with or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system. RAMP teaches youth about job options, how to set goals for themselves, and how to reach those goals with steps anchored in their daily lives to successfully transition them to employment, post secondary education and independent living. RAMP is seeking caring and dedicated individuals to spend 2 hours a week serving as mentors for weekly meetings at sites in Albany, Ravena and Cohoes. Mentors receive training and ongoing support as well as have the opportunity to participate in structured mentor-mentee activities which are payed for by the program. Mentors should be willing listeners, encouraging and supportive, patient and flexible and tolerant and respectful of individual differences.

Interested parties are encouraged to watch the four minute YouTube video below, view our recruitment flyer, and contact Elijah Fagan-Solis, YOUTH POWER! Mentoring Coordinator by E-mail or by calling 518-432-0333 ext 19.

MentorsWanted-YP

Ellis Hospital Seeks Volunteer

The Pastoral Care Office at Ellis Hospital is seeking a volunteer to assist with administrative duties: answer phones, notify pastors a parishioner is in the hospital, greet visitors to the office, deliver religious materials to the chapel and other areas of the hospital, and help keep the office clean and organized. To inquire please contact the Rev. Tony Green by E-mail or telephone at 518-243-4064.

Job Opportunity: Applications Being Accepted for Editor, God’s Field

The Click here to view/download a copy of the job description and necessary qualifications. The position will be compensated at $1,000 per issue with the expectation of 12 issues annually.

Interested applicants email qualifications to the Office of the Prime Bishop by E-mail. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2013.