Monastic Mumblings, a Friar's Journey

All Saints' Day

I visited a grave this last Sunday. It was the right time to do it. After all we are coming up to All Hallows day (Festum omnium sanctorum), the day eve of which is celebrated by the world as Halloween. We in the historical Church know it as something else. It is the day we remember those who have died in the faith of Christ. It is traditionally celebrated on November 1, but as often happens; my Parish will observe it on the first Sunday in November instead.

So I stood there looking at my younger brother's stone. Written there we saw his name, his birthday, which I had celebrated all my life then the terminus. So limiting, so final, so unbending. I still can't believe the main companion of my youth lies there, cold and moldering under that stone.

It is often said that there is a boundary, set between the living and the dead. This week, before the Throne of God, we will remember all Saints and all Souls, reminding us of the entire Communion of Saints, of those we love, but see no longer. Our modern culture is all about the rush of Halloween and trick-or-treat, finding costumes, checking candy. But we dont want to forget the basis of this day, we must remember that vital portion of the Church, which is in the nearer Presence of God.

They are still members of the Church of Jesus Christ, from their position closer to God, they pray for us who are still struggling here on earth. We in turn pray for members of the Church suffering still here.

This year is especially difficult, because there in that numberless throng, is my younger brother, whose hand I held in April as he entered Eternity.

I do wonder from time to time what it must be like, that vast, numberless throng of Saints, from every nation, tribe, and people, standing before the Throne and the Lamb, clad in white robes, with palms in their hands.

At the central height of the Throne of God, is Christ, then our Lady, all nine Choirs of Angels, the Apostles and Prophets, the Martyrs in the crimson of their blood, and the white-robed Confessors.  All are there who in this life followed Christ’s teaching: the poor in spirit, the meek, the afflicted, those who hungered and thirsted after justice, the merciful, the clean of heart, peacemakers, and those who suffered persecution for Christ.

There, among that awesome band is my beloved wife, my brother, many who have been close to us. And, I know there are those who were important to you readers of this blog. God has not forgotten your family and friends, not one of them! They now share in the glory of “the Lord, the King of kings.

That then is the Communion of All the Saints; that "great cloud of witnesses," and with them, we who are gathered here in on Earth gather around the Lord's table are all one Church, one Ecclesia, there is no separation from the love of Christ by mere Death.

Join with me (by posting the first names) in remembering those who we still love, but can no longer see:

Almighty God, as You have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical Body of Your Son Christ our Lord, so we remember:

my Wife, Grace
my Brother, Michael
my Grandparents, my wife's Grandparents
various Aunts & Uncles
a Co-Worker
Men I have taken care of at Hospice

Give us Grace so to follow these Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those inexpressible joys that You have prepared for those who truly love You; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Republicans delay Second Coming.

This is an amazing article. But rather than taking the obvious cheap, funny shots at it, how about we go a little deeper.  What do we see in this article? I see a few things, what do you see?

Pride - -Works Gospel- -Fear

Pride: How does one political party in one country, some two thousand years and thousands of miles away from the Life of Christ in any way affect what God's timing for His will? Do we have such a great power in the Universe that we can literally bend God to our commands/influence?  I certainly don't and to preach such a thing is, as far as I am concerned akin to a magic spell.

Works Gospel:  So, Christ Himself doesn’t complete the final Redeeming of Mankind, but in fact He needs us to do certain things or He can't come back.  Just what did God need ME to do to affect my salvation? I seem to recall that is a gift from Him that I could never "earn".  How do we "earn" the Second Coming?

Fear:  That if we don't do what ever is "right" then the consequences are "all our fault". Yes, there are always consequences to our actions, even though God consistently forgives us and seeks us out. I know I am a sinner, even though I try to do what I should, the one thing I have, however is confidence in Christ. I have no fear of this world.

What do you see, readers? Are we somehow keeping Jesus in Heaven when He wants to hang out with us, here below?

Alfred the Great 26 October

Long ago from our perspective, in England (before there was a united country called England) a Prince named Alfred was born to King Aethelwulf. As the youngest of five sons, he set his sights on a life in the Church not his father's Throne over the West Saxons.

That was not to be, however, and following the deaths of his father and all of his older brothers, he was made King in 871. As King he turned out to be quite skillful in his Military planning and execution and eventually won a victory against the invading Danes. In 878 he concluded an agreement with Guthrum, the Danish leader. They would be able to keep a large section of northeastern England as their own (that region was known as the Danelaw).

The key element for me here is that the Danes were required to be baptized and accept Christian instruction and thereby enter the Faith of Christ. I know a lot of modern Christians would consider this sort of "business transaction" conversion useless, but consider how that opened the way for far more personal faith in later generations. After all, how many of us would have placed our faith in Christ had we been born in Iran or Saudi Arabia?

After securing peace for his people Alfred worked hard at educating them and helping them grow as a culture. He worked especially hard to educate the Clergy, and here is a quote demonstrating his convictions:

"He seems to me a very foolish man, and very wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear."

He died on 26 October 899, and was buried at Winchester. Alone among all English Kings or Queens he is known as "the Great."

O Sovereign Lord, Who brought Your servant Alfred to a troubled throne that he might establish peace in a ravaged land and revive learning and the arts among the people: Awake in us also a keen desire to increase our understanding while we are in this world, and an eager longing to reach that endless life where all will be made clear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

How people of faith read a 'stop sign'

1. A postmodernist deconstructs the sign (knocks it over with his car), ending forever the tyranny of the north-south traffic over the east-west traffic.

2. Similarly, a Marxist sees a stop sign as an instrument of class conflict. He concludes that the bourgeoisie use the north-south road and obstruct the progress of the workers on the east-west road.

3. A serious and educated Catholic (or Orthodox or Coptic or Anglican or Methodist or Presbyterian or whatever) believes that he cannot understand the stop sign apart from its interpretive community and their tradition. Observing that the interpretive community doesn't take it too seriously, he doesn't feel obligated to take it too seriously either.

4. An average Catholic (or Orthodox or Coptic or Anglican or Methodist or Presbyterian or whatever) doesn't bother to read the sign but he'll stop if the car in front of him does.

5. A fundamentalist, taking the text very literally, stops at the stop sign and waits for it to tell him to go.

6. A preacher might look up "STOP" in his lexicons of English and discover that it can mean: 1) something which prevents motion, such as a plug for a drain, or a block of wood that prevents a door from closing; 2) a location where a train or bus lets off passengers. The main point of his sermon the following Sunday on this text is: when you see a stop sign, it is a place where traffic is naturally clogged, so it is a good place to let off passengers from your car.

7. An orthodox Jew does one of two things:
1) Take another route to work that doesn't have a stop sign so that he doesn't run the risk of disobeying the Law.
2) Stop at the stop sign, say "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who hast given us thy commandment to stop," wait 3 seconds according to his watch, and then proceed. Incidentally, the Talmud has the following comments on this passage:
R[abbi] Meir says: He who does not stop shall not live long. R. Hillel says: Cursed is he who does not count to three before proceeding. R. Simon ben Yudah says: Why three? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, gave us the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. R. ben Isaac says: Because of the three patriarchs. R. Yehuda says: Why bless the Lord at a stop sign? Because it says: "Be still, and know that I am God." R. Hezekiel says: When Jephthah returned from defeating the Ammonites, the Holy One, blessed be He, knew that a donkey would run out of the house and overtake his daughter; but Jephthah did not stop at the stop sign, and the donkey did not have time to come out. For this reason he saw his daughter first and lost her. Thus he was judged for his transgression at the stop sign. R. Gamaliel says: R. Hillel, when he was a baby, never spoke a word, though his parents tried to teach him by speaking and showing him the words on a scroll. One day his father was driving through town and did not stop at the sign. Young Hillel
called out: "Stop, father!" In this way, he began reading and speaking at the same time. Thus it is written: "Out of the mouth of babes." R. ben Jacob says: Where did the stop sign come from? Out of the sky, for it is written: "Forever, O Lord, your word is fixed in the heavens." R. ben Nathan says: When were stop signs created? On the fourth day, for it is written: "let them serve as signs." R. Yeshuah says: ... [continues for three more pages]

8. A Pharisee does the same thing as an orthodox Jew, except that he waits 10 seconds instead of 3. He also replaces his brake lights with 1000 watt searchlights and connects his horn so that it is activated whenever he touches the brake pedal.

9. A scholar from Jesus seminar concludes that the passage "STOP" undoubtedly was never uttered by Jesus himself, but belongs entirely to stage III of the gospel tradition, when the church was first confronted by traffic in its parking lot.

10. A NT scholar notices that there is no stop sign on Mark street but there is one on Matthew and Luke streets, and concludes that the ones on Luke and Matthew streets are both copied from a sign on a completely hypothetical street called "Q". There is an excellent 300 page discussion of speculations on the origin of these stop signs and the differences between the stop signs on Matthew and Luke street in the scholar's commentary on the passage.  There is an unfortunately omission in the commentary, however; the author apparently forgot to explain what the text means.

11. An OT scholar points out that there are a number of stylistic differences between the first and second half of the passage "STOP". For example, "ST" contains no enclosed areas and 5 line endings, whereas "OP"contains two enclosed areas and only one line termination. He concludes that the author for the second part is different from the author for the first part and probably lived hundreds of years later. Later scholars determine that the second half is itself actually written by two separate authors because of similar stylistic differences between the "O" and the "P".

12. Another prominent OT scholar notes in his commentary that the stop sign would fit better into the context three streets back. (Unfortunately, he neglected to explain why in his commentary.) Clearly it was moved to its present location by a later redactor. He thus exegetes the intersection as though the stop sign were not there.

13. Because of the difficulties in interpretation, another OT scholar emends the text, changing "T" to "H". "SHOP" is much easier to understand in context than "STOP" because of the multiplicity of stores in the area. The textual corruption probably occurred because "SHOP" is so similar to "STOP" on the sign several streets back that it is a natural mistake for a scribe to make. Thus the sign should be interpreted to announce the existence of a shopping area.

14. A "prophetic" preacher notices that the square root of the sum of the numeric representations of the letters S-T-O-P sigma-tau-omicron-pi in the Greek alphabet), multiplied by 40 (the number of testing), and divided by four (the number of the world--north, south, east, and west), equals 666. Therefore, he concludes that stop signs are the dreaded "mark of the beast," a harbinger of divine judgment upon the world, and must be avoided at all costs.

When Religion Becomes Evil

I went to an interesting lecture last night by ordained Baptist Minister and Religion Professor Charles Kimball. He has written a book entitled "When Religion becomes Evil", and the lecture was based on it. 

I thought it was very powerful, and a found it to be a guide to avoid the pitfalls of radicalism, no matter what your faith.

Here is an excerpt:
"Whatever religious people may say about their love of God or the mandates of their religion, when their behavior toward others is violent and destructive, when it causes suffering among their neighbors, you can be sure the religion has been corrupted and reform is desperately needed."

Powerful indeed.

Fully God, Fully Man

It really is amazing how Who Jesus is has been such an issue over the centuries. The early Church had many debates about His Nature and eventually settled the issue with the Definition of Chalcedon.

Clearly the Scriptures teach us that He is the fullness of God, they also teach He was a Man, born in this world of Mary of whose human flesh He was Incarnated by the power of the Spirit. This act was done for us and for our salvation as the ancient Creeds tell us.

I believe that Jesus took on His Human nature to tell us the same thing that God said in Genesis, creation is good, and humanity is good. Yes, we are fallen, and separated from God, but His love and desire for us is beyond all measure.

The Gnostics denied that flesh was good, that anything in this world could be acceptable to God. I think we do that some today. We don't see God's love for us; we are too focused on our own imperfections to love others or ourselves in Christ's name. Br. Thomas Merton tells us that:

"The root of Christian love is not the will to love but the faith that one is loved, the faith that one is loved by God. The faith that one is loved by God although unworthy - or, rather, irrespective of one's worth.  In the true Christian version of God's love, the idea of worthiness loses its significance."

The Incarnation of Jesus in Human Flesh opened the gate of Salvation to me, that makes me worthy, not any thing I do.

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to You, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly Yours, utterly dedicated unto You; and then use us, we pray You, as You will, and always to Your glory and the welfare of Your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Liberal people love Jesus too

Just for the record, as I have stated (I think) before I am both a liberal Christian and an Episcopalian, though my allegiance to Jesus supersedes any other identification.

I hear over and over from Fundamentalists that we Episcopals have ”thrown out the Bible” because they disagree with our understanding of it, especially concerning sexuality. Our services have more Scripture in them than ANY (and I have been to many services for many, many years) Conservative or Fundamentalist service I have ever attended. My own family of origin is a typical Southern Fundamentalist church, which I attended until I was 16 and could find a more meaningful and richer spiritual path.

Our Prayer book is 80% direct Scriptural quotations, we read from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the New Testament as well as the Gospel, EVERY SUNDAY. Over three years our communicants hear (the traditional way of receiving the Word) nearly the entire Bible.

There are maybe 7 verses about same-sex issues in the entire Scriptures, but literally thousands dealing with the poor, downtrodden, sick, widows, orphans and other needy. Jesus Himself issuing Judgments from the Great White Throne in Matthew 25 doesn’t mention sex at all, but He certainly DOES mention taking care of His people, in His name. And never does He mention that the people being cared for DESERVE the love we give them, modeling the Grace He gives us in His love and acceptance of us.

I regularly serve at my Parish’s Hospice ministry, and have been involved with food for the homeless, prison ministry, children of prisoners, health care for uninsured. We serve, in Christ’s Name, all sorts of “unholy” types of persons, and though we have a few faithful Conservatives, Charismatics, and other Fundamentalists, the VAST majority of the workers are Methodist, Catholic, Lutheran, and Episcopal among other “Liberal” Churches.

I know the Fundamentalists have a mission to help in times of disaster and most likely do many other good works, along with many other faithful Conservative types. I don’t mean to suggest that they aren’t doing anything at all. I do notice that they seem to be overly concerned with purity during those times, but that is just me. (water from a beer vendor for example) So the question is, are we actually doing the Gospel here or just banging people over the head with it?

Remember the great witness of the Amish just recently? Well right after 9-11 here in Tulsa some Muslim friends told me that it was the Jews, Episcopals, Catholics, and UCC that reached out to them and helped protect them from reprisals. I know that liberal Christian men escorted veiled Muslim women to grocery stores so they could buy food for their children. Not a single Fundamentalist was part of those groups in those days. Didn’t Jesus tell us to do good things to those who despitefully use us? All I heard from Conservative Churches then was the thunder of bloody revenge.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a perfect case in point. Paul is worried that they are missing the whole point of the freedom of the Gospel. There are others telling the Galatian people that faith and freedom in Christ is not enough, you have to keep the Jewish law to be saved. I think people often take refuge in the Law when they become frightened of living by faith. Grace IS a risk, since life is comfortable and you can know where you are with rules and the Law. Is it fear that keeps us from taking a Gospel risk? Is the freedom of Grace that scary?

Also when Fundamentalists point at those Liberal Christians who permit different understandings of sexuality, be very aware that in their own Conservative, Fundamentalist Churches they do NOT follow the Bible either.

There are more verses telling women they WILL have pain in childbirth than there is about “that” issue. And, yes-Christian leaders tried to stop the practice of giving women anesthesia in childbirth, and if Queen Victoria weren’t the Queen of England at the time, they would have succeeded for a time. She had the influence to put a stop to the Church’s foolish resistance to freeing women from pain.

And last but not least, let me point out that the vast majority of Fundamentalists practice birth control, and NO CHURCH ON EARTH or in the entire history of Christianity permitted that until 1930 when the American Episcopals allowed it for married couples. Where in the Bible does it tell you that you can practice birth control? Do any of you?

I try very hard not to speak out of anger, or frustration, and please forgive that flaw in my personality. I am not perfect and never will be, and I do try very hard to watch out for that log in my own eye, it can get pretty big. All I am asking for is a bit of understanding that those Liberal people love Jesus too.

the cat sat on the mat

How would the Church deal with "the cat sat on the mat" if it appeared in the Bible?

The Methodists would form a committee to refer the issue to, while in the meantime a pot luck dinner would be planned, pending the result. Presbyterians would not care, because they always KNEW the cat would sit on the mat, anyway.

Episcopal. UCC, and Lutheran theologians would point out that such a passage did not of course mean that the cat literally sat on the mat. Also, cat and mat had different meanings in those days from today, and anyway, the text should be interpreted according to the customs and practices of the period.

This would lead to an immediate backlash from the Southern Baptists, Charismatics and other Evangelicals. They would make an essential condition of faith that "a real physical, living cat, being a domestic pet of the Felix Domesticus species, and having a whiskered head and furry body, four legs and a tail, did physically place its whole body on a floor covering, designed for that purpose, and which is on the floor but not of the floor." The expression "on the floor but not of the floor" would be explained in a leaflet.

The Christian Right would then mount a fundraising effort for a TV and internet campaign pressuring politicans to "define and protect the institution" of Mat sitting, and to prevent the introduction of pillow sitting as an acceptable "alternative sitting style"

The Unitarians would declare: "We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a mat; each cat's journey is it's own".

The Mormons would come up with an entire rite in the Temple of the Baptism of the Dead Cat on the Mat, and would find innumerable proofs in the Book of Mormon supporting the Cat and Mat, while spending millions of dollars on archeological research to find the Mat or the Cat's bones in the New World, ultimately proving it for themselves while the rest of the archeological world scoffed.

Meanwhile, the Catholics would have developed the Festival of the Sedentation of the Blessed Cat. This would teach that the cat was white and majestically reclined on a mat of gold thread before its assumption to the Great Cat Basket of Heaven. This is commemorated by the singing of the Magnificat, lighting three candles, and ringing a bell five times.

This would cause a schism with the Orthodox Church which believes tradition requires Holy Cats Day [as it is colloquially known], to be marked by lighting six candles and ringing the bell four times. This would partly be resolved by the ecumenical Fidere Felinus Declaration recognising the traditional validity of each.

Eventually, the Episcopal House of Bishops would issue a statement on the Doctrine of the Feline Sedentation. It would explain, traditionally the text describes a domestic feline quadruped superjacent to an unattached covering on a fundamental surface. For determining its salvific and eschatological significations, we follow the heuristic analytical principles adopted in dealing with the Canine Fenestration Question [How much is that doggie in the window?] and the Affirmative Musaceous Paradox [Yes, we have no bananas]. And so on, for another 210 pages.

The General Synod of the Lutherans, would then commend this report as helpful resource material for clergy to explain to the person in the pew the difficult doctrine of the cat sat on the mat.

.....Author unknown, but funny

Power of Christ

How do we go about changing the culture in America? Do we have mass TV campaigns? Organize boycotts against entertainment or automotive companies? Do we frighten large segments of society into voting for "our" agenda (against "that evil" agenda)? Do we slap up a few more Ten Commandment slabs of stone (no one appears to read, anyway)?

Maybe, just MAYBE, if we followed the words of a simple Man from long ago we might just be a witness to the world, and change it, one life at a time.

The horrible tragedy that has happened in a small Amish community has shown the world what a real Christ follower is like.  Not a Right Wing, Rush Limbaugh listening, teeth whitened, W stickered- SUV driving, denizen of the Suburbs, but someone that takes the Words of Jesus to heart and lives them.

They have thanked the police and firefighters that helped their community. Do you realize that they are even reaching out to the widow and children of the man who murdered their own children? 

"As we were standing next to the body of this 13-year-old girl, the grandfather was tutoring the young boys, he was making a point, just saying to the family, 'We must not think evil of this man,'" the Rev. Robert Schenck told CNN. "It was one of the most touching things I have seen in 25 years of Christian ministry."

Turn the other cheek.  Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.  Pray for those who hate us.

These are hard words, easy to roll off our tongues, but to live out? Very tough. I certainly don't do them well, but I do want to.

Witness the TRUE power of Christ to change the world, witness the Amish.

Francis of Assisi 4 October

Was there ever a Christ follower more of an example than Francis was? He so ordered his life around the radical nature of the Gospel that he literally changed the world.  He once went to the Holy Land to preach to the Moslems there.  While witnessing to the Sultan, he offered to walk into a great bonfire to prove his faith to the Sultan.  While that was not required of him, his whole life was more dedicated to the principles of Christ than most people I can think of, especially myself.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord, make us instruments of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.