Resurrection House
Pray. Serve. Discern. The musings of interns and those that surround them.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Flashbacks and Film Scores
It’s the nursery rhyme your Mum sang to you before bed, your graduating class song, and the song playing during your father/daughter dance at your wedding. Each song is like a mini film score adding more emotion and meaning in the moments of our lives. So when we hear these songs again, in a different time in our lives, we can be thrown back into that particular moment, flooded with those same emotions and feelings, sort of like a flashback.
After reading the Gospel, I had one of these film score, flashback moments. The song Feel Again by OneRepublic popped right into my mind. It’s uncanny how the lyrics of the song fit perfectly as a film score for this encounter with the resurrected Jesus.
To understand why this song fits with the story, let’s start at the beginning of the journey where two disciples of Jesus are on their way to the village Emmaus. They appear to be downtrodden over which we learn is the crucifixion of Jesus. These disciples were most likely Jewish, which means their hope of Jesus being the messiah fell apart, when he died on the cross. So as they’re walking, suddenly a man, who they don’t recognize, joins them on their journey.
Recreate the scene in your head. Imagine how the disciples are feeling. Jesus, their friend, just died. Whom they think they won’t ever see again. Their hope for him being the messiah was nixed, so now what are they supposed to do. And now in the background imagine the song Feel Again play as the film score in the moment, and these are the lyrics,
“It's been a long time coming since I've seen your face
I've been everywhere and back trying to replace
Everything that I had 'til my feet went numb
Praying like a fool that's been on the run”
And the scene continues, the travelers talk with the “stranger” about the miracles Jesus performed. They talk about their hope that he was the messiah, and yet they seem reluctant about the idea. Then the “stranger” begins to sort of chastise them for not listening and not believing in the words of the prophets who came before Jesus. And the film score continues,
“Heart's still beating but it's not working
It's like a million dollar phone that you just can't ring
I reached out trying to love but I feel nothing, my heart is numb”
We are in a new scene, the travelers have made it to the village. They invite the stranger to stay and eat with them. And as they sit there, the “stranger” takes the bread, blesses it, and breaks it. Here is the moment the travelers realize, who they had been walking with this entire time, “Their eyes were open, and they recognized him”. It’s like one of those flashback moments I talked about earlier, and now the film score breaks into the songs’ chorus,
“But with you, I feel again, I was a lonely soul, but that’s the old me”.
The travelers feel again. Through their witnessing of Jesus breaking the bread, they remember the teachings of Jesus, and they are changed. The changed from skeptical travelers into energetic disciples, they are ecstatic to spread the word of the resurrection of Jesus. So of course, they immediately run off to tell the other disciples of the good news.
Unlike those travelers, this is where I come up short. Our eyes are opened, we know the teaching of Jesus, but I don’t always take action. When life gets busy, complicated, and I feel like I am at the end of my rope, it’s more and more difficult to practice what Jesus preached.
Is there a moment, like the travelers had, which reminds me to keep serving and keep loving others even when I am at my lowest? It’s the same moment when the travelers’ eyes were opened, in the breaking of the bread. When we come to together for worship, we represent that very moment, during the Eucharist, at the altar, in the Breaking of the Bread.
Even if it is just for a moment, we are connected back to those early Christians. Just like them, our eyes are opened and we can be rejuvenated with the thought of Jesus and his teachings. Like the travelers, we are changed, and we are reminded to go out and follow Jesus’ commandments to love and serve others. And it does not matter how we feel called to serve, as long as we do it. Because we know about the resurrection, we are called to serve and love others, so we can reflect the love of God.
It’s the end of the gospel reading as well as the end of the film score. I imagine the disciples full of excitement, running to tell the other disciples the good news, and in the background the end of the song plays. But before I say the last line, this film score not only pertains to those travelers, but in our own lives. Perhaps it can throw us back, remind us that we are not who we once were, and that we feel again.
So as the credits begin to scroll the end of the song goes,
“I'm feeling better ever since you’ve known me, A little wiser now from what you've shown me, I feel again, I was a lonely soul but that’s the old me”
Below is a recording of the song, enjoy!
Monday, April 7, 2014
The Soccer Group
When my siblings and I were about three years old, my parents first signed us up for a youth soccer league. This resulted in every Friday night a group of six to seven families would come together, watch their children play soccer, and afterwards we would have a soccer party.
Over the years, these kids I played soccer with became my closest friends through elementary school and a few still to this day. As the children of the soccer group became close, so did our parents.
A particular family we are friends with today is the Stacks. The Stack family dynamic is best described through their involvement and hilarious talent in theater, which is best explained in Emily Stack’s first goal in soccer. Now, remember we were about 6 or 7 when this happened.
The game was tied, and we needed to score to win. It seemed like there was only 2 minutes left in the final quarter, and Emily was put on offense. Emily didn’t normally play offense. And I think it’s safe to say that Emily really enjoyed the soccer parties rather than the soccer playing.
Regardless, Emily was put on offense. She was passed the ball. She kicked it passed the goalie, right into the back of the net scoring the winning goal.
And immediately her hands shot into the air clenched with power, and she threw her head back in celebration. I ran over to congratulate her, and realized she was crying, which I thought was unusual. So I asked her why, and she dramatically replied with tears streaming down her face, she was just so happy.
The entire Stack family was involved in theater. Mr. Stack was particularly hilarious, with a personality to fill the room and beyond. He was always making us laugh by speaking in character voices or making funny faces. Unfortunately, when I was almost 12, soccer ended a while back, Mr. Stack was on a business trip, and died suddenly from a major heart attack.
I don’t remember a lot of details, but I remember the entire soccer group, kids and parents, spent a lot of time together over the course of that week. It seemed as if we were always at either the Stack’s house or the funeral home, and then the funeral service. During the service, the soccer families were sitting close together. I was in a pew with my siblings and parents. Near the end of the service, I looked over at my Mum, and realized she was trembling.
She was crying. I was in disbelief.
All week I had seen her as a pillar of strength trying to help Mrs. Stack and her kids anyway she could, as well as taking care of her own children. At that age, it didn’t even occur to me that my Mum, beneath her strong will of compassion to support others she was experiencing sadness. She too was mourning the loss of her friend.
In joy and in sadness, both coming from completely different experiences, we are known to cry. Crying reveals our inner selves, and is a very human physical response to how and what we feel in our everyday lives.
In the gospel we meet a family who were particularly close to Jesus, and they are mourning. We are introduced to two sisters, Martha and Mary, crying over the loss of their brother Lazarus. Since this family was close to Jesus, they sent him a formal report prior to Lazarus’s death stating, “Lord, he the one you love is ill”. The “one you love” referring to their brother Lazarus. By using this phrase it signifies the deep friendship Jesus and Lazarus had.
Because Jesus was a healer, it was inferred that by sending him that message he would come right away to heal their brother. But Jesus waits two days before traveling there, and by the time Jesus arrives Lazarus has been dead for a total of four days. This is critical to piece to the story. In that time, the Jewish belief was for three days the soul of the departed would hang around the body hoping to reenter it. Which means when Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus is considered really dead, and there would be no way to revive him.
Now both Martha and Mary both greet Jesus using the same words, but both in different fashions. They both say, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” They do not say this out of anger, but in an understanding way. They don’t blame Jesus for Lazarus’ death because he wasn’t in Bethany prior to Lazarus’s death. Therefore they felt like there wasn’t an opportunity for Lazarus to be healed by Jesus.
Even though Jesus didn’t make it “in time”, Martha assures Jesus she hasn’t lost faith in God or him by saying, “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” She said these words to affirm her belief that Jesus did all that he could and still has confidence in him.
Where Martha seemed composed in mourning, based on scripture Mary her sister, was not composed at all. Mary ran to Jesus wailing and crying with more mourners wailing and crying with grief following her.
Seeing such sorrow and pain on their faces, Jesus does the unexpected. In the scripture it states, “he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved . . . and Jesus began to weep.”
Jesus began to weep.
Like me seeing my mother cry, the disciples were witnessing their own pillar of strength, their teacher, their guide crying over the loss of his friend.
Jesus even knows that he is about to perform a miracle. He is going to resurrect Lazarus, but he cries anyway.
How can this be, our God incarnate crying?
Jesus was crying because he felt the loss of a loved one, a friend of his. He wasn’t crying WITH Martha and Mary, not FOR them. Jesus felt and understood the death of his friend Lazarus just like they did. Christ could have been passive, instead he was able and willing to express the same emotions we feel.
Although completely divine, Jesus shows us the humanity of God through his tears. Through this act, we witness God’s compassion, understanding, and feeling of the devastation of death as we feel it.
We are on the last stretch of our journey from the mountain top to the cross. And week after week we’ve met an individual that revealed to us a part of Christ’s teachings. In which our relationship with God became clearer and grew stronger with every person we met.
And this opportunity doesn’t end with these readings or in Lent, but actually happens every day, if we take the time to look and listen for it. On our own journeys, through the relationships we have with our friends, family, whoever we encounter daily we have the opportunity to strengthen our relationship with God by reflecting the compassion and love of God to others.
God feels how we feel. God is with us when we are crying in celebration of a goal we make in soccer. And God is there when we are suffering the death of a loved one. God is always with us and feels what we feel.
Finishing our Lenten journey may we pray a phrase given to me by my past youth director, “May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet, and may everyone you meet may see the face of Christ in you.”
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Nicodemus in All of Us
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
What's That On Your Forehead?
Don’t worry though, I still got ashes on Ash Wednesday. But since both of my parents were teachers, we always went to the service at night, which meant I never got to show off my big black cross. At the time, not only were those ashes super cool, but they are an outward sign that I was a Christian, and that was the really important part, right? Jesus wants us to spread his words and teachings, and what better way to do that than on Ash Wednesday, when everyone can see me sporting a big black cross on my forehead. I can’t be more obvious than that.
Wait a minute I am seeing a contradiction here. In the gospel reading that is exactly what Jesus warns us not to do. He says it blatantly, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Alright, but does that really refer to what I wanted in elementary school. Let’s look at the piece of scripture in the context of the time. This piece of scripture is a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He is speaking to a group of primarily Jewish people about their own individual piety, or how they should each practice their devoutness to God.
The commentaries I read on this passage were quick to point out that Jesus was not being critical of the Jewish ideas of piety. What he was emphasizing was the intention behind performing those acts of piety. When Jesus states, “So when you give alms, do not sound the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others.” Jesus wants his followers to understand what their intention should be in performing those acts of piety. If someone gives alms for the sake of being praised, that’s not the reason for practicing that piece of piety. Giving alms is supposed to be a way of becoming closer to God, not for being praised and rewarded by our peers.
Why did I want to get those ashes again? What was I centering my idea of getting ashes around?
You loved paint only as a means of telling about light.
Lewis perfectly illustrates how and what we should be centering our lives on, the light. Which I took to mean the light of Christ. And this is exactly where I fall or get lost sometimes. The point of getting ashes on my forehead was not for me to boast about the classroom and to show off how pious I was or wasn’t. The point of practicing piety is to grow closer to God, to feel the love God has for us, which enables us to share that love with others.
There is a particular line during the service today that reveals this good news, it says, “He pardons and absolves all those who truly repent, and with sincere hearts believe his holy Gospel”. Even though I got wrapped up in sporting a black cross on my forehead, God knows where our hearts are and if we get lost, will guide them back into the light.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
I loved that it brought me into a fuller relationship with God as I assisted in the service and contributed to people's worship.
I remember the Sunday that acolyting became an active choice that I made, instead of something that I fell into.
I was carrying the cross for the Gospel procession that day; and the priest was reading the Gospel. I had the words strike me, fully formed: I could do this for the rest of my life. That was the first time that I had ever articulated my call to the priest hood, and from that day onwards, I chose to serve God in that way.
So I spoke to my rector, and fortunately the assistant Bishop of New York was coming to our church in a couple of weeks for confirmation so I spoke to him as well. As I spoke to them about being called to the priesthood, they both gave me very similar advice.
"Do not," they both said, "Major in religion."
They went on to explain that seminary will provide a scholastic background, but If I was not called to the priesthood then I need to do very important things later in life, like buy food, so I can, you know, eat.
So I chose to attend Binghamton University to study chemistry. Binghamton was about two hours from where my family lived, which was he perfect distance. Close enough to go home for the weekend, but too far for my mom to visit without letting me know before hand.
So I attended Binghamton, and planned to take as many religion classes as possible. It turns out that Binghamton doesn't actually offer any Christian courses. Whoops.
They did offer, however, have a robust Judaic Studies department, which was just as good. I took a phenomenal class on Genesis.
This one class, the question was asked "why did God create the world?" The answer is to have a relationship with you. To have a relationship with me, and you and each individual one of us.
They went on to say that that is also why we have free will. We have free will so that we can choose to say yes: without the ability to say no, it means nothing if we say yes.
In Ecclesiasticus the fact that we have a choice is abundantly clear. We can choose, Ecclesiasticus 5 says we have a choice follow the commandments. We have a real option of following the commandments. U can choose to covet my neighbors donkey if I so desired.
We have a choice. We can choose to follow God, and when we follow God's commandments we ate showing God that we are choosing to be in relationship with God. Following God's commandments is a real, outward, and visible sign of our relationship.
We can choose to be in relationship with God. We can choose to follow God's commandments, and when we do, we have every choice in the world.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Be a Light in the Darkness
I wonder if you’re ready to hear a story?
There once was a little soul who knew itself to be the light. This was a new soul and it was anxious for experience.
"I am the light" it said. "I am the light" Yet all the knowing of it and all the saying of it, could not substitute for the experience of it.
And in the realm from which this soul emerged, there was nothing but the light. Every soul was grand and every soul was magnificent and every soul shone with the brilliance of God's awesome light.
So the little soul was like a candle in the sun. In the midst of the grandest light, of which it was a part, it could not see itself, nor experience itself as Who and what it really was.
Now it came to pass that this soul yearned and yearned to know itself.
So great was its yearning that one day God said, "Do you know little one, what you must do to satisfy this yearning of yours?"
"Oh, what, God? What? I'll do anything!" the little soul said.
God answered, "You must separate yourself from the rest of us, and then you must call upon yourself the darkness"
"What is the darkness, Lord?" the little soul asked.
"That which you are not" God replied, and the soul understood.
And so this little soul removed itself from the ' All ' even going into another realm. And in this realm the soul had the power to call into its experience all sorts of darkness. And this it did.
Yet in the midst of all the darkness the soul cried, "Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?"
God replied: "Even in your blackest times, I have never forsaken you, but stand by you always, ready to remind you of Who You Really Are;
Ready.
Always ready to call you home.
Therefore be a light in the darkness and curse it not.
And don’t forget who you are in the moment you are encircled by that which you are not. But instead sing praises to the creation even as you seek to change it.
And remember that what you do in the time of your greatest trial can be your greatest triumph. For the experience you create is a statement of Who You Are - and Who You Want to Be."
This story is from a favorite childhood book titled The Little Soul and the Sun. I was reminded of this story as I went over the readings for this week. As I was in search of good news to tell you I found myself drawn to two themes: The presence of God, and light.
First in Isaiah we hear, “You shall call upon the lord, and he will say, “Here I am.”
What a great comfort to hear those words.
Here I am.
These are the words frightened children are relieved to hear from their mothers and fathers.
The words we long to hear from our spouses and partners in times of need or sorrow.
The words we are so grateful to hear from our friends or co-workers when we realize we have have failed to juggle all of the tasks of our busy lives.
Here I am.
However, it is important to note where God says he is or will be. The people are questioning God’s presence and approval. “We fast and you do not see, we humble ourselves, and you do not notice.”
This passage was likely written after the people of God had been exiled and Jerusalem destroyed. The people are in mourning, and seeking justice. They were praying and fasting in hopes of God answering their prayers.
As an A-type personality, overly-responsible eldest child, I know what it means to follow the rules and do the “right” things. Perhaps you too have been caught valuing yourself not based on who you are, but what correct acts you have followed. It’s easy to do. We place value on our performances, forgetting that that is not how God works.
The people are crying out, asking God why he is not giving them justice, and God replies with a question, why are you withholding justice from others?
As with the story of the little soul, we can burn magnificently, but if we are not in darkness, we cannot experience who we are. If we are not being a light to others we will not know the brightness of our flame.
“Share with the hungry. House the homeless. Clothe the naked. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn. You shall call upon the lord, and he will say, “Here I am.””
In our baptismal covenant we state that with God’s help we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. That we will strive for justice and peace, and that we will respect the dignity of every human being.
If we truly mean what we say, then it is not just God to us saying, “Here I am.”
But it is me to you saying, “Here I am.”
And you to me, “Here I am.”
And us to them, and them to us, "Here we are."
God says, "Here I am", not after the people have followed the rules, or fasted the appropriate amount of time, but after they have sought to help those around them. He is not looking for proper doctrine, but empathetic behavior.
Barbara Brown Taylor in a sermon about the Good Samaritan states, “Right belief means nothing if not followed by right actions."
During my time in Omaha, both at St Andrew’s and with my nonprofits I have seen compassionate people complete wonderful tasks for others, but there is more work to be done.
In Montana we have a saying that goes, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only soft people.”
As we lean down to help our neighbor up. As we comfort those in deep sorrow. As we pray for those in need. As we volunteer to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and friend the friendless we will encounter darkness. We will at times be grasping and crawling to try and get back into our comfort zones.
But we are not soft people.
We are an Easter people, and we with God’s help will call upon us the darkness, if only so we can be a light to others, and that they in turn can be a light to us.
And we must remember we are never alone.
“Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; You shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.”
Right here.
Right now.
Breathe deeply the breath of God.
Amen.