Last Sunday after the Epiphany C Transfiguration
The last Sunday before Ash Wednesday is always the commemoration of the Transfiguration of Christ, witnessed by Peter, James and John. It also harks back to the transfiguration of Moses on Mount Sinai in our reading from Exodus. At the transfiguration of Christ, Moses and Elijah appear in a vision, representing the thread of continuity of Christ with the law and the prophets. In our epistle reading this morning we also hear the account from Peter as eye witness. Peter is the rock upon Christ will build his church. The transfiguration event of Christ is thus connected with the history of the Israel’s past with the law and the prophets, and its future in the church as represented by the apostle Peter. One network of God’s work to make all things nearer to God’s kingdom.
What specifically is the work of transfiguration that is going on?
First, the word transfiguration is not one we use very often in daily life, if at all, and I think we rarely have an idea of what it means. We may use the word transformation, which is change, but transfiguration is not merely change. The Greek word that we have as transfiguration, is what we would translate as metamorphose. In English, we associate metamorphosis primarily with animal and insect transformations, like tadpoles into frogs and caterpillars into butterflies. These images are of major life transition, not just molting of old skin. It may be more like growing from childhood into adulthood, the literal change in hormones and body structures as they mature into their full functions.
But there something different than morphological change going on for Moses and Jesus in their transfigurations. There is a radiancy of the being in the presence of the divine that is bestowed upon them, both transfigurations occur within a bright cloud that adds a shroud of mystery on a mountaintop, away from the hurly burly of life. There is also a theophany, God speaking from the cloud to proclaim that Jesus is the beloved son in whom God is well pleased. If you remember, these are the same words we heard when Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan.
Whenever we combine mystery, mountaintop air, and the voice of God, something is bound to happen, I would say. The radiancy of Moses and of Jesus in their transfigurations of face and clothes may be either the reflection of being in the presence of the divine, or the divine shining through their being as chosen by God as lights in the world. Some say it shows Jesus as the new Moses, fulfilling the law, a theme that the author of Matthew would want to highlight.
That this radiancy is more that a reflection is what is meant by the word transfiguration—a metamorphosis has happened in some mysterious way, in the mountain air, accompanied by the voice of God affirming this.
But what exactly is transfiguration? Book, Eternal Echoes. Celtic reflections on our yearning to belong by John O’Donahue: “When a thing changes there is the suggestion that it is no longer itself. When a thing is transfigured is more fully itself than ever, and more: it is irradiated with beauty, whether it is a vase painted by Cezanne or a turn of phrase that comes to life in a great poem.”
To be transfigured is to find the core seed of your very created being—a being that God has affirmed as good, as part of all creation, with whom God is well pleased. This sounds like transfiguration is open to all of us, doesn’t it? And perhaps it is this truth that must be encountered before we enter Lent, that will help us encounter ourselves, to be more fully ourselves in radiant beauty.
We don’t usually associate Lent with beauty, but with austerity and encounters with sin. But transfiguration is open to all of us as another way to encounter our sinful selves. Transfiguring our sin into the grace of beauty when we become more fully our selves—it is opening ourselves to the radiance within, the poetry of our personalities and humor, intellect and imagination. The encounter with our creative being that wants to shine forth in beauty and radiance, just like the core truth of Jesus as the Son of God radiated.
Most of feel that we can’t make such a transfiguration without going to the mountaintop, to thin air, being enshrouded by a cloud of mystery. I often feel that the crowded ways of my daily life prevents me even from praying, let alone encountering the beauty of my created soul-being, coming face to face with the core of my full self. My internet work takes over, email adds up. I get caught up in being a professional person of God and forget that I am a child of God whom God is trying to speak to out of the cloud of mystery.
Or I want to blow the cloud of mystery away and really know the answers to who I am as a priest, here in this place, how to minister with you, be the best pastor and teacher I can be. And all the time, God’s grace has already happened, I am not taking the time to catch my anxious breath, take in the thin air of the mountaintop, and listen for the voice of God.
This work of transfiguration is also the work of all of on behalf of each of us. Some days I can’t do it well, and you can. I can support your work to be fully your self, and you support mine. The transfiguration was witnessed by Jesus’ friends and new disciples, and they helped spread the word that here was God’s blessing.
The other things the disciples did, however, was also human—when they encountered the mystery of God shining in Christ, they were stricken with fear. Then Peter wanted to stay in it and remain surrounded by thin air. But this is not the work of transfiguration, to stay either in the fear of being our full selves, or in savoring the favor of God. Transfiguration comes to us in mystery, then we leave the mountaintop to bring that mystery to the world. To transfigure the world as God has created it in its fullness.
On Wednesday we will bring the work of the transfiguration of the world into the season of Lent. We will pray the words that begin Ash Wednesday “Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made.” These words make apparent that God intended for the world to be perfect and that God’s work of transfiguration has already begun.
It is not enough to describe the transfiguring work of God, that they are good creatures of God, created with inner beauty and radiance. To tell others that the grace of God is for everyone. Rather we need to invite them into the cloud — invite them to experience transformation – no matter how scary. To invite them to church, to a Wednesday soup supper. To invite them to share our communion and our hospitality, to share our ministry with young adults and twelve step programs, our love for the world.
It is not enough to be bystanders, we must climb that mountain and enter the bright cloud of mystery and not let our fear overtake us. This is the work of transfiguration that we are being called to do in Lent.
I have always loved Lent for that reason, that it not only allows me but requires me to climb into the thin air that is necessary for transfiguration to take place. In our culture that feels a little indulgent, and for some it may seem like navel gazing. But it is spirit work, God work, soul making work, this work of transfiguration. It is not a luxury, but a necessity if we want to live fully into the being God created us to be.
There is a saying of rabbi Zuzy: that when he got to heaven he would not be asked why he had not been more like Moses, but why he had not been more like Zuzya. God created only one you, and if you are not true to that being, you are missing out on your part in the creation.
As you enter Lent this year, I invite you to take some time to go to your own mountaintop, into the cloud of mystery. Give yourself the grace to enter into living more fully into the unique you God has created only once. And help each of us here do the same.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Summer Camp for Prisoners' Kids Needs Volunteers
The Commission on Prison Ministry is sponsoring a day camp for children of prisoners during the summer of 2008. It will be for children ages 9-10 years and limited to 10 children. The small number will maximize individual attention each child receives.
Activities that are being proposed are reading of stories that build self-esteem and address experiences of prisoners’ children, journaling, arts and crafts, games that foster social development, and swimming. Other activities may be added by the committee that we hope to form in January.
A parish has already expressed interest in providing some staff and their facility for the day camp. However, we will need a psychologist to serve as consultant, story readers, counselors, an art and crafts director and a lifeguard. This is a special opportunity for anyone, especially college students to make a difference in the lives of needy and marginalized children. Additionally, they will obtain valuable experience in supervising and counseling children. Anyone who is interested can contact Billie Stockton at billiestockton@insightbb.com or by calling her at 859-583-3530 after 4:00pm weekdays or anytime on weekends.
Activities that are being proposed are reading of stories that build self-esteem and address experiences of prisoners’ children, journaling, arts and crafts, games that foster social development, and swimming. Other activities may be added by the committee that we hope to form in January.
A parish has already expressed interest in providing some staff and their facility for the day camp. However, we will need a psychologist to serve as consultant, story readers, counselors, an art and crafts director and a lifeguard. This is a special opportunity for anyone, especially college students to make a difference in the lives of needy and marginalized children. Additionally, they will obtain valuable experience in supervising and counseling children. Anyone who is interested can contact Billie Stockton at billiestockton@insightbb.com or by calling her at 859-583-3530 after 4:00pm weekdays or anytime on weekends.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sermon at Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving in Morehead, Kentucky
Thanksgiving
Morehead Ecumenical Service 2007
Mozart is one of the most celebrated composers of all time. He starting composing little pieces and performing them at age 5, and wrote over 600 works before dying at the young age of 35. The genius of his artistry, the beauty of his work, and its enduring attraction over the two hundred and fifty years since his birth attest that he was a unique talent among us, gifted by God in a way few have been. His music inspires in its otherworldly quality, showing a glimpse of heaven, of God’s own music. I played the French horn in high school, and tried to master his horn quartets. Their beauty, using the horn’s mellow hunting calls, captured my imagination, even if what came out of my instrument was nowhere near what Mozart had in mind. Mozart’s range and depth of feeling in his works show that he was human, while tapping into divine gifts.
That Mozart composed such awesome music in such great quantity without benefit of computers or a workroom of assistants is even more astounding. When we rely so heavily on computers and the internet for everything we do, and call on experts for everything from fixing our roof to learning how to garden, the genius of Mozart just being who he was astounds us.
The overwhelming talent of such an artist, like the greatness of many men and women we revere, gives me pause at this time of Thanksgiving. These great men and women of the past as well as those here in our midst, remind me how God’s mercy works.
Gifts and talents given by God need nothing more than the courage to act on them. But sometimes courage is hard enough.
Mozart had such courage. He was often treated like a servant by the church and the emperor who used his talents in their institutions. Mozart was hailed by the city of Salzburg, but soon fell out of favor with the court, because he would not give over his talent to their whims, or put his talent into the box they thought was appropriate. And Mozart suffered because of his talent. His final years were not ones of ease, but of hardship as he struggled to use his gifts when others would not pay him.
While Mozart’s genius is clear to us today, it is only because Mozart was true to his gifts that we have his works with us. It is only through Mozart’s struggles to compose in the midst of financial troubles that he inspires us with his music.
Many of God’s gifts are like that—they require courage and struggle. As we remember the first Thanksgiving, the ones that the Pilgrims of Plymouth celebrated, we remember their struggles too. Their struggle from religious persecution in England that made them come to the New World. They didn’t agree with the Church of England about some of the methods of worship and had hoped that when King James came to the throne they would be able to incorporate their beliefs into the state church. But that was not to be, and after a few failed attempts, in 1620, they managed to set sail from Southampton to the Plymouth colony.
Their struggle to survive the sea voyage, and their first year in the wilderness, far away from the help of the conveniences they knew, from food supplies and shelter, testified to the courage they had in their own beliefs. In this struggle they had to rely on their only neighbors, the natives Americans, who helped them plant crops and build shelters. The genius of the Pilgrims did not lay in any particular talents, but in the courage of their religious convictions, to cross dangerous water, and brave a new world in the dark winter. Their real genius lay in the humility to accept the help of their neighbors, the people of the Wampanoag nation. It is because of the debt they owed to the natives in helping them to survive, that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated with a feast. In a way they celebrated the manna in the wilderness, brought to them by their neighbors.
When God gives a gift, there is an expectation of responsibility for that gift. Had Mozart not been sure of his gift he maybe would have composed just some minor music, not the wonderful works we know today. Mozart could have been intimated and cowed into working for the authorities. Likewise, the Pilgrims could have compromised their religious beliefs and never led a new nation into freedom of religion. Courage to face God’s gifts is often required before those gifts can bring light into the world.
In the past couple of weeks, the Morehead community has been rocked by the report of the drug use of one of its professors. This is a case of someone who has great gifts of teaching and scholarship and vision. But with these gifts came the responsibility for nurturing the gifts. Some people need help with their gifts, just like the Pilgrims needed the help of the Wampanoag. Just like Mozart needed to keep confident in the musical genius he had. Some people who need help to nurture their gifts and have not received this help, turn to drugs to help them be more confident. Drug use can reduce anxiety and produce feelings of well being, but these feelings are fleeting and the drug must continue to be used to keep the good feelings coming.
There is much drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky, we see it every week in the paper—marijuana, meth labs, cocaine use. Those who turn to drugs are sometimes the smarter ones among us, people who have great gifts, unique and special talents. Many who turn to drugs have seen glimpses of their gifts, but may not have had the nurturing, love and community to bolster them to hold onto their dreams, to see their gifts grow and bring light to the world.
Thanksgiving is a time of seeing the gifts around us, not just the gifts that have been nurtured and so give light that all the world can see, like Mozart’s music or the Pilgrim’s genius of religious freedom. Thanksgiving is also a time to take stock of the gifts that have been wasted due to lack of the love and care that bolsters people’s confidence, makes them know they are God’s beloved and that God has given them great gifts.
Thanksgiving is a time to acknowledge that not all people have had the courage of Mozart or of the Pilgrims, to face their struggles and persevere to bring the special light given to them by God. By noticing these gifts in our community we take part in helping bring light. By helping those whose gifts have been stifled, we help the light of their gift reach us all.
My question tonight as we give thanks for the gifts bestowed by God, is how can we as a communities of faith help to bring light into the world? Where is God calling our faith groups to see the gifts that have been hidden in fear, covered by drug use?
Are there ways we can step out like the Pilgrims and stand up for our faith? How can our congregations help with this one issue of drug use, that has so much potential to free up the gifts of God and bring so much more light into the world?
Drug use is an issue that knows no boundaries of faith, of religion, of color or gender. It affects us all as the community of Morehead. If one goal of all faith groups is to bring light into the world, perhaps helping to reduce drug use and its terrible effects on people, families, schools, and communities is an area of concern that we can agree to work on together.
When Mozart went his own way to compose, light was brought into the world. When the Pilgrims brought the light of their humility into the world, they worshipped in freedom, then Thanksgiving arrived. When light comes into the world, when God’s gifts are allowed to shine through, then we know that the season of Thanksgiving has truly arrived. The season of courage, of faith and of light has entered. Let us give Thanks for all in our midst who have allowed their gifts to shine. Let us work together to help all people see the light of God’s gifts.
Morehead Ecumenical Service 2007
Mozart is one of the most celebrated composers of all time. He starting composing little pieces and performing them at age 5, and wrote over 600 works before dying at the young age of 35. The genius of his artistry, the beauty of his work, and its enduring attraction over the two hundred and fifty years since his birth attest that he was a unique talent among us, gifted by God in a way few have been. His music inspires in its otherworldly quality, showing a glimpse of heaven, of God’s own music. I played the French horn in high school, and tried to master his horn quartets. Their beauty, using the horn’s mellow hunting calls, captured my imagination, even if what came out of my instrument was nowhere near what Mozart had in mind. Mozart’s range and depth of feeling in his works show that he was human, while tapping into divine gifts.
That Mozart composed such awesome music in such great quantity without benefit of computers or a workroom of assistants is even more astounding. When we rely so heavily on computers and the internet for everything we do, and call on experts for everything from fixing our roof to learning how to garden, the genius of Mozart just being who he was astounds us.
The overwhelming talent of such an artist, like the greatness of many men and women we revere, gives me pause at this time of Thanksgiving. These great men and women of the past as well as those here in our midst, remind me how God’s mercy works.
Gifts and talents given by God need nothing more than the courage to act on them. But sometimes courage is hard enough.
Mozart had such courage. He was often treated like a servant by the church and the emperor who used his talents in their institutions. Mozart was hailed by the city of Salzburg, but soon fell out of favor with the court, because he would not give over his talent to their whims, or put his talent into the box they thought was appropriate. And Mozart suffered because of his talent. His final years were not ones of ease, but of hardship as he struggled to use his gifts when others would not pay him.
While Mozart’s genius is clear to us today, it is only because Mozart was true to his gifts that we have his works with us. It is only through Mozart’s struggles to compose in the midst of financial troubles that he inspires us with his music.
Many of God’s gifts are like that—they require courage and struggle. As we remember the first Thanksgiving, the ones that the Pilgrims of Plymouth celebrated, we remember their struggles too. Their struggle from religious persecution in England that made them come to the New World. They didn’t agree with the Church of England about some of the methods of worship and had hoped that when King James came to the throne they would be able to incorporate their beliefs into the state church. But that was not to be, and after a few failed attempts, in 1620, they managed to set sail from Southampton to the Plymouth colony.
Their struggle to survive the sea voyage, and their first year in the wilderness, far away from the help of the conveniences they knew, from food supplies and shelter, testified to the courage they had in their own beliefs. In this struggle they had to rely on their only neighbors, the natives Americans, who helped them plant crops and build shelters. The genius of the Pilgrims did not lay in any particular talents, but in the courage of their religious convictions, to cross dangerous water, and brave a new world in the dark winter. Their real genius lay in the humility to accept the help of their neighbors, the people of the Wampanoag nation. It is because of the debt they owed to the natives in helping them to survive, that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated with a feast. In a way they celebrated the manna in the wilderness, brought to them by their neighbors.
When God gives a gift, there is an expectation of responsibility for that gift. Had Mozart not been sure of his gift he maybe would have composed just some minor music, not the wonderful works we know today. Mozart could have been intimated and cowed into working for the authorities. Likewise, the Pilgrims could have compromised their religious beliefs and never led a new nation into freedom of religion. Courage to face God’s gifts is often required before those gifts can bring light into the world.
In the past couple of weeks, the Morehead community has been rocked by the report of the drug use of one of its professors. This is a case of someone who has great gifts of teaching and scholarship and vision. But with these gifts came the responsibility for nurturing the gifts. Some people need help with their gifts, just like the Pilgrims needed the help of the Wampanoag. Just like Mozart needed to keep confident in the musical genius he had. Some people who need help to nurture their gifts and have not received this help, turn to drugs to help them be more confident. Drug use can reduce anxiety and produce feelings of well being, but these feelings are fleeting and the drug must continue to be used to keep the good feelings coming.
There is much drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky, we see it every week in the paper—marijuana, meth labs, cocaine use. Those who turn to drugs are sometimes the smarter ones among us, people who have great gifts, unique and special talents. Many who turn to drugs have seen glimpses of their gifts, but may not have had the nurturing, love and community to bolster them to hold onto their dreams, to see their gifts grow and bring light to the world.
Thanksgiving is a time of seeing the gifts around us, not just the gifts that have been nurtured and so give light that all the world can see, like Mozart’s music or the Pilgrim’s genius of religious freedom. Thanksgiving is also a time to take stock of the gifts that have been wasted due to lack of the love and care that bolsters people’s confidence, makes them know they are God’s beloved and that God has given them great gifts.
Thanksgiving is a time to acknowledge that not all people have had the courage of Mozart or of the Pilgrims, to face their struggles and persevere to bring the special light given to them by God. By noticing these gifts in our community we take part in helping bring light. By helping those whose gifts have been stifled, we help the light of their gift reach us all.
My question tonight as we give thanks for the gifts bestowed by God, is how can we as a communities of faith help to bring light into the world? Where is God calling our faith groups to see the gifts that have been hidden in fear, covered by drug use?
Are there ways we can step out like the Pilgrims and stand up for our faith? How can our congregations help with this one issue of drug use, that has so much potential to free up the gifts of God and bring so much more light into the world?
Drug use is an issue that knows no boundaries of faith, of religion, of color or gender. It affects us all as the community of Morehead. If one goal of all faith groups is to bring light into the world, perhaps helping to reduce drug use and its terrible effects on people, families, schools, and communities is an area of concern that we can agree to work on together.
When Mozart went his own way to compose, light was brought into the world. When the Pilgrims brought the light of their humility into the world, they worshipped in freedom, then Thanksgiving arrived. When light comes into the world, when God’s gifts are allowed to shine through, then we know that the season of Thanksgiving has truly arrived. The season of courage, of faith and of light has entered. Let us give Thanks for all in our midst who have allowed their gifts to shine. Let us work together to help all people see the light of God’s gifts.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
University of Kentucky St. Augustine's Services and Events
Dear UK folks,
As you may have heard, I have resigned as campus missioner to seek a full time parish position. My last time at St. Augustine’s will be May 15, and here is the schedule for the remaining weeks:
April 17 Holy Eucharist 12:15
April 24 Holy Eucharist 12:15
May 1 Ascension Day Holy Eucharist 12:15, Dr. Schuyler Robinson, organist (finals week)
May 8 no service--clergy meeting
May 15 Good-bye reception at 4:30 pm
It has been a pleasure to be with you on Thursdays at UK, to get to know some new people and get reacquainted with old friends. While not many of you have been able to avail yourselves of the Thursday services, I believe a presence on campus of prayer by and for each other bolsters our communal life. If you think it is important, please let Bishop Sauls know (sfsauls@diolex.org). He is having conversation with the Lutheran bishops of this synod about campus ministry and how we can work better together.
As we ponder what it means to be a Christian community, we read in our lection from Acts about the very first community of new Christians. They modeled fellowship, prayer, breaking bread, and acts of power and love within their community. They shared all things in common. They brought many into the fold of Christianity. Can the community of St. Augustine’s learn anything from this model? How can we become a more intentional community of faith within the secular institution of UK? How can St. Augustine’s support your life of faith within your life at work? If you have thoughts about these questions, I encourage you to let Bishop Sauls know.
As you may have heard, I have resigned as campus missioner to seek a full time parish position. My last time at St. Augustine’s will be May 15, and here is the schedule for the remaining weeks:
April 17 Holy Eucharist 12:15
April 24 Holy Eucharist 12:15
May 1 Ascension Day Holy Eucharist 12:15, Dr. Schuyler Robinson, organist (finals week)
May 8 no service--clergy meeting
May 15 Good-bye reception at 4:30 pm
It has been a pleasure to be with you on Thursdays at UK, to get to know some new people and get reacquainted with old friends. While not many of you have been able to avail yourselves of the Thursday services, I believe a presence on campus of prayer by and for each other bolsters our communal life. If you think it is important, please let Bishop Sauls know (sfsauls@diolex.org). He is having conversation with the Lutheran bishops of this synod about campus ministry and how we can work better together.
As we ponder what it means to be a Christian community, we read in our lection from Acts about the very first community of new Christians. They modeled fellowship, prayer, breaking bread, and acts of power and love within their community. They shared all things in common. They brought many into the fold of Christianity. Can the community of St. Augustine’s learn anything from this model? How can we become a more intentional community of faith within the secular institution of UK? How can St. Augustine’s support your life of faith within your life at work? If you have thoughts about these questions, I encourage you to let Bishop Sauls know.
MSU Canterbury Fellowship
This semester at St. Alban’s
Wednesdays
0 11:45 am Lunch at MSU ADUC student center--all are welcome. Meet on the grill side of the food court, bring your lunch or buy it at ADUC.
o 6:00 pm Holy Eucharist, with healing
Sundays
11:00 am Holy Eucharist. Parish Potluck on 4th Sundays.
"Episcopal 101" following the service, a series for all those (not just those interested in confirmation) wanting to know more about the Episcopal church, its history, the prayer book, and the liturgy and sacraments. The format will be question, answer, and discussion, not purely lecture. There will also be some “show and tell” in the sacristy.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Janey Wilson's jazz mass sermon
JAZZ EUCHARIST SERMON 7. 13.07 Mission House
May our work in the world be a vehicle for Your Love; May it shine and light up all darkened places. Be with us, O Lord. Amen. (Adapted from Marianne Williamson’s Illuminata.)
When I was a teenager growing up in the Quad Cities (those are the four cities—Davenport, Moline, Rock Island and Bettendorf-- where Illinois and Iowa meet at the Mississippi River,) I was privileged to attend the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz festival for several years running. As some of you may know, Bix was a home town hero; the festival took place every July on the levee in Davenport. Scheduled concerts occurred from about ten in the morning until 9:00 at night and the jam sessions in the down town bars went on until they could go no further. People brought blankets and something to eat or drink and the general idea was to lie around absorbing the rays and the sounds in sort of an idyllic haze. OK, it was the seventies—there may have been more to that haze!! The festival happens to this day, but of course it is now ‘ginormous’-- (I needed to use that word since Webster added it this week!) Now there are several venues at the festival to make it easier for people to listen to good jazz.
But in those days, it was all on the levee, and there was an accepted protocol of quiet reverence in that makeshift weekend community, and a shared sense of space. Considering the fact that even in those early days there were hundreds of people, that peacefulness amazes me when I think of it now. The very serious listeners knew every musician and every piece of music, delighting in the individual variations. My Aunt Kath was like that—a walking biographical and musical dictionary but only before and after the music, never during. The less serious, like I was at that age, were content to just absorb the richness of the experience, appreciating what appealed and following our own stream of consciousness against the rest of it.
So as I was preparing for today, and recalling that experience, I wondered “What do St. Benedict, Jazz and the readings today have in common?” More than you might think!
For instance, I came across a quote by Jazz great Stan Getz. Getz was a brilliant saxophone player, heavy into the Bossa Nova movement. He led a rather troubled life but did manage to pull it together by the end of it. He said: “There are four qualities essential to a great Jazz player. They are taste, courage, individuality and irreverence.”
I wondered as I read that if these were not also qualities that might make a good Christian. I wondered if these would be good qualities for someone willing to walk with “loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord’s service.”
After some mental gymnastics—(the only kind I attempt!) I decided perhaps there was a correlation. On the surface, you might not see the connections. But bear with me as we look at Getz’s qualities and let’s see what happens.
Taste is defined in The American Heritage Dictionary as “the sense of what is proper, seemly, or least likely to give offense.”
That’s helpful in community.
Ultimately though, and I am not speaking of the socially acceptable kind of taste with which all Episcopalians are indoctrinated; I do not mean the “White Gloves and Party Manners” kind of taste. I am not sure that is what Getz means either. I am speaking of something more simple, of knowing what fits in the context of what we are trying to achieve. I am speaking of recognizing and understanding the wisdom and truth we hear in Scripture, and of trying to understand how we can make that mesh with our lives. As Rowan Williams says about St. Benedict’s work, “the Rule, after all, is not an archaeological document but something that is continually being reinterpreted in the life of the communities that are based upon it – like the Scriptures themselves.”
This obviously connects with the reading from Proverbs we heard tonight. If you were able to hear it over the helicopter, you might remember the beginning of that passage--
If we accept,
If we incline our hearts
If we cry out for insight
If we seek it like silver (like treasure; this is a wisdom literature tradition,)
Then we will understand . . .and find knowledge of God. We might even see taste and discernment in the same light as we consider how this passage inspires us. But it’s not always so easy to just recognize these actions of moving toward God. We can know that we need to incline our hearts, but that does not make it so. That leads us to the second of Getz’s four characteristics: courage.
Our Gospel today surely addresses this characteristic. Luke uses images to make connections to previous passage, (the dinner with the guests who would not attend.) As Luke always argues, possessions and personal commitments aren’t the primary mission; the network might keep one from picking up the cross. One commentary puts it another way, “Radical Allegiance is necessary.”
Courage indeed.
But then, life is not for the faint hearted. Why should our relationship with God be superficial?
Of course, courage is not always our first instinct. In truth we often only commit in our ‘instant gratification world’ with the back pedaling safety net of a later refusal. Statistics show that most people will change careers at least three times. I have been travel agent, librarian, and now clergy. I think I am done now!! Although it is possible to see the thread between them if you look carefully (after all, each of those help people get where they need to go!) it is also honest to see the restless disentanglement between the shifts. And yet, it is interesting to note that 75 % of 26-31 year olds believe that a long term relationship with one employer is preferable.
And, what about courage in relationships?
50% of first marriages and 60 % of second end in divorce. That mythical seven year itch is grounded in statistical fact. Seven year marriages are seen as the norm, not the exception. But we can be hopeful that 65 percent of marriages that last past seven years are still strong at the tenth anniversary. Despite these positive trends, it is discouragingly clear that we are a commitment- phobic society. Otherwise, Madison Avenue’s campaign for the new weight loss drug, Alli, would not hit home so well. “You can’t just try Alli,” the ad proclaims. “You have to commit.”
Ouch!
St. Benedict knew about the courage of commitment, just as he knew about individuality. To be sure, he was writing his Rule in 540 for a community. But that community was begun by the courageous act of an individual when St. Benedict withdrew from the horror of Rome to the caverns at Lake Subiaco. The community formed around him, but he took the courage first to incline his heart toward God in a very singular way.
In the jazz sense, perhaps St. Benedict was improvising. Improvization (or improv. if you are cooler than I am,) is defined as “spontaneously creating fresh melodies over the continuously repeating cycle of chord changes within a tune.” The Rule allows for individual gifts and the way in which they add to the gifts of the community. But you cannot be purely individual or the ‘improv.’ will not work. Rowan Williams alludes to that when he talks about the concept of obedience. “As the Rule insists, especially in its fifth chapter, obedience for the monk is the practice of constantly being ready to suspend a purely individual will or perception for the sake of discovering God's will in the common life of the community.” We must incline our hearts, but we must not forget to listen as well.
Getz’s fourth and final concept is irreverence. Those of you who know me will not be surprised that I advocate this, but you may not see what on earth it has to do with Jesus’ very serious warnings about the Cross being difficult to bear. My argument is this: Irreverence is only possible in the presence of great reverence. Irreverence allows me to handle the reverence at my own pace and in my own way. It allows me to hear Luke’s admonition against placing importance on possessions and simultaneously fight the urge to clean my closet out before finishing this sermon, --as well as to shamefacedly realize that putting things into my closet may well take too large a percentage of my time and attention. It allows me the balance that St. Benedict was so eloquent in promoting. The Archbishop of Canterbury has observed our societal quandary with this concept of balance. He says that, we do not understand either the concept of work or leisure, and we are obsessive about both. He sees time as an “undifferentiated continuum” in which we either consume or work, and work is a 24 hour occupation. We have no boundaries and no balance. We need to have both in order to be able to seek the treasure of this relationship with God. And in order to walk with willing and loving hearts in the school of the Lord’s service, we may also need that which a good Jazz musician needs-- taste, courage, individuality and irreverence.
And perhaps something more, something that Getz left out of his definition, but that neither the author of Proverbs or the Gospel of Luke could ignore. There is another term in the Jazz Glossary that I appreciate. “Woodshed” means to practice diligently. Again, if you are cool, you can just say “shed.” Jazz requires great discipline—and lots of “shed” to be free. So too as twenty-first century humans, frightened of commitment, unable to keep balance in our daily lives and yet yearning to incline our hearts to God, discipline is a characteristic we must “shed.”
But how do we carry this off? Personally, the only thing I dislike talking about more than sin is discipline. It is a constant battle for me, and I think it is tied up with the fact that God and I have an ongoing and intimate conversation about who is in control. Oh, I know absolutely that I am not in control.
I just manage to forget it on a daily basis.
I can hear my grandmother saying fondly, “Go ahead, hard head, and see what you come to.”
So in my case, this requires lots of “shed,” although perhaps for some here that is a lesser struggle. But there are some great places to begin as we think about it. One of my favorites is the Prayer of Self Dedication on page 832 of the BCP.
“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 to 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.”
This is a process. Taking up the cross is not easy or casual. It requires commitment. Part of that commitment is our Baptism, and part of that commitment is in our returning time after time to the Altar for Eucharist, to taste, to take courage and comfort, and to begin anew to incline our hearts toward God.
It is here also that we begin to remember and understand God’s commitment to us. As we proceed forth in this Eucharist, may it be so.
Amen
The Rev. Janey Wilson, July 13, 2007
May our work in the world be a vehicle for Your Love; May it shine and light up all darkened places. Be with us, O Lord. Amen. (Adapted from Marianne Williamson’s Illuminata.)
When I was a teenager growing up in the Quad Cities (those are the four cities—Davenport, Moline, Rock Island and Bettendorf-- where Illinois and Iowa meet at the Mississippi River,) I was privileged to attend the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz festival for several years running. As some of you may know, Bix was a home town hero; the festival took place every July on the levee in Davenport. Scheduled concerts occurred from about ten in the morning until 9:00 at night and the jam sessions in the down town bars went on until they could go no further. People brought blankets and something to eat or drink and the general idea was to lie around absorbing the rays and the sounds in sort of an idyllic haze. OK, it was the seventies—there may have been more to that haze!! The festival happens to this day, but of course it is now ‘ginormous’-- (I needed to use that word since Webster added it this week!) Now there are several venues at the festival to make it easier for people to listen to good jazz.
But in those days, it was all on the levee, and there was an accepted protocol of quiet reverence in that makeshift weekend community, and a shared sense of space. Considering the fact that even in those early days there were hundreds of people, that peacefulness amazes me when I think of it now. The very serious listeners knew every musician and every piece of music, delighting in the individual variations. My Aunt Kath was like that—a walking biographical and musical dictionary but only before and after the music, never during. The less serious, like I was at that age, were content to just absorb the richness of the experience, appreciating what appealed and following our own stream of consciousness against the rest of it.
So as I was preparing for today, and recalling that experience, I wondered “What do St. Benedict, Jazz and the readings today have in common?” More than you might think!
For instance, I came across a quote by Jazz great Stan Getz. Getz was a brilliant saxophone player, heavy into the Bossa Nova movement. He led a rather troubled life but did manage to pull it together by the end of it. He said: “There are four qualities essential to a great Jazz player. They are taste, courage, individuality and irreverence.”
I wondered as I read that if these were not also qualities that might make a good Christian. I wondered if these would be good qualities for someone willing to walk with “loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord’s service.”
After some mental gymnastics—(the only kind I attempt!) I decided perhaps there was a correlation. On the surface, you might not see the connections. But bear with me as we look at Getz’s qualities and let’s see what happens.
Taste is defined in The American Heritage Dictionary as “the sense of what is proper, seemly, or least likely to give offense.”
That’s helpful in community.
Ultimately though, and I am not speaking of the socially acceptable kind of taste with which all Episcopalians are indoctrinated; I do not mean the “White Gloves and Party Manners” kind of taste. I am not sure that is what Getz means either. I am speaking of something more simple, of knowing what fits in the context of what we are trying to achieve. I am speaking of recognizing and understanding the wisdom and truth we hear in Scripture, and of trying to understand how we can make that mesh with our lives. As Rowan Williams says about St. Benedict’s work, “the Rule, after all, is not an archaeological document but something that is continually being reinterpreted in the life of the communities that are based upon it – like the Scriptures themselves.”
This obviously connects with the reading from Proverbs we heard tonight. If you were able to hear it over the helicopter, you might remember the beginning of that passage--
If we accept,
If we incline our hearts
If we cry out for insight
If we seek it like silver (like treasure; this is a wisdom literature tradition,)
Then we will understand . . .and find knowledge of God. We might even see taste and discernment in the same light as we consider how this passage inspires us. But it’s not always so easy to just recognize these actions of moving toward God. We can know that we need to incline our hearts, but that does not make it so. That leads us to the second of Getz’s four characteristics: courage.
Our Gospel today surely addresses this characteristic. Luke uses images to make connections to previous passage, (the dinner with the guests who would not attend.) As Luke always argues, possessions and personal commitments aren’t the primary mission; the network might keep one from picking up the cross. One commentary puts it another way, “Radical Allegiance is necessary.”
Courage indeed.
But then, life is not for the faint hearted. Why should our relationship with God be superficial?
Of course, courage is not always our first instinct. In truth we often only commit in our ‘instant gratification world’ with the back pedaling safety net of a later refusal. Statistics show that most people will change careers at least three times. I have been travel agent, librarian, and now clergy. I think I am done now!! Although it is possible to see the thread between them if you look carefully (after all, each of those help people get where they need to go!) it is also honest to see the restless disentanglement between the shifts. And yet, it is interesting to note that 75 % of 26-31 year olds believe that a long term relationship with one employer is preferable.
And, what about courage in relationships?
50% of first marriages and 60 % of second end in divorce. That mythical seven year itch is grounded in statistical fact. Seven year marriages are seen as the norm, not the exception. But we can be hopeful that 65 percent of marriages that last past seven years are still strong at the tenth anniversary. Despite these positive trends, it is discouragingly clear that we are a commitment- phobic society. Otherwise, Madison Avenue’s campaign for the new weight loss drug, Alli, would not hit home so well. “You can’t just try Alli,” the ad proclaims. “You have to commit.”
Ouch!
St. Benedict knew about the courage of commitment, just as he knew about individuality. To be sure, he was writing his Rule in 540 for a community. But that community was begun by the courageous act of an individual when St. Benedict withdrew from the horror of Rome to the caverns at Lake Subiaco. The community formed around him, but he took the courage first to incline his heart toward God in a very singular way.
In the jazz sense, perhaps St. Benedict was improvising. Improvization (or improv. if you are cooler than I am,) is defined as “spontaneously creating fresh melodies over the continuously repeating cycle of chord changes within a tune.” The Rule allows for individual gifts and the way in which they add to the gifts of the community. But you cannot be purely individual or the ‘improv.’ will not work. Rowan Williams alludes to that when he talks about the concept of obedience. “As the Rule insists, especially in its fifth chapter, obedience for the monk is the practice of constantly being ready to suspend a purely individual will or perception for the sake of discovering God's will in the common life of the community.” We must incline our hearts, but we must not forget to listen as well.
Getz’s fourth and final concept is irreverence. Those of you who know me will not be surprised that I advocate this, but you may not see what on earth it has to do with Jesus’ very serious warnings about the Cross being difficult to bear. My argument is this: Irreverence is only possible in the presence of great reverence. Irreverence allows me to handle the reverence at my own pace and in my own way. It allows me to hear Luke’s admonition against placing importance on possessions and simultaneously fight the urge to clean my closet out before finishing this sermon, --as well as to shamefacedly realize that putting things into my closet may well take too large a percentage of my time and attention. It allows me the balance that St. Benedict was so eloquent in promoting. The Archbishop of Canterbury has observed our societal quandary with this concept of balance. He says that, we do not understand either the concept of work or leisure, and we are obsessive about both. He sees time as an “undifferentiated continuum” in which we either consume or work, and work is a 24 hour occupation. We have no boundaries and no balance. We need to have both in order to be able to seek the treasure of this relationship with God. And in order to walk with willing and loving hearts in the school of the Lord’s service, we may also need that which a good Jazz musician needs-- taste, courage, individuality and irreverence.
And perhaps something more, something that Getz left out of his definition, but that neither the author of Proverbs or the Gospel of Luke could ignore. There is another term in the Jazz Glossary that I appreciate. “Woodshed” means to practice diligently. Again, if you are cool, you can just say “shed.” Jazz requires great discipline—and lots of “shed” to be free. So too as twenty-first century humans, frightened of commitment, unable to keep balance in our daily lives and yet yearning to incline our hearts to God, discipline is a characteristic we must “shed.”
But how do we carry this off? Personally, the only thing I dislike talking about more than sin is discipline. It is a constant battle for me, and I think it is tied up with the fact that God and I have an ongoing and intimate conversation about who is in control. Oh, I know absolutely that I am not in control.
I just manage to forget it on a daily basis.
I can hear my grandmother saying fondly, “Go ahead, hard head, and see what you come to.”
So in my case, this requires lots of “shed,” although perhaps for some here that is a lesser struggle. But there are some great places to begin as we think about it. One of my favorites is the Prayer of Self Dedication on page 832 of the BCP.
“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 to 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.”
This is a process. Taking up the cross is not easy or casual. It requires commitment. Part of that commitment is our Baptism, and part of that commitment is in our returning time after time to the Altar for Eucharist, to taste, to take courage and comfort, and to begin anew to incline our hearts toward God.
It is here also that we begin to remember and understand God’s commitment to us. As we proceed forth in this Eucharist, may it be so.
Amen
The Rev. Janey Wilson, July 13, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
Canterbury Pub Schedule
July 31 How Does Our Liturgy Inform our Beliefs?
Presenter: The Rev. Elise Johnstone
Canterbury Pub is the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington’s program of theology on tap for young adults, ages 18+ (with age-appropriate beverages). We meet at Azur Restaurant's patio, in Beaumont Centre (east of Liquor Barn).
The last week we will explore how our liturgy reflects and also informs our beliefs. What is lex orandi, lex credendi? What is the eucharistic theology of Episcopalians? Do we believe that Christ is present in the wine and bread? How??
For more information, contact The Rev. Dr. Joyce Beaulieu, 859-252-6527.
Presenter: The Rev. Elise Johnstone
Canterbury Pub is the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington’s program of theology on tap for young adults, ages 18+ (with age-appropriate beverages). We meet at Azur Restaurant's patio, in Beaumont Centre (east of Liquor Barn).
The last week we will explore how our liturgy reflects and also informs our beliefs. What is lex orandi, lex credendi? What is the eucharistic theology of Episcopalians? Do we believe that Christ is present in the wine and bread? How??
For more information, contact The Rev. Dr. Joyce Beaulieu, 859-252-6527.
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