Mark 16:1-8
There’s a stone counter top in my apartment’s kitchen.  They told me it
was called,“Delicatus”, Latin for “good looking”.  And the stone is just
that.  I stare into it for long minutes at a time.  What else does an
old celibate have to do with his time? 
This “delicatus” stone is tan with three shades of brown-colored smudges in
it. 
Veins of black lightning streak through it.  Glistenings
shine like fool’s gold. 
Clear little lakes have pooled here and there
for millions of years.
Small occasional red and purple jewels surprise me on
its surface. 
I really do stare at it a lot!
An important actor in today’s gospel is a “delicatus” stone, an attractive,
delightful invitation to life.  
But as Mary Magdalene, Mary James’ Mother and Salome worried, “Oh, that big
stone!  Can anyone roll it away from death’s door?  Will we even get
close to Jesus’ body?”
But, there was the stone, already rolled to the side, and sparkling for all
it was worth!  “Delicatus” was the first, albeit silent witness to the
resurrection!
Seeing it, the three myrrh-bearers immediately thought, “Grave robbers”, but
who would steal the naked body of a crucified criminal?  Nobody! 
Period. 
As they tiptoed into the cave, there a man (an angel man?) dressed in white
announced, “He has been raised!”
What did the three do with that shocking, unpredictable message?  They
did what I would have done.  They ran off, scared into silence!  They
couldn’t even speak!  Terror and amazement froze their tongues!  They
didn’t tell anyone what they had just witnessed.  THE END
Many of the earliest copies of St. Mark do end right there, with the word:
AMEN!  AMEN is like slamming into a stone wall!  Who stole the next
chapter?  DishNet blinked off right in the middle of Survivors!
Most Morality plays would have finished the story.  The devil moves
Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Priests, the crucifiers, and the guards at the tomb
like pieces on a chess board.  Satan is sure he’s won.  The women are
without hope.  Their king is not only checked, but knocked off the board,
along with all his followers, pawns, knights, bishops!
The three women were caught up in death.  The story was over, and it
ended just like everything else in life, with death.  Jesus didn’t
win.  He lost, and they lost along with him.
They had witnessed the vapor trail of the resurrection!  The delicatus
stone, the angel-man!  But death was still holding the three in its
paradigm, like wood in a vise.
Just like he holds us all.  Death is how it is. 
“Death
kills,” says the bumper sticker.
Death is what happens to the unwary, to the weak, to prostitutes, the young,
and the minorities, and to everyone else, just because.
Like the toddler who
was backed over by her daddy’s best friend Thursday
Like the military photos
of our young people who will never grow to maturity in peace
Like the
thousands of civilians caught up and slaughtered by war machines
Our paradigm (viewpoint) is like that of the three women, but it differs a
little bit.
We don’t see the arrest, the killing, the blood, the burial.  But we do
experience the lostness, the depression, the “what’s the use-ness”, the dying of
America, and climate death as well.  
Crooked money men rule us, and they can’t be stopped because so much of our
government is in their pockets, too. 
23 million citizens are in jails,
but not one top dog of the money men are among them.  It does sort of make
for the doldrums, doesn’t it?
Turn to God?  Which one?  The scolding, 1-issue god of American
bishops?  The money god of TV evangelists?  The hellfire and brimstone
god of fundamentalists?  It’s a wonder anyone’s here this morning, because
the church seems so unrelated to reality.
We have gagged the Good News with American Cultural Religion, the ACR. 
Easter Eggs roll down a hill far away.  Rabbits hippity-hop past pastel
crosses, and little chicks are dyed, and die for the delight of toddlers.
And after a while, we all die, too.
Sorry.  I’m on too much of a roll here.  My big point is that death
holds on to us, and it is stronger than us and gets everyone of us.
Or it would, except
The stone has been rolled away.  It sparkles and
shines with the great good news that I preach and you know!  The death cave
is empty! 
The Lord God who promises, has delivered, and not a second too soon!  He
raised Jesus from death!  When the three women got over the shock, they
shouted “RESURRECTION”.
When the apostles saw Jesus they took up the victory
yell!, and I guess the rest is history.
Except.  Except it’s not history today.  Today is resurrection, and
it’s ours!  Because of God’s Savior, Death can’t win.  
We have a new paradigm, a new outlook!
God gave us brand new, freshly
created lives today on the strength of one death.  Jesus’ death for our new
and unending lives!  
St. Peter says the church, you and I, are living stones.  We are the
rolled away stones that uncover the only good news worth telling.  With
good looking lives, with lives that are absolutely delightful, “delicatus”,
let’s tell it:  Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!
 


 
 
     


 
 
 

5 Lent 2012 
He
said:  “Those who love their life
lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal
life.” 
In spite of
the terrible work load this sentence hints at, there is only one theme in the
Readings Today:  What
Jesus does for us. 
Let’s start
with that dire statement, “Those who love their life lose
it.” 
Who does
that not include?  Scripture
says in several places, “there are none who are righteous. No, not one.”   In Romans 3, Paul said “we
have all fallen short of the mark of
  righteousness.” 
Throughout
my life, I have considered what I have ever done without at least a touch of
selfishness.  In my diary, I’ve
made entries on the subject.
Here’s a
few. 
“I gave a
beggar a dollar  at the
7th Street Exit today. 
Then I went home and put a twenty and pocket change in my savings
jug.”  Same Pocket. 
“Soul, take thy ease and plan to build bigger
barns.”
“I have
always made sure that somehow my good deeds are known. 
I couldn’t give Santa a plate of cookies and milk without putting my
business card in plain sight.” 
“Did I
become a priest to save my soul? 
Padre numero uno. 
“Don’t let
my left hand know what my right hand is doing.  Who is he kidding? 
I want everyone to know.” 
“I don’t
believe I have ever done a selfless deed that is not somehow tainted with
self-interest, pride or…”and the rest is scratched
out. 
Forgive
me.  I’m beginning to feel prideful
in telling you how awful I am. 
That goes to show how difficult it is to lose my life and how impossible
it is to save my life. 
Impossible,
but who doesn’t try to do good for all the wrong reasons? 
Who gives the church a healthy chunk of his/her income without something
  in the brain telling him/her, God will like me better
now? 
On the
2nd Sunday I was commenting to the Bishop’s Committee that we give
money to the church out of love for all that God has done for us in Christ.  Who was I kidding? 
We make up every excuse for why we don’t sacrifice, until we have calmed
down enough to keep giving the same amount again this
year. 
Did you ever
hear this story?  In a small German
village the folks planned a feast for their patron saint who was martyred for
being a Christian.   
Besides the
food, everyone was to bring a jug of wine and pour it into the big barrel in the
middle of the square and everyone would share it the next day. 
Throughout Saturday and into the night people walked briskly to the
barrel and poured the contents of their jugs carefully into
it. 
The next day
the priest was to draw the first glass from the big barrel and lead the people
in a toast.  Germans consider a
toast to be a liquid prayer.
He drew out
the first glass, raised it high, and discovered --- his glass was filled with
water. 
Could that
be a parable for our parish?  Why
else are we always in the red?  We
aren’t that small, and we aren’t that
poor. 
The truth
hurts, but we must admit to selfishness: 
“Those who love their life lose
it.” 
Now let’s
look closely at what is really going on between the Savior and us. 
It is not what we do for him. 
It’s what he does for us! 
Jesus did
say, “whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my SLAVE be
also.”
But that is
simply a statement of fact.  It is
not one of those “IF/THEN” statements of religious law, like the 10
commandments.  
It is “because/therefore.” 
“Because I died in your place, therefore I am giving you
my life.” 
Does Jesus
expect perfection from us?  I know
the law does, and God did put Israel under a system of laws to teach the world
that we cannot live under law.
 It is that dark, hopeless law
background that makes the whole world look for the Light of the World, our dear,
sweet Lord Jesus.
It was tough
going for our Master to sacrifice his life.  He asked God to deliver him from
crucifixion, until he realized that he simply had to die or the world would also
go up, not in a blaze of glory, but into the black hole of the
universe where the prince of darkness is
waiting. 
You and I
follow Jesus, because he is our new owner.  But we can’t ever do it perfectly, and
Jesus doesn’t expect it. That’s why
he invented confession and forgiveness for Christians. 
(That should be followed by a “duh,” right?) 
Of course, if I say Private Confession, some might dig in their heels,
even though I attest how good it’s 
been for me. 
Confession/forgiveness is why he lives inside us. 
That’s why the Spirit guides us. 
That’s why the Father has given us eternal life through the crossed-up
life of Jesus:  So we can follow
the Master, turning from the old tyrant to the
Lord! 
Now, to the
other statement:  “Where I am,
there will my slave be also.”
Did the
Great Lord promise to be here today? 
In our midst?  Yes. And he got here first! 
Did you know
that’s why we parade to the middle of the church, to show and remember this
promise, to be in the midst of us? 
He is the Last and best Word of God, He is in the midst of us. Right this
minute! 
He pulled us
all in here.  Contrary to popular
opinion we don’t decide to come to church.  Our sweet new Owner yanks our chain (a
chain of love), tells us to wake up, puts a smile on our faces and gets us to
where HE is going. 
We
Christians confuse “get to” with “have to” way more than we
should. 
If you are
in a “have to”mode with Christ, that’s your bag, and you’ll carry that burden
until you drop out from our fellowship or discover the Gospel.  
the default
mode of Christians is “get to.” 
The sooner we all discover that, the happier we will be. 
We’ll be smiling all the way to the next world because we have been given
eternal life. 
This week, I
hope you’ll spend some time wondering what you can do to show love to
Jesus.


 

Jesus is talking to St. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews and a
member of the Sanhedrin.  Why do we
have a suspicion he’s really talking to us?  Hmmmm. 
Notice that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. 
No big deal, except Jesus makes it one by contrasting darkness
and light. 
In the darkness, people do dark deeds. 
It’s always that way in scary movies.  
The classic example is that creepy motel and its creepier owner;
the solitary woman is shown to her room, unpacks, goes to shower, and an old
lady (“eek!”) stabs her again and again through the shower
curtain 
But scary movies aren’t real.  They only reflect what we really
do. 
Think of the Wall Street evildoers.  
I don’t know how dark it is behind closed doors, but you can bet the
light of Christ is not shining there.  
  ---They hide behind cooked books, 
---mazes of mathematical mysteries, 
---and blame their minions who also love darkness and think they
can’t be seen cheating either. 
So far, the chief bankers are still hiding in the darkness; they
haven’t been brought to justice, yet.
 But they aren’t the only ones.  We cannot escape the lying,
hypocritical men running for this nation’s highest office. 
No matter their great money stashes, they do not bring light to the
country. 
I mention the above because I want us to get used to their
darkness that we sometimes envy, get used to and walk around
in. 
We do evil! I hate to say it, but my guess is we don’t always
hate ourselves for it.  Maybe we
are so used to doing evil oourselves we don’t recognize the
danger? 
I don’t have to give examples of evildoing. 
Scour your thoughts with God’s
10 Commands, his Brillo Pad, and you’ll find enough examples on your
own.   
Stick out your tongue in the mirror. 
St. James says, “it is a small
member, but it can set a forest ablaze with its
fire.”
Every night God bids us to review the day and look at our
actions.  Perfect? 
In tune with God? 
Darkness isn’t real darkness.  We’ve got that figured out. 
But is it a surprise that it’s an icon of our unbelieving world, De Soto,
Hillsboro, Festus, Crystal City and St. Louis?
We are Christ’s people. 
But we live with people who avoid the church, who despise the church, who
can’t listen to one more word from us.   
But let’s not judge them. Listen to Ephesians: 
“All of us once lived among them
  in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and sense, and we
  were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.” 
It’s hard to get rid of that terrible
  addiction. 
John is a “1-2-3” guy. 
He lays it out this way. 
People commit evil deeds. 
People love darkness. 
Evil-doing-darkness people have already condemned themselves!
 And the result of
condemnation is a distancing from God who is life.   
Paul describes us: 
“YOU were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once lived.” Is that our history? 
Before Jesus came to us, YES.
 Is that our present tense?  No, but we live in the same city as the
Dead.  It’s a dangerous place to
live, and we are daily tempted and as sure as we wake up, we begin sinning  ---in thought, word and deed Scripture
says; ---tempted by Devil, World and our own Sinful flesh, says the Catechism. 
Yet, you and I are not “condemned already.” 
Hear Jesus again: “God so loved
the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may
not perish but may have eternal life! 
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but
in order that the world might be saved through
him.”
The Holy Spirit has gotten into our hearts, 
in the Baptismal washing, 
hearing God’s people speak Gospel, 
living with people who forgive and receive forgiveness, 
eating and drinking God himself, 
and being strengthened by Jesus’ indwelling.  
THE
END PRODUCT IS WE
BELIEVE.  We’re like a
shiny new car that rolls off the assembly line of God’s factory. 
Watch us as we speed off leaving rubber on the road. 
That’s the power called FAITH! 
We aren’t only sinners. We also “love the light!” 
As St. John says, Christ’s “light shines in the darkness, and the
  darkness cannot overcome it.”   That’s what he does for us.  That is why we are here and not
elsewhere.  A little praise never
hurts a sinner, does it?   
Because the Spirit has given us faith, we love Jesus, the light of the world! 
Who would not love such a benefactor, such a life-giver, such a God
who so loved us?
And, because we live in the light of Christ, we sinners also do
good stuff, actions that reflect the light of Christ and pleases God!  
Jesus says, others “clearly see that our deeds have been done
in God!”  
Let me back up and roll over again what I just said about FAITH,
about BELIEVING. 
Here are Paul’s words: (from our Second
Reading.)
“For
by grace you have been saved through faith, and faith is not your own doing;
faith is the gift of God---not the result of works, so that no one may
boast.  For we are what HE has made
us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be
our way of life.”
I would love to preach another sermon
on “what are our good deeds that we
do in God?” 
I won’t, but I remind you of a quote from
George
  Fox, the Quaker:  “Manners
is least love.” And from the psychotherapist, “everyone needs a smile,
a touch, a kind word and eyes looking at them in
love.”


And I think this quote is from the ever so talented Queen
Latifah: “Get outa’yourself,
girl!  You wastin’ the only life
God gave you.”

The Ladies Aid of West Point Church decided they couldn’t play
Bunco any longer because, after reading John 2 they voted their penny ante
gambling in the Lord’s House basement offended God.  They
were horrified that he might take a whip to each and every one of
them.
(In the opinion of their priest their chicken and dumplings were
a far greater offense.)   
BUT THEY DIDN’T GET IT. 
They didn’t get today’s Gospel. 
They didn’t get THE GOSPEL either. 
In John’s Gospel, Jesus is the replacement of the old way.  He is the bringer of the NEW life with
God.  It unfolds this
way. 
First, is the beautiful prologue in the first part of chapter
1,  “In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was GOD!”  The Blessed Virgin Mother gave birth to
this WORD,
And we “shall call his name, JESUS, for he shall save his people
from their sins.”
Next ---
John baptizes Jesus, and the fantastic ripping of heaven, the
clear voice declaring “My Son,” and the Spirit dove makes an unprecedented
appearance!
Next---
Jesus gathers disciples like a magnet gathers
filings.
 Next---
The wedding supper sign/miracle:  Wine in abundance is often used by
Scripture as a mark of the joy of the last days.  
We repeat this feasting abundance in Holy Communion, “a
foretaste of the feast to come”, celebrated all around the world every day!   
OT writers speak of the abundance of wine, but nobody does it
like Baruch (a Hebrew writer who lived about the same time as our
Gospel.) 
In the final days, Baruch writes, “the earth shall yield its
fruit 10,000 fold; each vine shall have 1,000 branches; each branch 1,000
clusters, each cluster 1,000 grapes; and each grape 120 gallons of
wine.” 
It’s easy to see at the Cana wedding the Messiah Jesus is
bringing in the joy of the last days. 
Talk about abundance! 
Then---
This first preaching of Jesus done in action, with very few
words:  
THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE!  
Birds flying, 
sheep and cattle stampeding, 
tables making echoes as they fall, 
and the splendid ringing and jingling of hundreds, thousands of
coins running down the stairs everywhere, and the sellers scattering.  
And Jesus’ shouting: “Stop making my Father’s house a
marketplace!”
What did it mean then, to those who believed? 
It signaled the end to the old way of life. 
No more paying and sacrificing for sins and for cleansing and for making
people right with God! 
God’s Son, the Anointed, the Christ/Messiah, is now the New
Temple!  And it is Jesus who is
sacrificed one time for all people!   
Of course, as enemies do, the Old Way People destroyed Jesus,
thinking the old way conquered.  I
mean, look, he’s dead on the cross.   
But listen to the last action at the holy Cross: 
“He bowed his head and gave forth his Spirit.” 
Jesus is showing us that his sacrifice is the new Spirit, and the Holy
Spirit confirms it by breathing the gospel throughout time and space. There’s no
stopping the wind of the Holy Spirit, is there?   
The good news of Jesus is getting around, even though the
preachers sometimes screw the new life up and bishops try to bring the old “You
play, you pay” system back.” 
But they can’t bring the old system back, no matter that they
believe the law is working and Jesus is only a new
Moses.
No. The New Way is the only operative way to
live! 
Pardon me if I pre-empt the Lenten Fast, but --- the clincher to
our good news is that Jesus is raised from death.   
The frosting on our cake is Jesus gives us his new, resurrection
life without fear of death or separation from himself and from the church we
love. 
The Good News:  God
is overlooking all sins because Jesus’ one sacrifice covers over every little,
and big sin past, present and future, and he relieves us of the guilt of being
sinners, too! 
What does the cleansing mean for us today?   
First, it means that as Jesus is the Temple of God, when we
became his body in Baptism, we also are the temple of the Holy Spirit. I Cor.
6:9
Second, our temple needs cleansing because, unlike Jesus we sin
and we are sinners.  Believe me,
repentance has to be a daily thing.   But especially during Lent we need
to remember:  “A new broom sweeps
  clean!”  That’s Jesus!   
We cannot afford to have an empty temple. 
You remember Jesus’ story of the owner of a house. 
He got rid of a demon, but because his house stayed empty the place was
re-occupied by even more demons? 
If we do not have daily repentance during the day and at night
when we commend ourselves to God, who will visit
us? 
Check it out for yourselves.  Do you let the old life demons get at
you?  Still have the desire to
punish friends, to hold on to grudges, to pay back, to refuse to forgive.  That’s the old life way. 
I know I’m still doing that even in the new
  life. 
We know government has to be the old way because of sin.  We would kill one another without the
  restraint God gives government. 
Families have to have the component of  authority
  or there’s no good order.  Ditto,
the school system and the work place and the public square. 
And we must  live in that
system. 
But we do not have to BE that system. 
We are in the world,  but we
are not of the world.  We are new
lifers.  
We do not need to make a whip and beat one another up.  Love, which is the new way, lets us
forgive everyone, and reconciles when there is repentance. 
You remember that God is love, and we who live in God love each
other. 
It’s the new way we ARE living in today. 
We must continue to be free! 
And how free and strong we are because we are in Jesus and He in us.  Together, church, we are the New Temple
of the Holy Spirit! 
And, unlike the Old Temple, we move around, and the Spirit makes
disciples from our new way life!


 
 
 
 
   

Mark 8: 2nd Sunday in Lent 
Peter just didn’t want to get our Master’s purpose, and the
Father’s purpose as well in the salvation adventure. 
He had his own purpose for the Lord.  Result: He got his ears chewed to a
fare-thee-well!  
Our Lord then called the crowds to stand around the disciples
and listen. “Take up your cross and follow
me!” 
Jesus makes the choice plainer to us: “you
  want to save your life?  You will
lose it.  But if you lose your life
for my sake, you will save your life.” 
And finally, “if you
are ashamed of me and my words, I will be ashamed of you when I return in
glory.” 
Peter’s purpose for Jesus was, I think, a possible insurrection
against the Roman rule.  This  purpose of God knocked him for a
loop.  It knocked him so hard he
didn’t “get it”until the Passion/Resurrection. 
What is our purpose for Jesus?  Our purpose for him guides our response
to him. 
Is our response to play the dummy, and sit here thinking Fr.
Clark can’t be right?  He’s just
blowing off steam, being a dour Lutheran
again? 
Is our response to ignore the pulpit words because we know the
liturgy by heart; we have an altar, and receive Communion, and blah, blah,
blah?  
Is that the right response to Jesus today? 
Nay, nay.   
Does that reveal another purpose we have for Jesus? 
One that doesn’t include the cross?
Is our response only to listen to the Jesus
who says, “come unto me all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give
you rest?” 
A lot of folks cling to the gentle Jesus, the Jesus who says,
“Let the little children come unto me.” 
But it is all one Jesus, the Jesus who loves children, gives us
rest, and the Jesus who says very difficult Cross words
today! 
Jesus is the one who opens heaven’s doors to us, and is also the
one who says, “I do not know you. 
Go away and leave me alone.” 
This is tough talk, and I don’t repeat it lightly:  But
Jesus says it to all of us. 
Let’s change the subject a little, but keep in mind the
question, “what is my purpose for Jesus?”   
Who and what is Satan? 
Synonyms for “Satan”include: “Deceiver,” “Enemy,” “wolf in sheep’s
clothing,” “liar,” “The Evil One,” “demon,” and the overused
“devil.” 
I don’t know how many times I have been told, “Practice what you
preach!”  Sometimes that’s just a
smart aleck talking.  
But sometimes the voice comes from inside me. 
After I preach, “love your enemies,” my response an hour later is to
  grind my teeth against my enemies. 
I am my own Satan. I take the cross from my shoulder, and I invite the
fat little pastor to plan revenge. 
What is my purpose for Jesus?  A private warlord who will protect me
and destroy my enemies?    
A friend says, “Oh, come on.  God doesn’t care.”? 
But afterward, after I do whatever temptation he’s offered me, guilt
sticks in my heart. I don’t think my purpose for Jesus is the right one. Guilt shouldn’t be
there. 
My purpose for Jesus is wrong if he is only a little God who
takes care of me.  Satan is
stirring the pot with the very cross I’ve promised to
bear. 
Jesus’purpose and my purpose for him are in
conflict.
I watch and listen to the Facebook tempter, the U-tube enemy,
and the selfish ads inviting me on my computer.  I hit the ENTER key, and not
the delete! 
My purpose for Jesus in my life is like Peter’s. 
I want a god who agrees with me. 
But what I get is Satan gradually prying my hands and heart away from the
real Jesus, and from his cross. 
We cave so often, we know how weak we are. 
These aren’t the right responses for people who must fight an enemy much
stronger than us.  
The result is a dangerous wandering away from the cross, and our
Lord’s purpose.   
The Lord has a twin purpose.  He saves us through his holy cross, his
death and resurrection.  Then his
purpose for us is to bear the cross, not the holy cross of redemption, but the
cross of witness. 
He has this double purpose for us intertwined together, both his
redemption and our witness to the new life, and our purpose has to match
his.  
I know very well that we are bent out of shape, always tempted
and frequently falling.  Our
purpose for Jesus must be constantly monitored.  
The monitor says, “repent,” not just once in a while, but enjoy
lives of turning from our purpose to his salvation purpose.  With
  the Spirit/monitor in control, we do turn, don’t
we? 
We know there’s no other way.  But that’s not our reason for turning.
We are damaged by sin, but we’re not dead.  We are alive in Christ. 
By forgiving us today, he gives us hope for tomorrow! 
You have to admit, that does spark a love interest in this
Lord.
Today, we are within the safety of the church family where we
can admit we are sinners who sin, where it is OK to admit we have less than
right purposes for Jesus.   
We know we want him to serve us as a bobble-head who agrees with
our every action.  We also know how
wrong that purpose is.    
Here, with brothers and sisters we are free to kneel and receive
more forgiveness than we thought possible!   
Holding our Baptismal faith close, we know the free and forever
good news of his cross!  Jesus has
picked up our cross when he carried his!  
The Spirit “repents us.”   He turns us from famine to the
Feasting Table where we eat and drink of the Feast to
come! 
Let our Fast this year include a hefty tune-up of our purpose
for Jesus, + but especially his saving purpose for us!”  

1stLent, 2012  
“Mark 1: The Baptism of our
Lord”
Two fascinating words highlight our gospel. 
The first is when the invisible Father God “tears
apart” the heavens and speaks. 
“This is my Son the beloved.” 
God displays a mighty and powerful capability that we can’t wrap
our minds around.  Our science
doesn’t allow for anything “up there” to be torn apart. 
Our imagination can’t get to anything so unique in its happening.   
To complete that show, a small little dove flutters down to him.
It is the Holy Spirit in one of his familiar
disguises. 
The second word is “drove”.  The Spirit who arrived so gently
suddenly“drives” Jesus into the wilderness.  That word is the same word used when
Jesus “drove” evil spirits from victims. 
No gentle Jesus there! 
But what is so interesting is that word is also used at Yon
Kippur. On that Day of Atonement, God chose a goat. 
The High Priest put his hands on the goat and transferred the sins of all
the people onto the goat’s head.
Then he “drove” the goat out into the wilderness to die with all
Israel’s sins on its head.
From that day to this we say a person is a scapegoat
when he’s blamed for something not his fault. 
Two God pictures: 
One, the Almighty who rules everything.  Two, the weak, empty God who became the
human scapegoat for our sins, driven out by a dove into the wilderness.  
Because I’m a preacher, I’m always a week ahead of you with the
gospel.  Let me tell you what I
found out as I contemplated today’s gospel. 
First, I see Jesus as our scapegoat, yours and mine. 
He was innocent, yet our Scripture says God laid on him the sins and
  sinfulness of all humankind. 
“Sins”is the wrong
stuff that I do that is against God and neighbor. 
It is also theright stuff I
don’t do even though I am supposed to. 
”Sinfulness” is what our
  ancients called “the sin of nature.” 
It is “who” we are.  I use
words like, “bent out of shape.”  I
can’t obey like I want to, loving people and loving God. 
And worse, I don’t even want to love anyone unless it’s me first.  
This week I had to “tear” my billfold open, like God tore the
heavens, just to make an offering to the poor.  I could have used my money
elsewhere.  I resented sharing my
goods.  I said they deserve being
poor. 
I count myself as a follower of Jesus, but a 
“Bent-out of-shape.” follower. 
I’m a “Can’t-even-if-I-want-to,” follower.  And
“I usually don’t start out wanting to.” Follower. 
My default is “NO!” 
Every week we come together, we bring sins such as this little
one I confessed to you.  I have
hundreds more.  My guess is you
have a few hundred yourselves. 
Even though I’m a son of God by Baptism, I still drag sins
and sinfulness around with me, in my relations and in my nagging
  conscience. 
We bring these huge bags with us each week. 
Each week we confess these bags of sins, and we confess being bent out of
shape.  We dump these bags on the
back of our Scapegoat, and even though this is
2012,
we drive him out to the hill of Calvary as if it were AD
33. 
Jesus says, “My cross-dying is good for you. My one time
sacrifice is for every sin ever done or thought about by humans, each one of
you.” 
Though we don’t deserve forgiveness because we are such
wretches, Jesus brings us to the Jordan. 
John the Baptist washes us into innocence and into the kingdom of God as
if today were the day of my initial baptismal
washing! 
The heavens tear apart. 
The Almighty calls out to you and me, “You are my sons and daughters,
beloved forever.” 
By God’s command, I bless you with the holy cross and give you
forgiveness, and angels crowd this room to minister to you, to strengthen and
protect you. 
And let me say loud and clear, the holy Trinity is here at
Trinity.  He joins us to himself in
an embrace that is solid and forever.   
We can’t love him back by being sinless.    Let’s
  love him back by loving the poor. 


 

A
LENTEN JOURNAL 
(Monday following the 1st Sunday in Lent.) 
After I woke up sufficiently, I picked up
the “Articles of Religion,” Book
of Common Prayer, pp. 867, ff.  
It was sure full of info! 
If you think you know what we believe as Episcopalian Catholics, you
might want to check out the “Articles.” 
I went from the “Articles” to “An Outline of
Faith,” same book, pp. 844, ff. 
It’s also called a “Catechism,” which means “verbal instruction.”  It is our important teachings
(doctrines) in question and answer format. 
When I was a kid we had to memorize “Luther’s
Small Catechism.”   It’s been
a real treasure for my mind and heart. 
I’m surprised how often the Catechism calls me back to a simple way, a
clear way to think, pray and teach. 
Both BCP documents are a quick and easy way to
remember our roots as Catholics*. 
Both the “Articles” and the “Catechism” lets everyone know we base all
teachings on the Holy Scripture, Creeds and holy Tradition (which are also based
on and agree with Scripture.) ·       
“Catholic”is a title that reminds us we are part of the “one, holy,
catholic and apostolic church” on earth. 
St. Vincent of Lerins (around 434) defined “catholic” as 
“…that faith which has been held everywhere, always, by all.” 
That has been the accepted definition from that time to
this. ·       
The matter of a small “c” to designate the above definition and a
capital “C” to refer to Roman Catholicism can be misleading. 
It is better for us simply to affix our title to “Catholic” as Rome does;
e.g., Episcopalian Catholics and Lutheran
Catholics. 
Go ahead. 
Do a read.  
Sincerely,
 Fr.
  Clark 
(Tuesday of the First Week of Lent) 
Yesterday was the transferred Feast of the
Annunciation of our Lord.  I missed
it because I remembered it on Sunday, its proper day. 
For about 40 years the Church has regularly transferred Feast Days when
they fall on Sunday.  How
come?   Since Vatican II, and
the reform of the liturgy, much more emphasis has been placed on Sundays as
“little Easters”.  
You have noticed that our Sundays follow a
pattern.  From Advent 1 through the
Ascension we dwell on the life of our Lord Jesus. 
From Pentecost (the Feast Day of the Holy Spirit) to the last Sunday of
the Church’s Year, we dwell on the life of the ancient church and on our Lord’s
teachings. 
Anyhow, the Annunciation is the Feast Day that
brings the Virgin Mary into the first chapter of our good Lord’s
incarnation. The Archangel Gabriel
announces to her that she will become the Mother of Jesus, the Son of
God. 
In 431, the Church gave Mary a title, “Mother of
God,” (or more correctly “Theotokos”, “Bearer of God.”) 
Christian heretical movements of that time said Jesus was not God but
only a human.  Others said Jesus
was adopted by God and then became a god. 
This title  of Mary
established our position.  Jesus is
“true God and true Man, born of the Virgin
Mary.” 
It is interesting that there are still large
religious groups who deny this. 
The Muslims are the largest. 
Although they honor Jesus and Mary, they deny he is God.   
The Church of Latter Day Saints also deny Mary’s
title. But their belief in God is so different from the Church’s it makes true
comparisons impossible.  While they
call themselves “Christian” and even say they are the “church of Jesus Christ”
we categorically cannot recognize that
claim. 
I don’t want to make these notes a diatribe
against “Mormons” or Muslims for that matter.  Their denials and contradictions of the
Catholic Church are truly sad. For
our part, we must be peaceable even though we disagree so
  fundamentally. 
Sincerely,
Fr.
  Clark


 
 
 
 
 
 

Are any among you sick? They should call the priests of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. (James 5:14,15)
I want to talk about the oil that we use every Sunday, so closely connected to the Lord's healing activity in his ministry.
Anointing is such a holy mystery that we lock the oil up in the Tabernacle along with the Holy Bread and Wine of Jesus.
1.     I am glad that we offer anointing every week. It has baptismal importance for us! We were anointed with oil at Baptism and received the Holy Spirit!
2.    Anointing is an add-on at the end of Service when everyone is restless and ready to go. I'm putting it at the end of our prayers. This is allowed by the BCP.
3.    I want to encourage you as fellow pray-ers to stay standing when I anoint, and add your heartfelt prayers to mine, because St. James also says, "the prayers of the righteous are strong and effective."
Now to the preaching. When Jesus healed, did he mean only to be a "faith healer?" Was he a first century predecessor to Benny Hinn, the fake TV evangelist? (pray for his repentance) No.
There was reason for his wonderful miracles. He loves people, he has compassion on the poor and those who are so very sick and those possessed by the Evil One. So he reaches out his God-hand and makes folks whole.
Of course, these folks probably got sick again, and I know 100% of them died. But they died knowing the love of God!
"Look, world. The Father says: "During his ministry, Jesus healed the physical, mental and emotional body. He even emptied the tombs of the dead, Lazarus by way of example."
"But his healing is an Advertisement, a Preview of what he is doing for the whole human race. By his cross Jesus will heal you into eternal life!" ("Heal" and "save" are the same Greek word.)
Peter ran after Jesus to catch him as if he were a Leprechaun for the village to see and get healed. But Jesus didn't hang around to be a sideshow freak. He went on to other villages to be the living sign of God's will.
Is it a good enough reason to go after Jesus only because he heals? Well, no. St. Peter was wrong. Like the other followers, he didn't get it, yet.
Many people are angry at God because he didn't do what they wanted. We all know people who have divorced God because, "what good does He do?"
My guess is more than half of this congregation are in that sump pit. Pray that they get lifted out and saved.
On Thursday night, after Jesus was arrested, Peter fled the High Priest's palace because he had totally misread Jesus. All that year, Peter thought Jesus was coming to be the strong man from God. Then he discovered the real meaning of healing and its dreadful cost...the life of God Jesus!
You and I have also been pulled to the foot of the cross to see the ultimate reason Jesus heals. We repent for trying to make him a supernatural coke machine, a no buck no luck Benny Hinn miracle worker.
Peter knew and we know what it took to heal us, to save us, his own passion and death. And resurrection. Can't forget that!
Sherwin-Williams had a paint advertisement, showing a gallon of their product covering the whole globe.
That's what Jesus did when he died. He covered the whold world, the whole cosmos with his blood to change us into healed/saved people.
As God trusters we will follow Jesus through any joy, happiness, wealth, health; or pain, suffering, privation and even death itself because we have the Big Healing.
Is it right to hope Jesus will heal us with prayers and oil applied from hand to pate by a priest? Well, yes. In this little vial is our hope for healing, it contains Jesus' loving promise to us.
But first, we pray, "Thy will be done." We submit to, bow to, defer to, yield to, surrender to god's will.
Did you know that submission is what Baptism does? Did you know that Confirmation is a solemn vow of submission?
The "Our Father" is a prayer of submissdion: "Thy will be done."
If God decides to answer a prayer in his way but not ours, we say, "Father, I am in your hands. You have anointed me today with salvation. Thank you so very much. Your loving Godchild, Jim. PS. I'll be back for more of the same!