The Elders

“Despite all of the ghastliness that is around, human beings are those that are made for goodness. The ones that are held in high regard are not the ones that are militarily powerful, nor even economically prosperous. They have a commitment to try and make the world a better place. We - the Elders - will endeavour to support those people and do our best for humanity.” DESMOND TUTU

Johannesburg, South Africa (July 18, 2007) – Out of deep concern for the challenges facing all of the people of our world, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, and Desmond Tutu have convened a group of leaders to contribute their wisdom, independent leadership and integrity to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems.

Nelson Mandela announced the formation of this new group, The Elders, today in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday. He was joined by founding members of the group, Desmond Tutu, Graça Machel, Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson and Muhammad Yunus. Founding members, Ela Bhatt and Gro Harlem Brundtland were unable to attend...

You can find out more about this group here: http://www.theelders.org/welcome/

Here's one news story about them: Can world's 'Elders' help solve Darfur?

NPR had this story: Jimmy Carter Fights Back in Darfur Exchange

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I pray that they can help find that allusive peace in Darfur (and in other regions).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Just Say No to Steroids

Marion Jones, the former track and field star who admitted Friday in federal court that she used performance-enhancing drugs leading to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, relinquished the five medals she won at those Games to the United States Anti-Doping Agency yesterday...

One of Jones’s gold medals came in the 4x400-meter relay. Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the U.S.O.C., said that Jones’s teammates in that relay would probably have to return their medals because the race had been won unfairly. He said that he hoped they would return them voluntarily before the I.O.C. acted to force them to do so. (from the NY Times - October 9, 2007)

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One of the truths of steroid abuse is that it robs not only the athlete but their teammates and the sport itself of the true joy of competition and the love of the game.

Steroids and illegal performance enhancing drugs are ways to cheat the game and cause so many of us to stop watching. What's the fun and entertainment if the athletes can't do it with their God given talent? But the truth is, we as a society have turned a blind eye to the abuse of performance enhancing drugs because of our wanting victory at all costs for our teams and athletes.

It's time as a society that we just say no to steroids.

(Note: Having a son who has asthma and from time to time needs a steroid to help his breathing, many drugs including steroids having their beneficial uses too. Its the abuse of them in non-medicinal ways that we need to stop.)

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Just Say No to Torture

President Bush, reacting to a Congressional uproar over the disclosure of secret Justice Department legal opinions permitting the harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, defended the methods on Friday, declaring, “This government does not torture people.” (from NY Times - October 6, 2007)

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The Rt. Rev. George E. Packard, Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies for the Episcopal Church, issued a statement September 15, 2006 that was delivered to both houses of Congress, reminding them of "the cherished values of our nation" in recognizing and upholding human rights.

"I want to be clear that we believe that those responsible for the violence and terrorism in our world must be punished for their acts and their disregard for human life," Packard said.

"I also recognize how difficult it is to ask that the United States deal justly with those who attack us. Yet that is exactly what we are called to do if we are to uphold the cherished values of our nation and to regain our credibility as a nation that recognizes and upholds human rights." (from http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3654_77890_ENG_HTM.htm)

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Executive Council Resolution: Condemn the Use of Torture - March 12, 2007

Resolved, That the Executive Council meeting in Portland, Oregon from March 2-4, 2007, condemn the use of torture and the practice of extraordinary rendition; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council call upon the United States government to renounce and cease the use of these practices in order to be in compliance with “The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment”, to which the United States is a signatory, and to enact policies to prevent the use of these practices both domestically and abroad; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council call on the United States government to provide just compensation for the victims of torture and their families; and be it further

Resolved, That members of the Episcopal Church, including military chaplains, commit themselves to supporting U.S. military and civilian personnel who refuse to obey orders to practice torture or engage in extraordinary rendition or who face discipline for exposing such illegal conduct.

Explanation: Nicene Creed, we confess that our Lord Jesus Christ was a victim of state-sponsored torture: "For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried." Remembering our Lord's suffering for us, and in imitation of his example, we commit ourselves in our baptismal covenant "to strive for justice and peace among all people", and to "respect the dignity of every human being".

Consistent with this promise, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church has adopted and promoted Amnesty International's program for the prevention of torture (EXC061, 1984). The use of torture is manifestly contrary to Christian faith and teaching, and erodes the credibility of the United States Government at home and abroad. This resolution calls for a renewed commitment to opposition to torture in all its forms and for appropriate care for victims of torture. Copies of relevant United Nations' declarations can be found at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/intlinst.htm.

Note: Extraordinary rendition is the practice of sending prisoners to other countries in which it is not illegal to use torture, as a means of bypassing our laws and constitution, which forbid torture.

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Since we are still having the debate one year later about what torture is and what methods can be used, it seems like a good idea to remind our leaders to just say no to torture.

To find out how you can help, go here:
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture

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Sermon: October 7

We could begin with the biblical plague that seemed to drop down on the Yankees pitchers on Friday night, or the salvation of the Red Sox by a child who caught a foul ball but instead I have a couple of images for you…

Superman's "S"

Batman's "Bat"

Just holding up the symbols and you knew the superheroes. We know them from childhood and they become part of our memories (comics, cartoons, TV). We watch new films of them and we still love them. Even with everything against them, the superheroes are able to stand up against evil and save the day. But as much as our culture loves the superhero, the warrior who wins the day, we don’t need superheroes.

We remember those whose heroic acts changed our world or saved the day, and so often did it in quiet, and simple acts. Those that paved the way for our better days. I think of…

Alvin York, a simple farmer from Tennessee, whose bravery in World War I, led him to become the most decorated soldier of that war, he helped turn the tide of the battle of Argonne Forest in France and whose nearly single handed bravery captured over 130 German soldiers and allowed the allied forces to continue the battle toward victory. He is best known because of the classic film, Seargent York, when Gary Cooper played him in the movie.

Or a Rosa Parks whose tired feet, led her to sit down and refuse to give up her seat to a white woman andgo sit in the back of the bus. Through this simple action of civil disobedience, she helped start the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and is often called the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.

Heroes of America who were not born in the limelight but who had a profound effect, and whose faith helped them in the struggle. We might think to be like them that we have to have a great faith that we need to ask like the disciples did, increase our faith, Lord. Let it be huge so we can do great things.

But when Jesus talked of faith, he doesn’t talk about it using the mighty sequoia or the redwoods of California, the great cedars of Lebanon or the great charter oak of CT.

No. He talks about faith as a mustard seed…

Jesus said, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.”

Mustard Seed. Small. Tiny.

It is as if Jesus is not expecting huge faith from us, from which we would do superhuman feats of faith and goodness. There is no superhero faith because Jesus knows if we strive for that, then we will lose the faith we have.

We all have faith and doubts, struggles with our faith. Alvin York gave up Christianity after his father’s death, lived a rather immoral life but came back to the faith a few years later.

Its easy to have faith when all is going well, the struggle occurs when all is not well, too often we find our faith wanting and we lose any sense of it.

But Jesus wants us to have faith, as simple and small as a mustard seed, for then we can live in the midst of struggles and tragedy, in the midst of good and bad times, believing that good will come again, that there is a deeper meaning for our lives on the journey we each take.

“Faith is better understood as a verb than as a noun, as a process than as a possession. It is
on-again--off-a-gain rather than once -and-for-all. Faith is not being sure where you're going but going anyway. A journey without maps.” (Frederick Buechner)

A great description: faith is something we rely on but sometimes lose, having faith is taking a journey without maps. It is why we come back here, each week, to be with one another, to pray and celebrate and give thanks, to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Alvin and Rosa acted with the faith they had in them, that small mustard seed faith, that led them down paths they did not know but they followed…

I think of a story…

After church one Sunday, a parishioner pulled the pastor aside. He was a dedicated member of the parish’s ministry to the sick and homebound. Just the day before he had visited the local hospital and discovered that a young couple in the church had just had a baby: a little girl with Down Syndrome. “I didn’t know what to say,” the man said to the pastor. “We visited for a few minutes. They let me hold her and I told them she was beautiful . . . I didn’t know what
to say.” He went on to describe how he had prayed with the couple, thanking God for their child and asking God’s peace and blessing on the family.

The pastor assured the man that he had said exactly the right thing and that his words and gestures were appropriate and kind. The pastor said he could not have done better
himself.

A couple of weeks later the man again pulled the pastor aside and showed him a note from the young mother. She thanked him for his visit and prayer and then concluded her note: “Thank you for not saying what so many people said and telling us how sorry you were. We are so happy to have our baby. Thank you for sharing our family’s joy.”

“That’s great,” the pastor said.

“But can you imagine people telling them how sorry they were?” the man wondered. “Well,” the pastor replied, “I guess they just didn’t know what to say."
[From “Living by the Word: What to say” by Patrick J. Wilson, The Christian Century, June 26, 2007.]

The visitor allowed his mustard seed faith to guide him to give thanks and to ask for God’s blessing on the family when he didn’t know what to say…

It is that reliance on our faith, when don’t know what to say, when we don’t know what to do, when we don’t know where we are going, but to go on our journey of faith, trusting that God indeed walks with us in the bad times and the good and with the hope and the faith that God will lead us through our deserts, through our storms to places of peace and refreshment.

I want to leave you with one last image…

Pictures of the Monks of Myanmar

These Buddhist Monks, clad in red robes, marched in protest to a brutal military junta, hoping for life and to move that mulberry tree (that is the government) with their faith, even when they knew there could be crackdowns, there could be repression. And of course, there is, as the regime has stepped in and brutally stopped the protests.

But they went anyway, not quite knowing what would happen, but with the hope for better days…

That is mustard seed faith.

And its in you and in its me.

We don’t need to increase our faith, we just need to live it. Amen.

Shalom

Questions for Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON
Published in the NY Times: November 19, 2006

This is an excerpt:

Q. You’re very forgiving.

PB. I like the word “shalom.” I use it in my correspondence, I use it in my sermons, and that’s how I sign my e-mails — “shalom.” To me it is a concrete reminder of what it is we’re all supposed to be about.

Q. Because it means peace in Hebrew?

PB. It means far more than peace. I think it’s a vision of the human community. Those great visions of Isaiah — every person fed, no more strife, the ill are healed, prisoners are released.

Join us for our 7 week Bible Study on Shalom.

Sermon: Johnny Appleseed

St. Francis: most well known saint but least imitated

But there was an American, born in 1774, whose life I think mirrors St. Francis in some ways, even if he never knew the saint.

Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman in 1774 in Massachusetts, is an American Legend and our own St. Francis for his love & care of God’s creation, and his humble nature. We know him best because of his planting of apple seeds from Ohio to Illinois. As a young teenager, John’s father helped begin his career by sending him to an apple orchard to be an apprentice. The skills and knowledge he learned would aid his planting of apples for 50 years!

In the late 1790s, he began his journey westward and began practicing his craft by using apple seeds from cider mills and planting those seeds in nurseries. He often gave away the apple trees he raised to needy families. It never was about profit. He often moved west as settlers moved, picking up prime real estate for his nurseries. He would come back to pick up his rent, but often forgave it. He lived his life as a nomad but was not truly poor.

He felt at home in the forests and woods. One author from 1830 collected this story about Johnny Appleseed: “One cool autumnal night, while lying by his camp-fire in the woods, he observed that the mosquitoes flew in the blaze and were burnt. Johnny, who wore on his head a tin utensil which answered both as a cap and a mush pot, filled it with water and quenched the fire, and afterwards remarked, “God forbid that I should build a fire for my comfort, that should be the means of destroying any of His creatures.”

He was known for his generous ways, often giving away good clothing to those in need while he would wear the simplest and roughest of clothing.

- Story: One Family Gave New Clothes -

He also considered himself a Bible missionary and it is said that he was respected by the pioneers and the Native Americans for his service to others. When the Natives were on the war path he knew the woods so well, he was often able to warn settlers ahead of time.

- Story: Primitive Christian -

He had similarities to St. Francis, and his simple & giving life bears all the marks of what the Lord asks of us: “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Amen.

Sermon: September 30

After I dropped the kids off at school, I was jumping through my list of radio stations when I caught a song*…

Hey girl, you know you drive me crazy
[One look puts the rhythm in my hand]
Still I'll never understand why you hang around
I see what's going down

I thought, oh just another alternative rock band singing about love, but wait, the lines of the chorus got my attention…

Do you feel like a man
When you push her around?
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?
Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found

The song is about abuse, domestic violence, and we know from statistics that one in four women will experience such abuse in their lifetime. It is a frightening statistic, that no woman or man should ever experience. That this rock band brings it up in a song and then focuses on the new life that the victim has found is impressive. But what really struck me was its moral understanding of the consequences of our actions…

A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect
Every action in this world will bear a consequence
If you wade around forever you will surely drown
I see what's going down

They got it right. It is our actions (or lack of action) that will bear a consequence, but they also point out that it might not happen in this lifetime as a line from the chorus rightly points out…

Well, I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found

About 2,000 years ago, a rabbi was making a similar point by telling a parable…

There was a rich man who sumptuously lived, dressed richly, eating the best foods. He must be blessed. There was a poor man too. His name was Lazarus. Dogs lick his sores and he longs to be satisfied with the food scraps from the rich man’s table. He must be cursed, lying at the rich man’s gate.

But their fortunes are reversed at their deaths. The poor man is carried by angels to be with Abraham, the rich man is in Hades. The rich man begs Abraham to send someone to his brothers to save them from such a fate, to which Abraham says they should listen to Moses and the prophets, for if they won’t listen to them, they will never listen to someone risen from the dead.

The implication is that those who do not listen, accept, take on what Moses & the prophets say, who have told the people to take care of the least among them, will never understand Jesus & his ministry, even when he rises from the dead. The rich man was in a way blinded because of all his stuff, he did not or would not see the poor man Lazarus who was at his gate. It sounds as if his brothers are the same way. It would have been hard to miss Lazarus, although easy to ignore him.

As St. Paul says, “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

Life is lived with our hope set on our God who has so richly loved us. Things will happen in our lives, and the riches we have one day, may be gone the next, but God will not be gone the next. Our God is with us every step of the way, whether its welcoming a new child into a family, or battling cancer, celebrating a raise or getting out of an abusive relationship.

Our eyes need to be open to seeing our God at work in the world about us, & at work in our lives. But often are eyes are blinded because we can’t look past the stuff we have, too worried about what we might lose, we often sacrifice people, God, even ourselves before we lose our things, but it is then that we have truly lost what is worth so much.

As Jesus said, "you cannot serve God and wealth;" and the life of the rich man is the perfect example. who failed to understand the consequence of his inaction toward Lazarus, living his luxurious life and only in the end trying to save his brothers after his death. We are blessed in so many ways, but our truest blessings are from our interactions with one another. And those of us who have riches in this life, are not to put our trust in them, but to be generous in our giving of them & putting our trust in our loving God.

There are lots of ways for us to be generous in this world, to be rich in good works, or in the words of John Wesley of the 17th Century:

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as you ever can.

To the Lazarus at our gate, to the victim of abuse, our actions are to help them find that new life, by doing all the good we can…

Or as St. Paul puts it, “We are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for ourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of the life that really is life.” Amen.

*The song is called Face Down, by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Video can be found here http://www.kc101.com/iplaylist/artist/777494/ and lyrics here http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/the_red_jumpsuit_apparatus/face_down.html