What's on your heart?

When I ask that question, my mind returns to the deployed combat setting where I served as a chaplain. In that setting I regularly learned what was on the heart of many young men and women. When I had the chance to talk with them, when one of these young GIs came to me for counseling, or to just talk, inevitably, they would unfasten their flack vest, open the breast pocket of their uniform shirt and pull out a picture. On that picture would be a variety of people. Sometimes it was mom and dad, other times it was boy or girl friend, for others it was their husband or wife, and still others it was their children and spouse.

What’s the point? The point is that it became very, very clear what remained on the hearts of these fine young people – their loved ones. In the midst of combat, they kept them as close to their hearts as they physically could even though separated by thousands of miles.

Today, in the OT, we learn of the vestments that God instructed Moses to make. They would serve as the proper attire for the priest to wear in the presence of God.

He was to wear an ephod…much like this stole. And on the ephod, they were to attach two stones, one at each shoulder. On these two onyx stones they were to inscribe the names of the 12 tribes of Israel…6 on each stone. The Ephod would be attached to the body of the priest with a skillfully woven waistband…much like this cincture.

Moses was also to prepare an over garment, much like that chasuble laying over there. On the over-garment God instructed them to place 12 unique and precious stones. They were to attach them to the front and center of the garment. One stone for each tribe of Israel, and the name of the tribe was to be inscribed onto the precious stone. The priest was to wear this over the ephod.

So the priest would go before God with nation of Israel, the people of Israel, inscribed on his shoulders, and the names of each tribe, representing each person of Israel, upon his heart. Whenever the priest went before God, he came with all of Israel upon his heart – whether he mentioned their names or not. This is a prayer of the heart

What’s on your heart?

Today, we hear the gospel begin…”Jesus prayed for his disciples…” In the book of Hebrews we learn that Jesus is our great high priest, and that at this very minute he is interceding, praying for you. What is on Jesus’ heart? You! Your name is written on His heart, and He brings you before His Father constantly! It is a prayer of the heart.

What’s on your heart?

The gospel continues…Jesus is praying “Father as you have sent me, so I have sent them…” Jesus was praying, and is praying right now, for you, you are on his heart. And now He wants us to do likewise, like Aaron of Old, to come before Him with people on our hearts!

What’s on your heart?

My brothers and sisters, it is impossible to have missed the clarion, repetitive call from the scriptures these past weeks, one would have had to been away from church to have missed it…Jesus reiterates over and over and over again…love one another as I have loved you. I don’t intend to speak on this again this morning. But I do want to give you a “how to” how to love each other as Jesus loves you. We are not called to gossip, criticize or condemn, rather I would suggest that we are called to carry them close to our hearts, bear them up before the Lord in prayer. Write their name upon your heart.

Michael Ramsey, the 100th ABC, said it this way…”Be with God with people on your heart”. Pray for them, keep them on your heart.

The young GIs carried pictures, Aaron carried stones and precious jewels…I wear this stole…all to remind us of others, others whom we are called and commanded to love. It’s the prayer of the heart.

What’s on your heart?

Jesus said, “Love your enemies, pray for those who despitefully use you.” Now, how do you do that? I think it is easier than we have been led to believe. IF you will set yourself to pray for those whom you have difficulty loving, whom you have a much easier time really not liking, or even, dare I say, hating…I really believe that before long, as you keep them in prayer, your heart will soften, the Love of God will transform those fickle human feelings with the Agape of God, and you will begin to love them – in word and deed. Forgiveness will come and healing will take place.
But it all begins in prayer. We must dedicate ourselves to keeping others on our heart…written on our heart. As we come before God, we will bring them with us, into the presence of God – whether we mention their names or not, and God will use us to minister his love into their lives.

Jesus has us written on his heart. He has sent us as His Father sent Him. He has given us the commandment. The question we must pause to answer is simple…

What, or better yet, who is written on my heart? Who have I inscribed upon my heart? Beloved, let us practice this prayer of the heart for one another, let us come before God with people on our heart.

WHO is on your heart?

In Jesus,
Fr Eric

Bible 101

Greetings All!

For those of you who are enjoying the Adult Forum Class entitled “Bible 101”, below is the link you can use to help you learn the books of the Bible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixMvFdeo-F0&feature=related

Grace and peace,
Fr Eric

I Need a Hug, and So Do You!

Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to hold a distraught child knows that there are two very common results. Either the child will resist, become stiff as a board and struggle for freedom, or the child will grow calm, the crying will cease, and all will become quiet as the little one is comforted in your arms.

In the book of Isaiah, God declares that His people need to be comforted. That’s you and me! We need to be comforted. Later in that same chapter ( Isaiah 40) we learn that God will tend his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom. That’s you and me too.

I believe we are much like infants and young children who get caught up in the cares and occupations of our lives. Time, for us, becomes compressed, the more we find to do, there more there is to do, and before we know it, we can never catch up. We become so busy that our time with God suffers. Soon prayer becomes something we only have time for on Sundays when we get to church.

In Psalm 85, we are encouraged to turn our hearts to God, to open our hearts to Him. Again, when you have the chance to hold an infant or young child, as they finally come to rest and quiet, you can feel their little heart beating against you…and they can feel your heart beating as well.

As we say in my home, “I need a hug.” Perhaps, especially in this season of the year, we need to take time and, figuratively so, allow God to hug us, to hold us, to comfort us. I believe we need to purposely take time each day to simply “be” with God…simply rest quietly in Him, if only for a few minutes. I think it is good for us to set apart a time each day that we can intentionally desire to feel the heartbeat of God.

Winners and Losers…

When I was at seminary there was much ado about what would happen at the General Convention, what would take place…who would “win.” We seminarians offered many opinions, most with the accuracy of a squirt gun. But I recall one of our professors hit the nail on the head. He said “I don’t know who is going to get what out of this Convention, but I do know one thing, and that is what really matters. At the end of the day we will all have had Eucharist together.”

What my professor was saying was that regardless of the different opinions and desires being brought to the Convention, what was important was that in the midst of discussion and posturing, everyone would pause to pray together…in common prayer. What makes worship in the Anglican Communion so wonderful is that we have common prayer. Regardless of where you go in the United States, you can step into an Episcopal Church, pick up a Book of Common Prayer, and pray together with complete strangers just like you are one of the family.

We are in the midst of an election. With elections come divisions. Republican, Democrat…liberal, conservative…drill, don’t drill…on and on the divisions go. But at the end of the day, what is truly important is that we can pause, gather together and have common prayer. Regardless of your position on ANWR, the economy, or health care.

This is the blessing that the Book of Common Prayer offers us. This is the wisdom that Anglican Spirituality provides. Because of the Book of Common Prayer, we can gather together and pray together. Pray the prayers that have been with us for decades, centuries, and millennia. Pray without fear that a prayer will be politically charged so as to support one segment of the community while alienating another segment of the community. The Prayer Book focuses our prayer, our worship, and our liturgy with laser-like accuracy upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I always cringe and am most often very disappointed when I attend a clergy function and the Book of Common Prayer is set aside in favor of a liturgy or prayer from a different source. Why? Because most often those sources betray their political leanings in the liturgy or prayer…and without warning, in the midst of said liturgy, I become involved in a charged environment that takes my focus off of Jesus Christ and upon the inventions of man. Again, unashamedly, I thank God for the gift of the Book of Common Prayer.

So, who will “win” this coming election? I don’t know. But I do know this:
If we fail to gather together and share in common prayer…
If we fail to gather together to worship our Lord…
If we fail to come together as the Body of Christ and celebrate Holy Communion…
Then each of us will lose.
BUT…
If, at the end of the day Christ Church will have gathered together to share in common prayer…
Will have worshiped together…
And will have shared the Holy Communion of our Lord Jesus Christ together…
Then we win.

It’s not about politics, it’s not about our opinions…it’s about the Lord Jesus Christ. You shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, with all your heart, and with all your strength…

Play Ball!

I’m sure that many of you at one time played a pick up game of softball or baseball in your youth. In those days, it didn’t matter what position you played, really, just that there were enough kids to make a team. Everyone ran out into the field, forgetting all the troubles in the world, and life was transformed for those few hours that the game was played. But then we grew up; just having a team wasn’t enough. It was important that the right people were put in the right positions to play the game, and some became benchwarmers. Coaches became an important part of the team, and they decided who had the talents to play each position. Occasionally, there were those who had the talent to play many positions, but they were always dominant in one. For example, I knew a young man who was a human vacuum at shortstop position, and he could easily play many other positions, but shortstop was his specialty. Why am I talking baseball? Because baseball is about gifts and talents. It is about getting the right people in the right positions, it is about coaches and players, it’s about a team working together to accomplish the mission.

You know, church is a lot like baseball. The Holy Spirit has given us special abilities, gifts, and talents to put to use in the church. In that sense, it is important that we are able to find our starting positions, and “play ball.” The Feast of Pentecost celebrates that moment when the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church, empowered the members of the church to serve, and gave life to the Body of Christ. In his Pentecost sermon, Fr Joel said “All were filled with the Holy Spirit, not some. Each of us is a full participant in the activities of the Church.” This is exciting! Each of us is called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be an active member in the Body of Christ. Life is once again transformed because each of us has a position to play, each of us is a starter. There are no benchwarmers in the Body of Christ. (If you can find that gift listed in the Bible, please let me know!)

What is your position? Where has God called you to serve? Are you trying to play shortstop when God has gifted you with talent to really play catcher? Trying to do what others do because that is their gift and talent oftentimes leaves us frustrated and wanting. It is important that each of us learns what gift and talent God has given “to me” individually in order to serve. Beginning August 31st, Adult Forum will tackle this topic. We will examine all the various gifts that God provides to his church. We will discuss why God gives gifts, when he gives them, and how he gives them. And we will determine how we individually and corporately operate in these gifts. Make plans now to attend all of these valuable sessions of adult forum beginning Sunday the 31st of August at 10:00am in the parish hall.

Play Ball!

Trinity Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Portions of a sermon from Trinity Sunday…

“Let us make mankind in our image and likeness”. Image and likeness. In the Septuagint, the Gk translation of the bible, the word used for image is ICON. We are created to be an Icon of God. Look around you at this sanctuary, see the icons. An orthodox Christian like those meeting across the street would tell you that an Icon is a window into heaven…much like our stained glass windows are windows into the church. You and I are created to be windows into heaven, windows into God. Said another way we are created to reveal God to one another.

So, image is icon, but what about likeness? Likeness, I would suggest to you, means more like behavior. Acting Godly, behaving in a Godly manner. It is said that in the fall mankind kept the image but lost the likeness of God. And indeed, the NT is redundant and insistent about this message. Theosis, deification, sanctification, working out your salvation… Those terms mean we are changing, becoming more and more God-like in our thoughts and our actions. We are slowly but surely regaining the likeness of God as we journey in faith, leaving the world behind us and seeking God in all things. In everything, from family, relationships and work…. to church, fellowship and service.

So, here’s the question… What is God like? What are we an image of and What exactly are we supposed to be becoming like?

I refer you to the an ancient symbol of the Trinity.
As you read around the outside you see that the F/S/HS are distinct persons, yet as you read from each person to the center you see that each person is God - & there is only ONE God. Hence the term Trinity, three persons of the Godhead, One yet three, Three, yet one. One God, Three persons. That ought to leave you scratching your heads.

But let us concentrate on those center spokes labeled “is”. Theologians have a wonderful term for this…”an unceasing movement of love”. The Father giving self to the Son and the HS, and at the same time sacrificing self for the Son and the HS…and visa versa… The three persons of the Trinity dwell in one another together. Remember all the way back to 2 Sundays ago…Jesus saying in his high priestly prayer of John 17 “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you”. Or even last week “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (Jn 14). Jesus is revealing the inner workings of God, this is Godliness in its most basic form…the Father in the Son, the Son in the Father and likewise with the HS.

My B&S, here is the wonderful part, here is the mystery of the Trinity in its most dynamic reality…Jesus continued his high priestly prayer in John 17 saying “May they (you and me) also be in us …that they may be one as we are one…I in them and you in me…” In Christ, in the Father, in the HS, in the Trinity!

Remember 3 weeks back, the Vine and branches…”Remain in me and I in you and you will bear much fruit…apart from me you can do nothing”.

Outside the life of the Trinity there is only eternal death. You and I are called, destined, indeed created by God himself to live in that unceasing movement of love… we are created to live as the image of God, created to live in the likeness of God.

Let us participate in the Trinity of God. For it is only by dwelling in that unceasing movement of Love may we be like the Trinity. Only then are we able to sacrifice of self for one another, serve others with the only motive being love. Only then will we be both the image and likeness of God, the icon and behavior of God.

The Body of Christ

The Blessing of the Body of Christ:

One of my favorite Christian music artists is Rich Mullins. I logged many, many miles listening to Rich on my iPod as I jogged across the German countryside. To this day I enjoy Rich’s music because it provides a challenging and engaging theology set to music, as only he could sing. Although Rich died 10 years ago, his music is still played in many Christian circles. His most famous song, though in my opinion not nearly his best, is entitled “Our God is an Awesome God”.

I recently read a biography on the life of Rich Mullins (Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven) and want to share a thought with you.

Sometimes we struggle with going to church. We are tired, schedule ourselves for other events that generate a time crunch, or have company visiting. Sometimes we come to church and dislike the format, the music, the sermon, or perhaps even something else. In doing so, we loose sight of what is really taking place. We loose the sense of miracle and mystery that is happening. We forsake the gift that God provides us in exchange for a trinket of our own choosing.

Why do we come to church to worship rather than, say, take a nature walk on Sundays? Rich answered it this way, “You go to church to be part of the body of Christ, and you do that by interacting with other members of the Christ’s body.” Mullins believed that “the church gave him the truth, because it allow him to express his faith, and because it gave him a chance to be a part of the body of Christ”. And that is what gave Rich his true identity – a member of the body of Christ.

Aside from the creed, the hymns, the word of God, the sermon, and even aside from Holy Communion, Rich believed there was something more that we both needed and received only through the Church.

“God works through many means to reach us (nature, books, sometimes even supernatural experiences), but His primary means is through each other. We carry Christ to one another. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer explained and Rich believed, ‘I need the Christ that is in you, and you need the Christ that is in me. We need each other.’ As C.S. Lewis said, ‘we are carriers of Christ, whether consciously or unconsciously.’”

“The Church is not a group of people brought together by their common interests. The church is the body of Christ, a disparate group of people who have one thing in common: we are joined to the same head, which is Jesus, and we are the members of his body. The church is the place of our nurture. When we dwell with one another, even though we may disagree, we are commingling with Christ.”

My brothers and sisters, in the Easter epic, Christ gave his body so that you and I may become his body, the body of Christ. Let us both desire and enjoy assembling together to worship our Lord and King.

Be God’s,
Fr. Eric