A Fable: Sodomanians *

The Almighty spoke to Rabbi Ismus, Go now to the land of Sodomania and proclaim to the people of the south that I the Almighty love them.

Rabbi Ismus was deeply troubled. O Holy One Beyond All Knowing, you have no idea what you are asking. Do you not know who they are and what they do?

The Almighty spoke again to Rabbi Ismus, For too long these people have been denied their rights, they have been abused, persecuted, and some have been killed by the people of the north.

Rabbi Ismus was deeply perplexed for he was unable to fathom the words of the Holy One. Great and Holy One, he said, these people are sinners, they are vile in their relationships with one another, they commit obscene acts that you yourself denounced in your written word, they deserve to be separated, punished and shunned by the northern people.

The Almighty became perplexed and he responded to his prophet, you misread my word, you interpret the teaching with deaf ears and blind eyes. You hear harshness and judgment when I speak of love and community. You trouble yourself with divine things, when I created and redeemed human life. Stop wasting my time and pronounce the good news to the people of the south.

So Rabbi Ismus departed from the holy place and made his way by an abandoned road across the land of hypocrisy to the Sodomanians and there he lifted his voice: These are the very words of the Holy One: You are loved by God.

Immediately, the Sodomanians rejoiced and were exceedingly glad. They killed the fatted calf, prepared fresh vegetables, and gathered the wine stewards. They gave thanks to the Great One who they now knew as the Blessed One, the Father of All.

Rabbi Ismus, folded his arms and sat under a banana tree and cried: The world is not the same, even God is a revisionist. How will I ever believe again. I will remain here, I will not move, here I will die!

And so it was: The Anglophiles who had been debating whether or not the Sodomanians were a worthy people went their separate ways, there were those who defended God and there were those who had compassion for the outcasts; and so the fig tree withered ....

* apologies to the Prophet Jonah

Mystagogia #3

As Easter people we are to behold the new creation in the world and in ourselves; strengthened in the hope of the resurrection; living joyfully as children of our loving Father; renewed by the gracious gifts of life we have received; being grounded in the truth of the gospel with fidelity.

The Twenty-First Day of Easter

God our Father, by the waters of Baptism you give new life to the faithful. May we not succumb to the influence of evil but remain true to your gift of life through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 70

That No One Venture to Punish at Random

Every occasion of presumption
shall be avoided in the monastery,
and we decree that no one be allowed
to excommunicate or to strike any of his brothers
unless the Abbot has given him the authority.
Those who offend in this matter
shall be rebuked in the presence of all,
that the rest may have fear.

But children up to 15 years of age
shall be carefully controlled and watched by all,
yet this too with all moderation and discretion.
All, therefore, who presume
without the Abbot's instructions
to punish those above that age
or who lose their temper with them,
shall undergo the discipline of the Rule;
for it is written,
"Do not to another what you would not want done to yourself" (Tobias 4:16).

self-imposed excommunication

A great sadness of the church in this new century is the number of people within her Body who decide for whatever reason to no longer eat at the Table. Years ago, before the Reformation, it was a practice of the church to excommunicate those who were grave sinners in order to encourage them to repent. In this day, as the church seeks to embrace everyone, some of her members find openness so intolerable that they depart and move away from the Table.

Usually, the unhappy, angry, or disappointed depart without a word fading into society and the faith community is left to mourn their departure. It is as though they never were connected to the Life within the Body and unlike those that left they have no remorse. All of this goes on without a word, without dialogue, without a desire to interact with others in order to listen and to share one's pain in order that the Body may be enriched and strengthened.

I pray that these who 'wander the earth' in search for refreshing Bread and gladdening Wine will discover a new homeland, a faith community that is open wide to welcome them home.

The Twentieth Day of Easter

Father, by the love of your Spirit, may we who have experienced the grace of the Lord’s resurrection rise to the newness of life in joy through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 69

That the Monks Presume Not to Defend One Another

Care must be taken that no monk presume on any ground
to defend another monk in the monastery,
or as it were to take him under his protection,
even though they be united by some tie of blood-relationship.
Let not the monks dare to do this in any way whatsoever,
because it may give rise to most serious scandals.
But if anyone breaks this rule,
let him be severely punished.

The Nineteenth Day of Easter

Father, in this holy season we come to know the full depth of your love. You have freed us from the darkness of error and sin. Help us to cling to your truths with fidelity through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 68

If a Brother Is Commanded to Do Impossible Things

If it happens
that difficult or impossible tasks are laid on a brother,
let him nevertheless receive the order of the one in authority
with all meekness and obedience.
But if he sees that the weight of the burden
altogether exceeds the limit of his strength,
let him submit the reasons for his inability
to the one who is over him
in a quiet way and at an opportune time,
without pride, resistance, or contradiction.
And if after these representations
the Superior still persists in his decision and command,
let the subject know that this is for his good,
and let him obey out of love,
trusting in the help of God.

Sinfully Wrong

There is something gravely and sinfully wrong with a world where the division between the rich and the poor continues to expand, where some still live in palaces and recline on ivory couches while others starve outside their gates. In our day, the prophets still speak for a world where the hungry are fed, the ill are healed, where all children are educated and no one is denied the basic necessities of life.

+Katharine,
Presiding Bishop and Primate
of The Episcopal Church

A Secret Life

this town likes its secrets, so many masks worn to hid the pain, doors slammed shut to prevent the eye from seeing the truth, people separated, walled off from one another, unwilling to acknowledge the abyss within and around them, they push others away with a smile or a frown, shunning god, they hold to their fragile self respect in order not to become undone by their unveiled selves.

what is a little weird is that their masks are cracked, you can see their faces in their absence, in their silence, in their fear, and yet they will not come too close, hold back, desiring to remain under the fig leaf, waiting ....

A Poem: ICU

motionless
she laid
in her bed
staring into
the emptiness
of the room

hopeful and scared
following triple bypass
surgery and beginning
dialysis

pictures of family
on table
to her right

she smiled when
i acknowledged her
teddy bear

together we prayed.

Let us remember

The conscious of the world was destroyed by those who were wont to blame others rather than themselves. Let us remember. We revered the instincts but distrusted the prophets. We labored to perfect engines and let our inner life go to wreck. We ridiculed superstition until we lost the ability to believe. We have helped to extinguish the light our fathers had kindled. We have bartered holiness for convenience, loyalty for success, love for power, wisdom for information, tradition for fashion.

Abraham J. Heschel
Man's Quest for God

The Feast of Saint Mark the Apostle

Almighty God, by the hand of Mark the evangelist you have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 67

On Brethren Who Are Sent on a Journey

Let the brethren who are sent on a journey
commend themselves
to the prayers of all the brethren and of the Abbot;
and always at the last prayer of the Work of God
let a commemoration be made of all absent brethren.

When brethren return from a journey,
at the end of each canonical Hour of the Work of God
on the day they return,
let them lie prostrate on the floor of the oratory
and beg the prayers of all
on account of any faults
that may have surprised them on the road,
through the seeing or hearing of something evil,
or through idle talk.
And let no one presume to tell another
whatever he may have seen or heard outside of the monastery,
because this causes very great harm.
But if anyone presumes to do so,
let him undergo the punishment of the Rule.
And let him be punished likewise who would presume
to leave the enclosure of the monastery
and go anywhere or do anything, however small,
without an order from the Abbot.

The Seventeenth Day of Easter

Father, you opened the kingdom of heaven to those born again by water and the Spirit. Increase your gift of love in us. May all who have been freed from sin in baptism receive all that you have promised through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 66

On the Porters of the Monastery

At the gate of the monastery
let there be placed a wise old man,
who knows how to receive and to give a message,
and whose maturity will prevent him from straying about.
This porter should have a room near the gate,
so that those who come may always find someone at hand
to attend to their business.
And as soon as anyone knocks or a poor person hails him,
let him answer "Thanks be to God" or "A blessing!"
Then let him attend to them promptly,
with all the meekness inspired by the fear of God
and with the warmth of charity.

Should the porter need help,
let him have one of the younger brothers.

If it can be done,
the monastery should be so established
that all the necessary things,
such as water, mill, garden and various workshops,
may be within the enclosure,
so that there is no necessity
for the brothers to go about outside of it,
since that is not at all profitable for their souls.

We desire that this Rule be read often in the community,
so that none of the brothers may excuse himself
on the ground of ignorance.

Is This The Church For You?

"They have too much fun. They don't dress like church people. There are too many children. Even teenagers like going to church now. They make the Bible interesting. The pastor tells jokes. Their music doesn't sound like church music. You might actually understand what's going on. They aren't after your money. And who ever heard of going to church in a movie theater?"

For once, I have absolutely no comment!!!

Is There An Answer?

We will never know the hidden suffering of the murderer who massacred twenty-seven students and five teachers on Monday, April 16th. We know already of his insanity and his suicidal tendencies, but within the quiet, sullen Mr. Cho, lived a terrible fear unexpressed and repressed. I can't begin to imagine the psychic pressure that he used to hold within himself the turbulent emotions that would not be contained for ever. Such suffering continued to isolate him more and more from human community, he was indifferent to those about him, he was impossible to reach.

If only he could have found a language that would have led him out of his incomprehensible suffering that made him mute - a language of lament, a cry - a language which at last would define his situation. Indeed, being speechless, walled off from others, is death. A dreadful hell lived within him.

His crude writings in English Class expressed only the outer boundaries of a life so hidden that the day would come that he would explode.

The Sixteenth Day of Easter

Let your people, O Lord, rejoice for ever that they have been renewed in spirit, and let the joy of our adoption as your sons and daughters strengthen the hope of our glorious resurrection in Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.