Joint Committee Struck Between Anglicans and Lutherans

Over the last few years, there has been an incredible increase in attacks on the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Certain persons in positions of power have done and said things that has given permission by proxy for homophobic, transphobic, and biphobic actions and attitudes. Quite often, the arguments against the existence 2SLGBTQIA+ people claim to be of a scriptural nature, with leaders from within the church frequently heading the attacks on the community. Statements like “Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve” and people quoting Leviticus as well as a handful of verse from throughout Paul’s letters are used as bullying and fear tactics to get the public riled up against people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+.

However, there are church folk out there, clergy and lay alike who are starting to get louder with statements of love, standing in support of minority groups in the name of Jesus, declaring that Jesus called Christians to love, not hate, and that everyone is a blessed child of God.

A response from two religious groups based in Winnipeg to the anti-2SLGBTQIA+ rhetoric was to form a joint committee to address the issues that have been arising around the treatment those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+. The Manitoba Northwestern Ontario Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Diocese of Rupert’s Land of the Anglican Church of Canada decided to make use of their full communion relationship and form a single committee called the MNO Synod/Diocese of Rupert’s Land 2SLGBTQIA+ Committee for Education, Advocacy, and Policy. This committee is made up of a mix of Lutheran and Anglican clergy and lay people and has three pillars of focus:

1.      Education

Usually, the reason people fear something is because they don’t understand it. The only way to fix that issue is to provide opportunities for education. Everything from pronouns to how to be a good ally, this committee will be creating educational resources and workshops that will be available to all Lutheran and Anglican congregations and clergy.

2.      Social Justice

Advocacy is very important and when a minority group is doing all of the advocacy work, it can be exhausting for that group of people. As Christians, it is part of our baptismal call to stand up for oppressed people through faith and love. But sometimes it’s hard to know how to do that. This committee will be on the lookout for advocacy opportunities, will share them with the Synod and the Diocese, and will encourage members of both to take advantage of these advocacy opportunities.

3.      Policy and Governance

Both the Synod and the Diocesan policies are long overdue for a review, to be rewritten with inclusive language, and to bring in policies and procedures that reflect support of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This committee will comb through policies and canons in the hopes of proposing changes. As well, the hope of the committee is to help parishes who want to be truly inclusive by creating policies as simple as enforcing church buildings to have all gendered washrooms.

Under these three pillars, this new committee desires to provide support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community within the MNO Synod and the Diocese of Rupert’s Land as well as helping parishes who wish to become inclusive churches to do more than the words “all are welcome” could ever convey. A committee such as this reinforces both the commitment of the Synod and Diocese to work harder at promoting their full communion relationship and the support the Synod, which is a Reconciled in Christ Synod, and the Diocese wants to provide to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community within and without their parish walls.

God is Light: A Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Easter

Photo Credit: loops7 via iStock

May only truth be spoken, and truth heard. Amen.

While it is a week later for us, for the apostles it is the same evening as when the women find the tomb empty. In the gospel reading, we find the guys hunkered down behind a locked door, everyone except Thomas that is, who is out getting groceries for dinner or something, when Jesus shows up and says, “Peace be with you.” Thomas returns to the room, and everyone starts telling him about what happened. You can picture everyone trying to talk over each other in excitement. And, of course, Thomas doesn’t believe them and becomes forever known as Doubting Thomas.

 

That’s usually where we would sit today, talking about Thomas and his doubts. But I thought maybe we’d give poor old Thomas a break today and talk about the letter from John, instead.

 

No one knows for sure who wrote the letters from John, but with their inarguable parallels to the 4^th gospel, it is most likely that the writers were one and the same. John’s letters are believed to have been written around year 90, about 60 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus and yet there has been no second coming of the Messiah. Conflict and schisms are starting to occur as the letters speak of things like deceivers, liars, false prophets, and antichrists. It is very likely that, just as with the letters from Paul, John is writing to doubters, people who are questioning the events that happened, and whether or not Jesus was indeed the Messiah they had been waiting for.

 

Today we heard the opening of the first of three letters that John wrote to his Johannine community. He is writing to his community about the proclamation that the word of life was revealed in Jesus Christ, and he does so with such certainty as he writes,

“We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.”

 

There is a parallel here to “In the beginning…” from the Gospel of John. However, the Gospel was referring to the beginning of time, before the heavens and the earth were created, whereas the letter refers to the beginning of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, an actual human being who would be heard and seen and touched. John is appealing to his community that what he speaks about is the truth.

 

But what is truth? Is it only things that can be heard and seen and touched?

 

There are basic truths in the world that are assumed and unchanging. Things like the sun will always rise in the East and set in the West. Or if I breathe in, I will breathe out. Or if I touch water, my hand will get wet.

 

But does something have to be heard or seen or touched to be true? In only 60 years, the community to whom John is writing is already starting to doubt the truth of Jesus Christ because they weren’t there to see the resurrection. But two millennia later, Christ has been the truth to generations of Christians who never get to hear or see or touch him except through faith. Those who were present on that day were charged with passing along the message and it is in this same fellowship that we belong, a fellowship that goes well beyond the walls of this building into a world that perhaps has not heard the truth of Jesus Christ.

 

And just what is that truth? The truth is that we are all in fellowship with God, Son, and Holy Spirit and that Jesus became human in order to kickstart that fellowship. And while his death and resurrection might feel like an ending, it is really just the beginning. That while we were momentarily in darkness, the light of God is seen brightest in the light of the resurrection, helping us to see clearly that life isn’t always what it can or should be. We will most assuredly fall short of God’s glory, but the light of God also gives us hope by enlightening our minds and our hearts.

 

The resurrection provides us with the hope that everything will be okay despite the circumstances and challenges we face. Hope, in contrast to the darkness of despair, holds a transformative power. It lights our path with a sense of purpose and belonging in our world, assuring us that things will work out. This hope empowers us to maintain a positive outlook in our personal lives and relationships. It magnifies our well-being, even in the face of life's most difficult challenges, inspiring us to keep moving forward one step at a time.

 

We who live in fellowship with the Holy Trinity can hold off despair when things don’t quite turn out the way we hope, when the Messiah doesn’t return as planned, when shadows fall across our journey, because we know that we will always have an advocate in Jesus who will walk with us and enable us to move in confidence from shadow into light.

 

And we can be thankful that “God is light and in God there is no darkness at all” as God’s light offers the greatest source of hope, the “light that shines in the darkness and is overcome”.

 

The beginning of the first letter from John that we heard today leads us towards a fellowship that is grounded in God’s grace by declaring that we need God in our lives. John is telling us that God invites each and everyone one of us into community with God and with one another. As Debra Freeman writes, “If I walk alone, then I walk in darkness, but when we walk together with God, we walk in a light of joy and fellowship.”

 

To all the earliest Christian communities, and to our community gathered today, John proclaims the good news of Easter. God is light, and in God, there is no darkness at all. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

 

Amen.

Resources:

episcopalchurch.org

pulpitfiction.com

mindfulchristianitytoday.com

"Introducing the New Testament" by Mark Allan Powell

"Feasting on the Word" edited by David L Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor

A Review of the Book "Iron Gold" by Pierce Brown

Title: Iron Gold

Author: Pierce Brown

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Year: 2015

596 pages

From the Back: A decade ago Darrow was the hero of the revolution he believed would break the chains of the Society. But instead of peace, the Rising has brought endless war. Now he must risk everything on one last desperate mission, while other destinies entwine with his. Darrow still believes he can save everyone, but can he save himself?

Personal Thoughts: Death begets death begets death. Iron Gold is the continuation of the Red Rising series (see my blog post about it here.) As with his other three books, Brown captivates the reader with his exciting style of writing, bringing you deep into the characters and making it hard to put the book down.

    The political warfare is ongoing and once again touches homes with the subject matter. Whether we have experienced it or read or watched about it, we can all relate to ongoing war as each side tries to fight for what is right. Bringing about the end of war is not easy and our hero is trying to figure out how to deal with the fact that the war he started 10 years ago has brought nothing but death and destruction with no end in sight.

    I will admit that I struggled a bit with the movement from character to character between the chapters, but I think that might have been more to do with having to try and remember who was who from when I last read the series (which was quite a while ago) and less to do with Pierce's writing. I say that because once I got my memory sorted, the back and forth actually made the book exciting to read because of all the little cliffhangers.

    The Red Rising series continues to be one of my favorite science fiction series at the moment. I look forward to reading the next installment, Dark Age.

A Review of the Book "Melissa" by Alex Gino

Title: Melissa (previously published as George)

Author: Alex Gino

Publisher: Scholastic

Year: 2015

195 pages

From the Back: When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's girl. George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announce that their class play is going to the Charlotte's Web. George really, really want to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part...because she's a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte - but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

Personal Thoughts: Before I give my thoughts about the book, I want to give kudos to Alex Gino and Scholastic for republishing this book under its proper name. Because the story isn't about George. It's about Melissa.

    At first, it seems like the story is about a tomboy trying to find her place in the world. But it doesn't take long to realize this story is about a transgender girl trying to figure out what's going on in her life, trying to figure out how to tell the people she loves, and trying to figure out how to live as her authentic self.

    Gino weaves an excellent tale about what it's like to be a young student learning about their gender identity and the struggles that they have in their life at school and at home. For anyone who is transgender, whether school age or adult, it is easy to relate to the struggles that are found in this story. Melissa knows who she is but the world is telling her she is something else. And when she tries to be herself, she runs into bullies, into teachers who don't listen, and parents who don't listen.

    Thanks heavens for Kelly, Melissa's best friend. We all need a Kelly in our lives, but especially kids in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and even more especially transgender kids. Kelly is the best ally a kid like Melissa could ask for.

    Being that this is a young adult book, it was a very easy read but it was super well done and I think everyone could use an easy read that gives insight to what it means to be a school-aged transgender person. Whether you are an ally wanting to get more of an understanding, or someone who is questioning their gender and wants someone to relate with, go and pick up Melissa at your local library or book store. You won't regret it.

When is an Ending Not the End?: A Sermon for Resurrection Sunday

May only truth be spoken and truth heard. Amen.

According to Jewish law, the body of the deceased is to be washed thoroughly, wrapped in a simple white shroud, and buried. All this is to happen within 24 hours of death.

 

Also under Jewish law, no work can be done on the Sabbath.

 

So when Jesus died as the Sabbath began, the disciples weren’t allowed to tend to his body. Jesus was placed in his tomb but the ritual of cleansing the body did not happen.

 

At the beginning of chapter 16 of Mark, the women who were part of the Jesus’ entourage – Mary Magdalene, James’ mother Mary, and Mary’s half-sister Salome – headed to Jesus’ tomb to complete the Jewish burial ritual.

 

They go anticipating what will be, and what they will need to do. They talk about the plans they have for how things will unfold: Who will roll away the stone? And likely the other details too. Who will anoint Jesus’ body? Do we need someone to keep watch? (another part of the Jewish burial ritual)

 

We can imagine the conversation unfolding as they make their way to the tomb. Conversations many of us have had as we make our own preparations and funeral arrangements for a loved one. We know what it is to be overwhelmed by our grief and to be focused, almost singlehandedly on the tasks at hand.

 

When they got to the tomb, the stone was moved and there sat a young man dressed in a white robe.

 

This man told the women that Jesus wasn’t there, that he has been raised and isn’t there. He then told them to run and tell the disciples that Jesus will meet them all in Galilee, just as he promised.

 

Mark tells us that the women ran away and told no one about what they saw.

 

And then the Gospel just ends.

 

Mark’s version of the resurrection is anticlimactic to say the least. Like much of the rest of his gospel, it is brief and leaves us… wanting.

 

It is believed that monks, as they were transcribing this Gospel, didn’t like the sudden ending and wrote in the “shorter ending of Mark” and the “longer ending of Mark” that adds in details about Jesus’ appearance to the disciples post-resurrection.

 

Let’s imagine for a moment though that Mark knew exactly what he was doing. That he crafted an incomplete ending by design. That he left the story hanging on this moment of failure and disappointment for a reason.

 

Why would he do that?

 

Maybe because he knew that no story about death and resurrection could possibly have a neat and tidy ending.

 

Maybe because he believed that this story isn’t over yet, and he writes an open ending to his gospel in order to invite us to jump in and take up our part in continuing it.

 

Are you ready to take up where Jesus left off?

 

Will you run in fear or will you proclaim the good news in word and action?

 

Author Madeleine L'Engle wrote, “The disciples did not bother to try to understand the resurrection body. They doubted, and then they believed. They believed something so wonderful that it changed this broken, fragmented, beaten-down little group of men and women in a moment from depression to enthusiasm, from despair to new life, vibrant and unafraid."

 

But when you don’t get to hear the resurrection part of the story, as with how Mark ends his Gospel, we are left alarmed and afraid.

 

The women are alarmed, anxious, and afraid. Their friend, their teacher, the Son of God has been killed by the very empire he came to redeem, and now his body is not where they had laid it.

 

What do we do when God is not in the place we expect and have been told and taught to believe God will be?

 

What do we do when God isn’t there and we are unsure where God has gone… where God’s been taken to, how or when or if God will be returned to us?

 

How do you respond to an empty tomb?

 

It is human nature to want clean endings, to want closure. But it was no accident that Mark left his Gospel unfinished.

 

That’s because the story is just beginning.

 

It’s only the beginning; this story isn’t over.

 

It’s only the beginning, and we have a part to play.

 

If you wonder why there is still so much distress and pain in the world, it’s because God’s not done yet.

 

It’s only the beginning, and Mark is inviting us to get out of our seats and into the game, sharing the good news of Jesus’ complete identification with those who are suffering, and his triumph over injustice and death with everyone we meet.

 

If you do not like the end of Mark’s gospel, then write a better one…with your life!

 

You are the end of the Gospel!

 

You want to experience the resurrected Christ? Live as he lived, love as he loved, forgive as he forgave, and believe as he believed and you will experience Jesus.

 

Repent and believe. Turn from your ideas, your expectations, your ideas, wants, desires, and ways - die to your old self - and believe in this good news of new and abundant life.

 

Walking into the newness of resurrected life means and requires us to leave part of ourselves behind. Our old selves. Old ways. And sometimes this happens without our being ready or even wanting to.

 

Sometimes it means leaving things we are not ready to leave behind.

 

Today is not the end of the story. Today is the beginning. The beginning which is not yet known and still unwritten. We don’t know where God… where Jesus is leading us.

 

But we know, and God has promised to prepare a place for us and us for the place where we are going.

 

That is the good news on this Easter morning. Just as Jesus has told us before, Jesus tells us now.

 

Resurrection, new life, often doesn’t look the way we expect, anticipate, or plan. In fact, it very likely will alarm us.

 

Do not be afraid. Follow where Jesus is leading… where Jesus is going… where Jesus is waiting for us to see him and to continue living into the new life we have been given.

 

Mark wants us to know that Jesus’ death is only the beginning. The rest of the story is unfolding before our very eyes and through our lives.

 

We don’t get closure to this story, because it is still ongoing.

 

Mark’s Gospel is “The beginning of the good news” (1:1). Our story is its continuation.

 

Amen.

Resources:

pulpitfiction.com

Always Carry a Towel: A Sermon for Maundy Thursday

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord. Amen.

 

Today we enter the three sacred days. This is the ancient Triduum – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. After the emotional roller coaster of Lent, we take an extreme journey over three days that will undoubtably leave us broken.

 

Jesus knows that things have come to a head. He knows that his final hours are upon him. He knows that tonight he is having his final meal with his friends. And while they might not completely understand, the twelve around the table could feel the solemnity of these final, dark hours.

 

Jesus knew his time among humans was coming to an end and he wanted to leave his disciples with something special, something to show how much he loved them. This brings us back to the prophet Elijah who, as he was to depart the world in a final blaze of glory, offered Elisha “a double share of his spirit”. As the chariot of fire drives off, he leaves behind a mantle, the mantle he just used to part the waters of the Jordan.

 

Perhaps the people around the table on this night were hoping that Jesus would leave them something like that, a memento of sorts filled with Jesus’ power to heal and to perform miracles. Some token of greatness that they can take with them after Jesus leaves them (which of course they continue to deny will happen.)

 

And what does Jesus leave them? A mandate and a towel.

 

Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, which means mandate. And the mandate that Jesus leaves his disciples with, and us with, is to love one another. Not just in simple (or grand) actions, but in authentic feeling, deep engagement, and generous action. Love is the litmus test of Christian witness. Our love for each other is how the world will know who we are and whose we are. Our love for each other is how the world will see, taste, touch, hear, and find Jesus. It’s through our love that we will embody Jesus, make Jesus relatable, possible, plausible, to a dying world.

 

Sounds hard, right? But here’s our saving grace: Jesus doesn’t leave us alone and bereft. He gives us a road map, in the second half of his commandment: “As I have loved you.” Follow my example, he says. Do what I do. Love as I love. Live as you have seen me live. Weep with those who weep. Laugh with those who laugh. Touch the untouchables. Feed the hungry. Welcome the child. Release the captive. Forgive the sinner. Confront the oppressor. Comfort the oppressed.

 

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” This is Jesus’ mandate. It sounds hard but don’t worry because Jesus is going to equip us with the only thing we will need – a towel.

 

A towel: something used to dry dishes, wipe tables, mop up sweat, and dry away tears. While the mantel of Elijah’s power parts water, Jesus’ mantel is a tool of mundane work, a tool of humility, hospitality, and hope.

 

In Jesus’ time, foot washing wasn’t an unusual activity. People walked around in sandals or barefoot and so their feet got dirty and dusty. When they would go into a home, whether theirs or as a guest somewhere, they would be given a bowl to wash their feet off so as not to drag all that dust everywhere through the house.

 

By proceeding on all fours around the table, washing his disciples’ dust-encrusted feet, Jesus is offering one of the oldest forms of hospitality. In this humbling act, Jesus is at the same time showing his love for his friends, showing his friends how to love others, and allowing his friends to experience what it is like to be served.

 

To be on the receiving end of service can make you feel quite vulnerable. It forces you to let go of control, to let someone else do something for you that you know you could easily do yourself. Or maybe if you can’t do it yourself, the vulnerability lies in admitting that fact and accepting help.

 

By experiencing this vulnerability, Jesus’ disciples will better understand how to care for others without coming across as condescending. By being on the receiving end of service, we learn how to take care of the small and mundane details instead of seeking out glory in a spectacular show of allowing ourselves to be cared for.

 

Which leads us into a lesson of humility. Many of us resist the vulnerability of being cared for, preferring to remain in control of everything that happens to us. We prefer to choose what gifts we accept rather than admitting our dependency.

 

How hard is it for us to receive a gift? It brings out a vulnerability in us that really we’d just rather avoid. We would prefer to be like Peter, saying that we would never ask a friend to do such a menial thing as wash our feet. But if we can’t even accept the small gift of clean feet, how on earth are we going to accept the greatest gift of all – the cleansing of sin through death on a cross?

 

In all of this talk about vulnerability in giving and receiving hospitality, there is hope and a lesson to be learned in reconciliation. Jesus doesn’t just wash the feet of his friends. He also washes the feet of his betrayer. Loving those with whom we agree is the easy part. Loving the rest of the folks we come in contact with is a much harder proposition.

 

Jesus could not be clearer: People will know we are disciples of Christ quite simply by our loving acts — acts of service and sacrifice, acts that point to the love of God for the world made known in Jesus Christ.

 

And it will all be done with a towel.

Amen.

Resources:

"Feasting on the Word" edited by David Bartlett & Barbara Brown Taylor

journeywithjesus.net

workingpreahcer.org

"A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams

A Review of the Book "A Gospel of Shame" by Frank Bruni & Elinor Burkett

Title: A Gospel of Shame

Author: Frank Bruni & Elinor Burkett

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

Year: 1993

265 pages

From the Back: The relentless crescendo of revelations of sexual abuse in its Catholic churches has rocked the nations. Just how wide-spread is child sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy? And why hasn't the Catholic Church done more to stop it? Journalists Frank Bruni and Elinor Burkett provide the answers to these questions and more. The answers, however, turn out to be infuriating and heartbreaking, difficult to accept but impossible to dismiss. The authors thoroughly document dozens of cases across the country and reveal how this heinous abuse of trust has been tacitly sanctioned by the Church's silence. Containing unforgettable accounts of individual and institutional cover-ups, A Gospel of Shame will serve those who need and want an analysis of the scandal that is currently rocking the Catholic Church.

Personal Thoughts: The Catholic Church has a horrendous reputation. Very often, when people talk about Catholic priests, the conversation also includes the topic of child molestation and sexual abuse. I have heard these things for most of my life and became hyper aware of it the closer I got to becoming a priest myself. I wanted to know more about it and how things got this bad. I found A Gospel of Shame at a book fair and snatched it up.

    The book contains stories from survivors and their families, their lawyers, and anyone else brave enough to share their story. I will admit, it took me a very long time to read this book because of how personal the accounts were and how much detail was contained in these few pages. It became increasingly difficult to read about how the church, from top to bottom, covered up these events, and that the most common solution was to simply move the priests to different parishes while sweeping the sexual abuse under the rug.

    Bruni and Burkett did an amazing job of bringing forth these events with all the sensitivity they deserve while still being forthright with the unacceptable answers from the Catholic Church about the criminal events taking place within its walls. As difficult as the topic is to explore, I think it's important for the world to understand what happened and how the church worked so tirelessly to cover it up. Without that knowledge, there would be no way to fight for change.