Daily Office Reflection: I Am With You Always.....

Psalms 75, 76 * 23, 27; Judges 5:19-31; Acts 2:22-36; Matthew 28:11-20

We come to the end of Matthew's Gospel today where Jesus sends the disciples out to make more disciples of all nations, telling them to (and how to) baptize those new members and to always remember..... always remember I am with you always, to the end of the age.

In times of duress and difficulty and uncertainty, it is always challenging to remember these last words Matthew provides us. When we are alone with our grief, with our sadness, if there is no one with us to physically walk along side of us, that feeling of aloneness can be remarkably palpable. That sharp pang can dangerously become the center of our world. It does not have to be the center because something else truly is at the center, and that is God's presence.

That hurt, those sharp edges of despair won't completely disappear because of our realization of who is at the center of us, but those edges will become less pointy. Knowing that love is a part of us, knowing it takes the loneliness to a different place and makes us stronger and more able to take those next steps. Because those next steps are never done alone for we remember I am with you always......

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Do Not Be Afraid

Psalms 69:1-23(24-30)31-38 * 73; Judges 5:1-18; Acts 2:1-21; Matthew 28:1-10

We hear twice, in ten verses, "Do not be afraid". First it is the earthquake producing, lightning-like angel of God who tells Mary Magdalene and the other Mary these four simple words. And then the resurrected Jesus says those same words to them as they run to tell the disciples what it is that they have witnessed....Do not be afraid.

Being afraid is part of being human: it is an instinctual response, one of self-preservation. There are things we should, with good cause, be afraid of in this world. Being cautious around things that make us afraid is not something about which we should be embarrassed. I don't think the lightning-clad angel, or Jesus, are talking about that with this four word phrase. I don't think we are supposed to throw all caution to the wind at all times. I believe we are being nudged in the direction of not letting fear get in the way of faith. We cannot allow being afraid to block us from being open to God's presence in our lives. Fear can shut us down, but we need to move beyond the blocking out reflex and, perhaps, allow the fear to be just one component of our journey, keeping us cautious but not shut down. Perhaps utilizing that fear as a heightened awareness allowing us to better perceive how God is immersed in our lives and always and lovingly with us is a way to turn that natural reflex into an asset that can make us better vessels for God's work in the world.

The fear can be there, so long as it doesn't block us from doing what we must.

jfd+

Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Friendship's Love

Psalms (70), 71 * 74; Judges 4:4-23; Acts 1:15-26; Matthew 27:55-66

In Holy Women, Holy Men (HWHM) today we remember Mary, Martha and Lazarus. A week ago it was Mary Magdalene's day. HWHM reminds us of the various Gospel accounts in Luke and John about the very deep-seated friendship and love that existed between those four people. Certainly there was an equal affection and dedication shown by Mary Magdalene to and reciprocated by Jesus.

When we are blessed with the gift of having friends in our lives with whom we have a deep connection, there is a special bond, a special love that is unlike any other. It is in both good times and uncertain and hard times that we come to really count on those folks who are bound to our heart in friendship's love. In our Gospel account today, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sit adjacent to the tomb in which Jesus' wrapped body lays quiet. We don't know who this other Mary is, but I like to think it is Martha and Lazarus' sister. Friends-to-the-end, there to mourn, remember, still love, support one another. HWHM says: Mary, Martha and Lazuras' (I'm going to add Mary Magdalene too).....hospitality and kindness, and Jesus' enjoyment of their company, show us the beauty of human friendship and love at its best.

The beauty of human friendship and love at its best.... even onto the end....... a good thing to chew on today.

jfd+

Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daly Office Reflection: Into the Whirlwind of Change

Psalm 72 * 119:73-96; Judges 3:12-30; Acts 1:1-14; Matthew 27:45-54

Our readings today feel like they are all over the place. We are at the beginning of the downward spiral that the Book of Judges takes us on. We are at the very beginning of the Book of Acts, with Jesus telling the Apostles to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, and Jesus ascends. And in Matthew, we are close to the end of the Gospel, with Jesus dead on the cross, and the temple curtain ripping and earthquakes happening......Geez, all over the place. And to add to the confusion, in Holy Women and Holy Men we celebrate and remember Bach, Handel and Purcell.

I think we struggle to put order to chaos, to bring some structure to times of insecurity and uncertainty. These readings in today's Daily Office certainly are emblematic of that effort. There are times in life when all we can do is something little, do something that seems innocuous at the time, but do it well. Being able to find a place of centering in that whirlwind can be challenging, but it is not impossible. That centering moment might be only that, a moment, but we shouldn't discount the importance and the wondrousness of that moment. For God is in those moments, as well as in the crappy ones. It is just harder to recognize that fact at times.

Jesus stood in the middle of a whirlwind and was able to stay focused. A good model to strive for, even if we can only manage that calmness in the face of the whirlwind for a moment.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Saint Mary Magdalene

MP: Psalm 116, Zephaniah 3:14-20, Mark 15:47-16:7

EP: Psalms 30, 149, Exodus 15:19-21, 2Cor 1:3-7

We know very little about Mary Magdalene. There is wide speculation about her, most of which has grown, unsupported, through the centuries. Nevertheless, I have always been attracted to those snippets of this person that the four Gospel writers provide for us. I think the Eastern Church got it right so very long ago when they gave Mary Magdalene equal status to that of an apostle. Her dedication, her love of Jesus, her faithfulness in "being there" in the good times and in the horrifying times not only inspire me but also make me pause. Jesus not only healed her but made her the first vessel of the Good News of the resurrection. A faithful and devoted love being repaid with love and compassion and joyful news.

Waiting patiently and yet being active and involved....quietly observing and yet acting where others would or could not are elements of Mary of Magdala that bring me strength and offer me guidance. The Collect for today is a beautiful one:

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities, and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Uncertainty

Psalms 45 * 47, 48; Joshua 8:1-22; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 26:47-56

I have been struck with writer's block lately. I don't think this block is because I find our Daily office readings uninteresting, or un-provoking, as they are the exact opposite of those those two words. I am, simply put, in a transition period of my life in regard to employment and am on a personal roller coaster ride emotionally, and am trying to be circumspect in regard to allowing those emotions to seep into my writings here.

We are immersed in Joshua's story of the conquest of the promised land, today with the second try of conquering the town of Ai. The first failed because of betrayal by a few people, to which Joshua lay prone before the ark of the covenant begging forgiveness and guidance. In Matthew today, we have Judas' betrayal of Jesus. This act follows yesterday's account of Jesus praying to God for relief and than for strength to face whatever may come his way.

Centering ourselves in prayer in times of loss and betrayal, asking God's help to deal with raging emotions, is an important aspect of remaining faithful. Asking for help is another. I ask for prayers to give me strength to face what is coming and to be cognizant enough to discern an appropriate way forward.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Waiting

Psalms: 31 * 35; Joshua 4:19-5:1,10-15; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:17-25

Waiting can be so very hard. Allowing ourselves to be present in what is going on around us and not exhaustively focus on what "may be" takes some effort for many of us. When something is about to happen, when a decision is being awaited, angst, sadness, anger, erratic attention all can plague us.

Joshua has successfully guided the people he is leading to cross the Jordan River in today's Hebrew Testament reading. They observe the holy day and wait. They are waiting for the time to strike their adversaries to continue in their conquest of the land God promised to their ancestors. Joshua is scouting and comes upon a soldier of God, a clear sign that their waiting is coming to an end.

Jesus has been waiting for the betrayal that he has known was coming, had predicted was coming. In our Gospel from Matthew today we have the beginning of the end story, the beginning of the Passion narrative. Matthew has described in the 25 preceding chapters Jesus' journey to this point: a waiting-of-a-kind until the time was right for his own conquest.

Being distracted is a natural part of our existence when we are waiting for something big to happen: a decision to be made that effects our life's journey or the results from a medical examination are two examples of angst producing waits. Notice that in both the Joshua account and in Matthew's Gospel, not only did those folks involved keep active during their waiting period, but they worshipped, celebrated and gave thanks to God, centering their existence around prayer. Prayer won't take away all those feelings that can come upon us in times of anxious waiting, but prayer can help us deal with those feelings appropriately. Those feelings help us know that we are alive.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Surprises

Psalms 26, 28 * 36, 39; Joshua 2:15-24; Romans 11:13-24; Matthew 25:14-30

Yesterday we began the story of Joshua's conquest of Jericho, a story in which Rahab plays a major role. We are told (yesterday) that Rahab was a prostitute, and the story implies that she was a successful one as she owned a house which was part of the wall of the city. She hides the two spies Joshua sent from the king's men and then helps them escape, telling them where and how long to hide outside of the city. They in turn promise to protect Rahab and all her family when they return to conquer the land, provided she keeps their secret and that she ties a crimson rope to the window from which they escaped. The story continues in tomorrow's reading.

In our selection from Matthew today Jesus tells the story of the talents used wisely juxtaposed against the talent that was buried, and thus taken away. Jesus is demanding that his disciples, and through them all of us, be daring and adventurous, to use the gifts we are given and those that we earn, in ways that benefit the development of the kingdom.

There is a swash-buckling-ness to these two stories. They are surprising too. I think both indicate that God will always act in surprising ways, through unexpected people and that we are called not to be judgmental, but open to God's work in the world all around us. We can be surprised and delighted by the generosity of a person who society and our culture has rejected. We must be risk-takers to embolden and enliven this kingdom we are called upon to make palpably present to the world. Surprises are a good thing for us to keep our eyes attuned to, always wondering what God has in store for us next.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Metaphorically Speaking

Psalms 18:1-20 * 18:21-50; Deuteronomy 3:18-28; Romans 9:19-33; Matthew 24:1-14

Jesus talks about the "end times" today. His discussion is spurred on by a question about his response to the disciples exclamations about the beauty of the temple buildings. Jesus foretells the fall of the temple and then his disciples ask him when this will happen, and off Jesus goes describing some pretty terrible events that will signal those "end times".

So many people read these verses with a literal lens, taking them out of context. They see an earthquake, or the start of a war, or famine, or religious persecution, and say Aha, we are at the end: Jesus is a'comin soon! So much damage has been done by these literal minded zealots. Such dangerous and deadly actions have been perpetrated throughout history. We don't have to look far back to find examples, nor is it hard to look around the world and find very recent examples of the things Jesus warns about as telling signs of the change coming.

What we are gifted with today from Matthew is the start of a long descriptive speech by Jesus. It continues in tomorrow's reading and into Saturday's, where we will find one of the metaphoric keys to understanding what Jesus is doing here. All ya'll have to wait until Saturday for my thoughts on that. In regard to today, one of the take aways from this Gospel reading is that Jesus is telling us that to be his disciple, to be his follower, will not be easy, will not make us the most popular kid in the class. And that is okay. Today's reading helps us remember, amidst "all the love stuff" (about which I write constantly!), that our journey can and will be difficult, and yet our reading clearly shows us we are not alone on that journey, nor is it a fruitless walk. There is good news in these rather difficult readings we are in the midst of right now.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Keeping Sacred Things Sacred

Psalms 5, 6 *10, 11; Numbers 35:1-5,9-15,30-34; Romans 8:31-39; Matthew 23:13-26

Jesus just lambasts the scribes and Pharisees today: he just lights into them. He has been in an extended conversation with them throughout his ministry in Matthew's Gospel. But it appears that he has just "had it up to here" with them in today's selection.

Jesus begins his chastisement of these leaders of the community saying how dare they lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. How can they twist Scripture to exclude rather than welcome? How can they miss the importance of what is sacred and place that blessing of sacredness, and give importance to things that are not sacred in and of themselves? Jesus condemns them by saying they "have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith." These leaders have become so consumed with who can be "in" and who shouldn't be, that they have lost themselves in the minutiae.

Jesus is making clear, yet again, that all are welcome into this kingdom he was sent to proclaim. All of us.... I cannot emphasis those three little words enough....all of us are welcome. Such good news this morning.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: God of the Living

Psalms 137:1-6(7-9), 144 * 104; Numbers 24:12-23; Romans 8:18-25; Matthew 22:23-40

Jesus flummoxes the Sadducees today with his response to their question about the childless widow marrying seven brothers and whose wife she would be in the resurrection. The Pharisees than give their shot at besting him and are likewise unsuccessful.

I believe that Jesus' response to the Sadducees not only serves up a mortal blow to their arguments, but also undermine any attempt by people of faith to be literalists: or in current parlance, "original intenters". Jesus is saying with his response that God is alive and with us, that God is not frozen on the page of Scripture and the laws and rules that emanate from those sacred texts. God is speaking to us in Scripture, wanting us to question, to learn, to grow: to be in conversation with each other and with God. And I think Jesus proves that purpose with his response to the Pharisees that the greatest commandment is to love God and, like unto that, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is not a frozen-in-time doctrine, but a living, breathing commandment to be actively engaged with the world, loving God, loving our neighbor.

God, Jesus is saying, is among us, with us, a part of our lives. God is not some distant figure to be feared and worshipped. But this loving God is the God of the living, and that statement and belief alone defeats any literalist, strict constructionist, narrow-minded attempts to box-in and define God in human terms. And that makes me smile this morning.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Myopia

Psalms 119:145-176 * 128, 129, 130; Numbers 22:41-23:12; Romans 7:13-25; Matthew 21:33-46

I got a wonderful surprise walking out the door at 6:00 this morning taking Allie for her morning constitution. The temperature has dropped at least 2o degrees, with a beautiful and refreshing wind out of the west. The humidity and heat that has been sitting over the former swamp that is Washington DC for the last two weeks has broken. I have all my windows open, and the air and breeze feels so refreshing this morning.

I am not usually bothered by heat and humidity, and much prefer it to cold and freezing temperatures, but I have noticed that I was a bit crankier these past few weeks, a bit more on edge. Now I recognize that this isn't only a weather induced state, as my employment situation has provided me with some reasons for being a bit off-balance. But I have noticed how the weather not only had an effect on me, but also on the intentional Christian community with whom I serve, as well as the residents of this city. Everyone was a bit on edge, more narrowly focused on themselves and allowing those feelings to control how they live in the world: closed down, unseeing, self-centered.

I think those reactions to heat and humidity we have been living through in this area are analogous to the Balaam saga we have been reading in Numbers and to the parable Jesus tells the chief priests and the elders in today's reading from Matthew. The Balaam - donkey story (which we read yesterday) is partly about being so self-absorbed as to miss God's voice and actions and our opportunities to respond that are all around us. Jesus' parable about the fenced in vineyard and the workers' reaction to the owners' managers and son is similar in point.

This glorious breeze I am enjoying this morning is a tangible reminder about how closed-down we can become when we let ourselves be distracted from being open to the Holy Spirit's work in the world around us. This wind that has wiped away the humidity can be a palpable example of God always reminding us that, although we may make mistakes, we may get myopic and selfish, it is never too late to step out and do our part in building the kingdom, here and now.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: St. Peter and St. Paul

MP: Psalm 66; Ezekiel 2:1-7; Acts 11:1-18

EP: Psalms 97, 138; Isaiah 49:1-6; Galatians 2:1-9

This is a wonderful feast day with readings for The Daily Office which are critical under-pinnings of our faith and of our mission as a Church. Throughout history the members of the Church universal have argued about mighty things and petty ones. Our EP reading from Galatians provide an example of an argument amongst the early leaders of this Church. Our MP reading from Acts also exhibits this mindset of argument. Both resolve though in ways that are faithful to the prophetic words we hear in Isaiah: I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

As humans, many of us like to argue. Many of us like to win, to be right, and we utilize those wins and that right-seemingness as proof that our lives matter, that we are making a difference. Those ambitions and drivers can blind us and mis-direct us. Peter was dead-set against moving beyond the mission to the circumcised until his vision we hear about in our Acts reading today which ends with Who was I that I could hinder God? Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, tells of his argument with the leaders in Jerusalem about his continuing mission to those outside the 12 tribes of Israel and how some of those leaders rejected him, yet others reached out the right hand of fellowship, agreeing to missions focused on different groups, but all with the same underlining mission.

God made us as we are, with many of us contentious and unruly and (at times) tiresome. Our reading from Ezekiel points out to us that God does not get tired of reminding us of our primary agenda when we get contentious and rebellious. And although it is alluring at times of exhaustion to give up, close down, that is not what we are called upon to do. What we are called to do, unrelentingly, is to offer God's loving embrace to all we encounter, to reach out to those in need, whoever they are, wherever they are, and provide them with food, and shelter, and clothing, and companionship, and a community to which they are invited to be a part, and we are to offer them love. Not an easy assignment. Nor a quick one to accomplish. But together we can walk that path and do what we can.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Through the Noise

Psalms 102 * 107:1-32; Numbers 20:1-13; Romans 5:12-21; Matthew 20:29-34

There are times, when I am in a large crowd of people out on the street, and I get overwhelmed by the noise, the sounds, the constant distractions of so many different things going on at the same time. I can find it hard to focus on one individual, or stay a-tuned to the thing I am supposed to be doing. So today's Gospel account of Jesus hearing two blind individuals on the side of the road yelling out to him for help, while he is surrounded by "a large crowd", resounds with me. I marvel at the fact that Jesus could actually hear and notice their pleas for mercy and aid, as well as reach out to them, show his great compassion and heal them, all amidst the noise and tumult around him.

I do not know if I will ever have the ability to not become overwhelmed at times. I do know, however, that today's Gospel reading brings me great comfort. This Gospel explicitly shows me that I don't have to worry about that inability because we have a loving God who does not get overwhelmed and will reach out and help those who yearn for that loving embrace and healing. That is a great thought to carry through the day!

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Holy Women, Holy Men

The Nativity of John the Baptist

MP: Psalms 82, 98; Malachi 3:1-5; John 3:22-30

EP: Psalm 80; Malachi 4:1-6; Matthew 11:2-19

The readings set forth above are, as usual, The Daily Office readings assigned for today, which is the feast of John the Baptist's birth. Instead of reflecting on one or all of those readings today, I am taken this morning with the new book Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints, which was waiting for me on my arrival home from church yesterday evening.

This is the General Convention 2009 sanctioned revision o Lesser Feasts and Fasts. Holy Women, Holy Men contains a bit over 100 additional individuals whose lives have shown the movement of the Holy Spirit. whose impact changed these people and the world and time in which they lived. I am very excited about this updated addition to our lectionary cycle and will continue my habit of incorporating the prayers for these individuals in my Rule of Life and in the weekday Eucharist.

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, retired Presiding Bishop, wrote a Foreword, part of which states: "Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints seeks to expand the worshiping community's awareness of the communion of saints, and to give increased expression to the many and diverse was in which Christ, through the agency of the Holy Sprit, has been present in the lives of men and women across the ages, just as Christ continues to be present in our own day. Faced with circumstances most often very different from our own, these courageous souls bore witness to Christ's death-defying love, in service, in holiness of life, and in challenge to existing practices and perspectives within both the Church and society.....The men and women commemorated in the Calendar are not simply examples of faithfulness to inspire us: they are active in their love and prayer. They are companions to the Spirit able to support and encourage us as we seek to be faithful in our own day."

I commend this book to you.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Human Fairness vs. God's Generosity

Psalms 101,109:1-4(5-19)20-30 * 119:121-144; Numbers 16:36-50; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 20:1-16

Our Gospel reading for today ALWAYS gets to me. I have heard and read this description of the Kingdom of Heaven un-countable times and I am invariably brought up short by it.

A part of my living in this world is looking for fairness and treating people fairly. And Jesus' tale of the landowner hiring workers for the vineyard throughout the day, yet paying the one who worked only one hour the same as one who toiled all day just causes me to squirm. How, in God's Name, I want to ask Jesus, is THAT fair! When I get to the part of the story where those who had worked all day in the scorching heat are talking amongst themselves and complaining, I always find myself agreeing with them....and then those words that stop me short: I chose to give to this last the same as I give to you......are you envious because I am generous?

Jesus tells us over and over again that God's ways, God's time, is not the same as our human petty greed. Jesus says over and over again the Kingdom of God/Heaven is something different. And that God's generosity, God's love, is far beyond our ability to love....so many preachers focus on vengeance and sinfulness - but Jesus points us to a loving God who is so generous as to astound and confound us. Perhaps Jesus, by describing the Kingdom of Heaven with this generous-landowning-winemaker is instructing us to re-think our priorities and understandings of fairness. Perhaps I should be happy that those who find God's love later than I are equally welcome in that generous and loving embrace God holds open for all of us. Perhaps it is not such a bad thing to be brought up short early in the morning.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Defining the Kingdom

Psalms 97, 99, (100) * 94 (95); Numbers 16:20-35; Romans 4:3-12; Matthew 19:23-30

Our Gospel reading for today may seem to pop out of thin air, if we haven't been reading what has been transpiring just prior. For if we just look at today's reading, Jesus appears to have a real problem with people of means, of wealth. But if we take today's reading in conjunction with yesterday's reading (and Saturday's as well), we will see Jesus painting a picture of what the Kingdom of God is like.

Today we hear the oft heard it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. And then he goes on to explain about people being appropriately focused on things that are important, and not transient things that fade. Yesterday, the first part of Chapter 19, Jesus points out the innocence of little children and how their approach to life is what we must mimic to be a part of the kingdom of God, followed by a conversation with a righteous and rich man who has followed all the laws and rules and yet wants to know how to ensure eternal life for himself. And Jesus tells him he should sell all that he owns and give it to the poor and then follow him. It is following this man's sad walk away that Jesus talks about the difficulty of wealth and the kingdom. In Saturday's reading Jesus berates the nit-picking Pharisees about Moses' permission concerning divorce. Jesus talks about the importance of fidelity and commitment and being focused, once again, on that which is important.

I honestly believe that Jesus did not "have it in for" people with wealth. He points to the truth that those of us of means can be at great risk for losing our way because of that wealth: being consumed by our humanness of wanting more, caring for our possessions more than we care for those who need our help. These last few days of readings have all been about being focused in the correct direction, and not getting lost: in the weeds of minutiae; in the caring of things over people; in the intolerance of difference. Scripture is directing us to evaluate what grabs our focus and attention and determine whether we are building the kingdom or undermining it.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Who Are Our Pharisees and Sadducees?

Psalms: 72 *119:73-96; Ecclesiastes 9:11-18; Galatians 5:1-15; Matthew 16:1-12

The disciples are their dim selves in our Gospel reading from Matthew, and Jesus is more than a little exasperated by that dimness. He is very clear with them about what he means when he says Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.....it is about their teaching and their closed-mindedness and their strict adherence to rules and their inability to change.

It is our human condition to look for comfort and familiarity. That understanding of life can infect the church and inhibit the church's ability to grow and respond to God's voice in the world. We have the biggest change agent in history, Jesus, as the leader of of our church, and whose name we bear when we say we are Christian. And yet one of the most constant refrains we hear in church is We don't do things that way because we have always done them this way. Who are the Pharisees and Sadducees today? Is it us?

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Persistence in the Face of Not-So-Niceness

Psalms 56, 57 (58) * 64, 65; Ecclesiastes 7:1-14; Galatians 4:12-20; Matthew 15:21-28

We have a pretty unfriendly Jesus this morning, and cranky disciples too boot. He and the disciples have just left Gennesaret where they were, rather unpolitely, requested to leave the district after healing the naked demoniac who lived in the cemetery. These folks did not welcome Jesus, nor respond to his curing of one of their own, which may have set him a bit on edge, and certainly would have done so to his disciples. So, perhaps this was the mood they were in when another individual from "outside the fold" comes a-hollerin for help.

She was persistent. Jesus ignored her but she kept on following and yelling at him to help, so much so that the disciples ask him to do something about her. He turns to her and is pretty insulting, comparing her and all non-Jews to dogs. She remains undeterred and says "well even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table!" That retort seems to bring Jesus up short and he grants this woman's wish, to heal her daughter.

There are so many times in life when things can seem not to be going our way.I think one of the beauties of today's rather difficult Gospel reading is the reminder that we cannot, nor should we ever consider giving up. Prayer is an integral part of not giving up. Being unafraid to ask for help from those who can give us that help is another part of not giving up. Being proactive about finding that help we may need is also a part of not giving up. We may hope for and pray that we don't have to expend that energy and that the help will appear magically. The reality is we need to be persistent in the face of difficulty. We may not get the exact thing we want, but we will get what we need.

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

Daily Office Reflection: Sharing a Meal

Psalms 50 * (59), 60 or 8, 84; Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3; Galatians 3:1-14; Matthew 14:13-21

When I was growing up, a priest gave a sermon on this particular miracle event we have in our Gospel reading today. The gist of that sermon was that the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 was not some abbra-cadabbra moment but something for more important. The miracle was that Jesus got all those people to sit down in small groups and share. This priest talked about how it was customary for people, in that time and place, to have little pouches (in today's parlance a fanny-pack) in which they carried pieces of dried fish and dried bread. By having all those people sit down in small groups and open up their fanny-packs and pull out their food and offer it to their neighbors, who they did not know, this the priest said was the miracle. An opening of their hearts, one to the other, recognizing the need of your neighbor sitting right next them. Not only recognizing that need but doing something about it.

This burst my child's imaginative understanding of this story, and I remember leaving somewhat disillusioned and ill-at-ease (although as a child I probably would have said "I was feeling yucky".) Yet that sermon and explanation of this miracle story has always stayed with me, has always come back to me whenever I read one of the versions of the feeding of the 5000.

Aren't Jesus' parables supposed to make us uneasy? Aren't they supposed to put us on edge? Aren't they supposed to make us feel like we are perilously balancing ourselves on the abyss of self-understanding and responsibility, not only for our own actions but for those around us? Are we ready to trust what will happen if we allow that abyss to be our world?

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Copyright 2010, The Rev. John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.