A Tribute to Rosemary

 

In Matthew’s Gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus yet another “test” question: “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  Jesus answers without a moment’s hesitation: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all our mind.’  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

 

Love God.  Love your neighbor.  On these two commandments hang everything else that matters in this world.  Period.

 

May I take a moment here to point out what Jesus doesn’t say in response to the Pharisees’ question?  Remember, at this point in the story, Jesus’s crucifixion is just days away.  Death is literally breathing down his neck, and he is rapidly running out of opportunities to communicate the heart of his message.  But when he is asked what matters most in a life of faith, Jesus doesn’t say, “Believe the right things.”  He doesn’t say, “Maintain personal and doctrinal purity.”  He doesn’t say, “Worship like this or attend a church like that.”  He doesn’t even say, “Read your Bible,” or “Pray every day,” or “Preach the Gospel to every living creature.”  He says, “Love.”  That’s it.  Love God and love your neighbor.

 

Okay.  But what does it mean to do this?  How are we to love?  This is where, I fear, our overuse, misuse, and even abuse of the word “love” gets us into trouble.  We claim to “love” many things.  We “love” our favorite celebrities, movies, bands, and television shows.  We “love” going on vacation, or reading a well-crafted novel, or watching the Buffalo Bills play football.  We “love” chocolate or bacon or sushi or spicy chicken wings. 

 

The invitation to love comes from our God who first and foremost wants our love — not our fear, penitence, or piety.  And we have a God who wants every one of God’s children to also feel loved.  By us.  Not shamed.  Not punished.  Not chastised.  Not judged.  But loved.

 

For several months, I have had the humble privilege of visiting and praying with Rosemary in the hospital. She is a beautiful witness of love for her devoted spouse Ted, her children and grandchildren. Ted shared that two weeks ago, a long lost goddaughter who we haven’t heard from in ten plus years heard about Rosemary’s plight from their daughter on Facebook and she hopped on a plane in Florida and flew in on Saturday morning.  His daughter picked her up at the airport and brought her to see Rosemary in the ICU. She brought a collage of photos of how much we were a part of her life as she grew up, a very emotional reunion.  She and our daughter talked and laughed for four hours with Rosemary.  Rosemary’s condition on that Saturday was transformed with joy and hope.  Ted could hardly believe it she was on a high on Sunday as well and their doctor was astounded as well. The goddaughter flew out back to Florida on Sunday. Ted shared that God works in strange ways…

 

So here is a beautiful example of what is it that we are commanded to do?  I believe the call is to follow in the footsteps of the one who stood in the presence of his accusers and enemies, and declared love the be-all and end-all.  The call is to weep with those who weep.  To laugh with those who laugh.  To touch the untouchables, feed the hungry, welcome the children, release the captives, forgive the sinners, confront the oppressors, comfort the oppressed, wash each other’s feet, hold each other close, and tell each other the truth.  The call is to guide each other home.

 

In remembrance of Rosemary who I had the privilege visiting in her home,  listening to her stories about her children and praying with her in the ICU, let me share this blessing prayer. 

 

The world now is too dangerous and too beautiful 
for anything but love.
May your eyes be so blessed you see God in everyone.
Your ears, so you hear the cry of the poor.
May your hands be so blessed
that everything you touch is a sacrament.
Your lips, so you speak nothing but the truth with love.
May your feet be so blessed you run to those who need you.
And may your heart be so opened, so set on fire,
that your love, your love, changes everything.
And may the blessing of the God who created you, loves you,
and sustains you, be with you now and always.

May it be so.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and especially for the gift of Rosemary's faith, courage and her love of God and neighbor. To know Rosemary’s touch, her smile and joyful heart is a gift that guides us home close to the heart of God. May she rest in your tender loving arms and bring comfort to her beloved Ted, her children, family and friends.

 

Being Blessed by my Unchurch Friends

 

As Christians, we need to both bless our good “unchurch” friends and let ourselves be blessed by them. I am not comfortable with the term “unchurch” a reference to folks who no longer attend Mass on Sunday. However, when I research the internet, the labels include jargon like atheist, dechurched, or worse pagan. 

 

I have friends who aren’t professed agnostics or atheists, but they don’t exactly fit the description of a practicing Christian either. They rarely go to church, mostly disregard church teachings, pray only when in crisis, and are basically too immersed in life here-and-now to think much about God, church, and eternity.

 

But, even so, I love them dearly because they radiate life, sometimes in ways that shame me. There’s something about them that’s very right, inspiring even. They are volunteer firefighters, a grandparent providing legal custody of their grandchildren, or caregivers to elderly neighbors and family. Their presence brings positive energy, goodness, love, intelligence, humor, and sunshine into a room. 

 

Don’t get this wrong: this is not to imply that those who do go to church and try to follow the church’s rules are hypocrites and immature, while those who don’t go to church and make their own rules are the real Christians. No. There’s nothing enlightened about people drifting away from the church, thinking they are beyond church, living outside its rules, or believing that a passionate focus on this life justifies a neglect of the other world. That’s a fault in wisdom and maturity. 

 

However, the wonderful energy that we see, and should bless, in the many good persons we know who no longer go to church with us is precisely that, wonderful energy, not depth. But it’s on the right side of things, on the side of life. It’s wonderful, it helps bring God into a room, and it should be blessed. 

 

And that’s why, as Christians, we need to both bless our good “unchurch” friends and let ourselves be blessed by them. God is the ultimate author of all that’s good, whether that goodness, sunlight, energy, color, and warmth is seen inside a church building or outside of it. 

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, bless my unchurch friends, at their energy, their generosity, their warmth, what they bring into a room, and my heart lifts and I believe in God more deeply. God also made their sunshine and their warmth. They don’t go to church, and our faith community sadly misses their energy and spirit, but they’re on the side of life and that implicit faith, is a challenge for me to remain too on the right side of things.

 

 

No Water, Again!!!

 

What’s its like? The Kingdom of Heaven is like the king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a wedding banquet. The king’s guests refused to come I mean the king was furious. Can’t blame him if it’s like most of the weddings I’ve seen that have a lot invested in a caterer, reception, musicians, a priest, florist, invitations so he sent more servants to go out and invite more people. Look we’ve the best calf come on down and they still refused to come now they had their excuses, they had good ones. They had to plow their fields, one had to attend a business, finally the king sends his servants into the street corners to invite anybody they could find and invites everybody.

 

Now his son’s wedding hall is teaming with people of all kinds. The king enters the gala and he sees one person not wearing wedding clothes and he asked a startling question. How did you get here without a wedding garment? He doesn’t ask who invited him or who let him in. Rather, he focused on what the guy’s wearing and he has him thrown out into the darkness.

Question, is God a snob just because the poor guy didn’t have the right clothes to wear to the wedding? However, keep in mind what a person wears for the wedding banquet is the sum total of what we have done with our lives. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says: “As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (3:12-15)

 

 

What Jesus is getting at in his parable is we wear the clothes of our acts and deeds for everyone to see. In other words, a cup of cold water means the difference between heaven and hell.

 

On Sunday afternoon, Maggie our neighbor called for help to install a new shower faucet. Once connected, I turned on the faucet and no water came out. Maggie had a vendor come twice to her home to check the water in her well. She paid $500 for two  service calls and she has no water again. 

 

The wedding garment we might be wearing may be quite stinky from helping our neighbor repair a dry well, or maybe ragged tagged caregiving a dementia mother, or a little shrunken letting the kids have extra money for a class trip, but remember as they finished mocking Jesus at the cross they took the robe off him and placed his own clothing back on him to lead him on the road to the cross probably so he wouldn’t get their robes stained with blood as he carries the cross.

 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that we accept the invitation to your banquet that means we want Jesus blood on our clothes because when we give a cup of water to our neighbor, it’s like Jesus blood touching our sin stained earthly garments and they become whiter then snow and that means they are the perfect clothes to wear to His heavenly banquet table. Next Sunday, you have an invitation from Jesus to attend a banquet, you need to RSVP. What will you wear? What deeds will you perform this week that show Jesus you are most welcomed at his banquet.

 

 

Making Choices

Jesus tells this story about two brothers who are asked to do something.  Their dad asks them to go take care of his vineyard.  One says no, feels bad and then decides to go.  The other says yes and then decides not to.  Jesus uses this story to get to a bigger issue.  He is worried about the religious experts and their salvation.  Because after this story, he refers to the fact that prostitutes and tax collectors who when they heard the word of God preached from John the Baptist, they made a radical change in their life. They had a conversion of heart.

The religious experts didn’t. They were collecting money for the government – they were helping the enemy Romans in suppressing their own people and basically stealing from their own people by charging a little bit extra that they could pocket themselves. Not very Christ-like behavior.

So Jesus is worried that a great tragedy is unfolding.  That if the religious leaders continue to choose to be blind to His presence, if they continue to be deaf to His words, they’re making a terrible choice that can result in a tragedy – them missing being a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

You and I need to constantly be reminded that the call to repentance, the call to conversion, the call to turn away from sin is something we need to hear over and over because the devil is not going to cease trying to tempt us.  There’s never going to be a time where we have completely overcome them.  Jesus knows that – it’s why this parable is somewhat comforting, because neither son really acts appropriately.  The correct response to the father’s command should have been “Yes Father” in word and in action.  But His example isn’t that ideal.  He holds up the example of the son who said “No” to the Father’s request but then changed his mind and went.   Which highlights the fact that Jesus doesn’t ever use examples of people who never stray, who never doubt or question when he’s teaching. In fact it’s quite the opposite – The gospels are filled with examples of people who struggle, who disappoint, who fall away. And consistently, Jesus rejoices in the moment of conversion, holds up as an example the time when the person realizes they’ve messed up and turn back to him.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, there are choices and decisions we are confronted with every day that will either bring us closer or further away from the Lord.  Wherever we find ourselves right now, the importance of being both people of word and action is essential. Our Loving Father constantly is calling out to us… looking at us, His sons and daughters, seeing the great potential that is possible within each of us… Longing for us to hear that truth, and come back to Him, come back to His vineyard.