Mount of the Metamorphosis

 Last Epiphany B      February 15, 2015

1 Kg 19:9-18      Psalm 50:1-6

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9

 Lectionary Link

       How many of you remember one of the most exciting words which you ever learned in elementary school science class?  That word is metamorphosis.  And you remember the context.  It was the stages of the life cycle in the life of a butterfly or moth.  We collected the caterpillars and kept them under glass and fed them fresh grass and we waited and waited for them to die and become the lifeless cocoon and then came the exciting moment when the butterfly or moth broke out of the cocoon and got its wings free and dry to fly away.

  In this whole cycle of metamorphosis, which stage is the favorite stage?  Well, it's always nice to see the birth of a butterfly and see it in full flight, and even better if it is a beautiful Monarch.     What a delightful observation of a law of life and living.

   Metamorphosis; this is the Greek word for Transfiguration, and we usually just associate it with the shining face and the special effects light show on the Mount of the Transfiguration.  We read this account on the last Sunday before Lent begins to have a mountain top experience before we descend into the 40 days of Lent in the wilderness to be tempted by Satan and by all of the ungodly things of life.

  Just as we may favor the breaking out of the cocoon of the newly birthing butterfly, in the story of Jesus, we may prefer some events and stages in the life of Jesus more than others. We love Christmas because it is about baby Jesus.  We love the resurrection of Jesus because it is about Jesus being freed from the cocoon of death's tomb.  We are not sure about like Good Friday or the placing of Jesus in the tomb.  We are not sure about his forty days of temptation in the wilderness alone or his being hassled by lots of opponents or his being followed around by the 12 disciples who seem more like Snow White's seven dwarfs at times.  We like his miracles, his healings, his walking on the water and his story-telling but our preferences do not matter, we get the entire metamorphosis cycle of the life of Jesus.

  And the purpose of the writing of the Gospels was to present the process of spiritual metamorphosis in the lives of each disciple using the presentation of events in the life of Jesus to correspond to the metamorphosis which is happening within our lives as we experience the life of the risen Christ to be born and growing within us and taking us continuously through this never ending cycle of spiritual metamorphosis.

  I say this because the Gospels were written after the spiritual practices of the Pauline churches had been developed.  The success of the message of the spiritual practices of the church required a teaching method to make them available in a discipleship program which could be taught within various gathered communities.  We think of books as being public and open to all; the Gospels as they were first used were spiritual discipleship manuals to provide orientation and initiation into the Christian faith using the story re-presentation of events in the life of Christ.  The Gospel stories provided the subject matter onto which the people who were being initiated into the Christian faith communities could project their own lives and in their projection upon the characters in the Gospel stories one could facilitate with insights  the inner dynamics of spiritual progress for one's own life.

  The goal of the Gospel writings was the transformation of one’s life.  The Gospel writers proclaimed that if one had the risen Christ born within one's life, then one had become aware of a program of the grace of God which is available to all in this life, but it is a program of grace which needed to be tended to and developed in one's life so that one could progress in a program of excellence called Abundant Life.  For the Gospel writers there was ordinary life and within that ordinary life there was the ability to discover Abundant Life.

 We moderns, have taught ourselves to read the Gospels wrongly.  We like to treat them as eyewitness historical records of the life of Jesus but they were written long after Jesus was gone and they were written after spiritual practices had become successful in transforming the lives of many Jewish and Gentile followers of Christ.  When something is successful, it needs teaching methods to make it accessible and teachable to those who were drawn to the abundant life which was happening within those early Christian communities. 

  The Gospels were precisely the methods used to promote spiritual transformation for the candidates of the Christian faith.

  Metamorphosis is about a repeatable cycle and for the butterfly we names the stages; eggs, larvae, caterpillar, pupa/cocoon, butterfly.  The stages have the appearance of being the same in that all cocoon look similar,  even though each occurrence and manifestation of a stage is new and fresh and a first time experience.

  Metamorphosis as a spiritual principle means that our lives change as widening conical spiral and we return to familiar places but on a different level of understanding.

  In the event on the Mount of the Metamorphosis of Christ, we find a teaching about spiritual metamorphosis within the history of Salvation.  The Gospel writers were trying to show how the process of spiritual metamorphosis was a part of the tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures.  Jesus then was a further manifestation of this tradition of spiritual metamorphosis.  At creation God said, "Let there be light and there was light."  There was the external light of the sun and there was the internal light of the spirit which had been breathed into the life of humanity.  During night time or extended clouds we lose sight of the light; there are times when it has seemed that the inner light of the spirit has been lost or covered up or left undiscovered.  The man Moses went up on Mount Sinai and got so close to God with insights that his inner light surfaced to make his face shine when he brought the Law down to his people.  Moses had a death but he kind of had a missing body or unmarked grave; so the apocalyptic writers assumed he was a traveler between heaven and earth.  Elijah was the great representative of the recovery of the prophetic light to God's people.  He did mighty deeds; the light of God in him was a still soft voice which spoke to him.  Elijah did not die; he rode the famous chariot of fire into heaven and so he too was regarded by the apocalyptic writers to be a traveler between inner space and outer space.  And sure enough, these two space travelers met with Jesus on the mount and the face of Jesus shone as an indication that another stage had occurred in spiritual metamorphosis.  Another butterfly event in the process.  There is so much being taught in this event.  First, the past is not in conflict with the present, it is in fact the very support for the present to have occurred.  Jesus rested upon the shoulders of Moses and Elijah and they are happy to see him and affirm him.  Second, the event happened a mountain; the site where heaven meets earth; the site where inner space meets outer space; the site where the collective unconscious marks life by coming into events of word and language so that spiritual orientation is given.  Third, the disciples are clumsy and fidgety.  We don't always know what to do with the truly holy event in our lives; it can make us feel awkward because it is new territory.  It is so fascinating we want to stay in the exhilaration of the event.  We often only want to be in the butterfly phase of metamorphosis; we don't want to be the fuzzy caterpillars and the cocoons of spiritual process.  But we cannot stay anywhere, we must submit continuously to the process of spiritual metamorphosis.  Lastly, the event of the metamorphosis of Jesus is an event of clarity and insight.  It is a spiritual high.  Jesus is declared to be a very Unique Son of God, and we are privileged to witness this, even as we in those moments humbly accept our basic familial identity, as sons and daughters of God, unique in our own quirky ways but not as Unique as Jesus Christ.

  Let us accept today that we have been initiated into baptismal life of Jesus Christ.  The risen Christ has been born within us by the power of the Spirit and we are in this conical widening upward spiral of spiritual metamorphosis.  We are being changed from glory to glory.  We are ever being challenged to live up to and integrate the insights from our moments of profound awakening.  We are ever challenged to accept all of the terrain of life's journey....on the glorious mountain top today; tomorrow in the demon-possessed valley in being vulnerable to some of the worst events in life.   We are ever challenged to love butterflies, tiny little eggs, larvae, fuzzy or slimy caterpillars and silken and dead cocoons. And the Gospel challenges us to have faith to accept and integrate all of the phases and states of spiritual metamorphosis.

  You and I are on this continuous cycle of spiritual metamorphosis.  Hang on for the ride and let us remember today, that we have seen Jesus in such a shiny and unique way, that we can be sustained by this wonderful insight of the Light of Christ in our hearts.  Amen.  

Sunday School, February 15, 2015 Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Sunday School, February 15, 2015  Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Sunday School Themes

The Transfiguration of Jesus

Explain the two events of the Bible which happened on Mountains

Moses received the Law on the Mountain.  And when he brought the Law down from the mountain, his face shone brightly.

Jesus went with his disciple up a mountain and his face shone for his disciples.  They heard a voice say that Jesus was God’s special Son.

So the Law was the special gift of God to the ancient people of Israel. Jesus is the gift of God to those who know him to be God’s special Son.

What is the meaning of Light.

Light helps us to see in the darkness.  The biggest light in our world is the Sun and when it rises in the morning it helps us see things clearly.

Jesus is called the light of the world because he taught to see things more clearly.  He showed us that God loves us, cares for us and forgives us.

When we learn or discover something new, our face “lights up” because excitement makes our face shine with happiness and joy.

Have a discussion about how education and learning and discovery is like a light.

On this Sunday, we also say good bye to the word, “Alleluia” for the entire season of Lent, because we save it as a special word to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

You can have the children write “alleluia” and then bury it or hide it in a place to keep it there until you bring it back on Easter Sunday.

Puppet Show:  Bye bye to Alleluia

Peter

Andrew

Peter:  I’m very sad today.

Andrew:  Why are you sad.

Peter:  Well, I have to stop doing something that I like to do.

Andrew:  What’s that?  Eating too much chocolate?

Peter:  Well, I do need to stop eating so much chocolate but I have to give up saying a word that I like to say.  I cannot say this word for more than forty days.

Andrew:  And what word is that?

Peter:  It is the word Alleluia.

Andrew:  What does that word mean and why can’t you say it for more than forty days?  Sounds like a strange rule of censorship.  I can think of lots of bad words that we should never say.  Why do you have to stop saying a very good word?

Peter:  Well, Alleluia is a very ancient word.  In Hebrew, it is Hallelujah.  And it sort of means, “Yeah God.”  It is a word of thanksgiving, praise and love for God that we shout because God is so good and wonderful.  It is a special word of applause for God.

Andrew:  Okay, but why do you have to stop saying it?

Peter:  Well, do you know what an exclamation mark is?

Andrew:  Yes, it is not a period or a comma or a question mark; it is a vertical line with a dot under it.  And it is use when we write something that is very exciting.  We mostly use periods to end our sentences but sometimes we have to use an exclamation mark to express something very exciting and important.

Peter:  The word “Alleluia” is like an exclamation mark.  And during the season of Lent, we decide not to use it because we want to save it for the most special event of the year.

Andrew:  And what is that event?

Peter:  At the end of Lent we celebrate Easter.  And when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we make the Easter shout, “Alleluia, Christ is risen!”  And this word is like an exclamation mark to celebrate something every special.

Andrew:  Now I understand, but don’t be sad.  By not saying, “Alleluia” for more than forty days it will just make our celebration of Easter that much more special.  So let us say, “Bye, bye alleluia…..we can’t wait until we can say “alleluia” again at Easter.

Peter:  Bye, bye  “Alleluia”  See you again at Easter.

Family Liturgy

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 15, 2015: The Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Gathering Songs:    Shine, Jesus, Shine; Majesty, The Lord Is My Light; I’ll Be a Sunbeam  

Procession Song: Shine, Jesus Shine    (Renew!  # 247)

Refrain: Shine, Jesus shine, fill this land with the Father’s glory, blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire; Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy, send forth your word and let there be light.

1.   Lord, the light of your love is shining in the midst of the darkness shining; Jesus, light of the world, shine upon us, set us free by the truth you now bring us.  Shine on me, shine on me. Refrain

2.   Lord, I come to your awesome presence from the shadows into your radiance; by the blood I may enter your brightness, search me, try me, consume all my darkness Shine on me, shine on me.  Refrain

Liturgist:      Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People:         And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgis:         The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

Liturgist:   A reading from the Second letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus

Christ.Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 50
Children’s Creed
Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph
The Prayer continues with these words
 
Post-Communion Prayer
Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;
People:      Thanks be to God!  

The LORD, the God of gods, has spoken; * he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, * God reveals himself in glory.

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Liturgist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Liturgist:         The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:            And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering.

Offertory Song: Majesty, (Renew # 63)

Majesty, worship His majesty.  Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise. 

Majesty, kingdom authority flow from His throne unto His own;

His anthem raise. 

So, exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus. 

Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King. 

Majesty, worship His Majesty; Jesus who died,

now glorified, King of all kings.

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

 the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

 this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbors.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:        Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: The Lord Is My Light  (Renew! # 102)

The Lord is my light, my light and salvation; in him I trust, in him I trust.  The Lord is my light, my light and salvation: in him I trust, in him I trust.

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: I’ll Be a Sunbeam (Christian Children’s Songbook  # 112)

1.      Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, to shine for him each day; in every way try to please him, at home, at school, at play. 

Refrain: A sunbeam, a sunbeam, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.  A sunbeam, a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam for him.

2.      I’ll be a sunbeam for Jesus, I can if I but try; serving him moment by moment, then live with him on high.  Refrain

Dismissal   

Liturgist:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

Salvation as Holistic Health

5 Epiphany B  February 8, 2015

Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147:1-12, 21c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39

   One of the major issues in life is the issue of health.  Health has many meanings in our lives.   Health and disease have a long human history.  One could say that the entire biblical tradition is about how people have reflected upon the meaning of health and illness.

  We believe that the general health of the world has improved because of modern medical science and we base this upon the statistic of life expectancy, even as we find that people are forced to live longer periods of time without what we would call "quality" of life.

  We would like to think that modern medicine is exact and precise though we know that there must be some hit and miss aspects of treatment.  We know that the perfect success rate of every pharmaceutical is questionable just by the long list of disclaimers that we listen to in the commercials.  In an advertisement about a psychotropic medication for depression we are reminded to consult a physician if we experience suicidal tendencies and one wonders why would one want to market such a medicine with such a counter indication for the very reason it is supposed to be prescribed.

  Today, we believe mostly that demons of pain and suffering in the body, mind and emotions can be exorcised by some form of medical treatment whether by surgery or by some magical pill or chemo-therapy.  Yes, we know that we cannot cure death, even by delaying its advent in our lives and in the lives of those whom we love.

  We also know that as scientific medicine has become supreme, we still find a place for what might be called folk medicine.  Acupuncture techniques used to be regarded as "folk medicine" from Asia but it has become mainstream medicine for some.  All sorts of ancient herbal remedies have found their way into modern practice.  Each of us has our hypochondriacal aspect of our personalities and we have our secret remedies for every sort of ailment ranging from colds and flu to cancer.  And everyone has proclaimed at some time the perfect diet for perfect health.  Eating is probably the most obvious health issue in our world and food can cast out rather quickly the demon of starvation known by so many in our world today.

  As we read the Gospel stories about Jesus as healer and exorcist, we are invited to reflect upon the nature of health.  One can noted that health treatment is very contextual.  How is it that exorcism which seems to be so basic to the ministry of Jesus is completely missing in the Gospel of John, the latest written of the canonical Gospel?  It probably means that the practice of exorcism would have had no meaning for the first readers within the community where the Gospel of John was being composed.

  Demonic cause at one time in the early Gospel communities was the easiest and broadest diagnosis to make about all sorts of diseases.  This simplistic diagnosis fit within  the cosmology of the community: the serpent of the Garden of Eden tempted humanity into a very great Fall, and all the king’s men and all the king's horses could not put the Humpty-Dumpty off-spring of Adam and Eve together again.  There was an awareness for the apparent fact that in spite of God being the great Creator of the world, in appearance it seemed that evil and the bad guy was actually winning. The proof of his winning was the fact that the victory of the serpent at the Fall guaranteed the great event of death.

  The biblical story is a Cosmic Story and Jesus is the hero of the New Testament Story in this great Cosmic Epic.  The resurrection of Christ is the antidote which addresses the greatest illness of all, Death itself.  But the resurrection of Christ was shown to have many other benefits of health and salvation as events of hope which could enter into the narrative of our lives.

  Death has many acolytes of pain, sickness, disease, effects of aging, sorrow, fear, anxiety and terror.  We live under the threat of all of these acolytes of death.  The threats that can come to us because of the temptation to believe that Death and all of Death's partner will actually win this life means that we can doubt the very hope that is implanted within us because of our being made in God's image.   Jesus came as the manifestation of God's heroic presence to enter the human narrative and affirm the validity of our hope.  Hope can provide us something to counter-prevail the threats of death and aging.

  We do not regard the quest for good health to be worthless exercises in futility akin to the proverbial rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic as it is going down.  We know in our minds that we are fully pre-committed to the aging process which at some time will end in the event called death.  At the same time we would use this as motivation for packing as much abundant life within the span of our lives as we possibly can.  To do this we then hope and hope's motivation provide us the energy to "keep on keeping on."  So even though we know about the final sickness which death is, the events of losing our health and regaining it, are very important to us.  And we are always hopeful about regaining our health, because hope has made us to believe that freedom from pain is what is most normal about the human condition.  Pain and sickness are deprivations from the normal conditions of health.  We cannot but protest pain and sickness and but seek freedom from pain.  And in believing this individually, we believe that we are committed to lives of doing no harm to others as well.  We believe so much in the normalcy of health that we are committed to as many people regaining as much health as they can when they lose their conditions of optimal health.

  The biblical record and the witness of Jesus indicates to us that we are all about health and salvation in our lives.  We are committed to the salvation and health that God's intends for us.  This program of salvation is total and holistic.

  It is cosmic, apocalyptic and eschatological; that is to say it involves dealing with death and end of life as we know it.  The event of the resurrection provides us with the occasion to make death but a gateway to a fuller life and so death is robbed of having "final power and authority."  With the resurrection we can gain a narrative of believing how our life energy is never ended; it is only in the flow of endless transformations but those transformations allow that the traces of personal identity will never be erased because of the perfect memory of the mind of God to retain us as personal identities forever.  This is having faith in the health of eternal life.

  Health is also mental; health is educational.  Metanoia or repentance is attaining a new and different "after mind:"  A new state of mind after this current state of mind which in turn allows me to adjust my behavior towards excellence.  So health is mental and educational.

  Health is emotional.  To be at peace is to grow in emotional health and intelligence.  Our emotions have often been formed by imperfect events of developmental trauma. We have not always had access to perfect mentors to help us recover from the interior impact of hurtful events in our lives.  And we have practiced repression to avoid dealing with trauma; but repression has demon-like voices and acting out behaviors which have to be exorcised and whispered into peaceful acceptance and integration into a better future.  Jesus promoted emotional health and emotional intelligence to deeply disturbed people.

  Health or salvation is also very social and very communal.  When we are sick sometimes we are afraid of the community.  We are afraid that the community will turn into silent rubberneckers about our misfortune and be clumsy and awkward with our situation even as we are trying to deal with our loss of health.  We are afraid of victimization; we are afraid of being trivialized as having pain that is inferior to the pain of others and so we should not complain.  We are afraid that others will over-identify us with our "sick condition" and we too might come to know the condition of our demise as our defining life achievement.  Sickness can drive us into hiding.  Jesus welcomed suffering and sick people into the public.  He would not let the Jewish public health quarantines keep sick people from the care of the community.  He brought those who were in quarantine into the public and one of the chief ingredients in regaining health is to know that other people are concerned about us and praying for us.  I commend the prayer ministry of our parish to you as a method to counter-act the victimization and privatization of sickness within the community.  Health or salvation is very social and very communal.  The sign of a healthy community is one which takes the sacrament of the prayer for the sick seriously.  Health is social in that it is political.  St. Paul said he became all things to all people to save them.  How do we adjust our lives for each other so that we can give each other our best news?  Healthy communities are made up of people who check their egos at the door in the effort to live together in harmony.  A healthy community consists of people who have learned appreciative reciprocity with each other and not competition for glory.

  Let us today not get bogged down in stories about Jesus as an exorcist; let us understand the holistic vision of health presented in the biblical contexts and let us find corresponding ways to promote the holistic vision of Gospel health and salvation within our own lives today.  Amen.

  

The Authority of Jesus to Heal the Inner Self

4 Epiphany B  February 1, 2015

Deut. 18:15-20  Ps. 111

1 Corinthians 8:1-13   Mark 1:21-28

Lectionary Link

Does everyone know what the DSM is?  It is abbreviation for the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual for Mental Disorders.  It is the official classification of Mental Disorders compiled by the American Psychiatric Association.  After various censuses of the mentally ill in the United States and classification systems, in 1952 the DSM-1 was voted into existence as a way to standardize within the mental health community the various designations for mental health disorders so that members of the community could have a common language of diagnosis to allow standardization in treatment.  One cannot find in the latest manual, the DSM-5 a condition known as demon possession.

   The DSM was born in the era of modern science and the assumption was that the methods of the natural sciences could be used in the human sciences of sociology, anthropology and psychology.  So the DSM is based upon finding "this worldly" answers for mental disorders as either the result traumatic events in one's developmental history or as having a genetic or physiological explanation due to the chemistry of the brain.

   We know that systems of classifications of mental health, physical health and spiritual health have varied according to the time and place cultures where behaviors have been observed and classified.  We know that systems of classification have changed because they have proven to be wrong or prejudiced and just plain wrong.

  What if we were to try to reconstruct the operative DSM manual during the time of Jesus?  In his time the religious authorities were the omni-competent authorities who designated certain mental conditions as being caused by demon possession or as the results of unclean spirits.  The unclean spirit designation fit within the purity code of Judaism and in this code all manner of behaviors, states of being, food, and clothing were given a classification of being pure or impure, clean or unclean.

  To have one's spirit be designated as being unclean was like being a social leper.  Lepers were designated as unclean and quarantined and to be unclean in one's inside was also a condition to be quarantined.

  How dare this man with an unclean spirit enter the synagogue?  Every society is quite uncomfortable with people who have internal disorders which cause them to act out and make everyone else frightened and uncomfortable.  Modern societies built asylums, psychiatric care facilities both to treat and to quarantine those with mental health issues designated as social problems.

  We as readers of the Gospel can misread this Gospel to be mainly about Jesus as an exorcist as part of his earthly ministry.

  We can forget that these Gospels were written many years after the life of Jesus and they present narratives of the life and ministry of Jesus with a teaching purpose.  I find it particularly interesting that the Gospel stories about unclean spirits and demons often have the possessed subjects being used for the demons to talk to Jesus and recognize his authority.

  So here's the scenario: Jesus and the early churches lived under the authority structures of the Caesar and the Roman Empire.  Surely, power and authority came from armies and political power, so how could Christians make the claim that Jesus was in any way a Messiah, a kingly one like David, or a better version of being Son of God than the Roman Emperors who were declared by their senates to be sons of divine beings?

  The early church believed and practiced the reality of an interior kingdom.  They believed that the battles of life had to be won within this interior kingdom and this kingdom was as real as the external kingdoms of the world.  St. Paul who wrote the definitive theology of the early Christian church, wrote that we don't fight against flesh and blood.  Our beef is not with the Caesar; we are fighting the inward puppeteers which he called principalities and powers of darkness.  The early church believed in the power and the strength of these interior puppeteers.

  When the theology of Paul came to the presentation of the narrative of Jesus, Jesus was not presented as a competitor to the Caesar as a king with armies, Jesus was presented as one who was involved in a greater cosmological battle.  The ministry of Jesus begins with him encountering the great Interior Puppeteer, Satan, who wanted to pull the strings and make Jesus act according to his will, but Jesus resisted this great interior accuser and puppeteer.  And because he did so he began a ministry with this incredible charismatic authority.  So the demons spoke to Jesus through their possessed subjects as way in literary form to indicate the ruling authority of Christ within the interior life.

  Power is a neutral notion; it becomes understood in the motives which direct it.   Power can be understood as the coercive power of suppression and oppression.  Jesus was said to have power or authority.  The word here for authority Greek is "exousia."  This kind of authority is the performance of a winsome charisma such that one is persuaded to submit to the one who manifests such authority.

  This is the kind of authority which we like.  We do not regard the authority of coercion to be valid since genuine authority needs to include the free participation.  People who act from controlling impulses have lost their freedom; they can't help themselves.  The whispering authority of someone who loves and cares for us is the most profound authority of all.  We willingly submit and give ourselves over to the whispering authority of love.

  In life sometimes the coercive authority of power is needed to defend the helpless, but the preferred mode of authority is the whispering loving authority of someone who gives to us and empowers our freedom to resist interior tyranny and begin to act as peaceful and loving free agents towards what is excellent and good.

  Today, we live in a world with many expressions of tyrannical and coercive powers from without.  We can know inward coercive powers of addiction and anxious acting out or fearful depressions.  And so we all need to know the interior Risen Christ as the one who can whisper us to true freedom.   This interior Risen Christ is often best known when people model whispering behaviors with each other within community and fellowship as we mutually persuade each other to be the best people we can be together as the body of Christ.  May God helps us be people who have been whispered towards loving and free excellence and may we know a calling to be people who whisper other people in the name and authority of the Risen Christ.  Amen.

The Intrepid Acolyte, February 2015