A passage I was pondering today…

Revelation 21

 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

 8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

 9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

 10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

 12And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

 16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

 19And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

 20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

 23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

 24And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

 26And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

I know, I know…

A recent study funded by Duke Divinity School found that, on average, ministers make up the chubbiest profession. But this is one of those good news/bad news deals: The good news is that a separate survey by the University of Chicago found that preachers also tend to be the most-satisfied workers.

Read more here.

Thoughts…

Everyone wants to end poverty, but no one wants to share.

It’s easy to say “All You Need is Love” when you’re sitting on an enormous pile of money.

Isn’t it amazing that the people warning us about the world having too many people are all alive?

We all say the poor are special in the eyes of God but we’re not sure that we want to be that special ourselves.

It’s simple to see pain as a pathway to sanctity if you’re not in pain.

Ever notice that the people who preach the prosperity gospel are usually the ones who get rich?

Here I am Lord, choose someone else.

 

 

 

The building was empty…

this morning, the parking lot, too. Tuesday morning and time to make ready.

Some times its good to be alone in the church. It gives perspective. Just time alone in the nave and the sanctuary, setting up candles, making sure the readings are in place. Cleaning up after the altar boys. When no one is there a wonderous silence pervades it all.

Yes, the building is indeed for use. Its a place of worship, of service, of learning, of confession, and of hope. Its probably true the place is empty far too often and that emptiness is a sign of opportunities lost, of things left undone, and thwarted possibilities.

Yet on an early Tuesday morning, caugh up in the routine of preparation there is a beautful silence to the place. One can think. One can pray. One can rest in the presence of holiness even as the mundane is accomplished.

It’s a kind of worship, setting candles, polishing icons, making sure the things that need to be full are full and that which requires emptying is emptied. The music is the sound of the cloths on the altar. The readings are in the quiet arrangements. The glory is in realizing that even in the absence of people the holy remains.

Wisdom…

A wandering mind is made stable by reading, vigil and prayer. Flaming lust is extinguished by hunger, labor and solitude. Stirrings of anger are calmed by psalmody, magnanimity and mercifulness. All this has its effect when used at its proper time and in due measure. Everything untimely or without proper measure is short-lived; and short-lived things and more harmful than useful.

Abba Evagrius the Monk

This Sunday's Homily in Advance…

Sunday of the Blind Man
May 29, 2011

Lord, it’s Sunday morning and we are here, drawn to this place from many places. The week is behind us. A new day is here.

Lord, open our eyes.

Each of us has our own reasons for being here today. Some have come for the sake of routine. Some are here looking for shelter from the storm. Some are troubled and some have deep joy. Some worship because they believe they owe you and some are filled with love and awe. Regardless of why we are here this morning….

Lord, open our eyes.

Gracious Lord, life is both amazing and terrifying at times. We’re riding a small blue ball hurtling alone through space and the days of our lives are like a sigh in the storm. We live but we’re not always sure why. We cling to small things to explain everything and the mystery of it all can be overwhelming. In our soulful ponderings…

Lord, open our eyes.

At times we are well. At time we are downtrodden. We bear in our bodies both the durable strength of an amazing creation and the everyday marks of mortality reminding us that we, too, shall pass. Resilient and fragile. Enduring and as light as a whisper. Possessed of a will to live yet gone in an instant. As we are in this form waiting to be transformed…

Lord, open our eyes.

Out toil consumes us at times and enriches us as well. We eat from the sweat of our brow and yet there is still creative light within us released by the work of our hands. In all that we must do and all that we choose to do, as we create and recreate, and set our hands to the tasks before us…

Lord, open our eyes.

Because You love we love and our lives are filled with this love, even when it breaks our heart. Our love is a faltering flame but still it warms us. Our love is a shadow of Yours but it still can be true. We fight to love. We fail to love. We hope to love. And as we grasp for everything that love is and can be…

Lord, open our eyes.

And at the final hour, when all is done and the only breath that remains is your Spirit, the only life the life you have given us, and our sun sets in the hope of the dawn. When every moment is sealed for eternity. When all our earthly joys become heavenly and every tear is wiped away. When our work is done, our love is left behind, and only the good remains…

Lord, open our eyes.

Because, Lord, whoever we are, wherever we go, however the path of our life unfolds we need most of all to see you.

There are a thousand distractions but only one Truth. There are uncounted dark corners but only one light. We dream almost every night for good or bad but there is only one hope. We look for a way out, a way up, a way through, but there is only one salvation. We wander in the dark and yet there is only one true path.

Grant us to see you Lord to the fullness of who you are, as much as we can understand in our hearts. Grant us to see you so that we can know what is good and right and holy and true and perfect and eternal. Grant us to see you so we know which way to go and how to direct our lives. Everything around us screams for our attention, desires to draw us here and there. Grant us to see you Lord so that our days are full of everything that matters and that the world, not just with its darkness but also its glorious destiny are always with us.

Blind as we are we ask that you touch our eyes with your healing. Let our baptismal washing continue to illuminate us. May the vision we receive from you change everything about us. Let it be that which lets us see the world, each other, everything in our lives, and especially you as it was all meant to be. And if in the course of the days of our lives our eyes track away, if anything or everything less captures our sight draw us back to You, our clarity, our truth, and our salvation.

Lord, how blind we are without you. How confused. How challenged. How rudderless. Yet when your vision becomes ours how great is our light, our faith, our perception, and our peace.

Heal us Lord and open our eyes.