Saturday, February 29, 2020

Old Testament: Isaiah 58:9-14

Gospel: Luke 27-32

Psalm 86:1-11

I came to know and become involved with Alabama Arise through the late Rev. Peter Horn. Peter in believed Arise’s mission of recognizing the struggles of the poor and working towards systemic change. Alabama Arise gives voice to those who have none in the Alabama Legislature and keeps Alabama’s citizens informed about laws which penalize those among us who are trapped in poverty. The prophet Isaiah reminds us if we “offer food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,” then our light shall rise in the darkness. 

The passage from Psalms also exhorts, “Give ear, oh Lord, to my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications.” Many different faith groups are represented at the lobby days when we walk the halls speaking to legislators about legislation which may help to level the playing field (such as laws restricting payday lenders, rights for tenants, the burden of work requirements for those receiving food and health assistance). It is encouraging to be side by side with those who are the voices of those unable to present their supplications. 

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus responds to the Pharisees, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick, I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Perhaps we all should reconsider society’s attitude towards the poor, that their poverty is an affliction they have brought open themselves. Removing the yoke as Isaiah reminds us allows us to be a “restorer of streets to live in” and our voices for those who feel they do not have a voice shall be the light in the darkness. 

Susan McAlister

Friday, February 28, 2020

Old Testament: Isaiah 58:1–9a

Gospel: Matthew 9:10–17

Psalm 51:1–10

Oh Christ, your teachings remain clear through the centuries. Through our own self-centeredness, we find ourselves becoming exclusive to others, a direct transgression of your message of inclusivity. May we remember that it is your acceptance of us that illuminates our path to mercy. May we follow your example and not forget that the love and mercy of Christ is for all, not just a chosen few.

Richard Jacks

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 30:15–20

Gospel: Luke 9:18–25

Psalm 1

Having come to the Episcopal Church only a couple of years ago, Lent and this season before Easter are still new and somewhat mysterious for me. I see it as a time of prayer and penance, a time of charity and abstinence, and a time of denial of the ego, indeed the denial of self.  All of this in preparation to celebrate Christ’s victory over death and sin, and more personally, to renew my own relationship with Jesus. It’s something of a spring cleaning – getting rid of the clutter so there is as much room as possible for Jesus and all that he brings.

Denial of ego or self, renouncement of fleshly concerns, and surrender to God and his will -- this is the path I see spelled out in today’s lessons.  

The Collect:  “Direct us O Lord, in all our doings … and by your mercy, obtain everlasting life”

Old Testament:  “loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways…...then you shall live.”

The Psalm:  “Their delight is in the law of the Lord,

And they meditate on his law day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water, 

Bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither.”

The Gospel:  “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.  What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?”

In all of this is the message for us to get the self, the ego, the “I” out of the way. Then there is room for God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. Easier said than done. We seem to live in an “all about me” material world of greed, misplaced passion, fear and anger. The life that Christ calls us to is one of the Spirit – of love, compassion, and joy. Really, the cross he asks us to bear in that world, is more a gift than a burden. If we can only be still enough to realize that.  

There is another passage from Matthew that is part of the reading for Compline, that talks about the cross that we should bear, the burden that Jesus has to offer. It gives me great comfort:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I have an odd scenario that I play out in my head sometimes: I drive up to the curb where Jesus is waiting. Instead of opening the door and getting in, he walks around to my side and opens the driver’s door. I slide over and let him drive and I feel like the weight of the world has lifted from my shoulders. I need to take up my cross and let him drive more often.

Barry and Robin Ousley

Ash Wednesday • Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Old Testament: Joel 2:1-2,12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

Psalm 103 or 103:8-14

“Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made…” Book of Common Prayer p.264

So begins the collect appointed for today. All God has created, every creature, the air we breathe the water that sustains our life, the earth under our feet and all that grows from it: God does not hate any of it. And that includes all the people that would be easy for me to hate.

So as we begin our Lenten journey, in the midst of a presidential election process that is heating up, how can we keep a Holy Lent?

The tradition is to fast. What I choose is to fast from hate. That, for me, will require staying in the prayer of contemplation and resting in God’s all encompassing love. For if God hates nothing Godself created, then who am I to harbor hate? But contemplation without right action is at risk being self-serving. So for guidance, I turn to the passage from Isaiah for today.

“Is this not the fast that I choose, to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry…” (Isaiah 58:6-7a)

The easy part of this is to share bread with the hungry. St Andrew’s does this well. St. Andy’s Pantry and Community Kitchens offer opportunities to volunteer or donate. But I am going to encourage you to go further and address the systems of injustice that creates hunger in a land of abundance.

Just yesterday, a delegation of folks from St. Andrew’s went to our state capitol for Alabama Arise Lobby Day. Network with Martha Jane Patton for ways you can get involved in correcting the unjust policies and laws that perpetuate poverty and hunger in our state. Grater Birmingham Ministries not only offers a food pantry and clothes closet, but works for justice in our local political systems. They are also an Alabama partner for the Poor People’s Campaign working nationally to give voice to the marginalized and to change our national policies that perpetuate injustice. These are but a few of the organizations that are working to confront and change unjust systems.

So join with me to hate nothing that God created and fast to “loose the bonds of injustice.”

The Rev. Dn. Gerri Aston

Introduction

We are beginning again our Lenten journey, and at the same time ending “ordinary time.”  As with most seasons in Christianity, we often observe beginning one thing at the same time as ending something else.
The beginning of the Season of Lent is the beginning of fasting for many, which becomes a spiritual practice that affords us the opportunity to become exceptionally exposed and uniquely vulnerable. We give up invincibility and security in exchange for the ritual of diligently being abstinent from whatever agent we have chosen that purportedly hinders our reliance on God.
That is why I think Jesus began his ministry among us in the wilderness. There is something about being made to focus on the basics, the mundane, the seemingly insignificant, and the overlooked — both within ourselves and in others — that transforms us and our experiences. In fact, I contend the seminal work of metanoia, or repentance is all about putting down objects, actions, and beliefs that prohibit and prevent the love and grace of God to permeate our souls. In that act, we are empowered to take up affects, behaviors, and convictions that expel our will in exchange for God’s will.
This exchange becomes our “Lenten Fast,” as we turn our focus from worry, fear, anxiety, hate, and disappointment, and turn toward humility, forgiveness, gratitude, laughter, love, and acceptance. What might happen if we ceased practicing racism, classism, sexism, and exclusionism? What if we refrained from pointing fingers, or blaming, and pursing our self-centered wills in exchange for pursuing the will of God? Perhaps that is what metanoia, or repentance is all about as well. Turning our will and eyes from judgement of one another to love and tolerance of one another is exactly what Lent is all about. We begin to see others as ourselves and can then love and serve them. This powerful spiritual practice of esteeming others above ourselves changes both us and them. We can then become one as we act universally for God’s will for us and our neighbor — truly loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Jesus Christ is particularly interested in loosening, undoing, breaking, sharing, housing, covering, exposing, enlightening, healing, vindicating, glorifying, and answering all for us! 
This is certainly a type of fasting I never contemplated and I look forward to walking with you, as we are invited “in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance...” Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Tommie L. Watkins, Jr.