Year A
\nActs 7:55-60
\nPsalm 31:1-5, 15-16
\n1 Peter 2:2-10
\nJohn 14:1-14<\/p>\n
In T.S. Elliot\u2019s Old Possum\u2019s Book of Practical Cats<\/span>\u2026 one of the dozen or so cats he describes\u2026 is The Rum Tum Tugger\u2026 who\u2019s a terrible bore\u2026 he\u2019s always on the wrong side of every door\u2026 and as soon as he\u2019s home\u2026 he wants to go out\u2026 and when you let him out\u2026 he wants back in\u2026 our cat Simon is like him\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Simon\u2019s not an outdoor cat\u2026 the apartments where we live don\u2019t allow it\u2026 but he is able to go out onto a small\u2026 second story deck\u2026 and he has this morning routine\u2026 after his first-breakfast\u2026 he likes to go outside\u2026 for just a few minutes\u2026 even if there\u2019s a little snow\u2026 and make sure the world is safe for catmocracy\u2026 and then he sits patiently at the door waiting to be let in\u2026and I let him in\u2026 and before too long\u2026 he\u2019s ready to do it all over again\u2026<\/p>\n I like our apartment home\u2026\u00a0 <\/span>in my opinion\u2026 it\u2019s neither too big nor too small\u2026 it\u2019s big enough for Joel and me to have our own space\u2026 but it\u2019s too small\u2026 for example\u2026 for us to host one of December\u2019s progressive dinners\u2026 and before the pandemic began\u2026 there were many days when I would leave home\u2026 and start out at church\u2026 and make several stops\u2026 and visit several people\u2026 and it would feel good to get back home\u2026 home is a reassuring\u2026 inviting\u2026 place of refuge\u2026 “home” is one of the favorites I\u2019ve saved in my iPhone map program\u2026 so that no matter where I am in Grand Rapids\u2026 I can always take the fastest route\u2026 or the shortest route\u2026\u00a0 <\/span>to get there\u2026 to get home\u2026<\/p>\n This chapter of John\u2019s Gospel\u2026 takes place on the night of the Last Supper\u2026 and begins what\u2019s called The Farewell Discourse\u2026 Jesus is saying goodbye\u2026 for now\u2026 the previous chapter\u2026 chapter 13\u2026 ends kind of abruptly\u2026 with Jesus telling Simon Peter\u2026 Where I am going\u2026 you can\u2019t go <\/i>now<\/i><\/span>\u2026 but you\u2019ll be able to afterward<\/i>\u2026 and in today\u2019s reading\u2026 Jesus clarifies\u2026 I\u2019m going to prepare a place for you\u2026 because in my Father\u2019s house\u2026 there are many mansions\u2026 there\u2019s room for everyone\u2026 and I\u2019ll come back\u2026 and take you to myself\u2026 so that where I am\u2026 you\u2019ll also be\u2026 so please\u2026 don\u2019t let your hearts be troubled\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n These days\u2026 I\u2019m not always sure how to keep my heart from feeling troubled\u2026 and with some of the uncertainty we’re facing\u2026 I feel a bit like an emotional Rum Tum Tugger\u2026 going back and forth\u2026 having mixed feelings\u2026 and now that I\u2019ve been staying at home\u2026 to help flatten the curve\u2026 and stay uninfected\u2026 so that Joel remains uninfected\u2026 and so that the vulnerable residents he serves at Samaritas remain uninfected too\u2026 now that I\u2019ve been staying at home for about eight weeks\u2026 except for a few trips to church and the grocery store\u2026 now that I\u2019ve been staying at home\u2026 even though I really do appreciate its comforts\u2026. and that the electricity and internet haven\u2019t gone out\u2026 now that I\u2019ve been staying at home\u2026 it\u2019s getting a little bit tiring\u2026 it feels a bit constricting\u2026 and while\u2026 I\u2019ve come to appreciate just how blessed so many of us are\u2026 and how much relationships matter\u2026 I really want to get out\u2026 I want to experience some of the new-normal\u2026 the new Promised Land that the Holy Spirit is leading us into\u2026 but not at the expense of someone else\u2019s health\u2026<\/p>\n And I think about those people who may be alone at home and lonely\u2026 I think about those whose experience of home keeps them from feeling at home\u2026 I think about those who are at home but who may be facing domestic violence\u2026 I think about those who are at home but who may not be accepted for who they are\u2026 but I take some comfort in something I heard Richard Rohr say this week\u2026 he said that\u00a0 <\/span>perfection\u2026 is the inclusion of\u2026 and forgiveness of\u2026 imperfection<\/i>\u2026<\/p>\n And that helps the perfectionist in me\u2026 because in my mind\u2026 I just want to totally eliminate imperfection\u2026 stomp on it\u2026 and throw it away\u2026 I just want to rid the world of every kind of imperfection\u2026 but it seems as though there\u2019s a kind of primordial chaos that won\u2019t go away\u2026 some of you may remember me saying that about thirty years ago\u2026 when my daughter was an infant and a housefly landed on her face\u2026 I wanted to destroy every fly in all of creation\u2026 but that would have made me Judge of Creation\u2026 wouldn\u2019t it\u2026 and who am I to judge\u2026 who am I to determine what\u2019s imperfect\u2026 how do I know that that fly didn\u2019t land on her face\u2026 to teach me this lesson about judgment\u2026<\/p>\n There\u2019s an African word\u2026 Ubuntu<\/i>\u2026 and it means\u2026 I am because we are<\/i>\u2026 it says\u2026 there is no life without community\u2026 and there is no community without the <\/i>active<\/i><\/span> participation of all<\/i>\u2026 it reminds me of what\u2019s written in 1 Corinthians\u2026 that there is one body with many members\u2026 and all the members make up one body\u2026 one community\u2026 but there\u2019s more than one kind of community\u2026 there\u2019s the beloved community\u2026 one that\u2019s more like an inclusive family and less like an exclusive club\u2026 and one that\u2019s more like a mob\u2026<\/p>\n In our reading from Acts\u2026 Stephen\u2026 who was brought before the Council on false charges\u2026 has just given a summary of salvation history\u2026 from Abraham\u2026 through Isaac and Jacob\u2026 and the patriarchs\u2026 and Moses\u2026 and David\u2026 and Solomon\u2026\u00a0 <\/span>and Stephen has just accused the priest and those gathered\u2026 of receiving the Law but not keeping it\u2026 of opposing the Holy Spirit\u2026 and of killing the prophets who foretold Jesus\u2019 coming\u2026 and when they heard these things\u2026 they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen\u2026 they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him\u2026 and there were witnesses who laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul\u2026 and they may not have chosen to be stone-throwers\u2026 but neither did they choose to stop the stone throwers\u2026 and by not stopping them\u2026 they implicitly supported them\u2026<\/p>\n Andre Johnson\u2026 associate professor of rhetoric at the University of Memphis\u2026 writes\u2026 life is full of decisions big and small\u2026 and we can\u2019t avoid making them\u2026 the decision to stand and do nothing\u2026 but watch and hold coats\u2026 is itself a decision\u2026 and when we sit on the fence\u2026 walk the tightrope\u2026 try to play the middle\u2026 or hide behind not making a decision\u2026 we make a decision\u2026 to watch and hold coats\u2026<\/p>\n Too many of us and our communities are awash in a sea of immediate and perhaps excessive self-gratification\u2026 and like those who stoned Stephen\u2026 we don\u2019t like it when someone points out how we miss God\u2019s mark for us\u2026 but as a global community\u2026 we must find a way to make decisions for\u2026 and invest in\u2026 the future\u2026 and change whatever laws we must\u2026 to protect those decisions\u2026 even when\u2026 like a stonemason on a medieval cathedral\u2026 we know we will never live nearly long enough to see our work completed\u2026\u00a0 <\/span>and we must also\u2026 speak truth to power\u2026<\/p>\n We all know that the moral arc of the universe is long\u2026 but it bends towards justice\u2026 and I pray this pandemic helps us see justice as God sees it\u2026 and helps us understand that everyone who is called outcast\u2026 marginalized\u2026 sinner\u2026 freak\u2026 refugee\u2026 queer\u2026 untouchable\u2026 pariah\u2026 asylum seeker\u2026 reject\u2026 everyone is part of the body of Christ\u2026 is part of the beloved community\u2026 and they are perfect because they are included and forgiven\u2026 Jesus prepares a place for everyone\u2026 even those\u2026 who anyone else views\u2026 as a fly\u2026<\/p>\n And if we fail to accomplish all we desire\u2026 Andre\u2026 writes\u2026 when deliverance does not come on <\/i>this<\/i> <\/i>side<\/i> of eternity\u2026 the Good News is that we can commit our spirit into the hands of the one who has already prepared a place for us\u2026 the one who stands with us in the stoning pits of life\u2026 the one who is ready to redeem and forgive us\u2026 even if we are guilty of throwing stones and watching coats<\/i>\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year A Acts 7:55-60 Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 1 Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 In T.S. Elliot\u2019s Old Possum\u2019s Book of Practical Cats\u2026 one of the dozen or so cats he describes\u2026 is The Rum Tum Tugger\u2026 who\u2019s a terrible bore\u2026 he\u2019s always on the wrong side of every door\u2026 and as soon as he\u2019s home\u2026 he wants to go out\u2026 and when you let him out\u2026 he wants back in\u2026 our cat Simon is like him\u2026\u00a0 Simon\u2019s not an outdoor cat\u2026 the apartments where we live don\u2019t allow it\u2026 but he is able to go out onto a small\u2026 second story deck\u2026 and he has this morning routine\u2026 after his first-breakfast\u2026 he likes to go outside\u2026 for just a few minutes\u2026 even if there\u2019s a little snow\u2026 and make sure the world is safe for catmocracy\u2026 and then he sits patiently at the door waiting to be let in\u2026and I let him in\u2026 and before too long\u2026 he\u2019s ready to do it all over again\u2026 I like our apartment home\u2026\u00a0 in my opinion\u2026 it\u2019s neither too big nor too small\u2026 it\u2019s big enough for Joel and me to have our own space\u2026 but it\u2019s too small\u2026 for example\u2026 for us to host one of December\u2019s progressive dinners\u2026 and before the pandemic began\u2026 there were many days when I would leave home\u2026 and start out at church\u2026 and make several stops\u2026 and visit several people\u2026 and it would feel good to get back home\u2026 home is a reassuring\u2026 inviting\u2026 place of refuge\u2026 “home” is one of the favorites I\u2019ve saved in my iPhone map program\u2026 so that no matter where I am in Grand Rapids\u2026 I can always take the fastest route\u2026 or the shortest route\u2026\u00a0 to get there\u2026 to get home\u2026 This chapter of John\u2019s Gospel\u2026 takes place on the night of the Last Supper\u2026 and begins what\u2019s called The Farewell Discourse\u2026 Jesus is saying goodbye\u2026 for now\u2026 the previous chapter\u2026 chapter 13\u2026 ends kind of abruptly\u2026 with Jesus telling Simon Peter\u2026 Where I am going\u2026 you can\u2019t go now\u2026 but you\u2019ll be able to afterward\u2026 and in today\u2019s reading\u2026 Jesus clarifies\u2026 I\u2019m going to prepare a place for you\u2026 because in my Father\u2019s house\u2026 there are many mansions\u2026 there\u2019s room for everyone\u2026 and I\u2019ll come back\u2026 and take you to myself\u2026 so that where I am\u2026 you\u2019ll also be\u2026 so please\u2026 don\u2019t let your hearts be troubled\u2026 These days\u2026 I\u2019m not always sure how to keep my heart from feeling troubled\u2026 and with some of the uncertainty we’re facing\u2026 I feel a bit like an emotional Rum Tum Tugger\u2026 going back and forth\u2026 having mixed feelings\u2026 and now that I\u2019ve been staying at home\u2026 to help flatten the curve\u2026 and stay uninfected\u2026 so that Joel remains uninfected\u2026 and so that the vulnerable residents he serves at Samaritas remain uninfected too\u2026 now that I\u2019ve been staying at home for about eight weeks\u2026 except for a few trips to church and the grocery store\u2026 now that I\u2019ve been staying at home\u2026 even though I really do appreciate its comforts\u2026. and that the electricity and internet haven\u2019t gone out\u2026 now that I\u2019ve been staying at home\u2026 it\u2019s getting a little bit tiring\u2026 it feels a bit constricting\u2026 and while\u2026 I\u2019ve come to appreciate just how blessed so many of us are\u2026 and how much relationships matter\u2026 I really want to get out\u2026 I want to experience some of the new-normal\u2026 the new Promised Land that the Holy Spirit is leading us into\u2026 but not at the expense of someone else\u2019s health\u2026 And I think about those people who may be alone at home and lonely\u2026 I think about those whose experience of home keeps them from feeling at home\u2026 I think about those who are at home but who may be facing domestic violence\u2026 I think about those who are at home but who may not be accepted for who they are\u2026 but I take some comfort in something I heard Richard Rohr say this week\u2026 he said that\u00a0 perfection\u2026 is the inclusion of\u2026 and forgiveness of\u2026 imperfection\u2026 And that helps the perfectionist in me\u2026 because in my mind\u2026 I just want to totally eliminate imperfection\u2026 stomp on it\u2026 and throw it away\u2026 I just want to rid the world of every kind of imperfection\u2026 but it seems as though there\u2019s a kind of primordial chaos that won\u2019t go away\u2026 some of you may remember me saying that about thirty years ago\u2026 when my daughter was an infant and a housefly landed on her face\u2026 I wanted to destroy every fly in all of creation\u2026 but that would have made me Judge of Creation\u2026 wouldn\u2019t it\u2026 and who am I to judge\u2026 who am I to determine what\u2019s imperfect\u2026 how do I know that that fly didn\u2019t land on her face\u2026 to teach me this lesson about judgment\u2026 There\u2019s an African word\u2026 Ubuntu\u2026 and it means\u2026 I am because we are\u2026 it says\u2026 there is no life without community\u2026 and there is no community without the active participation of all\u2026 it reminds me of what\u2019s written in 1 Corinthians\u2026 that there is one body with many members\u2026 and all the members make up one body\u2026 one community\u2026 but there\u2019s more than one kind of community\u2026 there\u2019s the beloved community\u2026 one that\u2019s more like an inclusive family and less like an exclusive club\u2026 and one that\u2019s more like a mob\u2026 In our reading from Acts\u2026 Stephen\u2026 who was brought before the Council on false charges\u2026 has just given a summary of salvation history\u2026 from Abraham\u2026 through Isaac and Jacob\u2026 and the patriarchs\u2026 and Moses\u2026 and David\u2026 and Solomon\u2026\u00a0 and Stephen has just accused the priest and those gathered\u2026 of receiving the Law but not keeping it\u2026 of opposing the Holy Spirit\u2026 and of killing the prophets who foretold Jesus\u2019 coming\u2026 and when they heard these things\u2026 they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen\u2026 they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him\u2026 and there were witnesses who laid their 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