MONDAY MATTERS
Reflections to start the week
Monday, October 21, 2013
Bless you.
My office was pretty busy in the last week of 1999. I was working in New York City where anxiety was high, as folks wondered whether computer systems would crash at midnight on New Year's Eve, Y2K. Remember that? It now seems silly how anxious were, but that week, a number of people came to my office to talk about where they were spiritually, in that momentous millennial shift.
One person, who had just starting poking his nose into the church, made an appointment, showed up at my office, and opened the conversation by saying: "I know this sounds dumb, but I was on the street the other day and I sneezed and a stranger said "God bless you." I haven't been able to stop thinking about what that means." So we talked about blessings, blessings that come from God, blessings we give each other. All because of a sneeze. Go figure.
There are a number of ways you can translate the word blessing, but I like the literal meaning of benedicite. Break it down and it means to speak (dicere) well of (bene), to speak goodness. Of course that is anchored in the truth that before there was original sin there was original blessing. It's no accident that of the two creation stories in the book of Genesis, the first one has God speaking creation into existence, punctuating the first five days with a note of approval, a blessing: "It was good." The sixth day, when humanity emerges, gets even better. The divine review of that piece of work gets extra emphasis. God said: "It was very good." Not a bad thing to remember on a Monday morning.
There is power in God's blessing, God's good intention, God's grace, God's embrace of each one of us. As we receive the power of that good news, we have the opportunity to pass it on. That power is something meant to flow from us, in all relationships. As we are blessed by God, we can bless back, joining with the psalmist who said: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless God's holy name". And we can relate to each other in a spirit of blessing. Just speaking words of blessing can be transformative. We can offer blessing even to those who have injured us, even to those who have caused resentment.
A book arrived in my mailbox last week, written by Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Pasadena, one of the liveliest churches in our denomination led by one of our livelier rectors. The book is called The 8 Habits of Love. I commend it to you, as a guide to the practice of our faith. It's been a blessing to me. The first of these habits, generosity, finds its expression in a willingness to share blessings. Here's how Ed describes a woman who mastered this spiritual practice: "She makes a point of complimenting one person every day, whether it is a stranger in the street or a friend at the office. She will tell a woman in the corner store that her shoes are wonderful or comment favorably to a man on the train about the book he is reading. Seeing the surprise on their faces, watching the transformation as the recipient acknowledges and absorbs the blessing is infinitely rewarding."
One of my heroes and mentors was a priest named Craig Eder, who seemed to know God pretty well. I remember he was sometimes asked to say grace when we were in a public setting, when brevity would be appreciated by self-conscious Episcopalians. His table grace: May the blessed one bless. Carry that grace with you today. Remember the ways that you are blessed. It's the way that you can be a blessing.
-Jay Sidebotham
Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org
www.forwardmovement.org
MONDAY MATTERS
Reflections to start the week
Monday, October 14, 2013
Exploration
On this federal holiday, Columbus Day, say a prayer for the leaders of our government, for all who face hardship because of the shutdown, and for our common life.
And let me share a story which supposedly takes place after Christopher Columbus returned from "discovery" of the new world (Seems to me there were a few people who had gotten there first, but that's another topic.) He had dinner with a number of Spanish nobles who apparently thought his exploration was not that big a deal. Anyone could have done it. If he hadn't done it, someone else would have. Columbus responded by noting that anyone may have been able to do it, but nobody did.
To make his point, he asked his critics if they could get an egg to stand on its own. His dinner guests were unable to do it. After they tried (and tried and tried), Columbus took an egg, tapped one end ever so slightly and rested that egg on the slight dent, standing it on its end. It's a parable about what it takes to be an explorer, to discover. It was a small thing, a parable issuing a call to think in new ways, to think outside the box, to travel in new directions.
I suspect there is a corollary to the spiritual journey. The Bible is full of stories of spiritual explorers, those who dare adventurous discovery.
It's the story of Abraham and Sarah, who hear a call from God and leave the comfort of their homeland, heading to a new home, not even knowing where they were going. Where would we be if Abraham and Sarah had heard God's call and decided it was a wrong number?
It's the story of Mary, that young girl who is greeted by the angel who tells her she will bear a child that will save the world. Mary, even if a bit afraid, says "Let it be." (She really said that. Paul McCartney didn't make it up.) Preachers have speculated on how many other young girls the angel approached before coming upon this young girl adventurous enough to say yes.
It's the story of Peter, impetuous disciple who never has an unexpressed thought, who sees Jesus walking on the water and decides, for some reason, that he can do that too. He puts one foot over the gunwale, then the next, defying gravity, strolling on the watery surface as long as he kept his eyes on his Lord.
It's the story of Paul who captures a vision that the community of faith could indeed include all kinds of people who had been excluded before. Stepping outside of the box of his own tradition, education and upbringing, he travels around the Mediterranean rim establishing communities marked by this radical notion: In Christ, there is neither male nor female, slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile. Adventurous indeed. Where would we be if he hadn't done that?
Take some time today to consider these stories of spiritual explorers, a great cloud of witnesses whose faith leads them to something new and takes them to places they have not gone before. Think of other examples. Ask God to show you some new way to put his love to work in the world. Ask God to guide you in that new pathway. It may be just a very small thing (like standing an egg on its end), but dare to say yes to the exploration of the new life God holds out for you.
-Jay Sidebotham
Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org
www.forwardmovement.org
MONDAY MATTERS
Reflections to start the week
Monday, October 7, 2013
The yoke is on you.
Last Friday was the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, described as the most admired and least imitated of saints. The power of his witness reverberates across the centuries, so much so that the new pope not only takes his name but embraces his spirit in word and action, symbolic and substantive. Francis of Assisi is remembered for his call to a life of simplicity and poverty. He is remembered for his love of all of God's creation. He is remembered for a line attributed to him in teaching his disciples: "Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words." The expression of his rigorous faith was marked by joy. Obviously, there is much to learn from him as we face this Monday morning and consider what it means to put faith to work in the world. How does his faith inform yours?
I draw your attention to the reading chosen for St. Francis' day, from the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 11), printed at the top of the side column. It is a call to all those who are weary and carry heavy burdens. Is that you this morning? To those folks, Jesus says: "Take my yoke upon you". That hardly sounds like a message of comfort to the weary and burdened. Take on a yoke? How about something like: "Relax, put your feet up." That sounds more comforting. Yet Jesus says that his yoke is easy, his burden is light. One more example of how the question "WWJD?" (what would Jesus do?) finds its answer in paradox.
What does it mean to take on that yoke? In my former parish, in the exploration of the dynamics of spiritual growth, there was a lot of conversation about beliefs and practices, about what is expected of us as people of faith. We recognized what many religious commentators have noticed: a shift away from dogma, so that belief becomes less a matter of the intellect and more a matter of the heart. (See Diana Butler Bass' comments in side column and read her excellent book Christianity After Religion.) We spent time trying to articulate beliefs and practices which we held dear as a community. There was one in particular that got a lot of attention. It began like this: "Every person has the freedom and responsibility to discern the truth of God for his or her life." Said another way: Everyone has both freedom and responsibility in discerning the course, the trajectory, the progress of the spiritual journey.
What seemed to catch people's interest was the paradoxical mix of freedom and responsibility, the fact that our relationship with God has this synergy of grace and gratitude, God's initiative and our response. Our community was well versed in the freedom of our faith, graceful hospitality to the seeker and skeptic, a refusal to check theological correctness, or to check one's brain at the door. We knew well the amazing grace that each one of us is on a spiritual journey that matters to God. But we discovered another dimension: a sense of responsibility as we move forward in that spiritual journey, that literal sense of response to the grace that has come to us. Perhaps that sense of responsibility is the yoke Jesus commends. St. Francis knew about that yoke, as in the wisdom of St. Augustine, he lived a life of faith in God in whose service is perfect freedom.
How are you living into that responsibility as the week begins? How will you discern the truth of God in your life? We're talking next steps, even baby steps. What are the resources you will draw on, as you discern the course of your spiritual journey this week? How will you take on the yoke which Jesus describes? How does it feel? Think about the ways St. Francis of Assisi might guide you in that process: with a call to simplicity, with a heart for those in need, with a sense of joy and wonder in God's creation, in the preaching of good news, in word and action. Not a bad way to start the week. The ball is in your court. The yoke is on you.
-Jay Sidebotham
Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org
www.forwardmovement.org
MONDAY MATTERS
Reflections to start the week
Monday, September 30, 2013
It's not all about Sunday.
This simple truth gets expressed in a variety of ways.
It was expressed by Archbishop William Temple who said that the church is the only organization that exists for the sake of those who are not its members.
It's indicated in the sign I saw posted over the exit at the church which read: The worship is over. The service begins.
It's the prayer after communion that asks for the strength and courage to serve with gladness and singleness of heart, a liturgical acknowledgement that it is not always easy.
It's the claim that the dismissal is the most significant part of the liturgy, as we are sent out into the world to do God's work.
It's the habit of one peculiar priest (not naming any names) to conclude bible study with the "so-what" factor, i.e., an invitation to articulate and identify the relevance of scripture to life in the world. If you can't come up with something, what's the point?
It's the theme of promises made in baptism, that we will proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ, that we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, that we will work for justice and peace. In other words, we promise to participate in the changing of the world.
It's the beautiful poem sent to me by a beautiful friend last week. The poem, written by Mary Oliver, is entitled: The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside our Church: The Eucharist. Thank you, Mary Oliver. Thank you, beautiful friend.
Something has happened
To the bread
And the wine
They have been blessed. What now?
The body leans forward
To receive the gift
From the priest's hand,
Then the chalice
They are something else now
From what they were
Before this began.
I want
To see Jesus
Maybe in the clouds
Or on the shore,
Just walking
Beautiful man
And clearly
Someone else Besides. on the hard days
I ask myself
If I ever will.
Also there are times
My body whispers to me
That I have.
So put faith to work today. Sunday worship may seem to punctuate your weekend. Let it launch your week.
-Jay Sidebotham
Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org
www.forwardmovement.org
MONDAY MATTERS
Reflections to start the week
Monday, September 23, 2013
Can we talk?
Let me begin with the wisdom of one of my favorite commentators on matters social and religious. That would be Dave Barry, columnist extraordinaire and eccentric. He offered an insight that resonates with anyone who has been held captive by unsolicited religious or political opinions at a cocktail party, in a crowded airplane row, at a family holiday dinner, in a pew, or on your doorstep when proselytizer appears. It’s happened to all of us. Maybe some of us have been the perpetrators. Anyway, Dave Barry keenly noted the following:
People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
We’re told that in polite company, it’s best not to talk about religion or politics. Just don’t get into it. There’s good reason for that, of course, as noted above in those various experiences of captivity. But it does make me wonder if there isn’t some way, some significance in discovering ways to talk about our faith, without making other folks uneasy, without making them feel “less than”. The fact is, these kinds of conversation don’t always happen at church. The exchange of the Peace allows for a fleeting greeting. Coffee hour is nice for niceties, but rarely allows for deeper comment on things of the Spirit. We come in (sometimes a bit tardy) and leave but don’t find much opportunity to talk with others about what we’ve experienced, or what has caused us to wonder, or what challenges us, or where we experience pain, or where we see hope.
If we want that kind of discourse to happen, it calls for intentionality. Granted, it’s not a particularly Episcopalian thing to do, but it can be a growth opportunity when we articulate what faith, what things of the spirit mean to us. Small discussion groups, prayer groups, bible studies and book groups can be good venues, for sure. But I learned the most about it from the youth group who were my teachers when I served in Illinois. They’d go on an annual work trip and at the end of each day, would gather for what were called “God-sightings.” These sightings were beautiful. They were “I” statements, as in “I saw God at work today in the person who brought us lemonade when it was 100 degrees.”, or “I saw God at work in the life of the 90 year old lady who couldn’t afford air conditioning in the North Carolina summer but was still grateful.” These were elegant observations, not dogmatic impositions. What those youth taught me and our congregation is that we can keep our eyes open for the ways God is at work, and we can simply share them, talk about them, celebrate them. It’s not a debate about a theological or political issue. It’s a witness. Everyone can do it. You. Me.
So give it a try. Share this morning, this day, this week, something about how you see God at work in your life, in your world. I know it’s a stretch for Episcopalians. It’s a stretch for me and I’m a priest! And as you do, don’t forget the sage advice of Dave Barry. He points out that anytime we want to share our religious/spiritual experience with others, we need to be ready to listen to their experience, to be hospitable and humble in that way. Who knows? We might learn something.
-Jay Sidebotham
Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org
www.forwardmovement.org
MONDAY MATTERS
Reflections to start the week
Monday, September 16, 2013
A Reading from the Gospel according to Dilbert:
"Change is good. You go first."
So we launch out on another week, recognizing that embracing change is never easy. It's not always fun. It can be work. Dilbert knew that change came with difficulty in the corporate setting. I know (I suspect you do too) that it's difficult in religious life, and in religious institutions. A mentor once noted that people in churches always want the church to stay just the way they found it when they first joined, whether that is a matter of decades or days.
I remember that once, serving in another church, I started what I thought was an innovative evening liturgy. We worked hard for months on its distinctive design and premiered the liturgy on a much-advertised Sunday night. Some things worked well. Others not so much. So over the next days, we met and made changes, tweaking the liturgy. (Warning to faint of heart: It can be dangerous to tweak the liturgy.) The next week, the service was a little different, and I think, improved. Yet at the end of the service, I was besieged by several irate Episcopalians who wanted to know why I had made drastic changes, implying those dreaed words that make clergy cringe: "We've never done it that way." Apparently, iron-clad tradition can form quickly. Gather for one liturgy and you can lock in tradition.
I'm struck with how much Jesus spoke about change and transformation and growth. The first words we hear from him in the Gospel of Mark are these: Repent. If that word "repent" conjures up visions of a crazed street preacher with sandwich board predictions of the end, delve into the original meaning, in the Greek, metanoia. It means to turn around, to alter direction, to hang a u-turn. It suggests a journey, which means moving from where you are towards where you want to be. Jesus invited his followers to hit the road with him. He didn't stay put. They would end up someplace different than where they started. That's still true.
I recently re-read EVERYTHING BELONGS by Richard Rohr. It's great. I'd read it a while ago, and had thrown it in my bag on a recent trip at the last minute. I'm thinking the Holy Spirit made me do that, because it was on target for the life I'm living and the work I'm tackling, exploring the spiritual journey and spiritual growth. In that book. Rohr cites Lawrence Kohlberg, who writes about levels of moral development. Kohlberg says that in the spiritual journey, we move from one level to a level we don't completely understand yet. Every step up the ladder is taken in semi-darkness by the light of faith. The greatest barrier is our comfort and control at the level we are at now. We may respond to the call to a higher or deeper level with anxiety. Instead of saying: "Isn't this wonderful?" we say "I don't know if I want to go there." It's reminiscent of the wisdom of Dilbert: "Change is good. You go first."
So let me inquire this Monday morning: where do you want to go in your life of faith, in the spiritual journey? Are you where you want to be? Do you have a sense of the next step on the ladder? Is it veiled in semi-darkness? Do you have some light of faith, a lantern on your path? It's tempting, but I try not to rehash Sunday sermons in these Monday matters. But yesterday in a sermon, I did include this quote from Annie Lamott printed on the side column. It's a beautiful picture of how by grace we embrace the new thing God has in store for us.
I believe there is something there for you and me this day, this week. It may or may not be major spiritual renovation. It may be just a tweak. But God calls us through the Spirit to take that next step on the ladder, often in semi-darkness with the light of faith. Go for it.
-Jay Sidebotham
Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org
www.forwardmovement.org
The media release which announces the launch of RenewalWorks:
Forward Movement is pleased to announce the creation of RenewalWorks, a major initiative to revitalize Episcopal congregations and individual spiritual lives. Based on work that has taken place over the last ten years, RenewalWorks measures spiritual vitality in congregations and then helps local churches map a path to increase spiritual depth.
The Rev. Scott Gunn, executive director of Forward Movement, said, “Our historic mission is to reinvigorate the life of the church, and I cannot imagine a better way to do that than to encourage congregations to go deeper in spiritual engagement.” Gunn added, “Across The Episcopal Church, we see that the congregations that are thriving are places where discipleship is central. RenewalWorks has the capacity to change lives, grow churches, and reverse the decline in numbers in The Episcopal Church.”
Starting July1, the RenewalWorks staff will be led by the Rev. Jay Sidebotham, who is celebrating the conclusion of a successful ministry as rector of Church of the Holy Spirit, Lake Forest, IL. Sidebotham said, “I'm excited to begin this work, as we seek growth in our churches by focusing on the spiritual growth of the members of those congregations. It's all about deeper relationships: with God, neighbor, self and the world.” Sidebotham previously served St. Bart’s, New York City; St. Columba’s, Washington, DC; St. Luke’s, Durham, NC; and St. Martin’s, Providence, RI. He is well known for his cartoons about church life and his animation work on the television cartoon Schoolhouse Rock!
