Dearest e-votees,
This Sunday is when the church commemorates the Holy Trinity. Every year after the feast of Pentecost the next Sunday is “Holy Trinity Sunday”. I expect you will be hearing about the mysteries of the triune nature of God in worship on Sunday. If you want something a little tongue in cheek to that end you might like to point your browser to Lutheran Satire’s St Patrick’s Bad Analogies. If you want to experience a hauntingly beautiful song that lingers in the mysteries of the Trinity you might enjoy Spirit Garage Band’s Cherubic Hymn from their CD “Free Parking” (also on i-Tunes).
This Sunday, because it is May 31, is also the day the church commemorates the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. For this week we’ll focus on that through the lens of the appointed epistle reading.
Peace,
Karl
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9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[a] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;
Romans 12:9-16b, NRSV
I love the image of John the Baptist, in the womb, rejoicing in encountering his cousin who was also in the womb. Mary has just learned that she will give birth to Jesus. She also learns that Elizabeth is 6 months pregnant. Mary goes for a visit. Can you imagine the conversations between Mary who has never been with a man and is facing all sorts of condemnation for her pregnancy and Elizabeth who was thought to be barren yet has become pregnant? These women surely shared tears and laughter, fears and dreams in the three months they spent together. Mary stayed right up until Elizabeth was ready to give birth. They lingered in relationship.
What these two offered each other was genuine relationship. They lived out the Romans text above. They offered deeply rooted care and support for one another. In many ways they could relate and offered love and empathy to one another. In some ways their situations weren’t exactly the same and so they offered care and perhaps sympathy to one another. They were intentional in the giving and receiving of care and they can serve as a model to us as well.
We encounter many in need. Perhaps it is better said all we encounter are in need but we don’t always perceive those needs. We have needs too. God knows our needs (and our hopes and dreams) and responds. So very often God responds through the care of another. When we encounter ones struggling as we have we can offer deep empathy to one another. If we have walked the hard path they are walking we can offer encouragement and abiding understanding. When we are struggling we do well to find ones who have struggled like we are and draw from them as well.
Sometimes we encounter people struggling in a way that we can’t readily enter. We can still offer care. We can be authentic and not pretend to know what we don’t. We can ask questions when appropriate (although not like those of Job’s “friends”). We can linger in silence and be a ministry of presence. We can avoid being haughty and go and be with whoever whenever wherever—you know, the kind of thing Jesus did so very often.
We are brought up in our culture to be independent, self-sufficient, aloof and strong. The truth is Jesus didn’t live this way. Jesus relied on his relationship with God and made all sorts of relationships with the folks he encountered who were all viable candidates to live on the island of misfit toys. Jesus broke barriers and broke bread. Jesus loved and received love. Jesus showed compassion in his words and his actions. We need what Jesus offered. We need to offer to others what Jesus offered.
God, thank you for Jesus’ example of how to live out the Romans text above. Thanks, too, for Mary and Elizabeth’s example of how to live out that text. Bring that text to bear on us, in us and through us. Help us live in genuine relationships that bring glory to you. Amen.
This Sunday is when the church commemorates the Holy Trinity. Every year after the feast of Pentecost the next Sunday is “Holy Trinity Sunday”. I expect you will be hearing about the mysteries of the triune nature of God in worship on Sunday. If you want something a little tongue in cheek to that end you might like to point your browser to Lutheran Satire’s St Patrick’s Bad Analogies. If you want to experience a hauntingly beautiful song that lingers in the mysteries of the Trinity you might enjoy Spirit Garage Band’s Cherubic Hymn from their CD “Free Parking” (also on i-Tunes).
This Sunday, because it is May 31, is also the day the church commemorates the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. For this week we’ll focus on that through the lens of the appointed epistle reading.
Peace,
Karl
------------
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.[a] 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;
I love the image of John the Baptist, in the womb, rejoicing in encountering his cousin who was also in the womb. Mary has just learned that she will give birth to Jesus. She also learns that Elizabeth is 6 months pregnant. Mary goes for a visit. Can you imagine the conversations between Mary who has never been with a man and is facing all sorts of condemnation for her pregnancy and Elizabeth who was thought to be barren yet has become pregnant? These women surely shared tears and laughter, fears and dreams in the three months they spent together. Mary stayed right up until Elizabeth was ready to give birth. They lingered in relationship.
What these two offered each other was genuine relationship. They lived out the Romans text above. They offered deeply rooted care and support for one another. In many ways they could relate and offered love and empathy to one another. In some ways their situations weren’t exactly the same and so they offered care and perhaps sympathy to one another. They were intentional in the giving and receiving of care and they can serve as a model to us as well.
We encounter many in need. Perhaps it is better said all we encounter are in need but we don’t always perceive those needs. We have needs too. God knows our needs (and our hopes and dreams) and responds. So very often God responds through the care of another. When we encounter ones struggling as we have we can offer deep empathy to one another. If we have walked the hard path they are walking we can offer encouragement and abiding understanding. When we are struggling we do well to find ones who have struggled like we are and draw from them as well.
Sometimes we encounter people struggling in a way that we can’t readily enter. We can still offer care. We can be authentic and not pretend to know what we don’t. We can ask questions when appropriate (although not like those of Job’s “friends”). We can linger in silence and be a ministry of presence. We can avoid being haughty and go and be with whoever whenever wherever—you know, the kind of thing Jesus did so very often.
We are brought up in our culture to be independent, self-sufficient, aloof and strong. The truth is Jesus didn’t live this way. Jesus relied on his relationship with God and made all sorts of relationships with the folks he encountered who were all viable candidates to live on the island of misfit toys. Jesus broke barriers and broke bread. Jesus loved and received love. Jesus showed compassion in his words and his actions. We need what Jesus offered. We need to offer to others what Jesus offered.
God, thank you for Jesus’ example of how to live out the Romans text above. Thanks, too, for Mary and Elizabeth’s example of how to live out that text. Bring that text to bear on us, in us and through us. Help us live in genuine relationships that bring glory to you. Amen.
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