Psalm 107:1-32
1 Corinthians 12:27 - 13:3
Mark 9:2-13

To me the lessons for the day are messages, messages in code that have multiple meanings, but generally there is one that dominates, surpassing the others. In an attempt to understand the lessons for today I read the King James, the Revised Standard, and the Oxford New English Bible.

The reading from Mark tells me that Peter was a Jew who believed in the Prophets. He thought Jesus was another prophet, on par with Elijah and Moses. But then Peter had a revelation that Jesus was more than a Prophet, he was the Son of God. Peter wanted to spread this news, but Jesus told him to wait until the son of man had risen from the dead. Thus Peter learned that while on earth Jesus was human, that he would suffer and die as a human, but that he would rise from the dead as the Son of God. The mural above our altar portrays this moment when the Son of God ascends into heaven to become one with God.

The 107th Psalm is detailed and complex. It describes four situations of human suffering: The homeless, hungry and thirsty, wandering in the desolate wilderness; the prisoners chained in irons in the dark prison; the sick, refusing food and drawing near to death; and the storm-tossed sailors near to drowning in the sea. In each case in response to their cries to God for help, God's steadfast love delivered them from their distress. The Psalm tells me that God's love is continuous and all-powerful.

In his letter to the Corinthians Paul is saying that it does not matter what we do, how successful we are or how charitable we are, if we do not have love, we are nothing and have nothing. He tells me that if we have love we are the body of Christ. To me it is an ecumenical message. As Christians we are united in our love for each other.

Psalm 73
Exodus 1:6-22
1 Corinthians 12:12-26
Mark 8:27 - 9:1

"Everything is connected through Christ." I kept coming back to this thought as I read today's lessons, especially the Gospel and the Epistle. In the Gospel, Jesus clearly foretells his death and resurrection to the disciples on the way to Caesarea Philippi, teaching them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be killed and after three days rise again. Six days after this, Jesus will indeed be transfigured and shine in glory before Peter, James and John, and they will hear God proclaim Jesus as his Son, the Beloved, in a story we hear each year on the last Sunday after the Epiphany. We must take up our cross to follow Christ, but Jesus tells us that there are some who are standing with him who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come.

I wondered what Jesus meant by this, then I thought about the reading from Corinthians. I love the image of many members that form one body as a metaphor for the church as a whole, and our congregation at Ascension in particular. I think we see the kingdom of God in each other as we gather from week to week to celebrate the Eucharist, and as we care for each other and suffer together and rejoice together, as St. Paul so beautifully tells us. We are connected to each other through Christ, and we can see the kingdom of God every time we come together.

As I was thinking about the Gospel, the hymn tune to "Take up Your Cross" was going through my mind (No. 675 in the 1982 Hymnal). I looked up the last verse, which I particularly like:

"Take up your cross, and follow Christ, nor think till death to lay it down; for only those who bear the cross may hope to wear the glorious crown."

Take a look at the beautiful image of the cross and the crown together in one of the stained glass windows in the entry to the church next time you go in the Fifth Avenue doors, and get ready to experience the kingdom of God!

Psalm 119:121-144
Genesis 50:15-26
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Mark 8:11-26

One of the things that struck me in today's readings was Christ's exchange with his disciples on the boat as they headed to Bethsaida.

This is right after performing the miracle with the loaves and fishes, when he fed thousands of people. Jesus was then asked by the Pharisees for a sign from heaven. Right! Thanks for the magic dinner, now how about conjuring up some dessert? In his profound disappointment ("he sighed deeply in his spirit") that no one seemed to understand that it's not all about pulling rabbits out of hats, he warned his disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod, as in: The System Is Corrupt.

This metaphor is absolutely lost on the poor disciples, who are freaking out because they have only one loaf of bread on the boat to share. Now Christ is going on about yeast and in their short-sighted, literal, linear, hungry little mortal minds they're like, "See? The whole bread thing's a disaster."

"Why are you talking about having no bread?" he asks. Not a good day to be Jesus.

You'd think that if anyone at any given time in history would have legitimate reason to stop worrying about where their next meal was coming from, it would be the disciples of Jesus after witnessing what had just occurred with the bread and fish. Not to mention knowing what he can do with wine. But no. It's scary to be on a boat with that many men and only one loaf of bread.

That's where I am, mentally and emotionally, most of the time -- right there with those disciples. I worry about my bank balance, I worry about whether I can afford the things I think I need, I worry about holding on to the things that make me feel secure. I become bogged down in the minutia of my life and fail to see the big picture. How many miracles do I need to witness before I start to trust in the glory and abundance of God's love?

Jesus asks, "Do you not yet understand?"

I have seen beautiful things. At some level I get it, but on another level I worry about my daily bread. The challenge is to get over the bread and see the miracles, big and small, that occur every day.

Psalm 94
Genesis 49:29 - 50:14
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Mark 8:1-10

He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven."

There is a Japanese method for achieving big goals in small ways: kaizen. It was actually introduced by General MacArthur after the war, with the goal of improving Japan's business culture, which he saw as exhibiting slack management practices and low standards, impediments to Japan joining the international economy. The rest, as they say, is history.

The essential lesson of kaizen is that, by taking small, almost infinitesimal steps toward our goals, we are that much better positioned to make other, only slightly less infinitesimal improvements. Eventually, almost with compound interest, we've reached our goal and possibly blown past it to even greater things. Studies by (among others) Robert Maurer, Ph.D., of the UCLA School of Medicine, demonstrate that the technique can work for institutions, communities, and individuals. His book One Small Step Can Change Your Life sounds cheesy by its title, but it's actually a cogent argument for kaizen in daily life.

Seven loaves and a few small fish would, I think, classify as small and infinitesimal steps toward the goal of feeding four thousand people. And yet.

In Mark's gospel (and in Matthew's) this is the second time Jesus feeds a multitude with a few loaves and fish. It proved a second opportunity for the disciples (and us) to learn what God's asking of us: to give what we have, and he'll take care of the rest. I noticed he didn't produce the baskets and baskets of bread and fish out of thin air. And however they were multiplied, it's not recorded as an impressive miracle from a visual standpoint -- such as, say, the Transfiguration was. He simply took what the disciples could offer, gave thanks, broke the bread and divided the fish -- and it fed four thousand hungry people.

We can take stock of ourselves and ask: "Can I live my life today just two percent more in line with God's will for me than I did yesterday?" We can take stock of our parish and say: "What can we do to welcome just one more person into our midst?" Or: "What single visit, phone call, e-mail, or letter can I make or write today to make Ascension a more loving community?"

Infinitesimal improvements. Steps so small, they're no threat whatsoever to my natural inertia and resistance. Easy. Simple.

Here, have some more fish. We've got plenty.

Psalm 89:19-52
Genesis 49:1-28
1 Corinthians 10:14 - 11:1
Mark 7:24-37

As I read today's Propers, one word kept spinning in my mind: Covenant. Webster's defines covenant in several ways including, "the promises made by God to humankind as recorded in the Bible," and "an agreement among members of a church to do or keep from doing a specified thing."

The Bible records many covenants between God and God's creation that illustrate the first definition: the covenant with Noah to never again destroy the earth through a flood, the covenant with Abraham to make his "offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore" and the covenant with the Israelites held captive in Egypt to free them from their captivity and to take them as God's own people. The ultimate covenant between God and humankind occurred through the incarnation of God's son Jesus Christ as the savior of the world and the expiation of our sins.

But what of the second definition cited? What of the "agreement to do or keep from doing a specified thing?" In accepting our Baptismal covenant, we vowed to "renounce Satan...renounce the evil powers of the world...renounce all sinful desires...turn to Jesus Christ...put our whole trust in His grace and love...and to promise to follow Him as our Lord." Isn't this our part of the bargain? Isn't this the quid pro quo?

I find it fascinating that the first definition cited above refers to God's relationship with humankind while the latter focuses on an agreement forged among members of a Church and that the two are independent of one another. Can we infer from this that God's covenant with humankind, God's abiding grace, God's gift of his son as our savior is given not only to those who attempt to abide by their Baptismal vows every day of their lives but also to those for whom their Baptismal covenant has become a mere recitation of empty phrases or even those who have never been marked as Christ's own forever?

Feast of the Annunciation
Psalm 40:1-11
Isaiah 7:10-14
Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:26-38

Today we celebrate the Annunciation, but the theme of our readings is centered on trust and obedience.

In Luke 1:26-38 we read of Mary being visited by the angel Gabriel and learning that she will bear the Son of God. She questions how this can be and is told that nothing will be impossible with God, therefore she must trust. She then replies, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

And, in Isaiah 7:10-14 the Lord is speaking to Ahaz and says, "Ask a sign of the Lord your God." Ahaz responds, " I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test." He trusts the Lord.

In Hebrews 10:5-10 we read that Jesus speaks about obedience to God and that he came to us as a gift given to do His will on earth. He is obedient to the Father.

Finally, Psalm 40:1-11 are filled with phrases like "Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord." And "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods." And finally, "I delight to do your will, oh my God; your law is within my heart."

For each of us, it is important to read these passages and remember that whatever we do in our day-to-day lives, if we focus on obedience to God and put our trust in Him, we may succeed in living our life, as He would have it. We should walk in the way of Jesus, obedient to His ways, and trust that He guides us and watches over us.

Psalm 91, 92
1 Corinthians 9:16-27
Mark 6:47-56

Oh, what inspiration Saint Paul gives us today: to "preach the gospel" as he does in this epistle, full of energy and the drive to win disciples for Christ. May his fire and passion inspire us to read all of our texts today with new fervor and insight.

Oh, what blessings the Lord has given us, that he calls us and protects us, asking only that we trust in Him, and that we "be not afraid."

Oh, the enormity of our "upright Lord": we need not worry about anything, but what he has revealed to us of His salvation and grace. If we trust in him, we will not stray from our "runner's path" focused on the finish line, His promise of salvation, and the miraculous life to come.

Confronting all the distractions of our modern world, we can easily be side-tracked from staying the course, with work or social pressures, worldly pleasure, or even despair. But with the determination that Saint Paul shows us, and the inspiration of our God, "our refuge and our fortress," we can win the prize of eternal Salvation.

In the Gospel today, Christ performs for His apostles and followers many miracles, which cause them to be afraid, for whatever reasons. How often had they seen men walking on stormy waters, or healing the sick in great numbers? Who was this man for whom they had left their lives behind? We too, can be "afraid" sometimes, wondering what it's all about.

But, Christ is our "Rock" and what beautiful words He says to us today; how simple, and how reassuring! Let's listen to those words when we are disappointed or despairing, when we sin, or give up hope: "TAKE COURAGE! IT IS I. DON'T BE AFRAID." Repeat them as we navigate the obstacles of our runner's race to win the Crown of Heaven.

Psalm 85, 86
Genesis 46:1-7, 28-34
1 Corinthians 9:1-15
Mark 6:30-46

The story of the loaves and fishes has come down to us through the centuries as one of the archtypal fables of the collective imagination. One has only to mention "the loaves and fishes" to an educated audience and your meaning is instantly understood. It is the quintessential miracle -- the transforming of almost nothing into a lot of something. In editions of the Bible issued for children, the story is reduced practically to the level of a fairy tale -- Jesus, the handsome man dressed in white with the long hair, waves his hand and food magically appears.

But despite our familiarity with this particular miracle, a careful reading of the original episode (or rather one of them, for it appears in several of the gospels) can yield some subtle and stimulating thoughts.

In Mark's rendition, 6:30-46, we find one of those disturbing little shifts in the narrative that are so disconcertingly common throughout both the old and new testaments. When the apostles approached Jesus and tell him that the hour is late and the people have nothing to eat, he appears to suddenly turn on them by saying "Give ye them to eat." One can almost see the twinkle in his eyes and the beginning of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth as he gently tweaks them and throws the problem back into their own laps. Hasn't He, after all, been feeding them all afternoon? And what, exactly, did they expect Him to do about it anyway? The apostles react like startled children. Should we go out and buy some bread, they asked, and, if so, where? He quickly covers for them with the blessing of the five loaves and two fishes, which feed, we are told, five thousand men. The leftovers were then collected into twelve baskets (equal to the number of apostles) and have continued to feed people down to the present day.

That is one reading of the story. Here is another.

At a party some years ago, an earnest young man in his thirties, who happened to be British and plotting a career for himself as an academic, was bemoaning the state of the world and his own place in it. His own actions were, he felt, quite futile and useless to effect any real and meaningful change in the world. Why bother with anything? All was pointless. He went on like this for some time, as if daring the universe, and anyone in the room who was foolish enough, to try to convince him otherwise. Finally, in mock desperation, he threw his long arms up and said, "Give me some loaves and fishes!" What, exactly, he meant by this is unclear -- either he envisioned himself as Christ, or he felt that only a miracle could bring about the immediate and dramatic change in the world, and thereby restore the sense of purpose to his actions, that he was seeking. A beautiful young woman, herself from India, who had been sitting quietly across from him, her hands folded in her lap with an exquisite grace, responded, "Very well then. Give me seven women and men and educate them and send them out into the world. There are your loaves and fishes!"

Psalm 81, 82
Genesis 45:16-28
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 6:13-29

The four readings for today serve as a meditation on justice and judgment. The two psalms the lead off as an hymn of adoration to the God who made a pact with His people. Even though they are not faithful in listening to Him, He counsels the rulers (here the "divine council") to "Give justice to the weak and the fatherless, maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." The is one of the central points of the Judeo- Christian moral code of course, though it is perhaps as consistently ignored today as in the several millennia since this psalm was written.

The Genesis story drops us midway into the long story of Joseph, son of Jacob, who is sold into bondage by his brothers. Later, when the brothers are forced to seek aid in Egypt during a famine in Palestine, they find Joseph employed as the Pharaoh's leading lieutenant, a powerful man. The message here though is that Joseph, rather than seeking vengeance on his brothers, returns their cruel act with forgiveness. Joseph makes a judgment that vengeance is not a proper motive in meting out justice. He follows the example of the merciful God of the psalms.

Paul's letter to the Corinthians turns to another facet of justice. Namely, that our responsibilities to others preclude our freedom to follow and fulfill our own happiness. It's an interesting corollary to the American Declaration of Independence and our "right to the pursuit of happiness." Of course one is a moral code, and the other a political precept. But we run into these sorts of choices on a fairly regular basis. To use a banal example: We can cross the street when no cars are coming even against a red light, because we are mature enough to make a sound judgment. But if a child sees us cross when the light is red, and tries the same thing, the results could be disastrous. Our moral choice is opposed to our practical one.

Finally the gospel story of Herod, Herodias, and the unnamed daughter, Salome, who forces Herod to give her John the Baptist's head on a platter for vengeful reasons (if you don't know Richard Strauss' opera based on this little biblical story, make an effort to hear it. It is a powerful mixture of lust, violence and spirituality). Here we see the opposite of the Joseph's decision in Genesis. Herod knows the choice of murdering John is wrong, but he does not want to embarrass himself before his guests by breaking his word. So personal expediency triumphs, because Herod is more interested in himself than in justice. He allows his better judgment to be superseded by self-interest.

Psalm 78:40-72
Genesis 45:1-15
1 Corinthians 7:32-40
Mark 6:1-13

All of these readings have to do with the question of loyalty: to whom or to what do we give our loyalty? What does it mean to defy that loyalty, to take it out of our need to live our lives a certain way? Moreover what might be the conditions we find ourselves in should we violate that loyalty?

I think these conditions of life that test our loyalties are also conditions that form and shape the choices we make. Either we rise above them to make our choices or we give in to them to guide our choices. Which will it be? If life is difficult, and I don't pursue something I want because of the difficulty, how do I perceive that choice? Does it matter whether life tests me or I go along with it? Yes, these passages answer -- life tests us all. The question becomes, what do you do with that test? Do you follow its seeming difficulty as a certainty of where you should go, or do you follow something else inside of yourself, a different loyalty, that may see the conditions of life as something to be lived above, with detachment? These are the questions asked by all of these passages.

If we take specifically the passage from Mark, we see Jesus rejected by those who know him and his family. His teachings and his authority mean nothing to them. They ask, "Isn't this the carpenter? Don't we know his family? Who does he think he is?" and they reject what he has to say. Where are their loyalties -- are they listening with "ears to hear" to his wisdom? Or are they looking around at themselves and their world saying, we already know the conditions of the world to be thus and such: this man cannot speak with authority and wisdom. It is a question of loyalty to the wisdom and whence it comes vs. loyalty to the things they know of the conditions of the world. To recognize God immanent in our world, calling on us one way or the other, one needs an inner loyalty to something that can detach itself from the immediate environment and what it seems to be telling us about ourselves, what we need to think or to believe. And so it is with Jesus and the people who think they've got him buttonholed, who know him from "the world" and cannot recognize the life that is in Him.

In the practice of the Jesus prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy," one calls upon the name of God all the time. This is so we remember where our loyalties lie. It is to call remembrance to us not just of the man Jesus in the bible, but of the living Logos, his personhood and his presence to enter into all our dark places, to change our lives by changing our perception and by enlightening our own wisdom about the choices we need to make. Prayer is forging a relationship, a dialogue if you will, with God. Remember that loyalty -- it's stronger than the tests of the world. These are the relationships that count when you make your choices in the world, facing its realities it will present you with. That's what these passages say to me.

Human beings are innately constructed to worship -- it's a question of choosing what that will be, where our loyalties lie, where our heart is, what we love. Bob Dylan wrote a song about it: "Gotta Serve Somebody."

Feast of St. Joseph (transferred)
Psalm 89:1-29
2 Samuel 7:4, 8-16
Romans 4:13-18
Luke 2:41-52

This passage in Luke is one of the rarest of its type of all the gospels. It is a story about Jesus' childhood. Moreover, he is not an infant, but a precocious twelve-year-old. It is the only gospel story we have of Jesus as a boy. Of the four gospels, Luke's is one of two to describe Jesus' life before his public ministry. The birth narrative in Luke, and this story of the finding in the temple, confirm for Luke's reader that Jesus is the promised messiah long before Jesus' baptism and the 'public' confirmation of Jesus' special relationship to God. Luke leaves no doubt that, from birth, Jesus is God's son.

At the beginning of today's passage, we learn something about Jesus' family life. Mary and Joseph attend the Passover in Jerusalem every year. Jesus' family is a religiously observant one, going to expense and some lengths (literally) to observe Israel's holiest feast in the holy city. It is out of this family environment that the prodigal Jesus comes, with knowledge and critical judgment that astounds the elders and teachers that gather in the temple to study and discuss their faith.

Luke, the most literarily accomplished of the evangelists, is skillful in his development of the character of Jesus. It is this precocious boy who will grow into the man who astounds, then antagonizes and upsets the religious authorities. Jesus will not obey the rules, but will challenge convention and custom in his teachings, in his choice of associates, and he will fly in the face of the religious and political power structures of his day. A forensic psychologist might see a hint of the man's behavior in the twelve year old who would cause his parents such worry by failing to follow them home from Jerusalem. Indeed, it is this disobedient, worrisome, presumptuous twelve-year-old child that is indeed father to the man he will become, and that we will worship.

Psalm 23, 27
Genesis 43:16-34
1 Corinthians 7:10-24
Mark 5:1-20

I have learned so much from the parents and children that I have cared for as a registered nurse. One family's journey will always be held dear in my heart and their story brings us a loving message. As I came on duty for the night tour at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the unit was unusually hushed, despite the eight children attached to their life supporting technology with humming breaths and beeping alarms. As I received the report on Teddy, I soon understood why, it was because Teddy's mom and dad were told that nothing more could be done. Teddy had endured a bone marrow transplant and bravely fought a long course of chemotherapy for an aggressive form of childhood leukemia. Teddy kept a bright smile on his face as he lay in his mother's arms -- with his dad sitting by his side. As I went into the room to assess Teddy's comfort level I noted his beautiful smiling face, and, as with all six year olds, he was missing his two front teeth. He looked up and with an excited voice said, "Look!! mommy and daddy, the white dog is coming and he is handing me the leash."

Later that night, Teddy, passed away in his parents' arms, and in the morning his mom and dad told me that Teddy had always wanted to have a pet and especially a white dog... .

It is a wondrous mystery how our Lord watches over us as we walk through the valleys of uncertainty, pain and suffering. As we reach toward grace our lord is guiding us through the rolling hills of our life. On the day when we are climbing our highest mountain of our life our Lord is gently lifting and leading us toward peace.

Psalm 23, "The LORD Is My Shepherd" inspired me to write this story and to remember all the children and their families who have courageously traveled through the valley of death.

Psalm 73
1 Corinthians 7:1-9
Mark 4:35-41

The readings for the day present three perspectives: in the Psalm, our general relations to others, in Corinthians, our relations to our partners, and in the Gospel our relations with ourselves.

"Wickedness" has often seemed to me to be an odd idea. I imagine a wrinkly-faced school marm dressed in black, casting spells from her dark, dusty flat. "Wicked" is now even a popular musical on Broadway. It's seems culturally almost faddish to be prickly and snide these days. Northeasterners often decry something intense as "wicked!" Here the Psalmist presents a description of the wicked, their eyes swelling out with fatness, with boastful pride worn as a necklace and violence as a garment. Sound like anyone you know? I'm sure we all have such images of people in our lives, people who enjoy playing the role of spoiler and mischiefmaker. Their sense of identity seems to depend not on themselves, but parasitically attached to intrusion on the lives of others. And yes of course, they are enormous pests! The Psalmist finds refuge in God as the only real alternative.

The reading from Corinthians is more problematical. Paul's presentation of guidelines regarding moral matters often seems patriarchal and even naïve. "It is better to marry than to be aflame with passion." What does this tell us of the unmarried Paul, who reports this "by way of concession, not command." And what are we to make of his apparent interest in giving our partners "authority" over our own bodies? This certainly does not jibe with blustery cultural notions about the rugged "Uh-mericun" individual. Perhaps the translation of the word "authority" is awkward. I wonder if what Paul is trying to articulate is that in order to live an undreamed-of, rich, and fruitful life one should live with one's partner with deference, commitment, and responsibility -- where even ownership over one's body is not for ourselves but ultimately through our partner's love to God.

The Gospel is very interesting, with Jesus performing an apparent act of magic. He is calm in the heart of a storm, the eye, as it were. I wonder if Jesus reinterprets the storm for those around him. He rebukes the storm, yet his fellow riders also heard his stern "Peace! Be still!" Perhaps his calm and subsequent admonishment imposed a change of consciousness on those fellow riders in the boat, as if saying "Excuse me, are you working on your faith?"

Psalm 74
Genesis 42:29-38
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Mark 4:21-34

About two and a half months ago an old friend, having abdominal pain, had a gall stone removed. All cat scans were clear. When the pain did not go away, another cat scan was performed. This time it showed something suspicious on the pancreas.

Two weeks ago a friend came down from New Hampshire to see him because of this news, and suddenly, as they talked, my friend collapsed from septic shock (septicemia from the gall stone operation) so his friend rushed him to the hospital and saved his life.

I guess I don't need to tell you that this suspicious spot has rapidly developed into full-blown ravaging pancreatic cancer... prognosis?...well, you know.

Now, why am I telling you all this? My friend has always been fiercely independent, sometimes to the point of truculence. He has even commented to me that he's a bit of a loner. He likes to think of himself as someone with whom lots of people don't necessarily agree. He is also very intelligent and a writer and poet (which in itself can be isolating.)

While he was in hospital, he had, so the guy at the front desk told me, more visitors than anyone else in the hospital. It became so difficult for them, that they just waved everyone to go on up! I'm talking in the dozens! Fifteen to twenty people a day! He told me that he had no idea so many people cared...he was truly, utterly astounded!

He's home as I write this. His friends have arranged that he is never alone 24 hours a day, since he has said that he wants to die at home.

Now, some might say that in the long run, his friend saving his life did not do him any favors -- it might have been better to let him die then. But since he had someone with him, it seems to me that God did not intend that he should die at that time.

I think that God wanted him to know how much he was loved. And being God, He has been abundant -- actually lavish is probably a better word -- in showing him that. There is no way that this man can any longer think that he is alone and uncared for! And the reason he is much loved is because, despite his truculence, over many years he has helped, guided, comforted, cared for, and encouraged all those people who have come to see him in droves.

Which is what Jesus says in Mark's Gospel: "the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you." And, like Jacob who had no idea that in giving up Benjamin he would keep him and find Joseph, his other son, so we cannot know the workings of God.

By the time you read this he will probably be gone. I've been blessed by his life, not only in the living of it, but also as he is leaving it. For it teaches me yet again that God does move in strange ways his wonders to perform.

"Yours is the day, Yours also the night."

Psalm 119:73-96
Genesis 42:18-28
1 Corinthians 5:9 - 6:8
Mark 4:1-20

In Genesis, Joseph is in Egypt and his brothers come begging food to save their people from famine. Joseph does not judge them, but shows them mercy, forgives them, and testifies that God has worked through their evil actions: "It was not you who sent me here but God...to preserve life."

The Psalmist also testifies that God has sent afflictions for God's purposes. He asks for mercy to live in the midst of affliction, wickedness, and persecution. He leaves the fate of the wicked to God's judgment. He prays for understanding, for mercy, for God's love to comfort him. "As for me, I will meditate on thy precepts." He rejoices, praises, loves, and hopes.

Paul also urges us not to judge: Do not judge the immoral, greedy, robbers, idolaters of the world. Of course they are in the world. "God judges those." "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?"

In Mark, when Jesus explains the parable of the sower of seeds to his disciples, he also accepts that there are those who will hear his teachings and immediately fall into evil ways; those who will hear superficially and forget; those who will hear but be seduced by the riches, cares and enchantments of the world. Jesus does not spend time bemoaning and judging these people. He rather reminds his disciples that they have been given the secret of the kingdom of God and should focus on the fact that they are chosen to hear, accept and bear fruit.

When we experience affliction, greed, idolatry, wickedness -- let our Lenten prayers be that we remember these teachings:

See God working in the afflictions and sufferings of our lives.

Leave the judgment of others to God.

Pray that God's love and mercy be manifest in our lives and in the world.

Be faith-filled, and meditate on the precepts of God.

Hear!

Rejoice!

Praise!

Love!

Hope!

Psalm 68:1-36
Genesis 42:1-17
1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Mark 3:19b-35

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. Mark 3:24-25

Christmas was very strange for me this year for a number of reasons, but chief among them was flying into and out of New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina laid waste to one of my favorite places on earth. I was spared seeing the worst of the devastation, but I did see ruined houses with spray-painted markings indicating the number of bodies found within. Driving across the causeway to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, the skyline of the city was invisible because no lights were illuminated. During this Lenten season I cannot help but think that anything I voluntarily and temporarily give up pales in comparison to the deprivation visited on the members of our American family who have lost so much. The vast gulf between races and classes exposed in the aftermath of Katrina highlights just how divided a kingdom our country truly is. My Easter prayer is that we attempt to heal this division and recognize a purpose in our shared humanity. In a later passage in Mark's Gospel, the crowd around Jesus tells him that his family outside asking for him. He responds by saying, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." Much of my family, immediate and extended, is still living in Louisiana. It is time -- it is long past time -- that we unite our divided kingdom so that they and the rest of us can dwell in houses that will be able to stand, now and forever.

Psalm 65
Genesis 41:46-57
1 Corinthians 4:8-21
Mark 3:7-19a

The power of God is the shared focus of the four readings for today. In Psalms, we see an exuberant accounting of the abundance of earth's provisions: "...the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain..." God's power in nature richly provides for his children; for this and for all the signs of God's grace and caring presence, praise is to be our response.

And in the life of God's servant Joseph, wisdom and power expressed themselves in his careful planning and stewardship of the earth's resources -- specifically grain, plentiful "beyond measure" for seven years. The Genesis passage relates that when famine struck, Joseph was positioned to provide "all the world" with grain from his stores. His singular ability in a time of widespread need reminds us of our responsibility to care for the earth we inhabit, and for our fellow men and women.

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul describes some of the principles that guided the apostles: "...when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly." He appeals to his audience to be "imitators" of him. Noting the arrogance of some of the Corinthians, he vows to respond not to their words, but to their power: "For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power." It would seem that patience and the inclination to forgive count as powerful tools for living in this world.

The passage from Mark looks at the matter of power at a critical point in Jesus' ministry: his appointment of the twelve apostles. Mark reports that the twelve were to be with Jesus, "to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons." A tall order! But their power to fulfill the commission is understood to devolve directly from Jesus. Thus their success is assured -- as is ours when we undertake our own ministries, at church and in the world, guided by our trust in God and our confidence in God's protection and inspiring Spirit.

Psalm 139:1-23
Genesis 41:1-13
1 Corinthians 4:1-7
Mark 2:23 - 3:6

The subject of friendship has been on my mind. And since I think of Jesus Christ as my friend when I am trying to get closer to him, I thought I would try to interpret my assignment in scripture as an expression of God's friendship for us.

In Genesis 41, Pharaoh is directed to consult David on his troubling dreams and David has the correct interpretation of them. We have all had the experience of going to a friend when we are troubled but, more to the point, David has the correct interpretation because he is closer to God than Pharaoh is. As it says in Psalm 139: "Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely." We have all had the startling experience, I think, of realizing that our friends sometimes know us better than we know ourselves. We are baffled when we try to understand God's ways. But, following Psalm 139, turn that around: God understands us -- and not just because he is wise but indifferent but because he is wise and loves us...like a friend.

In Corinthians 4, we read; "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or any human court. I do not even judge myself...It is the Lord who judges me." Isn't this the freedom that friendship grants us? That we don't care what everyone thinks of us but of what our friends think of us. And we do not even judge ourselves but rest in the security of knowing that we are loved? Finally in Mark 2 we read how the Pharisees, those great rule-givers, would impose a life-denying formality on Jesus during the Sabbath, objecting that work should be done to feed the hungry or cure the sick. And Jesus says: "The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath." It reminds me that our friends do not stand on ceremony if our hearts are in the right place. During this Lenten season, if we consider our Lord as our friend, indeed as our best friend and so much so that even if we never had another, his friendship alone would suffice then, if you had such a friend, wouldn't you want to stand with Him in his time of trouble? So let us stand with Him. Amen.

Psalm 40
1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Mark 2:13-22

Today's gospel message reinforces the view that Jesus is ready to overturn the existing religious order. He is seen eating and socializing with the moral and social outcasts of his day. Certainly that is not something an outwardly religious first century Jew would be seen doing. Why? Because they couldn't possibly imagine that God would condone such behavior.

When confronted with his unsettling and obviously outrageous behavior, what is Jesus' response? He says he is not called to save the righteous, but rather sinners. On the surface, that would seem to indicate that God is only interested in helping society's obvious outcasts. If taken out of context, one might easily conclude that. However, in other sections of the New Testament, Jesus clearly indicates that everyone is a "sinner." "He who is without sin, cast the first stone." In other words, Jesus is interested in saving all of us. No matter what we have done, no matter what others might think, Jesus will be there.

The second part of this gospel reading challenges another societal view about how religious people should conduct themselves. Doesn't God require asceticism and on-going sacrifice as proof of righteousness, as evidenced by fasting? Jesus is clear. Yes, there is a time and place for such practices, but there is also a time to celebrate, to enjoy life. What a perfect thought for Lent. Yes, there is a time and place for fasting, but we should never lose sight of the goal, enjoying the presence of God.

Psalm 19
Genesis 39:1-23
1 Corinthians 2:14 - 3:15
Mark 2:1-12

These readings have to do with the power and might of God. While we are made in His image, we are really very different from Him.

In Genesis, God's power is such that He protects Joseph no matter what happens. Even when sent to jail for a wrong he did not commit, the Lord made Joseph "prosper."

In I Corinthians, Paul explains to us that as humans we can't understand everything that God does for us. We are of the "flesh," but to understand God, we have to be if the "spirit." He likens the ability to receive God to an infant drinking milk, not eating solid food, for an infant can not digest solid food until he has grown. We, being human, can only comprehend human things, unless we grow in the spirit. Then we will have the ability to comprehend God. This is not something automatic -- we have to work at it.

Mark illustrates this limitation of ours to comprehend the complexity of God. Jesus has returned home and is in the midst of people who have known him all his life. He sees a paralytic and says to the man that his sins are forgiven. What crazy thing is this? Who can forgive a person's sins but God? In order to prove to those there that Jesus is God, he heals the paralytic, and the people all watch the man stand up and walk away. Then they understand. Unless we can see something with our own eyes, we humans can not believe it.

So the message for today is that we need to work at developing our spiritual side and listen carefully in order to understand God more fully, with the knowledge that, like Joseph, God is "with us" and will "show us steadfast love."

Psalm 49
Genesis 37:25-36
1 Corinthians 2:1-13
Mark 1:29-45

Balance. This is a key word I use when working with college students. While trying to impress others (e.g., faculty, friends, parents, girlfriends/boyfriends, future employers), I've met many students who take on too many responsibilities without recognizing the time need to relax, reflect, and meditate. Also, I've met students who aren't motivated and often escape into video games or parties. They usually fail to recognize the many opportunities to further their education and their own self-development. In higher education, we often call this balance: "Challenge and Support." To create learning environments and important developmental opportunities, students need both challenges to encourage them to expand their understanding and improve their abilities. At the same time, students need environments that offer support and safety. Trying to find the right balance between challenge and support is the optimal goal in providing effective learning environments for college students. With too much challenge, students tend to regress developmentally and develop less adaptive modes of behavior. However, with too much support, students learn little and fail to develop their own identity.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus provides an excellent example of balance. He has been called to heal the sick, but he also models balance by staying away from large crowds or withdrawing for private meditation. Balance. What an important example to follow in our own lives! How can we instill more balance in our own schedules?

Psalm 47, 48
Genesis 37:12-24
1 Corinthians 1:20-31
Mark 1:14-28

Chronologically, these texts reveal a nice progression. God is present in this segment of the Joseph story only in that Joseph's life is saved. The psalms are, as one might expect, hymns of praise to God, "king of all the earth" (47). Mark, in this first episode of Jesus' ministry, reveals the power of God as, at Jesus' behest, an "unclean spirit threw [the] man into convulsions and with a loud cry left him."

The final text, from Paul's letter to the Corinthians, is the most striking. It is a diatribe against wisdom, against "the wise man, the man of learning," and at first reading I found the text offensive. I spent many years acquiring knowledge of a foreign language, literature and culture and attempting to convey its values to students. I realized later, however, that not only were knowledge, understanding, the beauty of the texts, and perhaps the wisdom of their authors involved, but that these texts had become sacred texts for me, and that my own role was in a sense sacerdotal. This may explain, in part at least, why I was not confirmed until after I retired from teaching.

So it is perhaps not surprising that, after further reflection, I found this text not only understandable, but eloquently convincing, if we consider its context. Paul is writing to a Christian community in Greece that has apparently been beset by divisions and quarrels, and he exhorts them to remain united and steadfast in their faith against the Jews, who "call for miracles," and the Greeks, who "look for wisdom." Christians believe "the folly of the Gospel," Paul says. "We proclaim...Christ nailed to the cross;...he is the power of God and the wisdom of God." And Paul concludes that "God has made [Christ] our wisdom." In the last analysis, this is a very compelling text.

Psalm 44
Genesis 37:1-11
1 Corinthians 1:1-19
Mark 1:1-13

Have you ever looked around your home and wondered why some parts of the construction are slightly off? Why is some of the alignment off? Or by now have you gotten so used to it, perhaps camouflaging the imperfection with something so your eye doesn't go there?

Imagine attempting to draw a straight line without the use of a ruler or some other straight edge device or attempting to hang an exhibition of paintings or photographs without a leveler. And for those of you who use any of the Photoshop or similar software packages, you too know how difficult it is to get a straight line or cut out an image with the use of a mouse or a stylus. If you are using a plastic ruler, sometimes there is a nick in its surface. Sometime your grip loosens and the ruler moves ever so slightly. Or perhaps the paper is slightly off.

For the chorus of you naysayers out there babbling "but I have a steady hand or my eye is pretty accurate," these readings for today seem to suggest "take another look." God realizes we cannot travel our individual and collective journeys without Him. He is there for us as we cope with the "freight of life."

In the appointed Psalm for the day, God drives out foes through the use of various tactics and comes to the aid of those in distress demonstrating the power of love. In the Genesis reading, God appears to Joseph in a sequence of dreams indicating what lies in his path and his family has some different reactions -- the brothers are jealous and suspicious, the father is not particularly comfortable, but learns something about the interaction among his sons. Perhaps the mother is in the background saying to the father, "I'm not surprised about the brothers' reaction to Joseph. They've always been jealous of him."

The one-upsmanship of the congregation in Corinth and those going to be baptized by John in the Jordan are legendary. The back and forth about who baptized whom seems to be endless. The fashion statement of John the Baptist could probably compete with today's creations on the haute couture catwalks of New York, Paris or Milan. These are all pointless.

God is with us wherever we are on the path in our journey -- in the caverns of our minds and spirits, in the wilderness, as ambient music or a boombox in the forefront of our minds and being.

Psalm 42, 43
Ezekiel 39:21-29
Philippians 4:10-20
John 17:20-26

I have just finished saying my daily prayers. My prayer life is generally the same day to day, with lots of "please" and "help me" mixed in with the prayers for those who are close to me as well as prayers of praise and love for God and Jesus. After reading today's Gospel lesson, I realize that what I pray for seems selfish compared to Jesus' prayer. My prayers typically start with praise and thanksgiving and roll into prayers for my safety and security and the safety and security of those close to me. I believe it is appropriate to pray this way but realize how limited and limiting my prayers are when I don't consider the bigger picture. Am I still praying for the tsunami and hurricane victims who lost everything? Am I praying for the children living and dying from cancer at the nearby Children's Foundling Hospital? Am I praying for the members of our Armed Forces serving this country across the globe and predominantly in Iraq? Am I praying for an end to war, poverty, discrimination? Am I praying for unity in the world, as Jesus did in His final testament?

In his intercessory prayer, Jesus prayed not only for himself, his disciples and those who followed him during his ministry, but for all people of ALL ages! This includes us! This last petition from Jesus tells His desire for us; that we all may be one through God our Father. God sent his love to the world through His Son Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus believe in God and are children of God. As God is our Father, we are therefore all sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters through God. All who believe in Jesus have the privilege and grace of becoming brothers and sisters of God through Jesus.

Jesus' desire for us is for us to live in unity. He is asking that we all may be one through him, beholding his glory, knowing we are loved by our Father through our love of Him. In order to accept Jesus' prayer and live it, we must walk in unity, as brothers and sisters of God through Jesus. We must walk in the faith that God sent His Son to unite us together in his love. We must walk in the love of God, sent through Jesus.

My daily prayers are rote and self giving. If I follow Jesus' example and pray for unity and do my best to live in it, not only will I enrich my daily prayer life, but my life in the world.

Psalm 35
Philippians 4:1-9
John 17:9-19

Psalm 35 describes our need for God to be our protector, saving us from unexpected enemies who mock our attempts to help them, much like we turn from God after He has saved us.

Our belief in God sets us apart, making us visible and, therefore, vulnerable to evil. The selection from the Book of John describes Jesus' disciples as "in the world" but not "of the world." Jesus is shown as our Advocate with the Father, since we are His people, who need salvation from worldly distractions from His truth.

We need God's guidance and strength so that we can bring His joy into the world, and reflect the glory of His love back to God.

Psalm 37:19-42
Hab. 3:1-18
Phil. 3:12-21
John 17:1-8

Unlike what most of us were taught as the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father which art in heaven") is the true Lord's Prayer in John 17. This "holiest of prayers" teaches us the values of simplicity and directness, not to mention brevity, in our own prayers to God. The prayer makes clear the meaning of eternal life and it is not a mystical vision of a heavenly Kingdom full of blue clouds with virgins galloping about in herbaceous borders. It is a call to come to know God and Jesus personally. To do that, as in any personal human relationship, one must work at it. This is what an enriched life means. It is all part of a long searching process that never ends and is in constant need of communion with God and with human beings, animals, natural forces and anything else on this earth one feels capable of having a spiritual and loving relationship with.

All of this is to glorify God and to understand the character of God. Not easy tasks. But the passages allow one the comfort of knowing God is more than aware of evil forces at work and will, in the end, protect the man and woman of peace and modesty and grace. This prayer of Jesus represents the icon of Christianity: we came from God and we eventually go to God. What is in between? Ah, there's the rub!

Psalm 103
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
2 Cor. 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion!" says the prophet. Although this passage is a call to repentance, to fasting and prayer, its kinetic urgency engenders joy. What an opportunity for a choreographer! The old language of the Authorized Version propels this surging poetic energy more powerfully, in my opinion, than subsequent translations. Most of us do have to rely on translations for our Scripture. But isn't Scripture itself, even in the original tongues, a translation of mysterious and ineffable matters into the human medium of language. Why not translate it into movement also?

Dance, literature, music, the visual arts -- these are all outward expressions of inward grace, and in that sense sacramental. In all of today's readings there is an inward/outward play. "Rend your heart, and not your garments." And yet St. Paul speaks of being "ambassadors" of Christ and seems rather stern in insisting that we "give no offence in any thing," a statement that sounds rather insincerely outward. And all this stuff about suffering -- afflictions, stripes, imprisonments -- this arouses both guilt and anger. Haven't we all been told not to think of our own problems but to "remember poor somebody or other, who" blah, blah, blah? And the longsuffering and pureness bit makes things even worse. Although the balanced prose of the Authorized Version is stately and rhythmic -- even kinetic -- it is difficult to handle, and the contrasts often seem like contradictions. In other translations, such as J.B. Phillips' Letters to Young Churches, although less "poetic," more colloquial, the inward/outward motif becomes clearer. Whatever our outward difficulties -- no self-pity here -- we cultivate the inward grace. These troubles, as Phillips translates, "we want to meet with sincerity, insight and patience; with genuine love, speaking the plain truth, and living by the power of God." When the Holy Spirit dwells within us, then "never far from death, yet here we are alive."

This inward/outward contrast is even clearer in the Gospel. The term usually rendered as "hypocrites" originally referred to one engaged in dialogue, an actor or stage performer, later an orator or declaimer, also one who feigns or pretends. But feigning, at least on the stage, is an outward method of presenting inner truth. Those who use the trumpet to announce themselves rather than community prayer do not practice the inwardness to which Our Lord exhorts us.

"Thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." If we take the "closet" passage literally, even if we don't pray while sitting on the shoes, with clothes hanging in our faces, we may be tempted to try to bargain with God. Oh yes, like the hypocrites, we will have our reward. But the "reward" may be a surprise, even a rude shock. We really don't know what we're getting into.

Maybe we never will. Again and again, we need to enter the enclosed garden of contemplation, to mount the steps of the interior castle. Now is the time. "Welcome deare feast of Lent...The Scriptures bid us fast," wrote the seventeenth century poet George Herbert. "The Church sayes 'now'."