Sermon for February 22

“Yes, I know. Keep Silent.”

We live in a really noisy world. It seems that everyone is competing for our attention. Everyone from television news personalities to radio talk show hosts to pop musicians – they all want us to listen to them and to be influenced by what they have to say. Even billboards shout at us – “Hey, look at me. I want to sell you the latest item on the market. You didn’t even know you needed it until you saw this ad.”

God also wants our attention, but often God gets our attention with a “still small voice.” To hear that voice, we need to find times to keep silent. I remember once reporting to my Bishop that I was going on retreat, and that I was taking such and such books with me. He wrote back to me and said something like, “Linda, when you are on retreat, books are noise.” Like Elisha in our Old Testament lesson [2 Kings 2:1-12], he could have said, “Yes, I know. Keep silent.”

Today is the last Sunday after the Epiphany, which was celebrated on January 6th as the visit of the Wise Men to the infant Jesus. During this Season of Epiphany, our scriptures have focused on God’s love being spread abroad to the nations – his salvation spreading to the ends of the earth.

On this last Sunday of the Epiphany, what it is that our scriptures are all about? I think they are all about our ultimate epiphany. They are about our ultimate “aha” moment. The ultimate light that can go on over our heads is to realize that we, too, are the beloved. When Jesus was on the mountaintop meeting with Moses and Elijah [Mark 9:2-9
], God broke through the cloud cover and declared that Jesus was/is God’s beloved Son. This was the second time God had said this out loud so that all could hear. The first time was at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. We who are baptized into Christ share in his divine life. We too share in the beloved-ness of Jesus Christ. God loves us unconditionally.

God’s unconditional love for us does not mean that God approves of all our actions. On the contrary, God’s love calls us to repentance and a better way of life. The upcoming Season of Lent gives us a chance to be intentional about that. This better way of life would include opening ourselves up to God’s love in such a way that we know and accept ourselves. In this way we will be more apt to love and accept others. We can pass that beloved-ness on to others and try to bring out the best in them. It only takes a minute to lift someone’s spirits to the skies. On the other hand, if we say harsh words to others, it might take a lifetime to erase the hurt. Knowing that we are beloved of God and that others are beloved of God is a good place to start.

Mark’s Gospel doesn’t say what Jesus, Moses and Elijah were talking about, but Luke’s account of this story says that they were speaking of Jesus’ exodus from this world – his departure – his death. And God broke onto the scene and called Jesus his Beloved. On the mountain, Peter, James and John saw Jesus for who he really is. When Jesus was “transfigured” his true identity became transparent. They caught a quick glimpse of the glorified Jesus – maybe what he would look like after his resurrection. The disciples, especially Peter, never got over this. Although Jesus was the only one who was transfigured, the disciples were forever changed.

On this mountain (was it Mount Tabor; Mount Hermon?), when Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, Jesus’ inner circle of disciples -- Peter, James, and John -- also had another epiphany. They realized that the law and the prophets had been pointing to Jesus all along. Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promises all throughout their scriptures.

How do we reach the conclusion that we, too, are beloved of God? If we make prayer a habit of the heart, chances are it will occur to us that we are beloved. This can be hard for some people to accept. Self-esteem issues can cloud our vision of who we are before God. Some people think they have to get good enough on their own for God to love them, when in truth, God holds us all as his dearly beloved. Here is a prayer we might want to learn by heart:

“O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray you, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 832)

Henri Nouwen, the late priest, writer, and spiritual director, said that knowing who we are – knowing that we are the beloved, keeps us out of all kinds of trouble in this world. It protects us from getting too puffed up if people speak well of us. Knowing that we are the beloved protects us from getting down in the mouth if other people speak ill of us. So, even though the world around us is shouting at us, we can have peace and quiet in the deepest part of our hearts. Nouwen says that out of this storehouse of grace and love, we can affirm God’s presence in others.

As we enter into Lent, maybe we can carve out some time to keep silent. We can listen for the Voice of God and know within ourselves that we, too, are the beloved. As we claim and grow into our beloved-ness, we are claiming for ourselves the truth that Jesus preached. That’s because our relation to Jesus is our ultimate Epiphany. Jesus is the Morning Star that rises in our hearts.

“Beloved of God” is who you really are. Don’t let anything or anyone cloud your vision of that. Amen.


In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org

Getting ready for Lent

Here is the "Faith & Values" article I wrote for the Billings Gazette. It was published today.


It has been called “the new reality.” The seismic shift in our economy has affected all of us and has brought us to this watershed time. Was greed a factor? It’s part of the human condition.

We now find ourselves retooling, retraining, and repositioning for survival and success. Long-standing practices of consumerism have shifted. We are learning to live leaner and greener.

Meanwhile in the world of sports, star players have behaved in a manner unbecoming of their status. Michael Phelps has ‘fessed up. And (say it isn’t so!) Alex Rodriguez has admitted that he “did take a banned substance” because he wanted to be one of the best all-time players. Apparently both are truly sorry and humbly repent.

Coming clean is healthful as it allows the fresh breezes of forgiveness to blow through our lives. Such confession need not be a once-in-a-lifetime event. In the Christian tradition, Lent is that perfect time when God offers us space for such reflection. It’s coming up soon.

Next Wednesday, February 25, is Ash Wednesday in the Church calendar. Ash Wednesday kicks off the Lenten Season, followed by Holy Week and Easter, which falls this year on April 12. This is the time to be intentional about cleaning out the cluttered places of our lives. Lent is the time to consider our own mortality. In particular we think about sin, forgiveness, and ongoing repentance, both individually and corporately. The forty days of Lent allow us to form new habits of the heart for which we might not otherwise make time.

From historical documents we know that Lent was not always forty days. In the earliest times of Christianity, Lent was apparently much shorter. Somewhere in the Seventh Century – in the Dark Ages -- Lent took on its present form. The Church loved this form so much that it became permanent. Forty days matches Jesus’ time in the wilderness after his baptism in the Jordan River. Matthew’s Gospel says that Jesus fasted during that time.

If we are taking on a Lenten discipline – if we are fasting in any way, we should ask ourselves what we would have to change to make more room for God in our lives. Will giving up chocolate do that for us?

The Church corporately has its own ways of fasting. In the Episcopal tradition, the Church does not provide wedding ceremonies during Lent except in extreme circumstances. We refrain from such festivities. We don’t even get to say “Hallelujah.” This in itself is a fast.

The new reality turns out to be the old reality revisited. It is the human struggle with greed and its results. It affects us all. Lent is a good time to tackle this struggle head on. We can do it, with God’s help. Let’s go.

I wish you peace and a holy Lent.


In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org

Sermon for Sunday, February 15

What Pushes Your Buttons?

In Jesus’ day there were strict laws governing lepers. If they got well, they had to go and show themselves to the priests in Jerusalem and offer certain sacrifices. In the meantime, they could not live in their communities. They had to stay at a distance from polite society and yell “unclean” when anyone else got too near. Consider the Leper in our Gospel reading for today (Mark 1:40-45). He broke all the rules. He broke through his fear, walked right up to Jesus and spoke with him. This was an emotional moment for Jesus. He was moved with pity. Jesus broke the rules, too, by reaching out and touching a Leper. Once again Jesus identifies with the outcasts of society.

Consider also Naaman, the Leper in our Old Testament reading (2 Kings 5:1-14). He was not an outcast from society – at least not yet. He was probably in the first stages of the disease when he received the healing he needed.

Naaman was an army commander in Aram, which is modern-day Syria. Our scripture passage illustrates that worship of the True and Living God was making inroads into other cultures.

In those days, one way that cultures crossed paths was by making war on each other. Some things never change. The stronger nations would test the resistance of weaker nations by conducting short raids. They would go into another country at harvest time and steal the harvest, or burn it. There was probably a lot of prior harassment before there was all-out war. On one of these raids, a young girl had been taken captive. She served as a slave of Naaman’s wife. There could not have been any bigger contrast in the power of these two individuals – a slave girl and an army commander. But, like our Lord Jesus, the young girl had compassion on the Leper. She was moved with pity.

For a moment, put yourself in her place. If you had been taken as a slave, what would be your reaction? Would you have been fearful? Would you have been angry? She could have withheld the information about the Prophet in her country. But this would have been vengeance. It would not have been compassion. So, she took a chance on recommending that Naaman go back into the country he had been raiding. She told him to go back into enemy territory! Although he would be going there in peace, he was taking a chance on his life.

We are not sure what the protocol was in those days, but apparently kings talked to kings and the information trickled down from there. When Naaman went back to Israel, emotions erupted in every direction. First, he took a letter from his king to the king of Israel, asking him to heal Naaman. This made the king of Israel very angry. Why was he so angry? Was it because he was afraid? I think the king was really afraid of Naaman, who was known as a warrior. It was natural for the king to become angry because Naaman was a perceived threat. It must have been terrifying for the king of Israel to have Naaman walk in and demand healing. Little did he know that God was about to do something amazing. But at first, Naaman really pushed his buttons.

Do you know what pushes your buttons? What is it that you feel so strongly about, that if it was threatened you would be angry? Knowing who we are and what upsets us contributes greatly to the way we handle our anger. When I first began thinking about becoming a priest, I was told that the discernment process was not for the faint of heart. Though this process, I would “learn what pushes my buttons.” In other words, I would know myself so well that I would know what would make me angry. I would know my sources of anger and perhaps become able to develop constructive responses to them – or at least uses for them.

So I check in with myself every now and then and ask, “What pushes my buttons?” Are the issues the same as they were five years ago, or have I mellowed out, so to speak. We can decide what is worth getting angry about. We can decide which “ditch to die in.”

We ask ourselves as Christians how we can get by with any anger, since it is considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Anger ranks right up there with pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony and sloth. And yet, as we read scripture, we hear plenty about the Wrath of God. How can we reconcile the two? How can God have the emotion of anger? Maybe it’s because God loves us so much, and we humans have done things to threaten God’s love.

I want to suggest that anger itself is natural to us, who are created in the image of God. However, we are responsible for the use of our anger. We are not to let anger control us. St. Paul advises us to be angry, but not to sin – and not to let the sun go down on our wrath. Don’t stew.

Anger is a part of our physiology. It’s a part of our normal, God-given self-defense mechanism, which, combined with fear, might save our lives. These emotions let us know when it’s time to make a run for it. I suggest that anger in itself is not a sin. Our misdirecting and mishandling our anger can lead to sin. We are responsible for our behaviors as a result of our anger. Maybe anger can even be a step along the way to full understanding of our life situations. I am very fond of C. S. Lewis’ definition of anger: “Anger is the fluid that love bleeds when you cut it.”

There is a lot of anger in our world right now – anger gone haywire. We do what we can to control it with the use of language. We try to be politically correct so as not to offend.

But I digress. Let’s go back to our story of the King, the Prophet, and Naaman. The king was afraid, so he became angry. When Naaman thought he had been snubbed by Elisha, he became angry and almost missed the point of the whole trip. He was pouting to the point of rage. He had a desire to control, and when he could not do that, his anger exploded. Naaman was probably already angry when he arrived on the scene because he was threatened. His physical survival was threatened. He was humiliated. His identity and place in society were threatened. His emotional response to his fear was anger. When he finally listened to reason, he agreed to go dip in the Jordan River seven times. The results of his obedience were miraculous.

Anger can control us or we can control it. Anger doesn’t have to become the leprosy in our lives. It doesn’t have to eat us up. We can learn to channel it into constructive behaviors that exhibit the love of God. The Good News is that we can choose to control what pushes our buttons. In this way, we will not be so vulnerable to events that cause us to react improperly.

Be assured that our Lord Jesus is moved with pity for us as human beings. When we come to this altar, we can be like the Leper who came to Jesus – breaking through whatever would hold us back. We can stretch out our hands to God and receive his mysterious love. All this Love comes from the One who chooses to make us clean and able to stand before him. Amen.


In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org

Happy Valentine's Day

How does true love behave?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

(excerpted from 1 Corinthians, chapter 13)



In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
photo: bleeding hearts in a garden
Wrangell, Alaska, June 2008

Happy Birthday, Abe

There is a wonderful story - possibly apocryphal - about Hodgenville, Kentucky, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln:

It was a fine spring day in Hodgenville, and two farmers were at the general store catching up on the winter's news. One said, "Back in February Tom Lincoln's wife Nancy gave birth to a baby boy. Named him Abe. Nothing much ever happens in Hodgenville."



In peace,
Linda+

The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/

Sermon for February 8

Mark 1:29-39

All in a Day’s Work

Did you ever have one of those long days, when everyone is looking for you, and you just need some peace and quiet? How did you handle that? Jesus seemed to have those days frequently.

Today I want to focus on our Gospel lesson. It’s a continuation of the readings for the last two weeks in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. This is a very important chapter, because it introduces us to several of the main characters who will populate the other fifteen chapters. Two weeks ago we met Jesus’ first four disciples – Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John. They were all fishermen from the town of Capernaum, by the Sea of Galilee.

Capernaum became important in the life of Jesus. I have visited the excavations there, and as I have mentioned before, Jesus had excellent taste in real estate. Matthew’s Gospel (4:13) tells us that as an adult, Jesus also lived in Capernaum. This was a good choice because it was a thriving community located at an economic crossroads. It was here that Jesus successfully recruited Matthew the tax collector (Matthew 9:1, 9). Five out of twelve Apostles is a pretty good record for any town.

Also in Capernaum, a Roman Centurion had built for the Jewish people a synagogue. Jesus probably went often to this synagogue, and as a visiting rabbi, he was allowed to speak. There were many synagogues, or local places for worship, around the country, but there was only one Temple, which was in Jerusalem. The word “synagogue” means “assembly together.”

Jesus’ presence there was strong. Not only did he teach, but Jesus spoke on behalf of God. Jesus differed from the scribes in that Jesus did not have to quote another teacher. He was the master teacher. His authority was clear. When Jesus cast out a demon there to the astonishment of the onlookers, Jesus was just getting started. They had not seen anything yet. Before the day was over, Jesus would heal every sick person in town and cast out more demons.

Have you ever been sick with a fever? I mean – so sick you thought you were just going to die? I had this experience some years ago. It all started with a tickle in my throat, and next thing I knew I had a full-blown bronchial infection. I thought I had to keep working because my group at the law firm was preparing for a trial. When the first round of antibiotics failed and I lost my voice, I gave up and stayed home. The doctor threatened to put me in the hospital if I didn’t stay home. I had a fever.

In about a week, after a bigger round of antibiotics and several quarts of chicken soup, my fever finally broke. I sweated profusely and was exhausted by it. The doctor told me not to leave the house for at least three days after the fever broke. I couldn’t have gone out anyway – I was limp as a wet rag. So I wised up and rested a few more days before going back to work. And guess what – the place had not fallen apart without me.

Here is what is so amazing to me about our Gospel reading for today. After a tough morning of casting out demons at the synagogue, Jesus and his four new recruits went to the home of Peter and Andrew. It was probably time for lunch. When they got there, the matriarch of the house – Peter’s mother-in-law -- was sick in bed with a fever. She must have been very ill to have been in bed. In those days, people died of illnesses that are not life-threatening to us. If she were alive in this century, she would probably get a good dose of antibiotics and some chicken soup, just as I did. Antibiotics were not available to her, but Jesus was.

When Jesus touched her, the fever left her. And here is the miracle to which I can personally relate – she got up and served them -- presumably a meal. She had the strength and energy to resume her normal activities. I think about my own struggle every time I read this passage. What an incredible miracle. She was able to do immediately what it took me several days to do. And I had the benefits of “modern medicine.”

It is no wonder, then, that Jesus’ fame began to spread throughout all the region of Galilee. That day was the Sabbath, so no big activity could take place until after sundown. But when the sun had set, our Gospel passage says that “the whole city was gathered around the door.” A lot of needy people got their needs met. Jesus healed the sick, and did some more spiritual warfare. Jesus had come to make people whole in body, mind and spirit. At the beginning of his ministry, there seemed to be no lack of opportunity for Jesus to heal in this way. I believe this took a lot of spiritual, physical, and emotional energy for Jesus to keep up such a pace.

Here is where I want to remind us that Jesus is fully human and fully divine. As the divine Son of God, Jesus had the power and authority to heal the sick. As a human being, Jesus accepted the limits of humanity, such as a need to eat, sleep and rest. But there was another aspect of Jesus’ personhood that needed to be fed. Jesus needed time to pray and gain perspective. Jesus did not neglect this part of himself. This taught his disciples a lesson: If they were looking for Jesus, they could probably find him somewhere praying. Jesus set the example for us in his daily life.

Our text says that Jesus got up very early in the morning – before first light. He went out to a place where he could be all alone, and he prayed. Jesus took time to replenish his spiritual side. How often do we do that on a daily basis? How often do we take time just to get alone and pray? Do we ever shut off the media around us – radio, TV, newspapers – and just get alone and pray? If we do this, it might amaze us how much we can gain perspective on a problem. Or maybe our day will just be more peaceful than it otherwise might have been.

When his disciples found Jesus they wanted to set his agenda. But he had been praying and he set his own agenda. He did not meet their expectations. They were all looking for him, but he would not let them put him in a box and control him for their own purposes. He would not stay in that one place. Jesus kept moving so that his ministry would not get petrified. He was available to reach more people that way. Also, it’s harder to hit a moving target. Jesus was already making some enemies. He wanted some time to teach his disciples, so he was not going to allow himself to be apprehended by the authorities so soon as to cut short his time on earth.

I urge you in this busy world to take time to stop and pray. Take time to get away somewhere -- just you and God. The earth will continue to spin on its axis. It will keep on twirling in its orbit. If you take a few days of rest and respite, the work at your place of business will go on. Or even if it is waiting for you when you get back, you will be more apt to clearly set your priorities. We are all subject to having long, exhausting days. The antidote to that is prayer.

Take a cue from Jesus and get alone with God. Imitate Jesus’ prayer life and worship habits. Come for communion on a regular basis. It will energize you for the tasks that you face. It will set your dial back to zero and give you a fresh start for the week. Amen.


In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org

Groundhog Day

So . . . today is "groundhog day" because Punxsutawny Phil gets to predict the coming of Spring. I was thinking: how about if other animals got to predict Spring? How would Siberian Husky dogs go about doing that? Maybe these two rescued Huskies could tell us, or maybe they are simply praising God for letting them be rescued.

Maybe some are more ready for Spring than others. I think especially of our dear sisters and brothers in Kentucky, who would most certainly appreciate our prayers. This will probably be one winter they will always remember, though they might prefer to forget their suffering from the effects of the ice storm. Many of those people need to be rescued, too.

The people in Kentucky and environs might not have even noticed the groundhog's shadow. I think that works like this anyway: If he sees his shadow we have six more week of winter; and if he does not see his shadow we have another month and a half.


In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
http://www.holycrosschurchbillings.org/
photo: Ivan and Cinnamon howl
for happiness at some snow in the South

Bishop's visit at Holy Cross

Today at Holy Cross we welcomed our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. C. Franklin Brookhart, the Ninth Bishop of Montana. Our Bishop travels constantly and hopes to get to visit each church in a year's time, so this was a very special occasion for us.

Until his next visit with us, we lift this prayer in his behalf:

Almighty and everlasting God, from whom comes every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our bishops, and other clergy, and upon the congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of your grace; and, that they may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen. [The Book of Common Prayer, 817]


In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
photo: Bishop Brookhart and Linda McCloud
February 1, 2009