My friends, as I said in the bulletin this week, today’s readings – en masse, speak of a God who loves us in an “over-the-top” way as Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong always said.  I always think lovingly of the Episcopalians ever since my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) training to become a chaplain when one of my professors, an Episcopalian priest gave me my one joke, regarding Catholics versus Episcopalians: What’s the difference between the two? Episcopalians are Catholic-lite, 1/3 less guilt.

   Each of us with any amount of years under our belts are aware of having grown up with our share of guilt for not having been our best.  And really, when it comes down to it, “laying guilt” was never something that our brother Jesus modeled for us.  We only need to look to the beautiful story of the Prodigal to understand this – when his beloved child returns, the father runs to meet him, throws his arms around him, and then throws a party!  There is no, “I told you so – you made your bed, now lie in it!”  One can only conclude that the tactic of “guilting” is about control.

   And when you think about the readings today, we see a God who continually gives us “another chance” – who knows what we are capable of, and encourages us to keep trying to do our best – that’s the meaning behind the parable of the weeds and the wheat – the weeds and the wheat show the two sides of us as humans – we are capable of much good, “the wheat,” and much that is not good, “the weeds.”

   Those of us humans who aren’t as loving and understanding as our God is, would be willing to “ rip out” the weeds which we see as “less good,” which I did this past week, so as not to harm that which we see as good, “the wheat.”  But enter our loving God who says, “No, let them “grow” together – perhaps some good can come from that.”

   In the beginning here, I made the statement that the readings today speak of a God who loves in an over-the-top way.  Let’s look at some of the proof of that:

• The Wisdom writer speaks of God being “mild in judgment,” and instructs that, “Those who are just, must be kind.” The writer continues, “You [give] your children good ground for hope.”

• The psalmist in #86 says, “Adonai, you are good and forgiving, full of constant love.
• Paul, in his letter to the Romans today lets us know, “The Spirit…comes to help us in our weakness,” expressing for us, “groanings too deep for words.”  He continues, when we don’t know how to pray, the Spirit “speaks” for us.
• Matthew, in today’s gospel shares another of Jesus’ parables – that of the mustard seed, the smallest of seeds that grows into the largest shrub.  This story confirms for us, or it should, that every bit of good that we do in our life helps – it truly does, because we never know who we truly affect, and how far that good might go.

   Over my lifetime, I have had people come up to me and say, “thanks” for something that I said or did, that encouraged them to do their piece to make our world better, so don’t ever underestimate the “seemingly small” things that you do!

   My friends, we live in a time, as you know, that shows us so much that appears as “weeds.”  We wonder what we can do… Someone once said, “Name the pain that you see in the world, and ask what part you have to play in it.”  Sometimes, we perhaps don’t do our best because of our focus. Most of us are familiar with the statement, “I am my brother’s [sister’s] keeper.”  A friend, in a letter to-the-editor this past week, advocating for the city of Winona to accept the offer of Saint Paul’s Episcopal church as a day and night shelter for the homeless, quoted Desmond Tutu, Anglican bishop who worked tirelessly fighting apartheid in South Africa who said, “I am not my brother’s keeper, I am my brother’s brother.” 

   Where the first statement seems to designate, a bit of power over, the 2^nd really says – we are equals – I may be blessed with what you don’t have, but I could easily be in your shoes too.

   When we think of “naming the pain, and asking, “what part we play in it,” I would lift up the issue of “language.”  I think most of you know that I am being interviewed for a documentary on women priests and my personal story.  In preparation for that, I have been going over much of my previous work in order to more fully explain who I am as a woman in the Catholic church.

   Twenty-five years ago, I graduated from Saint Mary’s University with a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministries. My dissertation was entitled, Excluded by Birth, Diminished by Language: A Case for Inclusivity in the Catholic Church.

   As I said above, I would like to address briefly, the issue of language, and basically on the horizontal level – how we “name” each other.  The vertical level would be about how we “name” God, but that is for another time. 

   I always used to say, those who have the language, have the power.  If half the population has no words that express their essence – we all remember the days when “he” was used for everyone, whether you were a “he” or not.  We got that fixed, and then someone came up with the term, “You guys” which apparently includes us all? That’s what I and other women are told who complain.   But try switching that term for “you gals,” and see if everyone still feels included. 

   Just this week it came to me (thanks Spirit) that I need to change my thought from “those with the language have the  power,”  (because the men with the power are always accusing the women of wanting some), to something deeper.  Having language that names me and my story, gives me a voice – not power, but a voice!  During my studies 25 years ago, I remember reading Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ book, Women Who Run with the Wolves – and thinking she was the 1^st person who spoke to my heart, about what it means to be included.

   Another interesting phrase within our beloved Church that supposedly says why women can’t be ordained, is “in persona Christi.” In the Greek, this means, “in the presence of” – more simply, “standing in for.”  The men with the power claim that this means, one has to be a man.  Critics of the this thought, both male and female say, “in persona Christi” has a broader meaning than that!

   If we are to believe that as stated in the Old Testament book of Genesis 1:26-27, that all humans were created, in, imago Dei, in Latin, the image of God, then we can be sure that women can, as men do, stand, “in persona Christi!”  Language is power, but more importantly, it gives us voice, and helps us to not only be our best, but to become who God intended us to be.   Amen? Amen!