My Friends, about 20 or so of us gathered this morning for a Zoom Mass–it was very good to see those of you who could make it! I am sharing the homily here for your reflection. I wanted you all to be aware that we record each of the Zoom liturgies so that if any of you would like to view it, let me know and I can send you the link. And as always, please be in touch if I can help you in any way or if you would simply like to chat. 507-429-3616 or aaorcc2008@gmail.com. Stay safe and well–peace and love, Pastor Kathy

My friends, this Sunday’s chosen readings contain two of my favorite lines from New Testament Scriptures.  The first we read today in Paul’s letter to the Romans, beginning with the opening line, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The second comes from Mark’s gospel reading today out of the mouth of Peter.  We have just read that Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John as Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah and in his unbridled enthusiasm, Peter says, “How wonderful it is for us to be here!” 

   With these two lines as back drops, I would like to begin this homily.  The Genesis piece, read by Joan, is on face value, very difficult for many, if not all of us, to swallow. What kind of God could or would ask for such a sacrifice, such a show of filial support, we ask? And if this is what “faith” is all about, well I want nothing to do with that either!

   I often speak to you my friends about reading Scripture passages and getting beneath the surface story, because that is where the “truth” or the piece that we are intended to get, really lies. 

   I believe the question on most modern-day minds, us included, is why, apparently, Abraham makes no argument with God about what God is asking.  Remember, this son of Abraham and Sarah came late in life and was the only child this couple had.  Anyone of us would, if asked to sacrifice a son, a daughter, a loved one, object—I am quite sure!   

   So, let’s go deeper.  First off, we must remember the culture out of which this story came to get some clarity on the seeming “normalness” of Abraham’s response. 

The fact that Abraham’s culture practiced the ritual killing of their young, might explain Abraham’s response, yet given the no-doubt preciousness of this lone child, again it is hard to believe Abraham’s response.  And for the moms out there, is the question of whether Sarah knew what Abraham was up to on the day that he set off with their son, Isaac, alone.  All good questions, but perhaps not the ones to be concerned with here.

   An additional thought might be to ask why the Church hierarchy uses this reading that is so troubling to many of us, in light of Paul’s apparent belief that our God is good when he asks, “If God is for us,” and Paul believes that God is, does it matter, who else is against us?  The traditional hierarchical belief within Christian churches that God sent Jesus, the only begotten, to die as a sacrifice for the sins of humankind, is apparently a strong matchup to God’s initial request of Abraham—thus a good reading during Lent. 

   But the truth is, we see that God is, somewhat of a good God in that first reading, by giving Abraham a reprieve in the end once God is sure of the faith that Abraham possesses.  So, does that satisfy? Not really for me and probably not for you either. 

   So, let’s start again.  Present day theologians, such as Sandra Schneiders, Richard Rohr, Ilia Delio and John Shelby Spong, to name but a few, don’t agree that Jesus came to die for our sins, or that God asked him to do that.  This is “head” theology, instead of “heart” theology.  Unfortunately, at times, the hierarchical Church decides what it wants to teach, and then goes backward and tries to make it so.  Jesus came to show us how to live our ordinary lives, extraordinarily well—how to share the gifts of life with everyone, how to be just and merciful toward all—because we had forgotten that, and those who were into life “for power” and objected, killed him to silence his, most compelling message to the masses. That’s it really!  And in that light, the Genesis, Abraham story makes no sense to us, especially when it is connected to a belief that God’s only reason for sending Jesus was that he would die to appease God’s anger with the rest of us.

    Modern theologians such as those mentioned above, in their quest to fully understand Scripture and assist people over time to get closer to the mind of our God realize that through tradition, both spoken and written, a change of a word or two can make all the difference in better aligning meaning, past and present so that we can truly get our “hearts” and not just our “heads” around it. 

   Consider how it would be if the Genesis reading were more of a discussion between God and Abraham about faith, which we are told is the point of this story—something like this:  “Abraham, you say that you love me and believe that I would do anything for you—that I want only good and not bad for you—what would you do to prove your love for me?  What is it in your life that means most to you, your son? Would you give your son?”  And just as in the story where God supplies another ritual sacrifice, God would say, “Of course, I wouldn’t ask this of you—the death of Isaac whom I love as much and more than you do. 

   Such an alteration in this story, a re-telling, really, helps us to square the “Abba God” of Jesus with the God of Abraham. 

   My friends, Jesus’ Spirit is continually renewing the face of the earth, calling us to see and hear more clearly what is on the heart of our God, not to see our God, as we humans behave from time to time, miserly and tyrannical, but with largesse, always “having or backs” in today’s terminology. 

   So, as we move forward in this Lenten time, let’s hold on to the idea of how much our God loves us, wants good and not bad for us—proven so wonderfully in the person of Jesus, our brother and let us not lose sight of God’s expectation then, for us, that we every day strive to be our best, so as to make life good too for those we share this wonderful human experience with.  Then we can say with Peter, “How wonderful it is for us to be here!”  Amen? Amen!  

Dear Friends, Lent is upon us–a gift our Church gives us each year to check in on our relationship with our loving God. As a Christian, are we true to what this asks of us?–basically that we live in the footsteps of our brother, Jesus, being good, merciful, kind, just and overall loving as we face each day of our life, for our welfare, but equally, for the welfare of others in our world. This is no small task so it is right that we would spend some concerted effort each year assessing how we are doing, knowing that we don’t do it alone, but that Jesus, our brother and friend, is always with us. My hope for each of you is that you are safe and well, and that you have peace of heart and mind–Pastor Kathy

P.S. Please don’t ever hesitate to be in touch if I can help you in any way or if you just would like to chat–507-429-3616 or aaorcc2008@gmail.com

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Entrance Antiphon

Our God says, “You shall call upon me and I will answer you. I will be with you in times of trouble; I will deliver you and honor you. Long life and contentment will be yours.

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

Loving God, through the gift of this Lenten Season, help us to understand the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and teach us to reflect these mysteries in our own lives. We ask all this of you, Creator God, Jesus our Savior, and the Spirit who all live and love us forever and ever, Amen.

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Readings:

• Genesis 9: 8-15
• 1 Peter 3: 18-22
• Mark 1: 12-15

Homily

My friends, today’s 1^st and 2^nd readings are basically about being saved—the Genesis reading is about Noah and the Flood, an event that kills every living thing—people, animals, and plants, except for those that made it into the ark.  Peter follows with a reading comparing the flood waters to those of baptism and of how “water” has the possibility of cleansing us—saving us, as it were. 

   Now whether you hold faith in the fact, that on the surface of the story from Genesis, God caused the flood to basically wipe out all that was evil, except for Noah and his family and the other creatures aboard the ark; there is a larger story that we should hold onto as we move once again into the holy season of Lent.  We will come back to that.

   Suffice it to say that stories of floods and other natural disasters in the times when the Old Testament books were written, were ways to describe events that possibly happened, but that the people didn’t understand.  And what they didn’t understand and couldn’t explain were put into the realm of God for cause and effect.

   So back to the larger story of the piece that we should hold onto from Noah and the Flood.  At the end of the devastation, we are told that God gives the sign of the “rainbow” and of how when a rainbow appears, from that day forward, it should remind the people of the covenant made between God and humans for all time. 

   The rainbow basically says—in its beauty, that our God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us.  An additional piece, in the beauty of the rainbow, would be for us beautiful creatures, given birth and a chance at a human experience, through the magnitude of our loving God, to treat our world, all created life—plants, animals, to say nothing of people, with great reverence and care. 

   That is why, on a social plane, it is important, in fact necessary, for our country to be part of the Paris Climate Accords in order that we can work with other nations to protect our beautiful planet from global warming.  That is also why on that same social plane, it is important and necessary for our country to be part of the World Health Organization (WHO)—one that works with all countries involved to see that equity exists between all peoples—on matters of health—that vaccines, during this time of pandemic are equally shared between rich and poor countries alike—something that the WHO is calling member nations to task for at present.

   It is important my friends to always, as Christians, as followers of our brother Jesus, to walk in his path, to accept and believe in the God that he shows us through his life among us.  His Abba (Daddy) is one who loves each of us unconditionally, Jesus tells us, so to accept and believe in a god who would destroy all of creation out of anger and lack of patience with those this same god made “imperfect” in the first place, doesn’t seem to jive with the God of Jesus.

   So, friends, my study and humble opinion would challenge us to look deeper when Scripture readings don’t seem to be, “the way we should go.”  My study has shown me, over the years, that the writings of the prophets as opposed to the other stories of the people, in the times that they were written, without complete understanding or knowledge, are far better messages to hold onto and be challenged by in the active living out of our faith.

   The prophet Joel in the reading for Ash Wednesday is an example in point. The people in the time of Joel had the custom of “rending” or tearing their clothes, covering themselves with ashes to physically say that something was amiss in their lives that they needed to change and perhaps on a deeper level, to remind themselves that life is short—the grave is near and now is the time to start being their best.

   Christians use the sign of ashes for the same reason each Lent as we enter a time that calls us to return to our loving God, especially if we have been away, for whatever reason, returning to a God who does patiently await us, unlike the god of the Old Testament who loses patience with the people, if we stay to the surface level of the story. 

   Joel therefore tells the people, ourselves included, “Don’t rend [or tear] your clothes—but rend your heart—”tear it open,” so to speak, making it big enough to hold not just your own needs, but the needs of others too. 

   Jesus, in Mark’s gospel says basically the same, “This is the time of fulfillment—change your hearts and your minds.”  And being Jesus’ followers—we must do that and following our brother and friend will always mean, going deeper.  Looking back a final time at the story of the flood, we can only imagine the damage that such a catastrophic event caused—the chaos really.   Our present-day world has experienced floods that we have named “catastrophic” and the news media has shown us the devastation.

   Present-day scientists warn us that if we don’t tend to our earth and put a halt to activities that are causing our planet to heat up, there may soon not be the ability to turn this situation around. 

   My friends, Lent is a wonderful time that calls us each year to come to remember, if we have forgotten, our place in all of creation.  If we don’t remember that the earth, in all its beauty, is not only for our use, but for all our human sisters and brothers, our animal sisters and brothers too, as Francis of Assisi would name them.  If we don’t remember “our place,” it is possible that the “chaos” spoken of in the Genesis reading today could visit us in our time as it already has, in the fires in California and the floods on our southern and eastern coasts. 

   And as spoken of above, the inequality of resources in our country and world—be it in jobs, food, water, vaccines and more, to those that our great country allows to live in poverty due to racism, sexism, and the like—we can name our “ism” of choice.

   So my friends, perhaps this Lent, we might choose to, spend, “a bit more time in the desert” with Jesus, whether we do that through more prayer, more reading, more “giving up” or more “giving to”—whatever it might be as we bring into clearer focus who we are as individuals, what our true place in this grand universe is, and where we may have been remiss in sharing our gifts with others. A blessed Lent to all as we discover what is our piece to do for the good of all.  Amen?  Amen!

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Prayers of the Faithful

Response:  “We are grateful, O God.”

1. O God, as we begin the holy season of Lent, thank you for being our model in Jesus for reverencing your beautiful world, we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

• Loving God, as you help our country and our world to be people who love peace and strive to bring it about—thank you for keeping us from all evil, we pray— Response:  “We are grateful, O God.”

• Gracious God, thank you for giving each of us health of body, mind and spirit–being with those who suffer from all debilitating diseases, COVID, along with cancer and mental illness,  we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

• O God, you are with us, helping us to be true followers of Jesus, willing to speak the hard truths at times as we advocate for those who have no voice, we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

• O God, thank you for work and the ability to work and we ask you to be with those who have lost their jobs  and can’t find work, we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

• Loving God, as our country and world strives to end its economic woes, teach us to think and act globally  doing with less so that everyone can have the basics, we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

• Loving God, as you continue to bless our president and all world leaders—help them to be leaders of their people. Help them by their leadership to instill hope in our country and throughout the world.  Enable all of us to do our part to renew our country and our world, we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

• For our community, All Are One, as you continue to bless us and assist us to be open to all of your people, and to always make a place of  welcome at our table,  we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

• Loving Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week, from COVID and all other causes—give them your peace, that they may find their way through their grief, we pray—Response: “We are grateful, O God.”

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts—pause, then response

Let Us Pray

   Good and gracious God, help us during this holy season of Lent to be your loving people. Help us to be intent on modeling our lives after Jesus—one who reached out to all, no matter what. Help us to take time during our days to sit quietly with you in order that we might grow closer to you. Remind us daily that you love each of us beyond all imagining. Give us grateful hearts and disciplined minds—let our Lenten sacrifices strengthen us for greater tasks of loving—all this we ask of you, Creator, Savior and Spirit, who all live with us and love us, forever and ever, Amen.

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Let Us Pray—Again, my friends, we cannot be together, nor receive Communion together from the table, but let us remember that Jesus is always with us.

Prayer of Communion

Dear Jesus, increase our faith and hope and deepen our love for you and your world in this spiritual communion. Help us to live by your words and to always seek you in our lives. We ask this in your loving name, Amen.

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