Because God Made Them

God said, 'Let the waters be alive with a swarm of living creatures, and let birds wing their way above the earth across the vault of heaven.' And so it was. God created great sea-monsters and all the creatures that glide and teem in the waters in their own species, and winged birds in their own species. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply on land.' Evening came and morning followed; the fifth day. Genesis 1:20-23

This 12th century mosaic is of the Fifth Day of Creation - God creating the fish and the birds. It is found in the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, Sicily. But why does the Creator-God look like Jesus? We might remember this verse from Saint Paul's Letter to the Colossians: "He is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth:everything visible and everything invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers—all things were created through him and for him." Jesus images God.

But one scientific report was released last week attesting that since 1970, the bird population of North America (USA and Canada) has decreased by three billion. That's billion with a B! Birds are disappearing at alarming rates due to climate change, wind turbines, pesticides and habitat destruction. Chop down a forest, and the birds are gone. Cover a field with asphalt, and the birds are gone. Cover a beach with endless hotels and restaurants, and the birds are gone. Spray the nation with lawn, garden and farm-field insect killers, and the birds disappear for lack of food supply.

Birds eat insects. Birds spread seeds. Birds re-generate forests. And just as importantly, birds delight us with their flight, color and song. Some folks will say it doesn't matter that we care about bird numbers, or the numbers of any animals for that matter—"animals don't have souls, and we have to grow the economy." So why the fuss? We love the animals because God imagined them, God created them in their great beauty and variety. We love them because God blessed them, addressed them in creation and sent them out into the world. Indeed, God saw the animals as so important and respect-worthy, they were brought to the man for him to name. God didn't name them; we did. And God gave us that honor and first-task so that we would have an affinity for the animals.

And the sea animals are endangered and disappearing too. When the rivers flood, as they do increasingly,  they tear up the soil in the flood plane, and that soil, filled with agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, is carried downstream and dumped into the Gulf of Mexico, causing killer cancers to grow on the dolphins, the fish and sea turtles. And the fertilizers cause algae blooms to take the oxygen out of the water, and the fish suffocate.

God made us to be the caretakers of the world he created. We have failed miserably, leaving behind for our children and grandchildren, a wasted, burned out, lifeless garbage heap of a planet.

For me, to live spiritually, is to allow my breath to be taken away by God's beauty and imagination. Here is a lovely video of the Indigo Bunting, a small bird with a great range: Canada down to Florida and then during the winter, down to the top of South America. Listen to its song and observe carefully that we can see the bird breathing, and even at around 20 seconds we can see the bird's warm breath, a faint cloud of moisture coming from its open beak. 

Praise the Lord from the earth,

sea-monsters and all the depths,

fire and hail, snow and mist,

storm-winds that obey his word,

mountains and every hill,

orchards and every cedar,

wild animals and all cattle,

reptiles and winged birds.

Psalm 148:7-10

Intercessions ~ Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Autumn Ginkgo ~ Nami Island, Korea

Autumn has begun./ It is the season for the trees to set the buds containing the leaves which will appear next Spring./ May we set out with some new sense of God's love for us,/ God's strengthening grace and hope for us./ We pray to the Lord.

There are many people in the world who can't catch a break,/ who have no opportunity for job,/ education or home./ May we have-a-care,/ and evolve a more fair and compassionate world./ We pray to the Lord.

For the rights of children to be honored:/ to have a sense of belonging to a community of caring adults,/ to be fed,/ to have health care and clean water,/ to be protected from abuse and neglect,/ to live dignified and free lives./ We pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States,/ our Congress and  those in positions of authority./ May they be inwardly healed and free/ to advance the way of peace/ and the good of all./ We pray to the Lord.

We ask God's blessing for the Roman Synod which begins this week:/ called to address the ecological decline of the Amazon/ and the pastoral care of the people who live there,/ who are often forgotten or exploited./ We pray to the Lord.

We hold closely the members of our families and friends./ We pray for those who are sick/ or feeling stressed,/ discouraged or angry./ For gifts of strength and healing./ We pray to the Lord./

A Prayer For Our Country

Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech you that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought together here of many kinds and languages. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in your name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to your law, we may show forth your praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in you to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer is found in the Episcopalian Book of Common Prayer. 

Jesus Calls Levi To Discipleship

The Apostle Matthew ~ El Greco ~ 1610-1614

27 Later on, Jesus went out and looked straight at a tax-collector called Levi, as he sat in his office. "Follow me," he said to him. 28 And he got to his feet, left everything behind and followed him. 29 Then Levi gave a big reception for Jesus in his own house, and  there was a great crowd of tax-collectors and others at table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their companions the scribes kept grumbling about him to Jesus' disciples, saying, "Why do you have your meals with tax-collectors and sinners?" 31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come with an invitation for the 'just' but for the 'sinners'- to repentance. Luke 5:27-32

The next one called by Jesus to discipleship is Levi. In any gospel list naming the apostles, there is no mention of a Levi. Scholars debate if this is Matthew. We let them argue it out.

Verse 27: Notice that Jesus went out and looked straight at the tax-collector. It sounds as if Jesus has honed in on Levi. But Levi carries a lot of baggage - he's a Jew who collects taxes from his fellow Jews for the occupying Roman Empire or for Herod, who was a phony Jew - Caesar's puppet. Jesus kind of barges in on this corrupted guy and speaks only two words - "Follow me."

Verse 28: In response to Jesus, Levi doesn't question, doesn't argue, doesn't call the police to get rid of the intruder. Instead, he's on his feet and leaves everything behind to follow Jesus. But what does everything mean? I'd suggest it's easier to leave material things behind than some inner treasured agenda. Maybe Christ is hoping for me to leave behind some ideology that doesn't expand me to serve God's purposes of informed justice or compassion. Over four decades I've met more than a few Christians who I sense would find it easier to leave behind bank books than their precious ideological loyalties. 

Verse 29,30: This dinner party is a recipe for disaster as the guest list is made up of religiously unsavory types and the morality police. These guys, who sniff out what's un-approved, talk negatively about Jesus to his disciples. They must have known the criticisms would get back to him. Troublemakers.

Verse 31: But Jesus answers for himself. He doesn't respond to the critical questions by sending the disciples back to the objectors. "It's not the healthy who need the doctor." Was Jesus speaking tongue in cheek? They think they alone are spiritually healthy. I'm thinking of Pope Francis likening the Church to a field hospital. A field hospital is found amidst the disaster, the damage and the ruins.

Verse 32: Jesus gives us his idea of religion's purpose - to call persons to repentance. But repentance doesn't mean beating myself up over past mistakes, rather, turning inwardly, to face a new direction. Repentance is on-going, not once and for all. "Today, I will light a candle in the darkness." "Today, I will find my way to some new awareness and heart response." "Today, I will give up some old objection or self-protecting agenda." 

Prayer Before the Virgin of the Sweet Kiss ~ Glykophilousa

The Glykophilousa is a type of icon of the Mother of God where Mary and the Infant Christ exchange kisses and caresses. It is an icon of intense human emotion, inviting a deep prayer born of a silent gaze.

Your kiss, O Lady,
reassuring, "You are mine."
Your kiss, O Lady, 
encouraging me this day.
Your kiss, O Lady,
committing, "I'll be here when you return."

Your kiss, O Lady,
cheering me with every good wish.
Your kiss, O Lady,
healing the wounds.
Your kiss, O Lady,
heartening, "Nothing will harm you." 

Your kiss, O Lady,
awareness of my plight.
Your kiss, O Lady,
pledging, "All is forgiven."
Your kiss, O Lady,
my name, written in your heart.

Your kiss, O Lady,
awakening love.
Your kiss, O Lady,
in the gentle but pained drama of your love.
Your kiss, O Lady,
guarantee that I am known.

Your kiss, O Lady,
antidote to our cruelty.
Your kiss, O Lady, 
in our dire predictions,
Your kiss, O Lady,
joy restorer.

Father Stephen P. Morris

Intercessions ~ Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Late Summer ~ Early Autumn

Pope Francis assembles the Pan Amazon Synod in Rome this October/ and travels to Thailand and Japan in November./ We pray for his safety and endurance./ We pray to the Lord.

Autumn begins in our hemisphere./ And while a great tree can drop thousands of leaves,/ we ask to drop resentment/ and those anxieties which rob us of strength and creativity./ We pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States,/ our Congress and those in positions of authority./ May they be un-corrupted people,/ of good conscience and good heart./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for persons who are angry,/ unbalanced,/ or menacing./ For those who have no help in their troubles and burdens./ We ask for the restoration of hope and joy/ where persons have become cynical or despairing./ We pray to the Lord.

Thursday is the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons./ In a tense world,/ we pray boldly for the planet  to be freed of those weapons which can deliver unthinkable destruction and death./ We pray to the Lord.

Finally,/ we pray for our families and friends,/ for their well-being,/ peace and security./ And for ourselves/ and those with us at Mass today,/ to have some fresh sense of God's presence,/ love and direction this week./ We pray to the Lord.

Green We Up, Holy Spirit!

Here is Rublev's 15th century icon titled, "The Old Testament Trinity." In the Genesis story of Abraham receiving the three messengers (18:1-15), there is a foreshadowing of the New Testament doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Icons pre-dating Rublev's make explicit the meal which Abraham and Sarah prepared. But Rublev has pared down that scene to the essential elements and perfected the symbolic meaning.

The three angels depict the Holy Trinity symbolically—the Father and the Spirit are incorporeal and therefore not picturable except symbolically. 

The vivid blue—like cornflowers or a cloudless sky—worn by each of the three, symbolizes that while each is distinct, each shares the fullness of divine energies simultaneously. The symbolic figure of the Father wears a light pink mantle with highlights of brown and blue-green. The symbolic figure of the Son, the Incarnate Word, wears a chiton (tunic) the color of his passion. 

But the Spirit wears a mantle of green. This is perhaps nature's strongest color—the color of life. In a field of various flowers, green unifies the colors. Green is the color of harmony and balance. Psycholgists suggest green for an office for its calming effect and that it seems to help us to be productive. So here's a prayer before the Holy Spirit angel wearing green.

Green we up, Holy Spirit,
there is no safe place—
the womb,
the classroom,
the soccer playground,
the morning school bus,
   
the forest depth,
the rare bird's nest.

Green we up, Holy Spirit,
there is no safe place—
the mall,
the church,
the synagogue,
the mosque,

the polar landscape,
the outer space.

Green we up, Holy Spirit,
there is no safe place—
the twelve year old girl at the border cross,
the mother-following fawn,
the pollinator's foraging,
the cyber world,

the hater's heart,
the darkened mind.

And sitting with you
in the welcome-space,
green me up too, Holy Spirit,
my whole life—
please—
a safe-place world
of inner balance,
calm center.

"God mend thine every flaw..."

This weekend marks the 56th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, Sunday, September 15, 1963.  The four young girls pictured above were killed at 10:22, as they prepared to sing in the choir that morning. Their names are—Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), Carol Denise McNair (11).  Members of a KKK splinter group planted about 15 sticks of dynamite under the church steps.

This year also marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first twenty slaves from Africa to the British Colony of Virginia (1619).

In conversations about racism in America these days we're hearing phrases like, "baked into our culture" and "foundational to our culture."  When I was chaplain to a residential school community, where there were students from all fifty states, I asked a young man from a historical slave state, "What's happened to all that hatred?" He said, "Oh, it's all still there; my father has a bar in the basement and when he invites his friends over, they all talk that way." 

There's some movement to have the patriotic song America the Beautiful replace the Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem. It is a very honest, almost hymn-like song. The second verse is perhaps the most aware and urgent.

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

A nation confessing its flaws! How fresh is that! May we feel it, even to repentant tears as we sing it. 

"A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."  Psalm 51:17

Intercessions ~ Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

September Begins the Monarch Migration

We ask for the health,/ safety and well-being of Pope Francis/ as he travels widely in humility and peace./ May we extend his message of reconciliation and healing./ We pray to the Lord.

For the President of the United States,/ our Congress and those in leadership around the world./ May they be stable,/ principled,/ soulful people,/ of sound disposition and wise in their judgments./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the Caribbean island-nation of the Bahamas,/ now a waste land after Hurricane Dorian,/ Fifty dead have been recovered./ Fifteen hundred are missing./ Many were perhaps swept out to sea./ Seventy thousand are homeless./ For those suffering fear, pain and loss./ We pray to the Lord.

This past Wednesday marked the events of September 11, 2001./ We pray for the inner healing of so many friends and family who lost loved ones that day,/ and for the health of 9/11 first responders and helpers./ For a peaceful world./ We pray to the Lord.

Jesus didn't just tolerate the people who came from other places,/ but he loved them./ May we learn his lesson well/ around the world/ where bitter expressions of xenophobia are on the rise./ We pray to the Lord.

Each September,/ great migrations of birds and other animals begin in our hemisphere./ May we know and treasure the movements and mysteries of our planet-home./ We pray to the Lord.

The Little Scroll - Is There A Message For Us?

This icon is titled simply "Virgin and Child," While painted in the Byzantine style, we also observe the strong Italian (Venetian) influence of the late 14th century.  The Mother of God holds the Christ in her left arm, while touching him with her right hand. Looking at us with his full frontal and piercing gaze, he sees us as he holds his mantle close with his own right hand. His left hand holds an open scroll - is there a message for us? 

Mary has a second veil under her enveloping maphorion. The initials M and D appear in roundels top left and right. These stand for the Latin words Mater Dei - Mother of God. The Greek initials over Christ's nimbus IC XC, stand for Jesus Christ. The three stars on the top of Mary's head and her left and right shoulders signify her virginity, before, during and after the birth of her Son. 

"Do everything you can to get Christ into your life, there is everything to take him away."  

Christ in my breathing. 

Christ in my thinking. 

Christ in my feeling. 

Christ in my deciding. 

Christ in my choosing. 

Christ in my doing.

Christ in my perceiving. 

Christ in my relating.

Christ in my politics (Really!?)

Christ in my valuing.
Christ in my prioritizing.
Christ in my venturing.

May We Discover Our Smile Again

A great deal is found online about the American proclivity for smiling. We are said to be the most smiling people on the planet. Indeed, smiley Americans can make the rest of the world suspicious and uncomfortable. Walmart, trying to start up in Germany, had to give up trying to get their German employees to smile.

But one report says that while there are 19 ways to smile, only 6 are the result of happiness. A smirk is not a real smile. It's also said that many millennials don't smile much because they are insecure about their less than perfect teeth. The TV commercials suggest we smile constantly, but is it because we've just succeeded in driving the new high-end car to the top of the mountain, or found the perfect lover online, or discovered a wonder diet, or had all the food in the world delivered right to our door? Pretty shallow stuff, that.

Another source suggests that years ago Americans smiled something like fifty times a day while now we smile less than twenty times a day. Perhaps the news of the day could have something to do with that smile decrease.

At the top of this post is the Angel City Chorale singing the 1982 song, Africa. The first part of the performance is wonderfully created by palm rubbing, finger snapping, lap slapping, foot stomping. Open up to full screen, turn the volume up and watch closely. You might want to hear/see it a second or third time. 

But what's struck me, beyond the delight of the song itself, is the smiling joy of the chorale members. The happiness seems very fresh. And here's my prayer to accompany the song-video.

O God, may we find our smile again -

genuine and shared smiles,
bust out, bright smiles,
shoulder to shoulder,
moving,
clapping,
rocking-rolling,
happy-to-meet-you,
to see you,
to know you,
to be with you, 
smiles.

Intercessions ~ Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hurricane Hunter Aircraft ~ Inside Dorian

This week,/ Pope Francis is traveling as an Apostle of Peace to the beautiful but troubled countries of Mozambique,/ Madagascar and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean./ May his visits bring about healing and a restoration of hope./ We pray to the Lord.

Last week/ in Odessa, Texas,/ a gunman took the lives of seven people and injured twenty-two,/ including a seventeen month old baby girl./ For our nation to learn the mind of God./ We pray to the Lord.

Hurricane Dorian has caused unthinkable destruction through the Bahamas and along the nation's eastern coastline./ We pray for those who are enduring great suffering./ For the many who help with rescue and recovery efforts./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for students,/ teachers and staff as school resumes./ For the safety and well-being of all this academic year./ May we be life-time learners,/ evolving humanly as God has intended./ We pray to the Lord.

May our President,/ the members of Congress and leaders in every place,/ be wise persons,/ skilled in uniting people where there's division,/ including and lifting up those left behind./ We pray to the Lord.

For the safety and health of our families/ and  families around the world,/ where there is weakness,/ sickness,/ disorder or fragmentation./ We pray to the Lord.

September 1st marked the start of the Second World War 80 years ago,/ which over six years claimed the lives of 56 million people./ May we learn to be instruments of peace./ We pray to the Lord.

Tre Nonne

Here are three classic Italian grandmothers (tre nonne) - Nicolina, Vincenza and Maria. They live in Campoli del Monte Taburno in Southern Italy. This photograph of the three friends finds them sitting at the welcoming center for migrant people who have made the desperate crossing from Africa across the Mediterranean Sea. It is considered the most dangerous crossing in the world.

Hundreds upon hundreds have died at sea, fleeing the awfulness of life in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and beyond. So these are African babies the ladies are holding. One is enjoying a piece of Italian bread, one is looking around checking things out, the other is snoozing. 

Power is dangerous stuff. Power can create or protect criminality. Power can degrade persons and the physical world. Power can have blood on its hands. But here is the power of love - three elderly ladies holding survivor babies who have come from "across the sea." 

"I can't do everything, but I can do something," Saint Francis of Assisi said. Someone might shout to the ladies to send the babies back to Libya: "No room here," even though Italy's birthrate is so low there are ancient towns and villages being abandoned. We might wonder what the three ladies would say to the world if they were offered the podium at the United Nations. Mother Teresa of Calcutta delivered her simple but direct message there in October of 1985: Leave no one behind.

Maybe the venerable grandmas would just remind the world of the words of Jesus: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me," (Matthew 25:36) There don't seem to be any "ifs, ands or buts" attached to those words. No reservations, no restrictions, no excuses. Jesus' words may take us down into a very deep interior place of fear. 

If I feel an argument coming on, I need to take it to Jesus, not the ladies; not the priest.

The Compassionate Christ Cures Leprosy

12 While he was in one of the towns, Jesus came upon a man who was a mass of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he prostrated himself before him and begged, "If you want to Lord, you can make me clean." 13 Jesus stretched out his hand, placed it on the leper, saying,  "Certainly I want to. Be clean!" 14 Immediately the leprosy left him and Jesus warned him not to tell anybody, but to go and show himself to the priest and to make the offerings for his recovery which Moses prescribed, as evidence to the authorities. 15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, and enormous crowds collected to hear Jesus and to be healed of their complaints. 16 But he slipped quietly away to deserted places for prayer.  Luke 5:12-16

This painted image, illuminating a Gospel page, was created in the second half of the 12th century. It deserves our attention before we reflect on the Gospel Word. "What the Word of God does for the ear, the icon does for the eye." 

This poor leprous fellow is an image of persons who are utterly pushed aside. Notice he lives in a desolate place, among the weeds dust and stones. He is one of the excluded, of whom people say, "We wish they'd just go away." There's not a little of that sentiment in the world. The man owns nothing except his flimsy stick and the rag in which he's wrapped himself to cover his nakedness. 

The disease has so wasted him he can no longer stand upright. The Gospel verse says he was a mass of leprosy. His head is bowed towards the ground because he knows, as far as the community was concerned, he's beyond help. He's not to be seen, heard, talked to or touched. Maybe he's picked up his head here in response to the touch of Jesus who's already got him by the wrist. 

Jesus holds the scroll of his teaching in his left hand, almost buried in his robe. It's not the teaching that first matters, but the touch. Do I understand this?

Verse 12: The description is stark, "a mass of leprosy" - as if there is nothing left of the walking dead man - the disease has devoured him. Still, he presents himself to Jesus most courteously, "If you want to Lord..." He uses the post Resurrection word, Lord, in addressing Jesus. The word clean refers to his spiritual/religious condition. If he's clean, he's fit to worship again with the community. 

Verse 13: The word certainly or of course - how eager Jesus is to heal the man. He doesn't procratinate. He doesn't say, Let me think about the religious ramifications of helping you.

Verse 14: Jesus warns the man not to talk about the miracle. He knows people will follow him as a result just because they want something. There are religious people like that - like the family that insists on having a priest at the graveside of the deceased person who hasn't been in a church since his First Communion. 

Then Jesus tells the cured man to make the required offerings in the temple. These are spelled out in the 57 verses of Leviticus, chapter 14. They are rather bizarre: the killing of birds and lambs and the touching of their blood to the sick person's ear tips and big toes. Jesus suggests the performing of the rituals is just to get the priest-approval so the fellow can rejoin the community. That's what really matters. 

Verse 15: Jesus' (don't tell) warning seems to have had the opposite effect - news of the cure spreads far and wide and the crowds around him grow even larger. But notice this, the first thing people want from Jesus is to hear him. But what might he say to me? Whatever he might say, it's not going to be about laws, but about relationships. That's what the cure did - it put the man back into relationship.

Verse 16: We have this idea of Jesus that he was always in a crowd. Not so. Here we are told he "slipped away quietly to a deserted place for prayer." No self-congratulatory tweeting about it all, just intimacy with God.