As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

–From Galatians 3

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

-A prayer for the human family, from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 815

Will you continue in the apostle’s teaching, the breaking of bread, the fellowship and the prayers?
 
Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you sin, repent and return to the Lord?

Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?
 
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
 
Will you strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being?
 
I will with God’s help.

-From the Baptismal Covenant

Create in me a clean heart

Maybe this happens to you. I go through phases when a phrase from the Bible or Prayer Book or hymnal lodges in my brain. I find myself thinking about it in the middle of the night, when I’m stopped at a traffic signal, walking on the beach. Of late, here’s the phrase on my mind:

Create in me a clean heart
and renew a right spirit within me.

It comes from Psalm 51, which appears in a lot of our liturgies. It’s a psalm about the need for change. In my own life, I’m aware of a need for a change of heart, a new heart on a range of topics. One of those pertains to current discussions about race. Those conversations surround us, in news conferences and political debates, in newspapers and among pundits. They go on in our churches, around dinner tables, and for me, in my heart. The question is often framed this way: Is this person a racist or not?. It’s framed as an either/or. One or the other. We often hear folks rise in self-defense: “There’s not a racist bone in my body.”

I don’t know about you, but for me, I don’t think the key question is: Am I a racist? as if some people are entirely racist and others aren’t racist at all. The question I ask myself: How am I racist? How do I behave in racist ways? What are my racist bones? While I’m too embarrassed or ashamed to detail in this email my own racism, trust me, it’s there. I have done racist things, thought racist thoughts. I have prejudices. I often brim with judgment of others based on how they speak, what they look like, how they dress, where they’re from, where they go to church (or don’t), where they went to school (or didn’t), which bumper sticker is on their car. That kind of judgment, including racial judgment, is in my bones, with roots in early age. I grew up in suburb of New York. In that proudly progressive but mostly segregated community, relatives and neighbors and preachers taught and modeled (wittingly or unwittingly) discrimination based on race and gender and other factors. I have to admit it’s kind of in my DNA. And I’m not alone.

Last week, our church hosted a pilgrimage of teenagers from many parts of the country. The focus was the history of race relations in our part of the world, as a way to envision a better future. We realized we are both part of the problem and part of the solution. In the course of our conversations, a wise person cited Alexander Solzhenitsyn: “The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

St. Paul was on to the same thing when in the Letter to the Romans he said; “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” For me, I’m mindful, as the verse from Psalm 51 circles for a landing, that racism and prejudice and judgment make up part of who I am. Again, I’m not alone. It’s part of our collective DNA, as Jim Wallis notes in his book: Racism. America’s Original Sin. The dynamic is at work in our country, in our national leadership, in our schools, housing and employment, in our churches, in systems and structures and in our hearts.

And so I ask, with St. Paul, (see Romans 7) who will deliver us? You may not want to get into politics on a Monday morning. This may not be an issue for you. If that’s the case, pray for those of us who struggle. Pray, because this is a spiritual issue. It has to do with daily spiritual practice. It has to do with following Jesus, who threw racial and gender and social distinctions out the window. It has to do with the human family.

Here’s some good news: We are led by a Presiding Bishop who sees racial reconciliation as a huge part of the loving, liberating, life-giving Jesus Movement. In baptism, we are called to persevere in resisting evil. Whenever (not if ever) we sin (Including the sin of racism) we are to turn. We are to seek and serve Christ in all persons, even when Christ comes well disguised. We are to respect the dignity of every human being, those who are demonized or dehumanized, those described as animals or infestation, those excluded or detained.

In all of those challenges, we are to commit ourselves to a new way of life. But as the Baptismal Covenant reminds us, we will only get there with God’s help, who promises to create in each one of us a new heart and to renew a right spirit within us.

Which leads me to pray: Dear God. Could you hurry up?

-Jay Sidebotham

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

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who have worked with RenewalWorks
Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Wilmington, NC
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Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:4

A prayer for the Feast of Mary Magdalene, observed today


Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

An Episcopal priest named Robert Morris speaks about the commonplace and frequently unnoticed ways that people rise above their loneliness and fear as “ordinary resurrections.” He points out that the origin of “resurrection” is the Greek word “anastasis,” which, he notes, means “standing up again” and as he puts it unpretentiously, “We all lie down. We all rise up. We do this every day.” The same word, as he notes, is used in Scripture: “I am the resurrection and the life.” But in an afternote directed possibly at fellow members of the clergy, he observes, “The Resurrection does not wait for Easter.”

Jonathan Kozol, Ordinary Resurrections 
(pp. 107-108)

Ordinary Resurrections

This morning, think of someone who is, for you, a spiritual hero.

For me, Martha comes to mind. We were in seminary together. She was a successful, Ivy League trained lawyer in New York, very much at home in her native Upper East Side. She left that to pursue ordination in the Episcopal Church, a move that probably only a few would consider upwardly mobile. Not too long after ordination, she accepted a call to lead a congregation in the South Bronx, a place that had all kinds of challenges. Decades later, she still leads that community with grace and strength and courage, a church and a school offering a community center. 

Her work drew the attention of Dr. Jonathan Kozol, a Harvard educator who has written a number of books about the plight of poor children in our nation. He admits he is not a particularly religious person, but he began to hang around this church in the South Bronx and he got to know many of the children.

His earlier books that could be totally depressing gave way to a couple books that spoke of the inspiring promise unfolding in this church, under the leadership of Martha. One of those books is entitled “Ordinary Resurrections.” In it, he describes what he has learned from these urban children, what he has learned about hope. He notes that the word “resurrection” in Greek is “anastasis” which really means to stand again. And he notes the ways in which resurrections happen all the time, as you can read in the excerpt above.

At heart, we are an Easter people. We center our calendar around the Feast of the Resurrection (a.k.a., Easter). But as the New Testament says, because Christ has been raised, we also can be raised. Resurrections, even the most ordinary resurrections, can come to us. How have you experienced resurrection? When has a dead end become a threshold?

All of this brings me to another saint we can remember this morning. Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. She is often mentioned in the gospels, and comes up a lot in church history, often disparaged because many in our tradition have not been able to make sense of the truth that probably the most faithful of all the disciples was a woman. For those who still imagine that women should not have voice in the church, we must acknowledge that she was the first person to preach about the resurrection. If she had not gone to the tomb and witnessed the resurrection and proclaimed that good news to the disciples, those disciples might still be in the upper room, locked behind doors, figuring out how to move forward, working on a strategic plan.

Jesus’ resurrection became a threshold for all the disciples, including Mary Magdalene. His resurrection, celebrated on this day when we remember Mary Magdalene (read the story of her witness in John 20), is celebrated every Sunday. It invites us to a life of ordinary resurrections.

And that is good news worth proclaiming when the politics of our day may seem like a dead end, when many of our churches seem in desperate need of new life, when health crises and broken relationship and debilitating loneliness seem like a big stone locking up the tomb of our lives.

Resurrections can happen. As sure as the sun comes up in the morning, they can happen today, in your life. Believe it to be true. Give thanks for saints who demonstrate that possibility, because we need to see what that looks like in real life. And live this Monday, July 22, in expectation that the God who raised Jesus from the dead can do a new thing in your life, in our church, in our big and beautiful and broken world. 

-Jay Sidebotham

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

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Leading for Discipleship:
A conference especially for those
who have worked with RenewalWorks
Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Wilmington, NC
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I will bear witness that the Lord is righteous; I will praise the Name of the LORD most high.

Psalm 7:18

We hear the word evangelism and think automatically about someone telling somebody something so that they’ll change. But the truth is that evangelism is as much listening as it is sharing. It involves two people actually sharing their lives with each other. They share their stories and a new story gets written. That’s what evangelism is. It helps all of us find our way into a deeper relationship with God. And if there’s a deeper relationship with God, there’s going to be a deeper relationship with each other as well. That’s the bigger picture of evangelism. It’s more than just telling you how to get to heaven.

Michael Curry

Mostly evangelism is not what we tell people, unless what we tell is totally consistent with who we are. It is who we are that is going to make the difference. It is who we are that is going to show the love that brought us all into being, that cares for us all, now, and forever. If we do not have love in our hearts, our words of love with have little meaning. If we do not truly enjoy our faith, nobody is going to catch the fire of enjoyment from us. If our lives are not totally centered on Christ, we will not be Christ-bearers for others, no matter how pious our words.

Madeleine L’Engle

Calling all semi-evangelists

In the course of conversation with members of Episcopal congregations, I ran across a woman who had an interesting reaction when the topic of evangelism came up. You see, our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry talks a lot about evangelism these days, making it a priority for our church. This woman wasn’t sure what to make of all that. She confessed: “I don’t know why we’re talking so much about evangelism.’ She said “Everyone in town who ought to be Episcopalian already is.” In other words, we didn’t need any more folks, thank you very much.

Her comment got me thinking about evangelism: why we do it; whether we should do it; how we might do it well; how respectful we can be; how tasteful we need to be. I suspect we’ve all been on the receiving end of folks we meet on doorstep or airplane or dinner party, folks with religious devotion so deep they are convinced we must see things their way. I remember what Dave Barry asked: Why is it that people who want to tell you about their religion almost never want to hear about yours?

My musing about evangelism led me back to one of my theological guides, Charles Schulz. Charlie Brown approaches Rerun, asking what he’s doing. Rerun says: “I’m with Linus, who is across the street knocking on doors, telling people about the “Great Pumpkin.’  Rerun says; “I’m standing over here so no one will know I’m with him.” Charlie Brown asks: “What kind of evangelist are you?” Rerun replies: “I’m a semi-evangelist.”

I may claim that title for myself. And one of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is that evangelism best begins with ourselves. I’m convinced that we also need to evangelize within our own churches, reminding people that the way of love is nothing but good news. Too often church folk are associated with bad news, practicing what one preacher called ‘teeth-gritting Christianity.” Gandhi once said “I would be a Christian if it were not for the Christians.” Too often church folk don’t really seem to believe the good news that love is unconditional, that all are welcome, that we respect the dignity of every human being, that Christ is present in all persons, that grace is true. On some days, when I look at the state of American Christendom, it’s enough to make this priest a none.

A friend told me about a radio interview he heard with a pastor of a mega- church, thousands in attendance. The interviewer wanted to know how over 20 years, the pastor had grown the church. The pastor responded: “It’s simple. I just make one convert each day.” The interviewer pressed him on how to do that. The pastor said; “I am that one convert. Each day, I need to be converted.” In other words, the best evangelism was to tend to one’s own journey, one’s own faith, one’s own spiritual growth, one’s own discipleship, one’s own love of God and neighbor.

As a semi-evangelist, I’ve been exploring different (maybe tepid) ways to be an evangelist. Recently, when walking through airports, I’ve been whistling familiar hymns. It has sparked a number of interesting conversations, even people telling me they needed to hear that. I’m learning from folks at the check out counter at grocery stores and restaurants. Often, in this neck of the woods, they will say, “Have a blessed day.” I’ve been trying to say that, too. Sometimes, I’ll get in a conversation with someone, and they’ll reveal a challenge, and I’ll say: “How can I pray for you?’ Other times, I’ll ask a question like “Where have you seen God at work?” I’m amazed how many people have a story about God in their lives. Those are my recent meager efforts as semi-evangelist. Any other suggestions?

So calling all evangelists, or semi-evangelists: What’s the good news that is part of the story of Jesus? Where do you hear that good news? How does it touch your heart? And then think of a way to share that good news, in word and action, to listen for that good news in the lives of others.

-Jay Sidebotham

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

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Leading for Discipleship:
A conference especially for those
who have worked with RenewalWorks
Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Wilmington, NC
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You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Jesus (John 8)

You will know the truth and the truth will make you odd.

Flannery O’Connor

The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.

David Foster Wallace

Dependence starts when we are born and lasts until we die. We accept our dependence as babies and ultimately, with varying degrees of resistance, we accept help when we get to the end of our lives. But in the middle of our lives, we mistakenly fall prey to the myth that successful people are those that help rather than need, and broken people need rather than help. Given enough resources, we can even pay for help and create the mirage that we are completely self-sufficient. But the truth is that no amount of money, influence, resources, or determination will change our physical, emotional, and spiritual dependence on others.

Brené Brown

Dependence Day

Welcome to this week that includes the Fourth of July. For the church, it is observed as the Feast of Independence Day, one of the few national holidays making its way into the liturgical calendar (along with Thanksgiving and Labor Day). So in this week when there will be summer time fun and days off and celebration it’s worth asking what this Independence Day has to do with our lives as people of faith.

I was not able to find the word “independence” in scripture. But the word “freedom” comes up a lot. That may because the notion of independence may make us think of the freedom to do whatever we damn well please. It may suggest autonomy or even license, things often pursued in our culture.

But as usual, Jesus comes with slightly annoying reversal of the ways we think about things. Jesus said that you will know the truth and the truth will make you free (interesting enough, those words are carved in stone over the entrance to the CIA building in D.C.) And what is the truth Jesus taught? For me, it is a call to discover freedom not so much in our independence but rather in our dependence on God and our dependence on each other.

Augustine picked up on that and talked about faithful discipleship as a matter of service to the one in whose service is perfect freedom. In the 19^th century, theologian Freidrich Schleiermacher described faith as a matter of absolute dependence. Paul Tillich built on that to see faith simply as the acceptance of being accepted. In our own time, many people discover that is only in recognition of a higher power that they find freedom from powers that otherwise control them, even captivate them. A favorite rendering of the first of the beatitudes puts it this way: Blessed are those who know their need of God. As a church, we affirm our dependence every time we offer the baptismal covenant and say that we will fulfill its promises with God’s help.

From that place, we recognize our dependence on others and their dependence on us. Aka, community. That’s why in Jesus’ economy love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable. One day, Jesus discovered his disciples jockeying for position, trying to figure out who would get platinum status, who would nab corner office in heavenly corporate headquarters. Maybe they were imagining a life of powerful independence, reflective of their own magnificence. After all, they had been with Jesus from the start. They had bet on the right horse. Soon they would be in charge. Independent. Free agents.

Jesus spoke instead of the greatness that comes to those who serve. Yesterday’s reading from the letter to the Galatians put it this way: 

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become servants to one another.

None of this is to detract or distract from this week’s celebration of the blessings of freedom that has made our nation great, freedoms to be cherished and protected and practiced now more than ever.

But in this week, as in every week, we are to celebrate the freedom that comes when we grow to depend on the life of the Spirit, and then to let that freedom find expression in service to others. How might you do that today?

-Jay Sidebotham

Contact:
Rev. Jay Sidebotham
jsidebotham@renewalworks.org
RenewalWorks is a ministry of Forward Movement.
www.renewalworks.org

Register Now!

Leading for Discipleship:
A conference especially for those
who have worked with RenewalWorks
Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Wilmington, NC
Click here for registration and more info