The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday

Jesus said, “I am.” Mark 14:1-15, 47

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday – March 16, 2000

The Episcopal Church of St. Paul – (the Rev’d) Elizabeth Kaeton

Pray with me: (sung) “You’ve got to walk that lonesome valley. You’ve to walk it for yourself. Oh, nobody else can walk it for you. You’ve got to walk it for yourself.” Amen.

This is not a guilt trip, but let me ask you, “Are you innocent?”

Are you? Innocent? Are you? And, you? And you, there: are you innocent?

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that we listen to the story of the Passion of our Lord three times in Holy Week – Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – so that we all may take our roles in the crucifixion of Jesus. After all, he died for our sins, didn’t he? Who among us is not sinful? Who among us is innocent?

I beg to differ. I don't / can't buy into that "I-am-a-worm-and-no-man-wretched-sinner" stuff from Calvin. That line of thinking follows the traditional Pauline theological position which holds fast to the idea that the Atonement was necessary because of the sin of Adam and Even in the Garden. I have a great deal of trouble with this position for a variety of reasons which we have discussed in the Lenten Study Program this year. This is not the place for that discussion, so I’ll just leave it at that for now.

We hear the story of the Passion of Jesus and we walk the steps of ‘The Way of the Cross’ not to take a guilt trip but rather to remember and never forget the liberation we enjoy in Christ Jesus who came to show us The Way.

We do this because our Christian tradition was built on our Jewish heritage, one of the cornerstone being that of anamnesis – remembering.

We put ourselves into the story, we reenact and relive the story, in order that we might take the story into our hearts and minds. Indeed, we live the story that it might live in us – in the fibers of our sinews, in the marrow of our bones, in the very stuff of our DNA.

We live the story so we will never forget. We live the story so that our children and our children’s children will live the story so that the story of The Passion of Jesus will never be forgotten.

Finally, we live the story so that the precious gift of our liberation in Christ Jesus will always be cherished.

So, let me ask the question again: Are you innocent?

Have you forgotten the lessons of the Passion of Jesus? Do you cherish the liberation you have in the divine gift of ‘free will’? Do you treasure the gift of grace, freely given and completely undeserved?

Jim Wallis, my favorite Evangelical (yes, I do like Evangelicals and I even have favorites), says that Jesus faced the four political options of his day.

One was collaborationist – to ‘go along to get ahead.’ That was the path Judas took.

One was pietist - the path taken by the religious leaders of the Sanhedrin who made a big show of their religion.

One was withdrawal – or that of Peter, who ran away when Jesus was arrested.

The last was that of political insurrection or revolutionary violence – the path taken by many in Jerusalem at that time, which made both the religious leaders and those in governmental power very, very nervous.

Jesus rejected them all. There was a fifth option - the option He took - called the Kingdom of God.

It is the path of the one who lives out their vocation and makes the sacrifices necessary to be authentic and have integrity. It is a very high calling, one which very few choose to take.

Having said all that, I’ll return now to my original question: Are you innocent?

Have you sacrificed what you believe on the altar of expediency?

Do you ‘go along to get ahead’?

Do you use your religion as an excuse not to use your intelligence?

Do you run from confrontation, avoiding it at all costs – even to the cost of your own soul?

Are you ‘the angry young man (or woman)’ of that popular song, ‘with your fist in the air and your head in the sand’?

If you are, then you are decidedly not innocent. You are as guilty as Judas. Or one of the members of the Sanhedrin. Or, Peter who ran away and denied Jesus three times. You are as guilty any one of the members of the angry crowd who shouted “Crucify him!”

You have a fifth option. It’s the one that Jesus took. It’s the option called the Realm of God.

It’s the option to choose the greatest good for the greatest number, even if it means the sacrifice of one. It’s the option to tell the truth, no matter how costly. It’s the courage to remain silent when the truth is too complicated and dangerous to tell. It’s the choice to live with integrity, even when compromise seems most expedient.

Are you innocent? This is not a guilt trip. It is a journey down, way down deep into your soul. It is an expedition only you, yourself, can make. Don’t miss out on the opportunity for this journey. It is, quite literally, the trip of a lifetime.

There’s still time to humble yourself and have your feet washed on Maundy Thursday. There’s still time to carry the cross on Good Friday.

The good news is that you won’t be alone. You will be with other pilgrims who will be searching to take the option of the Realm of God. It’s the journey of those who worship a Mystery whose real glory can be found in an empty tomb.

(Sung) “You must ask the Lord’s forgiveness. You got to ask it for yourself. Oh, nobody else can ask it for you. You got to ask it for yourself.”

Welcome to Holy Week. This is not a guilt trip.

This is a journey into your soul.

Amen.

Fr. Jake: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Canon Law and Deposition of Bishops But Were Afraid To Ask (Because Your Knee Was Jerking)

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Canons as they apply to the George Conger-inspired drama as reported in The Living Church over the deposition of Bishop Schofield can be found over at Fr. Jake's place: "To all knee-jerkers: Take a pill and read the canons."

Even this canonically-impaired Bozo brain gets it now.

Thanks, Jake. You're the BEST!

Oh, and SHEESH! Won't we all be glad when this Schism comes to an end?

This is worse than a Root Canal. Any day!

"Being Irish . . ..

. . . he had an abiding sense of tragedy, 

which sustained him through
temporary periods of joy"

William Butler Yeats.

For a sense of what Yeats means, visit here. It is, all at once, lovely and tragic and funny.

Happy St. Paddy's day!

I know. Not yet. It's March 17. But, you wouldn't know it from all the hoopla and parades here in Morris County. Ms. Conroy and I had Corned Beef and Cabbage for lunch today at the Nautilus Diner in Madison. It was, as always, FABULOUS - just as I remembered it this time last year. Since tomorrow is The Sunday of the Passion, and I don't eat meat during Holy Week, and since I also keep a solemn observance of Holy Monday (the actual date of the Feast of St. Patrick), well, as for me and my house, we will celebrate today.

Just a little something more to prove Yeats' point.

ENS: HOB votes valid, chancellor confirms

Episcopal News Service
March 15, 2008

House of Bishops' votes valid, chancellor confirms

[Episcopal News Service] The Presiding Bishop's chancellor has confirmed the validity of votes taken in the House of Bishops on March 12, correcting an erroneous report published online March 14 by The Living Church News Service.

Chancellor David Booth Beers said votes consenting to the deposition of bishops John-David Schofield and William Cox conformed to the canons.

"In consultation with the House of Bishops' parliamentarian prior to the vote," Beers said, "we both agreed that the canon meant a majority of all those present and entitled to vote, because it is clear from the canon that the vote had to be taken at a meeting, unlike the situation where you poll the whole House of Bishops by mail. Therefore, it is our position that the vote was in order."

A quorum had been determined at the meeting by the House of Bishops' secretary, Kenneth Price, Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

How is Schism like Divorce?

As I have listened to the conversation in The Episcopal Church about the "violence" of deposition and law suits over church property, I feel as if I have fallen into scenes from the movie, "The War of the Roses" (for those of you who may not remember, that's the movie with Michael Doulas and Kathleen Turner about a couple who are in the midst of a violent divorce).

The situation in this church of ours has become what can only be described as an abomination in the site of God. I have no doubt that it breaks the very heart of Jesus, whose Sacred Body we are, and makes Him weep.

Abandonment - physical abandonment or the abandonment of a sacred vow like marriage - is always an act of violence. So are threats of divorce. While the events and actions preceding it can be violent, divorce, in an of itself, is not.

Ironically for some, divorce can often be an antidote to the violence. It acknowledges that the new life that was created by the love of two people once was is no more. It is sad, but it can be life-giving, allowing the two people to move on with their lives - and, often, those of their children and other family members - in peace.

Abandonment of communion is also an act of violence. So are threats of abandonment. While the events and actions preceding it can be violent, ecclesiastical deposition, in and of itself, is not. It acknowledges that the sacred vows taken at the ordination and consecration of a bishop are no longer viable and have lost their validity in the place they were once made.

It is sad, but it can be life-giving, allowing for the bishop and those of the flock who choose to follow him/her (or, not as the case may be), to move on in peace, to live their lives of faith and their relationship to God and Jesus in the way that has greater authenticity and integrity for them.

When Jack Leo Iker, the Bishop of the Episcopal (for now) Diocese of Ft. Worth, declined to attend the HOB meeting, he said "For a traditional anglo-catholic like myself, the HOB meetings have become a toxic environment, and the “spiritual violence” I suffer there is not good for my emotional or spiritual well being."

Actually, he was doing violence to the words of one of the uppitiest of the many uppity women in his diocese, Katie Sherod, who once said, "Call me a coward, but my spiritual and physical health could not take the toxicity of two days of our diocesan convention. Even reading e-mailed reports from home fill me with grief."

It is a sad irony that Bishop Iker seems deliberately to have twisted Katie's words, doing violence to them for his own purposes.

It is even more sadly ironic that the good Bishop of Ft. Worth, whose words and action have been filled with threats of abandonment, should cast blame on his brothers from 'spiritual violence' even as he, himself, is abandoning them.

Violence also surrounds the language about law suits over church property. Whenever there is abandonment of the church, there will always follow the legal proceedings to settle property matters.

It is an unfortunate necessity. These decisions must be made. If they can not be negotiated privately, there is no other redress than to appeal to the legal system for assistance.

The church may not be 'of the world' but it is, after all, 'in the world'. The legal proceedings, in and of themselves, are not violent. Rather, they have been made necessary by the violence of abandonment.

The sooner we understand the difference between the language of human behavior and their natural legal consequence, the better we will be able to move on in peace and the healthier this church will be.

To have a Happy Easter, you've got to have a Good Friday

Innocence. Guilt. Accusations. Lies. Betrayal. Suffering. Death.

These are the the major themes of the story of what Christians call Holy Week which begins this Sunday - The Sunday of The Passion, or Palm Sunday. These elements are what we must walk through in the final steps of our Journey through Lent.

It’s no wonder – no wonder at all – that many people want to avoid Holy Week like the proverbial plague.

In what theologian Paul Tillich named, “The Age of Anesthesia,” it comes as no surprise that many people avoid coming to church until Easter morning.

Who wants to hear of such things? Isn’t the ordinary stuff of our postmodern lives already too full of these things? Give us celebration! Give us joy! Give us something to feel good about!

Isn’t Christianity supposed to be about ‘good news’?

Why, yes. Yes it is.

The Good News for those who walk with Jesus during Holy Week is that in a culture that cherishes ‘rugged individualism’ we are not alone. We are assured that God knows the intimate details of our human predicament.

God suffered with us in that long ago time, in that ancient city, on that lonely hill. A part of God dies every time innocence is lost, guilt is unmerited, accusations are false, lies are told, betrayal is perpetrated, and humans suffer unjustly.

The fullness of the celebration of Easter cannot be known unless you are humbled by the simple act of having your feet washed on Maundy Thursday, or you participate in the profoundly moving act of hammering your burdens and sins onto the Old Rugged Cross on Good Friday.

The Great Vigil of Easter prepares us like nothing else to move through the darkness of our past, to open our eyes to the reality of our present, and into the full embrace of the Light of Hope for our future.

The old, old Spiritual tells us “You’ve got to walk that lonesome valley. You’ve got to walk it by yourself. Nobody else can walk it for you. You’ve got to walk it by yourself.”

Please. Do yourself a favor. Check out the schedule of Holy Week and Easter Services at a church near you.

Make plans now to attend services in Holy Week. Don't leave it until the last minute.

Go. Walk that lonesome valley.

At the end of the journey, you will discover that you were never alone. God was walking there, right beside you.

That will make your celebration even more glorious than the glory of all the lilies at the altar on Easter morn.

While others see the empty tomb, you will see the glory of the Risen Lord.

It is promised.

Well, that didn't take long

I'm told it smells distinctly of arrogance and lies.

Guess that's why they call it "toilet water."

The Emperor's Club: Get Off Our Backs

The Emperor’s Club. It makes me wanna scream!

I know. I know. The rest of the Anglican world is in an absolute flummox about the deposition of John-David Schofield. I, on the other hand, am reeling from the “all-Spitzer-all-the-time” that’s all the news in the Tri-State area.

That would be Eliot Spitzer, the now former Governor of the State of New York who resigned in disgrace after being caught with a $1,000 per night ‘call girl’ in a prostitution sting of an organization known as “The Emperor’s Club.”

This would be the same governor who gained enough political capitol as the State Attorney General by bringing down two ‘high-end’ prostitution rings and the promise to bring ethics back to state government to win a sweeping victory a little over a year ago.

The media shark-frenzy has been merciless – as merciless as it was to NJ Governor Jim McGreevy and former President Bill Clinton and Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Bakker and . . .well, you probably know the Litany of Sinners better than I.

I suppose that’s as it should be. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, the better example they make. Right?

Well, I agree that those in high places fall farther and harder than most, but that’s what happens when you live in the rarefied air of political esteem in a position of public trust.

Here’s my question: If they made a better example, then why does the problem persist? Why did Eliot Spitzer fall after Bill Clinton’s debacle?

Ah, right. “Boys will be boys.” “You know, all men are scoundrels.” “How can you tell when a man is lying? His lips are moving.”

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And, no, not so much.

That’s just a lot of hooey, far as I’m concerned. I know lots of men, normal, healthy men – hetero, bi and homo – who not only know a commitment when they make one, they keep it.

Is it something about power? ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely’, as the saying goes. Well, the only difference between Eliot Spitzer and Jack, the Bar Tender at Charlie’s Aunt, the local town ‘watering hole’ here in the pristine suburbs, is that no one cares about what Jack does in his spare time. Just mix a good martini, Jack.

Oh, and then there’s the rather large difference in the price they pay for ‘services rendered.” Jack is still “a John” hiring a “$2 whore” and Eliot is “Client 9” paying $1,000 a night for a beautiful “escort”.

‘Arm candy’ is more expensive than a box of Godiva Chocolates, you know.

Personally, I’m less concerned about all that. What is really disturbing to me is how this underscores the prominent role of sexism and inequality in our culture. Rarely, if ever, do the ‘Johns” get prosecuted. In Spitzer’s case, the only reason he was brought down is due to the fact that the woman he was with was transported over state lines – a violation of the Mann Act of 1910.

The ‘prostitutes’? Well, we know what happens to them, don’t we? Even Scripture has great disdain and very little pity for the women who work in the oldest profession. But, oh, those boys-who-will-be-boys! Ain’t they something, though?

That’s not even it. I went to the webpage for “The Emperor’s Club.” There, disembodied pictures of women are rated according to a “diamond rating.” ‘Kristen’, the woman who ‘escorted’ the governor on the Eve of Valentine’s Day, was rated a 3 diamonds score – approximately $1,000 per night – placing her in the middle range of a rating system that tops off at 7 diamonds or $4,300 per night.

Mind you, ‘the girls’ only receive a portion of that. The margin of profit goes to the owners of The Emperor’s Club.

Not exactly a news flash, is it?. Whether we are talking about the Mill Girls of Lowell, MA at the turn of the century or the women who are Buyers for Macy’s, it was ever thus. Studies show that even in the church where there is a woman as Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies is also a woman, gender-bias and pay inequality run rampant among Episcopal Clergy who are women.

The NY Times is reporting that ‘Kristen’ is actually Ashley Alexandra Dupre, a 22 year old woman who left her Jersey Shore home at the age of 17 to pursue a career in music. That's her picture at the top of this post.

She has a dream, our little Ms. Ashley, to rise above the broken shards of her past and be a successful performer. And hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do in order to achieve her dreams, right? I mean, this is America, the land where you gotta be brave because nothing is free – not even the American Dream.

Ms. Dupre is quoted as saying, “I just don’t want to be thought of as a monster.” I guess she didn’t realize that achieving your dream can sometimes be a nightmare - especially for a woman.

Here’s what’s sticking in my craw: The diamond-rating system. If you look at the home page of The Emperor’s Club, under the faceless parade of legs in black silk stockings, g-strings on curvy hips and tight buttocks and red lace bras on bodacious breasts, there are anywhere from three to seven diamonds, depending upon how each . . . ‘girl’ . . . is rated.

The higher the number of diamonds, of course, the more expensive your evening will be.

It’s like the Westminster Dog Show!!!!!

I don’t know whether to be sick or disgusted; to laugh or cry.

So, the first question, of course, is why do these beautiful women do it? Surely, with that beauty, that physical perfection, those obviously well placed connections and access to networks of influence and power, they could get jobs as models and make $1,000 per hour rather than for an entire night. Right?

I’m sure I don’t know. That’s not even the question I want to ask. I want to know why the oldest profession is still in business.

I want someone to explain to me the reason why it is that we live in a world where there is a woman who running for the Democratic nomination as President of the United States who is the Senator from the same state as the Governor who is engaged in prostitution.

Does anyone else but me catch the irony of this?

Of all the things that make me angry and sad about this whole tragic mess – the ruination of a political career, the humiliation of Sila Spitzer, his wife, and their children and their families, the anguish of the family of the New Jersey woman who was Spitzer’s ‘call girl’ whose identity has now also been revealed in the NY Times, the chaos in the state government of New York – is that prostitution is still an acceptable ‘profession’.

That people still make money, literally on the backs of women. That women – beautiful women – continue to be seduced by the lure of ‘easy’ money, and the illusion of power and prestige and all the other trappings of the heterosexist, misogynist dominant cultural paradigm.

The Emperor’s Club, apparently revealed the vulgar transparency of arrogance, political corruption and blind ambition of a leading state official. In so doing, it also revealed something about the world’s oldest profession and something more about the world’s original sin.

Eight years into the dawn of the New Millennium, and the naked truth is this: sexism and misogyny continue to thrive in our post modern world, in the midst of the sophistication and polish of The Big Apple, of The Capitol City of The World.

As Flo Kennedy once said, “If we had come a long way, no one would still be calling us ‘baby’.”

I hope we keep Eliot Spitzer, his wife, Silda and their three young daughters in our prayers. I hope we pray for the State of New York, that it may recover from this time of scandal and move on to new leadership with Mr. Paterson, the first African-American governor of his state, and the first man who has vision impairment to be governor anywhere.

I hope we pray for Ashley, that she may come to know that she is not a monster, but that she might also learn that selling your body to achieve your dream can cost you your very soul.

And, once we get up off our knees, I hope we work to find a way to keep women off their backs as a position of sole support for their lives and their dreams.

The ancient Chinese proverb is that women hold up half the sky. You can't do that unless you're standing upright, claiming your full dignity as a child of God.

Of all the lessons this awful time will teach us, I hope we listen most closely to this.

Why can't we be friends

For Mimi and Jonathan

ENS: Schofield and Cox Deposed

Episcopal News Service
March 12, 2008

House of Bishops consents to deposition of John-David Schofield, William Cox

By staff

[ENS] The House of Bishops voted March 12 to consent to the deposition from the ordained ministry of the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, and the Rt. Rev. William Jackson Cox, bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Maryland, resigned.

Members of the House of Bishops are preparing a statement regarding these actions and for release after a March 12 afternoon session.

The process used to work through these resolutions took into account the importance of prayer and careful reflection before each vote was taken.

Specifically, in both cases the House was first led in prayer by a chaplain, followed by small-group discussion, and then plenary discussion. After this, voting commenced. Each vote was cast clearly in the majority, with some nay votes, and some abstentions.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori asked the bishops assembled "to continue to reach out" in pastoral care to both Schofield and Cox.

"Abandoning the Communion of this Church does not meet we abandon a person as a member of the Body of Christ," Jefferts Schori said.

Full texts of the resolutions follow. Each resolution was considered and voted upon separately. The resolution pertaining to Schofield was acted upon first.

RESOLUTION

RESOLVED, that pursuant to Canon IV.9.2 of the Episcopal Church, the House of Bishops hereby consents to the Deposition from the ordained ministry of the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin.

EXPLANATION: On January 9, 2008, the Title IV Review Committee certified to the Presiding Bishop, pursuant to Canon IV.9.1, that the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, Bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, has repudiated the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Episcopal Church and has abandoned the Communion of the Church by, inter alia, departing from the Episcopal Church and purporting to take his Diocese with him into affiliation with the Province of the Southern Cone. In the intervening two months since the Presiding Bishop gave notice to Bishop Schofield of the foregoing certification, Bishop Schofield has failed to submit to the Presiding Bishop sufficient retraction or denial of the actions found by the Title IV Review
Committee. Accordingly, the Presiding Bishop has presented the matter to the House of Bishops and requested consent to Bishop Schofield's Deposition.

RESOLUTION

RESOLVED, that pursuant to Canon IV.9.2 of the Episcopal Church, the House of Bishops hereby consents to the Deposition from the ordained ministry of the Rt. Rev. William Jackson Cox, Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Maryland, resigned.

EXPLANATION: On May 29, 2007, the Title IV Review Committee certified to the Presiding Bishop, pursuant to Canon IV.9.1, that the Rt. Rev. William Jackson Cox, Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Maryland, resigned, has repudiated the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Episcopal Church and has abandoned the Communion of the Church by, inter alia, departing from the Episcopal Church and stating his intention to continue to perform episcopal acts solely under the oversight and jurisdiction of a bishop outside the Episcopal Church without conforming to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church. In the intervening two months since the Presiding Bishop gave notice to Bishop Cox of the foregoing certification, Bishop Cox has failed to submit to the Presiding Bishop sufficient retraction or denial of the actions found by the Title IV Review Committee. Accordingly, the
Presiding Bishop has presented the matter to the House of Bishops and requested consent to Bishop Cox's Deposition.

Dave Walker Does it Again

With a few bold strokes, Dave Walker over at Cartoon Church has summed up the essence of the decision from Lambeth Palace to exclude Bishop Gene Robinson from the gathering of Primates and Bishops in the World Wide Anglican Communion.

Hmmm . . .never noticed this before, but isn't it interesting how close the miter looks to the "dunce cap"?

The Governor and the Emperor's Club

The New York Times broke the story early yesterday afternoon. By 2 PM, the media airwaves were full of the news: Eliot Spitzer, the Governor of the State of New York, was linked to a Prostitution Ring.

By 5 PM, the local news channels were on their 1,000th loop of replaying his statement of apology, made only a few hours before. There he was, looking calm and anything but apologetic. His wife Silda was by his side. The only word I could use to describe her pale face, obviously struggling to hold back any sign of emotion, was "stricken."

Ironies - ironies upon ironies - abound. This is the governor who built his political campaign for governor on the promise to bring ethics back to New York State.

As Attorney General, he made his name prosecuting at least two prostitution rings while he was chair of the state's task force on organized crime. In one such case in 2004, Mr. Spitzer spoke with revulsion and anger after announcing the arrest of 16 people for operating a high-end (whatever the heck that means) prostitution ring out of Staten Island.

The NY Times reports: "Federal prosecutors rarely charge clients in prostitution cases, which are generally seen as state crimes. But the Mann Act, passed by Congress in 1910 to address prostitution, human trafficking and what was viewed at the time as immorality in general, makes it a crime to transport someone between states for the purpose of prostitution."

The Mann Act. How ironic for the Governor of the State of New York, a common "John" to be brought down by "the Man/n."

The NY Times further reports: "Under the state constitution, should Mr. Spitzer resign, Mr. Paterson, the lieutenant governor would serve the remainder of the Governor’s term.

Mr. Paterson’s current office would remain unfilled until the 2010 election, as the constitution makes no provision for filling a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office. Under those circumstances, Joseph L. Bruno, is the Republican majority leader and temporary president of the state senate, would "perform all the duties of the lieutenant-governor" until a new one is elected in 2010.

Those duties include acting as governor when the nominal office-holder is out of the state. Moreover, should Mr. Spitzer resign and if Mr. Paterson were unwilling or unable to take his place, Mr. Bruno would become acting governor—a possibility that would hold special irony, given the vicious and ongoing battles between Mr. Bruno and Mr. Spitzer over the last year."

Yes, well, but the deepest irony for me is that "Client 9," as Spitzer is named in the afidavit (which begs the question - if the Governor of the State of NY is "number 9", who the heck are the first eight?), frequented the prostitution ring named "The Emperor's Club."

Looks like this Governor had no clothes - in more ways than one. I guess that happens when you weave together threads of arrogance, political power, judgement, blind ambition, and corruption.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/nyregion/10cnd-spitzer.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

What Real Bishops Say

The Rt Rev. Gene Robinson, although an elected diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church has not been invited to attend the Lambeth Conference of bishops of the Anglican Communion. Lambeth Palace offered him a place in the Marketplace - the exhibit hall for the conference. Here is his letter in response:

I first want to thank Ed and Bruce and Tom. (ed.note - the bishops who tried to negotiate with Lambeth for Gene and the House of Bishops) They have been so true to what they were asked to do by the Presiding Bishop. They have been in close communication with me. I have felt very supported by them. They have represented me extremely well.

I want to be clear than I am not here to whine. I learned of the result of this negotiation on Friday evening. I have been in considerable pain ever since.

But I want to acknowledge that I am not the first or last person to be in pain at a House of Bishops meeting.

My own pain was sufficient enough that for 36 hours I felt the compelling urge to run, to flee. My inspiration for staying came from my conservative brothers in this house. I have seen John Howe and Ed Salmon and others show up for years when there was a lot of pain for them. I see Bill Love and Mark Lawrence, and I know it is a very difficult thing for them to be here right now. For me, the worst sin is leaving the table. And that is what I was on the verge of doing. But, largely because of you, I stayed. Thank you for that.

I want to tell you why I declined the invitation as it was proposed. I really had high hopes that something might work out. I have been talking with the Anglican Communion Office for almost a year now. I got my first phone call four days before the invitations to Lambeth went out. I thought something would work out.

The offer to be hosted at the Marketplace is a non-offer. That is already available to me. One workshop on one afternoon and being interviewed by the secular press was not anything I was seeking. I wasn't going to Lambeth to have another interview with the secular press. If interviewed at all, I want to talk with a theologian. I want to talk about the love of Christ. I want to talk about the God who saved me and redeemed me and continues to live in my life. I want to talk about the Jesus I know in my life.

But my mind boggles at the misperception that this is just about gay rights. It might be in another context, but in this context it is about God's love of all of God's children. It's a theological discussion, it's not a media show. I have been most disappointed in that my desire was to participate in Bible study and small groups, and that is not being offered. It makes me wonder: if we can't sit around a table and study the Bible together, what kind of communion do we have and what are we trying to save?

I am dismayed and sickhearted that we can't sit around a table, as brothers and sisters in Christ, and study scripture together.

It has been a very difficult 48 hours sitting here and hearing your plans for Lambeth.

In my most difficult moments, it feels as if, instead of leaving the 99 sheep in search of the one, my chief pastor and shepherd, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has cut me out of the herd.

I ask two things of you. Some of you have indicated that if I am not invited, you won't go either. I want to say loud and clear - you must go. You must find your voice. And somehow you have to find my voice and the voices of all the gay and lesbian people in your diocese who, for now, don't have a voice in this setting. I'd much rather be talked to than talked about. But you must go and tell the stories of your people, faithful members of your flock who happen to be lesbian and gay.

For God's sake, don't stay away.

And second, please don't let them separate me from you. Please don't let that happen. It will be difficult, and we will have to be intentional. I know that the last thing you will need at the end of the day is another meeting just so I can catch up with you. But I hope you will be willing to stay in touch with me.

From the day I have walked into this House I have been treated with respect and welcome, even, and perhaps especially, by those of you who voted no on my consent.

I can never thank you enough for that. I will always and every moment treasure your welcome and your hospitality.

Don't let them cut me off from you.

All this is really sad for me and for my diocese. I won't have the experiences you will have, to share with them. But I will be there in the marketplace, willing to talk with anyone who wants to talk, especially with those who disagree with me. If you know me at all, you know that that's true.

Now, my focus has to change. Maybe this is what God has in mind. I had hoped to focus on the community of bishops at Lambeth, making my own contribution to its deliberations. But now, I think I will go to Lambeth thinking about gay and lesbian people around the world who will be watching what happens there. I will go to Lambeth remembering the 100 or so twenty-something's I met in Hong Kong this fall, who meet every Sunday afternoon to worship and sing God's praise in a secret catacomb of safety - because they can't be gay AND Christian in their own churches. I will be taking them to Lambeth with me. They told me that the Episcopal Church was their hope for a different, welcoming church. They told me they were counting on us. Yes, the things we do in the Episcopal Church have ramifications far, far away - and sometimes those ramifications are good.

I hope we can talk about the ways we can stay in touch in Lambeth. I will be praying for you, all the time. I know it will seem very strange, being separated from you. But we can do it if we want to. I have nothing but respect and sympathy for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the difficult place he is in. I was trying to help him, and it just didn't work.

Pray for me. I will need that. A lot.

(Note: T-shirt design by MadPriest. But, of course.)

Jesus At The Movies

My congregation and I have stumbled onto what other churches have no doubt already discovered: Christian Education at the movies.

We have been doing this for a few years now, and it is a great way to build community while having an opportunity to discuss Christian themes, spirituality and ethics in a postmodern, secular, confusing world which is hungry for community and meaning.

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by. We'd love to see you!

The Episcopal Church of St. Paul is pleased to present

The Spring Series of “Jesus At The Movies"

This season’s theme is “Family Trouble”. We’ll look at three films and discuss the complex, funny, and sometimes tragic but always compelling nature of families. The film is always shown on Friday evening . Discussion follows on Saturday morning in the Moore Conference Room. RSVP (so we can make enough popcorn).

April 18: The Ice Storm 7-9 PM
Discussion: April 19, 9:30-11 AM

Prep-schooler Tobey Maguire returns home one winter weekend and finds his family on the verge of imploding. His father (Kevin Kline) tries to douse his unhappiness with booze and infidelity while his mother (Joan Allen) searches for answers in self-help books. The experimentation and permissiveness that defined the times lead to ruin as the family's surroundings literally turn to ice during a freakish storm.
Starring: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen Director: Ang Lee

May 9: You Can Count on Me 7-9 PM
Discussion: May 10, 9:30-llAM

Small-town single mom Sammy Prescott (Laura Linney) is preoccupied with raising her son Rudy (Rory Culkin), who's become sullen -- and curious about his missing dad. Amid romantic and work troubles, Sammy's wayward brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo) appears, instantly bonding with Rudy and instigating a perilous father-son reunion. Director Kenneth Lonergan's intimate, Oscar-nominated drama won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize.
Starring: Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo Director: Ken Lonergan

June 6: The Graduate 7-9 PM
Discussion: June 7, 9:30-11 AM

Dustin Hoffman (in his first major film role) turns in a landmark performance as a naïve young man recently graduated from college who is seduced by a middle-aged neighbor (Anne Bancroft). He, in turn, falls in love with her daughter (Katharine Ross). Mike Nichols won a Best Director Oscar, and Simon and Garfunkel achieved immortality with a score that includes "Mrs. Robinson."
Starring: Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman Director: Mike Nichols

Absolutely everyone is invited!

(But please let us know you’re coming)

200 Main Street – Chatham, NJ (973 635 8085) www.stpaulschatham.org 

Come! Grow! Celebrate!

The Radical Orthodox Rabbi

I was asked to go to a local facility - one of those "one-stop-shopping" Residential/ Skilled Nursing /Rehabilitative / Alzheimer / Hospice facilities that are flourishing here in the Northeast corridor - to do the baptism of a 75 year old woman who is a resident there, who had recently been transferred to the Hospice Unit.

Her deceased husband had been Roman Catholic and had insisted on proper instruction and baptism for their two children - one now a Presbyterian and the other an Episcopalian.

She had always refused Communion because she had never been baptized. As she has been preparing for her eventual death, she asked that she be baptized because, she says, she is now ready. At the age of 75.

"I'm doing it for me, not for anyone else," she said. "I'm doing it because I want to, because I want to see Jesus when I get to heaven."

I've visited with her a few times to make certain she understood what was being offered. I didn't want her to think this was some kind of "Magical Mystery Tour" but to be fully cognizant of the Sacrament of Baptism and Eucharist, and the grace being offered to her through them.

We decided to do the Baptism this morning, when her daughter and son and grandchildren could be present. It was a joy and an honor and a privilege to baptize her and then preside at her first reception of Holy Eucharist. Some readers of this Blog will be relieved to know that at no time were any rubrics or canons injured, violated or compromised. All the 't's' were crossed and all the 'i's' were dotted.

As I was leaving her room, I came upon a most amazing site. An orthodox Rabbi was heading into the Dining Room - his seven children and wife in tow - immediately recognizable as orthodox by his beard, fedora, tzitzit or prayer tassels, tallit or prayer shawl and teffilin or phylactery (I think I spelled everything correctly. If not, you should excuse me. I am 'goyim' - non-Jew - after all.)

Curious, I followed him in and saw the dining room filled almost to capacity, with others lining up to enter. As I looked around the room, I recognized many there who were not Jewish. The Rabbi saw me standing at the door and said, "Come in, come in. Welcome!"

"Good morning, Rabbi," I said as I smiled.

"We're about to start the Shabbat," he said, "Come!"

He noted the look of hesitancy and surprise that crossed my face as he glanced at my clerical collar and the cross on my neck. "It's okay," he said. "Do you know someone here? Would you like to sit next to them?"

"No," I responded, more curious now than either hesitant or surprised.

"Still, come in. It won't take long before everyone knows everyone."

His wife came to my side, their seven small children came too, like baby ducks following their Mama. "There's plenty to eat. Come," she said with a beautiful smile.

"Let me guess." said her husband, "You're Rabbi is the one from Nazareth. Jesus, right?"

"Right." I said. "Ah, and a good, orthodox Jew he was. He knew Torah and the Shema. But, you know that, right? You have studied his teaching?"

"Yes," I said, surprised if not taken aback.

"Then," he said, "only one question remains: Are you hungry?"

"A little," I offered sheepishly, "Yes, I suppose I am."

"Ah, good! Wonderful! Come, come! Ruth! Ruth! Make a place for our guest. There, can she sit next to you? There you go," he said as he seated me next to Ruth, adding to the rest of the table, "Isn't this wonderful? The whole family is gathering from near and far and we are going to share a most wonderful meal in the name of our most abundant God."

Then, he leaned and whispered into my ear, "You know, like your Rabbi, I have a little bit of the radical in me, too. In Rabbinical School, they tried to teach it out of me, but as you can tell, it didn't work." He laughed and then he and his wife made themselves busy seating the rest of their guests and finishing the preparations for the service.

Before we began, the Rabbi stood at the table and formerly welcomed us to the Shabbat service by first apologizing for conducting the service in Hebrew - "It's the only way I know how to say it," he said while some giggled and others murmured assuringly, "It's okay, Rabbi. You just do your best."

Ruth touched my arm and whispered, "Did your parents teach you Hebrew?"

"No," I said, "I'm sorry."

"Ach!" she said, "Such a shame! I don't know what's wrong with parents today! Tsk! Tsk!"

The Rabbi explained that what we were about to do three things: First and foremost, we were to remember the gift of our freedom, our liberation from bondage, gained for us by the Great Prophet Moses in ancient Egypt. "Such a gift," said the Rabbi, "should always be remembered, always celebrated."

Second, said the Rabbi, we were to remember the gift of the Sabbath, a time of resting from our labors to remember and give praise to the God who created us, who also rested from his labors. "Work, work, work!" said the Rabbi, "Sheesh! We could work ourselves to death and never enjoy the fruits of our labor! That's not what God wants, does he?" The congregation shook their heads collectively as negative responses filled the air.

Finally, the Rabbi told us that we will have a taste of the Messianic times, when God will send "An Anointed One" to bring true shalom - true, lasting peace, without poverty or war, disease or famine - to the whole earth. That will be a most wonderful time, won't it?" "Yes!" shouted one of the Rabbi's children joyfully as everyone chuckled.

He said some silent prayers, as his wife lit the candles and then he said the kiddush over the wine and the prayers over the bread. I got "Barukh ata Adonia, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam . . ." (Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe . . .).

And you know, nothing else really mattered.

I found myself weeping (I know. I can be such a girly-girl). Never had I experienced such radical hospitality in any religious service. My gender, my sexual orientation, my clerical collar, not even the small cross which hung from my neck had kept me from fully participating in that service.

I felt my heart pounding wildly in my chest and a surge of joy that must have been like that felt by the tax collectors and women caught in adultery, the widows and orphans, and all the other sinners when invited to Table with that thoroughly orthodox rabbi who didn't have his radical nature "taught" out of him.

I also understood at a deep level in my soul why that ancient "woman of ill repute" anointed the head of her Rabbi with expensive perfume, and wept at his feet and wiped them with her hair.

I didn't have much time to think on these things at the moment because, almost immediately the Oneg Shabbat Service began, which followed by a wonderful Shabbat luncheon of fish and salad and challah bread and the wine which had been blessed, all lovingly prepared by the Rabbi's wife.

Then, we sang songs."Take Me Out To the Ball Game." "My Wild Irish Rose." And, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." Oh, and someone insisted on singing "The Dreidel Song." We all joined in the singing and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Someone else did a solo of "Sunrise, sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof, accompanied by someone who played the sadly out of tune piano in the corner. When the man who sang it, a big, strapping Irishman whose red hair had turned to silver, finished, he apologized because, he said, it was the only Jewish song he knew. It brought both the Rabbi and his wife to tears as they thanked him.

We talked with each other and some of us danced with the children, and an absolutely marvelous time was had by all. As we left the dining room, I heard the Rabbi and his wife and some of his children say to everyone, "Thank you for coming. We'll see you next month. You'll come? Good! Stay well."

You know, something happened to me in that service. It was transformational. I do believe Jesus was there and fully approved. I saw his joy reflected in the eyes of that orthodox, slightly radical Rabbi.

I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room where we did, in fact, experience a foretaste of the Messianic Banquet, where true Shalom, was present.

This morning, none of us was poor. None of us was hungry. None of us was sick. We ate and drank until we were full. When we danced, we forgot our aches and pains, our age and even our diagnosis or that of our neighbor. We were one. We were reconciled with ourselves, our God and each other. We were at peace.

That's what is supposed to happen at our Eucharist. Be honest. Beyond the personal, individual sense of spiritual satisfaction at the altar rail, when is the last time you felt like that in community?

Okay, we've got our rubrics and our canons. I get that. But, surely, as followers of the orthodox, radical Rabbi Jesus, the Christ, we can do better than rubrics and canons. Surely, our Eucharists, when we remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and He is truly and fully present, can be a place were, in His Most Precious and Blessed Name, all are welcome, all can sit at table, all can hear the ancient words of prayer and not understand with our heads, but know them deep in our hearts and souls.

What evangelism! What a way to transform the world!

Then again, isn't that more nearly the orthodox, radical Way of Jesus?

I came home and, as I went about my weekend tasks, I found myself weeping again. I wept for the woman I baptized this morning - for the years she was kept from the fullness of community and family because of rubrics and canons.

I wept that some of my 'radical' nature has apparently been 'taught out of me'.

I wept because when Jesus, The Messiah, The Anointed One, comes again to bring true Shalom to all the world, I will have some explaining to do.

I wept with deep joy and gratitude for the simple question, "Are you hungry?" followed by the simple invitation to "Come."

I wept because I'm ashamed to admit it: I didn't know just how hungry I've been.

I wept remembering these words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Cowardice asks the question: Is it safe?
Expediency asks the question: Is it politic?
Vanity asks the question: Is it popular?
But conscience asks the question: Is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right."

Shalom, chaverim. Shalom, my friends.

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day.

More than 15,000 women marched in New York City in 1908 demanding shorter working hours, better pay and voting rights.

One hundred years later, we've got our voting rights. And the first woman candidate for President of The United States.

Not so in the rest of the world.

Women still hold up half of the sky, as that Ancient Chinese saying goes, but we bear more than our share of the world's burden.

To find out more about the work of International Women's Day, please visit their website

And, make a generous contribution to the Millennium Development Goals through Episcopal Relief and Development.

Spring forward, fall back: I'm dizzy

Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time.

In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). It begins the last Sunday in March and ends the last Sunday in October. In the EU, all time zones change at the same moment.

That means that in 2008, Daylight Savings Time in the US begins at 2 AM, Sunday, March 9th.

In the UK., Summer Time begins at 1 AM Universal Time on Sunday, March 30, but it won't be Summer Time in the U.S. until June 21, at the moment of the solstice, when the sun reaches its highest altitude in the north, the Tropic of Cancer.

If I understand this correctly, until March 30 there will be one less hour of time difference between the US and most European nations. That's an additional three hours of time in the cosmos. Is that right?

What happens to the time as we change it in the various time zones in the US? I have this cartoon image of a clock at the center of the universe spinning madly in the middle of the night as it tries to keep up with all the various changes across the country until dawn.

Hawai'i never changes its time. It's always the right time in Paradise. Does that mean Hawai'i is ahead or behind the time? Or, is it the rest of us?

If Summer Time begins in the UK after March 30th, can they still wear white even though its not Memorial Day (and, everyone knows you can't wear white until after Memorial Day)?

We gained an entire day in this Leap Year, on February 29th. Does that mean that this year has a sum total of an additional 27 hours of time? How does that effect the calculation of high and low tide? Has someone told the Easter Bunny? Santa Claus? The Tooth Fairy? Will there always be an England?

I have no idea how that all works or what that means for the cosmos. It simply boggles my mind.

Just remember this, people:

GET YOURSELF TO CHURCH ON TIME SUNDAY MORNING!

Thank you. Thank you very much.

"Press Release" from the Diocese of NY

Louie Crew has written a brilliant satire regarding Bishop Mark Sisk's letter about Honor Moore's book, "The Bishop's Daughter." Reprinted with Louie's kind permission.

EMBARGOED until April 1st:

This just in from the Diocese of New York:

Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk, Bishop of New York, has called on the Standing Liturgical Commission to expunge 2 Samuel 11 and 12 from the canons of Holy Scripture, as well as any subsequent references to the narrative therein.

"King David violated professional boundaries, and it is regrettable that someone decided to memorialize his sorry affair with Mrs. Bathsheba Hittite and her cuckold," Bishop Sisk explained.

In a letter to be read to all parishes in the diocese next Sunday, Bishop Sisk notes: "David did not understand the enormity of his sin. Look at the overrated Psalm 51, for example. In it the king says, 'Against you and you only have I done any wrong.' The king does not acknowledge any offense against Mr. U. Hittite or the Hittite family. Instead, he married the'widow.'"

Last month Bishop Sisk brought similar objections to THE BISHOP's DAUGHTER, a book he takes to be about boundary violations by Bishop Sisk's penultimate predecessor.

Bishop Richard Grein, Bishop Sisk's immediate predecessor, could not be reached for comment. While still the ordinary, Grein divorced his wife and married his canon pastor. The couple are rumored to be in flight to Aruba lest there be additional pastoral letters from 1047 Amsterdam Avenue.
#30#

Is anyone listening?

Go to this site to hear a recording of an Oklahoma State Legislator give a jaw-dropping speech that drips with hate.

She thought only fifty people were listening.

Go to The Victory Fund and let her know you heard what she said and that she doesn't represent you.

A very short sermon on Ezekiel 37:3-4

The 'Preacher'?

Why, it's MadPriest, of course.