Lenten Reflections – Thursday, February 23, 2012 by Charles Burre

The Journey Home

by Charles Burre

Today’s readings: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1:1-4, 6; Luke 9:22-25

Both the first reading and the psalm offer promises to those who choose to follow God’s ways.  Deuteronomy declares that those who keep God’s commandments and follow His ways will live a “long life on the land.”  They will be like the tree growing by the stream that yields much fruit and does not wither, the psalm says. Those promises were certainly fulfilled in my mother’s life.

My mother died peacefully at age 98 on the morning of January 25 here in Clifton Park. As I began the next day in prayer, the day’s first reading, 2 Timothy 1:1-8, brought comfort and reassurance that, as we prepared to return my mother’s body to her home in Kansas, her soul was well on its way to its heavenly home. St Paul’s greeting to Timothy resonated with my own thoughts as I reflected on my mother’s life and the roots of her faith and my faith in the community at St Paul Lutheran in Leavenworth. While I would have liked to have entered this reflection on the day of the reading, there were of course many things to attend to, so I offer it now.

Paul’s greeting in the second letter to Timothy, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord…” opens several of Paul’s letters. It is also used by many Lutheran ministers as they begin their sermons. These words guided my thoughts as I began to think about returning my mother to her home community. The following verses summarize my own faith journey and the origins of that faith.

“I am grateful to God, whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, … I yearn to see you again … so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that I am confident lives also in you.”

My mother and father and their parents were residents of Leavenworth and communicants of St. Paul Lutheran church for a combined period of well over one hundred years.  Only in the last seven years had my mother lived in New York, where she could enjoy the company of my family.  Almost since its founding, the congregation at St. Paul’s has supported a Lutheran day school (K-8), at which my parents and I were educated and taught the faith.  My mother graduated from a Lutheran teacher’s college and taught at St. Paul’s for many years.  Like most of my contemporaries in the Catholic Church, who also grew up in a parochial school system and neighborhood parishes, our lives were structured around the worship, activities, and celebrations in the church.

Employment brought me from Kansas to the Capital District. Soon after, I met my wife and we were married in an interfaith ceremony at St. James church in Albany. In 1982, after several years of attending Mass and not being a full participant in the sacraments, I became a member of the Catholic Church. I had often wondered how I could have explained not receiving the Eucharist to my children, who sat next to me every Sunday, especially, since I knew as well as anyone, that there is one faith, one baptism, and one Lord. Although some members of both faith traditions, view the other as different, incomplete, or even errant, I have long since abandoned those views, preferring to focus on the cornerstone of our faith.

Over the years many visits to my home would draw to mind the faithfulness of God’s people at St. Paul’s. Although their numbers at times seemed to be dwindling, they continue to support the school, draw in new members, and expand their ministries.  We also have attended some of the local Catholic churches on these visits. This has given me the opportunity to see where some of my high-school friends worshiped and to witness Christian activity in the current settings. I always return from these visits with a sense of awe at the dedication of these faith-communities.

Without any knowledge of my thoughts on the reading of January 26, Pastor Mease of St. Paul’s put the words of 2 Timothy 1:5 on the cover of my mother’s funeral service program.

“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your…mother…”

So, it is with God’s grace, mercy, and peace that I will continue the faith.

 

Ash Wednesday

We are going to go to church today to have our foreheads marked with ashes. We are going to be reminded of our death and we are invited to grow closer to God so that we might actually change. Repent, rethink, re-orient, restore. Return.

The first reading from today’s Scriptures, from the prophet Joel, is clear:

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart,

While Joel then intones us to do a lot of mourning and weeping, we are also reminded in the Gospel a few moments later, by none less than Jesus himself:

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance…”

That’s pretty clear too!

We are invited to traverse this place, these forty days, bracketed between those seemingly opposing thoughts. Focus on the returning seems to be the message.

Our Ashes remind us that we are all going to die; our instructions for Lent remind us that we all need to live in a particular way.

Can we do this?

This is a journey, one that is not simply between God and any individual one of us. The journey is made together. We are all ultimately alone with God in that moment of transformation that death brings, but resurrection is about the promise of Christ for all.

Have a good Ash Wednesday. I look forward to making this journey in community with you.

Breaking Blog News!

Lately I have been praying for a larger platform to write from. I am so grateful for this space and for my other parish blog, over at Immaculate Conception. In any case, I do have my personal blog and while it has decent readership, it would be a privilege to write about my faith and life for a bigger audience.

As it happened, and out of the blue – well, out of God’s blue – I was contacted by Mike Huber, who oversees all the blogs for the Albany Times Union. Mike, himself a Catholic, had been on the lookout for a blog that he believed would fit the bill for the TU faith blog. One day he googled something, found my blog and he really liked it. He liked it even more when he realized that I was local! So in less than a week’s time, Mike’s google turned into me being a Times Union blogger.

Please feel free to stop by, read and comment if you wish! And I am grateful for any prayers as I pursue writing about the faith that we share and live in Christ. (click here for the link.)

Adult Faith Enrichment Tuesdays – Salvation Now or Later? by G. Peter Avvento

   “Salvation Now or Later?”

One of the central images of salvation within the Christian tradition is that of salvation as overcoming of our sin and guilt. In fact, on the level of popular Christianity over the centuries, the dynamic of sin and forgiveness has been at the very core of our life. We have sinned against God, we deserve punishment and we need forgiveness. I submit that the importance of sin is really and sadly over-rated!! More to the point, an emphasis on sin and guilt has led and continues to lead to a distorted understanding of what being a Christian is all about.

There are two kinds of sin and guilt. There is an enculturated sense of sin and guilt that has little or nothing to do with God. The messages of our socialization, both religious and secular, get internalized within our psyches as the critical voice of the super-ego, the police officer and judge within our head. Our life under the super-ego is intrinsically one of sin and guilt. We frequently fail to measure up to what our critical voice requires and demands. So we might say that there is what we call “false or inauthentic guilt”, imposed on us by socialization and reinforced by the monarchical model of God – the king who must be pleased! When this is the cause of our guilt what we need is NOT forgiveness BUT a replacement of our God-image, an image that is not that of a judge or police officer.

But there is also real or authentic sin and guilt. We hurt each other either by omission or commission – what we do not do or what we actually do. Some of our actions are the result of our blindness while others are not. For both, our false sense of guilt and our real sense of guilt, the meaning of salvation is “forgiveness”. The meaning of this word is “I am accepted”. This is the central meaning of grace in the Christian tradition. God accepts me just the way I am. He does not put conditions on it. There are no strings attached. To think otherwise is to turn forgiveness into a reward for something that we have done, for meeting a demand or requirement. God does NOT say, “I will love you if you do this or that”. Rather, God says, “I love you for who are and as you are”.

This understanding of unconditional grace is very difficult for many people to grasp. Why??? Well, first of all, it violates both religious and secular conventional wisdom which states that there must be some requirement because “You don’t get something for nothing!” Secondly, our difficulty also flows from our common thinking of sin, forgiveness and salvation within the framework of the after-life. If God accepts everybody, does that mean that everybody goes to heaven, regardless of how good or bad they are? And if the answer is “Yes” then why should we care about any of this?

It seems that the mistake lies in thinking about sin and forgiveness within the framework of the after-life. The issue is not making sure that a person has adequately repented before he or she dies so that our entry through the heavenly gates is not blocked by some unforgiven sin. Rather, salvation as forgiveness has powerful meaning for our life here on earth. If we know that God accepts us unconditionally then it changes our own sense of self and self-worth. God loves me in spite of myself!

If and when we know this means that our Christian life will NOT be about meeting requirements or rules or laws as my mentor Fr. Bernard Haring used to say. Rather, the Christian life is about living our life in a relationship with God who already accepts me and is at work inside of me through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now if we do not see this or believe that we are forgiven and accepted, then nothing changes. We remain in bondage, burdened by sin and guilt and weighed down by the burden of trying to measure up. Maybe we can take advantage of this Lenten season 2012 to make the breakthrough from slavery to freedom. It will bring true peace that lasts forever!

I believe!

Today’s Gospel contains some words that live in my heart pretty much all the time.

“I do believe, help my unbelief!”

I am glad to be reminded of this as we prepare for Lent, which begins on Wednesday. Belief is on a continuum, not a destination alone. Yes we believe, but we are engaged in a relational faith; it is with Christ and one another that we can believe and help with unbelief.

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If you are reading this, would you consider writing a reflection for the blog during Lent? All are welcome, any readers – parishioners of St. Edward’s as well as all others. Please let me know, we welcome your words, prayers and thoughts at this time and always.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Quick post – a photo of newly elevated Cardinal Timothy Dolan. My boss, Fr. Jerry Gingras of Immaculate Conception is in Rome right now and he sent me this picture.

 

Bad blogging and A Call for Writers!

It has been a crazy few weeks and it shows in the lack of posts. I am sorry, more to come for Lent. Speaking of which, if you are reading this page and would consider writing a short reflection for one of the daily readings of Lent, please let me know!

Don’t go to St. Edward the Confessor but read the blog? Join in! Just like our parish, all are welcome!

Poetry Wednesday – Young at Heart by Donald G. Harmande

Young at Heart

My heart is young

Bones are not

But glad I can use

What I’ve got.

Get up in the morning

Singing a song,

Finish ablutions

Then move along.

Smile on someone

Who needs it so,

Don’t we all?

Never let go.

Good intentions

Should be fulfilled,

If we don’t,

We’ll never be thrilled.

Carry on through it all,

Seek the truth

Stand strong and tall.

Sighing in relief

When all is completed,

We know this attitude

Will not be defeated.

If we just do our best

Everything else

Will continue to bless.

Adult Faith Enrichment Tuesday – The Bible and Creation by G. Peter Avvento

The Bible and Creation

“What is the meaning of belief in creation today?”

By way of images and parallels, the biblical accounts of creation answer simple basic questions that also arise for us today and that science cannot answer with its methodology and language. The Bible answers elementary existential questions that gnaw at each of us. What are some of these questions and what possible answers are there???

• What was at the beginning? The good God, who is the origin of everything
• Is there anything else that is God alongside God? No, there is no God but God
• But isn’t there a good principle fighting an evil principle throughout history? No
• Isn’t part of reality of a lesser quality, like matter as compared to spirit, sexuality as compared to spirituality? No, the world of the good creator God is fundamentally good in all its aspects
• What is the goal of the process of creation? The great goal is the human being – not isolated but in the midst of the cosmos

Belief in creation adds nothing to the instrumental knowledge that science has so infinitely enriched. It does not offer any scientific information. But “creation faith’ gives us an orientating knowledge which is so critical at a time of rapid scientific, economic, cultural and political revolution and therefore a time of up rootedness. It allows us to discover the meaning in life and in the process and it may provide us with standards for behavior and an ultimate sense of security.

The only serious alternative, something pure reason cannot prove, because it transcends its horizon of experience, yet for which there are good reasons, an answer that is completely rational, is that the whole DOES NOT come from a “Big Bang” theory but from an “origin”, from that first creative ground of grounds that we call God, the creator God.

So to believe in the creator of the world against the horizon of scientific cosmology means to affirm in enlightened truth that the ultimate origin of the world and human beings have not been senselessly thrown from nothing but that, as a whole, they are meaningful and valuable, not chaos but cosmos, because they have their primal ground, their author, a creator, a first and last security in God.

Let’s always remember that nothing forces this faith. We can decide for or against in complete freedom. However, once we have decided for it, this faith changes our stance in the world and our attitude toward the world. Anyone who opts for faith in God as creator can also, with good reason, affirm the world and human beings as God’s creation. We are then called upon to “respect all human beings as equals” and we are also called to “respect and cultivate our non-human nature, especially the animals”.

It is BECAUSE I am God’s creature and BECAUSE my fellow creatures and my environment are also God’s creatures, that I, my fellow human beings and all animals receive a dignity that has to be respected.

Poetry Wednesday – In Retrospect

In Retrospect

As we glide through the years existing through the tears
we falter a bit.
We might dwell on the past, good and bad, happy and sad,
not remembering all of it.
Better to live in the present for it’s all we have today,
learn what it is worth, hoping tomorrow’s knowledge
will help pave the way.