WHY PRAISE?

Psalm 105:1-5
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

So why should we praise
God, anyway? I mean,
why bother?
I think God knows
better how we feel about God
than we do ourselves.
So I repeat the question,
Why praise God?
I have heard many reasons,
but none of them are
sufficient for me.
Usually
they just revolve around
getting
something from God
that we really, really want.
Praise in this scenario equals
bribery.
As if God is dumb
enough to fall for that!
Don’t get me wrong, here,
I don’t think it is a bad thing
to give God praise,
because it does show we recognize
from whence

THE RIVER OF GOD’S DELIGHTS

The River of God’s Delights

Psalm 36:7-8 — New Revised Standard Version
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights

#  #  #

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved
The other evening
Cherie and I took the far way home.
We were in Cloverdale for dinner
and decided,
because the Summer Bridge was in,
we would take that route home.
We made two crossings
of the Russian River:
one at the First Street Bridge in Cloverdale,
and the other, of course,
at the Summer Bridge.
And oh the people,
WOW!
Inner tubes,
canoes,
kayaks!
Happy people!
Laughing people!
People hurrying to
the water’s cool delights.
And I thought of God.
And I thought of the wonders I have seen,
felt, breathed, held,
dove into,
swam in,
and floated in.
Rivers, creeks,
ponds, lakes.
In meadows,
valleys,
and mountains.
Water:
warm, tepid,
freezing cold
with chunks of ice floating in it.
And I thought of God,
again,
and how God offers so many delights
if we will only dive in and soak them up.
I remember the first time
I trusted the water enough
to relax
and let it hold me in its surface tension
and I floated and I bobbed,
held in relaxed peace.
And I think of God,
again,
and how there is a godly tension
that would hold us
and delight us
if we would but fall back
into it and
float in it
and allow and trust God’s buoyancy
to hold us
in that
river of God’s delights.

 

A CASH-ON-THE-BARREL-HEAD GOD?

Matthew 10:40-42 — Amplified Bible

 “He who receives and welcomes you receives me, and he who receives me receives Him who sent me. He who receives and welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous, honorable, man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives to one of these little ones [these who are humble in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.”

A CASH-ON-THE-BARREL-HEAD GOD

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

I am not so sure about this:

that what we are about

is to get some kind of reward.

I’m not sure at all.

Prosper theology,

what I call

gimmy theology

Is based upon texts such as this one.

We gotta get our reward.

And if we do the right things,

God’s gunna make us rich.

And yet it is more than all this

do-this-for-God-and-get-rich-quick

stuff.

I believe that prosper theology

as presented

by TV evangelists and various

church-growth promulgators

is wrong to both

preach and to practice.

It is wrong because

Our relationship with God

is not about money

or appeasing a

cash-on-the-barrel-head

God,

but about spiritual growth.

I think we have misunderstood

God’s way of working since the gitgo.

God doesn’t care whether or not

we have full bank accounts.

God doesn’t care if we have nice

cars, houses, bar-b-ques

and take really special vacations

or even whether or not

we are drop-dead-gorgeous.

What God desires

is for us to be godly, kind, nurturing, to all

and especially to those who have less than we do.

God cares about justice,

not wealth,

about relationships,

not winning,

and certainly more

about the state

of our souls

than our bank accounts.

So, how is your soul doing today?

NO FEAR…

In my little church family all are welcome regardless of whatever… Just thought I’d fly this flag and post this for those who don’t know.

Matthew 10:26-31
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

Matthew 10:26-31 — New Revised Standard Version
So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

#   #   #

A recurring theme in scripture is
“DO NOT BE AFRAID!”
Yet… yet,
we remain afraid.
We continue to fear —
the unknown, change,
what we cannot control,
discomfort,
loss,
pain,
but mostly fear itself.
To all this fear
Jesus preaches a sermon,
and well,
you know how much attention we all pay to
sermons?
Huh…?
God tells us not to fear.
Prophets tell us not to fear.
Jesus tells us not to fear.
Still we fear.
Don’t kid yourself about it, either.
Fear saturates us.
Sometimes
it keeps us safe.
Sometimes
it saves our lives.
Sometimes
it holds us back
from our dreams.
Sometimes
it keeps us secure
in ways that stultify our souls.
Sometimes
it inhibits our capacity to love
fully.
And yet we are called to love
fully —
as Jesus loves,
as we are loved by God.
This text is not about anything
other than loving.
Jesus’ disciples,
us/you/me/we
are being told
to spread the love of God
and not worry about
consequences.
Calling us,
always inviting us,
to open our hearts to love.
Asking us to let what Jesus tells us
in the secret recesses
of our praying hearts,
to be told in the light of day,

and not to fear…

FAITH, FATHERS & MENTORS

Transformation Detail #13 — Mentors

Romans 5:1-5

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

 

We’ve all had someone who fathered us—

Some stayed.

Some didn’t.

Our father may be one

worthy of our love,

the subject of our devotion,

the model for how we live,

our worst

most violent nightmare,

the nightmarish

nemesis of our night terrors,

(this text suggests we have faith

in one who sacrificed his son — right?)

or,

someone stuck somewhere

in the uncomfortable middle.

Fathers:

someone we may never have met

and only know through stories,

or teachers

who showed us the right way

to do

almost everything

we do that we do well.

Still,

father or not,

many of us have had a person

in our life

who picked up the pieces,

or the slack,

or walked with us in places

where a father could not,

or would not.

I have had several such people in my life.

A few have been men,

rugged and bold and skilled and exacting.

Many have been women,

gentle and kind and patient and strong and knowing.

(I have actually been taught

more about

how to be a man

by women

than by men.)

All have been

wise.

All have been

exactly what I needed.

Today I want to honor and thank

those men and women

in our lives

who took the time

to help us find our way,

who showed us

how to become

the men and women

we are and we have yet

to become.

And then,

the question:

for whom are we fathers and mentors?

Whom do we teach?

Whom do we hold?

Whom do we lead?

THE THREE THAT ARE ONE

All Things Containing Sacredness

Matthew 28:16-20 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Julian of Norwich When he made us God almighty was our kindly Father, and God all-wise our kindly Mother, and the Holy Spirit their love and goodness; all one God, one Lord. In this uniting together he is our real, true husband, and we his loved wife and sweetheart. He is never displeased with his wife: ‘I love you and you love me,” he says, ‘and our love will never be broken.  [Julian of Norwich (c. 8 November 1342 – c. 1416) was an English anchoress and an important Christian mystic and theologian. Her Revelations of Divine Love, written around 1395, is the first book in the English language known to have been written by a woman.]

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

In the church calendar

this is Trinity Sunday,

an arcane and strange notion

is the idea of the Trinity.

Much theological, philosophical,

and intense wrangling

has gone into this concept.

The notion that God is three,

but still one,

is as specious to me

as is the idea that

Jesus is comprised of two separate,

yet one united nature.

Theologians state that

God’s various parts are

Father/Mother,

Son/Daughter,

Holy Spirit.

Jesus is fully, completely, solely

human and divine.

These claims work as metaphor,

but theologically they can get reified and

become boxes and categories

to contain and control

God.

Ways to make God less

fearsome and mysterious.

Ways to separate ourselves and categorize

and dehumanize

others,

and by extension,

reasons to fear and hate and exclude.

Then we get Julian, with her images of the divine as

wife, sweetheart, lover, husband,

all relational, all united,

and I suspect for Julian, conjugally so,

and with great pleasure in the uniting.

The Fathers, Patriarchs, Bishops of the church

found ways to divide what is holy.

Julian and many of the church mothers

found way to melt, meld,

what is human and what is divine

into a familial one.

I like that God is lover and sweetheart

and husband and wife,

and what is sacred is all of it  —

ALL MEANS ALL —

God, Earth, Frogs, Ducks, Crickets, Snakes,

Spiders, Rocks, Grasses, Trees,

You, Me, Us, Them…

ALL MEANS ALL.

Sacredness abounds!

RE-READING

1 Peter 3:13-22

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

I find this text

strange, awkward, and

legalistically unintelligible reading,

to say the least…

Baptism saves us?

Dirt from the flesh?

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts?

Concepts I’ve never actually fully understood.

1st century, Greco-Roman- Near-Eastern metaphors at their finest.

So many ministers,

laity,

denominations

base their understandings

of God

on these

and other arcane notions of

how

they think God works.

Still, re-reading,

there is wisdom in this text.

We are given insights

into the struggle

of the early church

that relate to our own time.

We have had people

try to intimidate us

because we believe

differently than they.

Many of us

have been made to feel afraid

because of

something we have spoken out

against —

racism, homophobia, economic justice.

Try speaking in favor of

love over hate, or

the overwhelming power

of a peaceful heart

in a conversation justifying

self-protection

and war and violence

at any cost.

Interspersed with the

obscure theological concepts

is a strong message of blessing.

While it is never a good thing to suffer,

we are told that if

it is to happen

it is better to suffer for

doing good than for

doing bad.

The point

being that there is blessing in the one

and only suffering in the other.

The writer of this text offers blessing and hope,

but in ways hard to grasp by 21st century minds,

Yet for us,

what is it that offers us courage

in our own time?

Where do we find our strength

in our own time?

How does God/Christ/Jesus/Spirit

bless us

as we proclaim the love of Jesus to our world?

Do we proclaim

the love of Jesus

to our world?

GODDING

When God Happens

Acts 2:42-47

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

Hearts burning within.

Hearts aflame with God,

with hate, with forgiveness.

Grace in action,

or what Carter Hayward calls

“godding”, making God present —

for others, for ourselves.

Stephen paid a price,

his life, for godding.

The saying popular right now is,

haters gonna hate,

and while it is true,

we also need to know that

lovers gonna love and

godders gonna god.

There’s more of us,

really.

The Sixties slogan,

make love not war,

for me has morphed into,

make God not fear.

How will we make God this week?

How will we change ugly situations

into situations filled

with God and grace?

AND what price

are we willing to pay to do that?

There are costs for this:

pride, ego, self-righteousness,

being the odd, weird, misunderstood one,

being ignored.

Godding costs,

but it also rewards.

How can you say that being

God’s presence

in our world

is not worth whatever cost?

When we are faced

with anger and hate

and what is ugly

remember to god —

let God be present and seen.

Light has shown in our darkness

let us be that light for others.

Go forth this week and be God,

have courage…

AWE

Highlighting the Gospel

Acts 2:42-47

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

Everyone was in awe.

All those wonders and signs.

All the wonders and signs around us.

Done by us.

Shared by us.

I think we discount

ourselves too much,

and so we never really,

actually,

share what WE do.

And because of false modesty

and cultural conditioning

we hardly ever get to share in

those wonders and signs around us

that the ones around us

do so miraculously well.

We,

you,

are those apostles.

We,

you,

are those wonder-workers.

We,

you,

are all that God has to do these works

of signs and wonders.

AND we,

you,

are doing what needs to be done.

AND

I stand in awe as I witness the

signs and wonders

God does through each and every one of you.

Awe….

BREAKING THE BREAD

In the Bread

Luke 24: 13-35

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

 

Taking the bread.

Open-eyed, wide-eyed.

They recognized him.

This reading

always chokes me up

a little.

I carry this with me.

I hold this in my heart of hearts

every time I break the bread

at the table.

It isn’t so hard to break the bread.

It is hard to do the recognizing.

Recognize the one who arose.

Recognize the one who

continually confounds us

with grace and presence.

I want to see Jesus.

I want to find him,

and you know, I do look,

yet it seems

I look either where

Jesus has just been, or

not yet arrived.

And then. And then.

And then I break bread.

And then I look up.

And then I see

the other expectant eyes

who are looking as well,

seeking for this salvation we

call the risen Jesus,

and together,

taking the bread,

open-eyed, wide-eyed

we recognize him —

in the bread, in the cup,

in each other.

BELIEVING, an Earth Day Meditation

Dream a Greening Planet, painting by Hilary Marckx

John 20: 19-31

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

 

Earth Day.

The scientists marched.

A day to consider the Earth:

what it is, what it is to us,

what we are because of it,

what we would be without it.

We humans seem to live

in compartments of

either/or polarizations.

We think of ourselves

as separate entities

from each other,

all other life forms—

even from ourselves,

if you consider

how we all let our conscious minds

forget

they have bodies attached.

Yet, all that is,

is a part of all that is.

There is a silliness abounding

in this nation

that has many convinced

that environmental issues

do not count as much

as economic profits,

that making money

from coal and oil is more

needful

than protecting humans

from black lung disease.

There is a belief

in some sectors that

science apart from the

science supporting industrial expansion,

or creationism,

can be discounted with impunity

and without consequence.

The call to faith,

the invitation to believe,

comes from many places

and in divergent manifestations.

It is more than convenience

that moves us to believe

in pierced hands

we have never actually seen.

I wonder how hard it is to believe

that in the devastation of this planet

we can see the pierced hands

of the one who spoke this earth

into being?

Or how hard

it might be to find a

crucified Jesus

in the devastation of our planet?

Because I think in theological terms,

I can see a link

between the actions humans

take that hurt our earth

and what we do that harms

our relationships with each other

and with God.

I have come to understand that we,

the earth—

all creation

is part of God’s incredible

and beautiful body.

And because I believe this,

I have come to believe

what we do to each other,

what we do to the earth,

we do to our God.

AND TELL THEM — an early meditation for Easter

Easter for all

John 20: 1-18

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

Go to my sisters and brothers

and tell them…

An Easter Morning Commission.

Tell them.

Tell them what you have seen.

Tell them what you have heard.

Tell them…

Mary had seen

and told.

What have we seen that we can tell?

Mary had heard

and told.

What have we heard that we can tell?

So what is there to tell, anyway?

It’s more than an interesting question.

What do we have to say about Jesus?

That we have seen…

That we have heard…

That all are welcome at the Table?

That we will be the Jesus you need

to love and journey with you?

That hope is alive

and lives and is

already in your heart

if you will but listen?

I have seen joy.

I have seen the beauty

of new life growing in God.

I have heard stories about wonder.

I have heard voices break as

fear turns to joy.

Not just from Sunday witness,

but from the very souls of those we encounter

when we really, truly, listen.

Truly hear the heart.

Really see the soul.

Recognizing the sacredness of the other

in every encounter.

Listening, seeing, this is how we spread

mercy and hope and grace.

Calling out,

listening,

being present,

seeing,

sending out to tell,

and

going out and telling,

this is Easter…

COME ON IN

Come On In!!

Matthew 21: 1-11

© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

 

My little granddaughter, Khaleesi,

walks into a room waving to the crowd,

any crowd

as if they were her subjects

and she is their royal princess.

Grand entrances work if you are either

truly grand,

or three years old and cute as a bug.

Jesus, now,

gritty, sweaty,

Galilean on a donkey,

Jesus was whatever he was,

but for sure he wasn’t cute.

He was serious business.

AND

he was on his way to die.

It is debated

whether or not there was a crowd.

There are arguments about

whether or not

he was actually seen as God,

then,

as he is portrayed,

later,

in this text.

For me,

the question is less

how he was seen,

or how many people gathered,

or even

how majestic was his entrance.

For me the question is,

always is,

what,

how do I/will I respond to his entrance

into my heart and life?

How have I

responded in the past?

Sometimes with overwhelming gratitude,

joy, near tears from relief

as I realize

I no longer have to make it on my own,

many times

irritation as I struggle with

the inconvenience of change —

of heart, of attitude, of preferences, of will…

Those times when I just want to be mean

and get even,

hurt back,

yet

dig deep for some grace

to exchange for hurt,

are the times I know for sure

that I have truly encountered

this one

who enters worlds and political systems and hearts

by way of a humble servant.

QUESTIONS FOR LENT

Sometimes The Road Through Lent

Again, I’m playing catch up here with a couple of these I’m doing back to back…
Matthew 4:1-11
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

For this first Sunday of Lent
I am asking, by what are we tempted?
But the question is also,
by whom are we tempted?
We all know that there are things—
candy,
good wine,
a second serving,
not doing something boring we need
to do to do
something really fun,
giving in to our anger—
that are temptations.
But there are people as well.
Promulgators of comfortable
yet wrong-headed ideas.
Tempters and thieves
of our souls.
We have read the Gospel.
We have listened to moral arguments.
We all have known
since Sunday School, or kindergarten,
the differences between right and wrong
and most of the time we get it all really right.
And yet,
we each of us,
as we walk through this Lenten season
have a golden opportunity to
pray through those things and
people who tempt us
and allow God to change us.
What choices
are we faced with?
What paths
are we avoiding that we should take?
What do we do
when we are faced with injustice?
What jokes
do we laugh at?
Who suffers
when we make choices
based purely on our own comfort?
What decisions
can we make that bring us the most peace?
Who are our friends,
and do they help us make right choices,
or do they enable our bad choices?
Lent gives us
an opportunity to
ask of God and
of ourselves,
Am I satisfied
with the kind of person that am I,
and if not,
what kind of person
could I become?”

A COMPARISON

Exodus 24:12-17 & Matthew 17:1-3
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

A Comparison

—Playing catch up with a couple of these and posting two today—

Jesus in the Gospel reading
is presented as a new Moses.
This is not a new thought.
None of what I write is actually new,
more like a rephrasing building upon
centuries of theological conversation.
I do have a point, however.
What Jesus is
doing and saying is
new for his own time,
and while we may have heard it
It was brand new to his hearers,
and the presentations by the writers
of the Christian Scriptures,
while built upon
Table conversations
and hillside recollections
of what was remembered of what
Jesus said,
were, by and large, new to the
communities
in which they were proclaimed.
New connections
were being made between
the ancient Hebrew story
and the brand new Christian story.
So, it isn’t just that Jesus is the new Moses,
but what Jesus said and did,
and what happened to him
became fodder for a whole new religion—
the Path,
the Way
that eventually became,
Christianity.
This is important because we must understand that
in the comparison between Jesus and Moses,
the authority of the message
being presented
by and for and of
Jesus
is intended by those early writers
to supplant the message of Moses.
So in the words
Jesus speaks
and the writers present,
Law becomes Grace,
death becomes life,
anathema and abomination become love and hope.
This was a new idea to
most of the world at that time
(the eye-for-an-eye and
a-life-for-a-life-folks),
and it seems that it still is.
Even in our own time
our Christian culture seems more
enthralled by the Ten Commandments and Holiness Codes
and use them as ways to think
about our actions before God
and how we treat others
than we are about
the gift of forgiveness and hope and love
Jesus taught and invited us to share
with our enemies and with the world.
The Stories we read,
the words we are given
that are attributed to Jesus
are about love,
equity,
hope,
caring for others,
and welcoming all
into the fold.
It is not about
tribal/national-ism.
ALL ARE WELCOME!

THIS IS JESUS

potentiality #29

Matthew 5:38-48
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

This is the Gospel.
This is at the heart of what Jesus was/is,
the code by which he lived/worked/died.
This is Jesus…
It gave him the power
by which he healed people.
It was his focus/paradigm/mode/plan
for life.
From heaven to earth,
it was his guiding vision,
his roadmap to the cross,
his singular message,
his exegetical tool for
interpreting scripture
and his plan for building
what he called the Kingdom of God.
I think that if Jesus could make a commentary
on how we Christians,
liberal/progressive
or
conservative/evangelical/fundamental,
were doing in the
building-the-Kingdom category
it would be pretty grim.
We just do not get it at all!
OK,
so let me ask,
when was the last time you actually
forgave,
offered grace,
gave or offered love
to your enemies?
Not just the ones with atomic bombs pointed at you,
or political foes,
but the ones
who picked the scabs
off those sensitive
little areas
you pretend are healed?
I believe that our commission as Christians,
ALL OF US,
the real Great Commission,
is less to “save souls,”
and more to offer love.
But we don’t really want
to offer love to those on
the OPPOSITE SIDE
of our righteous opinions,
do we?
We want the kingdom
for our kind
our liberal/progressivekind
or
our conservative/evangelical/fundamental kind,
with all of its love and grace,
but we want that
Old Testament rule of revenge
for our dissenters.
Yet, we can’t have both.
We do not really want
to follow Jesus
because there is
a cross at the end,
and we can’t seem to see beyond
the cross to resurrection.
I guess the question is this:
Do we want to live in the hell
of anger and non-forgiveness,
or the heaven
of loving?
How we answer to this
question is really
our own
focus/paradigm/mode/plan-for-life,
our own guiding vision,
our own roadmap to our own cross,
our singular message,
our exegetical tool for
interpreting scripture
and our plan
for building what Jesus called
the Kingdom of God.

CHOOSE LIFE

Choosing Life Hidden by Our Fear

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Matthew 5:21-22
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

So, WOW,
Choose life
so that you and your children can live?
If it seems a little harsh and Old Testament-ish, it is.
Yet
there is something about the statement that rings true.
How do we define,
or think of life?
Is it just
inhaling/exhaling,moving, thinking, seeing, speaking,
or is it more
and something else entirely?
It seems,
and you do know this,
that being alive
is more than simply taking up space and breathing.
Being alive has
to do with quality also.
In the Deuteronomy text we are told to walk
in the ways of God or die.
In the Matthew reading we are told just how
much our angry words matter.
In the Genesis creation story
we learned that God uses
words to create and give life.
In the first verses of the Gospel of John
we are informed that Jesus
is the Word (Logos)
that is the life God
breathed to create all things.
But Matthew apprises us that
our words can also murder.
The temptation in times
of stress when we
do not find comfort
in what is going on around us is
to lash out in anger—
this is especially the case
in our present political environment,
where our disagreements
seem much more significant,
and the fires in our bellies
are burning out of control
and we are ping-ponging
between depression and rage.
But
fear, rage, indignation, pain, shock,
our inner and conflicting feelings of hopelessness and purpose,
are not excuses
for us to act out what the scriptures
describe as choosing death.
And while we may not physically die
or cause others to physically die,
we will surely cause severe
damage to our own souls/spirits/emotions
and the
souls/spirits/emotions of those around us to wither.
God throws down the gauntlet
and says
“I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life…”
Jesus,
the Word that is God,
says
what you do to those you deem insignificant
or whatever, you do to me —

How will we choose?

LETTING THE LIGHT IN

How The Light Gets In

Matthew 5:14-16
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

How many times
have we heard someone say,
or said ourselves:
Love and light,
be the light,
shine your light
holding you in the light,
let your light shine…
But in this text,
Jesus tells us that
we are the light of the world,
and have you ever wondered
just what that means?
What it means for us
to be the light of the world?
When we remember that
Jesus kept
explaining that
he is us and we are he,
we find it hard to comprehend.
It seems just wrong to be akin to Jesus—
maybe sacrilegious?
But consider this,
we are not elevating our own selves,
Jesus is trying to lift us up,
and in the process
attempting to show us
the rights and obligations we
have as ones
who are on his plane of existence.
We are broken.
We are wounded.
There are cracks in our facades.
Though it is something we do not like to admit,
We are by and large afraid
of being different,
of standing out.
Still,
it seems that God gives us light
to shine and share
regardless of what we think we are,
and no matter what
we might do or think
of ourselves
God finds us to be
lights gleaming in the wilderness
and it seems
we are living examples
of the chorus in the Leonard Cohen song, “Anthem…”

“There Is a Crack, a Crack, in Everything,
That’s How the Light Gets In.”

And so
let us pray that in spite of our
brokenness
we can let the light get in
so it can make us,
with all our cracks and chips,
shine with
Christ’s holy light
for the world to see.

WHAT GOD REQUIRES

Not The Expected Offering

What God Requires
Micah 6:6-8
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

God wants none of our holy intentions.
God wants none of our piety.
God wants none of our self-righteousness,
or our righteousness, for that matter.
God wants no sacrifice.
God does not want us to light candles,
burn incense, sing extra loud,
pray good, fast, or dance.
God is interested in our souls,
insofar as they are in bodies that
are cared for and healthy.
But what God really wants is for us to
be just—not just legal,
and with either the letter or the spirit of the law, but just.
God wants us to make sure that justice is done.
We are to insist that mercy is always the first concern.
I see this as the mandate for our own time.
I am not writing about politics.
Though politics is part of it.
I am not writing about demonstrating.
Though demonstrating is key.
I am not writing about sending letters to our nation’s leaders.
Though how can we not?
I am writing about each and everyone of us, ALL OF US,
becoming not just beacons of justice,
not only arbiters of mercy,
but watchers and rectifiers and doers and bringers
and proclaimers and standard setters
of justice and mercy in our communities,
among our friends and to the strangers among us.
It is no longer enough to promote sanctuaries,
but we, each of us, must be sanctuaries
for all who seek justice and mercy and grace:
this is what God requires…

SAYING, “YES,” TO HEAVEN

Saying, “Yes,” to Heaven

Saying, “Yes” To Heaven
Matthew 4:12-23
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

Out minding their own business
and the next thing they know
heaven has snuck up on them
and taken them hostage.
Oh sure, they could have said, “No,’
but there they were and there was Jesus
and what could they do,
say “No,” to God?
Well, it was Jesus, the guy from Galilee.
Galilee from whence no good thing comes.
And maybe they should have run,
because saying, “Yes,” turned out to be
torture and a death sentence—
they would end up losing everything.
Saying yes.
It seemed so easy.
Fishing wasn’t all that good anyway.
Jesus seemed, I don’t know, refreshing,
compared to mending nets and casting lines
that came back empty.
Ambling around the countryside,
shmoozing people, following Jesus,
proclaiming the kingdom, singing good songs, and
living off the land seemed like a job to die for—
and it turned out to be just that.
What does it mean to you to proclaim the kingdom?
What does it mean to you to proclaim Christ is among us?
What does it mean to you to follow the way of Jesus?
What does it mean to you to say, Yes,” to God?
What do you mean when you say you are a Christian?
Do you believe that Heaven is now, and if so,
what has changed about you since before you believed that?

********
Matthew 4:12-23 — New Revised Standard Version

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake–for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

RECOGNITION

Hope #3

John 1:29-34 — The Message

The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

Recognition
John 1:29-34
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

We keep looking.
We keep seeking.
We keep peering into an
unknown chasm
called eternity
trying to catch a glimpse of
something
we have only speculated on,
dreamed of,
considered —
the Divine Being,
the Holy One, God.
I wonder, though,
if it could be that
we have already
seen this divinity —
been in its presence,
and not made the connection,
not registered,
not recognized God for whom God is?
What if we look at God all the time,
but are blind
to God’s Presence?
We wait for a descending Spirit to affirm.
We expect Gabriel’s horn to blow and announce.
We want cosmic excitement and bright lights,
bells,
whistles,
smoke,
great gushes of wind,
a deep heavenly voice,
and legions of angels darting to and fro,
and all we seem to get
is the mundane.
We get life,
rocks, pebbles, sand, a random cloud, a spider,
weeds, rain, and by the way,
other and very random people
with strange ways, sweat, body odors, and
all looking for the same thing—God.
I submit:
all these things are that very thing
for which we seek;
the Divine Spirit.
Another way to say this is
if spirit can be matter,
then matter can be spirit
and It seems we have already
discovered what we sought
and all we need to do next is to recognize.
The problem,
though, is that once
we admit
that all that exists is sacred and divine,
we will then have to enter ourselves into that category
too,
and, well, that could get messy…

A DAY FOR A QUESTION

Potentiality – #38

Psalm 148 — The Message
Hallelujah!
Praise God from heaven,
praise him from the mountaintops;
Praise him, all you his angels,
praise him, all you his warriors,
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, you morning stars;
Praise him, high heaven,
praise him, heavenly rain clouds;
Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—
he spoke the word, and there they were!
He set them in place
from all time to eternity;
He gave his orders,
and that’s it!
Praise God from earth,
you sea dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and ice,
hurricanes obeying his orders;
Mountains and all hills,
apple orchards and cedar forests;
Wild beasts and herds of cattle,
snakes, and birds in flight;
Earth’s kings and all races,
leaders and important people,
Robust men and women in their prime,
and yes, graybeards and little children.
Let them praise the name of God—
it’s the only Name worth praising.
His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky;
he’s built a monument—his very own people!
Praise from all who love God!
Israel’s children, intimate friends of God.
Hallelujah!

* * *

A Day for a Question
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

Have you ever had a question
you couldn’t quite
articulate, yet
you knew needed asking?
Today is Epiphany Sunday—
a day for praise,
still for me,
a day with a question mark.
It is the celebration of a story about three
philosophers/kings/wise-people/mystics/leaders
who journeyed
far to find the
Christ-child and to pay homage.
It is a story about recognition,
discovery,
value,
gifting.
It is also a story that establishes
Jesus as one who gathers
and draws into his sphere
the seekers of the world,
as well as those
who hope for comfort and nurture—
Jesus,
the Heart within all hearts.
The three in this story needed
something and we are not told
what, but whether
it was just to satisfy intellectual curiosity
or some deep inner
need, they crossed deserts
and mountains from
afar to make their discovery.
We are told that it was the Christ-child,
a new king of the Jews
whom they would venerate
but I wonder
if it was something else entirely?
What is that thing our hearts desire,
that we
would make perilous journeys to discover?
Is there an object of our desperation,
if we are indeed desperate
for this,
propelling us through our lives,
driving us,
moving us?
Can we name it?
The things I
need as I traverse
my own
personal
mountains and deserts:
first and foremost,
love,
camaraderie,
security not so much,
but hope and peace for sure.
There is a question
I would ask of the Heart
which dwells within all hearts,
and I need an answer.
I cannot quite identify it,
let alone formulate the question.
But this is what I truly seek:
an answer from the
Heart within all hearts
and it is yet to be asked…
And so
in anticipation of the promise
of discovery
Epiphany Sunday offers
I will lift my voice with the writer of this Psalm
and give praise.

THINKING ABOUT TIME

Thinking About Time
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

Thinking About Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 — New Revised Standard Version
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
The God-Given Task

What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by.

* * *

Friend, and singer songwriter Dave Hamilton,
has written a song he’s titled,
Thinking About Time:

“I get up before the dawn when the dark is not quite gone. Early birds sing with delight ready for the day’s first flight. Gentle breezes stir the trees I greet the morning with stiff knees and I like to start the day in my own peculiar way but the hours fly by fast the morning calm just doesn’t last. The afternoon comes rushing in and soon the day is gone again. Chorus: Oh where does the time go a mystery just like a black hole I’m losing my mind thinking about time.”
Well, it seems that time is on our minds,
as well.
But in truth there is no time.
We have no future, really.
We have no past, actually.
All we have is now—
always now,
forever now.
So,
if you think 2016 was a horrible year,
it really is but a fly
speck on a long
continuum of past fly specks.
Friend and fellow theologian,
Jay Johnson, says:

“It’s random. It’s just the numbers calculated by a Roman pope centuries ago.”

Still,
a coming year,
a past year have
so much meaning and weight for us,
and place a huge
burden upon our souls,
but it is all based
on an artificial construction.
So the questions
are not
what will we do
or
become
in the coming year,
but, rather,
what are we being now?
Not how are we working
for a non-existent future,
but who,
in this present,
do we choose to be?
Not who are we becoming,
but who are we now?
Each second we breathe
we make choices.
Still, we work hard at time,
making time stretch,
re-creating time,
trying to force time
to give us more,
praying for just a little extra
of a fictitious creation
when the only
thing that we have,
can ever have,
is our now.
We gather at our communion tables
hoping for a reprieve from
the tyranny of now.
But what we actually receive
is grace for a
now
that is new and
forgiven and
whole and
untarnished,
and really, isn’t that enough
for all the
nows
of our lives?
For the Communion Table
with its bread and cup,
represents
what we get
with every breath we take—
now.

PROVENANCE AND VETTING

Matthew 1:17-23
© Hilary F. Marckx, all rights reserved

The proof.
The validation.
The reasons for the importance.
This is Matthew’s equivalent of
SNOPES.COM,
WIKIPEDIA,
FACTCHECK.ORG,
RATIONALWIKI,
or
POLITIFACT.COM
Matthew is telling us that he has
his facts straight
and knows what he is talking about.
Then he starts talking about
angels of God
and virgins
and almost deserting fathers,
and comes close to losing us
when he drops the real bombshell —
this child is the one
foretold by the ancient prophets,
named Immanuel,
which means,
“God is with us.”
This is Matthew’s way of telling us that
this the child of the promise!
Advent:
the time of the year when
we can step up to our knees in promises
and wade through the waters of life
to the eternal shores of the sacred!
In the end
which is really
the beginning,
Advent makes it clear
that the best fact checker around
can be found
in the holy desire of our souls…
And you know this;
you should know this:
there is a holy desire
living within our souls that yearns for
the love and hope and joy and peace
of the Divine Being.
AND we can trust
this sacred yearning
to lead us on
the long path
from Advent
through to Easter morning.

© Hilary F. Marckx, BMI, all rights reserved