'SEE, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW'

The oldest icon of Christ Pantocrator, encaustic on panel, c. 6th century (Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai).

(Click on the icon for the larger view.)


Today we had a quiet day at my church. The day was fruitful with new insights on God Incarnate, a favorite subject of mine. During part of our quiet time, the image on the upper left was projected on a screen for us to use to meditate if we so chose...to look through the eyes of the icon to see God, which I found easy, since the eyes compel attention.

Certain family members are going through a difficult period right now, and in answer to one question that was posed to us, 'How do you see God?' my answer at the first moment was, 'Missing'. 'God, where are you in the midst of this mess?' I suppose we were to answer truthfully, even though we answered only to ourselves. I know God is in the midst of the mess, but I don't feel God's presence, and I don't see the results from my prayers that I'd like.

The priest who conducted the day of silence gave us several passages from Scripture to read and then ruminate, as he put it, like a cow chews the cud, swallows, and regurgitates, and then chews again, which I thought was helpful imagery. One of the passages assigned was Revelation 21:1-6.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Yes, yes, one day, but what about now? And then, as I ruminated, the words struck me with force: ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Right here, right now, God is at work making all things new. Right now, before Christ comes again, God is revealing, moving, changing in relation to all of us involved in the mess, in ways I cannot see, but are nevertheless happening, as I see through the eyes of faith the assurance of things hoped for.

During part of the quiet time, I strolled through the cemetery behind our church, which is a wonderfully peaceful place. I thought of the appropriateness of the reminders all around me of 'dust to dust' in this first week of Lent. I took pictures, too, of the various types of monuments, which I will post later in a picture essay.

Image from Wikipedia.

BISHOP YELLOWBELLY FINDS A FRIEND

Excellent! Heh-heh. Thank you, SCG at Wake Up and Live.

NEW PRO-COVENANT WEBSITE

The recent weekend sweep of four dioceses in the Church of England voting against adoption of the Anglican Covenant may have inspired the creation of the website Yes to the Covenant. The content of the site is thin gruel at the moment, but, of course, the site is new, and perhaps their gruel will thicken, given time.

Themethatisme who blogs at conscientisation posted his 'initial reactions' to the reasons given on the website for 'Why we need an Anglican Covenant', which I believe are quite good. He may post 'something a tad more erudite' later, but I'm pleased I caught his early responses because I may not be able to comprehend his later, more erudite responses.

Adrian Worsfold, who blogs at Pluralist Speaks, is no longer a member of the Anglican family, but he does our work for us in his post on the new website. Adrian writes about the repeated references to the Anglican Communion as a worldwide church or global church.

The communion is not now and has never been a worldwide church. Just because pro-covenant people call the Anglican Communion a church doesn't make it so.

EASIER SAID THAN...

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.

...but still true.

From the Lectionary readings today.

IS THE ANGLICAN COVENANT THE BEST WAY FORWARD? REALLY?

Mark Harris at Preludium directs our attention to the three videos from the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order (IASCUFO) in defense of the Anglican Covenant. The first video is here. Links to the other two may be found at Preludium.

Below is the commentary that accompanies the video:

In this video, members of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order (IASCUFO http://bit.ly/wIPVqK) reflect on the Sections of the Anglican Communion Covenant. The members include:
- The Revd Canon Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, Anglican Church of Southern Africa
- The Rt Revd Kumara Ilangasinghe, recently retired Bishop of Kurunagala, Church of Ceylon
- The Rt Revd William Mchombo, The Church of the Province of Central Africa
- The Rt Revd Dr Howard Gregory, Bishop of Jamaica & The Cayman Islands, The Church in the Province of the West Indies
- The Revd Dr Katherine Grieb, The Episcopal Church

Mark points out the irony of Dr Katherine Grieb's presence in the video.

Professor Grieb is herself now a consultant to IASCUFO rather than a full member precisely because of the "consequences" of The Episcopal Church's actions, and was done in ways similar to that provided for in Section Four.It is quite interesting, perhaps ironic, that she is in this video at all, what with her relation to a church so questionable that she is reduced to consultant status simply because she belongs to that church.

So. Because of the naughtiness of the Episcopal Church in ordaining gay bishops, Dr Grieb is already sidelined in the committee by some authority or other in the Anglican Communion, and yet she tells us not to worry. The covenant will apply to the church 'just as we are'. But, as Mark says further:

The real question IS about the future. If we sign or not, "where do we go from here?" If we sign, we will surely be disciplined and / or politically pressured and we will fight against that and be called divisive. If we do not, we will surely be called divisive for not signing.

To me, adopting or not adopting the proposed Anglican Covenant looks more and more like a Catch-22 situation for the Episcopal Church.

A further irony is that the videos were produced by (IASCUFO), a committee which is under the authority of the Anglican Communion Office, which is funded by all of the provinces in the Communion. Why then are the reflections in the videos entirely pro-covenant? If each province must decide whether to adopt the covenant or not, there is the possibility that not all will decide to adopt. Wouldn't it be fairer to present both pro and con material on whether the proposed covenant is the proper solution to the present disagreements in the Anglican Communion? Is no one at all on the committee entertaining doubts about whether the best way forward is to draw provinces of the communion together by exclusion or reduction to a lower status of certain present member provinces?

Have I mentioned that the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order reminds me of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Roman Catholic Church, which began life as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition? I'm sure the resemblance is purely coincidental.

BIBLICAL FAR SIDE

As we say on Facebook: 'Like'!

Thanks to Suzanne.

A MAN AND HIS DOG

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years.

He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."

The man gestured, and the gate began to open. "Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump," said the man.

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?" "No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

STORY OF THE DAY - AIMING LOW

I need you to come home soon, she said.
I'm walking around like a woman who's
let herself go.

From StoryPeople.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Joel 2:12-14

Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain-offering and a drink-offering
for the Lord, your God?

Psalm 103:8-14

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

‘Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Ann Fontaine reflects on Ash Wednesday at what the tide brings in.

Why do we gather on this day? Why do we receive ashes on our foreheads with the sign of the cross? What are we doing here? Do you notice the gospel asks us not to make a display and yet many of us wear our ashes all day. I have been thinking about this "disconnect" between our actions and our readings.

Read the rest of Ann's fine post.

In the end, it's about the heart.

FOUR GOP HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE...

...ride again tonight to warn us of the Last Judgement upon America...nay upon the entire world...if Obama is reelected. And the four may even spare time to turn on each other in their final debate. I'm telling you, folks, this is a horse race. We might even see a brokered Republican convention, something we have not seen in either party in quite a while. Don't forget to tune in. As for me, I'll be in church.