Living in coronavirusworld 263: Fifth Sunday in Easter

5/2

The egret is back....

 

On sunny mild Sunday, I meet with my friends from Beverly Church over the phone to preach and lead communion.  Having prepared, of course, over latte and cherry danish at my Venezuelan cafe....

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

When I lived in Pittsburgh, the Greek Orthodox priest in my neighborhood would greet me with those words all 50 days in Easter. And I would respond in kind. I think of him today as my Orthodox friends celebrate Easter. (Our accompanist Irina got up early to stop at the Russian church first before our service......)

My egret has returned to Morningside Park. The turtles are sticking their heads out and basking in the sun.  And like the turtles, we too are slowly sticking our heads out ,checking things out  to see if it might be safe. I was at a birthday party last night with a room fun of real people, not virtual on ZOOM.  Things are changing. Slow, but sure. 

We need to be preparing for the long journey. To an as yet uncharted territory.  

What’s gone is gone and will not come again, What will be is not yet seen. We are living somewhere in between. It’s been a year, and we’re still here. We are here.

So how do we prepare for the long haul? Jesus has words for his disciples today that are good for us as well. They come in-between healing one blind form birth and raising Lazarus from the dead.  (We often forget the one....or Orthodox friends have as Lazarus Sunday) In our liturgical year, we are win that in between space…in-between the resurrection and Jesus’ ascension, his post resurrection time on earth.

In that respect, these words are preparing us for when Jesus will no longer be with us in the flesh.  And the answer Jesus provides for us is “abiding.”  This is also known as the “vine and branches” passage.  It’s a passage with roots in Psalm 80 where Israel is the vine and God the vine dresser. Here Jesus is the vine and we the branches.

And it seems like we are to bear fruit. Any branches that do not produce fruit are “cut off.” And those that do, are “pruned” so that they may bear better fruit.

We are to abide not with, but in him. How do we abide in Jesus? It’s all related to our idea that post resurrection, post ascension, we are the body of the risen Christ. Abide in him. What does that mean? I think it has something  something to do with following his commandments, which first and foremost means living a life of love. 

And it means “bearing fruit,” which to me means making love real through our actions. By their fruits you shall know them.....dangerously close to what Luther criticized as works righteousness, wanting to argue for grace exclusively. 

I love the vine and branches imagery. In some communion liturgies, which we celebrate  today, these words are said with the sharing of the cup…I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 

So I have some questions and issues….have we been pruned? Or put another way, what pruning could you use to bear better fruit? What do we carry around with us that we would be better off without? 

He says “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.”  Do you feel cleansed by what he has told us?  Can we allow ourselves to feel that? 

And I’ve got some issues…."apart from me, you can do nothing”…..how does that make us feel when we hear that? I know we want to feel capable and that we have agency. Maybe here’s where the grace comes in, but I do have to confess that there are big things in my life I simply can’t…or won’t…accomplish without that grace…

I am always troubled by language like Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch….I believe in a God of love…I don’t want to “abide in Jesus” out of fear of  punishment. The only way I can deal with that is if bearing fruit is its own reward, then refusing to abide and not bearing fruits, living a life apart and separated from others, is its own punishment.

The second half of that sentence is even more of a challenge.. ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you…..Really? Does that really work? As a friend once said to me, remember, it’s prayer, not magic..Some commentators will say Well, if we are truly abiding in him....and he in us, we won’t ask for anything contrary to his word…that seems like too easy an answer…mans we all know those emotional moments when we pray our pleading prayers…. O God, pleeeeeease…and sometimes there are “miracles” and sometimes not. Sometimes we get a parking place and pass  the test but then cancer doesn’t go away, And sometimes it does.  

I can’t answer that one. And in the end, that’s okay. I find myself agreeing with Iris De Mint who sings:

Everybody is a wonderin' what and where they all came from

Everybody is a worryin' 'bout where

They're gonna go when the whole thing's done

But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me

I think I'll just let the mystery be

I think I'll just let the mystery be

For this one, I can let the mystery be. 

And get back to where I started. Bearing fruit. We’ve got challenging days ahead as we negotiate how we’re going to live. What this new place is going to feel like. Let’s try not to worry, Let’s focus on abiding in Jesus…and him in us…and bearing good fruit…that will bring its own reward and that we can be sure of…

Let those with ease to hear, hear…

Amen

Gospel John 15:1-8

1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Living in coronavirusworld 220: Matthew 25 Church

 12/1

House across from Morningside

The beginning of our virtual Presbytery meeting is taken up with  more than usual technical hassles getting people into the room and connected. So it is. But once underway, it picks up its own flow and goes smoothly apart form the random interruptions that come from  people not muting themselves sometimes at awkward, annoying and even amusing moments. 

There is no denying the impact of Covid on the life of Presbytery. Even before Covid, membership had fallen by 9%. Only 70% of congregations were paying per capita. Since Covid, only 40% have paid their per capita, reflecting the congregations’ own financial crisis due to loss of income.  

Some congregations have handled the crisis well, however, making creative use of streaming worship services and events. Covenant Congregation, for example, has become a truly international congregation that now has a 2AM Bible Study to accommodate cross ocean participants. 

Our special guest is Rick Ufford-Chase, up until recently Co-Director of Stony Point Conference Center. Rick shares his reflections on the future church. He tells how they had come up with the Matthew 25 initiative that is now gaining traction in the church. Of the  three periscopes that make up the chapter, he’s most drawn to the third,  the judgment of the nations. It calls us to both stand with those who are marginalized, excluded and oppressed and also to introspection as well. Very specifically he sees the church called to:

* nurture vital congregations

* dismantle systemic racism 

* bring an end to poverty

He has come to see the second pericope as badly misunderstood. Christians in Latin America helped him to see that far from a parable about the Kingdom of God, the parable is actually an accurate description of who multinational corporations are. When it speaks of the third slave as being afraid, the slave was afraid of becoming like the master. Jesus came to bring about new rules. We must ask ourselves what are we called to do? What is our capacity? And do what we can do in a way that would be pleasing to God.We must use our power and privilege when called upon by people who are at risk on their behalf. And the church’s mission, to be legitimate, must take seriously and act concretely towards reparations. Nothing else is valid.

Santa

Snowmen

Mike Geffner’s Inspired Word  World (virtual) open mic grows by leaps and bounds every week. The schedule falls two hours behind and somehow I get flustered and forget words to my own songs. That is embarrassing and upsetting.Over and over again this world demands  patience. 

Liivng in coronavirusworld 212: approaching Thanksgiving

 11/21

on Central Park West

All throughout the neighborhood, on lampposts, windows, walls, are posters with a photo of a missing teen age girl. “Save our daughter/Black lives matter” the posters say. I can feel the sense of anguish. 

what we did in the past, we can't do now

Long line waiting to get in the grocery store. Pre-Thanksgiving shopping I’m sure. It will be a strange holiday. All the usual events I would go to are not happening. Most of my New York City friends staying close to home and not anting to have people  in their homes. Even true in families.  And yet….the news reports a high time of travel..apparently many willing to say “the hell with it” even as we hit record highs. 

My friends Hot Glue & The Gun have their Thanksgiving show. Even in Covid time it is important to give thanks. Their musical performance art has grown sharer during the pandemic, aa always commenting indirectly though clearly on what’s going on. Happy to hear them put on a piece of mine during the “pre-show.”

11/22

A raw day.  Haven’t done a 5K in awhile so decide to do the "New Orleans Saints virtual race.”  Imagining myself in New Orleans. Its familiar streets. Sounds, yes Lord, sounds. And smells. Only I’m doing a loop in upper Manhattan on the edge of Central Park. Not traveling  anywhere anytime soon except in my head.

a taste of Venezuela

The Monkey Cup owner knows I want a latte I settle in for my Sunday morning routine wit the Times. I love that they have created a little taste of Venezuela here in Harlem. 

yes,we are worthy of greatness

With three teachers in the family, the Sunday conversation is once again dominated by Covid related talk. No one really understands why schools close and bars stay open. The remote teaching is doing teachers in and none even feels it’s real. This goes on until someone realize that for eight months our talk is either Covid or Trump. So w talk about movies and shows we are watching. My oldest son and I  tracking the Steelers as they move towards 10-0. 

first Christmas lights

I make my way to Bar 9. Kind of cold and wet. See my first Christmas lights on a side street. The earlier curfew has pushed everything earlier, We’ve now got to be done by 7:30PM. I’m distracted and unfriendly. Too many things, no, too many people on my mind. So I miss people right in front of me. Can’t do that. Other people’s all that keeps us going.