All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (March 19, 2022)
One or more candles may be lit.
Bless be God who forgives all our sins
God’s mercy endures forever
EVENING HYMN
Open this link in a new tab to hear Joyous Light of Glorious God from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.
Joyous light of glorious God,
heavenly, holy, Jesus Christ,
We have come to the setting of the Sun
and we look to the ev’ning light.
We sing to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our voices pure voices together.
O precious God, giver of life,
we sing your praises forever.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
the shepherd of Israel,
their pillar of cloud by day,
their pillar of fire by night.
In these forty days you lead us
into the desert of repentance
that in this pilgrimage of prayer
we might learn to be your people once more.
In fasting and service
you bring us back to your heart.
You open our eyes to your presence in the world
and you free our hands to lead others
to the radiant splendour of your mercy.
Be with us in these journey days
for without you we are lost and will perish.
To you alone be dominion and glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Psalm 141 from Kent Gustavson's Mountain Vespers.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
O God, I call you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Set a watch before my mouth,
and guard the doors of my lips.
Let not my heart incline to any evil thing;
Never occupied in wickedness.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
My eyes are turned to you, O God,
in you I take refuge.
My eyes are turned to you, O God,
Strip me not of my life.
Let my prayer rise before you as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Silence is kept.
May our prayers come before you, O God, as incense, and may your presence surround and fill us, so that in union with all creation, we might sing your praise and your love in our lives. Amen.
SCRIPTURE
Romans 12: 1-21 Life in God’s Service
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.
Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory
HOMILY
By Whose Measure?
In today’s homily we will examine Romans 12: 3-8. It is the second in a five-part homily series on Romans 12. Paul writes:
“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
Claiming privilege and authority that God has given, Paul warns the members of the church at Rome not to have too high opinion of themselves. Paul may be alluding to the tendency to take too much interest in and admiration for our physical appearance and, or our own abilities—what is known as “narcissism.” People who are narcissistic have an overinflated opinion of themselves, an opinion, however, that may not be grounded in reality.
Numerous articles and videos on the character traits of narcissistic individuals and their attitudes, beliefs, and behavior have appeared on the internet and in scientific journals and popular magazines in the last few years.
Narcistic people are very self-centered. They give a lot of attention to their own feelings, but they show little or no concern for other people’s feelings. They lack empathy, the ability to share and understand someone else’s feelings, experience, and other similar things. They are unable to imagine what it would be like to be in that person’s situation. They are insensitive and unsympathetic, not realizing or caring how other people feel, and for that reason are likely to hurt or offend them.
Narcistic people are manipulative and only think of gaining their own advantage. Consequently, they may behave in a deceitful manner, trying to convince other people that something false is true, or hiding the truth. They may tell lies or tell only a part of the truth. As well as being dishonest and untruthful, they are untrustworthy. They do not keep their word.
Their overinflated opinion of themselves often conceals feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.
While they may expect unwavering loyalty from others, they do not show that kind of loyalty to others. They will discard people if they see no benefit for them in continuing a friendship or relationship.
We may know people like them. We may recognize these qualities in ourselves.
Paul is warning the members of the church at Rome not to be like that kind of person. Rather they should be more modest in their evaluation of themselves, being truthful with others and themselves, and judging themselves in the light of how much they trust God and have confidence in God. If we trust in God and have confidence in him, we are going to use what measure God has provided to measure ourselves. The extent to which we will use this measure will depend on how much faith God has given us. We find this measure in Scripture, in Jesus’ teachings and example.
We are weighing ourselves on the pair of scales that God has provided with the weights that he has provided.
In ancient times things were weighed with a pair of scales, two containers hanging from a bar, one at each end of the bar, equal distance from the center of the bar. An object of known weight was put in one container and the thing to be weighed was put in the other container. The bar was held by a loop of cord at its exact center. If the contents of the two containers were equal in weight, the bar would be perfectly level. If the contents of one container was heavier than the other, the bar would dip down at that end.
We weigh the qualities of our character against the qualities of character that God requires in us. We weigh our kindness to others and our forgiveness of them against the mercy that God requires that we show others.
Paul points to the attention of the members of the church at Rome that the Body of Christ, the local congregation of the faithful, the people who believe in Jesus, is like a human body. Just as the human body has many parts and each part of the human body has a special function, so does the Body of Christ.
Paul emphasizes that the people who form the local congregation of the faithful are the parts of a single body and that all of them belong to each other. This means that the people who form a local congregation of the faithful have a type of relationship that goes beyond being members of the same group. It carries with it expectations, obligations, and responsibilities, which we would not find in membership in an ordinary club or association.
A local congregation of the faithful is closer to a kinship group or extended family with its own set of values and norms separate from larger society. The ways that its members are expected to relate to each other differs from the ways that members of larger society are expected to relate to each other. This includes the ways that members of large society relate to each other on the internet and social media. What may be acceptable behavior on the internet and social media is not in the local congregation of the faithful if that behavior does not embody its values and norms.
Among the things that the members of a local congregation of the faithful are expected to do, to borrow language from Baptismal Covenant II in The United Methodist Hymnal, is to help each other to grow in the Christian faith and life and to care for each other. They are expected to live according to the teachings and example of Jesus. For example, they are expected to show each other kindness and forgiveness and to do to others as they would wish others to do to them.
Paul further points to the attention of the members of the church at Rome that God gives gifts to a local congregation of the faithful with the expectation that the members of that body to whom they are given use them well. They are expected to be good stewards of the gifts that God has given them. A steward is someone whose responsibility is to take care of something. They have a responsibility to make the best use of these gifts and not to neglect them.
Paul is not saying however, that because someone does not evidence a particular gift such as serving others, encouraging them, or showing kindness to them that they are free not to serve others, encourage them, or show kindness to them.
What Paul tells the members of the church at Rome in this passage applies the members of all congregations of the faithful. It is not limited to that one particular church. It applies to our own church and to ourselves.
While we should not belittle ourselves, treat ourselves as not having any value or being unimportant, we should not overestimate our value or importance, talking too proudly about who we are and what we have done. We have value and importance because God considers us to have value and importance. God treasures and loves us. God, not we, is the judge of our worth. We measure ourselves by his measure. We weigh ourselves on his pair of scales, using his weights.
This is where faith comes into the picture. When we have faith, we believe God and trust him. We trust his measure of us. We trust the weights by which we are weighed on God’s pair of scales. God is not like the ancient merchant who used different weights for different transactions—heavier weights than the standard ones when he bought and lighter weights than the standard ones when he sold—and cheated those with whom he had dealings.
The more we believe God and the more that we trust him, the more we accept his measure and his weighing of not just ourselves but also others. If God considers someone to have value and importance, we cannot decide that they are not important and not worth thinking or talking about. We must recognize their value and importance as God does.
We cannot cancel a fellow Christian, that is, exclude them from our life by refusing to communicate with them online or in person because they have said or done something to which we have taken exception. Jesus taught us not to be too severe in our judgment of others, to show them leniency, to make allowances for them, to forgive them, to treat them in a kind, pleasant way in which we ourselves would like to be treated.
Jesus did not say that we could act out our annoyed or bitter feelings toward someone because we believe that they have not treated us with enough respect, or they otherwise have displeased us. Rather he taught that we should love those who are hateful toward us, do good to them, bless them when they curse us, and pray for them when they mistreat us.
Scripture outlines a specific procedure for dealing with individuals whose behavior warrants church discipline. Sexual harassment is one such offence: it may involve unacceptable physical contact, comments about sex, and other similar things, that a person finds annoying or offensive.
Piquing someone, making them annoyed or upset, or displeasing them in other ways is not such an offense.
What is noteworthy about the procedure described in Scripture is that it requires the offended party to meet with the offending party, talk with each other, and come to some kind of mutual accommodation, some form of reconciliation. This is consistent with what Jesus taught his disciples about making peace with someone with whom we have experienced a rift in our relationship with them. It recognizes that reaching such an accommodation may require several meetings and a lengthy conversation. Only when it appears that the accommodation agreed upon is not working or one or both parties refuse to come to an accommodation does it move on to the next stage.
For any disciplinary procedure to be fair, there must be a thorough, impartial investigation of the complaint and only a preponderance of credible evidence that would withstand the test of admissibility in a court of law should be used to decide that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused did indeed commit such an offense.
Personal opinion, conjecture, and surmise are not considered to be evidence because they, upon close examination, invariably show support for one person over another, and if they are given weight, they will taint an investigation and render any verdict suspect.
All conclusions should be objective, not influenced by personal feelings and opinions, and should consider only the real facts.
If the person or persons conducting the investigation are sympathetic to the complainant and come up with scant evidence of wrongdoing, they may be tempted to fit what little evidence that they have gathered into supporting their personal opinion of what happened. They will interpret that evidence, which is not very much and not as much as there should be, in accordance with their feelings and thoughts about what occurred.
As a consequence, their findings will be subjective, based on their opinions rather than the facts, and therefore will inherently unfair, even though they may have thought that they were doing their best to treat the accused in a fair manner. We are not always aware of our sympathies and how they influence us.
For this reason, in church disciplinary proceedings the accused should be given an opportunity to retain counsel, to face their accuser, to challenge evidence and witnesses, to cross examine the accuser and witnesses, and to produce evidence and witnesses of their own. Such proceedings may be harrowing for both the complainant and the accused, but if they are conducted properly, they can get to the bottom of a matter.
Church officers, disciplinary committees, and the like who do not give the accused an opportunity to defend themselves against what may be false allegation of impropriety and expel a church member or otherwise penalize them on the basis of flimsy evidence run the risk of civil ligation for slander and defamation of character. They may incur heavy civil penalties for their lack of attention to these disciplinary procedure basics.
As Paul points to the attention of the members of the church at Rome, the members of a congregation of the faithful as the Body of Christ have a special connection with each other. The Body of Christ is like a human body in which the organs of the body are interconnected in such a way that if one organ is unhealthy, it will affect the health of the other organs and the whole body.
There is a similarity between a congregation of the faithful and a kinship group or extended family, but what unites a congregation of the faithful and a kinship group or extended family is different. Blood and marriage unite a kinship group or extended family. On one level a common faith, a set of shared beliefs, values, and practices unite a congregation of the faithful. On a higher level, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit unite a congregation of the faithful.
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the three persons of one Supreme Being. They are closely united to each other and share one substance. The members of a congregation of the faithful are united to God the Father and to Jesus the Son by the Holy Spirit, the third person of that one Supreme Being, who dwells inside us, in our innermost being.
In some ways our relationship with the other members of a congregation of the faithful is like an arranged marriage. In an arranged marriage the parents or guardians of an individual pick a husband or wife for that individual. They may meet their groom or bride to be before the wedding ceremony, but they have no real choice in the matter. Gifts have been exchanged, a bride price may have been paid, and promises have been made. The wedding ceremony is a formality. The couple is stuck with each other. They can learn to get along with each other and to like each other and eventually to love each other, or they can maintain a marriage in name only, dutifully doing what is expected of them but nothing more. We are faced with a similar situation.
As Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians. God puts us just where he wants us. We have a similar choice to the couple in an arranged marriage. What we cannot do is refuse to have anything to do with a fellow Christian in the same congregation as ourselves. For better or worse we are stuck with them. We can choose to get along with them and love them as Jesus loved us, giving himself up for us, or we can disobey Jesus and make them and ourselves miserable. Whether we or they like it, we are bound to them, and they are bound to us.
When most of us joined a church, I suspect, we were not thinking about what joining a particular congregation of the faithful meant. When someone else joined the church, we may have been absent the day that they joined and may not have pledged to support them as did the other members of the congregation. However, they pledged our support for that new member of the congregation. They represented us in our absence. It is the nature of the relationship that the members of a particular congregation of the faithful have with each other. On our behalf they promised to nurture that person in the Christian faith and life and to care for them. We are bound by that pledge.
The individual in question, having been formally admitted to membership in our church, is a member of our church family. They have been taken into our church family as we ourselves once were. They may at times ask too many questions and try to find out about what we are doing. They may sometime overstep our boundaries, usually the ones that we did not tell them about. They may clutter our cellphone with texts chatting about this and that and nothing in particular. They may talk about things that do not really interest us or which we prefer not to talk about. They may more honest and open in talking about their feelings and thoughts than we are comfortable with. They may be socially inept. But they are our brother or sister in Christ.
While their actions may annoy us and push us to our limits, if we got to know them better, we would in all likelihoods discover that they mean well. They have good intentions. Cancelling them, blocking them from our heart and our mind as well as our cell phone and our Facebook page and avoiding them at church is not a Christ-like thing to do.
As well as putting us where he wants us, God manifests himself in us in different ways. As a member of the Body of Christ, as a member of a congregation of the faithful, we each have a different function, one that God has given us. Paul lists some of these functions—to speak out with as much faith as God has given us, to serve others, to teach, to encourage others, to give, to lead, and to show kindness to others.
They are not the only ways that God manifests himself in us. These gifts are not to us as individuals. They are gifts to the congregation of the faithful of which we are members. God expects us to make good use of them to build up that body.
The Body of Christ is at its spiritually healthiest when all its members are growing spiritually. When a member of that body is stalled spiritually and has stopped making progress spiritually, the whole body is affected. The congregation of the faithful of which they are a member may be robbed of the talents and gifts that God has given them.
One of the consequences of their lack of spiritual growth may be that the same body is deprived of the talents and gifts that God has given its other members. A church choir may have two talented singers, but they have experienced a rift in their relationship. Both have stopped singing in the choir and avoid each other at church. Consequently, the church is deprived of their talents and gifts.
Because we are not connected with other people as we are as members of the Body of Christ, it may be difficult for us to fully understand the nature of this connection or to appreciate its importance. It is, however, far more important than we can imagine.
A church is not a loose aggregate of people like the spectators at a basketball game, who gather for one event and may have no other connection to each other. A church is more like the basketball team on the court.
A church, however, is more closely-bound together than a basketball team. The basketball team is united by the desire not just to play basketball but also win each game and win an entire season. If the team is a college basketball team, the team members are also united by their attendance of the same university or college.
The connection that unites the Body of Christ runs far deeper. We are united in heart, mind, and spirit. We share one baptism, one body, one Lord, and one Holy Spirit. It is a mystical union that is both tangible and intangible, visible and invisible. It has mystical powers and qualities which are difficult to understand or to explain. Each member of the Body of Christ has the Spirit of God so that whole body is infused with God’s Spirit.
When we reject a fellow member of a congregation of the faithful, we are not simply rejecting a fellow human being. We are rejecting who they are in Christ. We are rejecting how God manifests himself in them. We are rejecting the talents, the skills, the life experiences, the passions, everything that God made a part of them. We are rejecting God’s decision to put them in our lives and in our church and in a roundabout way we are rejecting God.
We are thinking better of ourselves than we really are. We are saying to God, “I do not accept what you have done!” We may not think of it that way, but that is what we are doing. God told us through Jesus that we should forgive other people’s failings, but we are saying, “No, I will not forgive them!” We are putting ourselves in God’s place.
Lent is as good time as any to reconsider what we are doing. As we prepare for Easter, we would do well to take stock of ourselves. Are we are seriously trying to live our life according to Jesus’ teaching and example? If not, why? What is getting in our way? What are we going to do about it?
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Magnificat from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
1 You O God have done great things
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
n ev’ry generation.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
2 You have shown the strength of your arm,
you have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast the might down from thrones
and have lifted up the lowly.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 You have filled the hungry with good things,
the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel
you’ve remembered your promise of mercy.
The promise you made
to Sarah and Abraham.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
With confidence and trust let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy
For all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
The Collect
Father of mercy, alone we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. When we are discouraged by our weakness, strengthen us to follow Christ, our pattern and our hope; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Percy Dearmer’s “God Is Love: His the Care.”
1 God is love: his the care,
tending each, ev’rywhere.
God is love--all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
that mankind might know him.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
*2 None can see God above;
all have here man to love;
thus may we Godward move,
finding him in others,
holding all men brothers.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
3 Jesus lived here for men,
strove and died, rose again,
rules our hearts, now as then;
for he came to save us
by the truth he gave us.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
4 To our Lord praise we sing--
light and life, friend and king,
coming down love to bring,
pattern for our duty,
showing God in beauty.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
*Omitted in the video.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
And now, as our Saviour has taught us,
we are bold to say,
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.
SOLEMN PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Look with compassion, O Lord,
upon this your people;
that rightly observing this holy season
they may learn to know you more fully,
and to serve you with a more perfect will; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Narcistic people are manipulative and only think of gaining their own advantage. Consequently, they may behave in a deceitful manner, trying to convince other people that something false is true, or hiding the truth. They may tell lies or tell only a part of the truth. As well as being dishonest and untruthful, they are untrustworthy. They do not keep their word.
Their overinflated opinion of themselves often conceals feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.
While they may expect unwavering loyalty from others, they do not show that kind of loyalty to others. They will discard people if they see no benefit for them in continuing a friendship or relationship.
We may know people like them. We may recognize these qualities in ourselves.
Paul is warning the members of the church at Rome not to be like that kind of person. Rather they should be more modest in their evaluation of themselves, being truthful with others and themselves, and judging themselves in the light of how much they trust God and have confidence in God. If we trust in God and have confidence in him, we are going to use what measure God has provided to measure ourselves. The extent to which we will use this measure will depend on how much faith God has given us. We find this measure in Scripture, in Jesus’ teachings and example.
We are weighing ourselves on the pair of scales that God has provided with the weights that he has provided.
In ancient times things were weighed with a pair of scales, two containers hanging from a bar, one at each end of the bar, equal distance from the center of the bar. An object of known weight was put in one container and the thing to be weighed was put in the other container. The bar was held by a loop of cord at its exact center. If the contents of the two containers were equal in weight, the bar would be perfectly level. If the contents of one container was heavier than the other, the bar would dip down at that end.
We weigh the qualities of our character against the qualities of character that God requires in us. We weigh our kindness to others and our forgiveness of them against the mercy that God requires that we show others.
Paul points to the attention of the members of the church at Rome that the Body of Christ, the local congregation of the faithful, the people who believe in Jesus, is like a human body. Just as the human body has many parts and each part of the human body has a special function, so does the Body of Christ.
Paul emphasizes that the people who form the local congregation of the faithful are the parts of a single body and that all of them belong to each other. This means that the people who form a local congregation of the faithful have a type of relationship that goes beyond being members of the same group. It carries with it expectations, obligations, and responsibilities, which we would not find in membership in an ordinary club or association.
A local congregation of the faithful is closer to a kinship group or extended family with its own set of values and norms separate from larger society. The ways that its members are expected to relate to each other differs from the ways that members of larger society are expected to relate to each other. This includes the ways that members of large society relate to each other on the internet and social media. What may be acceptable behavior on the internet and social media is not in the local congregation of the faithful if that behavior does not embody its values and norms.
Among the things that the members of a local congregation of the faithful are expected to do, to borrow language from Baptismal Covenant II in The United Methodist Hymnal, is to help each other to grow in the Christian faith and life and to care for each other. They are expected to live according to the teachings and example of Jesus. For example, they are expected to show each other kindness and forgiveness and to do to others as they would wish others to do to them.
Paul further points to the attention of the members of the church at Rome that God gives gifts to a local congregation of the faithful with the expectation that the members of that body to whom they are given use them well. They are expected to be good stewards of the gifts that God has given them. A steward is someone whose responsibility is to take care of something. They have a responsibility to make the best use of these gifts and not to neglect them.
Paul is not saying however, that because someone does not evidence a particular gift such as serving others, encouraging them, or showing kindness to them that they are free not to serve others, encourage them, or show kindness to them.
What Paul tells the members of the church at Rome in this passage applies the members of all congregations of the faithful. It is not limited to that one particular church. It applies to our own church and to ourselves.
While we should not belittle ourselves, treat ourselves as not having any value or being unimportant, we should not overestimate our value or importance, talking too proudly about who we are and what we have done. We have value and importance because God considers us to have value and importance. God treasures and loves us. God, not we, is the judge of our worth. We measure ourselves by his measure. We weigh ourselves on his pair of scales, using his weights.
This is where faith comes into the picture. When we have faith, we believe God and trust him. We trust his measure of us. We trust the weights by which we are weighed on God’s pair of scales. God is not like the ancient merchant who used different weights for different transactions—heavier weights than the standard ones when he bought and lighter weights than the standard ones when he sold—and cheated those with whom he had dealings.
The more we believe God and the more that we trust him, the more we accept his measure and his weighing of not just ourselves but also others. If God considers someone to have value and importance, we cannot decide that they are not important and not worth thinking or talking about. We must recognize their value and importance as God does.
We cannot cancel a fellow Christian, that is, exclude them from our life by refusing to communicate with them online or in person because they have said or done something to which we have taken exception. Jesus taught us not to be too severe in our judgment of others, to show them leniency, to make allowances for them, to forgive them, to treat them in a kind, pleasant way in which we ourselves would like to be treated.
Jesus did not say that we could act out our annoyed or bitter feelings toward someone because we believe that they have not treated us with enough respect, or they otherwise have displeased us. Rather he taught that we should love those who are hateful toward us, do good to them, bless them when they curse us, and pray for them when they mistreat us.
Scripture outlines a specific procedure for dealing with individuals whose behavior warrants church discipline. Sexual harassment is one such offence: it may involve unacceptable physical contact, comments about sex, and other similar things, that a person finds annoying or offensive.
Piquing someone, making them annoyed or upset, or displeasing them in other ways is not such an offense.
What is noteworthy about the procedure described in Scripture is that it requires the offended party to meet with the offending party, talk with each other, and come to some kind of mutual accommodation, some form of reconciliation. This is consistent with what Jesus taught his disciples about making peace with someone with whom we have experienced a rift in our relationship with them. It recognizes that reaching such an accommodation may require several meetings and a lengthy conversation. Only when it appears that the accommodation agreed upon is not working or one or both parties refuse to come to an accommodation does it move on to the next stage.
For any disciplinary procedure to be fair, there must be a thorough, impartial investigation of the complaint and only a preponderance of credible evidence that would withstand the test of admissibility in a court of law should be used to decide that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused did indeed commit such an offense.
Personal opinion, conjecture, and surmise are not considered to be evidence because they, upon close examination, invariably show support for one person over another, and if they are given weight, they will taint an investigation and render any verdict suspect.
All conclusions should be objective, not influenced by personal feelings and opinions, and should consider only the real facts.
If the person or persons conducting the investigation are sympathetic to the complainant and come up with scant evidence of wrongdoing, they may be tempted to fit what little evidence that they have gathered into supporting their personal opinion of what happened. They will interpret that evidence, which is not very much and not as much as there should be, in accordance with their feelings and thoughts about what occurred.
As a consequence, their findings will be subjective, based on their opinions rather than the facts, and therefore will inherently unfair, even though they may have thought that they were doing their best to treat the accused in a fair manner. We are not always aware of our sympathies and how they influence us.
For this reason, in church disciplinary proceedings the accused should be given an opportunity to retain counsel, to face their accuser, to challenge evidence and witnesses, to cross examine the accuser and witnesses, and to produce evidence and witnesses of their own. Such proceedings may be harrowing for both the complainant and the accused, but if they are conducted properly, they can get to the bottom of a matter.
Church officers, disciplinary committees, and the like who do not give the accused an opportunity to defend themselves against what may be false allegation of impropriety and expel a church member or otherwise penalize them on the basis of flimsy evidence run the risk of civil ligation for slander and defamation of character. They may incur heavy civil penalties for their lack of attention to these disciplinary procedure basics.
As Paul points to the attention of the members of the church at Rome, the members of a congregation of the faithful as the Body of Christ have a special connection with each other. The Body of Christ is like a human body in which the organs of the body are interconnected in such a way that if one organ is unhealthy, it will affect the health of the other organs and the whole body.
There is a similarity between a congregation of the faithful and a kinship group or extended family, but what unites a congregation of the faithful and a kinship group or extended family is different. Blood and marriage unite a kinship group or extended family. On one level a common faith, a set of shared beliefs, values, and practices unite a congregation of the faithful. On a higher level, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit unite a congregation of the faithful.
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the three persons of one Supreme Being. They are closely united to each other and share one substance. The members of a congregation of the faithful are united to God the Father and to Jesus the Son by the Holy Spirit, the third person of that one Supreme Being, who dwells inside us, in our innermost being.
In some ways our relationship with the other members of a congregation of the faithful is like an arranged marriage. In an arranged marriage the parents or guardians of an individual pick a husband or wife for that individual. They may meet their groom or bride to be before the wedding ceremony, but they have no real choice in the matter. Gifts have been exchanged, a bride price may have been paid, and promises have been made. The wedding ceremony is a formality. The couple is stuck with each other. They can learn to get along with each other and to like each other and eventually to love each other, or they can maintain a marriage in name only, dutifully doing what is expected of them but nothing more. We are faced with a similar situation.
As Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians. God puts us just where he wants us. We have a similar choice to the couple in an arranged marriage. What we cannot do is refuse to have anything to do with a fellow Christian in the same congregation as ourselves. For better or worse we are stuck with them. We can choose to get along with them and love them as Jesus loved us, giving himself up for us, or we can disobey Jesus and make them and ourselves miserable. Whether we or they like it, we are bound to them, and they are bound to us.
When most of us joined a church, I suspect, we were not thinking about what joining a particular congregation of the faithful meant. When someone else joined the church, we may have been absent the day that they joined and may not have pledged to support them as did the other members of the congregation. However, they pledged our support for that new member of the congregation. They represented us in our absence. It is the nature of the relationship that the members of a particular congregation of the faithful have with each other. On our behalf they promised to nurture that person in the Christian faith and life and to care for them. We are bound by that pledge.
The individual in question, having been formally admitted to membership in our church, is a member of our church family. They have been taken into our church family as we ourselves once were. They may at times ask too many questions and try to find out about what we are doing. They may sometime overstep our boundaries, usually the ones that we did not tell them about. They may clutter our cellphone with texts chatting about this and that and nothing in particular. They may talk about things that do not really interest us or which we prefer not to talk about. They may more honest and open in talking about their feelings and thoughts than we are comfortable with. They may be socially inept. But they are our brother or sister in Christ.
While their actions may annoy us and push us to our limits, if we got to know them better, we would in all likelihoods discover that they mean well. They have good intentions. Cancelling them, blocking them from our heart and our mind as well as our cell phone and our Facebook page and avoiding them at church is not a Christ-like thing to do.
As well as putting us where he wants us, God manifests himself in us in different ways. As a member of the Body of Christ, as a member of a congregation of the faithful, we each have a different function, one that God has given us. Paul lists some of these functions—to speak out with as much faith as God has given us, to serve others, to teach, to encourage others, to give, to lead, and to show kindness to others.
They are not the only ways that God manifests himself in us. These gifts are not to us as individuals. They are gifts to the congregation of the faithful of which we are members. God expects us to make good use of them to build up that body.
The Body of Christ is at its spiritually healthiest when all its members are growing spiritually. When a member of that body is stalled spiritually and has stopped making progress spiritually, the whole body is affected. The congregation of the faithful of which they are a member may be robbed of the talents and gifts that God has given them.
One of the consequences of their lack of spiritual growth may be that the same body is deprived of the talents and gifts that God has given its other members. A church choir may have two talented singers, but they have experienced a rift in their relationship. Both have stopped singing in the choir and avoid each other at church. Consequently, the church is deprived of their talents and gifts.
Because we are not connected with other people as we are as members of the Body of Christ, it may be difficult for us to fully understand the nature of this connection or to appreciate its importance. It is, however, far more important than we can imagine.
A church is not a loose aggregate of people like the spectators at a basketball game, who gather for one event and may have no other connection to each other. A church is more like the basketball team on the court.
A church, however, is more closely-bound together than a basketball team. The basketball team is united by the desire not just to play basketball but also win each game and win an entire season. If the team is a college basketball team, the team members are also united by their attendance of the same university or college.
The connection that unites the Body of Christ runs far deeper. We are united in heart, mind, and spirit. We share one baptism, one body, one Lord, and one Holy Spirit. It is a mystical union that is both tangible and intangible, visible and invisible. It has mystical powers and qualities which are difficult to understand or to explain. Each member of the Body of Christ has the Spirit of God so that whole body is infused with God’s Spirit.
When we reject a fellow member of a congregation of the faithful, we are not simply rejecting a fellow human being. We are rejecting who they are in Christ. We are rejecting how God manifests himself in them. We are rejecting the talents, the skills, the life experiences, the passions, everything that God made a part of them. We are rejecting God’s decision to put them in our lives and in our church and in a roundabout way we are rejecting God.
We are thinking better of ourselves than we really are. We are saying to God, “I do not accept what you have done!” We may not think of it that way, but that is what we are doing. God told us through Jesus that we should forgive other people’s failings, but we are saying, “No, I will not forgive them!” We are putting ourselves in God’s place.
Lent is as good time as any to reconsider what we are doing. As we prepare for Easter, we would do well to take stock of ourselves. Are we are seriously trying to live our life according to Jesus’ teaching and example? If not, why? What is getting in our way? What are we going to do about it?
SONG OF PRAISE
Open this link in a new tab to hear the Magnificat from Kent Gustavson’s Mountain Vespers.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
1 You O God have done great things
and holy is your name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
n ev’ry generation.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
2 You have shown the strength of your arm,
you have scattered the proud in their conceit.
You have cast the might down from thrones
and have lifted up the lowly.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
3 You have filled the hungry with good things,
the rich you have sent away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel
you’ve remembered your promise of mercy.
The promise you made
to Sarah and Abraham.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For you have looked with favor on your lowly servant;
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Glory to you, O Lord our God
With your love and power.
Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
With confidence and trust let us pray to the Lord, saying, “Lord, have mercy.”
For the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those preparing for baptism and for their teachers and sponsors, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For peace in the world, that a spirit of respect and reconciliation may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy
For all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to amend our lives and to further the reign of God, we pray to you, Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Free Prayer
In silent or spontaneous prayer all bring before God the concerns of the day.
The Collect
Father of mercy, alone we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. When we are discouraged by our weakness, strengthen us to follow Christ, our pattern and our hope; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
RESPONSE
Open this link in a new tab to hear Percy Dearmer’s “God Is Love: His the Care.”
1 God is love: his the care,
tending each, ev’rywhere.
God is love--all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
that mankind might know him.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
*2 None can see God above;
all have here man to love;
thus may we Godward move,
finding him in others,
holding all men brothers.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
3 Jesus lived here for men,
strove and died, rose again,
rules our hearts, now as then;
for he came to save us
by the truth he gave us.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
4 To our Lord praise we sing--
light and life, friend and king,
coming down love to bring,
pattern for our duty,
showing God in beauty.
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good! God is truth!
God is beauty! Praise him!
*Omitted in the video.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
And now, as our Saviour has taught us,
we are bold to say,
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.
SOLEMN PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Look with compassion, O Lord,
upon this your people;
that rightly observing this holy season
they may learn to know you more fully,
and to serve you with a more perfect will; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment