The Still Point

A Time of Meditation and Reflection

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

First Sunday of Creationtide (Proper XVII)

 

... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance...

 

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

            Peace on each one who comes in need; 

            Peace on each one who comes in joy. 

            Peace on each one who offers prayers; 

            Peace on each one who offers song. 

            Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son, 

            Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.

Opening Prayer

Praise to you, God, for all your work among us. Yours is the vigor in creation; yours is the impulse in our new discoveries. Make us adventurous, yet reverent and hopeful in all we do. Amen.

The Gospel  Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

When the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Poem: “A Blasphemy”                                            by  Maurice Manning

You wouldn't have believed it, how
the man, a little touched perhaps,

set his hands together and prayed
for happiness, yet not his own;

he meant his people, by which he meant
not people really, but trees and cows,

the dirty horses, dogs, the fox
who lived at the back of his place with her kits,

and the very night who settled down
to rock his place to sleep, the place

he tried so hard to tend he found
he mended fences in his sleep.

He said to the you above, who, let's
be honest, doesn't say too much,

I need you now up there to give
my people happiness, you let

them smile and know the reason; hear
my prayer, Old Yam. The you who's you

might laugh at that, and I agree,
it's funny to make a prayer like that,

the down-home words and yonder reach
of what he said; and calling God

the Elder Sweet Potato, shucks,
that's pretty funny, and kind of sad.                                                                                

 

Meditation

The Scripture readings for this Sunday provide descriptions of what "defiles" a person before God. In Mark's Gospel Jesus says that it is not what a person "takes in" (like certain food or drink) that is bad, it's what "comes out". Actions. Being dishonest, selfish, resentful, judgmental, angry, violent, jealous. And not just being any of these things (as Paul says in Ephesians, go ahead and "be angry", but "do not sin" or do not act on that anger). It's allowing those qualities to inform actions - that's "defilement". 

 

It puts me in mind of that oft-misunderstood Commandment, one of the Big Ten, that says "thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain". I don't think I'm alone in having the experience of being taught, as a child, that this Commandment means that saying "oh my God" or "Jesus Christ" as an exclamation is verboten, an interpretation which has created a lot of fussy word policing and self-censorship. In recent years I've come to understand this Commandment as applying to using the name of God to justify wicked actions or to anoint oneself divinely "chosen" - "God wants these people to die", "God chose me to be wealthy", "God wants me to win". These are examples of what Jesus referenced from Isaiah: 'these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me".

 

In other Gospels we see Jesus teach that we will know what is right or wrong "by their fruits". Another way we can think of "fruit" is "manifestation". A person, a community, a nation can claim goodness and righteousness, but if what manifests is dysfunction, inequality, prejudice, hatred, division, fear, suspicion, violence, and causing harm or suffering, we can be sure something is definitely rotten. And what do we do about it? We work to plant a garden of good fruit, the Fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. When we plant these concepts and let them take root inside of us, they manifest outside of us - in our families, our communities, and hopefully, our world. 

 

Questions for Reflection

- Maybe the subject of Manning's poem prayed "wrong". Maybe it was "blasphemy". What fruits or manifestations might come about by praying for trees and fox kits?

- Take a look at the homepage of your favorite news website, and then a completely different one. What examples of actions do you see people naming as "defiling"? What actions would you name as "defiling"? Which actions do you think fit the criteria Jesus offered for identifying defilement?

- Take another look at the two contrasting news websites. What actions do you see people calling "good" or "holy" or "righteous"? What actions do you see in the world as manifestations of the Fruits of the Spirit? What's the difference?

- Where do you see the Fruits of the Spirit growing in your own life? Take a moment to hold your quiet attention on these places.

Prayers

V. Heal your Creation, O God, and bless your offspring;

R. Guide and sustain your creatures, now and always.

V. Day by day your Creation blesses you;

R. We join our voices to praise your Name for ever.

V. O God, unite us with all Creation in harmony;

R. Have compassion on our failings, O God.

V. O God, show us your love and sustaining power;

R. For your creatures live and move only in you.

V.  In you, O God, is our hope;

R. And your Creation shall never hope in vain.

 

Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Amen.                      

Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

   Reflections this month offered by: Kathleen Schmidt