Wandering Christian

This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and that in my turn I have handed on to you; the Lord Jesus, on the night that he was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, “This is my body which is broken for you; do this in memory of me.” In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, he said, “This cup is the new Covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of me.” So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until he comes.
Therefore, if anyone eats of the bread or drinks from the cup of the Lord unworthily, he sins against the body and blood of the Lord.
Let each one, then, examine himself before eating of the bread and drinking from the cup. Otherwise, he eats and drinks his own condemnation in not recognizing the Body.
This is the reason why so many among you are sick and weak and several have died. If we examined and corrected ourselves, the Lord would not have to exercise judgment against us. 32 The Lord’s strokes are to correct us, so that we may not be condemned with this world.

It was before the feast of the Passover. Jesus realized that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, and as he had loved those who were his own in the world, he would love them with perfect love.
They were at supper and the devil had already put into the mind of Judas, son of Simon Is­cariot, to betray. Je­sus knew that the Father had entrusted all things to him, and as he had come from God, he was go­ing to God. So he got up from table, removed his garment and taking a towel, wrapped it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.
When he came to Simon Peter, Simon said to him, “Why, Lord, you want to wash my feet!” Jesus said, “What I am doing you cannot under­stand now, but afterwards you will understand it.” Peter replied, “You shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you can have no part with me.” Then Simon Peter said, “Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus replied, “Whoever has taken a bath does not need to wash (except the feet), for he is clean all over. You are clean, though not all of you.” Jesus knew who was to betray him; be­cause of this he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
When Jesus had finished washing their feet, he put on his garment again, went back to the table and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also must wash one ano­ther’s feet. I have just given you an example that as I have done, you also may do.
Truly, I say to you, the servant is not greater than his master, nor is the messenger greater than he who sent him. Understand this, and blessed are you if you put it into practice.
Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. God will glorify him, and he will glorify him very soon.
My children, I am with you for only a little while; you will look for me, but, as I already told the Jews, so now I tell you: where I am going you cannot come. Now I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 Corinthians 11:23-32 and John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (Maundy Thursday)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

“Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner...” This Bible passage has always been one of the most striking to me in my whole life. I recall not receiving communion several times, when I felt not able (or willing) to allow God to free myself from a certain sin, whether it was a personal one or even a collective one. And I know this might be a very countercultural behavior, especially at a time sin has been apparently forgotten by many, and confession has become a more and more rare event in peoples' lives.

However, it is my firm belief that there is no other way of behaving with respect to the magnificent care expressed by Jesus on that night right before he was betrayed, than with utmost respect and awe for his unconditional love towards us.

Acts of love are usually enhanced by unpredictable circumstances under which they happen, and the events that happened on that Thursday night were no different from that. The first of them was the washing of the feet. I imagine how shocked the disciples were to see their master, the Messiah, humbly washing their feet. Yes, the one who had taught them so much, was acting as if he were a simple servant. What they did not know, however, was that Jesus, on that night, was teaching them the most important lesson of all... a new commandment that resumed and consolidated his message so far.

“Love one another as I love you.” The strength of such a commandment goes far beyond our typical understanding of love. Jesus' love is so deep that it reaches even the one who would betray him hours later. His humility is so impressive that he does not care to wash tired and dirty feet, probably full of wounds and scars. Are we really following Jesus' new commandment and this new vision of love? It is easy for us to say that we love our neighbor, and in fact, many of us repeat those verses every Sunday. It is easy to strike our chests and claim we have given a certain amount of our money to the local shelter, a hospice in Guatemala or even for the Millenium Development Goals, but would we be willing to leave the ease of modern life and share all we have with the miserable? Would we live a simple life and truly be brothers and sisters of those who have no more than rice and beans to eat? Would we go to the slums and proclaim the Gospel to those for whom life has become a source of constant pain? Would we reach those who we should hate (and who hate us), whomever they are, and yet tell them we love them as Jesus loves all of us?

No, we would not. During Lent, we were theoretically called to fast, and give up on simple things that are important to us. However, how many times have we caught ourselves complaining about how hard it is to do that. How many times have we almost failed? It is difficult, it is very difficult to leave our comfort zone and realize that, for many people around the globe, our lenten fast is much fancier than what they will have in their whole lives. Do we really care? Do we really manifest this love Jesus has commanded us to show?

The apex of this love is expressed in the simple meal Jesus shared with his disciples shortly after he washed their feet. More than a memorial supper of bread and wine, more than a simple act of thanksgiving, the institution of the Holy Eucharist became a way through which Jesus' disciples could recapitulate his final act of self giving love for humankind. By giving his body and blood, he offered himself in sacrifice for us, and made us part of his own body. He shared our pain, and even in spite of all the suffering that was about to come, he was still able to love unconditionally.

The Eucharist should mean more to us than a weekly ceremony. It is the spiritual food that nourishes us and prepares us truly to be Jesus' disciples. When we take part of Jesus' body and blood, we commit ourselves to follow him with all our heart, live according to his commandment and flood this world with Christ's love. The same meal he instituted that night is a continuous reminder that, even not being perfect, we ought to struggle to be worthy of such unconditional love.

Maundy Thursday, more than a simple ceremony or a light meal, is a calling. As we remember Jesus' last moments with his disciples before his arrest, we are called to be worthy of such a wondrous love. We are called to truly love all humankind, sacrificing our own selfish desires for the common good. We are called to go to the slums and proclaim Jesus' message to the outcasts of society. We are called to embrace our enemies and to love them with all our heart. We are called to love the sick, the hungry and the needy. We are called to make a difference, and show to the world what Christ's love is about.

Originally published on the Episcopal Café. If you want to leave a comment, please consider posting it there too in order to help sponsor this wonderful initiative of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC.

It was during this time that Peter stood up in the midst of the community – about one hundred and twenty in all – and he said,
“Brothers, it was necessary that the Scriptures referring to Judas be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit had spoken through David about the one who would lead the crowd coming to arrest Jesus. He was one of our number and had been called to share our common ministry.
(We know that he bought a field with the reward of his sin; yet he threw himself headlong to his death, his body burst open and all his bowels spilled out. This event became known to all the people living in Jerusalem and they named that field Akeldama in their own language, which means Field of Blood).
In the book of Psalms it is written: Let his house become deserted and may no one live in it. But it is also written: May another take his office. Therefore we must choose someone from among those who were with us during all the time that the Lord Jesus moved about with us, 22 beginning with John’s baptism until the day when Jesus was taken away from us. One of these has to become, with us, a witness to his resurrection.”
Then they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Mat­thias. They prayed: “You know, Lord, what is in the hearts of all. Show us, therefore, which of the two you have chosen to replace Judas in this apostolic ministry which he deserted to go to the place he deserved.”
Then they drew lots between the two and the choice fell on Matthias who was added to the eleven apostles.

Acts 1:15-26 (Feast of St. Matthias - 02/24)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

The story of St. Matthias' election as an apostle was one of the biblical stories that intrigued me the most when I was a child. I often asked myself why Jesus had chosen Judas in first place, knowing that he would hurt him so much some years later. If he had called Matthias in the beginning, there would have been no betrayal. “Jesus would not have had to suffer the way he did. He could have just ascended into Heaven after finishing his mission on Earth,” I used to think. After all, I loved (and still love) Jesus too much to imagine him suffering.

Curiously, I also have a Matthias in my own life: Matthias is my step-grandfather. Like the apostle, he became a member of my family after the “other ones”: Matthias is my grandmother's second husband, and therefore, not my biological grandfather. In fact, I never met my “true” grandfather; he died years and years before I was even born. Matthias was the only grandfather that I knew. He was the one who cuddled me, laid me on his lap and played with me during my childhood. And that also made me wonder: “why, if it was in God's plan for me to have him as my grandfather, didn't he meet and marry my grandmother in the first place?

People often ask themselves similar questions. “Why did it happen, if it wasn't supposed to be?” “Why the pain, the sorrow, the change of plans, the deception?” I often catch myself thinking about going back in time and changing things in order to prevent happenings that ended up in failure. I don't think I'm alone in such fascinations. There is even a hobby, called “Alternative History”, that seeks to propose alternative versions to some chapters of world history, if certain events had not happened.

I wonder whether or not those early disciples who gathered in Jerusalem 2000 years ago to elect a new apostle had similar thoughts. Even after seeing the risen Christ, some of them probably still questioned their new experience of Jesus, and I imagine some grieved to have Jesus taken away from them. They were human beings after all! However, they trusted God and moved on; they listened to the Holy Spirit's voice and, gathered in prayer, cast lots to determine who God had chosen to help lead the Church through those difficult times.

And, they succeeded. The Gospel message spread, more and more people heard about the Good News of God in Christ. Matthias was a blessing to the Church. He planted Christ's message in the Caucasus, and has been respected and venerated by many faithful around the world.

Like the earliest disciples two thousand years ago, we are also called to move on, to discern the Divine will, to seek to conform our lives to it, and to proclaim God's redemptive message – even in the midst of daily sorrows that fill us with despair, make us question our discernment of the Divine will and lead us to wonder how the world around us would be with the absence of suffering and sorrow. The Church is also called, as the Beloved of Christ, to struggle for truth and integrity- a calling from which God will not repent, even though we have a history of betrayals, negligence and hatred towards God's children, and even Jesus himself!

However, when we the Church humbly gather together in prayer and submit our will to God Almighty, the master of time and space, there is room for healing transformation. We do not need time machines or alternative histories; we only need the serenity of knowing that what was meant as evil against us can be redeemed by God and transformed for our good, and can become a joyful opportunity for us to learn how to follow the Divine guidance.

St. Matthias, pray for us, so that we can be God's representatives in this broken world. Amen.

Originally published on the Episcopal Café. If you want to leave a comment, please consider posting it there too in order to help sponsor this wonderful initiative of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC.

As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteous­ness with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me on that day; and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious coming. At my first hearing in court no one supported me; all deserted me. May the Lord not hold it against them. But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength to proclaim the Word fully, and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to his heavenly kingdom. Glory to him for ever and ever. Amen!

Jesus told another parable to some per­sons fully convinced of their own righteous­ness, who looked down on others, “Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by him­self and said: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, grasping, crooked, adulterous, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give the tenth of all my income to the Temple.’ In the meantime the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ I tell you, when this man went down to his house, he had been set right with God, but not the other. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

II Timothy 4:6-8,16-18 and Luke 18:9-14 - Proper of the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

Not so long ago... I was a child, but that is not much time ago! There was in Brazil a TV commercial about Disney scissors, on which a boy (with Mickey's scissors) and a girl (with Minnie's scissors) used to sing, well, used to yell together: "I have! You don't!"... A little bit like this:

I HAAAA-VE! YOU DOOOON'T

Thirty seconds of televised torture in its simplest form, and a repetitive song that echoed in all children's voices, avid Disney school supplies consumers. Of course, parents were not very happy with that, and the ad piece was considered so abusive that Disney and the Advertising company that developed it were sued, and I think, lost the case.

However, even if we think that this behavior is childish, it is still very common in churches nowadays. Have you ever remembered sentences like: "when I WAS in the vestry, this did not happen", "when MY FATHER was the rector of this parish, things were not like this", "when I WAS part of the altar guild, the church was gorgeus", "now this is organized because I AM doing it, and not that other person". You do not have to say... this is really common.

I HAAAA-VE! YOU DOOOON'T

That pharisee, according to his own words, had everything and did everything. He was perfect to his own eyes: he fasted and pledged more than necessary, he went to the temple and said loud prayers with a pompous intonation... He was very bold to say he considered himself superior, purer, holier and more acceptable than the others around him.

The religious jewish scenery at that time allowed this type of attitude. After the questions related to the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem, the Hellenistic period and the independence re-conquest by the Maccabees, some religious parties appeared in Israel.

The Sadducees claimed to be the descendants of Saddock, and the only ones allowed to pursue the priesthood. They had power over the Temple and the Synedrium, even having lost the monopoly over the latter. They were pragmatistic, elitistic and unpopular. Sometimes they would cede to Rome, sometimes to the people. However, the only reason that would force them to cede would be a possible loss of their privileges.

The Zealots were fundamentalists, and usually violent, who did not tolerate concessions to the Roman power and foreign governors. They would be somehow similar to the religious terrorists we see nowadays.

The Essenes, in a certain way, were also radical, but preferred to live in closed and isolated communities, dedicating themselves to their own purification, and hoping that a Messiah would save Israel.

Finally, the Pharisees were the ones en vogue at that time. They believed that personal life should also be guided by personal purification and respect to the Law. They thought it was important to educate the people, and synagogues - houses of study and prayer - were practically dominated by this party. Since they were so close to the people, they ended up shocking more with Jesus' followers. The Pharisees' power also attracted several dishonest and false people, who were interested in that party's ascension.

This brief description shows how fragmented the Jewish religion was at that time. The Temple itself was divided in areas for the High-Priest, for the other priests and Levites, for men, women, children and foreigners... Also, together with religious parties, popular piety movement were widespread. And since the priesthood was hereditary, what truly existed was a highly elaborated chaste system, which helped some families to hod the power indefinitely.

When Jesus inverts the popular perception of what is holy (the pharisee) and what is profane (the tax collector), He shows that, to God, such divisions are human perversions. The Kingdom of God should not have any barriers, whether they are ethnicity, sex or richness. Penitential acts are only valid to God's eyes when they turn into streams of justice, love and humbleness. It is much more valid, then, when that man regarded as an outcast strikes his chest with a contrite heart, than the fasts and fancy prayers of the Pharisee, who was seen by the people as a holy man.

The dream of a fraternal community of sisters and brothers, where there are no barriers of sex, nationality or social class is what St. Paul the Apostle tried to implement among early Christian communities. By walking from city to city, struggling to sustain himself by his own work, and proclaiming the message of hope in God through Christ, he built small family-churches, where all shared the same eucharistic meal, where the poor and the needy were supported by the richer ones and where all had the same importance. This radical proposal of peoples' equality towards God was so defying that he knew, while writing II Timothy, that his end was near. The perverse authorities of this world, and in many situations, of the Church itself, could not tolerate a faith that destroyed barriers and reduced privileges of the powerful for the sake of the poor...

In sub-saharan Africa, there is a philosophical concept expressed by the word ubuntu. It is curious to notice how ubuntu (and its variations) is a word used by many African nations, such as the Zulu, the Xhosa and the Bantu. Ubuntu literally means "humanity towards others", and outside of the African context, it is very difficult to explain. However, it is possible to say that a person with ubuntu knows how to support the others, help with their needs and share their pain. Ubuntu means to give the most of himself towards the others, without expecting anything from them.

St. Paul had ubuntu. Despite all persecutions, he came to the end of his life in this world happy for having fought the good fight, hopeful for the crown of righteousness and certain of Christ's victory over the darkness. We need to have the courage he had, and proclaim the Kingdom of God - here and now, to all nations. In this Kingdom, there are no divisions. There are no religious parties. There are no powerful and no oppressed. In this Kingdom, the humble are elevated and the powerful are overthrown. And we can experience drops of this Kingdom even in our days. All we need is courage, faith and a little bit of ubuntu.

I HAVE, AND YOU ALSO DO.

Let us not be convinced by the hypocrites' beautiful words, which, at the end, intend to create barriers for God's grace. I would also like to cite St. Ignatius, one notable early father, who said:

"Observe those who are heterodox concerning Christ Jesus' grace, which came to us, how contrary they are to God's will. They have no regard for a love feast, none for the widow or the orphan, the oppressed, the bound, the freed, the hungry, or the thirsty... they exhibit enmity and deceit in their dealings with one another. They have no regard for love; they despise the good things we expect hereafter; they regard present things as if they were durable; they ridicule him that is in affliction; they laugh at him that is in bonds."

May we have the discernment not to tolerate, or take part, of this kind of behavior.

Sermon preached at Christ the King, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 10/28/2007.

I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is my strength, who has considered me trust­worthy and appointed me to his service, although I had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a rabid enemy. However he took mercy on me because I did not know what I was doing when I opposed the faith; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, together with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This saying is true and worthy of belief: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. Because of that I was forgiven; Christ Jesus wanted to display his utmost patience so that I might be an example for all who are to believe and obtain eternal life. To the King of ages, the only God who lives beyond every perishable and visible creation—to him be honor and glory forever. Amen!

Meanwhile tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable:
“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the nine­ty-nine in the wilderness and seek out the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together and say: ‘Celebrate with me for I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, just so, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine upright who do not need to repent.
What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp and sweep the house in a thorough search till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say: ‘Celebrate with me for I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”

I Timothy 1:12-17 and Luke 15:1-10 - Proper of the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

There is a popular TV series nowadays, called Lost. Recently, it became more popular in Brazil, because local actor Rodrigo Santoro (who also was Xerxes in the 300 movie) played a minor role in some episodes. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a passenger jet flying between Australia and the United States crashes somewhere in the South Pacific.

But even if you have not watched it (and I imagine you must be living in a lost island if you do not know Lost), you must probably recall a cartoon, very famous in the eighties: Dungeons and Dragons. The story behind it is that a group of children are pulled into the "Realm of Dungeons & Dragons" by taking a magical dark ride trip at a fairground. They want to get back home, but there is also something that prevents them from doing that (in 90% of the time, a stupid unicorn, by the way).

Being lost, inevitably, is not an unknown feeling for people. Some must have been physically lost, I imagine. I know a parishioner whose son got lost three times inside a supermarket, which forces her to keep him attached to her arm with a special rope for children. Others, even being adults, still get lost. I am one of them. I can get easily lost while driving, and I imagine this contributes to my disliking driving.

Being lost is not a good thing. Not at all. When one finds him/herself alone, s/he can think there is no way out of that situation. Society also contributes to that. Have you realized the impact that words such as "loser" and "lost case" (and other derivatives of the verb "to lose") have? I can imagine the pharisees and teachers of the law muttering about Jesus, the man who dared to have a personal relationship with those sinners and tax collectors, who were, to them "lost cases".

In response to that, Jesus left three parables (two in today's Gospel) about being lost. One of them is about lost sheep. It is interesting to notice that sheep can get lost very easily. Sheep tend to form groups for mutual support and protection. However, they are very sensitive animals, and anything can distract such fluffy creatures and make one (or even a group of them) separate from the flock. Our churches tend to be like such flocks, and it is not a coincidence that Scripture and the Church uses this metaphor very often. People can form and group themselves in worship spaces very easily. However, it is also very easy for them to get distracted or offended with the others, and leave their faith community. In some cases, sin (or even a non-sinful behavior which is seen as sin by many), can make one feel unworthy of being a God's child, forcing that person to run away from Her/His Church. The remaining "sheep" would probably say: that was a lost case anyway. This person is lost.

The other parable is about money. A woman loses one of her drachmas. A drachma was an ancient currency unit found in many Greek city states and successor states, and in many South-West Asian kingdoms of the Hellenistic era. It can be compared, more or less, to a daily pay. In Brazil, that would be about R$ 40.00, and I will leave up to you how to imagine a forty-real bill. The fact was that she lost one of those bills, but still had R$ 360.00 left. It was late (and probably dark). Most people (including myself) would try to find it at first, but in case of no success, they would still rejoice in having most of the money, waiting for the next day (and for sunlight) to look for it again. It was lost, anyway!

What one forgets is that the word lost presupposes two facts: that the object (or person) once was not lost, and can still be found.

And this is the difference between God and mankind. God, represented here as both a shepherd and a housewife, does not give up until S/He finds what was lost. God is the father of a flock full of distractive sheep, and also the mother of a treasure of silver coins, like us. And all of us, human beings, were destined to be God's children, since the beginning of times. It is true that sin, unfortunately, made us "lose" the way. My hope, however, is to know that there is no one who cannot be found again. And God keeps searching incessantly for those people. Our attitude, as members of the Body of Christ, is to understand that all of us are susceptible to this state of "being lost", and, on this continuous path of conversion, we have probably gotten lost sometimes (or, at least, were tempted to). Jesus, as the lesson from I Timothy says, came to this world in order to save the sinners, so that they would have eternal life. And the Church must have open doors, daring to follow the example of her master, who had personal relationships with those regarded as sinners, despite the condemnatory eyes of modern pharisees, who still insist in populating our communities. As Christians, we have to learn how to see the others with God's merciful eyes, to whom nothing is eternally lost.

May the Church of Christ, and especially this faith family, understand that this is a place of transformation and regeneration of the sick and wounded, and may we have the courage to follow Christ's example, never giving up, even on those who are considered "lost cases" by society.

Sermon preached at Christ the King, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 09/16/2007.

Pride is odious to both God and man; injustice is abhorrent to both of them. Sovereignty passes from one nation to another because of injustice, violence and wealth. How can there be such pride in some­­one who is nothing but dust and ashes? Even while he is living, man’s bowels are full of rottenness. Look: the illness lasts while the doctor makes light of it; and one who is king today will die tomorrow. Once a man is dead, grubs, insects and worms are his lot. The beginning of man’s pride is to separate himself from the Lord and to rebel against his Creator. The beginning of pride is sin. Whoever perseveres in sinn opens the floodgates to everything that is evil. For this the Lord has inflicted dire punishment on sinners; he has reduced them to nothing. The Lord has overturned the thrones of princes and set up the meek in their place. The Lord has torn up the proud by the roots and has planted the humble in their place. The Lord has overturned the land of the pagans and totally destroyed them. He has devastated several of them, destroyed them and removed all remembrance of them from the face of the earth. Pride was not created for man nor violent anger, for those born of woman.

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to offer hospitality; you know that some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember prisoners as if you were with them in chains, and the same for those who are suffering. Remember that you also have a body.
Marriage must be respected by all and husband and wife faithful to each other. God will punish the immoral and the adulterous.
Do not depend on money. Be content with having enough for today for God has said: I will never forsake you or abandon you, and we shall confidently answer: The Lord is my helper, I will not fear; what can man do to me? Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Consider their end and imitate their faith. Christ Jesus is the same today as yesterday and forever.

One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.
Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. And he said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited, and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you: ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!
Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you: ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honor for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”
Jesus also addressed the man who had invited him and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives and wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return and you will be repaid. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they can’t repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright.”

Sirach 10:7-18, Hebrews 13:1-8 and Luke 14:1,7-14 - Proper of the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

Time passes by very quickly, and soon, I will be twenty-six years old (isn't that much already?). However, God has blessed immensely and I do not believe I look that old (bless my heart)! Well, even sounding like a joke, some people still believe I am eighteen, and that has been pretty common throughout my life. I have always looked younger (and hope I still look) than I actually were.

Today's Gospel is about parties: many of them! I love parties and I have always loved dancing! Who does not? And when I was about to have eighteen years of age, I was very eager to going to nice parties that happened at the fanciest night clubs of Rio. I was rediscovering myself (unfortunately, far from God) and clubbing was part of it, especially coming from a tradition that considered such events inherently sinful. However, I looked younger! Nowhere I would convince people I could get in, while some friends, who looked older, could pass through the nightclub personnel easily.

I do not know if you are aware of what happens at the night scene. There are people, called “promoters” who organize such parties. Their cell phones have thousands of contacts. They are patronized by everybody, because promoters can determine who is “in” and who is “out”. Once I heard one say “o please, I will never allow a girl wearing a tiara come in... so last season!”. Yes, promoters can be cruel. And soon I found out that not looking old was only one of the many pre-requisites one had to have in order to get in the most fabulous parties in town. You had to be good looking, you had to be successful, you had to be famous!

Jewish parties were no different from the parties we have nowadays. Some of them were religious, and we have probably heard much about them. However, Jesus specifically speaks of private parties, such as weddings and luncheons. This is because, like night clubs, those parties had “promoters”, and a list of who was in, and who was out. Only the rich and well-seen were invited. The excluded and oppressed never got a chance of taking part of such events. What a shame!

To ancient Jewish culture, such parties had a very important meaning: they used to show to friends and extended family how wealthy and fortunate someone were. Weddings, for example, could last one week. One week of festivities: wine, food, music and dances. And if you have been to a Jewish marriage, you have probably seen joyful dances in which different people hold hands and form big circles in a joyful movement of bodies. I bet you would join the crowd if you had the chance, as probably did Jesus, when he was invited to parties.

The idea of a God who dances might sound strange to some, especially to those who come from more conservative traditions. However, dance was an integral part of the celebrations of the ancient Israelites. It was used both in worship in ordinary life and on occasions of triumphant victory and festivity. The sacred dance mediated between God and humanity, thus bringing the Israelites into a closer relationship with their God, Jehovah. Dancing was so intrinsic to their religious life that, of all forty four words in the Hebrew language for dancing, only in one is there a possible reference to secular movement. The most frequently used root for the word 'dance' in the Old Testament is hul which refers to the whirl of the dance and implies highly active movement.

Early Christian tradition also tells us about dancing. St. John of Damascus, in the 8th century, used the Greek term perichoresis (peri – around; choré – dance) in order to describe the existence of multiple divine persons in one another in the Holy Trinity. It is interesting to notice that, alone, apart from each other, all three persons are separated. However, if they hold hands and dance, they become one sole God. There is a co-indwelling and what one does, the others can do. God is dancing, for sure.

God dances following the gentle breeze that rubs your face when you leave for work. God dances according to the gibberish a baby murmurs. God dances following you, when you are running, barefeet, on the grass. God dances according to the Anglican aerobics: sit down, stand up, kneel, cross, bow, raise hands, clap hands (OK, hardcore charismatics would do those last two)... God dances Quinceañera waltzes and even to the sound of Black Eyed Peas. God dances around you while you are sleeping, and when time comes, S/He will be there to take you in a lovely dance, to Heaven. God dances listening to your heartbeat.

Perichoresis, thus, is not only a dance of the Trinity. Perichoresis is an invitation for us to join God in this joyful dance. Our path towards holiness, in fact, means joining God and being one with Her/Him, and at the same time become one with the others. And then, like the Jews dancing in big circles, we would hold hands and join our God and our brethren in this wonderful movement.

Once I heard a joke saying that Jesus was the best promoter ever, because “he could organize a party with nothing more than a loaf and a cup of wine, which endures until today”. Jesus rocks, doesn't He? And this party happens every Sunday in many communities, around the world. It is called Holy Eucharist. When we gather together around the altar, and worship God, we take part of this dance (even being difficult for some, but I reaffirm: you should move your bodies a bit more). It is an equality party. All are given the same amount of bread and wine. No one has more or less rights.

What puzzles me is that, unfortunately, there are some who want to be the “promoters”, when Jesus was the official one. They want to predefine who is “in” and who is “out” of this party. And during these almost 2,000 years of Church history, that has happened much more than we could imagine.

You must have visited churches with side galleries. Normally, old churches have this feature, and even some new ones still do, in order to preserve architectural traditions. Galleries, however, had a very sad purpose at the beginning: they were built in order to keep African slaves distant from their owners. Galleries were, in fact, a means of segregation. They were a man-made barrier with the sole intent of excluding some of God's children from the full life of the Church.

How many Afros do you see in the Church, especially in leadership positions? Aren't we still segregating, even in a more subtle way?

And what about women? Some months ago, I had the opportunity of visiting the Rev. Carmen Etel, the first woman to be ordained here in Brazil, more than twenty years ago. She shared some of the struggles of those women who desired, by then, to become priests. A fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, disregarding beautiful passages of the Gospels and even of Pauline letters, was used by some in order to segregate those who have always worked for this Church, and been the majority of our membership. Thank God, in our Province, women can accede to the threefold ordained ministry.

How many women clergy do you see in the Church? Aren't we still diminishing them, thinking they cannot be as effective as men in their service?

Once, I received a message on a web portal. It was from a guy, named Fernando... He said he saw some comments and postings I have published on the Internet, and that he was very happy with what he read. He was gay, and lived with his partner in São Paulo. Since his childhood, he struggled with his sexuality, in a very conservative church, and was submitted to all sorts of “treatments”. Then, he finally gave up and decided not to believe in the cruel god he met there. I remember his last phrase: “Can I attend an Anglican Church? I'm not effeminate, and I will not comment I have a partner. Can I just go there and sit? Please, pray for me. I want to get closer to God.” And then I thought: our church has produced so much good theological material de-mystifying homosexuality. He would be welcomed in so many parishes. Why is this happening? But before I could reply to him, he deleted his scrap.

How many Fernandos do we still have? Longing for a safe place where they can be themselves?

Years ago, I was part of a church located in a medium-class neighborhood. There was a beggar who always went there, but was banned, because she was stinking. Then, she would sit in front of the church, and try to listen to the service. Minutes before its ending, she would leave, take her packages and go back to the place she normally used to spend the day, two blocks far from that church. Comments from parishioners were far from candid: “she could have found a job”, “she could have taken a shower before going to church”, “why doesn't she find a place to live, instead of polluting the streets”. Some parishioners, however, insisted on giving her food and clothes, which she accepted gladly. The pressure from other members to isolate her from parish life, however, was stronger. Eventually, she disappeared. I have no idea where she is now, but I hope God found a better place for her to worship.

How many miserable people are still excluded from our parish life? Why are our churches so empty of poor people?

Why is the Church, still, trying to say who is “in” and who is “out”?

Our Lord Jesus Christ suggested us to invite those who were considered the outcasts of society. He was aware that our tendency was to invite the rich and famous, so, we would have access to their chic world. He knew our tendency was to try to occupy the most important places in parties, so we would look good and be as famous as the host. However, that is not what is expected from a Christian.

The lesson from Hebrews resumes what us Christians are expected to do: we have to be hospitable, and seek fraternal love. Fraternal love means a compassionate heart to listen to the pleas of the oppressed, whomever they are! In doing so, we will achieve happiness. Many of them will become like angels in our lives (and some of them, I believe, are angels, in fact). In being humble, caring and self-giving, one day, we will be exalted by God, because we have a God who does not discriminate anyone. More than that, our God overturns the arrogants and establishes the lowly in their stead.

Yesterday, I watched a short video on Anglicanism. It was showing some characteristics of our church, and it almost brought me to tears of joy, for being part of a church who has been a prophetic voice for inclusiveness in the last years, taking a firm stand against war, misery, oppression and prejudice. The video had a motto: “The Anglican Church waits for you, with open minds, open hearts, open doors...”

My brethren, we have to invite, bring and receive everybody with open minds, open hearts and open doors. We cannot keep this secret with us. We ought to dance with God, and invite as many people as we can to join the crowd. In this dance, we all are equal and we all become one with God. And this dancing-God will teach us how to dance better this dance of holiness. We will grow together. But for others to join, we have to be Christ's promoters. Not the ones who say who is out, but the ones for whom everybody is in. Our church is too good not to share.

Our ultimate goal is to invite all to take part of this godly party, and develop a relationship with God through the divine dance, with open minds, open hearts and open doors... Always! Amen.

Sermon preached at Good Jesus, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 09/02/2007.