Fourth Sunday in Lent
I remember a conversation with a Lambeth Palace Foreign Affairs official in the 1970s about some troubles in Romania. I was calling him for intervention on behalf of a group of seminarians who were being targeted by the government and were on a hunger strike. It was often difficult to get his attention but this day was different. He seemed immediately concerned when he heard me mention Romania. Soon into the conversation, however, I realized that he thought I was calling about a Romanian Orthodox priest who had lived quite some time in London and was well known, in fact, a friend, to the Church official. (This same priest also acted as the eyes and ears for the Romanian Embassy whenever they wanted background on people—like a certain young Oxford student who was applying for a British Council scholarship in 1972 and was misidentified as a “baptist” or “trouble maker” even though he was Methodist at the time and would become an Episcopal bishop thirty years later!) The Orthodox priest had received a call that his father was ill and he should return straightaway to Bucharest, only to find on his arrival home that his father was fine, and the Romanian authorities wanted a way to get him back and revoke his passport. It was a cowardly and despicable trick by the Romanian Government and worthy of censorship. Rightly the Lambeth Palace official found empathy for the priest he knew, but unfortunately felt little at the plight of the seminarians.
We all suffer from such shortsightedness. Someone once described original sin by asking an audience whom they looked for in any group photo they were in? For ourselves, of course. The apostle Paul lamented his shortcomings in the words he wrote to the Romans: “the good I would do, I don’t do; and the bad I would avoid, I do! Who can deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I don’t know how Paul came to the revelations of what it means to follow Jesus Christ. His thinking about claiming righteousness by faith through tracing God at work in Abraham is pretty clear. But what about his sense of community? He really was the first to work out the living implications of being a follower of Jesus; and we don’t really know the oral traditions he was using. In the book of Galatians we read that he spent some time alone working it all out from his understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures. I wonder if we would get from there to here if we only had the same resource? And didn’t have the Gospels and Paul’s interpretation and efforts at practical application in his letters.
It is difficult to move beyond ourselves and our affinity circles. And even more so it seems when the internet grants us such immense knowledge at our finger tips. So far we have evolved into our tribes, each with our own sources of information and opinion. It seems to be too much to care for our friends and strangers at the same time. And yet Jesus says—“love your enemies.” We don’t seem to be able get away from that statement these days. Or, perhaps, from the familiar statement from a Jesus follower, quoted by the Presiding Bishop in his sermon to the House of Bishops, we either “learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
This is the historical struggle of this moment, and it not simply a cultural battle within the United States. It is a global call in need of recognition. Either we see each other as relatives or we will perish as fools. This is the message at the micro level of the pandemic within the United States. It is also spoken to us within our political camps, and our racial groupings. And none of us can deliver ourselves from this body of death.
A Baptist troublemaker of my acquaintance got into deep water with the Romanian authorities for having the courage to write a treatise on how noble the Socialist goal of the “new socialist man” was. It sought a person who would give their best for the benefit of the whole; a truly altruistic figure. “Yet,” he claimed, “the socialist system of his country sought to achieve this within a framework of atheistic materialism. And there the experiment fails. You can’t be an altruist and a promoter of the “survival of the fittest” at the same time. The socialist system, he said needs Jesus Christ, the One for others. And you could say the same is true of capitalism too. Both depend, one way or another, on the survival of the fittest; and both fail in the end.
“Who can deliver me? Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ!” We have to work this through for our own amazing days of digital wonder. Algorithms determine more than we would care to know these days. How do we tilt them towards God’s good? The Spirit probably has Joannas and Pauls out there going over the ancient revelation and marking the links. I would say that they are probably emerging in ongoing generations— we are certainly hearing some of their voices in our Lenten Living Kindness sessions on Wednesday evenings. Paul had to put his revelations into practical use, and that’s what we have in part through his writings which we so earnestly study. We are invited to follow suit. New wine and old wineskins is an increasingly relevant metaphor by Jesus. As is the parable of the sower; and the message of the Good Samaritan; and his call to be as a child and a servant of all. He is not seeing His Way applied too much in the extremes of our political diatribes, nor in the narrowness of our global perspective. He weeps over the half a million dead of COVID-19 in our nation, and adds on the hundreds of thousands dying in Yemen or Northeast Syria or in the migrating caravans. And because He is the Lord of all, I would reckon, He is not listening to our definition of neighbor. And yet in hope he still invites us, “follow Me.” You can either be brothers, sisters and siblings, or fools.
In the peace and love of Christ,
+Alan
The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa
Join us this Sunday, March 14 at 10:00am to worship with Trinity Church, Muscatine.
Lenten Offerings
Journey with us during Lent as we explore and practice kindness as a spiritual discipline.
The season of Lent is a time for penitence and reconciliation, an invitation to take steps toward a right relationship with ourselves, each other, creation, and God. What might it look like to turn toward relationship this Lent using kindness intentionally, during this time of pandemic and seemingly increasing division and conflict? What small steps might we take, both alone and together?
Living Kindness
Wednesdays from 7-8:00pm
March 17, 24
Join us Wednesday evenings for an intergenerational conversation where we'll practice and learn more about nurturing kindness as a spiritual discipline. You're welcome to join for as many conversations as you're able, but you must register to receive the Zoom information. We also invite you to follow along with a daily Lenten Kindness Calendar.
Lenten Kindness Calendar
A daily Lenten Kindness Calendar is available now on the Youth Ministry page of the diocesan website. Each day offers a simple prompt towards an act of kindness for someone in your life (or someone you don't know), each tied to the Gospel reading from the Sunday before. You will be able to follow along from the webpage, Facebook, and Instagram.
From Many One: Conversation Across Difference
The How and Why of Conversations Across Difference
Friday, March 12, 25 and April 8 at 1:00 PM CST
Maybe you like the idea, but it’s tough taking the next step. How can you issue an invitation to conversations across difference? How do you have the conversation without having a fight? What are the principles of active listening and authentic sharing? Why do we bother? Episcopal Church leaders who partnered to design “From Many, One” will help you to take on the spiritual practice of love in action for yourself.
Session Leaders:
- The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care
- The Rev. Melanie Mullen, Director of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care
The How and Why of Conversations Across Difference – Friday March 12, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST - Register Here
How We’re Practicing and What We’re Learning – Thursday, March 25, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST – Register Here
From Many One “Listen-In” – Sharing Our Stories and Growing Our Practice – Thursday, April 8, 6:00-7:00 p.m. EST – Register Here
Explore these pages to find information on how to engage with From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference. You can find explanations for each of the questions, suggestions on going deeper, and additional resources to keep your conversations going.
Don’t forget to sign up for updates on From Many, One. Watch the videos. Invite a partner. Have the conversation. Pray. Join in deeper conversation, learning and action. Help to form God’s beloved community.
Joint Chapter Meeting & Leadership Gathering Resources (click below to view recordings the presentations)
Joint Chapter Meeting
Information about re-gathering, the electing convention, diocesan convention and more.
Gilead Grants
For more information, visit the website https://www.iowaepiscopal.org/gilead-grants and for questions, contact
Traci Ruhland Petty tpetty@iowaepiscopal.org
Why is Iowa So White?
Webinar: Monday, March 15 7:00pm
It is not uncommon for people who live in Iowa to mention that they grew up knowing very few people of color. As we are often reminded around caucus time, Iowa remains the 6th whitest state in the nation. How and why did that happen?
Dr. Charles Connerly will walk us through Iowa’s history—from the Indigenous nations who resided here until the land was taken from them to the establishment of “black codes” that restricted who could move here. He will highlight the ways that Iowa has at times welcomed and also excluded different groups of color. We’ll look at some of the milestone civil rights decisions in Iowa as well as some of the decisions and events that serve more as millstones, weighing us down and holding us back from becoming a place where every Iowan can thrive.
Dismantling Racism Training
Register for online training
Grounded in The Episcopal Church's commitment to dismantling racism as essential to our formation as Christians, this ONLINE training is open to all persons who would like to deepen their understanding of racism, prejudice, and privilege.
The training will consist of 2 sessions from 10:00am-12:00pm and 12:30pm-2:30pm, with a break for lunch.
GILEAD Grant Spotlight: All Saints', Storm Lake
All Saints' Storm Lake received a "Beginning a New Ministry" GILEAD Grant and is using grant funds to provide bags of nonperishable food for nearly 200 kindergarteners at a local elementary school to take home each weekend, January - May this year. This new ministry is called "All Saints' Tornado Packs."
In their previous work with the school, All Saints’ learned of critical food insecurity among the students and that other organizations were unable to fully meet this need. All Saints’ partnered with the school to begin this new ministry to help meet the food needs of their local students, and has also partnered with local businesses, doctors, and the community in this ministry. Volunteers help pack the bags, and All Saints’ delivers bags to the school each week to be distributed by the teachers. Volunteers include All Saints' youth group, along with a local Presbyterian youth group and students from Storm Lake High School.
All Saints' members & volunteers are excited to be working with the community, and the ministry is going so well that they hope to continue next year.
After their first delivery, one kindergarten teacher commented that: "The kids were so excited to receive the packs," and another said "I loved that it is actually food they will eat!"
Pictured above: 5 student volunteers from Storm Lake High School Human Relations class
Podcast Corner: Popping Collars
"Popping Collars" - a podcast where priests, pastors, ministers, and religious thinkers from around the country make meaning about what people are binge watching, tweeting about, trolling on message boards, and celebrating on blogs.
This podcast explores the intersection of religion and pop culture and is hosted by Greg Knight, Liz Easton, Ricardo Avila, and Betsy Gonzalez, who interrogate the world around them through the lens of faith. Click on the button "listen here" or find it on Apple Podcasts.
