Jesus taught this, too taking his cue from what Cynthia Bourgeault and others call the perennial wisdom tradition. The closing words of chapter five in St. Matthew's rendering of the Sermon on the Mount are illustrative. After teaching his disciples that God's call is to love our neighbors, our friends, AND our enemies, Jesus says: The time has come, therefore, to be mature, complete, and fully developed for this is what God intends for you.
English Bibles translate the Greek of Matthew 5:48, telios, as perfect - meaning to be fulfilled, grown up, or complete - but perfect in our culture connotes the absence of fault, living without sin, or being ethically and morally consistent. And if you've been around the block or two you know that this is humanly impossible. By design God created us incomplete so that we might grow into a humble albeit ripening holiness incrementally. Learning from our mistakes and failures is part of the sacred maturation God intended. That's why I say that incarnating the non-binary heart of Jesus is always a work in progress. It takes time, practice, failure, forgiveness, and perseverance. How did St. Paul put it in Romans 5:
We embrace our afflictions knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because hope is God’s love being poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
One of the ways I practice this shift is by noticing and honoring the small strands of synchronicity that pop up every day. Yesterday, for example, I was watching the PBS Newshour (something that wasn't happening while we were with our family for Christmas in Brooklyn) and saw the graveyards of Gaza: they were full. I saw thousands of refugees clinging to a UN Relief vehicle in Southern Gaza hoping to secure a morsel of food during the deluge of bombs. And I read the NY Times report on the revolting violent desecration Hamas unleashed against the bodies of Israeli women during their terrorist attack on October 7th. To be sure, the vicious violation of women has long been part of warfare. Our Bible records Jews committing genocide during the conquest of Canaan: they, too castrated their male opponents while enslaving and violating women as the booty of war. In our era, the Russians were notorious for raping and mutilating the women of the Third Reich. The Japanese did so to Korean Women. And some American GIs followed suit during Vietnam and Iraq. (For those with the strength, here's the link:https://www.
Part of forsaking the simplicity of binary thinking is taking in the totality of reality - not just the parts that bring us joy, security, or self-affirmation nor only the truths that evoke despair, grief, and uncertainty - but the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Terry Tempest Williams put it like this:
So, starting THIS Sunday, December 31, there will be a slightly different way of doing our modest weekly contemplative online gathering: Small is Holy. For 2024 we'll follow a simple Vespers liturgy and conclude with an inclusive Eucharist. You may know that I'll be starting to serve a new congregation in February and need to streamline my preparation time for these contemplative reflections. Making this commitment is another part of learning to live into a nonbinary heart: for me it is once again time to reconnect beyond my solitude. We'll see how this unfolds knowing that we may need to shift away from Sunday to a midweek time. I'll keep you posted. Using a new/old liturgy that will change according to the liturgical seasons, the renewal of old texts, and the rhythms of Mother Earth: Small is Holy will take another step into the unitive grace of Jesus. (Here's the liturgical template that you may want to print out if you join us over the next seven weeks leading up to Lent.)
“I want to feel both the beauty and the pain of the age we are living in. I want to survive my life without becoming numb. I want to speak and comprehend words of wounding without having these words become the landscape where I dwell. I want to possess a light touch that can elevate darkness to the realm of stars.”
The late Madeliene L'Engle said much the same poetically in "First Coming."
God did not wait till the world was ready,
till nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait
till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
+
SMALL IS HOLY VESPERS/EUCHARIST
We begin by offering a sacred body prayer or sign of the Cross before praying:
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory be to the Creator, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Hymn: Psalm 134
Come and bless the Lord all you who love God
Who stands night after night in the house of the Lord
Lift up your hands in the Sanctuary and bless the Lord
The Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion (2x)
Evening Psalm and Alleluia
Quiet Prayer
Gospel Canticle of Mary: Lue 1: 46-55
RESPONSE: My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of the Almighty’s servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is God’s name. R
God’s mercy is for those who fear God from generation to generation. God has shown strength with God’s arm; God has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted-up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. R
God has helped servant Israel, in remembrance of God’s mercy,
according to the promise God made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and Sarah and to their descendants forever. R
Quiet Reflection
Hymn
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all its righteousness;
And all these things shall be added unto you: allelu, alleluia.
Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find,
Knock and the door will be opened unto you: allelu, alleluia.
Great Thanksgiving/Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord is with you – And also with you.
Lift up your hearts – We lift them up to God.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God –
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
It is right…
Holy, holy, holy God Ruler All-Loving: heaven and earth are full of your glory. Glory be to you, O God. Blessed is the One who comes, who comes in the name of God. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
The Prayer continue closes with the Lord’s Prayer.
Please pray this in whatever form resonates with your heart…
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name: your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil; for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
The bread and wine are blessed and prepared for sharing.
The bread which we bless and share +
is our participation in the brokenness of the world.
And the cup which we bless and share +
is our participation in the celebration of joy.
These are the gifts of God for the whole people of God:
come for all things are ready.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
grant us peace.
We share the cup of blessing and the bread of life.
Sing amen: Amen we praise your name, O God.
Sing amen: Amen, we praise your name, O God.
Sing amen: amen, amen, amen, amen.
Amen we praise your name, O God.
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