Grace Upon Grace!
Journal of An Alien Street Priest:
Grace Upon Grace!
Isaiah’s Commission
6?In the year of King Uzziah’s death,[a] I saw the Lord[b] seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2?Seraphs[c] stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,[d] and they used the remaining two to fly. 3?They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy[e] is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies![f] His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4?The sound of their voices shook the door frames,[g] and the temple was filled with smoke.
5?I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed,[h] for my lips are contaminated by sin,[i] and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.[j] My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”[k] 6?But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7?He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”[l] 8?I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”[m] I answered, “Here I am, send me!”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christ’s Resurrection
15 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is the way you believed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ????The grace of God has surrounded me for as long as I can remember, and confirmed publicly at my baptism and confirmation; and at 12, around a campfire in the Ozarks I herd a still small voice within telling me "You are called to preach!"
??? This calling and grace have led me through seminary, a doctorate, pastorates in City and rural areas, remained with me in being rejected and persecuted by the church, and brought me to? ministry, in San Francisco, some 30 years ago.
??? Grace has surrounded me, and given me hope in all things, and shown me that grace is given to everyone for each of us has the? Spark of the Divine within--be it President Donald Trump or Pope Francis. We walk in the way of Jesus in service to our brothers and sisters without judgment, for we all follow? the same path, born of the same God. That Spark flames as we move in greater and greater service to one another.
??? This Lent? opens our eyes to the grace within us, remembering the words of Fr. Oscar Romero:
"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether they are worthy".
????For ultimately we must remember that we are in this messy world together, as Bishop Desmond Tutu's tells us in these words: "My humanity is bound upon yours, for we can only be human together". It? is a call to recognize that we are all, every human being stamped with the image of God.?
??? The NET Bible, Matthew 25:31-46 describes a parable where Jesus depicts the final judgment, separating people into "sheep" (those who served the least of these) and "goats" (those who did not), with the sheep being welcomed into the kingdom and the goats being sent away to eternal punishment; essentially stating that serving those in need is equivalent to serving Jesus himself.?
Matthew 25:31-46
New English Translation
The Judgment
31?“When[a] the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32?All[b] the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33?He[c] will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34?Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35?For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36?I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37?Then the righteous will answer him,[d] ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38?When[e] did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39?When[f] did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40?And the king will answer them,[g] ‘I tell you the truth,[h] just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters[i] of mine, you did it for me.’
41?“Then he will say[j] to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42?For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 43?I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44?Then they too will answer,[k] ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 45?Then he will answer them,[l] ‘I tell you the truth,[m] just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 46?And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
??? Giving ourselves in service to other manifests in grace upon grace. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!
Let us pray:
Poem found in Pocket of Unknown Soldier at Gettysburg
I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn to obey.
I asked for health that I might do great things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power when I was young that I have
the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
Almost despite myself,? my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all people most richly blessed.
Amen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Temenos Catholic Worker
P.O. Box 642656
San Francisco, CA 94164
Dr. River Damien Carlos Sims, D.Min, D.S.T.
==========================
?
????