Compline - End of Day Prayer

January 9, 2025

COMPLINE with +Bishop Durrell

[Compline is the end of day prayer as one prepares for sleep.

Tonight's Compline includes reflection and meditation as well as a closing prayer.]

California is on fire. Lives are being turned upside down. It will take months or years for some people to fully recover.

By the way, it’s fire. It’s not a divine tantrum or a curse or the fulfillment of some ancient prognostication. It’s fire. It happens. We don’t need superstition or conspiracy drama. What is needed is our concern and our compassion and our generosity.

While fires rage in one area, bitter cold attacks others.

And while the elements misbehave (and of course climate change is a factor and should be addressed), a country mourns the loss of a great humanitarian.

President Jimmy Carter’s work with Habitat for Humanity, and the Carter Center’s work around the world, has touched innumerable lives. In addition to election oversight and diplomatic efforts, the Carter Center also employs about 200 people in Atlanta and thousands more throughout the world. The sort of leader who never stops trying to make the world a better place for everyone is too rare, and now there is one less. Of course we grieve.

BREATHE. Let’s spend one full minute in silence just noticing our breath. Let’s take a full minute respite from all the crazy and all the scary and all the unknown. Let’s have one perfect minute of relaxed breathing and calmness. We deserve it and we can have it. Right now.

Following the breath can be a prayer. A prayer for peace by embracing it and letting it then float into the atmosphere. Another word for breath is “spirit.” When we connect with Breath, we are touching something sacred and powerful and beautiful. Breathe.

We can also ask the Universe to help us, or the angels to guide us, or the ancestors to be with us, or the saints to pray for us, or for the God of our understanding to hold us throughout all the ups and downs of life. Breathe. Pray. Repeat as needed.

My close of day prayer:

Let showers of blessing heal California, and a warm breath of heaven minister to those facing dangerously cold temperatures.

Let peace seem more real than problems. And may we have the courage and the grace to hope, no matter how many times hope didn’t seem to change the outcomes. Still, hope banishes despair, at least for a while, and sometimes, what we hope for does come to pass. Oh, let us dare to hope, or at very least, let us hope to find hope.

May the legacy of Jimmy Carter continue to bless the world, and may we bless his memory even as his memory inspires us. And may humanitarians and peacemakers and justice workers and lovers of humankind rise among us, and may we be willing to count ourselves among them in some measure.

It is in peace and with faith that I pray. Amen.

Bless you and Good night.

+Bishop Durrell

Pray Without Ceasing - You're Doing It Anyway

People are often confounded by the notion of prayer but I think it's very natural and can be quite effortless. Have you ever held your breath waiting for news, hoping it was better than many feared? Wasn't that your body and subconscious saying together, though silently, "My heart is holding this situation in love and I am wishing for the best possible outcome"? And wasn't that a prayer?
Has your heart ever broke open, or even shattered (it seemed) as you considered the agony someone else was experiencing, and in response didn't your tears flow? Wasn't that your spirit touching theirs and offering the blessing of compassion, and wasn't that a prayer?
Have you ever said or even thought "good luck" while truly wishing someone a satisfying experience or a joyful outcome? Have you ever said, "be careful" to someone driving away or leaving for a trip, and was that expressed wish terribly different from asking saints or ancestors or angels to watch over your beloved traveler?
Prayer is part head and part heart,
part logic and part love,
part mechanics and part mystery,
part poetry and part principle,
part faith and part formula,
part humility and sometimes even part hubris,
part courage and part comfort offered by outrageous hope and a sense that life is meant to be good and a realization that we are all, somehow, connected to all that is and all that ever has been.
And in one way or another, don't we experience or engage in one or more of these "parts" almost every moment of our lives?
"Pray without ceasing" may not be so much an instruction as an observation that we are doing that anyway.
I bet you have prayed in the last hour or so. You may not have offered your prayer to a deity, you may not have ended the experience with an "amen," but you undoubtedly have felt hope or gratitude or love or compassion in the last hour, and I would call that prayer. See, it's not so difficult after all. 

--Bishop Durrell Watkins, D.Min.

Don't Dis the Myths

I'm a big fan of myths, but one should be honest when dealing in myth. Myths are beautiful, speak a poetic language, engage the imagination, & point toward realities mere facts hint at only clumsily...don't dis my myths. 

Remind me if you wish that stories of global floods, virgin conceptions, spending half a week in a fish, conversing with snakes & donkeys, giants being angel-human hybrids, & people living hundreds of years are myths, but then let's sort out what the myths can teach us about life. Of course they didn't happen, but how DO they happen in us & in our lives? (dw)

The Bible isn't what most people assume it is.

 The Bible isn't what most people assume it is.

The [Christian] Bible is the Hebrew bible plus a 4th century anthology of mid-1st to early 2nd century literature (New Testament). The Bible is written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and most of the Greek texts were written by Aramaic speakers. It is unlikely that anyone in the NT ever met Jesus (as every NT text is written 20-100 years after Jesus' execution and the earliest writer definitely never met him). The texts are oft' copied and edited and translated, and no original documents have survived. We have translated copies of edited hand copied copies of documents that no longer exist. I love the Bible but for the human product that it is. I do not consider it divine, inerrant, magical, or beyond question or critique. The Bible we have is the result of 4th century church leaders addressing 4th century questions and needs with tales and traditions that are 200-700 years old at that time. The literature was written by Jewish people to Jewish people and was canonized by people who hadn't been connected to Judaism for 4-5 generations at least. These are important things to remember when tempted to say "the Bible says" or the "the Bible clearly teaches"...the Bible isn't univocal, isn't super clear on much, and is the result of a long process involving many voices, agendas, experiences, needs, desires and even multiple time periods, locations, and languages; and, we can't cross reference a single biblical sentence to an original document. Love the Bible, but don't use it as a weapon and don't let it be weaponized against you. It's just not built for that. (dw)

A Reflection/Prayer Treatment for the Miracle We Are

A Reflection/Prayer Treatment for the Miracle We Are

~ Bishop Durrell

It has taken billions of years for the unique expression of Life that I am to be made manifest. 

Light and energy, sound and star dust, minerals and atoms have all cooperated and conspired to show up as me. The same is true for us all. 

The universe is vast, and compared to it, I am nothing. 

And yet, the universe is vast, and I am an integral part of it, and as part of the vast universe, I am amazing. And so is every person I bring to mind today. 

Someone met someone, somehow, and they had a child who grew up to meet someone, somehow, and they had a child who grew up to meet someone, somehow, and they had a child…until I showed up. How many random, chance encounters took place to make me possible? How many sperm tried to reach how many eggs before one reached one and fertilization occurred and somehow that fertilized egg evolved into the thing that would become me? Randomness after chance encounter after lucky break after disappointment after biological process after ideal circumstance after human effort all merged and combusted into powerful creativity and from the flames of happenstance this phoenix arose!

How many ideas shared over millennia are now part of my consciousness? How many bodies have returned to the earth which provides nurture and sustenance to support more bodies that return to the earth which provides nurture and sustenance to support more bodies…?

How many artists, musicians, architects, farmers, philosophers, inventors, medical researchers, film makers, explorers, loving aunts and adopted children and good neighbors and geniuses and storytellers and peacemakers have contributed to the world that I have inherited? And how lucky am I that I get to contribute to and benefit from this world?

Do I call any of that God? I have done, but I don’t always. However, the marvel of it all is amazing and, in my estimation, sacred, divine even. I bow before the mystery. I am humbled by and grateful to the larger life that gives expression to my life.

Of all the planets and all the stars and all the solar systems and all the galaxies in the ever-expanding universe (which is almost 14 billion years old, at least, and may actually be eternal, without beginning or end, without cause or creator) …You and I are here on this rock, and we know we are. We are aware. We are conscious. Surely conscious life is rare in the universe. Even if 100 planets have it (and we don’t yet have evidence that they do), in the grand scheme, 100 isn’t very many. But we’re here, on one planet in one solar system in one galaxy, and we know that we are. With or without myth, with or without poetry, with or without religious vocabulary, that is awesome.

And so, my fellow miracles, my fellow unlikely events, my fellow self-aware life-forms (rare as we are), I remind you that you are part of grand and glorious realities. In the language I embrace, you have sacred value. I hope that brings you hope today, or peace, or joy, or comfort, or strength, or courage, or relief. Whatever blessing you need, you deserve it and I hope it comes to you in the best way possible; afterall, in a universe where you and I show up, almost anything is possible. And so it is. (dw)

Doesn't the Bible say that Men Shouldn't Sleep Together? (Spoiler alert: Not Really)

Someone asked me today: "the Bible in Leviticus forbids a man lying with another man as he would with a woman, and for most Christians, the Bible is the primary authority. You've said before that the verses used to condemn gay people are aways in the context of exploitation or violence and have nothing to do with loving relationships, but 'do not lie with man as with woman' doesn't seem to be about violence or exploitation, unless I'm missing something."

I took it to be an honest, snark-free question, so I did attempt to answer it (as follows):

Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) is a late concept. The earliest church (which had not yet codified a new testament) depended on a few doctrinal statements (such as found in the aposte's creed). Believiing in the bible or believing the bible was inerrant were not requirements in the early church (they would wait almost 400 years for the new testament and 1500 years or so for "sola scriptura").

Leviticus is telling men not to treat other men the way they treat women (as property to own and use - do not exploit other men).

Sodom & Gomorrah (Genesis 19) pictures an attempted gang rape of men (to prevent it, Lot offers his daughters to them...do not treat men the way you treat women is the patriarchal standard) - Lot, the ONE righteous man in the story (who offered his daughters to a rape gang), winds up having incest with his daughters in a cave (and not being chastised for it in the tale).

Romans 1 refers to pagan orgies that get so wild people get hurt ("due penalty in your bodies")...Paul blames it on idolatry.

1 Corinthians 6:9 condemns male prostitutes and their male customers (exploitation, objectifying men the way women are objectified, commodified like property)

1 Timothy 1:10 - (probably an early second century text, not authentically Pauline) scholars are universally stumped by what is meant, but the most common guess is that it is also about prostitution.

All the so-called prohibitions are in the context of violence (Romans 1, Genesis 19) or exploitation (Leviticus, Paul, Deutero-Paul). Meanwhile, Love is a fruit of the spirit, love is not conemned, Paul says there is no law against love, Jesus said love is the hallmark of discipleship, Jesus understood the commandments to be about simply love of God and neighbor (the Good Samaritan parable shows that anyone who chooses kindness is a good neighbor), and one New Testament writer defines God as Love. Love is not condemned, and the very few verses weaponized against LGBTQ people do not even mention consensual, joyful interactions, covenantal fidelity, or mutual affection or attraction.

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE

There are actually many ways to study scripture. The various methods of reading and making meaning of scriptural texts are collectively called Biblical Criticism.

The least helpful and least accurate way would be to read as a fundamentalist might. Fundamentalists are narrowly focused Christians who believe that non-Christians are rejected by God and that one must accept certain "fundamentals" in order to truly be Christian. Those fundamentals include:

The Bible is to be considered inerrant (basically dictated by God without any mistake or incorrect information), Jesus' literal virginal conception is not to be questioned, his execution is meant to be seen as our means of salvation, the resurrection must be seen as a literal, historical, physical event, and one must expect his literal, physical return one day.

I, personally, cannot affirm a single "fundamental" as being true for me. The Bible is for me a human project, the so-call Virgin Birth is mythological (comparable to many miracle birth stories in antiquity), Jesus' execution was a brutal act by an oppressive empire, resurrection is an experience we share but not a single, literal, historical event, and Jesus' return is allegorical and meant to help us be Christ in the world rather than have us wait for a hero to tidy up our messes.

But I can easily reject fundamentalist views because I have learned to think critically and because I have been exposed to various methods of biblical criticism.

If the fundamentalist approach isn't helpful, what are some ways of engaging scripture that might be more energizing?

Allegorical Interpretation: In addition to characters and stories say on the page, a second level of meaning is extracted from (or applied to) the text. Allegorical interpretation might suggest a story from one part of the Bible represents something from another part (like the Ark representing St. Mary sheltering God's people beneath her veil in stormy times) or it might apply biblical stories to larger, universal themes (rather than asking if the resurrection literally happened, an allegorical approach would be to ask how the resurrection story points to possibilities in our lives to rise above defeat, heartache, unfairness, loss, or disappointment). 

Allegorical approaches to bible reading were used by Origen of Alexandria, by the mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg, and has traditionally been a preferred method of bible study in the New Thought Movement (Charles Fillmore, for example, used each apostle to represent mental states, e.g., John represented love, Thomas represented understanding, Peter represented faith and so on). 

Demythologizing Scripture: This approach looks at the fantastic claims of scripture (walking on water, Jonah in a fish, a donkey talking, people living hundreds of years, etc.) and tries to separate the claimed events from the moral lesson or theological point the stories may be trying to make. 

Historical-Critical Method (used to be called "Higher Criticism") - looks at the traditions, languages, oral transmission of stories, and politics that influenced the writers. Asks who is writing, to whom, and why? Has been used since the 19th century and has always been intended to read the texts free from dogmatic bias. Field of archeology is helpful to this method of study. 

Literary Criticism - tries to establish the genre of the documents (poetry, biography, homily, hymn, parable, etc). Examines the structure, date, and authorship of documents based largely on the internal evidence in the documents, but external evidence is employed when helpful (as in dating texts). If one document quotes another, those quotations are noticed and explored. If the voice of the "writer" changes (suggesting, perhaps, multiple writers) if the writing style changes, those things are brought under examination. Literary criticism studies the Bible as literature using scientific techniques to do so. 

Philology - studies histories of languages and compares languages to one another. Comparing ancient documents (biblical and non-biblical documents from the same periods and regions) in the ancient languages (Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Coptic, etc.) is a very academic but also very enlightening field of study. 

Rhetorical Criticism - comparing communication styles and philosophies of biblical discourse.

Social Scientific Criticism - Uses anthropology, sociology, and social psychological to analyze biblical texts. Studies the behavior of people in the Bible in a social or cultural context, noticing ritual, customs, and actions within the environments of the actors.

Now, don't be put off by the word "criticism" - that isn't an attack on scripture. Criticism in this context is the use of scientific criteria and reason to understand and explain the meaning intended by the writers, if possible, with a high degree of objectivity. 

Some hermeneutical methods are more artistic than scientific. Theopoetics, for example, might read scripture through a theological lens, seeking to apply it in personal spiritual seeking, describing the process in artistic or poetic ways. It would try to embrace and communicate the experience of scripture to an imaginative reader. 

Some might find the allegorical method to be more artistic, or at least, more creative, than scientific. So, in addition to the scientific ways of engaging the Bible, there are also artistic ways. 

How to read the Bible? I have found every method described here (apart from the fundamentalist approach) to be helpful and enlightening. And, guess what? There are even more methods! 

Regardless of the method(s) we choose, if we approach the texts with open minds and a joy in discovering new insights, we'll probably find that we haven't nearly exhausted what the Bible has to offer us. Keep reading, keep thinking, keep questioning, and keep imagination, and the Bible will continue to open worlds of discovery for you. It might not support your doctrinal training and dogmatic certainties, but that's actually a good thing. (dw)

Praying With and For You

My prayer this morning. Maybe I was praying with or for you:

Infinite Hope,
Boundless Compassion,
Abiding Peace,
Enduring Love:
My heart and mind are full of swirling thoughts.
Some of them are difficult to make out.
There’s an idea, no a memory, no a feeling.
When its all soupy like that, I still trust that life is good, that there is grace equal to every need, that wisdom will show up when and how I need her most.
So now, I simply relax and breathe.
I feel connected to loved ones.
I send goodwill to those who face difficulty or who endure pain.
I believe bright days and joyful moments are on the way.
I pause. I feel grateful. I know that I am strong, and so are those who are on my heart today.
All is well.
Amen.

(Durrell Watkins)

Jesus might have been...

Does the idea of gay Jesus, married Jesus, Black Jesus, Brown Jesus, Jewish Jesus (this one’s not really up for debate), seditious Jesus, revolutionary Jesus, bi-Jesus, gender fluid Jesus, doubting Jesus, poor Jesus, homeless Jesus, illiterate Jesus, victimized Jesus, ethno-centric Jesus who might have grown past that, feminist Jesus, taboo smashing Jesus, generous to a fault Jesus, justice seeking/justice demanding Jesus, Jesus who never even heard of the Trinity, day laborer Jesus, philosopher Jesus, run of the mill healer/exorcist Jesus, mystic Jesus, kind of funny Jesus, storyteller Jesus, Jesus so buried in myth as to be practically unknown/unknowable...bother you? 

If so, why? What about the Jesus others have encountered, considered, wrestled with, played with, prayed with, journeyed with that threatens your experience? 

Is it possible Jesus was more than or other than what you’ve heard, believed, or so far experienced? And what if the others are completely wrong and you are completely right? Does that delegitimize their journey? Does that deny their right to explore and discover for themselves? 

We can discuss why our Jesus experiences differ. But if you come at me with insults and rage, not only will I probably be done from that moment, but I will also wonder why your experience of Jesus was so fragile that you couldn’t imagine that other experiences might also be possible.

I'm Interested in Jesus' Love Life BECAUSE I Love Jesus

I love Jesus (not in the imaginary friend way of my childhood, but I love searching for him in history and I love how I come to life when I make certain discoveries...my christology is rooted in a 1st century flesh and blood revolutionary more than in a cosmic Olympian type figure). 

Because I love Jesus I am very interested in his revolutionary, anti-imperial politics, in his work as a healer/exorcist/lay philosopher, in his risk taking, in his intimate/personal connection with the God of his understanding, in his insistence on flouting cultural taboos, in his willingness to rethink and dialogue with interpretations of his inherited scriptures and traditions, in people coming to believe he might be the messiah (and his possibly coming to agree with them), with people’s continued experience of him (or his memory or his values) beyond his execution, and I am interested in his personal relationships...
his closeness to a beloved disciple, his friendship with Peter, his place in a chosen family in Bethany, his interesting relationship with a woman from Magdala, his repeated encounters with a mysterious young man in Mark’s gospel, what it meant for him to look at him “and love him”, what it might mean for him to be called “son of David” (whose love for Jonathan was notorious)...

Because I love Jesus I love exploring his life, his intimacies, his sexuality. Like his ancestor David, he might have been bisexual, or he may have been gay, or he may have been straight, or he might have flowed up and down the continuum. 

Because I love Jesus, I want to know more about him. Just as those who love me must love the Queer me (because that’s the me there is), to love Jesus is to try to know him, and the him there is to know might be gay or bi...its definitely Queer (regardless of the attractions he felt). 

My soteriology is about “wholeness”...and since Jesus is part of the way that I found my path to wholeness (which includes my sexuality), I want to know the whole Jesus (as much as is possible with the years and myths that lie between us) which includes his sexuality. I don’t care if he was celibate or not, that’s none of my business, but he had human feelings and connections and covenants, and those do matter to me a great deal.

From Trauma to Triumph (A Good Friday Reflection)

From trauma to triumph
by Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

“Perhaps Jesus would have preferred less than a long night of trauma in Gethsemane or less than three days in the tomb. Yet, in the midst of the dark hours…and…the lonely days and nights…life and light were active and miracles were happening…It is in the midst of weakness that you are made strong. In fear-filled times you are given courage. In trauma you are brought into serenity. In discouragement you find faith.” Mary L. Kupferle

I do not for a single moment believe that Jesus was predestined to be tortured to death. Jesus was killed by imperial powers the same way many others were. What is worthy of celebration isn’t that Jesus was tortured to death, but that the cruelty that tried to silence him and stifle the hope he gave to so many, failed. Yes, he suffered, but he still lives…in story, in song, in scripture, in ritual, in our imaginations, in every act of kindness, empowerment, mercy, and justice that we perform in his name. God doesn’t send the horrors, but God gives us the courage to face them, and miraculously, to even rise above them. Good Friday doesn’t enshrine trauma, it points toward triumph. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Hope will prevail. Miracles are at hand. And so it is.

Tenebrae Service at Sunshine Cathedral tonight at 7 pm (4/19/19)

1480 SW Ninth Ave

Fort Lauderdale

SunshineCathedral.org 

Musings of a Pro-Choice Pastor

Pastor Durrell says: “If you celebrate Abraham’s ’faithfulness’ for being willing to slaughter his own child,
If you are unaware of or unconcerned about Jephthah’s sacrificing his own daughter,
If you use Sodom and Gomorrah (a story void of love or romance or attraction) to condemn gays but have no problem with Lot’s willingness to sacrifice his daughters to a rape gang only later to commit incest with them himself,
If you ignore the passage in Exodus that says if two men fighting cause a pregnant woman to miscarry, a fine must be paid - unless the WOMAN is inured, then its ‘eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life, hand for hand, foot for foot’,
Or if you’re Christology involves the belief that a deity required the brutal execution of ’his’ (sic) Son (and that’s somehow a good thing)...
Then your opposition to a woman’s freedom to make her own procreative health choices is not about the bible. There are child sacrifices in sacred scripture that you find laudable, and there is no passage forbidding fetus removal or early pregnancy termination.
Your belief may be sincere and even passionately held, but a biblical mandate it is not.
Please stop using religion to colonize women’s bodies.
Let’s create a world where the need for abortion is rare. In the meantime, men should not ever get the final decision about women’s choices.” (dw)

#ProChoicePastor

My Not Very Lefty Attitude Toward Bush 41

My possibly controversial attitude toward the passing of President Bush. 

Full disclosure (and unless we met 10 minutes ago, you know this already): I am not a member of the Republican Party. I have never voted for a GOP candidate who was running opposed by a Democrat. I have only voted for Democratic presidential candidates (so far). I believe we need and deserve and can afford a strong social safety net. I believe war should be avoided whenever possible. I believe the government should try to protect the environment. I believe health care is a right, and higher education should be affordable. No person who works full time should ever be living below the poverty line. I am pro-choice (realizing that even “choice” implies privilege that not everyone has).  I am a person of faith and cherish the freedom of religion, AND, I am furious that “religious freedom” is misapplied and intentionally misunderstood to protect and promote a variety of prejudices and injustices. Reasonable gun safety legislation is desperately needed. I hold the radical view that LGBTQ citizens are entitled to equal protection and equal opportunity and are, in fact, fully human. And, the Reagan-era silence and apparent apathy in the face of AIDS was almost unforgivable, and certainly cost many lives. Had the sufferers not been largely gay folk, I honestly believe the response would have been swifter and more compassionate. So...you know, a hard right winger I ain’t. 

That being said, my own health and sanity depend on a level of grace, a measure of forgiveness, a need to see more than misdeeds when evaluating a human life, especially a life that was dedicated (in whatever flawed way) to public service. 

I do NOT share the ever so popular view that Reagan was a great leader. He was charming and patriotic and eloquent, and often, wrong. 

At this point in my life, I can say absolutely nothing positive about Donald Trump. I hope I grow to a point where I can one day say something good about him, but I find him to be the least qualified, least moral, and most dangerous person to occupy the WH in my lifetime. But I tire of hating him, and I do pray that I am or will evolve to the point of being able to pity him, forgive him (and those who enable him), and look to a future filled with hope.

I am more gracious when it comes to Bush 41. I did NOT vote for him. I AM aware of a series of things that I think he could have done better. I am also aware of things he did well. I believe his intention was to serve honorably. I am not excusing his mistakes or misjudgments, I’m simply not reducing his life to them. I know many of my friends and fellow liberals are outraged by him, but I’m so tired of hatred and rage and despair and regret...I am NOT chastising anyone who feels entitled to such feelings or who feels that such feelings are the only feelings available to them, but I am saying that for me, for my peace of mind, I have to be able to honor his service and let him depart this world with dignity and peace. No one has to share my view, but I hope those who don’t will understand that it is also a legitimate path. Our complex world offers very few all right vs. all wrong answers...we’re all just to trying our best to make meaning in the midst of chaos. 

I have personally been hurt, betrayed, insulted, deceived by people, and anger is natural. Trust is sometimes destroyed forever. But eventually, I find myself being willing to be willing to forgive...if only because the anger is too exhausting and I’m getting too old to haul it around all the time. If I can forgive, or try to forgive, or be willing to allow forgiveness to overtake me when it comes to people in my life who proved untrustworthy, then I can probably forgive well meaning, flawed, sometimes myopic political leaders who deal with pressures, challenges, and choices I will never face. That’s not a pass to all A-holes, but it is a declaration that at some point, I have to let the A-holes go so that they don’t continue to hurt me because I am keeping them active in my own head. 

I voted for Dukakis. I voted for Clinton. Bush 41 wasn’t my candidate, but he was my president.  And so to President Bush I can say, “Rest in peace.”  And that actually gives me some peace.

Prayers Make a Difference

So here’s a delightful observation I made yesterday (my birthday). 

Of course there were the copious wishes for a happy birthday (and it was happy, and the wishers of happiness certainly contributed to that fact!). There were also lots of prayers, affirmations, and blessings.  It reminded me of how tangible the energy of kindness is, how savory goodwill is, how delicious love is, and how intentions travel on currents of thought and feeling to actually touch and uplift those for whom they are offered. 

We all pray in different ways, but the methods are secondary to the intent. Good wishes, affirmations, invocations of hope, expressions of love, and requests made of a Universal Presence all contribute to something wonderful being shared in the world. So, I am grateful for the good wishes and blessings yesterday (and some have continued today...every day is a good day to offer a blessing) and for the reminder that prayers of every sort make a difference. Keep praying, y’all. Not just for me, but for whoever may cross you mind today. It’s good business!

God is here

When I don’t know “what” to pray but feel the NEED to pray, I simply whisper, “God is here.” When “God” seems like an almost arrogant or silly assumption that I know what can’t be known or understand what I in my finite human experience could not possibly understand, I replace “god” with “Hope” or “Compassion” or “Wisdom” or “Peace” or “Strength.” The Mystery beyond our naming is HERE. Somehow, that simple affirmation always comforts me. God, even God beyond God, is here. And, if God is here, God is also “there” because the infinite includes everything. So, if you are facing a struggle today, I am knowing that God (that great field of unlimited possibility to which the word “god” points) is there, with you. And so it is.

A Case for Prayer in these Difficult Days

A MESSAGE FROM SUNSHINE CATHEDRAL'S SENIOR MINISTER

Let us pray: 
Dear God,
may our souls be refreshed,
may our fears be relieved,
may our wounded hearts be comforted,
may our will to be agents of positive change be strengthened.
Renew our capacity for hope and let us know that better days are on the way. Give us the wisdom and the courage to help facilitate that very miracle.
Amen.

Dear Friends,

It is unfortunate that the phrase “thoughts and prayers” has become almost trite in its frequent use and is often seen to give those with responsibility some cover for not doing what they are meant to do. Some people have become antagonistic toward any mention of prayer because they feel it is a substitute for action.

But I know the power of prayer. In fact, the prayers of my heart have led to very meaningful action indeed. Of course, what God does for us God must do through us. Prayer isn’t a magical incantation that will spare us personal effort, but prayer can open our hearts and minds, renew our energy, broaden our perspective, and help us maintain hope.

Abraham Heschel wisely stated: “Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.”

Prayer can help us change for the better, and then we can help change things for the better.

We are assaulted daily by news reports of gun violence, broken treaties, the rise of nationalism, threats of war, racist demonstrations, and a seeming increase in callousness and cruelty. Honestly, it is exhausting. Sometimes, it’s terrifying.

Still, there are things we can do: we can vote and write Congress and support causes we believe in and speak out against injustice; we can even march and protest and demonstrate if our beliefs and passions call for such action. We ought to do what we can to be good stewards of the planet, helpers of the vulnerable, and allies to targeted and marginalized populations. In fact, our prophetic traditions and gospel witness demand that we love our neighbor, treat others as we would wish to be treated, defend the “widows and orphans” (all who face peril), and that we be generous with our resources.

What we also need to remember is that our faith-action is undergirded by the practice of prayer. Prayer soothes our souls so that we can then tend to parched fields. Prayer helps our hearts heal so that we can keep trying to heal our world. Prayer can fortify our will to do and be better so that we can repair what has been harmed in and among us.

There’s a lot of work to do, and there may be more discouraging news in the days ahead, but I say that prayer is one of our best tools to help keep us focused and optimistic. Our thoughts and prayers must be more than a slogan we toss around, because, as the bible tells us: the fervent and effectual prayers of righteous (committed, justice-seeking, compassionate) people avail much!

We are people of faith, and as such, we are people of prayer. Keep praying. Our prayers will sustain us in these uncertain days. As the old song says, “When nothing else could help, love lifted me.” The Love that God is, the Love that dwells within us, is what we contact and experience in moments of sincere prayer - and It will continue to lift us up.

Hear our prayers, O God.
Grant us hope.
Grant us peace.
Grant us justice.
Grant us the courage to be the answers to our prayers.
Grant us wisdom to do what is right so that we can be healers in our world.
Amen.

Lovingly shared,

Pastor Durrell

I’m a Minister, but By No Means a Puritan

A well meaning person (a relative actually) asked me an honest and heartfelt question on social media. He observes my sharing my life on social media (as one does) and he knows I’m a clergy person (he also knows that I’m gay but he didn’t bring that up). He wondered how it is that I, as faith leader, can swear and drink. He posted that question in response to something I shared (but did not write) that had a “four letter word” in it. Drinking was not mentioned in the post, but I suppose he has seen me posting at other times from bars, restaurants, parties, etc. A tea-totaler I am not. 

While his question struck me as having a tone of shame and blame, I nevertheless realized that my life doesn’t look austere or dour like a missionary character from an old movie. I haven’t taken a vow of celibacy, my legal spouse shares my gender identity, and I am often given the honor of being asked to make a toast at special events. My world is simply different from his, and I give him credit for asking a question. Here was my response to him:


If one begins with the assumption that spirituality is about what one is against or about what one must avoid or what one should condemn, then most clergy that I know will fall short of such Puritanical standards. But if clergy are voices for justice, builders of community, “peddlers of hope”, officiants of rites of passage, public intellectuals, and sharers of compassion in moments of need, then one won’t be to bothered by their swearing or enjoyment of cocktails or other “worldly” pleasures. In fact, it is possible that such outloud living is absolutely sacramental!

I’m an out and proud (non-celibate) gay man (a non-starter for most in the finger pointing, wrist slapping, glaring down their noses crowd). I am pro-choice, fought hard for marriage equality, am in favor of legalized marijuana, I believe war is rarely ever justified, humans are meant to be good stewards of the planet, we are to care for the poor, the sick, the refugee, and mostly, our spiritual traditions should encourage us to share joy, relieve suffering, work for justice, and empower people to live authentically.

I couldn’t care less how much one swears (as long as they do it well), who they have sex with (as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult and relationship covenants are honored), if people drink (unless they have an addiction, in which case, recovery programs are a god-send), or if they use the same vocabulary and texts and traditions that I do to discuss and honor the Sacred. The fundamentalism that was so prevalent in the world of my youth is not the tradition that I represent, but i do try to represent progressive spirituality as I understand and practice it as authentically and joyfully as possible.

I've Seen ( and experienced) Resurrection

Resurrection Narratives symbolize (for me) the possibility of renewal:

I’ve seen churches that were facing extinction experience a revival of passion and purpose and become thriving faith communities again.

I’ve seen people who were rejected by their families form new families of choice that were loving, functional, joyful, and life-giving.

I’ve seen people who were not the best parents get a second chance and prove themselves to be absolutely heroic grandparents.

I’ve seen old emotional wounds finally heal.

I’ve seen people who dropped out of school go back 50 years later and finish what they started.

I’ve seen people accomplish in wheelchairs more than they ever did when they had stronger bodies.

I’ve seen people face their addictions and live in freedom.

I’ve seen people outlive their prognoses by decades.

I’ve seen victims transform into survivors, and then into helpers who show others how to survive.

I’ve seen people come out and live in the powerful truth of their gender identity or their sexual orientation and realize that what they once thought of as a problem is in reality a great blessing.

I’ve seen people who had no self esteem come to believe that they are indeed God’s miracle and not God’s mistake!

#Resurrection #Renewal

Is the Bible Just a Bunch of Fairy Tales?

I am often asked if the bible is "just" a bunch of fairy tales or "just" some old stories. For a lover of stories, "just" seems misplaced. 

Religion is mythological. Myths are meant to help us get at truth, not facts. 

Bible stories, for me anyway, are allegories for life. I honestly couldn’t care less if not one thing in the Bible ever literally, factually happened...because in my experience, what the stories are trying to communicate are true and timeless and relevant for my life. I’m Joseph. I’m Jacob. I’m Mary. I’m Elizabeth. I’m Miriam. I’m Aaron. I’m Elijah. I’m Amos. I’m the serpent. I’m Eve. I’m Noah. I’m Peter. I’m Paul. I’m Stephen. Each story shows me who I am, or who I have been, or who I can be. Each story shows mistakes I’ve made or are likely to make. Each story shows me that redemption is possible, that I am more than what I currently know and more than what I’ve done so far. So, they are true for me, even if they are not factual (and, honestly, I doubt if many of them are entirely factual).

Remember the famous editorial in the 1897 Sun answering the question “Is there a Santa Claus?” When “Virginia” asks if Santa is real, the writer explains that what Santa represents (hope, generosity, kindness, goodwill, etc.) is very real and very much needed. “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” is the most remembered line from that piece. There isn’t a man living at the North Pole, flying with magic reindeer tossing presents under trees, but there is a human urge and need to care for others, to express love, to be generous...we need, and in our best moments believe in everything Santa is supposed to be. So, Santa is true, while not being factual. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Marcus Borg said there are three phases to faith development:

1. Precritical.
They sold it, we bought it. We accept the stories as they are, taking them as literal facts with no need to question them. This is how we start out.

2. Critical.

Things don’t make sense and we have a lot of questions. We start to not believe some of the stories. Walking on water? Lazarus coming to life after 4 days of decomposition? Abraham willing to slaughter his son? People in the desert being cured of snake venom by looking at a serpentine tchotchke? At the critical level, we start to call “bullshit.” [Of course Borg didn't say "B/S". The categories are his; the explanations of them in this piece are mine]

Most people get stuck at the first or second level. But Borg says there’s an important third. We have to go through 1 and 2 to get to #3, but 3 is the goal.

3. Post-critical.
That’s where we reclaim the stories and find new meaning and relevance in them. We don’t take them literally, but we no longer need to toss them out entirely. We read them and breathe new life into them and let them be free of the bondage of literalism and they become alive for us and fresh and exciting.


Sometimes people fear that expanding their understanding of and relationship to the bible is akin to giving up on God. One - don't worry about that. Two - we all give up old notions of God as we grow. We've all cast upon the garbage heap of life old gods (or understandings of the divine) that no longer serve us. Meister Eckhart wrote, “I pray God to make me free of God.” When God is presence and power and goodness and possibility rather than a person (with personality quirks), that may not be abandoning God as much as simply letting God be bigger for us...beyond description and images. Graven images of God are too limiting, that’s why the Decalogue discourages us from having them.

And what of the biblical Jesus? Was he a prophet? A teacher? Philosopher? Rebel? Social activist? Healer? Miracle worker? Revolutionary? Messiah? Divine being? Someone who lived so authentically into his humanity that people thought he must something more?

Jesus himself (in the story anyway) asks the important question: “Who do YOU say that I am?” Following Jesus, in my view, will include seeing Jesus differently over time. Relationships grow and evolve. If Jesus is going to have a primary place in my consciousness, then my understanding of him will probably change over time.  I don’t think we can get it wrong really, unless we stop trying. 

No wonder one is to work out one’s own salvation “with fear and trembling” (h/t the Apostle Paul)! It is a lot of work, and every question leads to more questions, and every answer must eventually be discarded or replaced or upgraded. But that’s the journey. That’s the faith walk. Doubting and questioning and wrestling and wondering...that’s the gig! And that’s what we see in scripture...people working out their stuff and sharing their journey in literary, symbolic, allegorical, metaphorical, mystical, mythical, tragic, comedic, political, ritualistic, poetic, clumsy, smooth, and courageous ways. 

Even if the characters aren’t real (and honestly, some aren't), the writers certainly were real, and the writers are using their characters to tell their stories and when we read and question them, we are adding our own. That’s the magic of scripture. Again, I don’t need one character to be historical in order for their stories to be relevant and powerful and life changing for me. 

Those of us who free ourselves of literalism find the Bible to be new and refreshing...offering something powerful with each new reading. It’s a conversation rather than a crystal ball, a builder’s tool rather than an anchor, an open door rather than a locked one.  So, maybe there was no Abraham. Almost certainly there was no global flood (there may have been a regional disaster). Of course Jonah didn’t live three days in a fish. Snakes and donkeys do not talk and never have. Virgins and 90 year old women don’t have babies. And the resurrection may be more about resurrecting hope and purpose and courage than about one body that was reanimated for a few weeks. AND...none of those “facts” change the truth that I find in each of those stories - truth that is applicable to my life, my journey, my faith. 

MLK Holiday Thoughts & Prayers

MLK Holiday Thoughts & Prayers

Jan. 15, 2018

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prophet of justice, a minister of grace, an orator, a scholar, and a defender of human dignity. He stood up to the evils of segregation. He resisted an unjust war. He advocated for those who worked hard and were paid too little. He stirred the conscience of a nation. He challenged a government as boldly as the Prophet Amos. He comforted the hurting as compassionately as the Prophet Isaiah. He offered healthy ways of expressing righteous indignation in the manner of Jesus. And he envisioned a new, loving, fair world where evil was forever defeated as vividly as John did on Patmos. And, like the prophets and disciples before him, King gave his life for the divinely inspired vision he offered the world. 

Inspired by such a noble example of human charisma, courage, and conviction, let us speak truth today and seek healing where it is needed in our society and in our souls.

On this Martin Luther King Memorial Holiday it would be wrong to ignore or deny the rise of fear, hatred, and unrepentant bigotry that often dominate our public discourse.

We who seek to follow Jesus must surely be heartbroken when we hear of proposed "Muslim bans" or hear entire nations (whose populations are largely non-white) disparaged by people in our national leadership. We must be all the more disturbed when we hear such reprehensible speech defended by pugnacious preachers of pernicious piety.

We who have been instructed to love our neighbors as ourselves must surely feel sickened when our Transgender neighbors (and friends and family members) are demonized and dehumanized.

We who rejoice in the words of Jesus, "Come unto me all who labor and are heavy burdened and I will refresh you" must be overwhelmed with regret when we hear women time after time tell about their experiences of being threatened, mistreated, and assaulted. We must feel something close to outrage when their credible stories are dismissed and their assailants are rewarded with power and privilege.

We who pray weekly (if not daily), "Thy will be done" must surely wish for more to be done to help the inhabitants of St. Thomas and Puerto Rico who still struggle following the seasonal hurricanes.

And we who venerate the Prince of Peace must gasp in horror when threats of nuclear disaster become part of daily conversation.

So much healing is needed, and today is a good day to ask for God's grace and guidance. In the name of Martin, and in the name of Jesus whose way and witness inspired him, let us acknowledge the forces of oppression, pray for healing, and vow to resist injustice as Jesus the Christ did, as Martin the Apostle of Civil Rights did.

Let us pray:

Dear God,

     We acknowledge the sin of racism today. Lord have mercy.

     We admit that we have done too little to heal the wounds of xenophobia. Lord have mercy.

     We confess that we have not done enough to end poverty and to care for those who are poor. Lord have mercy.

     We acknowledge that we have not insisted strongly enough that women's sovereignty over their own bodies be respected. Lord have mercy.

     We admit that we have not done all that needs to be done to protect the rights of LGBTQ people. Lord have mercy.

     We confess that we must do more to defend the dignity of the aging. Lord have mercy.

     We acknowledge that we have not always been good stewards of the earth. Lord have mercy.

     We admit that we have rushed too often to war and have done too little to promote peaceful coexistence. Lord have mercy.

     We confess that love of money, power, privilege, or the comfort of the status quo has lulled us into acceptance of possible tyranny, especially when we thought we might not be the victims of it. Lord have mercy.

     God heal our brokenness.

     May love and hope unite us.

     May peace attend us.

     May we remember our divine inheritance and our sacred mission, and may we live more faithfully into our calling to live as if we were ONE (as in Truth, we are).

     Amen.

Yours in shared mission and ministry,

 

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister 

 "Let justice roll on like a river, 

righteousness like a never-failing stream!" 

Amos 5.25 

(NIV)