“…[F]or I was hungry and you gave me food…
(Matthew 25: 35)

Elizabeth of Hungary
Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB

Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal)
Mill Valley, CA USA
November 19, 2008

Tobit 12:6b-9
Matthew 25: 31-40


In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As one report of Elizabeth of Hungary’s good works, “During a famine she generously distributed all the grain from her stocks, cared for lepers in one of the hospitals she established, kissed their hands and feet. For the benefit of the indigent she provided suitable lodging.”

This Holy woman, whose Feast Day is today in the Episcopal Church, was a remarkable woman of religious faith, relationship to God in Christ, and someone who in her exemplary Christian life helped the poor, the widow, the misbegotten.

Our reading from Matthew in the Gospel this day accurately provides an insight into her character and Christ-like living. Note that this stalwart woman who had remarkable endurance in faith, lived in the 13th Century and died at the early age of 24.

Some words from Matthew, telling of Christ’s teachings:

“…[F]or I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 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.” That from Matthew 25: 35-36.

Married at 14 to royalty, husband dead at 20, Elizabeth had already begun her work with the poor and needy. Her husband, also venerated for his service to the poor, supported her in her religious work. As a widow, the work became the greater, and with three children she continued her devotion, becoming even more devout and holy. God was calling her; she responded. This we know. Elizabeth of Hungary said “yes” to the Lord.

As she gave most of what she had to the needs of the poor, and she had much as a royal person, her family became alarmed and threw her out. She was even left homeless with three children, and out in the cold, literally. At one point, as a story goes, Elizabeth was confronted by irate family members who said she was spending their money and giving away their food. Thinking she was carrying money to the poor, they demanded she open her arms and show what she was “hiding.” As the tale goes, she opened her arms, and pressed against her body was a bouquet of roses. So beautiful. The tale lives with her special service to God, and indicates her favor by Him and her goodness. A miracle is what people consider the story of the roses.

Sometimes it is necessary to select an entire Psalm for a homily. So I think.

I am doing so, because it neatly describes this Godly woman. Here it is, the alternate Psalm for reading today:

Psalm 112 is from the New Standard Revised Version of the Bible. I’ll comment on her life as I read the lines.

Praise the Lord!

(And she did so, in heart and deed.)

Happy are those who fear
The Lord.

(Did God not call her, and give her trials as well as rewards?)

Who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty
In the land;

(Elizabeth studied under a strict spiritual director, and later in her young life became a Third Order Franciscan. She was a patron of the Franciscan Order, and they are her spiritual descendants, in a way of exemplary--Christ centered living.)

the generation of the upright
will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their
Houses,
And their righteousness endures
Forever.

(We remember Elizabeth eight Centuries later. Surely she is an inspiration, and the Church memorializes her for she was a righteous person who helps us come to Christ, and know what God wants of us. In our own Church of Our Saviour we engage in acts of charity and mercy, helping the poor and needy. One indication of this is our outreach through cooperative, Ecumenical service by feeding the homeless once a month in concert with our neighbor Catholic Church, Mt. Carmel.)

They rise in the darkness as a light
For the upright;
They are gracious, merciful, and
Righteous.
It is well with those who deal
Generously and lend.

(This woman of trials, banished by family among others, driven from her home city, lived a life of joy and service. Somehow this mystery of God’s joy is difficult to fathom. But we find evidence of it time and time again.)

who conduct their affairs with
justice.
For the righteous will never
Be moved;
They will be remembered
Forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
Their hearts are firm, secure
In the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will
Not be afraid.

(Elizabeth, young, unafraid, steady in her faith, gave succor to so many, and was a self-sacrificing woman who began living a life of Holy denial. Sometimes it is missed that this remarkable woman as widow raised three children as she did Holy works. Elizabeth was a mother.)

in the end they will look in
triumph on their foes.

(We do believe that good prevails and that our God is on the side of good, that Christ is merciful, generous, forgiving, and loves man and woman, all of creation. We as a Parish participate in our own acts of service and needs of our neighbor as a moral religious community, who believes that our fellow humankind are part of creation. Even the poor, the misbegotten, the widow and alone, or orphan more than deserve our help, but require it.)

They have distributed freely, they
Have given to the poor;
Their righteousness endures
Forever;
Their horn is exalted in honor.

(This day we remember Elizabeth of Hungry, and we join in Eucharist together as part of our Feast Day in celebration. Thanks be to God.)

The wicked see it and are angry;
They gnash their teeth and melt
Away;
The desire of the wicked comes
To nothing.

Here ends the reading and lesson.



The Psalm is both beautiful and instructive. As I say, it does describe and illustrate the life and work of Elizabeth so well.

As you know from what we’ve been talking about, Elizabeth was a young widow. She is considered a patroness of widows. Here are two famous prayers in her name. I will say them for you.

Prayers to St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Patroness of Widows and widowers
feast day: November 17

Dear Saint Elizabeth, you were always poor in spirit, most generous toward the poor, faithful to your husband, and fully consecrated to your Divine Bridegroom. Grant your help to widows and widowers and keep them faithful to their heavenly Lord. Teach them how to cope with their loss and to make use of their time in the service of God. Amen.

Prayer of Widows and Widowers

Lord Jesus Christ, during your earthly life You showed compassion on those who had lost a loved one. Turn your compassionate eyes on me in my sorrow
over the loss of my life's partner. Take him/her into your heavenly kingdom as a reward for his/her earthly service.
Help me to cope with my loss by relying on You even more than before.
Teach me to adapt to the new conditions of my life and to continue doing
your will as I see it. Enable me to avoid withdrawing from life
and make me give myself to others more readily, so that I may continue to live in your grace and to do the tasks that You have laid out for me. Amen.

What to add about this exceptional woman. We praise her.

Thank you for being here on this Feast Day.

Amen.


--Peter Menkin, Pentecost 2008






(Appx. 1330 words)

Obama Leaves Church
an article
by Peter Menkin

Written for the website Religious Intelligence in London ( http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/ ), as assigned by their editor Mr. Colin Blakely, but never published, here is my article "Obama Leaves Church." This is as it was submitted to the editor:


Obama leaves his Church

By Peter Menkin

06/18/08

Considered a man of faith, Barack Obama, the American running for nomination for President of the United States, has left his Church. For reasons of political controversy due to its pastor, The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Senator Obama left membership in Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC), Chicago, Illinois after 20 years. (The church website proclaims: “We are a congregation which is unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian...”)

Trinity United Church of Christ occupies a tan brick building on West 95th Street across railroad tracks from a public housing project, reports The Christian Science Monitor.

The Senator said about leaving, “Too much press harassment, people couldn’t’ worship in peace.” That wasn’t his reason for leaving, but a complaint on the news media attention. The reason were politically controversial remarks by Trinity’s pastor, Reverend Wright.

Wright's comments contradicted one of Obama’s campaign's central messages -- that the candidate can transcend past divisions such as those involving race.

The impediment to the African-American’s campaign is highlighted by Wright’s widely reported sermon remark: “God Damn America” (for its racism}, and blaming the September 11 terrorist attacks on US foreign policy. He has also blamed the U.S. government for the spread of the AIDS virus. Mostly, Wright is seen as anti-white and a racist.

On Bill Moyers Journal, Wright says we are unashamedly Black. His philosophy embodies, “Use the culture of which we are a part.” He preaches there is hope, that life has meaning, and that God is still in control. “We can change. We can do better.” Black Liberation theology is Wright’s UCC message. It is a UCC message he offers, since he is a UCC minister who studied under Martin Marty. Martin E. Marty, distinguished Lutheran Pastor, teacher, and writer who has been on the University of Chicago faculty since 1963.

Grounded in the history of the African-American, Black theology is powerful stuff. He is little sorry about his comments, but in Bill Moyer’s interview, Reverend Wright does appear sorry he made the comment “God damn America” in the Pulpit—if only for a few moments. But it wasn’t one remark, but a string of them that caused the significant distancing between the candidate’s spiritual advisor and candidate.

The press in the United States spends a lot of time and space talking about Senator Obama’s faith, his church, and how he is a Christian—the Senator says he is Christian himself, and that is also news. Religion in the campaign makes news, despite separation of Church and State
. Time magazine says more voters see Senator Obama as a strongly religious person than they do every major presidential hopeful but Mitt Romney, the Republican former governor of Massachusetts. Romney’s Mormonism drew extensive news coverage.

U.S. Senator Obama was married in Trinity church. His children were baptized in the church, and also like the wedding, Reverend Wright performed the solemnizations. The Senator said on leaving the church, “Trinity was where I found Jesus Christ, where we were married, where our children were baptized. We have many friends among the 8,000 members…” It is a church where he was moved many times. When Wright preached one Sunday about the sustaining power of hope in the face of poverty and despair, Obama says he found himself in tears.

He says in one speech:


* “For one thing, I believed and still believe in the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change… Because of its past, the black church understands in an intimate way the Biblical call to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and challenge powers and principalities. And in its historical struggles for freedom and the rights of man, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world. As a source of hope.”


It is the claim of Reverend Jeremiah Wright that Trinity is a church of Black theology. The Reverend Doctor John Cone, the Harvard Professor and African-American theologian interviewed on American Public Broadcasting System (PBS) by commentator Bill Moyers says on the PBS website:


* “As we examine what contemporary theologians are saying, we find that they are silent about the enslaved condition of black people. Evidently they see no relationship between black slavery and the Christian gospel. Consequently there has been no sharp confrontation of the gospel with white racism. There is, then, a desperate need for a black theology, a theology whose sole purpose is to apply the freeing power of the gospel to black people under white oppression.”

Cone says:


* The Cross is the same as the lynching tree for the Black American in a Harvard Speech. The Christian Reverend Cone wants to start a conversation on this subject. He offers that lynching was terrorism that “worked to a certain degree.” This includes spectacle lynchings where 5,000 would gather to watch.

* Religion is one place where you have an imagination that no one can control.” Black Churches are a place of the spirit… (even though you are living under the shadow of the lynching tree).” … There were 246 years of slavery, and 100 years of segregation and lynching.

* America does not see itself as “not innocent,” according to Cone. “No human being is innocent.”


Reverend Cone is ordained in the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. which is one of the city's largest black churches and not far from Obama's home in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park.

Apparently the Democratic candidate for his party’s nomination is not turning his back on Black theology, per se, since Sunday, June 15, 2008 he spoke from the pulpit at that same mega-church in Chicago, which has 20,000 members and is also considered a Black American church.

It is the history of the African American church in the United States that it is a center of Black community life speaking to the needs of the church and larger community in social and political ways. But not in so partisan a manner as was recently ascribed to the theology and preaching of the Reverend Wright. So the perception became. But he still associates himself with the African American church in general.

Senator Obama spoke of the role of Black fathers and their responsibilities, perhaps more a campaign speech than sermon from a “religious” man whose campaign motto is “Change That Works for You.” After all, he is running for President of the United States—or its Democratic Party nomination more accurately. He gave his talk from the pulpit of the “20,000-member Apostolic Church of God…a short walk from the Obamas’ home. The church’s pastor, Byron Brazier, is an Obama supporter,” reports The New York Times.

It is from the Black Church that Senator Obama learned many things about hope. Can he really take himself out of the African-American church ethos, as he has known it? Perhaps the Reverend Wright thinks not, though he is not saying. His official press release remark on Senator Obama and his family’s leaving was, “…We are saddened by the news …”

END IT

(Appx. 1100 words)

Unfolding in the Silence & Sound

by Peter Menkin

Inside the church there is a fire

burning in hearts, a seduction

that opens us to heaven. This is Spirit.

We respond to find Him.
Nothing

but music, voices raised

in hymn--sublime.

Can anything separate us

from the firm foundation?

Christ Jesus.

Heavenly voices sent a sound,

today the songs sang again,

among mortals taking refuge

in eternity Rock of Ages.

Set like a seal on the heart,

endeavor, be healed,

stand upheld--are among

many words

uplifted.

Church is a place of memories

and the living day.

The I Am of the minutes engage

a love strong as Death: unquenchable.

Some words as a poem that say Evening Prayer is a comfort and comforting...

Evening Prayer is practiced in the Church I attend, and I find it an intimate way of worship. Some people call this time of prayer The Office, or the Work of God. In my poem you'll find the statement that it is both a comfort, and comforting.

"Comfort in Evening Prayer"
by Peter Menkin

The familiar Church is open,

and a regular comes to Evening Prayer:

delicious, memorable ways,

words that comfort.

Comfortable words bring

the sense of God.

We offer together"yes".

In their homes, others hear

the silence of the hour,

not knowing yet knowing.

United in prayer, many say

the Office in solitude.

"Seek him who made the Pleiades

and Orion."

Another in the series of fictional people who attend Church...also a note on Communion and children

In the event you have questions or suggestions, like "I would like to know more about this fictional person who attends Church," let me know. I posted this poem on a writer's workshop web site called Frugal Poet. The comment I received, from a poet named Sarah, suggested I fill out this brief poem with more details: color of hair, eyes, does she always sit in the same row, does she take communion. Of course, I am thinking of Sarah's suggestions, but for now this is the poem in its brief form:

Regular Church Goer...
by Peter Menkin

By her quiet
dignity
the elderly widow
is known; her
presence strong
each Sunday.

Some people go
to Church regularly. She
for sixty years.
Same Church.

In her silence,
and in her affection
for others,
one finds a warmth,
uncommon.











Some words about Children and Communion--Note about babies in Church (with their mother and father). Sometimes mothers bring their children to Church on Sunday, and if they are good they stay in the pew. If the baby gets cranky, and cries, the mother can bring the child to a room that has windows to see the Church, so they can see whatis going on at the Altar. The room is also for small children. All can hear what is said, at the Altar, through a speaker system. There is a door to this somewhat larger than small room.

Regarding Communion, we at the Church I attend have a policy towards children taking Communion. Many times I've seen a mother bring her baby to the Communion rail and the minister will dip his pinky in the wine and give some to the baby. Usually, though, children come to Communion at the front of the Church, but they don't take wine or bread. It isn't forbidden to take from the cup or eat the bread, but some don't understand it enough (most perhaps don't), and many are not allowed to take Communion by their parents. Frequently, the child will fold his or her arms, which means they won't take the bread and wine but do want a blessing.

We allow the taking of Communion by children because we believe there is something good about the Communion itself. Communion wine and bread is offered, not denied a child, irregardless of age in the event they are interested in participating. We know some are playing.

Reflection in August, 2000 about visiting the Clock by the Square...

The Clock by the square...(2000)
by Peter Menkin

By the clock in the square, across the way,
where lunch was taken at the Bus Stop Cafe, and children
Played by parents on the brick pattern square
Where are the happy people in the sunlight?
I stayed for a while on return from Church.
Outside the open tables in the downtown park:

The peaceful August scene was ordinary With pangs of growing in American study
To offer a community picture in clarity energetic.
From time to time I noticed
the remembrance of my father's death--engaged
me in a valley of sorrows.

These were among the enlarging elements,
the healthy business of a SundayMorning to and from Church, where
we stand in prayer and patience
To enjoin the mystery of binding celebration.
This pastoral telling is the week's recitation.
How we come for strength, as well as solace

Through the roads and walkways festooned
With morning strollers and boulevard company--Below
the mountain and the redwoods.
To discover the commonality of our differences,
That meld to the spiritual necessity.
Thank you for a few kind words.

We've taken time to know we are but grass.
A passing thing, even as the great leviathan
Or the moving wave to shore will
Grant the expansion of energy and time
In the waiting upon the Almighty these that
are a solemnity of intelligent vigor, spiced
With happiness and tasted with the everlasting
That touches us in this friendly universe.

What that I could grasp You, enraptured
With others, even strangers, desiring
to Know in the communion of the body.
What did, what do, what share we this day.
We have as Congregants the assembled prayer we

To entrust ourselves to immortalities.
To recognize and practice the word of God,
no idle tale, to
"avoid the unprofitable maze,"
coming to a sacrifice of praise

As a celebration on the morning these
The days of our lives. So endeavor we,
finding humility this morning.

Imaginary People in the imaginary Church--poems...

My file name for this small set of poems, fictitious Church attendees, reads "People for blog poems." This unusual construct leads the reader to recognize that these are imaginary Church people, people-ing my Church. Any similarities are in the mind of the reader, should you know these people.

The first poem is about a man who prays, in fact yearns for gifts from God to grant him the ability to read the scriptures, and asks for the blessing of the presence of the Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit will become a part of his life.

I found this to be happily in accord with one of the many definitions by Rowan Williams in his essay"Word and Spirit" in the book "Christian Theology," a collection of his writings. He says this: "We can recognize perhaps more clearly the disturbing confusion of theological language in the New Testament under the pressure of the figure of the crucified Messiah: we can accept more readily the breaking of certain kinds of sacral barrier, so that 'Spirit' ceases to be confined to the extraordinary but becomes a qualificantion of Christian human being." There isn't room in this entry form for more on the poems. So, here they are:

A Man Finds He Yearns for God, the Word
by Peter Menkin

Shall I be personal
about it.
He said, "I have begged
the holy spirit..."Lead me in reading
the Bible."
He said, "I have implored
the spirit of truth..."Reveal to me the Word
of God in the Bible.
I yearn, was this man's
truth.to live the life--so it is called. The promise
goes,
He said, "I want to have
this language
in my heart,
in my mind,on my lips."Is this an earnestness?
A need?
He says, "yearn."God chooses us
first.
Then we go to his
call.










Devotion to the Cross...
By Peter Menkin

The Kingdom of heaven
is like
a mustard seed.
So this parable
leads these two
worshipers to seek
their treasure in God.

Their emotions for the
cross, they carry,
not so evident. No
displays in public, one
wouldn't know
this couple's devotion.

The cross: thing of torture,ignomious end, horrible
death, mean judgment;
their lives embrace eventhis part of living.
Gaining a meaning from
Christ,
saying "yes" in worship.
By attendance
a statement for living
their lives.

So startling large
looms faith.The couple kneel
with bowed head.











The Doctor who asks God...
By Peter Menkin

Dr. P., medical
researcher,
prays questionsto God.
On Sundays he wears
a suit, brings his family,
and sits in the same pew.

A tall man, quiet,
he wonders, queryingt
he Lord with the needs
of his searching mind.

When it comes to Church,
he knows few things
besides the catechism,
which he teaches. Most
of what he know
he learns from his talks
with God.

In the morning, he
and his wife
sing with their small
children before school,
in a circle. This
is preparation for prayer
these days.

So startling large
looms faith.
The couple kneel
with bowed head.






Mother and Baby Feel the Call...
By Peter Menkin

Young mother
with five month old
baby comes to Church,
happy to be present.

There is something special
in the series of words,
the kindness of liturgy,
the hour of the Sunday.

The baby is taken
to the heart of the time,
the community rises in prayer,
"Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed by thy name..."

"This simple act brings
life and people into the place
"Here's the church, here'sthe steeple,
here are all
the people" goes the rhyme.

Mother's with children,
like this young woman,
in her 20s, some older
are shining with hope.

Better life with Christ,
moral teaching, ethical
exposure,

mystery of the communion? These
thoughts fail to tell
of the spirit
of God.

Some are called;
they bring their baby
as does she.






Mr. de Wolf's hope...
by Peter Menkin

Something awakened
his heart,
becoming inner chamber,
place of prayer.

Who could know, even
when it occurred
aware of this--striving with the spirit,
not striving with the spirit.

How could one know?
Mr. de Wolf became
a knowing man of prayer
in Church. Later he
reflects, that was







Quietly Devoted in the Mystery...
By Peter Menkin

Neatly dressed
in tailored suit, she
takes the Eucharist:

"The blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Keep you
in Eternal Life.
"Quietly so, she prays,
something uniquely
fervent in her practice,
giving a dignity
and good humor shared
with others.

Church is a regular Sunday time, with Christ,
and we are together
in communion, raised
hearts by hymn and liturgy
imploring a meeting
in the spirit. She shares,

as we all, in the mystery
of the words and music.
There is work of devotion
in her life. Was she one

of those who wait in vigil
before Easter?
At home,
quietly devoted, still.







Long Journey in the Seasons...
By Peter Menkin

T.J. is old,
perhaps 85; she
arrives early to Church
with an attendant.
Blue eyes hopeful.

Infirm, but willing,
what brings her every
Sundayto worship?
Some of it:

can she make it,
did a demon pursue
the Doctor in her youth?
Does she wish
for everlasting life?

The answer is probably
she believes in the Triune God,
wishes to worship
long as she can
in the Church.

The old hold secrets
even to the almost so old,
making us observe
her studied presence.
Many years in following
the seasons havegone by.
T.J. continues
the journey.







These days are good...
by Peter Menkin

He noted the weather,
September comes
to this year. Cooler
temperatures. Peter
grew older, a little,

and he fixed the driveway
of his home. Quiet life.
Sunday, yesterday, was
good. The ritual and words
a comfort. The talk

with friends at Church,warming.
There are the good things
accompanying him these
days. A grandchild,
the peace of prayer

and afterward. So he leaves
after religious services
with his wife. Lucky man
these days.

A kindness has come
into his life. From
years of attending Church,
he thinks. Good thoughts.







Widower in Church
by Peter Menkin

Smallman, ex-marine
always every Sunday
in Church.
Doing
this and that,
lighting candles and etc.in Church.He

an architect doesn't
appear to be a religious man,
even in Church.
Prays
so you couldn't tell,
casual in summer shirt,
in Church.

Warm
man and widower,
he asks is his wife in Hell?

Ever
dutiful in his service
he goes on with God
in Church.