What happened to tolerance? To embracing difference? To the Golden rule? To Love?
When did we become such a me first, I’m the best, we’re the greatest, supersize it, it’s huuuuuge culture? When did bigger and louder become synonymous with the best? And when did being the best go from being the result of hard work to the result of knocking those around us down? Demeaning them in an effort to build ourselves up? Hating more and Loving less? Somewhere we have lost our way, somewhere we’ve become driven by fear instead of hope, hate instead of love.
Perhaps it’s where we find our culture today that leads to the “make the disciples great for eternity” tone of James and John in this morning’s reading from Mark’s gospel, so jarring.
But I really don’t think James and John were that narcissistic…I think they were that unmoored and terrified by what was happening in their world.
In the previous few verses of Mark’s gospel, verses that lead us to our excerpt for this morning, Jesus predicts his death three times.
The boys are freaked out and who can blame them? It’s a lot easier to be full of bravado when standing in the broad shadow of Jesus, it’s a whole other thing to think about carrying on without him physically leading the way.
They’re scared. Their world is being turned upside down and inside out. And they’re desperate to make sure they’ll have a place at the table when it all comes crashing down. They’re afraid. And fear makes us do all sorts of unattractive and destructive things.
I think this is why all this “Make us Great Again, I am right and anyone who says I’m wrong is lying, fake, weak, and worthless” rhetoric has gained a foothold in our world today. We’re scared.
And when scared we become insular and reactive. When we become insular and reactive we jockey for some position of false security--- James and John looking for power in paradise ---and in our own time letting the slogans of a separatist, dog eat dog, the only way to get ahead is to knock others down movement become the narrative of our country.
Today’s American narrative is the same narrative as the Roman Empire in the time of Jesus. The Haves will do anything to ensure that the Have Nots remain separated, shut down, and silenced.
Why? Because change is terrifying. The unfamiliar is threatening, the new is not to be trusted.
But, and this is what Jesus is teaching us, it’s what Mary Oliver is reflecting in her poetry, it’s what I’m sure Matt preaches week in and week out.
The way of Christ, the way of faith is a way of Love.
Which is great. But, Love isn’t exactly predictable. Love has a tendency to cause us to do things we never thought we could or would do. Love has a tendency to open our hearts to compassion and sensitivity unlike anything else in our lives. Love makes us the best version of ourselves. But love is also wild and unpredictable and untamed. Love, when set loose, turns our world upside down and inside out.
To trust such an out of control, unpredictable emotion goes against our human desire for control.
But, when we do trust it we become eneveloped in the perfection of God.
You see, when we walk the way of love, when we follow the teachings of Jesus we will defeat the powers of darkness and evil in our world.
What Jesus is challenging James and John with what Jesus is challenging us with today is this:
Can we move forward in Love?
Many of us want to counteract the hateful narrative of our national discourse by screaming louder, by marching farther, by beating the ruling class at their own game.
When will we learn?
Shouting louder never works.
An eye for an eye never works.
Violence never works.
Intolerance never works.
There is only one thing that works.
Love.
The Bishop of West Louisiana, Jake Owensby says it this way:
“We struggle to get our hearts around this way of living. That’s not surprising. Jesus’s first disciples didn’t exactly catch on all at once, either. James and John wanted to be at the head of the table. You know, higher up than everybody else. Jesus had good news for them and bad news for them. Nobody would have a higher place at the table than them. But, then again, their place would be no higher than anybody else’s. The table, as it turns out, is round.”
Often when someone came to Jesus to ask a tough question or to plead for his help, we’re told that Jesus looked at them and loved them. He didn’t yell at them or dismiss them or belittle them or even lecture them. He loved them.
Right now in our world we have hate and fear and intolerance staring us in the eye. We can battle back with our own version of hate and fear and intolerance or we can learn from our teacher and stare back with Love.
God’s love, Jesus’ love restores, renews, and remakes this violent, prejudiced and greedy world into a place of peace and equity and safety for all.
And it does it through us: one kind, peaceful, respectful and above all else, loving act at a time.
May we go out into the world staring down the fear and intolerance looking back at us with the love of our Creator as given to us through our teacher of all things, Jesus Christ. For when we do that, this world, our world, will become like the rose in Mary Oliver’s poem never knowing and therefore never being influenced by fear. Amen.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
“Receive God’s Love or Try and Thread that Camel through the Eye of a Needle. Your Choice” Oct. 14, 2018 St Luke’s
+ Have you ever thought about how we receive communion? We come forward, often smiling at friends we pass along the way, then we either kneel or stand at the rail and stretch out our hands, palms up, ready to receive the body of Christ and the cup of salvation. Ready to receive God’s Love given to us as God’s only begotten Son. Ready to accept this amazing gift...
Now imagine for a moment that you came forward to receive communion with clenched hands and a closed mouth? I tell you, it would be easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for us to receive the gifts of God through clenched teeth, closed hands and hardened hearts.
You see, although God is deeply invested in who we are, we cannot receive God’s gift of never-ending Love unless we are open, receptive and willing to let go of everything that keeps us clenched and closed and clouded over: the stuff of our lives. To accept God’s love, we must be willing to let go of everything that keeps us closed and distracted and afraid.
Everything. Because without open-ness and willingness, we can't fully receive God; without open-ness and willingness the Gifts of God will fall to the floor, discarded, unused, and unappreciated.
“Jesus said, ‘You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.’ ”
What Jesus is saying to us in this morning’s parable of the Rich Man is that God’s investment in us can only bear fruit if we in turn are invested more in God than in the stuff that binds us.
Because to completely turn our life over to God, to completely believe all that Jesus is saying, to be willing to live as God wants us to live, we must discard all that stands in our way and invest our hearts and our minds and our souls in that which does matter---loving God and loving our neighbor which, in turn, results in us loving ourselves in a way that isn’t egotistical or selfish, but true and genuine and God-given.
Now hear me clearly—Jesus isn’t telling us to become destitute, he’s not saying that having stuff---even being wealthy--- is BAD, He’s saying that when we allow the stuff of life—our material possessions, our petty jealousies, our worries, our fears, to get in the way of God’s love for us, we’re unable to invest in the life God intends for us.
Jesus is saying, open those hands, unclench those teeth and let me in.
Jesus is telling us that what stands in the way of our spiritual health, are our attachments.
To make his point Jesus references the material attachments the man had---his stuff--- But if you read more carefully, Jesus isn’t suggesting a pauper’s existence but rather a life of richness, abundance, and love. That is, a life that begins and ends and dwells in God. A life where we remember that all Love flows from God. That our love of spouse, parents, children, friends, fellow parishioners all comes from God. Jesus wants us to remember that to fully receive the love that surpasses all understanding we must be open, willing, and eager to receive it, to live a God-infused life. To do that, we must be free. And the only way to be free to do the investing we need to do in the gifts God has given us, is to trust God.
Which is precisely Jesus’ point.
Those things that close us up and shut us down, these are the things that keep us from entering the fullness of God’s Love.
When our fear of scarcity takes center stage, we block out God.
God’s love is abundant, it's expansive, it's never ending and it’s available to all of us, all the time, no matter what.
We just have to be open and attentive enough to let God in and be invested in where that love can take us.
As St. Luke’s continues to be a place of welcome for all people, all the time, no exceptions, as St Luke’s becomes more and more of a leader in this community and this region, St Luke’s needs as many of you to let go of all those things that hold you back so that you can be open to the grace and wonder and joy of God that moves in and through and out of this place.
October marks the beginning stewardship campaigns across the church. It's when rectors and stewardship committees try to come up with just the right catch phrase and theme to garner the greatest investment of people’s time, talent and treasure.
I asked Luke about the stewardship campaign here at St Luke’s and he said, it’s about opening up space for people to realize and invest in what really matters. For it’s when we realize—really realize---what matters to us that our hearts and our souls are broken wide open, letting all that God offers us, room to roam.
My wish for you, the wonderful people who are St Luke’s Jamestown is that this year you give out of your gratitude, not out of some misplaced guilt. That you give back to this community which has soothed you, supported you, loved you, infuriated you and frustrated you not because you should, but because you want too.
This year I pray you’ll act as Jesus has taught us: detaching from all the things that stand in your way and with open hands and unclenched teeth, welcome the outlandish Love from which all other love flows: God. I believe that if you do this---if you invest in this crazy dream that God has for our world—miracles, like camels squeezing through the eye of a needle, will continue to unfold among you. Amen.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Proper 22 Yr B St Martin’s Grand Island God’s Listening? Are we Talking?
+“Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
For us to fully and truly be who it is God created us to be, for us to be the followers of Jesus Jesus wants us to be, we must receive the glory and wonder and grace of God----with as much excitement, as much innocence as a child who is reaching out for a hug.
As a matter of fact, I encourage all of us, when we consider presenting ourselves to God to remember that God sees us as little children and that when we pray, God receives us just as we receive a small child who runs towards us, arms outstretched. We open our arms to receive the fullness of their being, whether it’s sobs of fear, shouts of glee or cries of pain, we wrap them in our arms and soothe them with all our might. This is exactly what God does whenever we engage God.
The trick is. The problem is. The issue is….engaging God. You see, we just don’t reach out to God nearly enough. So many of us put caveats on our prayer life---"I’m not worthy enough, God doesn’t want to hear my petty concerns, God has bigger fish to fry.” Right? WRONG.
Listen to this morning’s collect again:
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask.
God is ALWAYS more ready to hear than we are to pray.
In other words, whenever we pray, whenever we reach out to God…no matter how long it’s been since we’ve reached out…God is ready, willing, eager to receive our prayer…regardless of what we’ve done or left undone. No Matter What.
At the end of the day, God is ready to receive all of it from us including, as our Collect states,
“those things of which our conscience is afraid.” The level of our heartache, the depth of our difficulty, the breadth of our mistakes will never diminish the complete, thorough, perfect Love of God. Be not afraid Jesus says throughout the Gospels. Do not be afraid, I will not turn away from you.
And you know what? He didn’t, he hasn’t and he won’t.
In this morning’s Gospel, as Jesus welcomes the children who ae clamoring for him Jesus is telling the disciples, the Pharisees and everyone within earshot---including us--- “all my Father wants, all the Creator of all things wants is…. You. Warts, doubts, worries, joys, hopes, dreams and all.”
God wants us.
On this first Sunday after Fr. Earle’s retirement. On this last Sunday before the Bishop and I entrust you to the weekly care and concern of Fr. Chris, the message I have for you is this:
All is well. God hasn’t blessed this place because of Fr. Earle. Nor is God blessing us today because of the Bishop or me, nor will God bless you next Sunday because Fr. Chris is standing in this pulpit, no God’s blessing is poured upon us because this is what God does…this is what God wants….this is what God longs for….
To be in a wondrous, honest, ongoing and glorious relationship with us.
God wants to hear from you, God wants to walk with you, God wants to sit with you. God wants to be with you. Even when it feels weird, or scary, or different because Earle isn’t here. Earle and Paula have taken their leave of this place because it was time.
For them and for you.
No matter how wrong that may feel, no matter how scary it may seem, no matter how unsure you may all feel---change is here and a new day has dawned.This morning my great neohew awakened his grandfather VERY early by patting his Buppy’s cheek and saying, “Buppy, it’s a new day, wake up and watch the sunrise with me.”
Friends It’s New Day, A Bright Dawn—get up, God has some stuff in store for you! All of it may not be joyful, all of it won’t be easy, some of it will be tough, some of it will wonderful, some of it will be astounding and all of it will take you from where you are right now, to where it is the Holy Spirit is calling you to go.
And how do you find out where it is the Holy Spirit is leading? How do you discern God’s will for you at this time and in this place? How do you know if what you are doing is “right?”
Well, it’s right there in the Collect I mentioned before:
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask….
Folks:
Pray whenever, where ever, however. God doesn’t care how we do it, God just wants us to do it. For when we pray God listens. When we pray, it’s just us and God. It’s just us, arms outstretched running toward the One who never thinks we’re too messy, too confused, too full of doubt, too angry, too scared, too lost, too ANYTHING, to not be welcomed into the presence of the One who simply loves us more than we can ever imagine.
Let us pray:
Holy God of All, I present to you the people of St Martin’s: faithful followers who want only to do your will. Open their hearts and their souls to You; pour the Holy Spirit upon them leading them to places they may never thought they could go and to reach heights they’ve not even imagined. We pray all this through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Running Toward God in Genesee County LEROY Running Toward God In Genesee County STAFFORD Proper 21B
STAFFORD
+There’s an image from today’s readings that I just couldn’t shake all week. It’s from the Collect of the Day—reading, in part:
“Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure.”
I love the image of us running toward God.
What makes you run toward God? What draws you? What implores you to move toward, rather than away, from the Divine?
The truth for me is that I run toward God when my own way of doing things, my own best efforts, have failed and I find myself in a bit of a mess.
I think what stuck with me this week, a week when our country seems to be at war with itself, a week when the pain of so many was put on full display, is that God doesn’t want any of this for us, for the world. But God needs us to participate in making the changes needed to bring God’s promises to their fullness here on earth.
I think that’s what this collect is reminding us about---that God doesn’t just swoop in whenever God feels like it. No God waits for us to come forward, arms outstretched, ready to receive the grace, mercy, pity and promise of God.
Faith is a two-way street. God doesn’t want us to be passive receivers of God’s grace, God wants us to be active seekers of God’s Grace and then active purveyors of God’s love in our world.
When we fail to run toward God, when we fail to be eager seekers of God’s grace and love, when we insist that we can Do It Ourselves, we find ourselves in a mess.
And what a mess it is.
Watch the news, it seems as if all we do is yell at each other, insult each other, accuse each other, demean each other.
Look around, it’s as if life itself, that incredible gift bestowed upon each and every one of us by and through our loving, life giving and liberating God (PB Michael Curry), has become disposable in our world. Murder rates are high, mass shootings have become commonplace and intolerance? Well intolerance seems to permeate throughout our culture.
It’s not pretty, is it?
Why God hasn’t given up on us, why God hasn’t just turned that Divine back on us is beyond me. But here it is, right there is today’s Collect, God pours mercy upon us, God has pity for us, God loves us, God roots for us, God longs for us to accept the offer of grace upon grace, hope upon hope and love upon love.
I don’t know about you, but I need to hold onto this promise of God with all my might. I need to be washed in the fullness of God’s grace, I need to revel in the heavenly treasure, because left to my own devices, left to our own devices we will—we have---made a mess of our world.
OK, so I know this may not be the most uplifting sermon you’ve ever heard, but bear with me, for out of the darkness and despair of the world I see glimmers of hope. Right here. Right now. In Stafford NY
You se, you have the secret. We have the secret. We have the way forward, we know that in spite of the anger and the discord and the hopelessness displayed in our world we know there’s another way, a better way, the only way:
The Love and Peace of God as given to us by and through the person of Jesus Christ.
We know that God has hope for us, that God’s promise is possible. One kind act. One hopeful act, one dedicated, loving act at a time.
I know that here at St Paul’s money is tight, worries keep multiplying and that it can feel as if you are out here in this beautiful countryside alone. That if only someone from the diocese, or the wider church, or the latest church growth book would tell you how to fill these pews, balance your budget and lift the burden of worry off of you, all would be well.
The bad news is, I don’t have that. But what I do have is a story-- one I tell all the time. It’s story of what I witnessed here two years ago when I last visited. The details may not be wholly accurate but this is my memory:
During announcements someone stood up and said that the previous week they had passed the Methodist Church during their weekly free meal. The line was especially long because they didn’t have enough help. The man who announced that here said, “can’t we help our neighbors, help our neighbors? I’m going to be there next week, who else would like to join me?” One by one well over ¾ of you raised your hands.
It was one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen. You were asked, and your neighbors received.
That’s grace in action. That’s God’s promise being obtained, that’s partaking in the heavenly treasure of God. For the heavenly treasure is nothing more—and nothing less—than loving your neighbor as yourself. It’s what we’re called to do. Love God. Love Neighbor. And you exemplify it. Perfectly. Keep it up. Look for the dark places, the hurting places, the lonely places in your world and enter those places, with light, with love, with hope. I know you are burdened --how can you keep it all going? We struggle with this worry every single day at the Diocesan offices. And I know at times it’s hard to see the forest of Love among the tress of worry, but, my friends, you are changing this world through your acts of love. What you do does make a difference. Thanks be to God. Amen.
LEROY
+There’s an image from today’s readings that I just couldn’t shake all week. It’s from the Collect of the Day—reading, in part:
“Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure.”
I love the image of us running toward God.
What makes you run toward God? What draws you? What implores you to move toward, rather than away, from the Divine?
The truth for me is that I run toward God when my own way of doing things, my own best efforts, have failed and I find myself in a bit of a mess.
I think what stuck with me this week, a week when our country seems to be at war with itself, a week when the pain of so many was put on full display, is that God doesn’t want any of this for us, for the world. But God needs us to participate in making the changes needed to bring God’s promises to their fullness here on earth.
I think that’s what this collect is reminding us about---that God doesn’t just swoop in whenever God feels like it. No God waits for us to come forward, arms outstretched, ready to receive the grace, mercy, pity and promise of God.
Faith is a two-way street. God doesn’t want us to be passive receivers of God’s grace, God wants us to be active seekers of God’s Grace and then active purveyors of God’s love in our world.
When we fail to run toward God, when we fail to be eager seekers of God’s grace and love, when we insist that we can Do It Ourselves, we find ourselves in a mess.
And what a mess it is.
Watch the news, it seems as if all we do is yell at each other, insult each other, accuse each other, demean each other.
Look around, it’s as if life itself, that incredible gift bestowed upon each and every one of us by and through our loving, life giving and liberating God (PB Michael Curry), has become disposable in our world. Murder rates are high, mass shootings have become commonplace and intolerance? Well intolerance seems to permeate throughout our culture.
It’s not pretty, is it?
Why God hasn’t given up on us, why God hasn’t just turned that Divine back on us, is beyond me. But here it is, right there is today’s Collect, God pours mercy upon us, God has pity for us, God loves us, God roots for us, God longs for us to accept the offer of grace upon grace, hope upon hope and love upon love.
I don’t know about you, but I need to hold onto this promise of God with all my might. I need to be washed in the fullness of God’s grace, I need to revel in the heavenly treasure, because left to my own devices, left to our own devices we will—we have---made a mess of our world.
OK, so I know this may not be the most uplifting sermon you’ve ever heard, but bear with me, for out of the darkness and despair of the world I see glimmers of hope. Right here. Right now.
In LeRoy, NY.
You see you have the secret. We have the secret. We have the way forward, we know that in spite of the anger and the discord and the hopelessness displayed in our world we know there’s another way, a better way, the only way:
The Love and Peace of God as given to us by and through the person of Jesus Christ.
We know that God has hope for us, that God’s promise is possible. One kind act. One hopeful act, one dedicated, loving act at a time.
I don’t know who manages your Facebook page, but bravo! A couple of times a week I get a notice that St Mark’s has a new post and when I click on it I find God’s Love on display, in action, right here, right now. Whether it is a word of scripture, a beautiful photograph, the summer lunch program or an invitation to the community gathering at St Mark’s as you grapple with how engage in civil, loving, respectful discourse and active and open listening, St Mark’s is a beacon in this area of what our Presiding Bishop calls the Way of Love. The Way of Love, the Way of Christ, the Way of Light, the Way of God is a way of peace, a way of understanding, a way of respect…It is a way of Grace, a way of promise, a way of treasure. The answer to the problems which face most of the churches in this region, in this country, in this world is right here, among you. A willingness to tackle the tough issues, a willingness to reach out a helping hand, a willingness to bring dignity to every single human being in this area.
I know you are burdened by building issues, money issues, church growth issues. I know at times it’s hard to see the forest of Love among the tress of worry, but, my friends, one kind act at a time, one reach across the aisle at a time, one loving, life giving, and liberating act at a time you, the people of St Mark’s are running toward the promise of God. And for that we rejoice and thank our wondrous, awesome and grace-filled God. AMEN.
+There’s an image from today’s readings that I just couldn’t shake all week. It’s from the Collect of the Day—reading, in part:
“Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure.”
I love the image of us running toward God.
What makes you run toward God? What draws you? What implores you to move toward, rather than away, from the Divine?
The truth for me is that I run toward God when my own way of doing things, my own best efforts, have failed and I find myself in a bit of a mess.
I think what stuck with me this week, a week when our country seems to be at war with itself, a week when the pain of so many was put on full display, is that God doesn’t want any of this for us, for the world. But God needs us to participate in making the changes needed to bring God’s promises to their fullness here on earth.
I think that’s what this collect is reminding us about---that God doesn’t just swoop in whenever God feels like it. No God waits for us to come forward, arms outstretched, ready to receive the grace, mercy, pity and promise of God.
Faith is a two-way street. God doesn’t want us to be passive receivers of God’s grace, God wants us to be active seekers of God’s Grace and then active purveyors of God’s love in our world.
When we fail to run toward God, when we fail to be eager seekers of God’s grace and love, when we insist that we can Do It Ourselves, we find ourselves in a mess.
And what a mess it is.
Watch the news, it seems as if all we do is yell at each other, insult each other, accuse each other, demean each other.
Look around, it’s as if life itself, that incredible gift bestowed upon each and every one of us by and through our loving, life giving and liberating God (PB Michael Curry), has become disposable in our world. Murder rates are high, mass shootings have become commonplace and intolerance? Well intolerance seems to permeate throughout our culture.
It’s not pretty, is it?
Why God hasn’t given up on us, why God hasn’t just turned that Divine back on us is beyond me. But here it is, right there is today’s Collect, God pours mercy upon us, God has pity for us, God loves us, God roots for us, God longs for us to accept the offer of grace upon grace, hope upon hope and love upon love.
I don’t know about you, but I need to hold onto this promise of God with all my might. I need to be washed in the fullness of God’s grace, I need to revel in the heavenly treasure, because left to my own devices, left to our own devices we will—we have---made a mess of our world.
OK, so I know this may not be the most uplifting sermon you’ve ever heard, but bear with me, for out of the darkness and despair of the world I see glimmers of hope. Right here. Right now. In Stafford NY
You se, you have the secret. We have the secret. We have the way forward, we know that in spite of the anger and the discord and the hopelessness displayed in our world we know there’s another way, a better way, the only way:
The Love and Peace of God as given to us by and through the person of Jesus Christ.
We know that God has hope for us, that God’s promise is possible. One kind act. One hopeful act, one dedicated, loving act at a time.
I know that here at St Paul’s money is tight, worries keep multiplying and that it can feel as if you are out here in this beautiful countryside alone. That if only someone from the diocese, or the wider church, or the latest church growth book would tell you how to fill these pews, balance your budget and lift the burden of worry off of you, all would be well.
The bad news is, I don’t have that. But what I do have is a story-- one I tell all the time. It’s story of what I witnessed here two years ago when I last visited. The details may not be wholly accurate but this is my memory:
During announcements someone stood up and said that the previous week they had passed the Methodist Church during their weekly free meal. The line was especially long because they didn’t have enough help. The man who announced that here said, “can’t we help our neighbors, help our neighbors? I’m going to be there next week, who else would like to join me?” One by one well over ¾ of you raised your hands.
It was one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen. You were asked, and your neighbors received.
That’s grace in action. That’s God’s promise being obtained, that’s partaking in the heavenly treasure of God. For the heavenly treasure is nothing more—and nothing less—than loving your neighbor as yourself. It’s what we’re called to do. Love God. Love Neighbor. And you exemplify it. Perfectly. Keep it up. Look for the dark places, the hurting places, the lonely places in your world and enter those places, with light, with love, with hope. I know you are burdened --how can you keep it all going? We struggle with this worry every single day at the Diocesan offices. And I know at times it’s hard to see the forest of Love among the tress of worry, but, my friends, you are changing this world through your acts of love. What you do does make a difference. Thanks be to God. Amen.
LEROY
+There’s an image from today’s readings that I just couldn’t shake all week. It’s from the Collect of the Day—reading, in part:
“Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure.”
I love the image of us running toward God.
What makes you run toward God? What draws you? What implores you to move toward, rather than away, from the Divine?
The truth for me is that I run toward God when my own way of doing things, my own best efforts, have failed and I find myself in a bit of a mess.
I think what stuck with me this week, a week when our country seems to be at war with itself, a week when the pain of so many was put on full display, is that God doesn’t want any of this for us, for the world. But God needs us to participate in making the changes needed to bring God’s promises to their fullness here on earth.
I think that’s what this collect is reminding us about---that God doesn’t just swoop in whenever God feels like it. No God waits for us to come forward, arms outstretched, ready to receive the grace, mercy, pity and promise of God.
Faith is a two-way street. God doesn’t want us to be passive receivers of God’s grace, God wants us to be active seekers of God’s Grace and then active purveyors of God’s love in our world.
When we fail to run toward God, when we fail to be eager seekers of God’s grace and love, when we insist that we can Do It Ourselves, we find ourselves in a mess.
And what a mess it is.
Watch the news, it seems as if all we do is yell at each other, insult each other, accuse each other, demean each other.
Look around, it’s as if life itself, that incredible gift bestowed upon each and every one of us by and through our loving, life giving and liberating God (PB Michael Curry), has become disposable in our world. Murder rates are high, mass shootings have become commonplace and intolerance? Well intolerance seems to permeate throughout our culture.
It’s not pretty, is it?
Why God hasn’t given up on us, why God hasn’t just turned that Divine back on us, is beyond me. But here it is, right there is today’s Collect, God pours mercy upon us, God has pity for us, God loves us, God roots for us, God longs for us to accept the offer of grace upon grace, hope upon hope and love upon love.
I don’t know about you, but I need to hold onto this promise of God with all my might. I need to be washed in the fullness of God’s grace, I need to revel in the heavenly treasure, because left to my own devices, left to our own devices we will—we have---made a mess of our world.
OK, so I know this may not be the most uplifting sermon you’ve ever heard, but bear with me, for out of the darkness and despair of the world I see glimmers of hope. Right here. Right now.
In LeRoy, NY.
You see you have the secret. We have the secret. We have the way forward, we know that in spite of the anger and the discord and the hopelessness displayed in our world we know there’s another way, a better way, the only way:
The Love and Peace of God as given to us by and through the person of Jesus Christ.
We know that God has hope for us, that God’s promise is possible. One kind act. One hopeful act, one dedicated, loving act at a time.
I don’t know who manages your Facebook page, but bravo! A couple of times a week I get a notice that St Mark’s has a new post and when I click on it I find God’s Love on display, in action, right here, right now. Whether it is a word of scripture, a beautiful photograph, the summer lunch program or an invitation to the community gathering at St Mark’s as you grapple with how engage in civil, loving, respectful discourse and active and open listening, St Mark’s is a beacon in this area of what our Presiding Bishop calls the Way of Love. The Way of Love, the Way of Christ, the Way of Light, the Way of God is a way of peace, a way of understanding, a way of respect…It is a way of Grace, a way of promise, a way of treasure. The answer to the problems which face most of the churches in this region, in this country, in this world is right here, among you. A willingness to tackle the tough issues, a willingness to reach out a helping hand, a willingness to bring dignity to every single human being in this area.
I know you are burdened by building issues, money issues, church growth issues. I know at times it’s hard to see the forest of Love among the tress of worry, but, my friends, one kind act at a time, one reach across the aisle at a time, one loving, life giving, and liberating act at a time you, the people of St Mark’s are running toward the promise of God. And for that we rejoice and thank our wondrous, awesome and grace-filled God. AMEN.
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Ephphatha and the Syro-Phonecian Woman: A Lesson in Guts and Openness Proper 18B Sept. 9, 2018 Final Sermon Trinity Hamburg
+The Syro-Phonecian woman had guts. Some might even say gall. She bested Jesus in a debate about who deserves God’s mercy. At the time of this encounter with the woman, Jesus didn’t know he was the Messiah for all people—she, through her debate with him--- enlightens Jesus. This encounter between Jesus and the woman comes early enough in his ministry that Jesus is still finding his way….realizing that he’s not only the messiah for the Jewish people but is indeed the messiah for everyone, everywhere, always.
But in today’s gospel, Jesus still thinks he’s only been sent for the Jews, which is why he rudely—and I mean rudely—dismisses this “unclean woman.” She’s unclean, according to Jewish purity laws, because she is not Jewish, she’s a foreigner, a gentile, a Syro-Phonecian (called a Caananite in Matthew’s Gospel)!
Now, you may be surprised to hear me say that Jesus didn’t know something but, it’s clear to me---and you are free to disagree---that Jesus is corrected, taught, enlightened by the Syro-Phonecian woman.
I actually find it refreshing, that Jesus could be wrong about something. But more than Jesus being wrong, what I find most amazing in this reading is the grace with which the woman responds.
Jesus insults her--- really insults her---yet she doesn’t yell at him, she doesn’t cry, she isn’t struck dumb by his insolence, she simply replies to him calling her a dog with a logical argument: “you may think of me as a dog, she says, but even dogs get the crumbs. I’m not asking for the fullness of your glory, I’m just asking for the crumbs. For the crumbs are better than nothing and I know what you can do, so I’ll take even just a portion.” This display of great faith in Him and great love for
her daughter turns Jesus’ heart and ultimately changes his mind.
It’s a startling Gospel story and one that has infuriated women for generations. All our readings this morning are about the danger of judging a book by its cover, the danger of excluding people from our lives because of the size of their paycheck, the color of their skin, the name of their God, the gender of their beloved, the party affiliation on their voter registration card.
Culminating with this Gospel reading we’re told--- compassion, wisdom, and love can come from all sorts and conditions of people. Be slow to judge and quick to welcome…for there are angels all around us, eager to teach us exactly what it is we may need to learn, even –especially- when we don’t know we need to learn it! Just like Jesus.
But that’s not all I want to talk about this morning.
No on this morning, the last morning before your new Priest arrives, I want us to talk a bit about where you’ve been—where we’ve been---as you ready yourself for where you and Shannon will go from here!
In August of 2016, when I drove out here to meet with Gretchen and Cami after Blane’s hospitalization in I had never been here, never worshipped at Trinity , Hamburg before. But over the course of the next two years we came to know each other well. We walked through some tough times together--- and now, like a parent leaving her child in his freshmen dorm room, I am turning y’all over to Shannon and I am turning Shannon over to you. It’s a time of great expectation and hope.
Friends, while you look forward to all that is new don’t forget what has been and what you’ve been through---the great times, the bad times, all of it. Because all of it has lead to this moment in time. All of it makes Trinity Hamburg who she is. Embrace who you have been as you embark on who you will become.
I’m honored to have walked part of this walk with you and I promise to be back as much as Shannon can stand having me around!
Now, back to the Gospel for a moment, because the encounter with the Syro-Phonecian woman is only the first half of our gospel for today. The second half of the story is about the deaf man coming to Jesus for healing. It is about Jesus opening the man’s ears.
Jesus says, Ephphatha. It means “be open.”
To you, the faithful of Trinity, Hamburg: EPHPHATHA be open, be open to your past, be honest about it, learn from it, but do not stay in it for staying in it is to close you off from all that is and all that can, should and will be.
Ephphatha. Be open… be open to try new things, be open to risk failing for when you are willing to fail, you quite often succeed.
Ephphatha be open and be brave enough to speak the truth. To yourselves and to one another.
Ephphatha: be open to all sorts and conditions of people that come through these doors and more importantly be open to all those whom you encounter outside these doors. Invite them to come in and to be opened—opened to the amazing, outlandish, incredible, and abundant love of God as experienced through Jesus Christ in this place.
Because when you do that, when speak honestly and hear openly you become a safe place for an increasingly hurting and lost world. A world looking for a place to safely be in the presence of truth. The truth that is Jesus Christ. My friends, I love you all and I can’t wait to see what happens next. May God bless you and may God keep you and may God continue to pour out Divine grace on each and every one of you. Amen.
But in today’s gospel, Jesus still thinks he’s only been sent for the Jews, which is why he rudely—and I mean rudely—dismisses this “unclean woman.” She’s unclean, according to Jewish purity laws, because she is not Jewish, she’s a foreigner, a gentile, a Syro-Phonecian (called a Caananite in Matthew’s Gospel)!
Now, you may be surprised to hear me say that Jesus didn’t know something but, it’s clear to me---and you are free to disagree---that Jesus is corrected, taught, enlightened by the Syro-Phonecian woman.
I actually find it refreshing, that Jesus could be wrong about something. But more than Jesus being wrong, what I find most amazing in this reading is the grace with which the woman responds.
Jesus insults her--- really insults her---yet she doesn’t yell at him, she doesn’t cry, she isn’t struck dumb by his insolence, she simply replies to him calling her a dog with a logical argument: “you may think of me as a dog, she says, but even dogs get the crumbs. I’m not asking for the fullness of your glory, I’m just asking for the crumbs. For the crumbs are better than nothing and I know what you can do, so I’ll take even just a portion.” This display of great faith in Him and great love for
her daughter turns Jesus’ heart and ultimately changes his mind.
It’s a startling Gospel story and one that has infuriated women for generations. All our readings this morning are about the danger of judging a book by its cover, the danger of excluding people from our lives because of the size of their paycheck, the color of their skin, the name of their God, the gender of their beloved, the party affiliation on their voter registration card.
Culminating with this Gospel reading we’re told--- compassion, wisdom, and love can come from all sorts and conditions of people. Be slow to judge and quick to welcome…for there are angels all around us, eager to teach us exactly what it is we may need to learn, even –especially- when we don’t know we need to learn it! Just like Jesus.
But that’s not all I want to talk about this morning.
No on this morning, the last morning before your new Priest arrives, I want us to talk a bit about where you’ve been—where we’ve been---as you ready yourself for where you and Shannon will go from here!
In August of 2016, when I drove out here to meet with Gretchen and Cami after Blane’s hospitalization in I had never been here, never worshipped at Trinity , Hamburg before. But over the course of the next two years we came to know each other well. We walked through some tough times together--- and now, like a parent leaving her child in his freshmen dorm room, I am turning y’all over to Shannon and I am turning Shannon over to you. It’s a time of great expectation and hope.
Friends, while you look forward to all that is new don’t forget what has been and what you’ve been through---the great times, the bad times, all of it. Because all of it has lead to this moment in time. All of it makes Trinity Hamburg who she is. Embrace who you have been as you embark on who you will become.
I’m honored to have walked part of this walk with you and I promise to be back as much as Shannon can stand having me around!
Now, back to the Gospel for a moment, because the encounter with the Syro-Phonecian woman is only the first half of our gospel for today. The second half of the story is about the deaf man coming to Jesus for healing. It is about Jesus opening the man’s ears.
Jesus says, Ephphatha. It means “be open.”
To you, the faithful of Trinity, Hamburg: EPHPHATHA be open, be open to your past, be honest about it, learn from it, but do not stay in it for staying in it is to close you off from all that is and all that can, should and will be.
Ephphatha. Be open… be open to try new things, be open to risk failing for when you are willing to fail, you quite often succeed.
Ephphatha be open and be brave enough to speak the truth. To yourselves and to one another.
Ephphatha: be open to all sorts and conditions of people that come through these doors and more importantly be open to all those whom you encounter outside these doors. Invite them to come in and to be opened—opened to the amazing, outlandish, incredible, and abundant love of God as experienced through Jesus Christ in this place.
Because when you do that, when speak honestly and hear openly you become a safe place for an increasingly hurting and lost world. A world looking for a place to safely be in the presence of truth. The truth that is Jesus Christ. My friends, I love you all and I can’t wait to see what happens next. May God bless you and may God keep you and may God continue to pour out Divine grace on each and every one of you. Amen.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Allow the Cart of Rules to Help, Rather than Hinder, the Horse of Faithful Living.
+As a child I was terribly shy, had school phobia, and was basically afraid of my own shadow. It was a tough way to grow up and anxiety remains something I live with daily. The difference is, I’ve developed coping strategies to manage the symptoms. One of those strategies is learning what the lay of the land is before I embark on something new. As a young professional looking for work, I would drive to the site of an interview the day before so I could scope out the route to the building. Why?
I don’t like surprises; I like to know what I’m getting into. It’s one of the reasons I like rules so much. I may not follow them all the time, but I like to know what the rules are before plunging in. Knowing what the expectations are—knowing what is acceptable and what is not---is a coping strategy I utilize to manage my chronic anxiety. It works and my life got a lot easier once I figured this out.
That’s what rules, expectations, guidelines do for us…. they help us to manage our behavior so that nothing gets out of hand. My checking out the lay of the land before I go to an unfamiliar place is a functional coping mechanism but, if I needed to go to the place sixteen times before feeling comfortable then this coping mechanism would go from functional to dysfunctional.
It’s a matter of degrees.
So when the Pharisees in today’s Gospel get upset over the cleanliness practices of the disciples they’re putting the cart of rules ahead of the horse of living. As Jesus says, if what comes out of your mouths is vile, than what goes into it doesn’t really matter. If your “coping mechanism” your “rule” your “guidelines”, your “ we’ve always done it this way,” get in the way of being a compassionate, loving, responsible, caring person, then what is the point?
Which brings us to our reading from the Epistle of James. A very short letter, the excerpt from today is brilliant: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”
James is onto something here---don’t just spew commandment after commandment, rule after rule, rather allow these guidelines to lead you into living a good, a Godly life.
According to James all we do that is good---the big stuff--like helping the poor and the needy, standing up against injustice and caring for our environment-- to the small stuff like holding the door open for someone—all of these actions come from God.
Think about this: when you’re driving to work or to school and wave a car into the lane ahead of you; when you help a classmate or a co-worker with a problem, when you lend your Wegman’s or Tops card to the person in front of you in line; when you thoughtfully choose the candidate to vote for based on what they say they will do for the needy of our community---every single good thing you do comes directly from God, directly from, as James’ puts it: above.
We are all INSTRUMENTS of God’s Love, of God’s Grace, of God’s Goodness. All of us. In all we do. All the time. Wherever we find ourselves— work, school, volunteering, recreating, socializing, God is at work, through us.
In all we do, God is there, USING us to further God’s purpose: to bring the entire world --all 7 1/2 billion of us-- within God’s Loving and enduring embrace. This is James’ message. Specifically he tells us behaviors to avoid: not listening, being quick to lose our temper and lavishing in sordidness. He then suggests behaviors to embrace, to cultivate:
-- be quick to listen, slow to speak, and eager to care for those most vulnerable.
The good news about James’ message is this---all of these things are within our reach. What parent doesn't want to be slower to anger with his or her children? What friend doesn't want to be a better listener? Who doesn’t want to help and support those in need?
James encourages us not just to think the faith, but to do it.” To allow the cart of rules to help, rather than hinder the horse of faithful living.
James is reminding us that our faith isn’t something to be exercised once a week on Sunday, within these walls, but is, instead, something to be lived 24/7.
Which makes this such a good reading for Labor Day weekend. Because faith is at work in all we do, including our labor. As theologian David Lose states: Sunday is not the pinnacle of the Christian week, it’s intended to serve and support our Christian lives the rest of the week–Monday through Saturday. On Sundays we’re refreshed and renewed through the Word of God, the Food of God, the forgiveness of God and the Fellowship of God. Then, once refreshed and renewed, we’re called, commissioned, and sent back into the world to work with God for the health of the people God has put all around us.” We are God’s instruments of Love in this world. Us. You and me
God gives us work to do, tasks large and small. Our Labor Day message, our everyday message, the message I want to give you, on this last Sunday before the next chapter of life here at St Paul’s Cathedral is this: go out into the world, seeking and serving God in all whom you encounter, out in the world and within the walls of this storied church.
To you, the faithful of St Paul’s: labor on in God’s vineyard, continue to be a beacon of hope and love for this city and for this region and with Dean Derrick, Labor On in the vineyard of our Lord, igniting the Beloved Community, right here and right now. +
I don’t like surprises; I like to know what I’m getting into. It’s one of the reasons I like rules so much. I may not follow them all the time, but I like to know what the rules are before plunging in. Knowing what the expectations are—knowing what is acceptable and what is not---is a coping strategy I utilize to manage my chronic anxiety. It works and my life got a lot easier once I figured this out.
That’s what rules, expectations, guidelines do for us…. they help us to manage our behavior so that nothing gets out of hand. My checking out the lay of the land before I go to an unfamiliar place is a functional coping mechanism but, if I needed to go to the place sixteen times before feeling comfortable then this coping mechanism would go from functional to dysfunctional.
It’s a matter of degrees.
So when the Pharisees in today’s Gospel get upset over the cleanliness practices of the disciples they’re putting the cart of rules ahead of the horse of living. As Jesus says, if what comes out of your mouths is vile, than what goes into it doesn’t really matter. If your “coping mechanism” your “rule” your “guidelines”, your “ we’ve always done it this way,” get in the way of being a compassionate, loving, responsible, caring person, then what is the point?
Which brings us to our reading from the Epistle of James. A very short letter, the excerpt from today is brilliant: “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”
James is onto something here---don’t just spew commandment after commandment, rule after rule, rather allow these guidelines to lead you into living a good, a Godly life.
According to James all we do that is good---the big stuff--like helping the poor and the needy, standing up against injustice and caring for our environment-- to the small stuff like holding the door open for someone—all of these actions come from God.
Think about this: when you’re driving to work or to school and wave a car into the lane ahead of you; when you help a classmate or a co-worker with a problem, when you lend your Wegman’s or Tops card to the person in front of you in line; when you thoughtfully choose the candidate to vote for based on what they say they will do for the needy of our community---every single good thing you do comes directly from God, directly from, as James’ puts it: above.
We are all INSTRUMENTS of God’s Love, of God’s Grace, of God’s Goodness. All of us. In all we do. All the time. Wherever we find ourselves— work, school, volunteering, recreating, socializing, God is at work, through us.
In all we do, God is there, USING us to further God’s purpose: to bring the entire world --all 7 1/2 billion of us-- within God’s Loving and enduring embrace. This is James’ message. Specifically he tells us behaviors to avoid: not listening, being quick to lose our temper and lavishing in sordidness. He then suggests behaviors to embrace, to cultivate:
-- be quick to listen, slow to speak, and eager to care for those most vulnerable.
The good news about James’ message is this---all of these things are within our reach. What parent doesn't want to be slower to anger with his or her children? What friend doesn't want to be a better listener? Who doesn’t want to help and support those in need?
James encourages us not just to think the faith, but to do it.” To allow the cart of rules to help, rather than hinder the horse of faithful living.
James is reminding us that our faith isn’t something to be exercised once a week on Sunday, within these walls, but is, instead, something to be lived 24/7.
Which makes this such a good reading for Labor Day weekend. Because faith is at work in all we do, including our labor. As theologian David Lose states: Sunday is not the pinnacle of the Christian week, it’s intended to serve and support our Christian lives the rest of the week–Monday through Saturday. On Sundays we’re refreshed and renewed through the Word of God, the Food of God, the forgiveness of God and the Fellowship of God. Then, once refreshed and renewed, we’re called, commissioned, and sent back into the world to work with God for the health of the people God has put all around us.” We are God’s instruments of Love in this world. Us. You and me
God gives us work to do, tasks large and small. Our Labor Day message, our everyday message, the message I want to give you, on this last Sunday before the next chapter of life here at St Paul’s Cathedral is this: go out into the world, seeking and serving God in all whom you encounter, out in the world and within the walls of this storied church.
To you, the faithful of St Paul’s: labor on in God’s vineyard, continue to be a beacon of hope and love for this city and for this region and with Dean Derrick, Labor On in the vineyard of our Lord, igniting the Beloved Community, right here and right now. +
Sunday, August 26, 2018
The Bread of Life and the Armor of our Faith Strengthens Us to Do What is Right While Changing What is Wrong Proper 16B Grace Lockport Aug 26 2018
+Today we come to the end of what is commonly referred to as the Bread of Life Discourse in John’s Gospel. The stage was set on the last Sunday of July when we heard the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. In this story Philip is unbelieving---overwhelmed by the prospect of feeding over 5,000 people with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread---so Jesus begins to compare and contrast the food that perishes vs the food that doesn’t. And then for the next four Sundays endless rhetoric about Jesus being this Bread of Life. At first Jesus was being somewhat vague in exactly what he meant by “I am the bread of life.” It seemed he was just riffing on what had happened with the feeding stories— that the physical hunger we feel can never be fully and forever satisfied, but that belief and faith in the eternal food—the Bread of Life-- will stave off our spiritual hunger forever.
But then, especially the last two Sundays, Jesus gets real graphic—- we must eat of his body and drink of his blood in order to be in full relationship with him and therefore, with God.
“Eat my flesh, drink my blood.” Even though we celebrate the Eucharist every week, even though we hear “Take, Eat and Take drink” every week, there is something about how John phrases it or perhaps it is how relentless the message has been, that by this week, the last Sunday of the bread of life discourse, many of us are at the point of shouting “all right already….we get it. You are the bread of life, unless we eat of your body and drink of your blood we’ll never enter the kingdom of God. Got it…can we move on now?”
But…being a former psychotherapist I can’t help but remember one of the first things I learned in counseling school—-if a client keeps coming back to a particular topic, regardless of what they identify as their presenting issue——the topic they keep returning too? That’s the real issue, that’s the real point.
So, in that vein, I have resisted the temptation of many a preacher these past weeks who have avoided John’s Gospel, focusing instead on the literature of the Hebrew prophets and the poetry of the letter to the Ephesians. I can’t let people repeatedly, week in and week out, hear things like:
“Those who eat my body” and just let that go. So here I am, for the fourth straight week, diving into the Bread of Life!”
Today, as Jesus winds down the 50 plus verse soliloquy on how his body is food indeed, and our reading from Ephesians emphasizes the importance, the absolute necessity, of clothing ourselves in the armor of God’s love to combat the forces of darkness and evil in the world, we can connect what Jesus is saying through John to what Paul is saying to the church in Ephesus.
You, Jesus, crucified and risen, is indeed the fuel of our faith. Abiding in, dwelling in him, and he in us clothes us with an armor that can—and does—protect us from what ails this lost and increasingly hurting world.
Abiding in God is what protected the ancient Israelites as they fled the slavery and oppression of Pharaoh, it’s what protected Mary the mother of Jesus as she lived into saying yes to God, it’s what protected Joseph as he refused to turn his back on Mary but instead stood by her side doing the right thing for her, the right thing for God.
Abiding in God through Christ, wearing the full armor of God is what gave Martin Luther King the courage to have a dream, it’s what fueled the men at Stonewall to confront the brutality of the police, it’s what fills our hearts, minds and souls when we stand up against hatred, bullying and violence. It’s what makes our hearts sink and our tempers flare when we hear some Roman Catholic leaders seemingly defend child molesters instead of ensuring that God’s children are always safe in their churches.
Abiding in God through the nourishment of all that Jesus was and is strengthens us to fight the good fight, to walk the lonely mile and to sing the song of faith through the words of our Eucharistic Prayer: Take Eat, this is my body, given for you.
Folks, we are to take and remember.
We are to remember the faith and the courage of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, Leah and Rachel. We are to remember how Ruth and Naomi, David and Jonathon, Tamar, Deborah, Judith, Elizabeth, Zechariah,J ohn, Joseph and Mary all wore the armor of God protecting themselves against those who said no while following God’s urging to say yes, to do the right thing.
By taking and eating we remember Jesus.By taking and eating we are clothed in the armor of God.
By coming to this altar to be fed, we are emboldened, strengthened, prodded and pushed to turn this world, through our own acts of kindness, justice and mercy, into the vision and dream God has had for us since the beginning of time.
The Bread of Life and the Armor of our Faith strengthens us to do what is right while changing what is wrong. Right here and right now, the world needs us to do this. So, take, eat and do the work that we have been given to do. Love God, love our neighbor and change the world.
Amen.
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