Corpus Christi 2009

Preached at Solemn Mass with Benediction on June 14, 2009

A few months ago a longtime friend and supporter of this parish, who was a retired priest, died. I had the opportunity to visit Father Charles Whipple in the hospital on a number of occasions before he died, and he always had a funny story to tell.

One time when I brought him Communion, he told me that I was the second person to bring him Communion that day. However, it would be the first time that he would receive. When I asked why he hadn’t received the first time, he told me. A friend came to visit a few hours earlier. When he arrived he stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a Communion wafer, which he tried to give to Father Whipple. When asked where he had gotten it, the friend said that at Sunday Mass he had pretended to eat the bread, while secretly hiding it in his pocket. Father Whipple said that his friend should consume the Sacrament immediately and repent for attempting to steal our Lord’s body.

I think that his response underscores the fact that in the Episcopal Church, as in many other churches, the Sacrament is treated with great reverence. I’m not sure it matter if you are very high church or not.
Ideally, priests, deacons or Eucharistic visitors don’t just stick a piece of bread from Sunday services in the pocket and bring it to someone else. Instead they carefully put it into a little container called a pix.

The Bread and Wine that is left over after Mass isn’t thrown away, it is consumed or reserved in Tabernacle so that it can be brought at a later time to those who are unable to attend the service.

Often those who take communion kneel to receive the Sacrament.

And of course there are more elaborate rites and rituals in some of the more Anglo-catholic churches. But for the most part, the vast majority of Episcopalians treat the bread and wine on the altar with more respect and reverence than they would a few wafers of bread at home.

Whatever the practice I think fair a question might be: What is so special about the Sacrament?

Today’s Gospel passage is part of larger discourse following the Feeding of the 5000 which is known as the Bread of Life Discourse. To answer why the Sacrament is so special, one can point toward today’s Gospel passage and proclaim that Jesus himself said that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life. Though this discourse occurs earlier in the Gospel, Christians have long seen an association between it and the last Supper accounts in Matthew, Mark and Luke – as well as in Saint Paul’s writings.

Beyond those associations, I think it is helpful to approach the question by looking at with how Christians speak about themselves.

I think it is fair to state that all Christians, regardless of whether they believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Bread and Wine, refer to themselves as children of God, as members of the Body of Christ in the world, and as heirs to the kingdom. I don’t think many Christians would have difficulty saying that at Baptism, by the grace of God, we are changed forever and we become children of God. We look the same, we often act in the same way, but we are still completely changed by grace of God. How that occurs is important, but I think, far less important than the fact that it does occur. And again, I think that most Christians would probably agree that we are changed by the grace of God.

It seems to me that it is not a particularly big jump to believe the same grace and power of God changes the bread and wine. It looks and tastes the same, but by the grace of God it is completely changed into the Body and Blood of Christ.

Once you recognize and believe that change to have occurred, though it seems merely a wafer, you treat the bread with respect because you believe God is present and has changed it into the Body of Christ.

What does that mean for us in our lives?

In the short term, I hope that will help to explain the end of today’s service to anyone who might be visiting. Benediction and a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament doesn’t make much sense if you don’t believe that Christ is really present in the bread and wine at communion. If its new to you, I hope you will enjoy a rite that simply expresses deep reverence for the Sacramental Presence of Christ.

But in the longer run, I hope that the reverence and care for the Sacrament on the altar that we are a part of today is something that you and I can bring into our every day lives with other members of the Body of Christ.

I began with a question and so I think I will end with a different question: What would the church look like if all Christians treated each other with the same care and respect that many Christians treat a few ounces of wine and a small wafer of bread?

Visitation 2009

My most recent trip to the Hospital was on Wednesday, May 13. I was there for the birth of my son Nicholas. I didn’t stay overnight, but my wife did for two days. While we were there, Fr. Smith, came over and visited us. His visit, just like the visits made by the clergy here when our first son was born, was greatly appreciated.

It doesn’t matter why someone is in the hospital: in my experience it makes an enormous difference to the person who is being visited. When you or I visit someone in the hospital or someone who is sick or even someone who is going through difficult times, it can make all the difference in the world. Like Mary bringing our Lord to visit her cousin Elizabeth, I believe that all such visitations have the potential of making the recipient of the visit unexpectedly leap for joy inside; they have the potential of suddenly making Christ present and making room for the Holy Spirit to do something amazing.

Maybe the connection is too obvious. On the feast of the Visitation, the priest reminded the congregation that it is important for all Christians to know that visiting people who are sick is important, but I can tell you, as a priest, it is a reminder that I sometimes need to hear, and when Fr. Smith visited us, I once again remembered what it was like to be on the other side of a visitation.

For the record, Fr. Smith didn’t just miraculously find us in the hospital. He knew we had gone because we told him that we were going to the hospital. I cannot read minds, and as far as I know, the other clergy here cannot read minds either. If you end up in the hospital, and if you want one of the priests or sisters of anyone at all to visit you, it helps if you make it known that you are actually in the hospital.

Maybe that also seems obvious, but I have had the some version of the following conversation more than a few times since I have been a priest:

“How come you didn’t visit so and so in the hospital?”

“I had no idea so and so was in the hospital!? What happened? How did you find out he was in the hospital?”

“He told me. He was in the hospital for a week and nobody visited him.”

“Well, nobody told me.”

“Oh I assumed you knew.”

Assuming that the priest will visit you is great. Asking for the priest to visit you is better.

The Feast of the Visitation can serve as a reminder of two things: When I need someone else, it helps to ask loudly and clearly. When someone asks for my presence, whether or not I know it, as part of the Body of Christ, I do not come alone, like Mary and all of the Saints, I bring the presence of Christ with me. And so do you.

Tomorrow Never Knows

Evensong on the Day of Pentecost 2009

In our first reading we heard how Moses instructs the people of Israel to celebrate the feast of seven weeks, known as the feast Pentecost. The feast was celebrated 50 days after the start of the harvest. The celebration that Moses orders is meant to be regular – celebrated every year, exactly 50 days after the first day of the harvest – presumably until the end of time.

This Jewish feast of Pentecost is picked up by Saint Luke in the Acts of Apostles and attached to the day when Jesus’ followers received the Holy Spirit. Like the Jewish feast that it is rooted in, Pentecost has become a feast celebrated each year, exactly fifty days after Easter Day – it is not so much a feast day rather than a celebration and culmination of the Easter Season.

I know that today is Pentecost, next Sunday is Trinity Sunday, after that Corpus Christi, and beginning this week we begin to settle into Ordinary Time for the Summer and Fall. I can look at a calendar and I know what to expect because I have done it before and I know what its going to be like.

It’s the same every year and I find comfort in such regularity. Somewhat contrary to this type of routine is the second reading. Jesus has told his followers that he is leaving, but he will leave them his Peace and give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples do not know what will happen next. They have questions and the answers that Jesus gives only begin to make sense after his Resurrection and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.

I believe that in the midst of the regularity of the church year, as well as in the midst of the daily routine every single one of us cherishes, each of us encounters God working our lives in unexpected and mysterious ways.

A few examples: We scheduled Confirmation with Bishop Grein at this morning’s 11:00 AM Solemn Mass – Here we are tonight at what may be the first and only service of Evensong, Confirmation and Benediction that most – if not all – of us have or ever will attend. Bishop Grein is not here, but thankfully Bishop St John is. This entire evening is an unexpected blessing for all of us.

Two and a half weeks ago my wife and I celebrated the birth of our second child, Nicholas. Whatever daily routine we had developed has been completely shattered – I used to enjoy planning dinner each night of the week, now I am thrilled if the four of us are able to be in the same room together at the same time without someone crying. Life with a newborn and a 2-and-a-half year old who is delighted that he is suddenly a big brother has brought more challenges and blessings than I can count – all of them unexpected, but all of them filled with the mystery and love of God working in our lives. I never imagined that I would hear my older son Liam say: “I’m the one who gets to say: Lord Jesus make Nicholas a good boy.” I never saw that coming.

The most recent example, I can think of comes from a conversation I had this morning at Coffee Hour. At Solemn Mass a young boy was baptized and there were lots of other children present. A little girl who is in church every week named Joanna – no more than four years old – came up and asked me what Baptism was. I was caught off guard, but I gave my best answer. Baptism is when you begin a new life in Christ and when you get baptized you become part of the church. “Why do we get baptized”, she asked. I was basically ready for this after the last question: We get baptized because Jesus himself was Baptized and because he told us to Baptize others. Maybe not the most profound answers, but I thought it was ok for a four year old. Her last question caught me off guard again. “Why water?” I thought of quoting some passage of scripture or church doctrine about dying and rising and being cleansed from sin, but what I said was far less profound: “Its like a bath, you come out new. But you only have to take it once.” It wasn’t a perfect answer, but she got that I think.

When I think about it, every day of my life has served as a reminder that I can plan for what I think might happen next, but I do not know what tomorrow will bring. We don’t need to have answers to every question or a plan for every situation; the apostles didn’t, but every time I confront the unexpected and ask for God’s help I’ve found that the Lord is present in unexpected and mysterious ways.

I believe part of making a Christian adult affirmation of faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection is understanding that you and I will continually be faced with unexpected questions and situations that fall far outside out regular routine. As a Christian who continues to learn, I think the best advice I can give to any other Christian is this: continue to ask for God’s help and guidance and continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you with wisdom, courage, and strength; and continue to spread the Good News of Christ to those around us.

2 minutes of prayer

Sermon preached at Evensong & Benediction, Easter 5, Year 1, May 10, 2009.

There are a number of different facets to my prayer life. In the morning and in the evening I say the Daily Office. Most days I celebrate at least one Mass. I pray before meals and at night with my family. And I pray alone. The environment that I am in influences how I pray and what I pray for.

Sometimes I pray for very general things: bless my family, keep them healthy – that sort of thing. At other times, I pray for specific things, very specific things. I think sometimes people have trouble with that type of prayer because it often doesn’t deliver the desired results. Someone can pray all they want for something specific to happen – I imagine that many people in the last year have been praying to get a new job, or to be more specific, to get that new job. If those prayers are not granted, what does it mean?


Jesus tells his disciples to ask, and it will be given. Knock and the door will be opened. He also says that through prayer they can do anything, heal people, cast out demons, even move mountains. As a person who prays and has not yet moved any mountains, what am I supposed to think about Jesus’ teaching on the power of prayer?

First, I don’t discount the power of God to do things that I might think are impossible. I know people who really have been miraculously healed through prayer. But beyond that, I think when we pray for those specific things, even if we don’t expect our prayers to act like magic wishes, we recognize those things in our life that are consuming us, and we can begin to ask for God’s help in moving through them or taking them on as challenges that we can face.

To use the job example – if someone is looking for a job and is not praying about that, isn’t that a lot like ignoring an 800 lb gorilla in the living room? If someone is sick and doesn’t specifically address that sickness in her prayers, what exactly is the person praying for?

I can a great deal about world peace and Christian unity, but my wife is going to have a baby any day now – I pray for her health, I pray for the baby, I pray for myself so that I can be a good father, and I pray for our 2 year old son so that he can be a great brother. I pray for specific things at specific times. By addressing the biggest and most obvious issues in my life, I am able to ask God for the power to help me focus on those issues. I am able to ask God for guidance and help in my life in very specific ways.

All of us have specific challenges in our lives that are standing in front of us like a big closed door. We don’t always know what is on the other side of that door, but at some point we need to go through the door. Recognizing that the door is there is the first act of prayer. You might pray for the strength to open it, or the courage to knock, or the persistence to keep knocking. Ignoring the door or pretending that it isn’t there isn’t going to make it go away and it certainly isn’t going to get the door opened.


One of the blessings that I have discovered each week is the 2 minutes of silence at Benediction – two minutes we will all be given in a few moments. I use that time to pray fervently about everything and anything that comes to mind. Sometimes my prayers are very specific, sometimes they are very general and vague, sometimes I simply stare at the Blessed Sacrament in adoration. Whatever I do, I am spiritually fed for two minutes in a way that is unique to the rest of the week. With that in mind I would like to offer a suggestion. Open your heart and soul completely to the love and power of God in prayer tonight. Take that two minutes as the blessing that it is and take a good long look at whatever doors you know are in front of you and then knock.

A solid foundation

Sermon preached at Evensong & Benediction, Easter 4, Year 1, May 3, 2009

I often use the example of the wise and foolish house builders from today’s Gospel passage when I officiate and preach at a wedding. I think that the passage works well with trying to live out the vows the couple makes to each other. Its more common than you might think for couple to ask to write their own vows at a wedding. Often the vows that people want to make are things that are impossible to live up to.

A few examples that I have heard:
I promise to show you my love for you every day of my life.
I promise to bring you flowers when you are sad.
I promise to remember every birthday and anniversary.
I promise to be there whenever you need me.
I promise that we will never disagree again.

I always steer couples toward the vows in the BCP, by explaining that these things sound nice and some of them may be very sentimental, but honestly, after 5 years of marriage, I can tell you that, if any of those were vows I had made, I would have broken all of them – many, many times.

Sentimental things don’t necessarily last. Every husband will forget to bring flowers more than once. Every couple will have very painful arguments. In the same way, many things that people think are essential also don’t always last. Money and a great job sometimes disappear. Physical looks change and fade as decades pass. Everyone eventually develops health issues. To build a marriage on any one of those things, to vow to do something that cannot realistically be done is no different than building a house on a foundation of sand. The foundation isn’t solid and the house will eventually fall down.

What doesn’t change, fade or end is the love that God has for each of us. By dying and rising from the grave, Jesus conquered all the powers of this world, including death and by his rising we know that not even death can separate us from the love of God. Modeling a marriage on the love that God has for each us is like building a house on a rock solid foundation. I encourage couples to understand that the vows the church authorizes recognize that life changes, but with the help of God, love can continue to grow through those changes.

I know that not every person here is married. I know that many people will never get married. Still, I believe this image can be used by every single one of us in every relationship that we have. Looking at each other less with eyes that see only temporary details and more and more as a co-heir in Christ and a child of God makes all the difference in the world. My marriage has been greatly helped by the fact that it was built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and his love for all people. May the Holy Spirit fill us all so that we can begin to build all of our relationships on the love of God and see and treat every person as a child of God.

Easter 3, 2009

I love Eastertide. Its one of the few seasons in an Anglo-catholic parish where you can get away with a good old fashioned call and response. Are you ready to respond?

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! I love that.

All of our readings this morning focus on witnessing and testifying to the resurrection of Jesus. In the Gospel when the risen Lord appeared to his disciples he informed them that they were witnesses of this good news which was to be preached to all people, and this is exactly what Saint Peter and Saint John are doing a while later in the Acts of the Apostles. Likewise, Saint John’s begins his first letter by reiterating his testimony about the risen Lord Jesus:


That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

I am struck by is the freshness and the newness of this apostolic witness. The apostles were sent to proclaim this news to people who had never heard it before. Just as it was shock and a surprise to them that Jesus rose from the dead, news of that resurrection must have been a surprise to the people they told. Had they ever even heard of Jesus? Had they ever encountered anyone seriously convinced that he had risen from the dead? It must have been very exciting.


Its not the same thing, but that type of excitement reminds me of how I felt about six months ago. My wife and I are expecting our second child any day now. My guess is that if you see her today, you will know that she is pregnant. Its pretty obvious, so I don’t need to announce it. But six months ago, when I first announced it nobody knew, nobody had any idea, it wasn’t obvious and it was such a thrill telling people about something that they hadn’t heard and hadn’t seen yet that meant so much to both of us. Now, anybody can see that we are expecting a child. I don’t need to say anything at all.

I’d like to ask you all a question: do you think that the resurrection of Jesus and the good news of the Gospel is obvious to everyone? Do you think everyone knows who Jesus is?


When I was a little boy, I thought everyone knew about Jesus. I thought that the good news of Christ was as obvious to everyone as a pregnancy is by the ninth month. As a child, I was able to go to church, worship God, and enjoy the fact that there wasn’t much work to be done spreading the good news of Jesus: everyone I knew already knew who Jesus was.

There are times in history in specific places where that was probably true for almost everyone. In Europe 500 years ago, I believe that most everyone probably did know who Jesus was. Most people probably had encountered many Christians of deep faith and conviction.

But I’m not so sure that we live in a world where that is true anymore. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, in fact, I think it puts all of us into a position that is similar to the position the first disciples and apostles were in. Nobody knows what we know. For that reason, I think it’s a very exciting time to be a Christian. There are so many people who have not yet heard the good news that each one of us knows.

There are many ways to spread that news, I don’t think the method is particularly important. I do believe that every person has a natural inclination to want to share what they know with those who are in the dark. We want others to know what we know, don’t we? I can tell you how difficult it was for the first three months of my wife’s pregnancy to keep the news a secret. I wanted to let everyone know, but the time just wasn’t right. Now is the time to tell someone about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now is the time to testify to what we have seen with out eyes and heard with our ears concerning the Word of Life. Now is the time to shout out what you know.

Are you ready?

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

May the Holy Spirit assist us to speak with such joy and conviction to those who people we know who have not yet heard that good news. Amen.

Rose Sunday

Many, but not all, churches lighten the mood a little bit on the fourth Sunday in Lent. That custom probably mirrors an obscure papal practice which itself is attested as already being an ancient custom 1000 years ago. On the fourth Sunday in Lent, the pope blesses a golden rose. The rose would then be presented to some individual or some place as a mark of special papal favor. Though, to this day, a Golden rose is blessed each year, it is not always given out. Since the world is not populated by all that many people or places worthy of being marked by such an honor, it became a rare gift: when no recipient could be found the Pope kept the Golden Rose.

The connection between the Golden Rose the rosy vestments and altar hangings used in churches today may seem like a loose one, but I don’t think it is.

To me, it makes perfect sense. If I saw the pope bless a flower for an extra special Christian or an extra special church every year, my first thought would be: “Why can’t I have one?” or better yet: “Why can’t my church have a rose?” Whose to say that this place isn’t worthy enough or special enough to celebrate Rose Sunday? And so, the custom spread.

Eventually the reason for all the roses was forgotten and other reasons and names for the Sunday become commonplace. In England, a tradition of Mothering Sunday spun out of the combination of the roses and an epistle reference to mother church. In most of America the Sunday is known simply as Rose or Refreshment Sunday because that’s what the day looks and feels like. And in Anglo-catholic circles, the Sunday is known as Laetare Sunday for two reasons. First, Laetare is the first word of the entrance song: it means rejoice. Second, Anglo-Catholics like Latin words.

Though its origin is obscure, I think that knowing why the color changes is important. In this case, at face value, the official ancient practice of the church seems odd. What does it mean to give a special blessed gift to a particularly worthy person? Even odder: what does it mean if nobody at all is considered worthy enough?

Perhaps without overtly answering those questions, Christians simply responded by putting roses in every church for every Christian: going so far as to dress up not only the altar, but the priests in very bright and rosy vestments: this particular number was originally a woman’s dress and its several hundred years old. Who needs a golden rose when your church has this? I think that’s precisely the point.

Deep down, I believe that most Christians understand that the love of God is a gift. Salvation isn’t something we have to earn, it isn’t something that the church officially bestows on people who seem worthy, its simply a gift that God gives to all who believe.

The earliest understanding of what it means to be a person who believes in Jesus informs all Christians:

What does Paul say?
By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God-- not because of works, lest any man should boast.

The roses are a celebration of the fact that God’s love is a gift. What a contrast to the world we live in. Its impossible to get through a day without hearing someone ask “How much is this going to cost?” Even the Gospel passage begins with this question: How much will it cost to buy bread for all these people. There are two answers: the apostles give the first: Too much; more than we can afford. Jesus gives a different answer: nothing.

Those who were with Jesus in the wilderness didn’t earn the bread that he gave them… he simply gave it to them because they had followed him. That bread is like the roses. It is a sign that Jesus offers himself to all of us, paying the entire cost by offering himself on the cross; He is the true bread which does not simply sustain life, but brings about eternal life.

You don’t need to climb through the ladders of industry and business to have eternal life. You don’t need to be seen by someone as worth or valuable enough to hold onto eternal life. You never get laid off as a member of the Body of Christ. The love of God doesn’t get harder and harder to afford.

After looking through the history of Rose Sunday, I am pretty sure that most Christians already know that. I know how important it can be to be reminded of it sometimes though, I know how important it is to know that there may not be a free lunch, but the love of God is a gift - 100% free. Today we are offered this wonderful reminder, not only for ourselves, but we are reminded that not every knows what we know. Not everyone gets it.

The next time you hear someone say “How much is this going to cost?” remember Jesus and pray that the Spirit will find some way to explain that not everything in life may come at a cost, but eternal life does not. Jesus has already died and rose for all of us and he is already preparing a place for each of us in his Father’s house, where there are many room, and none of them require a credit card.