Preached on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at Low Mass.
(Easter 6, Tuesday: Acts 16:16-34, Psalm 138, John 16:5-11)
On Thursday we will celebrate Jesus' Ascension to the Father. In today's reading from Saint John's Gospel Jesus begins to prepare his disciples for his death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father. The disciples fears were justified. What were they to do if they lost their founder and leader?
As we read through the Acts of the Apostles throughout Eastertide we see how they responded. We see the various apostles’ lives mirroring Jesus’ life: they proclaim the kingdom of God by preaching, gaining new disciples, and even performing miracles; they are put on trial, persecuted, and killed by Jewish and Roman leaders.
They were able to move beyond their fear because Jesus had given them the gift of the Holy Spirit. A Counselor who could help them to interpret scripture, help them to recall what Jesus had taught, and help them to understand Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. A Guide who could lead them out into the world and help them spread the good news of Christ. An Advocate who could help them preach, teach, and perform signs to show the world that God was with them.
A Comforter to fill them with the knowledge that God was still with them even if Jesus had ascended to the Father and the knowledge that God was with them no matter what, even if they were put on trial and persecuted.
The issue of a church whose head and founder has been gone for 2000 years remains to this day. One of the toughest questions that I, as a Christian, have to answer is how I can base my whole life on someone who died 2000 years ago. What proof can I give that Jesus rose? What proof can I give that there is such a thing as eternal life? What proof can I offer to back up Saint Paul’s claim that all you need to do is believe in Jesus and you will be saved?
There is no one answer to the question: “why do you believe in Jesus?” Any answer that comes from the Spirit that dwells within anyone who follows Christ is right. It is through the power of the Spirit that we too mirror the life of Jesus. It is through the Spirit that you and I proclaim the kingdom of God by preaching, gaining new disciples, and performing signs; it is through the Spirit that when we are put on trial we have an answer and if we are persecuted we can endure.
When you and I cultivate and use the gifts that we have been given by the Spirit, we show the love of God to the world and our very lives prove that the lord has risen indeed!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Growing Peppers
Preached on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at Solemn Evensong & Benediction.
(Year 2, Easter 6, Sunday Evening Prayer: Ecclesiasticus 43:1-12, 27-32; James 1:2-8, 16-18;
John 6:27-35)
My wife and I have a garden on our roof-deck. Knowing that I am a novice gardener, suppose you and I were on the roof deck, and I showed you an empty flower pot and said: “Look, I’m growing chili peppers!”. You might say: “Where? I don’t see anything.” I would say: “Oh, I guess they haven’t started growing yet, so you can’t see them.” You might say: “Ah, when did you plant them?” “Oh, no”, I would say, “I haven’t planted them yet.” You would probably say to me: “You aren’t growing peppers at all. Saying you are growing them isn’t the same as actually growing them. You need to plant them and take care of them as they grow. That’s what it means to be a gardener.”
In general, the Epistle of Saint James is concerned with the problem of Christians who claim to have faith, but don’t act out that faith in their lives. This is what he is talking about when he warns all believers not to be double-minded. He says that if Christians truly are the first fruits of the new creation, then they ought to look like it.
The church has always been concerned that for some faith is nothing more than hollow words, you might say that the Epistle of James is the official voice of this concern. Taken to the extreme, this can be used to prove that someone is a Christian while someone else is not. I don’t think that James is raising a bar that is impossible to live up to, nor do I think that he overly concerned with the occasional test of my faith that I pass or fail, instead I think he is offers an encouraging reminder that being a Christian is more than just claiming to be a Christian.
To return to the garden image, he’s not concerned with how big the chili peppers have grown, nor is concerned with the fact that sometimes I forget to water the chili peppers or even with the fact that on some days I just don’t want to water them. He’s concerned with that fact that I am telling you I am growing chili peppers when I haven’t even planted them.
James encourages everyone who says they believe in Jesus to continue moving towards Christ. Saint James is not scolding me for being a bad gardener, instead he’s offering his help on where I can get some seeds, and how I should plant them, and what I need to do to make sure they grow. He’s not going to report me to God because I was too lazy to water my garden for three days in a row, instead he is reminding me that I won’t have any chili peppers if I don’t water my garden. He’s not condemning me to hell because of the fact that my chili peppers were fewer and smaller than they could have been, instead he’s comforting me with the fact that I can become a more experienced gardener over time if I put my heart into it and if I carefully tend my garden.
I think that on some level being a gardener is actually very similar to being a Christian.
Being a Christian is more than just a title, more than just an occasional checkup; its a way of life. Sometimes what we have grown does wither a little bit or doesn’t grow as well as it might, but enduring such trials brings the knowledge that what has withered can grow strong again. Enduring trials also brings that knowledge that a little more care and maintenance can prevent going through the trial the next time around.
Saint James also teaches that encouragement is more than telling someone else that they are wrong. Encouragement is offering guidance to those who are in doubt, offering a helping hand to those who are in need, and being there to say that our Lord loves us regardless of what fruit we grow.
(Year 2, Easter 6, Sunday Evening Prayer: Ecclesiasticus 43:1-12, 27-32; James 1:2-8, 16-18;
John 6:27-35)
My wife and I have a garden on our roof-deck. Knowing that I am a novice gardener, suppose you and I were on the roof deck, and I showed you an empty flower pot and said: “Look, I’m growing chili peppers!”. You might say: “Where? I don’t see anything.” I would say: “Oh, I guess they haven’t started growing yet, so you can’t see them.” You might say: “Ah, when did you plant them?” “Oh, no”, I would say, “I haven’t planted them yet.” You would probably say to me: “You aren’t growing peppers at all. Saying you are growing them isn’t the same as actually growing them. You need to plant them and take care of them as they grow. That’s what it means to be a gardener.”
In general, the Epistle of Saint James is concerned with the problem of Christians who claim to have faith, but don’t act out that faith in their lives. This is what he is talking about when he warns all believers not to be double-minded. He says that if Christians truly are the first fruits of the new creation, then they ought to look like it.
The church has always been concerned that for some faith is nothing more than hollow words, you might say that the Epistle of James is the official voice of this concern. Taken to the extreme, this can be used to prove that someone is a Christian while someone else is not. I don’t think that James is raising a bar that is impossible to live up to, nor do I think that he overly concerned with the occasional test of my faith that I pass or fail, instead I think he is offers an encouraging reminder that being a Christian is more than just claiming to be a Christian.
To return to the garden image, he’s not concerned with how big the chili peppers have grown, nor is concerned with the fact that sometimes I forget to water the chili peppers or even with the fact that on some days I just don’t want to water them. He’s concerned with that fact that I am telling you I am growing chili peppers when I haven’t even planted them.
James encourages everyone who says they believe in Jesus to continue moving towards Christ. Saint James is not scolding me for being a bad gardener, instead he’s offering his help on where I can get some seeds, and how I should plant them, and what I need to do to make sure they grow. He’s not going to report me to God because I was too lazy to water my garden for three days in a row, instead he is reminding me that I won’t have any chili peppers if I don’t water my garden. He’s not condemning me to hell because of the fact that my chili peppers were fewer and smaller than they could have been, instead he’s comforting me with the fact that I can become a more experienced gardener over time if I put my heart into it and if I carefully tend my garden.
I think that on some level being a gardener is actually very similar to being a Christian.
Being a Christian is more than just a title, more than just an occasional checkup; its a way of life. Sometimes what we have grown does wither a little bit or doesn’t grow as well as it might, but enduring such trials brings the knowledge that what has withered can grow strong again. Enduring trials also brings that knowledge that a little more care and maintenance can prevent going through the trial the next time around.
Saint James also teaches that encouragement is more than telling someone else that they are wrong. Encouragement is offering guidance to those who are in doubt, offering a helping hand to those who are in need, and being there to say that our Lord loves us regardless of what fruit we grow.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
The Conversation
Preached on Thursday, May 18, 2006 at Low Mass.
(Easter 5, Thursday: Acts 15:7-21, Psalm 96:1-10, John 15:9-11)
Have you ever had one of those conversations where you were talking to someone about something and then suddenly you find you are talking about something else, and they you move off onto another tangent, and before you know it, the conversation is about something entirely different and you can’t remember what you were first talking about? Sometimes, that makes for stimulating conversation, but usually it makes for nothing more than interesting small talk and pointless babble.
Life in the church can be like that as well. Throughout Eastertide we read the Acts of the Apostles, and its amazing to see in Acts how often the work of spreading the gospel gets sidetracked by discussions about other issues. Throughout the early church there were many different issues that often changed the conversation from being about Jesus to being about something else. Some of the earliest disciples seem to have been more interested in bickering about whether or not Jewish customs ought to be observed by Gentiles than in talking to others about Jesus. The second century church was often more concerned with casting out members who had publicly rejected Jesus in the face of persecution than in unconditionally forgiving them. The third century church was often more interested in rebaptizing people who had been baptized by bad clergy than they were in baptizing new members. Its not that the issues themselves weren’t important, the problem is there has been a tendency by many Christians to forget that the conversation is about Jesus and not about the issue.
In our own church there are many things that can distract us from the fact that it is by the grace of God that we are saved and given eternal life. We can’t earn it, we can only believe and accept this grace and abide in this free gift of love from God. No matter what part of the current conversation of the church we might be interested in, it is always of utmost importance to remember that God loves us all unconditionally. When we abide in that love we realize that many of the things that we care so much about, that we think are the conversation, turn out to be things that are nothing more than distractions which keep us from accepting the grace of God in our own lives and seeing it in the lives of those we are talking to.
(Easter 5, Thursday: Acts 15:7-21, Psalm 96:1-10, John 15:9-11)
Have you ever had one of those conversations where you were talking to someone about something and then suddenly you find you are talking about something else, and they you move off onto another tangent, and before you know it, the conversation is about something entirely different and you can’t remember what you were first talking about? Sometimes, that makes for stimulating conversation, but usually it makes for nothing more than interesting small talk and pointless babble.
Life in the church can be like that as well. Throughout Eastertide we read the Acts of the Apostles, and its amazing to see in Acts how often the work of spreading the gospel gets sidetracked by discussions about other issues. Throughout the early church there were many different issues that often changed the conversation from being about Jesus to being about something else. Some of the earliest disciples seem to have been more interested in bickering about whether or not Jewish customs ought to be observed by Gentiles than in talking to others about Jesus. The second century church was often more concerned with casting out members who had publicly rejected Jesus in the face of persecution than in unconditionally forgiving them. The third century church was often more interested in rebaptizing people who had been baptized by bad clergy than they were in baptizing new members. Its not that the issues themselves weren’t important, the problem is there has been a tendency by many Christians to forget that the conversation is about Jesus and not about the issue.
In our own church there are many things that can distract us from the fact that it is by the grace of God that we are saved and given eternal life. We can’t earn it, we can only believe and accept this grace and abide in this free gift of love from God. No matter what part of the current conversation of the church we might be interested in, it is always of utmost importance to remember that God loves us all unconditionally. When we abide in that love we realize that many of the things that we care so much about, that we think are the conversation, turn out to be things that are nothing more than distractions which keep us from accepting the grace of God in our own lives and seeing it in the lives of those we are talking to.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
The Vinedresser
Preached on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at Low Mass.
(Easter 5, Wednesday: Acts 15:1-6, Psalm 122, John 15:1-8)
Since the time of the apostles Christians have had disagreements over every imaginable topic. When dealing with the disagreements that we face today and tomorrow, we can learn much from the early Christian disagreement over circumcision.
From the Acts of the Apostles, as well as from Saint Paul’s letters we know that there was a heated dispute over whether converts to Christianity who were not Jewish ought to observe the law of Moses and be circumcised. Some on each side of this dispute didn’t only want to win because they thought they were doing the will of God, they also refused to recognize those with different views as Christians. In fact, we are told in Acts that this same group was responsible for trying on several occasions to assassinate Saint Paul and in the end it was through their efforts that Paul was imprisoned for many years and sent to Rome to stand before Caesar.
Yet, Jesus himself who reminds us that we are not to act as judge against one another. He uses the image of the vine to underscore this point. He says that we are like branches on a vine. We are part of him as well as part of each other. Jesus expects that the branches which are on his vine will grow fruit, but he doesn’t want the branches to decide whether or not they are growing fruit. After all, a branch cannot bear fruit if it is spending all of its time trying to tell other branches what fruit they ought to grow. Jesus tells us not to worry about whether certain branches are fruitful or rotten because the Father is the vinedresser and he will remove the branches that are rotten.
Christians have always had disagreements and that’s ok. Every single person experiences God in different ways, but we are all branches on the same vine. When Christians disagree, a good path through our disagreements is to remember that all Christians are branches on one vine. We can spend our time trying to figure out who is rotten and who is fruitful, but in the end that only distracts us from our calling to bear fruit in Christ.
(Easter 5, Wednesday: Acts 15:1-6, Psalm 122, John 15:1-8)
Since the time of the apostles Christians have had disagreements over every imaginable topic. When dealing with the disagreements that we face today and tomorrow, we can learn much from the early Christian disagreement over circumcision.
From the Acts of the Apostles, as well as from Saint Paul’s letters we know that there was a heated dispute over whether converts to Christianity who were not Jewish ought to observe the law of Moses and be circumcised. Some on each side of this dispute didn’t only want to win because they thought they were doing the will of God, they also refused to recognize those with different views as Christians. In fact, we are told in Acts that this same group was responsible for trying on several occasions to assassinate Saint Paul and in the end it was through their efforts that Paul was imprisoned for many years and sent to Rome to stand before Caesar.
Yet, Jesus himself who reminds us that we are not to act as judge against one another. He uses the image of the vine to underscore this point. He says that we are like branches on a vine. We are part of him as well as part of each other. Jesus expects that the branches which are on his vine will grow fruit, but he doesn’t want the branches to decide whether or not they are growing fruit. After all, a branch cannot bear fruit if it is spending all of its time trying to tell other branches what fruit they ought to grow. Jesus tells us not to worry about whether certain branches are fruitful or rotten because the Father is the vinedresser and he will remove the branches that are rotten.
Christians have always had disagreements and that’s ok. Every single person experiences God in different ways, but we are all branches on the same vine. When Christians disagree, a good path through our disagreements is to remember that all Christians are branches on one vine. We can spend our time trying to figure out who is rotten and who is fruitful, but in the end that only distracts us from our calling to bear fruit in Christ.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The Peace of God
Preached on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at Low Mass.
(Easter 5, Tuesday: Acts 14:19-28, Psalm 145:9-14, John 14:27-31a)
Often when people talk about peace, they speak as if peace were the same thing as security and safety. Life is full of things we all use to keep us and our things secure: homes with locked door after locked door, alarms, passwords, combinations, and keys; circles of friends that rarely expand; and of course borders that keep us in and other people out. Not only does every safety net have holes; everything that I am safeguarding will at some point crumble away and be forgotten.
The need for endless layers of security and safety stems from fear and it does not lead to peace at all. The Peace which Jesus speaks about is not security or safety. In fact it seems to be the opposite: it’s the peace to be able to let go of all the fears that keep us holding on to things that will fade and separated from all the people that we’ve never met. Having that Peace doesn’t mean I should drop everything and live without a care in the world, but it does mean that I am called to live my life moving forward to the unexpected and not try always to stay in the same place doing the same things with the same people.
After Jesus’ death, the first thing his disciples did was to gather in a room and lock the door. They were afraid and they responded to this by closing themselves off from the world and locking the door. Jesus appeared to them in the middle of the locked room. He said to them: "Peace be with you," and he sent them, as we all are, to leave behind their locked up lives and go forth into the world spreading the good news of the risen Lord. In the Acts of the Apostles we see how through the work of these same disciples a door of faith was opened not only to the Jews in Jerusalem but Gentiles throughout the whole world.
The Peace of God takes us beyond false security and fear. It is spread to others by sharing the knowledge and love of God with one another, with our friends, with our neighbors, with those we don't know and have never met and even with our enemies. Like the first disciples may each of us unlock our hearts so that we too can spread the Peace of God to each other and be an open door for the love of God to pass through to all people.
(Easter 5, Tuesday: Acts 14:19-28, Psalm 145:9-14, John 14:27-31a)
Often when people talk about peace, they speak as if peace were the same thing as security and safety. Life is full of things we all use to keep us and our things secure: homes with locked door after locked door, alarms, passwords, combinations, and keys; circles of friends that rarely expand; and of course borders that keep us in and other people out. Not only does every safety net have holes; everything that I am safeguarding will at some point crumble away and be forgotten.
The need for endless layers of security and safety stems from fear and it does not lead to peace at all. The Peace which Jesus speaks about is not security or safety. In fact it seems to be the opposite: it’s the peace to be able to let go of all the fears that keep us holding on to things that will fade and separated from all the people that we’ve never met. Having that Peace doesn’t mean I should drop everything and live without a care in the world, but it does mean that I am called to live my life moving forward to the unexpected and not try always to stay in the same place doing the same things with the same people.
After Jesus’ death, the first thing his disciples did was to gather in a room and lock the door. They were afraid and they responded to this by closing themselves off from the world and locking the door. Jesus appeared to them in the middle of the locked room. He said to them: "Peace be with you," and he sent them, as we all are, to leave behind their locked up lives and go forth into the world spreading the good news of the risen Lord. In the Acts of the Apostles we see how through the work of these same disciples a door of faith was opened not only to the Jews in Jerusalem but Gentiles throughout the whole world.
The Peace of God takes us beyond false security and fear. It is spread to others by sharing the knowledge and love of God with one another, with our friends, with our neighbors, with those we don't know and have never met and even with our enemies. Like the first disciples may each of us unlock our hearts so that we too can spread the Peace of God to each other and be an open door for the love of God to pass through to all people.
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