Ash Wednesday

Sermon Preached on Ash Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ash Wednesday; Mass
Joel 2:1-2,12-17, Psalm 103:8-14; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10, Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

Today is the first day of Lent, the season of preparation for Easter. On Ash Wednesday, when ashes are imposed, the words “remember you are dust and to dust you will return” are spoken. When I hear those words, I am reminded of the common humanity I share with the everyone on earth, rich or poor, sick or healthy, friend or stranger – we are all made of the same stuff, and Jesus loved us all so much that he died and rose so that we could all have eternal life in him.

I think that the traditional methods of observing Lent, prayer and fasting, can be tools to live out our calling by Jesus to love one another as much as he loved us.

Perhaps this Lent you’ve decided to fast, or you’ve decided to give something up for the duration of Lent. You might take the money saved each week and give it directly to one of the many soup kitchens in the city. Maybe you’ve decided to set aside time for prayer and reflection this Lent. When carving out that time, perhaps you can also set aside time to volunteer in some outreach or charity program. Maybe this Lent you’ve decided to attend a church service each week or each day. You might try to bring one person with you each week, someone who hasn’t been to church in a whole or maybe someone who has never been to church at all.

Lent is a time that is often used to do what we can to bring ourselves into a closer relationship with God and each other. Our Gospel today warns us against practicing acts of piety simply for the sake of being pious. This Lent I invite you open your hearts to the Holy Spirit, that through prayer, fasting and piety you may be led by God to spread his eternal love to someone else.

...all nations

Sermon preached at Evensong & Benediction on February 18, 2007.

Year 1, Last Epiphany, Sunday, Evensong and Benediction:
Ecclesiasticus 48:1-11, John 12:24-32; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

This morning my son was baptized. From my perspective as a priest at Saint Mary’s and as a Christian, the most exciting thing that happens throughout the church year is when someone is baptized. As a priest in at Saint Mary’s I am thrilled that we have gained a new member. But as a Christian that I am even happier because when someone is baptized we are living out the great commission which Jesus gave to us before his ascension to the Father: “Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

In our Gospel Lesson Jesus says of his coming glory “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself”. As a parent, one way I can be a part of that drawing of all people to Christ is to have my children baptized and raise both to follow Christ and to lead others to him. As a priest I can preach the gospel from the pulpit in an effort to tell others that God loves them so much that he offers eternal life to everyone. As a Christian I can follow the example set by saints who spread the Gospel to others. Last week we celebrated the life of Thomas Bray, an English priest who lived about 400 years ago. One of the things that he is most famous for is having spent some time in America questioning chastising Christians who refused to treat black slaves and American Indians as people and therefore refused to spread the Gospel to them.

Today is the last Sunday before Lent. Often people find things to give up for Lent. Often people add acts of piety or devotion, such as attending Daily Mass or Stations of the Cross. I believe those are noble things to do in Lent. In addition, I think that Lent can also be a time to reflect and act on our calling to spread the Gospel to all nations and ensure that the whole world is drawn to Jesus.

The Beatitudes

Sermon preached Sunday February 11, 2007.

Year C; Sixth Sunday After Epiphany;

Psalm 1; Jeremiah 17:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26

Our Gospel reading this morning is the beginning of what is commonly known as the Sermon on the Plain. It begins with the Beatitudes as they are reported by Saint Luke:

Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.

Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

I think that most people are more familiar with Saint Matthew’s Beatitudes which are decidedly more spiritual. Compare Matthew’s “Blessed are the poor in spirit” to Luke’s “Blessed are the poor.” Or Matthew’s “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” to Luke’s “Blessed are you that hunger now.”

Christians have often viewed the Saint Luke’s down to earth Beatitudes as a starting point on how to live as believers. Some Christians have taken them literally. Christians, such as Saint Francis, have tried to live as the Blessed Poor by renouncing all worldly goods and putting their wellbeing completely in God’s hands. Christians have tried to live as the “Blessed Hungry” by fasting on certain days of the year – satisfying themselves not with food, but through prayer and reflection. Christians, such as Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine, have tried to be “Blessed Mourners” who weep over their sins and transgressions. Christians, such as Saint Ignatius of Antioch and other martyrs of the early church, have tried to live and die as the “Blessed Persecuted” by joyfully undergoing persecutions and martyrdom for the sake of Jesus.

There is a venerable tradition of Saints living out the Beatitudes literally, but I’m not so sure that everyone is called to live run naked through the streets like Saint Francis, confess our sins as publicly as Augustine did, or seek out persecutions as some in the early church did.

If we take Jesus’ great command to love one another as he loved us as our starting point, I think the Beatitudes from Saint Luke can spur us to try to spread the blessings that God has given us to others. One week ago a friend of mine who had been sick for many years died. Her husband who is also a friend of mine is mourning her loss. What can I do to comfort him? Reach out to him and let him know he and his wife are in my thoughts and prayers. In this week’s Angelus Father Beddingfield wrote about the overwhelming hunger and poverty he encountered on his Mission trip to Honduras. What can I do to help those hungry and poor? I can take one of many opportunities and put more in the collection plate on Maundy Thursday when all money from the collection is given to Honduras.

Jesus says: “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the light.” I believe we are called to shine the light of Christ on others and spread the blessings that God has given us to others,. What blessings has God given us? In what ways can we share those blessings with others?