2 Opportunities

Sermon preached Sunday October 29, 2006

Isaiah 59:(1-4)9-19; Hebrews 5:12-6:1,9-12; Mark 10:46-52; Psalm 13

There are certain things that produce an instant reaction from me. When I hear the church burglar alarm – which is about the most annoying sound ever – I stop whatever I have been doing and run to the nearest alarm keypad. When I hear a smoke detector go off, I look for smoke. When I am driving and I see lights or hear sirens, I move over. These are things that instantly make me do something because life cannot go on as usual after I notice them.

When I read Saint Mark’s Gospel, one of the things that strikes me is how often the people in the gospel react to Jesus in a way that is contrary to what I think would be natural. A few examples:

Throughout the Gospel there are people who see Jesus heal and their reaction is to find some way to get rid of him. This isn’t limited to the Pharisees or even to religious leaders. Recall the story where Jesus casts a legion of demons out of a man and the town’s response is to ask Jesus to leave. If I saw someone healing, I hope that I would try to help out so more people could be healed.

The people who are closest to Jesus see him serving people and healing people. They hear him teaching constantly. They travel with him from town to town. Still, we read that they want Jesus to be their personal Lord and Savior. They fight amongst themselves over who is the most important or who will be the most honored. Even when Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James and John – revealed to them in all of his glory – they do not suggest that Jesus reveal himself to anyone else. Instead, they want to build some shelters to keep the this revelation with them away on the mountain. I hope that I would try to find a way to show others what had been revealed to me.

Today’s Gospel finds Jesus at the end of his ministry. As Jesus and a large crowd are walking to Jerusalem, they encounter a blind beggar on the side of the road who calls out to Jesus. The people rebuke the man and tell him to be quiet. I hope I would try to find a way to bring Jesus and the blind man together.

It is against the backdrop of these events that the healing of this blind beggar seems so striking. The man responds after Jesus cures his blindness by immediately following Jesus. He doesn’t leave. He doesn’t get mad. He doesn’t try to convince Jesus to follow him. He remains with the man who has shown that God is working through him. I hope that my reaction to seeing God’s work would be to want to be a part of that work.

I think that today’s Gospel offers each of us an opportunity. I am reminded to take a good hard look around to see where God is working in my life. I see God working in this church. I see the doors of this building that remain open all day as the loving arms of God open lovingly to all people. I see the ministry of all the people of Saint Mary’s reaching out to others as the hands of God working in the world. I see the masses, offices, baptisms, weddings, and funerals that are regularly offered here at Saint Mary’s as a great witness to the power of the resurrection testified to all of New York City.

I am also reminded that I am given the opportunity to be part of that work in whatever way I am able. When you and I see the presence of God, how do we respond? The author of the letter to the Hebrews says: “be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The blind man was given sight by God and he responded by offering all he had in return: himself.

I try to respond by giving what I have to make sure that I too am a part of this work. Two things that I have found I am able to give are time and money, yet through patience and faith I can probably give more of myself.

I think that the Gospel gives us the opportunity to push ourselves more and more to imitate those people who showed faith and patience. People like the blind man, like the apostles of the early church, like the saints throughout the ages. People who having seen God work in their lives tried to give every bit of themselves to help spread the love of God in Jesus Christ to the world. How is God working in our lives? In what ways do we respond? In what ways do we imitate the saints?

Saint Matthew

Sermon preached on September 21, 2006
September 21, Saint Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist:
Proverbs 3:1-6, Psalm 119:33-40,2 Timothy 3:14-17, Matthew 9:9-13

The name Matthew means "gift of God". If we look at the call of Matthew as told in the Gospels we find some interesting details. Luke and Mark both call Matthew by the name Levi. Luke and Mark also inform us that the dinner that Jesus went to after calling Matthew wasn't just at any house (Perhaps Matthew is being humble in his account of the call), it was at Matthew's own home. Luke goes on to desribe this as not merely a dinner, but as a great feast!

Saint Paul reminds us that God has given us all many different gifts. Matthew used the gifts that God gave him to show the love of God in Christ to others. First, he used the money, food, and home that he had to throw a feast for others to be in the presence of Jesus. The worldly gifts that he had were used immediately to bring others closer to Christ. Second, he gave all of us the gift of his Gospel, witnessing to the power of Christ in his life to peopel around the world for 2000 years.

I think we can use the examples seen in the life and witness of Saint Matthew to find ways to use the gifts that God has given each of us to spread the love of God to others.

John Coleridge Patteson et al.

Sermon preached at Sung mass, Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Year 2, Proper 19, Wednesday, Daily Mass:
Psalm 33:1-12,22*, 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Luke 7:31-35

Today is the feast day of John Coleridge Patteson, bishop of Malanesia. He and those with him were killed visiting the island of Nakapu when he was mistakenly connected to slave-raiders had attacked the island.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with a friend a few years ago. I had heard so many sermons in Seminary that didn't mention two things that I think are essential to Christian preaching and evangelism. The first is the death and resurrection of Jesus. The second is love. They are connected and I remember saying that I would be happy if every sermon I heard had mentioned one or the other. When we talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus we are talking about the love that God has for all of us. Love so that nothing, not even death can seperate us from God.

Patteson's death is very similar to the events in today's Gospel. He was killed because someone made an incorrect assumption. Likewise, John the Baptist was accused of having a demon and Lesus was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton.

If, following the logic of Saint Paul as illustrated in our Epistle today, we start with love; strip everything else away and start with nothing but love, then the assumptions we have don't lead us to killing people, they don't lead us to casting people out, and they don't lead us to trowing around insults and branding people. The cross is a good starting point. The cross is the ultimate example of God's love for all of us. By taking up the cross and following the example of Jesus we are starting with love. Love does not lead us to make the kind of assumptions we see in the demise of Patteson and in today's Gospel account. Love is patient, love is kind, love never ends.

Theodore of Tarsus

Sermon preached on Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Year 2, Proper 19, Tuesday, Daily Mass:
Psalm 100, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14,27-31; Luke 7:11-17

Theodore of Tarsus was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 7th Century. He was from Tarsus, the city of Saint Paul in the East, but relocated to England when the English Church was in dire need of leadership and stability following a plague. He was a great catalyst for uniting Christians throuhgout England who had been fighting with each other.

Its is wonderful that we get to hear from Saint Paul about the Body of Christ in the world on this day. Christian disagree with each other even when they live together, but Paul reminds us that we are all one Body in Christ, many different members but one Body. We all have different gifts and we are all called different roles in the Church. I'm going to hazzard a guess that none of us today here at Saint Mary's will be called as the Archbiship of Canterbury but that doesn't lessen what each of us can bring to Our Lord's Table.

We each receive from the same broken bread and same cup of wine at our Lord's Table, likewise we are each members of the one Body of Christ. Saint Paul calls us to cultivate the gifts we have and use the role we have in the church. One way we can live our roles in the church and use those gifts is to unite Christians and help them to realize that we are all one Body in Christ.

Dr. Edward B. Pusey

Sermon preached on Monday, September 18, 2006
Year 2, Proper 19, Monday, Daily Mass:
Psalm 40:8-12, 1 Corinthians 11:17-28,33; Luke 7:1-10

Today we celebrate the feast day of Edward Pusey, one of the founding fathers of the Oxford Movement. The Oxford Movement was a concerted effort by English laity and clergy (some of whom were Dons at Oxford and Cambridge) to bring back beauty of worship and a reverence for the Body of Christ. Saint Mary's was built as an American companion to this movment. The worship, the building, and a great part of the identity of the church are rooted in much of the thinking of the Oxford Movement.

Today we have a new ambo or lectern. Its beautiful. We also have in our presence our own incense meister, Kenny, who has come back to New York to make a new batch of his wonderful incense for us. Beatiful furnishing and incense are things that can add beauty and majesty to our worship, not to spice up the ceremony, but to bring our whole bodies, our hearts, our mouths, our noses, our eyes, and our ears into worshipping the glory of God and reverencing the Presence of Christ in the Sancrament.

Our gospel today speaks of worthiness. Its not through our own merit that we are worthy to stand before God, it is through the work of Jesus Christ who brings our very humanity into God. One of the main tenets of the Oxford movement was that God was for all of us. The beauty of worship and the revernece for God is somethat that all people can enjoy and share. Pusey and the other founders of the Oxford Movement, were not interested in making Church a good looking and beautiful club. They were interested in bringing about a reverence for Christ and letting all people know they were worthy through Christ. By treating the Sacrament with reverence and taking great care in our worship we quite leterally open the door to all people. That reverence extends to all who recieve communion and beyond to the entire Body of Christ in the world.

I invite you, following in the spirit of the Oxford Movement to expereince the real presence of Christ in Communion and to take the knowledge that through Christ you are made worthy and bring it to others. Invite others by letting them know that Jesus Christ died and rose for them too.

Lend a hand, not a snide remark

Sermon preached Sunday, September 17, 2006
Proper 19: Closest to September 14
Psalm 116 or 116:1-8; Isaiah 50:4-9; James 2:1-5,8-10,14-18; Mark 8:27-38

In today's Gospel we hear the account of Saint Peter's confession of Jesus as Christ. I can't tell you how many sermons I heard when I was in Seminary that used this gospel as a platform for bashing Saint Peter: "True Peter confessed Jesus, but he didn't really jknow what he was talking about."; "Well, if you keep reading the Gospel you find that Peter denied Jesus and fled."; etc. Its almost popular for preachers to remind us over and over that Peter and the other apostles weren't perect. In fact, I know I've done it myself.

They weren't perfect; you and I aren't perfect. Taking up our crosses and following Jesus is not an easy thing to do. Every Friday during Lent we offer a service called Stations of the Cross. As we walk with Jesus on the way of the cross we see Jesus fall three times under the weight of the cross. There are two responses to this. Some jeer at Jesus and offer snide remarks. But Simon of Cyrene offers a helping hand. He assists Jesus with the cross that is always difficult to take up.

Saint Peter and the other apostles fell and stumbled with the crosses they took up, as we all do. I'm not sure its helpful to concentrate on the stumbling and the falling - to me it comes off like we are people on the sidelines who offer nothing but snide remarks. I think its more hlepful to follow the example of Simon and the example of the apostles themselves who supported each other with the crosses that they bore as they followed Christ and spread the Gospel to the whole world.

Support each other and lend a hand to those who stumble in their faith because it isn't easy following Christ and its never easy taking up the cross. Pray for support from those around you in the times when we all stumble.

Saint Cyrpian

Sermon preached at Sung Mass on Spetember 13, 2006
Year 2, Proper 18, Wednesday, Daily Mass: Psalm 47, 1 Corinthians 7:25-31; Luke 6:20-26

Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Cyrpian, Bishop of Carthage and martyr. Cyprian is remembered for being very popular among the poor of Carthage. He had been a wealthy pagan before his baptism and when he was converted he gave much of his money to the poor. He is also remembered for weighing on on the issues of his day in a way that was not heavy handed.

Cyrian lived in the middle of the 3rd century at a time when the Church was hashing out and fighting over many internal issues - when isn't the church hashing out and fighting over many internal issues. Two of these issues were the readmittance of lapsed Christians - Christians who had succumbed to official Roman pressure to worship the Romans gods - and the validity of Baptism by heretics.

Cyprian generally sided with the more narrow view on both of these issues, but not to an extreme. He welcomed lapsed Christians backed but he believed that they ought to be repentent of what they had done. In line with his most famous quote: "No salvation outside the Church", he felt that Baptism by a heretic was invalid because it was done outside the Church, yet he argued his position in a civil way and listened to other bishops in North Africa as well as throughout the church.

As we celebrate Saint Cyrpian we are reminded by today's Gospel that it is the people who make up the church. In our dealings with other Christians let our convictions over any issue not get in the way of remembering that all who confess Christ are members of the Body of Christ.

The Apprenticeship of Wilhelm Meister

One of my favorite books, which I began rereading again at the end of my vacation - I haven't had much time to read lately, but I'm working through it - is by Goethe; its called the Apprenticeship of Wilhelm Meister.

The book follows Wilhelm's attempt to escpape the confinement of every day life... something which actually rings fairly true to many people today. Where he ends up... well that's all part of the story. I won't spoil the book, but its a good read, but his escape turns out to be a road to self-realization and a path to maturity of a sort he never imagined.

As Christians its helpful to remember that we don't always see exactly the path we are on. One thing is certain, if we are following Christ, it means confessing Jesus who died and rose on our lips and in our hearts.

John Henry Hobart

Sermon Preached on Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Year 2, Proper 18, Tuesday, Daily Mass: Psalm 149:1-5, 1 Corinthians 6:1-11; Luke 6:12-19

Today we celebrate John Henry Hobart, who served as bishop of New York at the beginning of the 19th century. Bishop Hobart is remembered mostly for his zeal in growing the disocese of New York. While he was bishop he doubled the number of priests in the discoese and planted new churches in nearly every town in the Diocese. His zeal for spreading the Gospel was contageous and was cought up by the clergy and people of the New York. His efforts not only grew the Episcopal Church, they also evangelized and energized much of New York.

Today we begin Saint Luke's account of the Sermon on the Plain. It is remarkable how Luke narates that Jesus came down from the mountain where he was alone with his disciples to be among all of the people. Whether we consider ourselves church leaders or not, our commission is the same: we are all called to bring the Gospel to all nations and to make Jesus presence known among all people.

The example of Bishop Hobart is a good one. Let the joy and zeal for the Gospel that the Holy Spirit filled him with also fill us so that we can evangelize and energize those around us and make the presence of Christ know to everyone, not as someone who is far off but as someone who is present in their midst.

5 Years after September 11, 2001

Sermon preached on September 11, 2006 at Sung Requiem Mass at Saint Mary's .

For years I played ice hockey; less now than in the past few years, and in fact I haven’t played since 2000. Hockey can be a rough game and in high school I was sent to the hospital with a few broken, cracked, and bruised ribs. To this day, the pain from that injury occasionally bubbles to the surface and my ribs hurt. For me, hockey brings to mind other wounds that haven’t completely healed. I used to play hockey with a bunch of investment bankers and lawyers up at Riverbank State Park. On September 11, a couple of guys who made up my line were killed in the World Trade Center. To this day, every time I think about hockey I think about those guys.

I imagine that each us has a similar story. Some lost family members. Others lost close friends. Others lost people they had worked with or had gone to school with or played with. Others know someone who lost someone dear. All of us have stories that are hard to tell and that cause pain to bubble to the surface like old injuries that never really healed.

I imagine, like me, the stories that we all tell don’t stop there. When I remember those guys I think of the good times we had together on the ice. I think of the goals we scored and the celebrations that we had. I think of the times we banded together to make a stand and hold off the other team. I remember the good times much more than I remember the bad.

All of our readings today remind us that the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s love for all of us. The Wisdom of the Old Testament tells us that the souls who are with God are at peace, suffering no torment and abiding forever in God’s love. Saint John tells us as he describes his revelation that those who are with God do not lack anything, God himself wiping away every tear from their eyes. In our Gospel reading Jesus reminds us that he is the Good Shepherd who will never let anything happen to his sheep. He knows us all by name and no matter where we are, he will find us and bring us home.

One of my favorite Gospel passages is the one where Jesus talks about preparing a place for us in his Father’s house, a house with many rooms. Having died, risen, and ascended, he is now preparing a place for all of us. Every one of us goes home to God and he is waiting for us with open arms and a place prepared. The love of God is amazing and it cannot be overcome by anything, not even death.

I miss my friends, but I know I will see them again. I know I will see them when I meet my Lord and my God and when I experience completely the love of God that I see working in the hearts, hands, and words of people around me: friends, family, strangers.

Today we remember those who died five years ago. In different ways we celebrate their lives. But we come together to celebrate that through the death and resurrection of Jesus they and we have eternal life and we celebrate that through Christ the love of God binds us all together forever. Through the resurrection of Jesus we know that death does not separate us from God or from each other. Jesus promised us that he knows us all by name, and just as Lazarus came out of the tomb when Jesus called his name, so he calls all of us and he gathers us all together: one flock, one shepherd.

I only have one message for you today: Let the love for those we do not see anymore grow in us so that it overflows and shows itself to others. Showing love beyond telling stories and remembering and into showing the love that God has for them and for us to others.

Revised Common Lectionary

Thoughts for the future...

A version of the Revised Common Lectionary (that has not yet been finalized for the Episcopal Church) was offically passed by General Convention this year as the lectionary for the Episcopal church. Personally, I find it troubling that any church would approve of a lectionary that hasn't yet been finished. Be that as it may. In any case, I am doing a complete and thorough analysis (something that also strangely was not available to any delegates at Convention) of the draft ECUSA version of the RCL. I am teaching a class on this at Saint Mary's on October 1st and I will post my results here.

Bread, Sausages, Heretics and Jesus

Sermon preached on August 20, 2006
Proper 15B : Psalm 34:9-14; Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:53-59

For hundreds of years people in the church have been fighting over Holy Communion. What exactly what we are doing in communion? Who can take communion? Who is allowed to do what? What does it all mean? Usually today’s Gospel reading is used as tool in this fight.

I think I can use a recent event in my life to illustrate this.

I celebrated my 30th Birthday party with 30 people and 30 different kinds of sausage. (Please forgive the enormous spelling mistakes in this section of the text) I had bratwurst, knockwurst, bauernwurst, bockwurst, wienerwurst, alpenwurst, kielbasa, hot Italian, sweet Italian, hot chorizo, sweet chorizo, chicken and tomato, duck and armaniac, chicken and cheese, cheese and spinach, brocolirob ropes, soprossata, pepperoni, landjaager, strange unpronounceable French and Belgian sausages, and a bunch more I can’t think of off the top of my head. But why get one of each kind, when you can 5 to 10 of each kind – that’s better even than Noah. If I had to guess, I would say that I cooked a couple hundred sausages that night.

Well, when you cook that many sausages, you run into a problem identifying them at some point. There were plates of sausages that couldn’t be identified because everything began to get mixed together. Nobody could identify for certain what they were eating; all anyone could agree on was that everyone was eating sausage and having a good time.

At my birthday I know I gave someone a Bratwurst that turned out to be an Italian Sausage. I know I gave someone else a mysterious French Sausage that was supposed to be chorizo. Nobody got mad. On some basic level the starting point was that we were all gathered together enjoying sausage together.

Back to the Eucharist. Some argue that the bread and wine becomes the physical body and blood of Christ only remaining like bread. Others temper that slightly by saying that we are truly partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ when we truly partake of the bread and wine. Others claim that Christ is really present in the bread and wine, in some definable way. Still others claim that Christ is really present in the bread and wine, but not in any definable way. Others claim that Communion is a time when we remember Jesus. Others think of the Communion as simply a gathering together showing that we are gathering together. All of these things are supported in various ways by Scripture. Believing strongly in various aspects of our faith is a good thing, but if we begin to hold up parts of what we believe over Jesus’ love for all of us, we run into problems which aren’t helpful for us or the church.

Often Christians move beyond supporting something with Scripture towards condemning other Christians to hell. For example, Roman Catholics begin by speaking of certain “heretical doctrines”. Anglicans have favored phrases such as “repugnant to the plain words of Scripture”. Lutherans like to nail things to church doors. The best though is the oft used phrase: “Satan’s burping whore of Babylon” to describe another denomination.

Was it Jesus who said: “When two or three are gathered together in my name they will find a way to insult and cast out two or three others who are also gathered together in my name.”?

No, actually Jesus said: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

The point of the Eucharist is not gathering together to find out who is toeing the party line and who is not. Using the Eucharist as a tool to claim others are heretics or even the Whore of Babylon isn’t helpful. It doesn’t spread the Gospel and generally it makes all Christians look stupid and mean.

If I were to start a fight at my birthday party because everyone didn’t agree with me over which sausage was which, I’d be a bad host and I’d be missing the whole point of why we were there in the first place.

The point of the Eucharist is gathering together with Jesus in our midst. Jesus offers all of us his body and blood, on the cross as well as in the sacraments of bread and wine instituted at the last supper. Jesus welcomes us all to his table. I do believe that the Body and Blood of Jesus are really present in the Bread and Wine on the altar, but I know that not everyone would agree with what I believe.

I can’t make you believe what I believe, I won’t tell you you’re going to hell because you disagree with me over what is going on in Communion, but I can explain to you why I think belief in the real presence can be a powerful tool of spreading the Gospel and a great witness to Jesus Christ.

Saint Mary’s has historically been a community that holds the presence of Christ in the bread and wine as a very special and amazing thing; nourished by Jesus himself; adoring Jesus in the most holy sacrament; being blessed by his presence; and becoming one with him as he is one with the Father. Saint Mary’s has also historically been a community that uses such an understanding of the Sacrament to welcome all into the mysteries of Christ’s love for all of us without forcing people to sign off on something that has 50 pages of fine print. Saint Mary’s is a place where the grace that fills us when we are in church sends us out into the world to show the same love that God has for all of us to others. We partake of the Body of Christ and we act out our identity as the Body of Christ in the world. The high regard and respect that we hold for the Sacrament is reflected in the high regard and respect that we try to have for one another. Just as Jesus welcomes us to eat with him, so we too do our best to welcome others.

Today I invite you to partake of the Body of Christ. Jesus offers himself to you. Take him and offer his love to someone else. Invite someone to your church to be one with Jesus.

Back from vacation and 30...

This blog has been somewhat slow lately due to vacations, weddings, birthdays, and generally no time to spend on the blog. My apologies, I will try to keep it updated throughout the rest of the Summer and beyond.

My 30th Birthday was last week! The day after I turned 30 I read a message from Father Paschal (a priest at Portsmouth Abbey in RI) published in the Abbey newsletter. I will pass his wise advice on to you. He said that every day, everything (excpet for sin) can be offered up to God. On those days where you find that there isn't enough time to do what you hoped to do, where the isn't enough time to devote your attention to everything you wanted (like this blog!), remember... everything that day can be offered up for service to God, whether it is mundane or not, almost everything we do can be done for the glory of the Lord.

In the morning, devote the new day to God. On a birthday, devote the new year to serving God. When you stumble, devote the challange of rising to God.

Jonathan Myrick Daniels

Today we celebrate the feast day of Jonathan Myrick Daniels. Jonathan Myrick Daniels lived about 50 years ago. He had a life cnaging moment at the church of the Advent in Boston on Easter Day. During the singing of the Magnificat he was moved by the words of Mary to get up and do something.

His response to the Gospel was to join the Civil Rights movement.

Today, tomorrow, and every time you are in church, singing hymns, hearing the Scripture read, praying the Lord's Prayer, or reading passages from the Bible, don't just hear what the Lord is saying to you, heed it. Jonathan Myrick Daniels responded to the Gospel. Tomorrow we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When you hear the words of the Magnificat, read at the Gospel, what will your response be?

Saint Mary Magdalene

Sermon preached on the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, July 21 (Eve) and July 22, 2006
Judith 9:1,11-14; 2 Corinthians 5:14-18; John 20:11-18; Psalm 42:1-7

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last few years, you've probably heard about Mary Magdalene. She has been dragged through novels, movies, TV shows, magazines, and many other places. If you want fantastic stories that have little to no basis in history then I guess go read the books and see the movies and become facinated.

A little historical background is sometimes helpful. The Gospels that we read in church were all written down within 30 to 50 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. His initial followers began to die off and accurate records of Jesus' ministry were written down from their recollections. These accounts are often blunt and brief. They don't fill in many of the holes that people sometimes want filled, so over the next few centuries other stories began to appear. Most of these are wild tales about Jesus followers and Jesus himself. There are stories about Jesus as a child getting mad at his teacher and killing him, then feeling bad and rasing him up. If you want wild stories, there are plenty of them. The Gospel accounts just aren't wild enough for some people... then or now. It seems that what was true for filling in the holes of Jesus life is also true for filling in the holes in the lives of the saints.

If we actually look at the Gospel accounts we find out all we need to know about Mary Magdalene. She had been possessed by demons, but her encounter with Jesus changed her life. when he healed her. She went looking for Jesus' body after he died and instead she encountered Jesus risen from the dead. She then went and told everyone else.

In our own lives, wouldn't it be great if the final word was... "an encounter with Jesus changed her life... and she went and told everyone else!" Let the Spirit work in your life in such a way that you can overcome whatever is keeping you from telling the Good News to others.

William White

Today the Episcopal church celebrates William White. Bishop White was the first Bishop of Pennsylvania and one of the first Bishops in the Episcopal Church. He is responsible for the system of church organization that the Episcopal Church has - he was ademant that the laity have a role in church decisions.

As laity you have been given a great responsibilty. Take it.

On this day I ask your prayers for all Bishops in the church. Pray that they firmly fix their hearts on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that they direct their dioceses for the spread of his Gospel to all people through word and deed. Pray for all bishops every where.

On the Scriptures

Angelus Article for Sunday. July 16, 2006
The Angelus is Saint Mary's weekly newsletter - archives are available on the Parish Website.
My grandfather spent his life working as a lobsterman; one of his sons was a lobsterman, the other a fisherman. I know that sound advice, a number of nets, traps, and locations of fertile fishing grounds were passed from father to sons. They were given the tried and true methods of fishing.

Like my uncles, I am fortunate to have had a number of things passed down to me. Last week I visited my godfather, a retired priest, in Maryland and went through his bookshelves with him. “This is a must have.” “This is useless.” “You might find this handy.” “I used this every week as part of my sermon preparation.” With such tools and advice from my godfather and other priests (in particular my dad and my colleagues at Saint Mary’s), I am learning the tried and true methods of being a “fisher of men”.

I love telling others about Jesus Christ. I love preaching at Low Mass when there is little more than a moment to instruct the congregation about who Jesus is or what Jesus said and what that means for us. I love preaching at Solemn Mass when there is a little more time to dig deeper into the day’s readings and, hopefully, reveal that much more about Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life. I love teaching classes, especially Bible studies. I can’t imagine being able to do any of this without having received what was passed on to me by others.

It’s certainly true that God is revealed to us in the people around us, after all if we truly believe that we are members of the Body of Christ then we see and hear Christ in each other. Jesus has been revealed to me through the words and actions of bishops, priests, deacons, and laity with whom I interacted throughout my life. I learned about Jesus by listening to and talking with professors and students and by reading treatises, commentaries, and histories at Chicago and Yale. From all of these (whether positive or negative examples), I learned that the tried and true methods of Christian ministry rely on being pointed again and again to the gospel of Christ revealed in the scriptures.

It makes perfect sense if you think about it. These Christian leaders, whether they are people living today or people who lived hundreds of years ago are all links in a chain of clergy, theologians, preachers, and other church leaders stretching back to the very apostles that Jesus himself sent into the world to teach and baptize all nations. The apostles and disciples who had followed Jesus during his ministry, who had seen him, spoken with him, and eaten with him after he rose from the dead passed on to others all they knew about who Jesus was and what he had taught them. They used the same Hebrew and Greek scriptures to talk about him that he used to talk about himself. They wrote letters and gospels, and inspired others to write gospels and letters so that there would be an accurate record of Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection, as well as an accurate record of how Jesus was understood by those who were personally sent out by him to the rest of the world.

The Old and New Testaments have been passed down to us by the church. Christian worship is taken from them. Christian theology interprets them. Christian preaching exposits them. Why? So that Jesus Christ is revealed to us today the same way that he was revealed to the first apostles: as the way, the truth and the life; as our King and our God. The scriptures are not the only way God is revealed to us, but they are the tried and true method of knowing Jesus that has been passed down to us. Like fishing or anything else, we can always go it on our own through trial and error. Maybe I’ll catch a lobster with a fishing pole – I actually did it once by chance – but I can tell you for certain that going out with my grandfather, baiting and dropping traps in fertile lobster waters, and hauling in a catch of more lobsters than you can imagine is the tried and true method of catching lobsters.

This summer, I invite you to encounter Jesus in the exact same way Christians have encountered him for the past two thousand years, read what Jesus himself said, and find out what those who knew him said about him. If you don’t know where to start, read a Gospel or an Epistle or even take up the Daily Office and become familiar with the entire Bible.

A Carpenter

Sermon preached Sunday, July 9, 2006
Ezekiel 2:1-72; Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-6; Psalm 123

Saint Mark tells us that Jesus was a carpenter. When Jesus returns to his own home, his neighbors are astounded at the works and teachings of this man who they know, a mere carpenter. Today’s gospel is not about carpentry, its about faith, but I think carpentry is a good starting point for talking about faith.

I’m no carpenter, but I took five years of woodshop and I worked for a summer at a construction site. An important part of building anything is that you have to be able to look at the materials and see whatever it is you are building in them. Seeing one piece as a leg, another as part of a side, another a joint. All parts to the whole. What may have looked to someone else like a useless pile of wood or bricks for me is a bench or a building… just not finished.

Faith is like that. You see what’s there even when sometimes others are sure they know better. When Jesus returned home during his ministry, some people were amazed at what Jesus had been doing, but his neighbors knew better: they saw the carpenter they already knew everything about. His teaching and his miracles may have been astounding, but at the end of the day, it was just Jesus the carpenter. They responded to him like a visitor to a construction site might respond when shown a pile of bricks: “yeah, its bricks; who cares?”.

His followers on the other hand saw Jesus through eyes of faith. His teaching and his miracles showed without a doubt that God was working through him. After he was crucified, his followers encountered the risen Lord and knew that this Jesus was in fact the Messiah, the Son of God who offered eternal life to all who believed in him. They responded to Jesus like a carpenter or a mason might respond when shown a pile of wood or bricks: “Wow, what are you building! What can I do to help?”

Faith shows us who Jesus is in the exact same way it showed his disciples who he was. We see God working in our lives and even working through us. Through the power of the Spirit acting in the world and acting in our lives we know that Jesus isn’t just a carpenter. We know that Jesus is the Son of God and through him we have eternal life. Sometimes that’s impossible to explain to someone else because they just can’t seem to see what we see and sometimes its because they just claim to know better.

Its like those two blind men Jesus heals in the Mark’s Gospel. The first after being healed said everything looked like trees – that’s what he saw and it took Jesus healing him a second time to show him that what he saw wasn’t the whole story. The same as seeing a pile of bricks as nothing but a pile of bricks. That’s the same as seeing Jesus only as a carpenter.

The second blind man in Mark’s Gospel was healed immediately. He saw everything clearly. The same as seeing a pile of bricks as part of a building. That’s the same as seeing clearly that Jesus is the Son of God.

Faith makes us see things clearly, but that’s only the first step of being a disciple of Jesus. Faith provides us with the opportunity to respond to what we see.

Knowing that Jesus has given us eternal life means that we can let go of everything that ties us to the world and be free to take hold of the cross and the love of God with our whole selves. Saint Paul is a great example of someone who took the opportunity his faith gave him. In the Epistle today we heard how Paul throughout his ministry was able to put aside his physical ailments and ignore the persecutions and insults of others because he had faith in Jesus Christ.

Knowing that Jesus is the Son of God also changes the way we look at everyone else. Through faith we don’t see the people around as part of a world we are leaving behind, but as our neighbors. Neighbors we are called on to love as we would our own brothers and sisters. A great example of how faith changes the way we see each other can be seen right here at Saint Mary’s. We welcome everyone who comes to the door, offering a seat and all of the materials needed to worship. We welcome all Christians to come forward and receive communion. We welcome anyone who is not Baptized to speak to one of the priests and begin the life changing experience of becoming a Christian.

Opportunities for moving closer to God or your neighbor are everywhere. This week, just pick one and cultivate it.

Still on Vacation...

Books conintued:

I finished Flying Colours yesterday after a quick day and a half read (I took the train to Philly and back again - there was nothing to do other than read). Great book!

It reminds me that sometimes things start off slowly and continue to build and build. This book begins slowly and doesn't really seem to go anywhere, slowly getting more and more interesting. By the midpoint, its hard to put it down.

Today I began Commadore Hornblower. The saga is almost done - three more books including the one I just started. What to read next? We'll see!

Vacation....

I'm off for the next 2 weeks, so the sermons will be on hiatus.

However....

Following the lead of my favorite priest I will give updates on the books I am reading and maybe even some of the music I am listening to. After all. Vacation is a time away and there is nothing like music and books.

Books:
I am rereading the entire Hornblower saga right now. The next book (Flying Colours) is my favorite of the series and I am plowing through another favorite (Ship of the Line) to get to it. Maybe I'll start tomorrow? If you have never read teh Horratio Hornblower novels by Forester, I highly recommend them. The Prince may be a great book for (ruthless yet competent) leadership theory, but Hornblower is a wonderful series about a man struggling in the midst of things he cannot control and doing the best he can... and doing it remarkably well.

Music:
A friend of mine who has been sick lately requested Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon to get him through his bedrest. Not a bad choice. I'm a big Floyd fan. However, I have always been a much bigger Rolling Stones fan. One of my favortie albums (ever) is Exile On Main Street. If you think you like Rock, this will be your favorite rock album.

Enough of this... I'm back to vacation!