The Spirit will tell you what to say.

Sermon Preached on Sunday June 29, 2008
Proper 7A, 8th Sunday after Pentecost

For the past few weeks I have found myself more and more out in the city in my clericals: the black suit and the collar. I have been at Saint Mary’s for four years, and I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that I have not gotten used to walking around the city dressed as a priest, nor have I gotten used to some of the comments that have been made on account of my appearance.

Almost every time I walk outside alone in my collar someone asks me for money. Usually I don’t have anything to give and I say that. I’d say about half the time that brings out an angry response. A couple of weeks ago a guy kept screaming at me as I walked down the block after I told him I didn’t have any money.

I’ve noticed on the subway that if I ignore someone asking for money, half of the train will give money. If I don’t ignore someone asking for money, nobody will give money.

I love being a priest, I think sometimes it is difficult being an obvious representative of the church. I find responding the comments that I get only because I am a priest, both good and bad comments, very difficult.

In our Gospel today Jesus gives his disciples a number of instructions before he sends them out. In particular, one instruction hit home to me. “do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” As I said, I have rarely found it easy to find the right thing to say when I am greeted or confronted by a stranger simply because I am a priest. What am I supposed to say?

I don’t think that question is for the clergy alone. I would be surprised if any Christian had gone through his or her life without ever being questioned in a friendly manner or in a confrontational manner about the faith. I have been searching for some perfect response or turn of phrase, but I haven’t found anything yet. Somebody recently suggested that I should just give everyone the finger who bothers me. Certainly that would be unexpected, but I’m not sure that’s the ideal response.

As difficult as it might be, I think in sometimes the Spirit may be telling me to hold my tongue. At other times, speaking directly about my faith in Christ is called for and I think often it is through the power of the Spirit that we are able to speak about what we believe.

One thing is for sure. The apostles who were sent out by Jesus to spread the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus didn’t go out assuming the Spirit would solve all of their problems. In the Acts of the Apostles, there is a story about one of Jesus’ disciples named Philip who encounters an Ethiopian eunuch. When the eunich questions him, Philip responds by interpreting the Scriptures for him and Often, Paul uses his knowledge of the Scriptures to speak about God’s love in Christ.

One of my favorite stores to buy clothes at is Symms. Aside from the good deals, the shopping bags they have are great: they have huge lettering that says” I am an educated consumer.” I think God is calling each of us to be educated Christians.

When I am questioned about my faith, I have found it very useful to be familiar with the Scriptures. I’ve found it very useful to be familiar with the history of the church. I believe that all of us will be confronted about our faith at some point. God will be with us if we ask him to be at those times, but in the meanwhile, I think it is wise to be familiar with our own faith. The summer has only begun, and I invite you to join a number of us who read the daily office here at Saint Mary’s. In my opinion it is the best way to become familiar with the Old and New Testament. I also invite you to look ahead to the Christian Education offerings beginning in September.

The Visitation

Sermon Preached on the Eve of the Visitation
May 30, 2008, Sung Mass.
In the grand scheme of things, celebration of the Visitation is fairly new. The earliest evidence of it is from 1263 when Saint Bonaventure ordered that it be celebrated by the Franciscans. Over the next hundred years, the feast was celebrated in more places because the Franciscans spread out to more places. The feast was mandated by Pope Urban VI for the whole church in 1389.

Urban was Pope at the beginning of what is now known as the Great Western Schism, which took place from 1378-1417 – this is different from the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity in 1054. For political reasons, from 1309-1377 Avignon in France was the residence of the Pope. The Schism started when, on the death of Pope Gregory IX the last of the Popes who lived in Avignon, the cardinals elected Urban VI, an Italian, as pope, under pressure of the Roman populace who were sick of the Bishop of Rome living in France. Once elected Urban VI began a series of reforms and its said that he took on a very high opinion of himself and a very low opinion of everyone else. His desire to reform the church and his rapidly deteriorating relationship with the cardinals was quickly attributed to insanity. In a short time the cardinals left Rome and elected another pope, who settled in at Avignon and took the name Clement VII. There was immediately a split in the church as different nations chose different side. This situation lasted for twenty years as each side continued to support and elect Popes in both Rome and Avignon. In 1409, A council was convened in Pisa in the hope to settle the issue by electing someone that both sides could accept. This solution didn’t settle anything and resulted in three Popes: One in Pisa, one in Avignon, and one in Rome.

Finally the Council of Constance, which met from 1414 to 1418, settled the matter by accepting the resignation of one pope and deposed the other two. In the midst of this Schism Pope Urban VI ordered that the feast of the Visitation be celebrated throughout the church in the hope that Christ and his Mother would visit the church in the midst schism and bring peace and unity to a divided church.

That same theme of church unity between two other divided communities can be seen in the pages of Saint Luke’s account of Christ and the early church. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us about an encounter a Christian Group has with another group who had received the Baptism of John, but not the Baptism of Jesus. All followers of John the Baptist did not immediately follow Jesus or join the early church. Christians may have been surprised to find out that John’s followers were not necessarily Jesus’ followers. Even to John’s followers, Christians had to take on the role that John himself had played throughout his life as someone who points out who Jesus is to others, a role we are told John played from the very beginning. John leaps in the womb at the presence of Jesus and bears witness to Elizabeth. John took action and Elizabeth took note.

As we celebrate the Visitation, I think that each can follow John’s example. If we take action, I believe that others will take note. Prayer is a form of action. The church is divided today and I hope that we continue to pray that Christ and his Mother will visit us all and bring us peace and unity. Another way we can act and help bring about Christian Unity is by reaching out and supporting other churches that are doing different things than we are doing.

Last Friday I visited a Saint Ann’s Church in the South Bronx that cannot support itself. The neighborhood where the church is listed as the poorest congressional district in the entire United States. The church has over 400 members but only brings in about 25000 a year to keep the doors open and keep the building staffed. Through a wide array of grants they run a weekly soup kitchen, a daily food pantry, after school programs from over 100 children, and a number of other great programs. Their doors are kept open with money from churches like Saint Mary’s. We give over 80000 to the Diocese each year to support other churches and various regional programs. Different churches supply different needs and together I believe that they are more and more able to witness to the world about the love of God in Christ.

I do believe that when you and I take action, people will take note and they will know that our Lord Jesus Christ is present.

Gregory of Nazianzus

Sermon preached on Friday, May 9, 2008
EASTER 7, FRIDAY: ACTS 25:13-21, PSALM 103:1-6, JOHN 21:20-25

Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. Gregory was a bishop in the early church and one of a group of three Saints (Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory of Nissa, and Gregory of Nazianzus) known as the Capedocian Fathers. Their theological writings and sermons on subjects such as the Trinity and the Oneness of God were important in defending the church from various heresies that attempted to divide God or subjugate Jesus or the Spirit to the Father. In particular, Gregory is known for a series of five sermons that he preached on the Trinity and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Today's Gospel comes from the final chapter of John's Gospel. The three questions by Jesus about Peter's love for him mirror the three denials that Peter made during the Passion. Often, Jesus' command to Peter to "Feed my sheep" is used by bishops and other clergy for the care they are to give to Christ's flock, the church. I don't think we need to limit the care of those around us to clergy alone.

I think each of us can support other members of the church through the gifts that God has givne us. Gregory was a gifted preacher and theologian and he supported the church with those gifts and fed the people of God through the power of the Holy Spirit that filled him. My guess is that each of us is trying to use the gifts that God has given us to support and nurish the church and its members. This week, as we move toward Pentecost and the celebration of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, I hope that each of us can ask for guidance and help, to be filled with the power of the Spirit, that we might continue what we have begun, and also that we might find in ourselves gifts that we are not yet using to help spread the love of God to those around us.

Prayer & the Ascension

Sermon preached on Sunday, May 4, 2008.
YEAR A, EASTER 7: SUNDAY MASS
PSALM 47; ACTS 1:8-14; 1 PETER 4:12-19; JOHN 17:1-11


My wife, Nicole and I went to Sicily a week ago. We were there for a press trip featuring the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, specifically olive oil. I can tell you personally that I greatly benefited from eating the Mediterranean Diet in Sicily. I benefited by about 5 pounds over 7 days. (In all seriousness, the trip was fantastic, but the health benefits of the Mediteranian Diet will have to wait for a future sermon.) As wonderful a time as we had, I think we were both ready to leave after about the fifth day because we missed our son Liam – who is just about 18 month old. I knew he didn’t know where we were, I hoped he wanted us to come back, and I really hoped that when we did come back he would remember us. He did. I will never forget this hug he gave me when we got home.

While we were still in Sicily, I found my self praying for Liam more and more as the week progressed. In my life prayer is important. I pray for family and friends and the people I work with and go to church with. I pray for my enemies and those people who are enemies of the people I love. I pray the Daily Office with the clergy and sisters nearly every morning and evening here at Saint Mary’s. I pray at mass most days of the week and every Sunday. I pray alone. I pray with others. Why?

On Thursday we celebrated the Ascension of Jesus to the Father. The brief catechism at the back of the Prayer Book explains the Ascension as followed. “Jesus took our human nature into heaven where he now reigns with the Father and intercedes for us.” I believe that prayer is a very real way of experiencing the unity of humanity with God which is brought about through the Ascension of Jesus. I also find that prayer is a way of truly experiencing the unity of the body of Christ. No matter how far away from my family I might be, I know that we are part of the one Body of Christ, and when I pray for them, I experience that unity in a way that is difficult to describe. No matter how upset I might be with someone, if I pray for them I have a hard time holding onto the anger.

Some Christians take issue with praying for the dead or asking for the prayers of the saints. I do not. I am comfortable asking the saints for prayers. I pray for my friends and family who have died. On All Souls Day and for several days after the parish community prays by name for many of our loved ones who have died. I don’t think we do this to make ourselves feel better. I can only speak for myself, but I think prayer is one great way that we experience our oneness – that is not broken even by death – with God in Christ and with all of the members of the Body of Christ throughout history. That is the power of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

Today’s Gospel is a selection of Jesus’ great prayer to the Father from the Gospel according to John. He prays for his disciples. This is the last thing he will do before arriving in the Garden of Gethsemane where he will undergo the Passion. In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we find out what happens immediately after Jesus’ ascension. The Eleven, the blessed Virgin Mary, the other women, and all of the disciples gather together and pray.

It may have sounded like my prayer life is perfectly structured, but its not. Aside from those times where I am scheduled to be in church on Sundays and during the week, I always find it difficult to keep up my prayer life. There are days when I don’t say my prayers. I know it can be a challenge to build up a life of prayer beyond nighttime and Sunday morning prayers. I think its worth taking that challenge on and I hope that each of us can continue to pray and teach those around us to pray.

Local Congregational Support & Mission

Sermon preached April 6, 2008.
YEAR 2, EASTER 3, SUNDAY EVENSONG $ BENEDICTION:
DANIEL 4:1-18, 1 JOHN 2:7-17, EZEKIEL 37:1-14

Tonight we read a passage from the First Letter of John. The First Letter of John is, in a sense, a follow-up to the Gospel of John. One struggle in the Johannine community which is reflected in the Gospel is between those who believe in Jesus and those who do not: those who believe in and follow the way of the Word made flesh compared to those who walk in the ways of the world. The First Letter of John seems to deal with a situation within the Johannine church. Some believe it is enough simply to believe in Jesus; the writer reminds them that they were given a commandment to love one another. In short, belief in the Word made flesh translates into action mirroring what Jesus himself did: loving one’s brother and sister in Christ and also showing the love of God to the whole world, just like Jesus did.

The passage read tonight reminded me of a few things that happened on Thursday last week. While I was reading the final draft of the Angelus, I noticed a sentence in Father Smith’s paragraph about mission. He noted that someone had asked him why we at Saint Mary’s did not support any mission work done locally. It happened that as I was reading this paragraph, I was also printing out reports and minutes for a meeting I was going to at the Cathedral later that night. I serve on the Diocesan Council and on the Congregational Support Committee. Through these two organizations I know first hand that about half of the money that Saint Mary’s send – along with the mon y almost every church in the Diocese sends – as our annual assessment goes directly to supporting the work of our brothers in sisters in Christ throughout the Diocese.

In the next month, my work for the Congregational Support Plan Committee will take me to two different parishes in the Bronx. The first is in the poorest congressional district in the United States: it operates a soup kitchen, a food pantry, a drug treatment center, an after school program and a play ground. The second is in a different part of the Bronx: it operates a soup kitchen, a food pantry, and an after school program. Without the direct financial support given from the assessments of the parishes of the Diocese, these parishes, and a number of others like them would not be able to stay open.

Much of my work at Saint Mary’s revolves around Christian Education. I think that part of being an Educated Christian means knowing in what ways we are in fact supporting our brothers and sisters in Christ. In a very basic way, by pledging to Saint Mary’s or any church of the Diocese, you are ensuring that the mission of the Episcopal Diocese of New York is not limited to Midtown Manhattan.

Saint John reminds us that we are called not only to believe, but to love and support our brothers and sisters in Christ. There are many opportunities for mission and outreach at Saint Mary’s, I think that perhaps one that does great good is also the one that is often overlooked. I am looking– as I think we all are looking – for ways that to more actively live out the belief in Jesus that I have. I hope you will join me in pledging to Saint Mary’s. By supporting this church, we not only keep our own doors open in Times Square, we also continue to keep the doors open of churches throughout the Diocese.

Participation

Sermon Preached At Evensong & Benediction, March 9, 2008.
YEAR 2, LENT 5; SUNDAY EVENSONG AND BENEDICTION;
JEREMIAH 23:16-32, ROMANS 12:1-21, JOHN 10:1-16

Last Week Father Ryan Lesh, our visiting preacher, noted that, due to a variety of very powerful things that had happened in his life as a priest and a doctor, he was for the first time simply letting Lent happen. No additional devotions, not abstaining from anything. It’s a perspective that I’d not considered, but I think the same positive attitude can be taken towards Holy Week as well.

Saint Paul encourages the Roman Christian to present his or her body as a living sacrifice. In terms of presenting our bodies, I think that one way to do that is by physically partaking in the rites of Holy Week. Paul speaks about the church and its members and the Body of Christ with its many different members. On Palm Sunday, God willing and weather permitting, we are all invited to walk as one in procession through Times Square, witnessing to everyone present that we are indeed the Body of Christ. On Palm Sunday and again on Good Friday we the people are invited to take the part of Jesus in the Passion Narrative. On Maundy Thursday we are all invited to wash and be washed. On Easter we are invited to witness to the initiation of new people into the Body of Christ and also renew the covenant we made at baptism.

Saint Paul also encourages that we be transformed by the renewal of our minds. One of my favorite things about Holy Week is all of the great readings that we hear witnessing to who Jesus is and who we are in Christ. The great prophesies, the Passion Narratives, and the wonderful resurrection accounts are just the beginning.

I think we can all participate in mind and body this Holy Week and so fill our minds with the love of God in Scripture and present ourselves, our souls and bodies, as living witnesses to the power of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.

Devotions...

Today is the last Sunday after the Epiphany. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Every Friday throughout Lent Saint Mary’s offers a devotion called Stations of the Cross. I happened to do a good amount of research into the Stations this past week on a whim and summed up some of what I found in a blurb in the Angelus.

There are a lot of different devotions or devotional services: the Rosary, Benediction, Stations of the Cross, The Watch following Maundy Thursday, and plenty of others. One of the things I find interesting about many of these devotions is that they are often without set form. They are often adapted to different parishes or individuals. For example, if you trace how people have done the Stations of the Cross throughout the last thousand years, you will find that many Christians walked a different amount of stations – sometimes as few as 7, sometimes as many as 35. The stations themselves have also varied. At one point there was a tradition of 7 Falls of Jesus. Apparently four of these falls were attached to individuals in some way assisting Jesus: his mother, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and the women of Jerusalem. Over time, these individuals overshadowed the fall itself leaving us with three falls and four encounters along the way.

There will always be people out there who will claim that Stations has always been done a certain way and that varying from that format means that you are not really doing it. I’ve heard of people complaining that we don’t do Benediction correctly because of this or that is out of order. That’s nonsense. What matters is that the devotion has in same way opened our hearts to the presence of God among us. How that happens means a great deal only because it is through the differences in our devotions and worship that God reaches different people in different ways.

I think that the is exactly the point of the Sundays after the Epiphany which points to several moments in the life and ministry of Jesus where he was revealed to different people in radically different ways. Jesus is revealed to those around him through astrological signs and ancient prophesies. He is revealed at his Baptism by the presence of the Holy Spirit and a voice from heaven. He is revealed through a number of different miracles, turning water into wine, healing and curing people, providing abundant food out of almost nothing.

Today we conclude this cycle with the transfiguration. I’ve always been amused that Saint Peter is the one who doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on. He wants to build some tents, presumably to keep this scene going for a while – maybe even recreate the forty days Moses spent with God on the Mountain. How Jesus is revealed to those around him means a great deal only because God reaches different people in different ways.

The apostles all encountered Christ in different ways, but they all preached the same message of the Love of God for all of us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. In all of the Gospel accounts it is only after encountering the risen Lord that the apostles were able to make sense of what they had seen and heard during Jesus’ ministry. I think for us today the same is true.

There are many different devotions, many different ways of doing church, many different ways of trying to help spread the love of God to others and reveal Christ. I think a two good Lenten questions to ponder and try to live out an answer to is this:
1) In what ways has Jesus been revealed to me?
2) I what ways can I reveal Jesus Christ to someone else?
Each of us has different answers to those questions and it is through those differences that the Good News of Christ continues to spread to new and different people every day.
1) In what ways has Jesus been revealed to me?
2) I what ways can I reveal Jesus Christ to someone else?

Fishing

Last Sunday, we heard Saint John’s narrative of the call of the first disciples. In that account, Jesus first disciples were directed to him by John the Baptist. One of those disciples, Andrew, went of his own accord and told his brother, Peter, about Jesus. Among other things, we are given the earliest examples of evangelism. Those who follow Jesus were all told about him by someone else.

Today, we heard Saint Matthew’s account of the call of the first disciples, and it was a bit different. In this narrative, Jesus himself approaches his future disciples, including Peter and Andrew, in the midst of their regular routine – they are hard at work fishing – and he simply says to them: “follow me.” They follow him.

One of the challenges of being a Christian comes from our own scriptural texts. They don’t always agree. One perspective held by many scholars today holds that Matthew and John are offering two different versions of the same initial call. On the other hand, most commentators in the early church held the view that the Gospel accounts each tell part of the story of Jesus – each adding details that the others do not contain. In this vein, Saint John Chysostom, archbishop of Constantinople at the turn of the 5th century A.D., offers a solution to this textual difficulty that I find particularly elegant.

Chysostom refers to Saint Matthew’s account of the call of the disciples as the second call. He notes that the first call, narrated by Saint John, occurs in the wilderness where John was baptizing. There, John the Baptist directs Andrew to Jesus, and in turn Andrew brings Peter to Jesus. Our gospel account today, narrated by Saint Matthew, takes place after John the Baptist has been arrested and put in prison. After hearing of John’s arrest, Jesus withdraws to Galilee while those initial disciples withdraw and return to work. Once Jesus begins preaching he again encounters Andrew and Peter – and James and John – and tells them to follow him. The fact that they will become fishers of men will mirror this process. Chrysostom says: “[Jesus] neither resisted them at first when they desired to withdraw from him, nor having withdrawn themselves, did he let them go altogether. He gave way when they moved aside from him and came again to win them back. This, after all, is exactly what fishing is all about.” Fishing is all about luring the fish over and over again until at last the fish is caught.

Some of my earliest memories are fishing with my father and my sister in Maine. We had a tiny boat and we would often fish for Flounder and Mackerel. Once, I remember my sister caught a lobster. She reeled in her line and there, holding onto the hook with its claw, was a lobster. When it got into the boat it let go – it was never caught, it seemed to have come willingly. If my sister could do that every time she dropped her lure into the water, she would be the greatest fisherman the world has ever seen. Sadly, that was the only time it ever happened. Every other time, when she or I or my father caught anything, it was either by dumb luck, snagging a fish that was just passing by, or through careful tired and true fishing techniques: dropping the lure into the water and waiting until a fish took note of it, moving it out of sight and then returning – over and over – until at last the fish just had to take a bite.

I like Chrysostom’s take because my experience of evangelism has been like fishing. Rarely have I seen an instantaneous conversion. I have met many people who have been directed to Christ by someone else. I, myself, am one of those people: told about Jesus by my parents, my friends, and my mentors; brought up and led by the hand towards Jesus much like Peter was led by Andrew. I have also met many people who in their middle of the daily routine have encountered Christ in a way that dramatically changed their lives. I am one of those people too: I have encountered Body of Christ in the world in ways that have deeply affected and changed me, surprised by grace in the middle of the mundane. The Christian that I am today and the vast majority of Christians that I encounter, however, have been shaped in both ways.

Like those first apostles, I believe that we have all been called to be fishers of men – called by our Lord to spread the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to every man, woman, and child that we encounter. But I also know that evangelism is rarely like catching a lobster on a fishing line. It takes time, it takes patience, and sometimes it takes luck.

God has filled every one of us with great gifts to use to spread the Gospel: We all have been given a different set of lures and fishing tackle. These gifts can come in the form of time or money to help further the mission of Saint Mary’s and other churches. My wife and I pledge at three different churches because we know that our support makes a difference and helps spread the Gospel to people we might never even meet. Every gift makes a difference.

Also, I think it’s a plus that we all are more comfortable fishing in different environments so that like the apostles, we can cover more ground and reach a greater variety of people. Saint Mary’s location in Times Square means that an enormous variety of people comes through the doors. One of us can meet someone here today and change a life in a way that the rest of us might not be able to. I think our differences are an enormous gift from God that we can use to spread the Gospel to other different people.

I also think its good that that we have time on our side. If we don’t have a productive day, there is always tomorrow or next week. Like every fisherman, we continue because we know today might bring another great catch. And tomorrow might too.

As each of us continues to be shaped by the power of the God coming into our lives, may God make evangelists of us all, give us power to use the gifts he has given to us to spread the Gospel, and fill us with the patience that his Son, Jesus Christ, showed with his own disciples. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Holy Name

At the start of my discernment for Ordination I met with the Reverend Anne Richards who was, at the time, Canon for Ministry in the Diocese of New York. At that meeting she asked me to tell her a brief history of my life and how I gotten to the point where I found myself sitting in her office, discerning the priesthood. I talked and talked and when I was finished, she said something to me that I have never forgotten.

She asked: “In all of that what didn’t you tell me about?” I didn’t know. “Jesus, you never mentioned the name of Jesus.”

“Oh”, I said, “I thought that was self-evident – I mean, it is after all the church, its all about Jesus.”

“No”, she replied. “Its never self evident. As a church leader, its always necessary to talk about Jesus, even when it might seem you don’t need to.”

Today we are celebrating the holy name of Jesus. To put it lightly, the name of Jesus is abused by many people in the world. Inserted into conversation as any other curse word might be. In my view, the use of the name of Jesus on the lips of many Christians is equally problematic. There are plenty of Christians who think that they don’t need to talk about Jesus because who he is and what he means is self evident to those they are speaking (or writing) to. I’m here today to tell you that it is not.

When we celebrate Christmas and the joy of Emanuel (God With Us), we are celebrating Jesus. Our Gospel is about one thing: telling others about Jesus. The angels told the good news of Jesus to the shepherds. The shepherds went and saw Jesus and went out spreading the good news of Jesus to others. Spreading the good news of Jesus didn’t stop there. John the Baptist witnessed to all Judea that Jesus was the Christ. The apostles witnessed Jesus risen from the dead and they spread that good news to others. Saint Paul encountered the risen Lord Jesus and it changed his life and he told everyone he encountered about Jesus, going so far as to write: at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

At the start of this new year, I hope and pray that each of us can boldly proclaim the name of Jesus to those around us. Its never self evident. As a Christian, its always necessary to talk about Jesus, even when it might seem you don’t need to.

Christmas 1, Evensong

Christmastide is the season when we celebrate God with Us: Emanuel. Celebrations of Christmas are rarely confined to the church building. They flow out into the streets and public spaces and into people’s homes. One of my favorite images of spreading the good news of God in Christ if from tonight’s first reading from Isaiah. “Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent.” The message of God’s salvation proclaimed beyond the walls of the city to those outside. I think as Christians we are called to do this.

One might ask how: I have found that a great way to broaden my own vocabulary as a Christian is to read the Bible: The apostles who encountered Jesus wrote about it in ways that have continued to have great meaning for Christians.

Many of the basic images and most of the vocabulary of the church comes from the writings of the New Testament. A great example of that can be found in tonight’s reading when Paul speaks of the church as the Body of Christ. There are many others.
Our Prayer Book also uses the vocabulary of the Bible. Many of the prayers, and responses are either taken directly from the Bible or rephrased in a way that resonates with Scripture. A great way to learn the how to speak about Jesus to others is through the daily and weekly prayer of the church. Praying and hearing about Jesus makes it easier to begin to speak about Jesus in the same way.

Another great way to learn how to speak about Jesus is by reading through the Bible. I lead a Bible Study most Wednesday nights – we will resume on January 9, 2008. We have been, and will continue to read the letters of Saint Paul, author of our second reading tonight.

This Christmastide, I hope our voices, will not be silent. I hope they will imitate the seasons decorations and spread beyond the walls of the church to those outside as we each proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

Saint Nicholas

Sermon: ADVENT 1, THURSDAY, DAILY MASS:
PSALM 118:19-24; ISAIAH 26:1-6; MATTHEW 7:21-27
(Evening Mass)

Tonight we celebrate Saint Nicholas. You may know Nicholas as Santa Claus, or even the patron saint of children, but he's also the patron saint of seafarers and sailors.

There are many seafarers and sailors on my mother's side of my family, fishermen, lobstermen, people that work on boats, people that sail boats. I'm not a professional, but I am also a pretty good sailor. Onoe thing that is very important when you are sailing is to make sure the boat is ship-shape. No holes or cracks, everything tightened and taught, lines checked, etc. The wind may change and the sea may be rough, but if the basics have been covered, you are generally in good shape.

Our Gospel tonight is one of my favorites. Jesus speaks of importance of building on a firm foundation. Like a well prepared ship, a house built on a firm foundations can better weather any storm.

I beleive that living as a Christian begins with the firm foundation of faith in the resurrection. God's love, I think, is best shown in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That love that conquors death cannot be shaken. Going forth into the world with faith in that love makes a difference. As Saint Paul says, nothing can conquor the love of God, not sin, not sickness, not poverty, not even death.

May the love of God so fill our hearts that we may have the strength to weather the difficulties we face in our own lives, and let us, following the example of Saint Nicholas, spread the knowledge of the gift of God's love to all those around us.

Saint Nicholas

Sermon: ADVENT 1, THURSDAY, DAILY MASS:
PSALM 118:19-24; ISAIAH 26:1-6; MATTHEW 7:21-27

Today is the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Devotion to Saint Nicholas was enormous in parts of Europe in the early days of this country, and it is through his name in Dutch that most people now know of Saint Nicholas as Santa Claus. The images of the man in the big red suit bringing gifts to children stem from the fact that Nicholas is the patron saint of children.

Our reading from Isaiah today states :Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in.: The legends of Santa Claus tell of him coming into people's houses and leaving a variety of different gifts. Nobody ever puts a lock on the door or the chimney to try to keep Santa out. Who knows what gifts he might bring.

I think that image works well both with the open mission of the church. Throughout this Advent, I pray that all churches will open their doors to whomever might come through. Each of us brings many different gifts that God has given us to help spread the Gospel, and the same is true about everyone who walks through those doors. May our hearts and hands be open to the new people who enter our lives, our churches and our mission this Advent.

Saint Clement of Alexandria

ADVENT 1, WEDNESDAY, DAILY MASS:
PSALM 23; ISAIAH 25:6-9; MATTHEW 15:29-38

Today we celebrate the life of Saint Clement of Alexandria. Clement lived in the late second century. He was an extremely intellegent and eductaed man. He was the head of the famous Christian Catechitcal School in Alexandria, where he taught many important Christian thinkers, including Origen.

Clement and his peers encountered what is commonly called Gnosticism. Gnostic groups were usually recognized because they taught that Jesus had passed down secret knowledge about salvation to only a select few of his disciples, and they likewise had passed that knowledge only to a seletc few others. Clement, in all that he did, tried to counteract this, by teaching that the love of God was not a secret, but was made available through Jesus Christ for all people.

Our gospel today tells of the Feeding of the 4000. Did you notice how after three days in the wilderness, Jesus gave the suddenly abundant food to his disciples, then the disciples gave all of that food the crowds, then those crowds dispersed into the world? That, I think, clearly mirrors the resurrection. After three days, Jesus rose from the dead and apeared to his disciples. They then spread the news of his resurrection to the crowds, those crowds then dispersed around the globe and spread the good news of the resurrection to the whole world.

I think we can follow the example of Saint Clement, a saint who spread the knowlegde of the faith to many others. No matter how we are being feed spiritually, whether it is through mission or education or anything at all, I hope that each of us can take what we have been fed with and pass it along to others.

Growing Up

Angelus Article
http://www.stmvirgin.org/article104554.htm

My son, Liam, is growing up fast; we celebrated his first birthday on Tuesday, November 13, 2007. We had Cookie-Monster Cake because he likes Sesame Street. When I was a boy I remember watching Cookie Monster eat cookies on Sesame Street. I remember counting numbers with the Count. I remember Ernie singing about the joys of bathing. Overall, Sesame Street hasn’t changed all that much. The only big difference is Elmo. When I was a boy Elmo was a friendly red monster who hung out with Grover (a friendly blue monster) and said very little. Now he has his own fifteen-minute segment each morning that educates kids on everything from running and jumping to digital cameras.

My wife, Nicole, and I are trying to do what we can to make sure Liam gets exposed to as many good things as possible (what parent doesn’t try to do that?). One thing that most parents can agree on is sound education. I think Sesame Street is a great tool for children of a certain age, but at some point we all grow up and go to school, leaving Elmo and friends behind for teachers and coaches and other mentors, the memory of whom – just like Cookie Monster, the Count and Ernie – will bring smiles to our faces years later. They were all a part of shaping us and educating us.

I have always been convinced that many people learn about Christianity through the liturgy. If you had asked me as a boy what Easter meant I probably would have sung a verse from a hymn or the Easter Acclamation: Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! The prayers that are said each day or each season have certainly shaped my understanding of the Faith. As I grow older, I get more and more from the sermon: there is no substitute for hearing how the Good News of Christ has changed someone else. Books read, classes taken in seminary and classes that I have taught have educated me further still. Since the dawn of time, I think, parents have been saying the same thing to their children: “You have a lot to learn.” As a father and a son, I believe that’s true for all of us. There is a great deal that we can all learn about many things, not the least of which is the faith in Jesus Christ that we share with each other and all the saints throughout history.

It is fun to imagine the future. Someday Liam will probably be assigned the task of drawing a picture of Jesus or playing the role of shepherd in a nativity scene just like his dad did. He will someday learn the words of the Lord’s Prayer and get confused between the various Creeds like his dad still does. He will learn about the Church just by being part of it on Sunday mornings. I hope that someday he’ll find himself in a Bible Study or a class on the Sacraments as part of some adult Christian Education program. We outgrow certain forms of education, but does that mean we stop learning? I don’t think so.

Since I arrived at Saint Mary’s as the Curate for Liturgy and Education I have tried different approaches to offering Christian Education so that it can become part of the regular life of the parish. I think the current approach seems to be working. Christian Education on Sundays, either before or after Solemn Mass, has proven to be popular, so popular that we have grown out of the space we have been using for the last three years – there wasn’t enough room to close the door of Saint Benedict’s last week. Beginning this Sunday, November 18, all Christian Education classes will take place in the newly renovated Mission House on the Second Floor.

If you haven’t been to a class yet this fall, it's not too late! Robert McCormick is offering a class on Liturgical Music following Solemn Mass this Sunday. On the four Sundays of Advent, at 10:00 AM, the Right Reverend Richard F. Grein will lead a series exploring the parables told by Jesus in the Gospels. Also, the Spring 2008 schedule is nearly complete, and I am very excited about the future of Christian Education at Saint Mary’s. The classes are growing because people love to learn.

Into the fog....

Sermon: Proper 27, Year C, 2007.

The first details of my life that I really remember are from 1981. I remember turning 5 years old. We were on vacation on Monhegan Island in Maine during the summer of 1981, there was cake, there were friends and family, they were balloons, and I got a fishing pole – it was fantastic. That same summer my mother’s older brother, my Uncle Paul, his wife Terry, and my three cousins came up to visit the Island. When they took the boat back to the mainland, it was a really foggy day. I remember waving goodbye as the boat disappeared into the fog. That was the last time we ever saw Paul. He died suddenly of a heart aneurism a few weeks later.

A few years later my Aunt Terry remarried. Uncle Dave has been my uncle, a great husband, and a great father to my cousins for nearly 25 years. In heaven who will be Aunt Terry’s husband? My Uncle Paul or my Uncle Dave? Who will be father to my cousins? Does it matter? It would to the Sadducees. But they don’t believe in the resurrection, so it obviously doesn’t matter much to them.

All week departed friends and family of members of the parish have been remembered by name at Mass. Each day I have read name after name after name of people who have died. It’s a hard week for the clergy here, I think, because we have to read the names. I imagine its just as hard for those who come to mass each day and listen. My belief in the resurrection doesn’t begin to worry about whether or not my cousins have to choose between their father and their step-father. I believe they will be thrilled to introduce their father Dave to their father Paul.

I want you to think of someone who has died that you loved. Maybe there are many people. Think of them for a moment.

[PAUSE]

That feeling of loss is exactly what Peter, James, John, Mary, and all the other disciples felt when Jesus was dead. They missed him, they longed to see his face, but they knew that he was dead and gone.

Now, imagine the joy the apostles felt when they first saw Jesus standing, resurrected, in their midst. Imagine the joy that Mary felt when she realized that she wasn’t speaking to the gardener, but to Jesus. Do you think they cared who would get to sit at his right hand or his left hand in the kingdom? Do you think they cared about anything other than the fact that all that they longed for was theirs? They cared only that he was there. Their reaction wasn’t to ask questions about details, their reaction to rejoice and because of that joy, they spread the fact of his resurrection to others.

I can’t give you details about what life after the resurrection is like. I can tell you one thing though. My uncle didn’t disappear into the fog for ever, he lives in Christ and my cousins and my aunt and my uncle Dave and my mother and I and all of our family and all of his friends will be with him again. All of those names, names after name after name, will be with us again. What we have longed for in Christ will be made present in Christ. Now they see God face to face, and so will we.

Like the first apostles, I believe that we are all called to spread the joy of the resurrection to others. Joy is something that everyone can wants to have and something that everyone remembers. My first memory isn’t my uncle’s death. My first memory was my fifth birthday. My family was there. My friends were there. And I got a fishing pole.

I can tell you about the joy of my getting a fishing pole but it doesn’t compare the joy of the resurrection. Listen to what Saint John says: I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."

I pray that we can all speak to others about the joy that we have had, the joy that is coming into our lives, and about the joy that we know is to come.

Praying

Sermon: Proper 25C, 2007

The Gospel today gives us two examples of praying.

Here is the first: God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.

Contrast that with the second prayer: God, be merciful to me a sinner!

The tax collector presents himself to God as he believes he is: someone who needs God. The Pharisee presents himself to God as he believes he is: someone who is not like other people.


I am teaching a class following Solemn Mass on Lancelot Andrewes, a Priest and Bishop in the Church of England who lived about 400 years ago. He was famous for two things: his preaching and his praying. While I was preparing for this sermon and for the class, I noticed that Andrewes preached a number of sermons on prayer that were published in the form of a series. In the first of these sermons he says that the first part of prayer is making sure that one is able to pray at all. We need to open ourselves to God since it is only through the grace of God that we are able to pray at all. This is done through confession and repentance. Only when we have stripped away those things which keep us from God are we able to accept God. Even this, of course can only be done by the grace of God. Andrewes didn’t quote today’s Gospel, but I think that he could have to give an example of what it looks like to begin praying.


In practice, we live this out at Baptism when we speak of dying to the world and rising in Christ. We live this out at Mass when we kneel and make our confession before receiving the sacrament.

In addition to that, the church has long recommended making a personal Confession before certain days of the church year like Christmas and Easter. From my experience, I strongly recommend making a personal confession. You don’t need to make one to be in a right relationship with God, but I think if you think you don’t need to be put into a right relationship to God, you might be in need of making one.


For me, making a personal confession is different from the general confession in Mass. It allows me not only to unload those specific things that I have been carrying around with me like empty suitcases – things that do nothing except hold me back from God. It also gives me the opportunity to truly reflect on my relationship with other people and my relationship with God. Am I better than other people? No. Do I need God? Yes. I have always found after a confession that I am able to pray and draw closer to the Lord in ways that I couldn’t have imagined before the confession. I’ve also found that no matter how right I felt with God before the confession, everything in my life is clearer, brighter and closer to God.

I think I can compare it to something that happened to me this summer. I got glasses for distance. I had no idea what I was missing. I used to enjoy watching sports on TV, now I can actually see what’s happening and its made a huge difference. I think making a confession can be a lot like that. I always forget what I’ve been missing in terms my relationship with God until after my confession.

So, I recommend it. Saint Mary’s offers confession every Saturday and by appointment. You don’t need to be a bad person to make a confession. You don’t need to be a really good person to make a confession. You just have to be a normal person who, like the rest of us, by the grace of God is trying to draw closer the Lord.

Pledging

Sermon: Proper 24, Year 1, Evensong, 2007

I think that both readings tonight are have fairly obvious points. First, we are called to help those who are in need of help and mercy. Second, we are called, like all of Jesus disciples to spread the Gospel to new people.

With those greater theme’s in mind, I was struck by a particular passage in tonight’s Gospel. It was related to a passage in Paul that we read in the Bible Study that I am leading on Saint Paul throughout this Fall. In the 9th chapter of first Corinthians Paul writes: The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. But I have made no use of any of these rights.

Though Paul does not quote a saying of Jesus, I think its likely that he is referring to something like what we hear in today’s Gospel reading from St. Luke. Jesus says to the disciples that he is sending out: Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals…. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages.

Though he admits that he could expect to be supported by the Church community, Paul uses his self-sufficiency as one example of how going one step further than what he was called to do can make a huge difference in spreading the Gospel. Though I’m not sure his situation is the same as mine, I can tell you, as a priest who is supported by this congregation, that Paul’s boast is quite impressive.

We are called to help those who are in need and to spread the Gospel to new people. After reflecting both on tonight’s Gospel passage and Paul’s attempt to live out his calling as an apostle, I think Paul’s example can serve us today.

Going one step further, even if it’s a small step, can make a huge difference. Its not always easy to see how this can be true, but I think I can give an example in my life that might illustrate this point. I was asked yesterday by my Grandmother what I thought amounted to a “good” pledge. I told her the amount wasn’t the point, it was making the pledge in the first place. The hardest pledge I ever made was the first one I made. It was one dollar a week. It wasn’t much, but it changed my life in a big way. I knew that I was doing something to support the work of the Church and its mission to spread the Gospel and help those in need. As the years went by, I increased my pledge a little bit until I got to where I am today – 10%. Baby steps got me there.

Going one step further, even if it’s a small step, can make a huge difference. If you noticed the back of the bulletin, there is a stewardship blurb that discusses the financial situation Saint Mary’s is in. The board has come up with a plan to solve the problems that we have through baby steps, taken by everyone who cares about Saint Mary’s.

I invite you to join me in pledging to financially support Saint Mary’s if you don’t already do that, and I invite you to increase your pledge like my wife and I try to do every year. It doesn’t have to be much, but I think taking that first step is the biggest challenge. I can tell you that it does make a huge difference.

Holy Cross

Holy Cross - 2007

Tonight we celebrate the cross. The feast dates from September 14, 320 AD when the Empress Helena believed she had found the True Cross. She must have experienced the words of Christ, “take up your cross”, in a very real and unique way. Her response was to make the cross available for public veneration – a practice that is imitated worldwide to this day on Good Friday and on Holy Cross Day. In a wonderful sense, she not only took up the cross, she also showed its glory to the world.

I’ve been exploring what those words: “take up your cross” mean to me. One image that keeps coming up in my mind is the image of Jesus naked, wounded, empty-handed, carrying only the cross. Even then, collapsing under its weight. How can I take up the cross? I believe that requires first letting go of those things that prevent me from taking up the cross, in a way, imitating the emptying of God in Christ.

I make my Confession several times each year, first asking a basic question. Where is my heart? I look at where my time, my money, and other resources are going to see where my heart truly is. What are my treasures? How are they being used? Do I budget more money each week for fun with friends than I pledge to the church each week? Do I plan to spend more time relaxing, surfing the net, going out, or watching TV than I plan to spend praying, worshipping God, and practicing charity?

Coming to an honest answer can be difficult. A while back I too a good look at how my money was being spent, I found that the “Church portion” was less than the “entertaining myself portion”. It was and remains a challenge to budget one tenth of my money to the Church. Recently, I’ve focused on how my time is being spent. It is never easy to take up the cross, but I’ve noticed that the more I let go of other things, the less difficult it becomes. I’ve also noticed that when I try to imitate Christ, I am more and more able to show the glory of God in Christ to others.

Today is Holy Cross Day. It is a celebration of the love of God in Christ who, to use the words of the Prayer Book, stretched out his arms on the hard wood of the cross so that all the world might come within the reach of his saving embrace. On the cross Jesus is naked, wounded, and he dies. Yet, through that darkness God acts, and the cross becomes the exaltation of Jesus, glorified to the whole world. I hope the example of Christ, empty-handed yet with his arms free and open to the whole world may inspire all of us to empty ourselves, take up our own cross so that we may share in the glory of the resurrection and, like the saints who came before us, show that glory to the whole world.

The Narrow Door

Sermon Proper 16C, 2007

Lots of people come and go through the doors of Saint Mary’s. Visitors, future members, members, even clergy come and go. I like to think, in the same vein as the hymn, that there is a wideness to the doors of Saint Mary’s like the wideness of the sea. However, I know that it can be difficult to walk through the doors of a church. It’s a serious moment for many people. The world does not always look favorably on the church or those who come and go through its doors – and often for good reason.

The way I see it, there are usually two huge problems. The first is that the church often comes across as mean, stupid and out of touch. I could point to some things done during the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to the church’s involvement in slavery, to the church’s lack of involvement standing up against the Nazis, to Christians blowing up doctors who perform abortions and so forth. But why stop there? It seems to me that TV, books, and the internet is full of average Christians telling all of we’re awful people. Type in “am I going to hell?” on Google and the first website that pops up is entitled: “You’re going to Hell”. Well at least that’s settled.

The second problem is that the church often comes across as boring. On Tuesday I made the mistake of flipping through the Christian Worship channels. It was like watching a train wreck. I couldn’t take my eyes off the cantor and the priest. The cantor kept waving his arms around as he bleated out the responses which were supposed to be sung by the people and I was sure the priest was asleep. It was the lamest thing I have ever seen. As a priest it was a lesson in what not to do, but as a Christian I was embarrassed.

I believe that we are in a unique position at Saint Mary’s to do something about this. Obviously the whole world isn’t going to come through our doors, but lots of people do. At one point a few years ago an official count numbered over 500 people coming and going on a hot August weekday. Changing people’s perceptions happens one person at a time. We can’t change everyone’s mind about the church, but we have an opportunity to show anyone that comes through our doors that some churches may be mean and boring, but not all of them and not this one.

Our Gospel today speaks of the Narrow Door. Jesus says we ought to strive to enter by the narrow door. He says many will seek to enter and not be able to. There are lots of ways to read this text, but I think on some level, no matter how wide open the doors of a church may be, for many people they still look and feel quite narrow. For many reasons people may seek to enter through those doors and not be able to. What can we, as members of this church, do to make sure that we are not one of those reasons?

Jesus talks about those who are last being first. He says people will come from east and west to sit at the God’s table. In Luke’s Gospel the last time Jesus talks about the first being last is at the Last Supper. He instructs his disciples that they are not called to be served, but to serve. I believe that we are Christ’s Body in the world and as such each of us is called to assist others, just like Jesus himself did, as they strive to enter and eat at God’s table. We can open the doors of the church. We can offer a warm and generous welcome to friends and strangers alike. We can open our hearts and our arms to them and offer to help then find a place in this church. But I think we can also offer to others the things that make this place so special to each of us.

When I ask myself: what do I love so much about this church I come up with many answers. How can I offer those things to someone else? Here’s a few: I love the occasional time that I an thurifer at a midweek mass. Its not boring at all, its awesome. I can offer that experience to someone else, if you are interested in serving at the altar, speak to me after Mass. I enjoy learning about the Bible. The Bible doesn’t have to be mean, in fact, its written in the Bible that God is Love. I can offer that experience too. If you are interested in learning about Saint Paul, come to our Wednesday Evening Dinner and Bible Studies. Each of us, I think, loves this place for different reasons. I think that those reasons often appeal to people who are striving to find their place at God’s table, and I think that those reasons can often help bring that person in.

Right relationshios

June 17, 2007
Proper 6C

One of the important conflicts of the early church involved customs and ritual. As illustrated in our Gospel today, one such custom was the fact that Jews of that time often refused to eat or even associate with known sinners or non-Jews (known as gentiles). As the Good News of Christ began to spread beyond Jerusalem, the apostles were confronted with the fact that many people who believed in Jesus were not Jews. This fact brought up the question of whether Jewish Christians could even associate with non-Jewish Christians. Eventually – and after what appears to be a protracted battle – the Church came to the decision that a Christian was not someone who observed Jewish customs, but someone who believed in Jesus.

It sounds silly today – of course a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus – but I actually think that that problem faced by the early church is a problem we face today. To understand what I mean I think it will be helpful to look closer at how the conflict over Jewish and non-Jewish Christians was resolved.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul play key roles in this conflict and its resolution. Saint Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, tells us about a dream that Saint Peter had that directed him – against his will – to associate, eat with, and even baptize gentiles. In today’s reading from his Letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul tells us of a confrontation he had with Saint Peter over (what appears to be) the aftermath of this very event. He writes: “Before certain men came from James, [Peter] ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.” Essentially, Saint Peter caved into peer pressure and again separated himself from “the wrong people”.

Saint Paul writes what he told Saint Peter: “We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified.”

I always get bogged down by the word “justified”. Sometimes it helps me to go to the original Greek to understand better what the text is saying. The Greek word that is so often translated as “justified” basically means “to put in a right relationship”. Thus, what Paul explains is that we are not put into a right relationship with God by following the law or by performing certain commands of the law, rather, the only thing that puts us is a right relationship with God is believing in Jesus Christ.

In our Gospel today Jesus deals with this same conflict and comes to the exact same resolution. When Jesus is eating at the house of Simon the Pharisee, a woman who is a known sinner comes to anoint Jesus’ feet with oil. Jesus is condemned by those he is eating with for allowing her near him. To their astonishment Jesus announces that this sinful woman’s sins are forgiven. Why are her sins forgiven? Because of something she did or didn’t do? No. Because she believed in Jesus. Jesus tells her: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”


If Saint Peter needed to be reminded, then I certainly need to be reminded as well, and I imagine many Christians do to. Christians, beginning with Saint James and Saint Peter have separated themselves from other Christians for many different reasons. All of those reasons have one thing in common – not one of them puts them or us in the right relationship with God, and I think that its pretty obvious as well that none of those reasons puts us in a right relationship with each other. How many denominations are there? How many Christians are there who look across the aisle and doubt that the person they see is in a right relationship with God?

Christian unity isn’t an abstract idea. It begins and often breaks down over food. Peter and James objected to eating meals with the wrong people. Simon the Pharisee and his friends objected to a sinful woman’s presence at their table. Today Christians will often eat with anyone, until it comes to eating bread and drinking wine at Communion.

Jesus ate with saints, sinners, and everyone in between. I believe that if we are to remain in a right relationship with Christ, we are called to do what we can to be in the right relationship with the Body of Christ in the world. For me, Holy Communion is a good place to begin a right relationship with other Christians. I believe in Jesus, and so I come to receive his Body and his Blood. No matter how unrighteous the person next to me might appear to me, why would I assume he or she believed in anything other than Jesus? Sometimes that can be very difficult for me to swallow, but I believe that it’s a good way to start getting in the right relationship with the rest of the Body of Christ.