Evensong Sermon for October 26, 2008

The prophet Haggai was active after the Jews returned from exile in Babylon. The situation is fairly straightforward. The people have come back and have rebuilt their homes, but they have not yet rebuilt the destroyed temple. Haggai’s message is not one of condolence, but rather one of reprimand. Why is it, the Lord asks, after having been back for a number of years, that the people have managed to build for themselves beautiful homes, while the temple remains in ruins?

Presumably the Jews returning to Jerusalem meant to rebuild the temple as soon as they were settled in, but year after year passed and the project was continually put off. In modern day terms, we refer to that as deferred maintenance. We recognize that there is a problem, but now is not a good time to deal with the problem; maybe next year there will be enough time, maybe next year there will be enough resources. We’ll get it done eventually…

The question that I want to ask is this: Does it really matter that much if you are willing to put it off in the first place?

But I’m not sure that’s fair. Every organization, every group, ever family, and every individual has priorities. In the real world, sometimes things that shouldn’t slip through the cracks still manage to slip through the cracks. I’m not sure how helpful it is to question someone’s commitment because things aren’t what they should be. I think a better way of approaching a problem is this: “Here is a problem, now lets get through it together.” That’s is Haggai’s approach, and I think it’s a good one. He encourages the people to follow through on the commitment they already have.

Its not a secret that the economy is a mess right now. Its not a secret that everyone is looking at their priorities and trying to figure out what really matters. At the top of my list is my commitment to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I believe that’s probably the same for all Christians. Why? I have never been let down by the Lord, he has always been by my side and that has been most obvious when the world seems the darkest and most difficult. I hope nobody questions the commitment that you and I have to Jesus and to his church.

Of course, I’m concerned about the future, but worries and difficult times don’t change my commitment to Jesus or my commitment to making sure that Saint Mary’s continues being the wonderful place that it is.

Our stewardship campaign for 2009 begins in the next few weeks. Last year was a great success because so many people love this wonderful church and want to see it thrive. I hope you will join me in continuing to support Saint Mary’s mission of spreading the good news of Christ to the people of Times Square and New York City. Money is always helpful, but please don’t assume that’s the only way to support the church or its mission. In my opinion, the best way to support any church is to tell someone why you love the Lord and why you love the church. Then Jesus and Saint Mary’s will be at the top of their list of priorities too.

All Saints' Day (next week) - SMV Angelus Article for October 26

One of the things that I like most about Saint Mary’s is that all major feasts are celebrated when they actually occur. There is a venerable tradition of moving some feasts to Sunday so that everyone can be present for the feast, and in many churches this seems appropriate sometimes. Saint Mary’s is a special place, where it’s possible to celebrate every feast on the date that it falls, and I am thankful for that. Our celebration of any major feast begins, whenever possible, the night before. This is commonly referred to as the Eve of the particular feast. This year, All Saints’ Day, November 1st , falls on a Saturday, and it will be observed at our noonday services that day, but our primary celebration will be Friday night, October 31st, the Eve of All Saints’ Day.

There is some disagreement over the origin of the feast of All Saints. It has been celebrated on a number of different dates. In the eastern churches a festival for all the martyrs (eventually all the saints) has been celebrated since the time of St. John Chrysostom (d. 407 AD) on the Sunday after Pentecost. In the western church it has also been celebrated on November 1 and May 13. Many argue that the date of November 1 was chosen since it was the date of the Celtic New Year and other important Roman pagan celebrations, and the Christian observance of All Saints’ on that day began in Ireland or England and was eventually adopted by the rest of the western Church. While there are a number of instances where the dating of Christian feasts matches important local non-Christian celebrations, there is often stronger evidence that many Christian feasts date from events that happened in important churches. It is with this in mind that others would argue that the dates of November 1 and May 13 correspond to important events in churches in Rome.

At the start of the seventh century, the, at the time abandoned, Pantheon in Rome was given by the emperor to the bishop of Rome. On May 13, 609 (or 610?), the Pantheon was dedicated as the Church of St. Mary and All Martyrs. The event was quite memorable, as Adolph Adams writes in The Liturgical Year: “On the day of consecration the pope had 28 wagonloads of martyrs’ bones brought to the church from the catacombs. The antiphons of the old rite for the dedication of a church may refer to that triumphant act of translation; one of them, for example reads: ‘rise up, saints of God, from your dwellings; sanctify this place and bless the people!’” It sounds like an unforgettable event, and events like this are often the source of major annual celebrations, in this case for all martyrs, that eventually spread beyond the source church. A similar event (likely without quite as many bones or wagons) occurred about one hundred years later, between 731-741, when a chapel for All Saints’ was built in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It is believed that the chapel was may have been dedicated on November 1, and from this dedication an annual feast spread north, reaching England by the end of the century, where it is attested by the middle of the eighth century. By the middle of the ninth century November 1 was confirmed as the official celebration for All Saints’ by the Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious.

Why is there disagreement about who started the feast and attached it to November 1? I am not sure. I think the simple answer is to say that Christians just used an existing date, but I’m not sure the simple answer is always the correct answer. There is no indication at all in Adams’ book that would lead one to think the feast developed anywhere other than at Rome, and significantly, Adams is a Roman Catholic, writing for Roman Catholics. On the other hand, the most popular sources on the web for “facts and history” (the History Channel and Wikipedia), do not mention at all the history of the different dates or reasons for them and assume that the date was mandated for the entire western church by the bishop of Rome simply to replace a popular pagan feast in the north-western-most part of the church. The Oxford Commentary on the 1928 American Prayer Book is careful to note both possibilities, but makes the case for only one: the date of November 1 probably was the date that the chapel was dedicated in Rome and it was a convenient coincidence that there also was pagan feast in England on the same date.

In any event, the church today celebrates All Saints’ Day on November 1. The Right Reverend Mark S. Sisk, Bishop of New York, will be with us as celebrant and preacher this year for Solemn Pontifical Mass on the Eve of All Saints’ Day, October 31 at 6:00 PM. This year All Saints’ Day and Halloween should be very special, and I hope you will be able to join us.

Prophet Class Update

The Wednesday Night Dinner and Bible Study continued this week. We have finished reading about Samuel and we will begin to study prophets found in the narrative concerning David and Solomon. It was fascinating reading only about Samuel.

Children at Saint Mary's

This past Sunday we had 7 kids in the SMV nursery! The parish is growing in every way imaginable right now. Sunday School met for the second week and was once again a success. Thanks to Deacon Fox and Ms. Minor for their amazing efforts!

Sermon for Sunday, October 19, 2008

We have schedule cards placed around the church. One side features the weekly schedule, the rest is devoted to basic information about the church.

In the summer of 2004 the Republican National Convention met in New York, and, as they always are in elections years, people were anxious and on edge. You could sense feelers going out from people, probing the same question: which side are you on? During the Convention and for the next few months afterwards, Father Beddingfield, a curate here until a year ago, and now rector at a church in DC, came up with a schedule card that, I think, cut right through all of the anxiety and brought to the forefront what really matters.

On the front of the card, above a graphic of the church, in big bold letters read:

There is neither Republican nor Democrat,
there is neither Conservative nor Liberal,
there is neither Federalist nor Anarchist;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Its that season again, and on top of the anxiety about the future that the election will bring, there is additional anxiety about the future of the economy. The card that Father Beddingfield produced had a wonderful affect. It reminded me, and I imagine many of you as well, that we are one in Christ, no matter what side we are on. It was a reminder that anxiety for the future doesn’t override the reality that we are and will always be one in Christ.

I think the Gospel passage today offers a related reminder. The Gospel story isn’t about money, it isn’t about whether or not Jesus has a tax policy that the Pharisees find agreeable or offensive. Its about which side Jesus is on. Is he for Caesar or is he against him? If Jesus says taxes should be paid to Rome, then he is Roman enabler and a supporter of the foreigners who have conquered and are oppressing his own people. If Jesus says taxes should not be paid to Rome, then he is a revolutionary who could be reported to the government for insurrection and treason. Our translation refers to this as a test, but I think it could just as well be called a trap.

Jesus does not fall into the trap. The money is made in Caesar’s likeness and image, so let him have it. But you are made in the image of God, so give yourself to God. I think that the image and likeness theme found in today’s Gospel is statement made by Jesus about every single one of us. A statement that cuts through anxiety of choosing sides and worrying about tomorrow by asking the question: Who are you really? And then giving an answer.

When I hear Jesus’ words today, I think of the opening chapter of Genesis where we read: God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." A few chapters later after the expulsion from paradise and the horrifying story of Kane and Able, the same turn of phrase is used about the descendants of these original humans. We read: “Adam became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.”

I think that it important that that image, that likeness doesn’t wear off over time.
It isn’t worn down when life gets difficult or times get hard.
It isn’t even wiped out or removed by sin.
It passes from one generation to another and supports the Psalmists claim that we are children of God.

I’m anxious about the election. I’m anxious about the economy. But that anxiety is greatly calmed when I remember that my primary identity isn’t a citizen of this great country. My primary identity isn’t someone who works for a living. My primary identity isn’t an Episcopal priest. And it isn’t even as a devoted husband and father. All of those things are very important to me and they identify me, but who am I really?

Like all people, I am made in the image and likeness of God, I am a child of God and through Baptism, I become part of Christ’s body, and I am adopted and made an heir in the heavenly kingdom, and I know that God’s love will always be with me. I know that even when things get rough, when I get anxious, when everyone around me is worried about the future, that today and always I will remain in the image and likeness of God. I will remain forever part of the body of Christ. I will always be blessed to cry out to God as Father. And I know the same is true about all of you.

That’s why when we give ourselves to God we can praise Jesus when life is good and also when our hearts are troubled. And that’s why we can praise Jesus together even when we want to divide and take sides. We are all able to cry out to God together as Our Father.

A Prayer for the Sick

Gracious and loving God, bless and sanctify your servants who suffer from sickness, fill them and all who watch over them with your Holy Spirit with strength and love, and let the face of your Son shine with love upon them, now and for ever. Amen.

A Prayer of Thanskgiving

Almighty God, Heavenly Father, through your only-begotten Son you have offered us eternal life and salvation; on this day and every day we offer you thanks for all the blessings of this life: through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Evensong Sermon for October 12, 2008

YEAR 2, PROPER 23, SUNDAY, EVENSONG & BENEDICTION:
JEREMIAH 36:1-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 4:9-16, JOHN 14:1-7

My day began at 4AM when my son Liam woke up – he didn’t want anything, he just didn’t want to sleep. When I came downstairs to begin setting up for church, I found out that the Red Sox – I am from Boston – lost last night’s playoff game by one run in extra innings. After morning prayer, I discovered that our child care expert wasn’t coming in. When she didn’t show up on time, I assumed, and later confirmed that she was sick. Five minutes before Solemn Mass began, I discovered that we were short a thurifer. At the last minute we had to adjust all of the acolytes and the effects of that rippled throughout Solemn Mass.

This morning ranks as one of my favorite Sunday mornings since I have been at Saint Mary’s. You might not think it was an ideal morning for me, but it was. All of those difficulties are small potatoes compared to what really happened today.

Because the nursery wasn’t staffed, I got to receive communion with my son. He’s not quite 2. When he says the chalice, he points at it and says: Beer. As a baptized Christian he is part of this community as much as anyone else, even if he doesn’t always get all the details, and there is nothing quite like the experience sitting next to him at our Lord’s Table.

We began Sunday School for children for the first time in years. We had four kids – we have the potential for six, and I’m thrilled. They are three and four years old. Maybe they can’t explain adequately the position of Saint Abelard on the Atonement, but I think they understand what really matters. They learned that through Jesus they were not only children of Abraham but also children of God.

Solemn Mass – for all the stress that it began with – was wonderful. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see parents bring their children to the front so they can see, and today this happened. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest was able to worship Jesus Christ who died and rose for all of us. It was marvelous.

Tonight we read from Jeremiah and from Saint Paul. Both of them had more bad days than most people. He lived through the collapse of the kingdom of Judah, but in the midst of that, he was also an outcast among his own people. Things had gotten so bad for Jeremiah that he has been banned from visiting the temple. The scroll that he writes and sends to be read ends up being burned by the king. Eventually Jeremiah gets put in prison, and remains there while the kingdom crumbles.

Likewise, Paul has gone through some hard times: he writes: “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands.” He says he is reviled, persecuted, slandered, and has become refuse to the entire world.

Yet both Jeremiah and Paul recognized that having a bad day – or a bad week or a bad year – wasn’t a reason to stop spreading the good news of God’s love to others, they didn’t let bad news ruin the joy of seeing the love of God radically affect and change people. Neither Paul nor Jeremiah stopped preaching because they were rejected. Neither stopped when things didn’t go as planned. Why?

For me the answer is summed up in the reading we will hear at Benediction. Jesus says: “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

When things don’t go perfectly, when things seem like they are falling apart, I think of this reading. As a Christian, what matters for me is that God loves me so much that he will never let anything separate me from his love. No matter what may trouble our hearts, Jesus is preparing a place for all of us: that’s what matters. As a kid I got that. It was a great day because the kids we had today in Sunday School get that too. I hope and pray that no matter what is going on in our lives, we are all able to get that, and also experience what its like to pass that great news on to someone else.

The Diocese

A rendering of the (finished) Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. The Cathedral remains unfinished.

No Christian exists in a vaccuum. Therefore, no church should exist in a vaccuum. The local church, its members and clergy, is involved in the Diocese in a number of ways. Diocesan assements, paid by each church, support most of the work done on the Diocesan level, including but not limitted to outreach, programs, staff, and of course supporting congregations that cannot support themselves.

As a priest in the Diocese, I think it is important to be involved as a leader in the Diocese, as much as I am able to. I serve (a 3 year elected term) on Diocesan Council. And I am currently appointed to the Congregational Support Plan Committee and the Commission on Ministry. The work is time consuming but important.

I think its important for both clergy and lay people to seek positions of leadership in the local church and also in the Diocese. Is that something you might be called to do?

Sunday Adult Forum (Christian Essentials 2008 1a & 2008 1b)

Saint Jerome & the Lion

Last Sunday the adult forum began. The topic for October is the Bible. The first two classes, which I am leading, focus on the Bible as we have recieved it. Last week we discussed what it means that the Bible is a translation. How do we get from Greek and Hebrew (and other things) to English? What is the difference between this translation and that translation? Why do we use the translation (RSV) that we do?

This Sunday we will focus on where the texts that we have come from. Why do we have four Gospels? Do they agree? Do they disagree? What does it mean? It should be a lot of fun.

Sunday classes meet in the Mission House (133 West 46th Street) at 10AM.

Bible Study on the Prophets

Michelangelo's Moses

On Wednesday the Wednesday Night Bible Study resumed. This year we are studying the prophets (all of them!). - Last year we read all of Saint Paul's writings.

For the opening class we looked at what a prophet is, and we saw some examples in the Biblical texts of who were called prophets (Abraham is the first person refered to as a prophet!). The bulk of the class looked at Moses, the prophet-par-excellence in the OT, and how the role of a prophet in Israelite society is spelled out in Deuteronomy. We concluded by looking briefly at the activities of some prophets in the period of the Judges (Deborah and the man of God in Gideon's time). Next week we will study the activities of Samuel.

Of note is the fact that these prophets all have roles within the centralized government (such as it was), which contrasts greatly with the more peripheral roles of many of the prophets we will later study.

The class is Wednesdays at 7PM in the Mission House (133 West 46th Street).

Primary Things Liturgical Conference

Saint Mary's offered a liturgical conference for clergy on Michaelmas 2008. Bishop Frank Griswold was keynote speaker - he lectures on Priests, Pastors and Teachers. Father Gerth (rector at SMV) offered a lecture on clergy as the Servants of the Assembly. The Parish clergy offered a practicum on why we do what we do at low mass at Saint Mary's (the practicum was called Details Matter).

I thought it was fantastic! For more information, see Saint Mary's Website, archives section. The next Primary Things conference will be scheduled soon.

The Revised Common Lectionary

Follow this link for an analysis of the RCL (compared the 1979 BCP) that I did a year ago. The complete article was published in "The Anglican" this past summer and it has been puiblished on the Saint Mary's website for about a year.

http://images.acswebnetworks.com/1/49/RevisedCommonLectionaryAnalysis.pdf

Sunday School at Saint Mary's

Sunday School for Children resumes at Saint Mary's this Sunday, October 14, 2008 at 10AM.

Marian Hymn Sing & Oktoberfest

"O Maria!"

The second annual Marian Hymn Sing and Oktoberfest was a smashing success! We had 45 people in attendance; the food and German beverages were delicious, the hymns were sung with gusto, and we all learned a great deal about Marian Theology and our wonderful church organ (thank you James Kennerley!).

Hope you can make it next year!

Blog Update

I have retooled this blog. I will continue to add sermons and homilies. However, in an effort to keep this site more active, I will also add other information that I hope will be helpful.