My sisters & brothers, some are enjoying the fullness of God’s kingdom. Others, like us, still wait for their turn. Though Christ, we share full communion with all of them.
There are two very important details for us to draw from our first reading. First is the encouragement to seek the gift of Divine Wisdom. Or, ask God to fill you with God’s own spirit. The Old Testament ideas are interchangeable and the basis of our understanding of Jesus’ teaching about the Holy Spirit.
The second detail is that The Spirit/Divine Wisdom is described feminine imagery. We 21st century Christians tend to get so wrapped up in Jesus conversations about the Father, that we forget the deeper teaching of the God’s nature. God is neither male nor female but far more than both. This awareness starts in the Old Testament and has been consistently carried forward thought Christian history. It is important that we not lose sight of this, that we do not reduce God to some lowest common denominator.
Our second lesson brings up an important question for the first generation of Christians. They understand that the destiny of the faithful who are alive at the end of time is to be with God, but what about those who have already died? Remember they expected the second coming to be very soon. We know from 2000 years of history that it’s not happening soon.
Paul addresses their concerns about the faithful who have died. Christians have a certain hope: because we believe in the crucified and risen Christ, through him, God will bring those who are asleep into his company, the same as you and I.
Today’s gospel story is a parable about a master who leaves his household for a time, and suddenly returns. If, while he is away, his servant lives a godly, ethical life, they are “blessed” when the master returns. On the other hand, if they, realizing that the master is delayed in returning, misbehaves and lives a life of debauchery, they will be excluded on the master’s return. In fact, they will be caught in the act, because the master will return when least expected. Jesus is speaking in an allegory, about the relationship between how we live now and what our fate will be at the Second Coming; the master stands for Christ.
Our celebration today of All Saints and All Souls, revolves around the Christian belief that in Christ we have a spiritual connection with all the virtuous people who have gone before us. All Saints and All Souls days celebrate the final fulfillment of God’s promises of a holy paradise and the foretaste we experience now as God’s people. Do you remember Jesus’ preaching; the Kingdom is at hand, even among you? Today we celebrate that what Christ announced is true and our unity with Christ and one another extends not just to other believers in this life but in the life to come as well.
This awareness, that we share intercommunion between the living and the dead in the Body of Christ, is was far older than the Middle Ages. The patriarch John Chrysostom, who died in 407, says that a festival of All Saints was observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Constantinople at the time of his episcopate.
Today, we join this tradition in celebrating our vast spiritual family, in Christ.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Back on Blogger
Alleluia! I've gotten technical issues resolved and I'm back on Blogger....
More to come! Thanks for hanging in with me.
More to come! Thanks for hanging in with me.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Homily for Proper 14 A,
My sisters and brothers, let us seek the Lord even in the most unexpected places.
In our first reading we have the conclusion of Elijah’s flight from the people who want to kill him. He has traveled far through the wilderness and nearly died of thirst and starvation. Mysteriously aided by an angle, he now arrives at Horeb, “The mount of God.” Though various phenomena, such as wind, storms, earthquakes, fire, herald the God’s presence, they do not constitute the actual presence of God. Who, like the mysterious silence, is perceivable only in the soul.
In the second reading we heard, Paul makes the rhetorical point, no one will bring Christ down from heaven, or up from the dead. Christ is with-in all who confess him. He goes on, “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek,” there is one Lord of all, who is generous to all that accept him.
Our gospel is the familiar story of Jesus walking on the water. But the miracle story can obscure for us some of the subplot, or “story with in the story.” Prior to Jesus feeding the 5000, he received news that John the Baptist was killed by King Herod. He tries to find a privet place to grieve/pray but the crowds follow him. Now he finally gets his privet time to pray and then catches up to this disciples by walking across the water to their boat. The point of the miracle story is that nothing is beyond the power of God and that Jesus is the one! Which the disciples proclaim.
An interesting side note, the comment that this happened, “early in the morning” (v. 25) is a bit of translator’s license. The Greek word indicates that it took place “before dawn.”
As Elijah traveled to reach safety with God; Jesus traveled to find solitude and support in his Father- we also must put effort into seeking God in our lives. God does not impose himself on us. But He is close for all who seek Him. And seek Him we must. However, as we seek God we must be prepared to encounter Him in unexpected ways: Elijah found him in silence and stillness rather than in examples of power. Jesus in the solitude that followed an unexpected ministry opportunity. The Apostles found him in a shocking manifestation of power as Jesus approached them walking on a storm tossed sea.
Four or five years ago, I shared a poem with you about my encounter with God, back in Kansas City, wile walking one of our dogs. I am going to share that with you again as an illustration of what I’m driving at.
Husky
God if you made this Siberian Husky I'm walking
Friendly and loving to a fault
yet ready to pounce on any squirrel.
Tale curled high with excitement
oblivious to the frigid water he walks through
wile snow drifts down to catch in his fur.
If you made this husky,
sniffing the ground diligently
with a mound of snow flakes on his nose.
Powerful enough to drag our eight-year-old,
on her belly, through tall summer grass
and gentle enough to kiss her crying face.
Who welcomed me home
with a dance and a howling rooooing song
who now gases out the window with me, wile I pray.
Then O Lord, you are awe inspiring indeed
loving and frightening
the power-filled creator taking playful joy in his work.
Loving and forgiving
with out end
yet just and terrible in accusation.
Giver of deadly blizzards
and soft warm breezes
deserving of respect, devotion and love.
My brothers and sisters, we simply need to make a point of praying each day and keeping an open mind and heart for God’s blessed surprises.
In our first reading we have the conclusion of Elijah’s flight from the people who want to kill him. He has traveled far through the wilderness and nearly died of thirst and starvation. Mysteriously aided by an angle, he now arrives at Horeb, “The mount of God.” Though various phenomena, such as wind, storms, earthquakes, fire, herald the God’s presence, they do not constitute the actual presence of God. Who, like the mysterious silence, is perceivable only in the soul.
In the second reading we heard, Paul makes the rhetorical point, no one will bring Christ down from heaven, or up from the dead. Christ is with-in all who confess him. He goes on, “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek,” there is one Lord of all, who is generous to all that accept him.
Our gospel is the familiar story of Jesus walking on the water. But the miracle story can obscure for us some of the subplot, or “story with in the story.” Prior to Jesus feeding the 5000, he received news that John the Baptist was killed by King Herod. He tries to find a privet place to grieve/pray but the crowds follow him. Now he finally gets his privet time to pray and then catches up to this disciples by walking across the water to their boat. The point of the miracle story is that nothing is beyond the power of God and that Jesus is the one! Which the disciples proclaim.
An interesting side note, the comment that this happened, “early in the morning” (v. 25) is a bit of translator’s license. The Greek word indicates that it took place “before dawn.”
As Elijah traveled to reach safety with God; Jesus traveled to find solitude and support in his Father- we also must put effort into seeking God in our lives. God does not impose himself on us. But He is close for all who seek Him. And seek Him we must. However, as we seek God we must be prepared to encounter Him in unexpected ways: Elijah found him in silence and stillness rather than in examples of power. Jesus in the solitude that followed an unexpected ministry opportunity. The Apostles found him in a shocking manifestation of power as Jesus approached them walking on a storm tossed sea.
Four or five years ago, I shared a poem with you about my encounter with God, back in Kansas City, wile walking one of our dogs. I am going to share that with you again as an illustration of what I’m driving at.
Husky
God if you made this Siberian Husky I'm walking
Friendly and loving to a fault
yet ready to pounce on any squirrel.
Tale curled high with excitement
oblivious to the frigid water he walks through
wile snow drifts down to catch in his fur.
If you made this husky,
sniffing the ground diligently
with a mound of snow flakes on his nose.
Powerful enough to drag our eight-year-old,
on her belly, through tall summer grass
and gentle enough to kiss her crying face.
Who welcomed me home
with a dance and a howling rooooing song
who now gases out the window with me, wile I pray.
Then O Lord, you are awe inspiring indeed
loving and frightening
the power-filled creator taking playful joy in his work.
Loving and forgiving
with out end
yet just and terrible in accusation.
Giver of deadly blizzards
and soft warm breezes
deserving of respect, devotion and love.
My brothers and sisters, we simply need to make a point of praying each day and keeping an open mind and heart for God’s blessed surprises.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Homily for Pentecost, 2011
My sisters & brothers, how will we respond as we are renewed in the Holy Spirit?
In our first lesson God shares with the elders of the people the same Spirit that was given to Mosses. The griping of the people has set this whole scene in motion. They are tired of eating manna every day and complain, wanting the foods they used to have in Egypt. Moses turns to God. He is overwhelmed by the constant requests from the people. God in turn instructs Moses to commission 70 elders to be his assistant. They are blessed by God with the Divine spirit and their immediate response is to make some kind of ecstatic utterance. Being momentarily overwhelmed by God’s Spirit.
Our second lesson marks a mile stone in salvation history, the Pentecost event. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the gift inaugurating the final stage of the salvation story; this era leads up to the end of time. The whole book of Acts is about mission, about speaking, proclaiming, the good news to people everywhere, in language they can understand; Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit is the driving force behind this work. Today’s story sets the stage for what follows. The disciples are filled with the Spirit, and immediately begin to tell the story of Christ. Clearly the event was both mysterious/mystical and empowering.
In our gospel story, Jesus is appearing to this followers after his resurrection. In John’s version of the story Jesus gives the Spirit now, rather than later. But the punch line remains the same. As he has been sent into the world with the Father’s authority, so he now sends out the disciples and the whole Christian Church after them.
We too are blessed and sent! Our being baptized into Christ means that we, like the first disciple, receive a Spirit of holiness that will sooner or later move us to missionary work. That might mean feeding the hungry, teaching a class, welcoming new comers or putting an Episcopal Church bumper sticker on your car. One way or another it means sharing, or spreading around, the gift we received in Christ. This is the universal mission of Christians. It is both a gift and a challenge given by the Holy Spirit.
I’ve mentioned before that getting our building done and payed for is part of our mission. It provides space for the ministries we need ourselves, and ministries we can offer to others.
Today, as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we need to be open both to refreshment in God’s Spirit and Renewal in our calling to serve!
In our first lesson God shares with the elders of the people the same Spirit that was given to Mosses. The griping of the people has set this whole scene in motion. They are tired of eating manna every day and complain, wanting the foods they used to have in Egypt. Moses turns to God. He is overwhelmed by the constant requests from the people. God in turn instructs Moses to commission 70 elders to be his assistant. They are blessed by God with the Divine spirit and their immediate response is to make some kind of ecstatic utterance. Being momentarily overwhelmed by God’s Spirit.
Our second lesson marks a mile stone in salvation history, the Pentecost event. The coming of the Holy Spirit is the gift inaugurating the final stage of the salvation story; this era leads up to the end of time. The whole book of Acts is about mission, about speaking, proclaiming, the good news to people everywhere, in language they can understand; Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit is the driving force behind this work. Today’s story sets the stage for what follows. The disciples are filled with the Spirit, and immediately begin to tell the story of Christ. Clearly the event was both mysterious/mystical and empowering.
In our gospel story, Jesus is appearing to this followers after his resurrection. In John’s version of the story Jesus gives the Spirit now, rather than later. But the punch line remains the same. As he has been sent into the world with the Father’s authority, so he now sends out the disciples and the whole Christian Church after them.
We too are blessed and sent! Our being baptized into Christ means that we, like the first disciple, receive a Spirit of holiness that will sooner or later move us to missionary work. That might mean feeding the hungry, teaching a class, welcoming new comers or putting an Episcopal Church bumper sticker on your car. One way or another it means sharing, or spreading around, the gift we received in Christ. This is the universal mission of Christians. It is both a gift and a challenge given by the Holy Spirit.
I’ve mentioned before that getting our building done and payed for is part of our mission. It provides space for the ministries we need ourselves, and ministries we can offer to others.
Today, as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, we need to be open both to refreshment in God’s Spirit and Renewal in our calling to serve!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Homily for the Feast of the Ascension
If you have not heard the expression, you certainly have had the experience: “Hurry up and wait.” The stories of Christ that we hear today always make me smile. Jesus is giving us the classic “hurry up and wait” scenario. You are my witnesses to the very ends of the earth, to transform the world to faith. But first, stay here and pray for the Holy Spirit . . .
Our first reading today comes from Acts. This book is the sequel to Luke’s Gospel. Here he tells the story of Jesus’ ascension to heaven and the prediction that Jesus will return in the same way at the end of time. From here the waiting for the Holy Spirit begins. It is not surprising that those present expect Israel to be restored to independent national status. Nevertheless, Jesus’ answer shows the first phase of restoration to be of a different nature (Spiritual). When will it be finished? By what times and by what steps, he simply does not say.
In our second reading Paul relates some objectives of our shared lives in Christ. By God’s grace we are to attain a maturer knowledge of God in three ways:
In the Gospel story we just heard, Jesus gives his last commission to his followers and his last instructions. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ name to all nations. But, first, wait here until you are filled with the Holy Spirit. In essence he charges the disciples (and other followers) with preaching the good news to all people. They are his “witnesses.” The Holy Spirit will be with them, as God promised.
So, we get ready for the mission but wait for the Spirit . . .
Like the first disciples, we must begin our journey by praying for a renewal in the Holy Spirit. As we make our physical journey from this Sunday to the Next, our journey to Pentecost, we need to make the spiritual journey a very intentional endeavor. Praying daily for renewal in the Spirit. Praying for the grace we need to accept and enact or part of the mission to share the good things we have received in Christ.
In the last few months my studies brought me to some very new demographic statistics about religion in America. Fifty percent of our population has no religious affiliation what so ever. The vast majority of that 50% have been unchurched for multiple generations. We can no longer afford to sit here as today’s readings go by us and assume that the mission of Christ is done in the USA. We are not the Christian nation that we once were. We who believe in and follow Christ, must hear the Holy Spirit’s renewed call and move the mission of the Church forward in whatever way we can.
So, in the next week, I call on all of us to pray for the grace of renewal in our faith. Asking God to help us see more clearly the role he has in mind for us at St. Stephen’s.
Our first reading today comes from Acts. This book is the sequel to Luke’s Gospel. Here he tells the story of Jesus’ ascension to heaven and the prediction that Jesus will return in the same way at the end of time. From here the waiting for the Holy Spirit begins. It is not surprising that those present expect Israel to be restored to independent national status. Nevertheless, Jesus’ answer shows the first phase of restoration to be of a different nature (Spiritual). When will it be finished? By what times and by what steps, he simply does not say.
In our second reading Paul relates some objectives of our shared lives in Christ. By God’s grace we are to attain a maturer knowledge of God in three ways:
- In spiritual growth as those whom God has called
- The “glorious inheritance” of the Jews that is being shared with the Gentile Christians
- Experiencing the tremendous power of God as he works in their lives
In the Gospel story we just heard, Jesus gives his last commission to his followers and his last instructions. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ name to all nations. But, first, wait here until you are filled with the Holy Spirit. In essence he charges the disciples (and other followers) with preaching the good news to all people. They are his “witnesses.” The Holy Spirit will be with them, as God promised.
So, we get ready for the mission but wait for the Spirit . . .
Like the first disciples, we must begin our journey by praying for a renewal in the Holy Spirit. As we make our physical journey from this Sunday to the Next, our journey to Pentecost, we need to make the spiritual journey a very intentional endeavor. Praying daily for renewal in the Spirit. Praying for the grace we need to accept and enact or part of the mission to share the good things we have received in Christ.
In the last few months my studies brought me to some very new demographic statistics about religion in America. Fifty percent of our population has no religious affiliation what so ever. The vast majority of that 50% have been unchurched for multiple generations. We can no longer afford to sit here as today’s readings go by us and assume that the mission of Christ is done in the USA. We are not the Christian nation that we once were. We who believe in and follow Christ, must hear the Holy Spirit’s renewed call and move the mission of the Church forward in whatever way we can.
So, in the next week, I call on all of us to pray for the grace of renewal in our faith. Asking God to help us see more clearly the role he has in mind for us at St. Stephen’s.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Homily for 5 Easter A, May 22, 2011
My brothers and sisters, being a bystander is not ok! We must all role up our sleeves and take our place in the Family of God!
In our first reading today, we heard a short clip about the works of our patron St. Stephen. As he is pursued by the murderous crowd, has a vision of heaven. From this he draws the grace he needs to die in full imitation of Jesus; by willing giving his soul to God and praying for those who kill him. He is definitely a holier man than I am . . .
I am sure we have all heard the story: As the Christian Community grew, the need for leaders besides the apostles became obvious. So, seven were chosen to attend to social-service and administrative functions (“daily distribution of food”), of whom Stephen is one. Later in the story we are introduced to Saul (A.K.A. Paul). We see him in his pre-conversion role of supporting the killing of Christians.
In our second reading we hear the classic image of believers being transformed into living building blocks for the house of God. All centered on Jesus the corner stone. Though some rejected Jesus, he is God’s chosen and will be the foundation of the people God is amassing. The author goes on to describe Christians as a “priesthood” dedicated to God (that is: holy) who are to present lives of faith and love.
In today’s gospel story, Jesus explicitly proclaims himself as the way into the house hold (family) of God. We are all called to become part of this spiritual family. Farther, Jesus makes the point that the one who believes will do the works of Jesus, and even greater.
My sisters and brothers, Do not be sitting on your hands! As Peter said, we are being built into the “house, church, family of God.” We are expected (rightly) to participate by helping the project along . . . Jesus’ example and teaching is our road map (or blue prints) for this project. Saint Stephen gives us yet another powerful example. He steps up to the calling that God gave him and gets to work for the growth and good of God’s people. We, in our day and age, each have our own calling for God. Do not be a bystander, an accidental/incidental Christian. To be the real thing, we must get involved in doing the work of the Family of God! We are not all the same. We cannot all do exactly the same. However, we can all do something, and to be authentic, we must do that something. We all have that natural human desire to “test the water” before “taking the plunge!” It is normal. The problem comes in when we make sitting on the fringe into a permanent perch. We must not let our selves get stuck.
Or, to put it another way: Will we let ourselves fall in love with God, or will we keep a safe distance? Will we love our brothers and sisters in the family of God, or will we keep a safe distance? To be authentic, we must eventually cross the line or doom ourselves to a lukewarm existence. Is that the way any of us really want to live? I really do not think so . . .
In our first reading today, we heard a short clip about the works of our patron St. Stephen. As he is pursued by the murderous crowd, has a vision of heaven. From this he draws the grace he needs to die in full imitation of Jesus; by willing giving his soul to God and praying for those who kill him. He is definitely a holier man than I am . . .
I am sure we have all heard the story: As the Christian Community grew, the need for leaders besides the apostles became obvious. So, seven were chosen to attend to social-service and administrative functions (“daily distribution of food”), of whom Stephen is one. Later in the story we are introduced to Saul (A.K.A. Paul). We see him in his pre-conversion role of supporting the killing of Christians.
In our second reading we hear the classic image of believers being transformed into living building blocks for the house of God. All centered on Jesus the corner stone. Though some rejected Jesus, he is God’s chosen and will be the foundation of the people God is amassing. The author goes on to describe Christians as a “priesthood” dedicated to God (that is: holy) who are to present lives of faith and love.
In today’s gospel story, Jesus explicitly proclaims himself as the way into the house hold (family) of God. We are all called to become part of this spiritual family. Farther, Jesus makes the point that the one who believes will do the works of Jesus, and even greater.
My sisters and brothers, Do not be sitting on your hands! As Peter said, we are being built into the “house, church, family of God.” We are expected (rightly) to participate by helping the project along . . . Jesus’ example and teaching is our road map (or blue prints) for this project. Saint Stephen gives us yet another powerful example. He steps up to the calling that God gave him and gets to work for the growth and good of God’s people. We, in our day and age, each have our own calling for God. Do not be a bystander, an accidental/incidental Christian. To be the real thing, we must get involved in doing the work of the Family of God! We are not all the same. We cannot all do exactly the same. However, we can all do something, and to be authentic, we must do that something. We all have that natural human desire to “test the water” before “taking the plunge!” It is normal. The problem comes in when we make sitting on the fringe into a permanent perch. We must not let our selves get stuck.
Or, to put it another way: Will we let ourselves fall in love with God, or will we keep a safe distance? Will we love our brothers and sisters in the family of God, or will we keep a safe distance? To be authentic, we must eventually cross the line or doom ourselves to a lukewarm existence. Is that the way any of us really want to live? I really do not think so . . .
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Interesting conversations in the Scientific American Web Site today.
This first one (Click Here) is about the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and the obvious speculations that go with it. Clearly, the researchers involved in the SETI project presume that any extra terrestrial intelligent race we my find will post no threat to us. In fact many hole the belief that such a race would be highly advanced and altruistic, sharing with us their accomplishments. Others, including Stephen Hawking, have pointed out that we have not rational basis for this attitude; they prompt the idea that we should keep quiet until we are better able to protect ourselves on a planetary level. As much as I love this kind of highly speculative conversation... I must point out that we have absolutely no factual information from which promote either position. Cautious exploration seems the only wise and rational option.
This Second story (Click Here) explores new astronomical discovers about planets and their niche in the galaxy. It appears that some planet size bodies may not orbit a star but have their own path around the galactic center.
This Second story (Click Here) explores new astronomical discovers about planets and their niche in the galaxy. It appears that some planet size bodies may not orbit a star but have their own path around the galactic center.
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