Palm Sunday Homily

As a friend said on Facebook , this is the perfect service for this weekend: “Welcome to the King of Kings!  We will honor you forever!  April Fools!!”  Every year this service jars me – the immediate movement from Hero Worship to Crucify Him - this year it took us 32 minutes to get from there to here.  This morning we get the Cliff notes version of the story, but throughout this week, we will actually get to see and experience what comes in between - the What that Happens between there and here.  On Thursday, Friday and Saturday we will see how we got from there to here and beyond.

And we know how it will end.  So why bother?  Jesus knew how it would end also.  Why did he bother?   He bothered because he loves us. 

God has been singing a love song to us all though Lent.  Have you heard it?  It was no accident that we spent the first four Sundays of Lent reviewing the different Covenants between God and the people – we learned out history with God – we learned who we are to God – that we are Beloved.  We've had a different verse of that song each week:  In week one, we heard "I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth" as God made a covenant with Noah. Week two was "You shall be the ancestors to a multitude of nations" as God made the covenant with Sarah and Abraham.  Week three was "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Week four, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." Last week was "I will put my law within them and I will write in on their hearts – I will be their God and they will be my people."   Today we had the words directly from Jesus "I am the Messiah, the Son of God" - he gave himself up.  This week we will add: By this shall the world know that you are my disciples. And we will have the examples of foot washing and the institution of communion.

 Jesus already knew what would happen – and he loves us enough to show up and ride a colt.  He loves us enough to be an example of being non-violent in the face of injustice.  He loves us enough to feed us every single week – week in and week out – with his own body and blood.  He loved us enough to walk among us, because without Holy week, that cute baby is just a cute baby - the wise teacher is merely a wise teacher, the miracle healer is just a healer - This Week changes everything.  Without This week, This Story is just another story. 

Come this week to walk with Christ and the disciples – Come hear and experience different versions of the same story.  You’ve come this far: Remember that you are Dust and to Dust you shall return.    Come - Finish your Lent this year with a strong understanding of who Christ is – for you, for this community and for the world.  Come and let God sing you the rest of this love song. 

Sermon 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B

Collect:  Almighty God, you seest that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul – it is a lovely collect for the day and a great summary for the readings today.  Today is one of those glorious days when all the  readings and the Collect inter-weave beautifully.

I don’t know if you have noticed or not, but throughout this Lenten season, we have had Covenant readings in our Hebrew Testament first readings.  The First Sunday of Lent, we had God making a covenant with Noah: “Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  A flood is certainly an adversity which may happen to the body – and God promises to protect us from an earth-encompassing flood.  What do we have to do to uphold our end of the bargain?  Nothing – the rainbow is the sign that reminds God.  There is no Rainbow Bat signal that we have to flash – it just happens – God makes the rainbow happen and restricts the flood.  Who does this covenant affect?  All of us – every human on the earth.  Some may perish periodically in floods, but never again has there been a flood that covered the entire earth.  When I first saw the previews to Evan Almighty a few years ago, I wondered if the writers had forgotten this covenant.  “Defend us from all adversities which may happen to the body.”

On the Second Sunday of Lent, last week, God made a covenant with Abram and Sarai, who became Abraham and Sarah. Abraham became the father of the three major religions who worship the same God: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity: “you shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations…to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”  And three major world religions followed.  What do we have to do to uphold our end of this covenant:  nada.  “Almighty God, you know we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves.”

This is the Third Sunday of Lent, and we have more covenant language: the Ten Commandments.  This is a covenant between God and the Hebrew people.  As Christians who descend from the Jews theologically and scripturally, we inherited this covenant.  The Quran does not have the Ten Commandments – it has similar teachings, but not in this form like we have it in both Exodus and Deuteronomy.    Do you see how the field is narrowing each time?  All people with Noah; Jews, Muslims and Christians with Abraham, and now Jews and Christians with the Ten Commandments.   And this is where we got to the question: How do we uphold our end?  What is expected of us?  Jesus later narrows it even further for us as Christians as we hear in our opening proclamation every week in Rite I, “Love God with all your heart and soul and mind, and love your neighbors as yourselves” – the Summary of the Ten Commandments – simplified.  That’s all we have to do to uphold our end of this covenant – simple enough - ha.  “Keep us from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul.” 

So what does all this have to do with Jesus getting angry in the Temple?  God could only be found in the Temple in those days – it was where God lived for the Hebrew people.  We have no concept of how pervasive that thought was for them – God lived there and they went to visit God there as a show of obedience and sacrifice.  Only certain people were allowed to be in the same space as God.  What we know that they did not, was that Jesus incarnate is God.  When He was walking among them, God was out of the building (maybe God had never truly resided there for long), but now God walked and talked and got angry.  I actually like this portrayal of Jesus because I can so clearly see both the fully human and the fully divine here.  Jesus sees the gauntlet people are expected to walk through to get to God, and knows that HE is right there.  Jesus tried to tell them that HE was the temple – the body for God – but they would not get that- really get it – until after his death.  When the curtain of the Temple is torn in two later – it signals that God has left the building, once and for all.  The Holy may visit there, but will no longer ever be thought of as living there.  Ironically enough in John’s gospel, Jesus turning over tables, driving out the money changers, and proclaiming to be the Temple is what made the powers-that-be mad enough to start conspiring to kill. 

We know that God walked in the body of Jesus – we also believe that the Holy Spirit lives in and moves among every person here.  We know that God is not only in a building or a room.    We can look historically and faithfully to see how much God loves us – the covenants point us there.  What kind of clearing out have you been doing in your Lenten discipline?  What have you driven out of your life to make room for the Holy Spirit to dwell more fully there?  What practice have you chosen to help you see God more clearly in this season?  I have begun a practice of writing prayers to God – kind of like journaling – and I am a whole 6 days in so far.  Sigh.  The psalmist reminds us that God’s laws are perfect and sure and clear, and pure – sweeter than honey.  I know that when I pressure myself to exceed God’s laws, I stress myself out.  God does not do that to me – I am reminded that God loves those foolish enough to believe as Paul reminded us today – and that the strength of God is enough to keep and defend me.

And why?  Why does God keep us, defend us, and bind the holy to us – as human beings, as people who believe in Jesus Christ, as spirit-bearers in the world?  Why would God do this?  I’m giving you the soap opera ending - That answer comes next week – you’ll know it when you hear it… Amen.

Good Morning Y'all!!

Welcome to the new named blog!  I will be moving my links over this week.

This blog will be used to post sermons, ask questions, and become a resource page for me in my jobs.  On the parish level, I am a Parochial Associate.  There is no curacy program in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.  There are lots of questions that I have and I wish I could discuss with colleagues.  On the diocesan level, as far as I can discern, there is no one doing the same work I am doing in the re-organizing dioceses. If you know of someone, please send them my contact info!!  I would love to find someone see doing the Reconciliation work also - we are three years post-break and starting to really form plans now.  It is a process that must be worked and there is a lot of grief work involved.

I will still be writing on the anonymous blog as well - if you don't know it and want to, please email me - my only goal with it was that I didn't want a Google search to link me directly to it, but most of the readers there know me.

My email is a google email with the same name on the blog without the spaces.

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany – Year B - Mark 1:29-39

                There are three kinds of people in the world: those who understand Math, and those who don’t.  You can see which category I fall in here. 

                As I looked at the Gospel this week, with the help of 44 of my closest pastor friends, it occurred to us that there are two categories of people in today’s Reading from Mark.  However, it is always dangerous to categorize and simplify – and you’ll see why in a minute.  We decided in the workgroup that the two categories are those who need to be Served and those who Serve.  Let’s start by looking at Simon’s Mother-in-Law and I think you will see the problem also.

                Simon’s Mother-in-Law, who has no name, needs to be Served.  She is ill with a fever. In the days before Tylenol and antibiotics, she might have died from whatever the underlying reason for the fever might have been.  However, Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up – he strengthened her.  He healed her.  And she began to serve them.  Do you see the problem with the categories yet?

It’s a both…and thing.  The more I looked at this, the more I was struck by the both…and aspect of it because it is exactly how each of us here is.  We all have something that needs to be served in our lives: a worry put to rest, an ailment to heal, a hole to fill…you can each fill in your own blank there.  We all also are called to Serve – to find our ministry to follow Jesus Christ – our own way to proclaim the Good News and participate in the healing of the people around us and the world. 

There is a coarse reading of the Gospel that I have giggled at myself – and probably still will again.  She was healed and she served them.  Sounds very paternalistic doesn’t it?  As I thought more about it though, if I were her, I would want to feel good enough to show hospitality to my houseguests, I would want to be able to set the table and serve a meal, I actually get to do those things in my Call.  I also remember when I have been sick and I just want to feel normal again – I imagine it was a relief to her to be able to get back into the swing of things after being ill. 

Jesus allowed himself to be served by her – and he served the needs of others by proclaiming the good news and healing in this story – another both…and. 

Our diocesan Communications Officer posted a story on her FB page about yet another real life, modern day both...and.  In the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, there is a church that has worked with a severely physically handicapped boy named Victor so that he can Acolyte.  He wanted to serve – and they figured out how to make it work.  He has a buddy that assists him as he carries the cross attached to his wheelchair, and as he collects the offering plates when they are brought forward.  He and his buddy Patrick are each served by the church and serve the church at the exact same time.  It is a great story and I commend it to you. 

Each of us needs to be served and needs to serve – it’s in our nature.  We are a community made up of both…ands.  We respond to those who need to be served in a variety of different ways: from contributing to Community Storehouse, to offering Christian Education to all ages – in a multitude of ways.  We respond to those who need to clarify their Call through prayers, discernment – in a multitude of ways. 

Let us respond to the Grace of the both…and by living gratefully in the both…and.

Friday Five: Movies

Jan @ RevGals has offered this Friday Five for the Day:

Thinking of movie-watching, what do you prefer?

1. At home or at a theater?  Either - although I love big blockbusters on the big screen.  Usually see about 6 movies a year at the theatre.  Love Netflix at home.  In the last month, I have seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Joyful Noise - both a Studio Movie Drill where we watched the movie and had dinner at the same time.  I especially love good adaptations of beloved books I have read
2. With whom?  Dear Husband sometimes with Teens, or Mom, Sis and Niece if it's a Chick Flick
3. Movie you look forward to seeing?  I want to see the Artist, but don't want to drive into Dallas, so it may have to wait until the DVD release.  I also keep meaning to see if The Descendants is still in theatres - was not that interested in it until the Golden Globes awards
4. Movie you like to see repeatedly?  In undergrad it was Pretty Woman and When Harry Met Sally repeatedly while studying.  I love the Disney/Pixar movies and have several on my IPod - The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Up - those I can always rewatch
5. Food with a movie?  Popcorn with butter - maybe some Jr Mints. 

Sermon - Epiphany Sunday

“They travelled there… were overwhelmed with joy… paid him homage…offered him gifts… and left by another road.”

Yesterday was the Day of Epiphany – and tomorrow is the Epiphany pageant so tonite we get to hear the rest of the story.  For those of us who follow the liturgical calendar, Christmas doesn’t end December 26^th  - we get an extended time to enjoy the season, even though the secular world has moved onto St Valentine’s Day.  It doesn’t end for us until the wise men from the east come to visit the Christ child.  We only get this story in the Gospel according to Matthew.  Luke gave us the story of the shepherds, and Matthew gives us the wise men. 

As I studied this scripture passage this week, I kept coming back to the thought: what does this have to do with us? It’s a great story – and we’ve added images thru the years that give it depth and majesty.  My crèche at home has three royally dressed men wearing crowns bearing ornate boxes and there’s a camel draped in finery looking on.  So it is a fun story – and fun to watch young ones re-tell – but is that it?  Is that all we get from it?

While there is great merit in telling the stories, I believe that there is more to what Matthew offers.  Beyond being part of our faith tradition, this scripture offers us a way to liturgically enter into where secular time seems to naturally go right now.  We’ve just celebrated the secular new year – last weekend in fact.  The new year seems to invite us all to re-evaluate where we are in our lives and where we are going in the next year.  It’s a time to get ourselves, our finances, our bodies, our households, our families in order.  I do not like making resolutions, but a lot of people take the chance to resolve to do something differently this year.  This is the time of year for such reflection.  Epiphany begins our last season before Lent – maybe the arrival of the wise men amongst us, invites us to start considering where we are in our own journeys toward Christ.  Maybe we also get an extended season to consider where we would like to make changes come Lent.  How else can we enter into this story?

They travelled… How did you get here?  Not here at St Martin – that’s too easy.  How did you get to here, today?  Reflect on the story a Gospeller would tell about your journey.  What brought you into this space?  Maybe it was a friend, a co-worker, a family member – a ministry of the church.  They travelled with friends, just as we do. 

When were you so overwhelmed with joy, that you knelt and paid homage to Christ as the lord and savior of your life?  For most people it might have been very quietly done at the birth of a child, in the midst of an illness, in that peace which passes all understanding.  Some here may have had a very sudden life-changing experience.  The thing to note is that we have all had at least one, or we wouldn’t be here!    

What gifts have you offered up in the past?  And what gifts has God given you since that you look forward to bringing forward in this new year?  We all have cycles of offering gifts, then resting for a bit while we foster new gifts, then offer those up – it’s a cycle that continues throughout our lifetimes – the gift the children will offer at the pageant will be different than the gift the Altar Guild or the Choir performs every week.  What gifts of time or talent or treasure did you bring along tonight?

And they left by another road… they did that to avoid reporting back to Herod – they sensed his hypocrisy.  But I also wonder about the metaphorical value of that.  They had met the savior of the world – the one whom we still kneel down and worship 2000 years later.  They had to have been changed by the journey – changed by the story – changed in the meeting of Jesus face to face.

After all, we have all come, we will kneel, we will offer valuable gifts of our time, treasure and harvest, we do this over and over and over – week in and week out – in each season, liturgical and secular.  I pray that we will each go from here differently AND WISER than we came. AMEN.

Friday Five from RevGals

Playing the Friday Five was how I originally began to blog years ago.  Here's today's version:

Friday Five - The A-ha Moments

This past holiday season is not one I will soon forget, but not for the reason some may think. Certainly, it was a busy one for those involved in the life of the church. The 1-2 punch of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on a Sunday brought more than a few of us to our knees (or hopefully to a more comfortable napping position).

In the midst of the holiday season I had one of those moments where a path suddenly was made clear - A-ha! This experience has prompted me to wonder what some of your A-ha moments may be.

They can be mundane - a realization that you like/don't like a certain food or that you really look good in that color you never had the guts to try. They can be sacred - a way to better pace your day clicks into place or finally a devotion or meditation practice that really works for you. They can be profound - the moment you realized he/she was the one (or wasn't)or the moment you realized where your deepest passion could meet the world's greatest need.

Please tell us - what are five (more or less) of your 'A-ha' moments. Where have you had a moment of clarity?

1. When the boys were still preschool age, I had an epiphany that still holds true:  I need to be completely ready for my day before I wake them.  It seems so simple in retrospect, but I constantly push back against it.  I want to be able to blow dry my hair while they get dressed... and sometimes I can do it without repercussions, but our mornings are always smoothest and most peaceful when I am able to be attentive and present to them (even thought they are now teens).
2. Most jobs are never completely finished.  I tend to want to do something once and put it away forever.  I am learning that just about everything needs to be revisited cyclically. 
3. Sleep is a wise investment for me.  I tend to be a night owl.  At times in my life, I had to be (seminary, anyone?) - but I fall into night-owlish behavior also when I am being undisciplined.  I am healthier in body, mind and soul when I get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
4. Another discipline for me is sermon-writing.  I can write a sermon off the cuff , but I feel better about the sermons I offer when I take the time to work through an outline given by my homiletics professor.  I am able to delve deeper and make more meaning when I go through the process itself.  I am now working Fridays and taking Mondays off, so I am hoping to have sermons written by the time I leave the church on Fridays...I'll see how that goes. 
5. I feel much better when I ask the question that I am afraid to ask - does that make sense?  As I get older, I recognize the feeling of a burning question that will fester if I leave it unasked.  Then I have to figure out who and where to ask it, but I have to combat a real fear of looking ignorant or incompetent. 

My first Friday Five on this blog!!  Done.  but not finished...