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Showing posts from 2013

‘Twas a week before Christmas

‘ Twas a week before Christmas and all through the land The Church reminded us that the Savior’s birth was at hand. The season is not about the perfection of glitter But about a loving God who would not leave us bitter. And so God sent us his Son wrapped up like a present In the garb of our mortality, the human flesh of a peasant. The cookies may not be made, the decorations may not be hung, The cards may not be sent, the lights may not be strung. Yet let us all make the true preparations for the coming of our Savior And open our hearts and lives to the Lord’s loving favor. No more precious gift has ever been received. It is up to us to remind the world what we truly believe. Not in jolly old elves, talking snowmen or reindeer in flight But in God, who loves us with all of his might. So stop for a moment and take a deep breath, As we await the Christ, the true conqueror of death. Let go of the need to fulfill a secular call to perfection And allow J

I Love Snow!

I love snow.  I love how it gently falls from the sky, covering everything in a pristine white blanket.  Regardless of the time of day it falls, it is usually quiet outside as no one wants to be caught outside in a snow storm.  But what I love most of all is the necessity forced upon us by nature to SLOW DOWN – whether we want to or not.  I experienced that for the first time this week on Sunday evening as I was returning home from a surprise birthday party.  It took me 20 minutes to go 4 miles.  Normally that would have been incredible frustrating and tiresome, but instead I was grateful.  It was more important to get home safely than quickly, and none of us wanted to be the guy who had slid off the road.  In our area, that unexpected snow did not last long as it turned to rain pretty quickly, but low and behold, we were gifted with another fall of snow 36 hours later.  Some of you may question my use of the word “gifted” in reference to snow.  As adults, we know the terrible incon

Yes, Virginia, there really was a St. Nicholas

Yes, Virginia, there really was a St. Nicholas. He was the Bishop of Myra (in modern day Turkey) during the middle of the 4th century – a really long time ago!  He attended the 1st Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 and endorsed the first iteration of the Nicene Creed.  However, what brought him lasting fame was the tales of his generosity.  A poor man had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment, would have to become prostitutes. Hearing of the girls' plight, Nicholas decided to help them, but being too modest to help the family in public (or to save them the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to the house under the cover of night and threw three purses (one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into the house. One version has him throwing one purse for three consecutive nights. Another has him throwing the purses o

Justice For All

In The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives , author Sasha Abramsky offers a disturbing look at America’s dirty little secret – that there are many people who don’t have the means to live in the richest country in the world.  Since the economic bust of 2008, more and more people are having to deal with choosing between food or medicine, heat or insurance.  Abramsky has complied many stories of people that are not different from you and me whose life circumstances don’t seem to allow them a break.  One bad illness and medical bills overwhelm those who were struggling to begin with. These stories struck a chord with me as my family was in a similar situation.  When my father changed jobs, the new insurance considered my mother’s cancer a “preexisting condition” and would not pay for her treatment.  By the time she died, the medical bills were very high and would have bankrupted most of the people mentioned in Abramsky’s book.  Due to my father’s audacious negotiat

Happy International Benefit Dinner

On Saturday, after thousands of hours of planning and preparation from many people, we will gather at the South Brunswick Senior Center to celebrate part of what makes St. Barnabas unique, as well as endeavor to further the kingdom of God. International - when I was a child, there were a series of educational segments called "School House Rocks."  Most of them were great with catchy tunes that helped us learn about parts of speech, the legislative process, scientific principles and social awareness.  In that last category, there was segment that celebrated "The Great American Melting Pot."  When I heard that an 9 year old, I thought that was wonderful, all of us coming together and being formed into one.  However, as I grew older, I realize that the "melting pot" metaphor was not a good image, as the undefined intention was to get everyone to look and act like a white, anglo-saxon protestant. The metaphor of a mosaic is much more apt, as we keep our indivi

"Sound of sheer silence"

The Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the   Lord , for the Lord  is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the   Lord , but the   Lord  was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the   Lord  was not in the earthquake;   and after the earthquake a fire, but the   Lord  was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence .   1 Kings 19:11-13 A year ago today, most of us woke up to that strange “sound of sheer silence” after Superstorm Sandy blew through. There was something holy in that silence, even with all the downed trees and power lines, and water being places it shouldn’t be. Nature gave us its worst, and we survived.  People and places still bear the scars from the storm, but we survived and prevailed.  God was and is with us in these trying times. Anniversaries offer us the opportunity to reflect on what happened, mourn what was

Marriage

On Monday, the State of New Jersey became the 13 th  state to allow same-sex couples to get married, which is a legally defined relationship according to the laws of the state.  “Married” couples have more rights and privileges than “civil unions” or “domestic partnerships,” particularly around health care benefits and advocacy, and income taxes.  These are all laws established by the  S tate, not the  C hurch. On Tuesday, our Bishop and Bishop-Elect co-issued a Pastoral Letter to the Diocese in regard to the change of the marriage law in New Jersey.  Following the previous statement of pastoral oversight, the clergy of the diocese are allowed to marry same-sex couples using the authorized liturgy passed by the 2012 General Convention  I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing: Resources for the Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant in a Same-Sex Relationshi p.  Clergy must, however, offer the same canonically mandated pre-marital counseling given to heterosexual couples.  C

Health - A State of Being

In honor of St. Luke the Physician, whose feast day is October 18th, we will be having a Healing Service for our Sunday Worship this Sunday, October 20th.  The service includes the opportunity for the congregation members to come forward for laying on of hands and prayers.  It is an ancient tradition found in the Book of James (5:14) to gather the community together with the special intention of seeking health. What is health?  In our modern context, it is usually considered something we possess, such has having good health.  It is also something we pursue as we expend lots of effort (and money) to "get healthy." It is something we measure and quantify through scales and blood tests, charts and ranges, but in someways, all those numbers distance us from the what true health is? I offer to you a different way of thinking about health - as a state of being of not only yourself but all of creation.  To be "healthy" is to be one with the Creator, the one who made this i

Discipline to be a Disciple

I don’t remember when I made the connection between the words “discipline” and “disciple”, because they didn’t occupy the same space in my head.   Discipline was something that happened to you when you got in trouble for doing something you shouldn’t (which probably says more about my psychology than I want to admit) and a disciple was a student – particularly of Jesus.   Those two things were very different to me, so I didn’t connect them until it was pointed out to me that a disciple takes on the discipline of his or her teacher.   This was sometimes referred to as a “yoke” (more on that later). Suddenly the term “discipline” became much more positive a word for me and made a lot more sense in the idea of learning a skill or aptitude – the discipline of karate or chemistry or tatting.   It takes a lot of practice and endurance get good at any skill, and part of the discipline is to keep at it, especially in the face of setbacks, roadblocks, even tragedies.   Jesus’ disciples w

“ . . . for Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension . . .”

Tomorrow, May 9 th , is the 40 th day after Easter and the day the Church remembers Christ’s final earthly appearance.   It is also the “red-headed step-child” of the Christian calendar, as it is a very important feast day that most people forget about unless they go to “The Church of the Ascension." Indeed, Jesus’ ascension is the final act in the drama of his life and death.   As we heard in the Gospel lesson on Sunday, Jesus told his disciples he had to leave in order for the Spirit to come.   But the leaving he was talking about was not his death, but his ascension into heaven, so that he could be everywhere at once and not confined by a physical body.   I must confess to some heretical thoughts about the Ascension, which is usually depicted in dramatic flowing robes, beams of light washing over the form of Christ and the faithful looking up in awe and wonder.   Artisans never seem to depict (though a couple cartoonists probably have) the next scene –a bunch of people s

20/20 Hindsight

20/20 Hindsight – a phenomenon of something in the past making complete sense due to current experiences, or wishing you knew then what you know now. This is exactly what happens in our Gospel reading this coming Sunday when we revisit the events of the Last Supper, which we commemorated on Maundy Thursday four weeks ago.  While for us, unlike the apostles, all of these events are well in the past and we understand them through the lens of centuries of theology and liturgical interpretation, think about how our perspective has changed during the last four weeks.  We are in the festival season of Easter and have reclaimed our “Alleluia!”  Spring has actually sprung and the temperatures (sometimes) are beginning to feel much warmer.  We have born witness to terrible natural and human-made tragedies in Iran (earthquake), Texas and Boston.  How do we hear the words, “Love one another as I have loved you” differently in light of these current realities?  This is exactly where Pete

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Psalm 23:4

Once again we are reminded of just how fragile our lives are when a premier event in our American narrative becomes the backdrop to the reality of evil in our midst. While our hearts and prayers are lifted up for those who died, were injured or traumatized from being in Boston yesterday, we stand with our resurrected Lord and proclaim the Good News, especially in the chaos. Our Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Shori offered this prayer from a peace conference she is attending in Japan: Gracious God, you walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death. We pray that the suffering and terrorized be surrounded by the incarnate presence of the crucified and risen one. May every human being be reminded of the precious gift of life you entered to share with us. May our hearts be pierced with compassion for those who suffer, and for those who have inflicted this violence, for your love is the only healing balm we know. May the dead be received into your enfolding arms, and may

Palm Sunday

We begin our celebration of Holy Week with Palm Sunday in 4 days.   Between my trip to Jerusalem last summer and our Lenten Study of “The Last Week,” my understanding of the significance of this event has deepened greatly.   There were two processions into Jerusalem on that day – the Roman one, bringing Pontius Pilate, from the West, and Jesus and his followers from the East.   The first was a display of military power and presence, the second one the culmination of the journey of a prophet, who goes to Jerusalem to die.   The ruling aristocracy of the Jews attending the Roman procession, while “the least of these” welcomed Jesus and prepared his way with branches from olive trees (there were no palm tree in Jerusalem at that time!) and their own cloaks. The Romans probably paid no attention to the other procession, if they were even aware of it, yet Jesus and his disciples were keenly aware of the other because of the Jews complicit acceptance of Roman rule, which secured their