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Showing posts from 2017

Mary, Assertive and Strong

While I highly respect Mary, the mother of Jesus, I don’t consider myself a devotee.  After thinking about this for a while, it think it has more to do with how she is promoted (especially within the Roman Catholic Church) than not acknowledging her unique and important part of our Christian story.  Indeed, without Mary’s willingness to accept the mantle of motherhood, all else would be naught. My issue with the way Mary is portrayed by the Church is that she becomes the paragon of feminine virtue being eternally a virgin (this theology is not promoted by the Episcopal Church, as we believe the Gospels refer to his biological brothers.).  The innocence and subservience of that nomenclature demands that Mary be seen as “gentle,” “meek,” and “mild.”  That is ridiculous.  And when the Church wants all women to emulate Mary in this way, it denies any vivacity or assertiveness from being positive feminine qualities. I know I stand on the shoulders of many strong women who fought fo

Routine

I willingly admit I am a creature of habit – partially because I am lazy and if I do things in a specific order, I don’t forget things. But also there is a certain comfort to organizing my self and my life in a predictable pattern. If, however, my routine is changed or interrupted, I am able to make accommodations and adapt to deal with the situation.  Such as been the situation for the past 10 days. It has been a real blessing to me to be able to take care of my sister during her health crisis and tend to my niece while my sister is recovering.  I’ve had a unique and strange opportunity to be a part of their daily life that I don’t experience when we visit for vacation or holidays.  It’s the mundane things like getting up for school, making sure homework is done and there is food for lunches – and all other meals! – and going to basketball games and doctors’ appointments. We even got some things done to get ready for Christmas, just so my sister doesn’t have to worry about it aft

Blue Advent

Part of the symbolism of the Church is the colors associated with the different seasons of the Church year.  In fact, the secular use of colors for holidays and occasions (red and green for Christmas, black and orange for Halloween) is an allusion to how the Church helped an illiterate populace know when there was a change of the Church’s season. There are six seasons in the Church year (not including Holy Week) with special holy days marking the end of one and the beginning of another, such as Pentecost ends the Season of Easter and begins the Season after Pentecost (clever name!), which is often referred to as Ordinary Time. If you would like to know more about the Seasons of the Church year, there is a helpful poster in the Welcoming Area by the Welcome Table depicting the Church year in a circle and color coded for the different seasons. The Season of Epiphany and the Season after Pentecost share the color green, as it is a sign of new growth and fertility.  The Seasons of

I Just Wanna be a Sheep (Baa, baa, baa)!

The title of this blog is taken from a fun song I learned at a Christian camp many years ago (as an adult, not a camper!).  One of the verses says, “I don’t want to be a Pharisee, I don’t want to be a Pharisee, because their no fair you see, I just wanna be a sheep!” This appeals to my love of word play and silliness that has meaning on several levels. It might seem strange to claim to want to be a sheep, but in the Bible the use of sheep imagery is used many times to invite God’s people into a deeper relationship, one of loving-kindness and tender care-taking.  Those hearing the biblical stories would know lots about sheep – either from personal experience or once removed since it was an agrarian culture.  And while sheep are not known for being very intelligent, putting God in the role of shepherd is a helpful connection. Our lections for this Sunday are full of sheep – and goats.  Jesus offers a picture of the final judgement to his disciples, saying that the Son of Man wil

School for Discipleship

The Church – not the building or the institution, but the Body of Christ – is intended to be a community of believers in Jesus Christ being transformed into disciples that continue Jesus’s ministry on earth.  To break that down a bit, we gather in worship, fellowship and service to practice how to be as Christ-like and Christ-centered as humanly possible.  It is not easy and there is sacrifice involved. There is also experiencing real love, joy, peace and hope. Part of the decision of being a Christian is deciding if the reward is worth the work.  I pray that we all recognize the value of following Christ, no matter the cost, even when life gets difficult and challenging.  But the reason that Jesus has a group of disciples is because he recognized that doing this work alone is practically impossible. We need the care and support of each other in order to grow and become more of what God wants us to be, beloved and free. While all of this sound great, the reality is that we nee

There is No Greater Love than This

This Saturday we celebrate Veteran’s Day, an important opportunity for all of us to remember the sacrifice that so many have made to serve our country and protect those ideals.  I cannot read Jesus’s words from John 15:13 without thinking of those who serve in the military: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Paul in his letter to the Romans points out what a rare quality this is, “Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.” Romans 5:7  In truth, those who serve offer their lives not only to their friends or those they believe to be good, but to all who claim this country as theirs.  That is indeed worthy of our gratitude and support, both to the Veteran’s and to their families, whose sacrifice is usually unrecognized. I recently noticed that at the supermarket where I do the bulk of my shopping, they have a separate stereo system at the entrance to the buildi

The Protestant Reformation – 500 Years + One Day Later

Our Lutheran sisters and brothers have been preparing for October 31, 2017 for most of the year, getting ready to commemorate the historic event of their namesake, Martin Luther, that changed the practice of the Christian religion throughout the world. Even mainstream newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post had articles about Luther’s actions and how those ripples are still being felt today. In our modern world of free speech and rallies against all kinds of injustices, we might not realize just how radical Luther’s actions were.  He was a Roman Catholic monk and was intimately aware of the system that perpetuated ultimate power and influence over people’s lives, especially those who were illiterate and uneducated.  The lay people could not read the Bible, only have it interpreted to them, so they did not know to challenge the system.  But Luther did.  He drafted 95 reasons, or theses, as to why many of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church were unjust, e

Breath of God

At the Women’s Retreat last Saturday, I decided to try the exercise of “Dwelling in the Word”* on a hymn text.  While I love singing and enjoy many of the hymns we use during worship, the richness of their texts gets lost in the moment, so I wanted to take some time to study the words of the classic hymn “Breathe on me, Breath of God,” written by Edwin Hatch around 1878: Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love the way you love, and do what you would do. Breathe on me, Breath of God, until my heart is pure,  until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure. Breathe on me, Breath of God, till I am wholly thine, till all this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine. Breathe on me, Breath of God, so shall I never die, But live with you the perfect life for all eternity. This seemingly simple song bears great riches. Many of us were struck by a word or phrase in a way that we had not heard before.  I particularly liked the

Addiction

As a child of the 80s, I remember hearing the “War on Drugs” campaign on television, but not really understanding what it was about or how it would impact my daily life.  I will freely admit I was a naïve kid and didn’t seek out adventure that would get me into trouble, but I do remember my mother warning my sister and I about accepting stickers (a childhood obsession) from anyone near the school, especially an adult.  I would later understand that there were stickers laced with LSD & PCP that were being given to children.  Fortunately, I never encountered any. In Middle School, we had an assembly with a nationally known speaker (who was also a presenter at a church youth event I attended) who told horrible stories of people he knew, including members of his family, whose lives were destroyed by drugs.  I remember one in which he said a teen had just gotten high from huffing gasoline, then lit up a cigarette and burst into flames. I was terrified.  I never wanted to do drugs o

Las Vegas, Blessed Francis and My Mother

I will openly admit that my heart is torn today for a couple of reasons.  On Monday, we awoke to the news of another mass shooting, this time in Las Vegas.  I’ve been trying to rationalize this irrational act, to comprehend how anyone could do such a thing. Of course that is impossible because there will never be a satisfactory answer.  And today, October 4 th , is the anniversary of my mother’s birth.  She would have been 75 (she died when she was 63).  Grief overflows my cup, but I have a choice to let grief overwhelm me or move me toward joy. In the midst of all this, the Church commemorates St. Francis of Assisi on October 4 th , and if anyone can understand being moved from grief to joy, it is blessed Francis.  Unfortunately, too often Francis’ awesome spirituality and theology gets relegated to a small statue with birds alighting on him in a garden or commemorated with a blessing of animals (not that isn’t important!).  While it is true that Francis wrote about his love for

Merry Michaelmas

For those of you who are fans of English literature or arcane feasts of the Church, you may be aware of the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, which is celebrated on September 29 th .  As the feast of the birth of Jesus has been truncated over the years from “Christ’s Mass” to “Christmas”, so too has this holy day become known as “Michaelmas.”  In a Christendom society, it would have been understood one was talking about the end of September when referring to Michaelmas.  While this feast is not well known nowadays, angels certainly are as they continue to capture the imaginations of believers and skeptics as being powerful forces in the world today or just modern-day versions of fairies.   The primary role of angels is to be messengers from God.  As it is very intimidating to have an angel show up with such a message, almost all interactions with angels start with the angel announcing, “Do not be afraid.”  At least the angels are aware that it is human nature to be terrified of

Honor Your Father and Mother

In God’s great (and concise!) directions of how to live a faithful life – also known as the 10 Commandments - the Episcopal Church understands the first 4 commandments to be how to love God and the other six of how we are to love our neighbor.  (I find it interesting we need more direction on how to love each other, but I digress).  The first thing we are instructed to do for our neighbors is to “honor your father and mother.”  While in some ways this seems obvious, we also have to think about a culture that needed everyone to contribute in order to have the resources necessary to live.  This included (perhaps) getting water, tending livestock, hunting, gathering and a multitude of other jobs just to eat and have some where to live. The only real health care was what one’s family provided.  What we might consider a simple injury or infection might have been fatal.  Caring for someone not contributing was a drain on resources and caused extra work. From that standpoint, some might

The Fabric of our Faith

As the wardens and I were brainstorming about a theme for this year, I was struck by the interconnectedness of all we do at church.  If you host Coffee Hour, you are offering hospitality and fellowship.  If you are involved in the Women’s Link, there are components of Christian formation, outreach and fellowship.  Any of the “jobs” involved in worship (Altar Guild, Acolytes, Ushers, Greeters, Chalicers, Choir, Lectors to name a few) contribute to evangelism, formation and hospitality.  All our actions and interactions are weaved into each other, just like fabric. I must admit that when I started thinking about this, the catchy jingle that the Cotton Growers Association came up with years about (“The look, the feel of cotton – the fabric of our lives”), was running through my head ad nauseum.  But it also got me thinking about how the metaphor of fabric is helpful on our journey of faith.  Fabric is sturdiest when it is tightly woven together in a repeating pattern.  We can think a

Our Church Family

I will admit some apprehension about using “family” language when talking about Church.  In most families, you are either born or married into a structure that has a defined hierarchy of power and control.  Certain people are given titles to identify their positions of authority (there is a reason I choose not to use the title “Mother”).  Some family dynamics can create unhealthy relationships (co-dependence, enabling, even abuse). However, (before you think I came from a really dysfunctional family!) all of this can be redeemed if we choose to use family language in Church when we think about it as ADOPTION.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul says, “You have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (8:15b-17).  In this way, all of God

Blame it on the Rain

“Why is this happening?” I’d been ordained a deacon for three months and still had three months more to go before I would be ordained a priest. I was bursting at the seams from seminary with terms like “systematic theology” and “historical-critical hermeneutics”.  But I was in charge of a small congregation with real needs and concerns, like trying to understand why Hurricane Katrina was barreling down on the Gulf Coast. Ministry got real. I had heard that some people were purporting that the storm was God’s response to America’s immorality, as a way to cleanse us from our sinful ways.  I was shocked by such claims masking as theology, but I was naïve.  However, I did know that we humans are quick to look to something or someone to blame when things don’t go according to our plan, and God is an easy target, because God could change it if God wanted to, right? I chose to preach on the blessing and curse of rain, depending on one’s perspective.  When we are in draught, we pray f

Star of Wonder

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I am chagrined to admit, as much of a geek as I am about space, I was unprepared for the solar eclipse that happened on Monday.  I had heard about it, but I didn’t get any special glasses or make plans to be in the path of totality (100% coverage of the sun).  However, I did watch some of the events online that had people reporting from places within the path, and it was more exciting than I expected.  I was on a site called Slooh, and like most on-going news events, the commentary can get a bit stale and repetitive after half an hour. I was actually taken aback when the host asked one of the scientists what his “spiritual” sense of this event was. He didn’t have a great answer – something about the cosmic awesomeness about it.  But the host asked the same question of another guest, who happened to be Dr. Kate Russo, a psychologist, who has written a book about people who have experienced the totality of a solar eclipse and how the experience changed their lives, and she did have

You Shall Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’  Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;  you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’  Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”;  and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’  When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question. Mark 12:

Discerning our Common Call

What does it mean to be a Christian in the 21 st Century?  What does it mean to be part of a church that has a hierarchical structure like the Episcopal Church?  What does it mean to be a “Diocese”?  These are all important questions with no simple answers, but ones we must be brave enough to engage.  The reality is that the way we do “church” is changing, even since I was ordained 12 years ago!  While the majority of Americans still believe in “God” (or some mystic entity), most don’t go to church or another religious institution.  That is partially because the institutions have let people down, but also because priorities of life have changed.  People, especially children, are busy ALL THE TIME.  There is little to no “down” time to just be (which is kinda ironic, since that is part of developing our spiritual lives, but I digress).  We can look at the changing dynamics and fear what that means for the future, because it won’t look or work like the past. Or we can begin to

The Revised Common Lectionary

One of the hallmarks of our Sunday worship in the Episcopal Church (and other Catholic and Protestant traditions) is the use of a 3-year cycle of appointed texted for the Liturgy of the Word. Rather than having the preacher or senior pastor choose a passage to focus on, we decided to follow a pattern similar to what is used in our Daily Office tradition and establish a fixed rotation of readings from the Bible to give continuity to our corporate worship.  The current iteration of this practice is called the “Revised Common Lectionary” or RCL, which was adopted for use in 1994.  Its roots go back to the Second Vatican Council, but this version was developed by a wide range of Protestant groups.  The 3 years are entitled “A,” “B” & “C”.  In general, the Gospel of Matthew is used in Year A, the Gospel of Mark is used in Year B, and the Gospel of Luke is used in Year C, with the Gospel of John interspersed throughout the triennium.  Similarly, passages from the Hebrew Scriptures a