Rev. Valerie's Reveille

‘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 the 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 God's 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

This coming Sunday is the third week of Advent, sometimes referred to as “Rose Sunday,” or “ Gaudete (Latin for “rejoice”) Sunday,” for those really wanting to connect to our Roman Catholic roots.   Unfortunately, the Advent Wreath we have in our Sanctuary does not have a pink candle (which I do hope to rectify for next year), but the tradition continues and hopefully the Advent wreaths you have at home do have a pink candle. I recall the old Sesame Street song, “Which one of these is not like the others?” when I look at the Advent Wreath.   It is such an obvious difference that it immediately draws our attention.   I know many an acolyte who was delighted that it was the week to light the pink candle because it was “special” just because it was a different color.   But why? There are several explanations, and, as with most Church traditions, I think the truth lies in the amalgamation of them.   First, Advent is considered by some to be a mini-Lent, a time of reflection and

I thank Tiffany Myers for her diligence in offering a daily reflection from #adventword, a ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary.   The practice is meant to be thought provoking as we continue on our Advent journey and prepare ourselves for the welcoming the Christ child.   This got me thinking about some other words, like Messiah .   It is one of those “churchy” words that we use thinking everyone knows what we mean by it, but perhaps not. It is the transliterated English word for the Hebrew term meaning “anointed one.”   It is the term used in the Hebrew Scriptures to describe David after he was anointed by Samuel to replace Saul as King of Israel. Through God’s selection of David and directing Samuel to anoint him with oil, David became the Messiah. The term “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew term for Messiah, and hence why we call Jesus the Christ, as Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the anointed one of God to be the Savior of the world. The G

This time of year is always full of activity with many of us returning to “regular” work or school schedules.   Hopefully the summer was full of time for relaxing and perhaps and an adventure or two.   Now we find a pattern of life that makes time for all of the things we want to do, including seeking God’s presence!   I pray that the time made for nurturing the Spirit will be beneficially in all the other parts of our busy lives.   And just like sports, school or a vocation, we only get good at it if we PRACTICE! What are your HOLY HABITS? Prayer – Taking time to pray, even for 5 minutes a day, has been shown to reduce stress and focus our minds.   It is the best time to get to know God, which requires us to listen as well as list all the things we want/need.   “Be still and know that I am God,” the Psalmist wrote.   As we get back to all our busyness, make sure to also make time to BREATHE! Worship – It is important to gather with the larger community and offer our pu

I love the musical “Hamilton.”  Like Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda was able to tell an intricate, interesting story using rhyme, alliteration and witty turns of phrase.  Not only does the story re-introduce a pivotal person from the American Revolution, but it also does so in a “catchy” way that allows the listener to remember what was said and the lessons learned from the adventures and misadventures. Alexander Hamilton was himself a brilliant writer, which George Washington recognized and used for his own benefit, both when he served as a General and as our first President.   In the musical, there is a song dedicated to the critical juncture of when Washington wanted to step away from being President and hand that power and authority over to the next elected person.   Doing this well was vitally important for this new country and form of government because it had never been done before!   Hamilton didn’t want Washington to leave, but Washington was insistent.   The son

The ministry of the deaconate is a labor of love.  Most deacons are not compensated much for the ministry they offer both in and out of the Church.  Their directive is, “to bring the World to the Church and the Church to the World,” being that vital bridge between the cares and concerns of the world and the (sometimes inward looking) Church.  I have been blessed in my vocation to share the ministry with several dynamic deacons, including The Rev. Cathy Brunson. Deacon Cathy has faithfully served St. Barnabas for over 10 years, serving during the transition of The Rev. Frank Hubbard to me.   It is pro forma for a deacon to take a sabbatical after a new priest arrives to give her a bit of pastoral space with the congregation.   After meeting Cathy and learning about her ministry, I knew I wanted to work with her, and was delighted she decided to return to St. Barnabas after a brief respite in 2011. We have all benefited from Deacon Cathy’s dedication to Recovery Ministries,

First, I wish you all a Belated St. Barnabas Day!  Our Patron Saint’s Feast Day is June 11th, and this year it fell between 2 major Sunday Feasts – Pentecost and Trinity Sunday – so we could not transfer our commemoration to the closest Sunday like we usually do.  However, we do give thanks for the life and example of Barnabas, who ENCOURAGES us to give abundantly of ourselves in our life in Christ.    On Pentecost, I offered the teaser that my blog this week would be help you understand my sermon on Trinity Sunday more deeply.  In an effort to offer the congregation an internalized spiritual experience, the sermon will be a meditation on the icon of “The Trinity”, written by Andrei Rublev. Yes, icons are “written” rather than “painted.”  As PBS anchor, Bob Abernathy, states, “In the Orthodox Christian tradition, icons are said to be written, not painted. The Orthodox consider making icons more a form of prayer than art, and they believe the iconographer’s hand is guided by God.”

I make a big deal about Pentecost and encourage everyone to wear red on the day the Church commemorates the arrival of the Holy Spirit. The color red symbolizes the tongues of fire that appeared over the heads of the believers in Jerusalem on that Pentecost morning. This tradition flows from Scripture and makes sense to our modern sensibilities, but this was not always the tradition. Dating back to the 13 th century, white was the color most associated with Pentecost as it was traditionally a day for people to be baptized (that is still true).  Those that were to be baptized usually wore white clothing to symbolize their cleansing from sin, so the day was known as “White Sunday.”  It appears that other members of the congregation also wore white, perhaps in solidarity, to reflect their own washing away of sin.  And culturally at that time, red was considered vulgar, only worn by those of ill repute. As with many old English terms (i.e. “God’s Friday” became “Good Friday”),

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send [her] to you.” John 16:7 Recently, I had to do some minor home repairs and I thought about how convenient it would be to be able to reach through a door in order to adjust a knob as my body could not contort in the way it needed to be able to see what I was doing.   Regardless of what marvels appear in movies (through the power of CGI and other special effects), the laws of physics still rule our world and the simple truth is two objects cannot occupy the same space (at least not in this dimension!).   You might ask what such musing have to do with Jesus’s ascension into heaven – and the truth is that physics plays a very important role in this situation.   Jesus in any bodily form (resurrected or otherwise), could not be in more than one place at one time.   He was still bound by the laws of physics, as he attemp

I know many of you were surprised by my announcement that my ministry at St. Barnabas is coming to an end.   Keeping the details of discernment private is an unfortunate aspect of our deployment process, but it is done so that trust is not violated should a call not happen, and the priest remains in his or her current position. I do want to assure everyone that my departure is not because of something that did or did not happen. This entire process was guided by the Holy Spirit and the Spirit was insistent that it is time for me to leave.   And I want to go when things are good! That being said, I am physically present at St. Barnabas for 6 more weeks and there is a lot of work we need to do!  I am here and available to meet with anyone who wants to talk.  If you have any questions that I can answer, I will do so.  There are baseball games to be watched, graduation parties to attend, worship to be offered and ministry opportunities to be explored.  This is not a time to reflect,

I attended The General Theological Seminary in New York City.  The main worship space is called the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and is presided over by 9 large marble statues, with this depiction of Jesus as the Good Shepherd in the center.  It is a hauntingly beautiful statue that I spent many hours looking at, trying to discover all its mysteries.  I only discerned a few while I was a student, so I still love gazing at it and reflection on it. This Sunday, the 4 th Sunday of Easter, is know as Good Shepherd Sunday, when the Church remembers the promises Jesus fulfilled when he called himself “the Good Shepherd.”   This year it is also Mother’s Day, and I think it is very fitting for us to consider how Jesus is both our Shepherd and our Mother (as Anselm of Canterbury called him).   When we look at the Good Shepherd statue, it is not difficult to meld the two images of shepherd and mother together.   Jesus is looking at the lamb he is tenderly holding in his right arm, al

One very important component of our daily worship is offering prayers to God for ourselves and on behalf of others.  I recently wrote a blog about the different forms of prayer during Lent as we walked the Way of Love, so I won’t rehash that again (if you are interested, you can easily find the post here .) However, that post did not talk about the ways to access the Prayer Chain at St. Barnabas or how to add someone to the formal “Prayers of the People” we offer during Sunday worship. When I came to St. Barnabas in 2011, there was a core group of people that offered prayers for people and situations on a regular basis called the “Prayer Chain.”   People could send an email to prayer@stbarnabs-sbnj.org and that group would be notified.   Our Office Manager at that time kept a book that she printed out 2 or 3 times a year that had information on those prayer requests.   After she left that position, the printed version of that booklet discontinued, but access to the “Prayer Cha

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 12:1-5 After a very busy Holy Week (the week before Easter), I want nothing more than time to rest. Indeed, as I mentioned last week, rest is an important and necessary part of our spiritual life and formation.   Jesus modeled for us that rest was not a luxury, but an integral part of a healthy pattern to life.   And Jesus also taught us that after resting, there is much work to be done and we must GO and do it!   During Holy Week and Easter, the Church reminds itself of the awesome events that brought

And on the seventh day God finished the work that God had done, and God rested on the seventh day from all the work that God had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that God had done in creation. Genesis 2:2-3 Rest is fundamental and foundational in our faith.   God ordained it in creation when even God rested on the seventh day from all God’s labors – creation is hard work!   And yet we live in a day and age where there never seems to be enough time for rest – true rest, a time of respite and renewal.   As the secular world demands more and more of our strength and energy, nothing seems to be left over to offer to our rest and refreshment.   Rather our attention is caught up in screens of some sort – playing video games, binging TV or movies, even watching sports – it’s all DOING something rather than BEING.   And yet we are called human BEINGS, not human DOINGS. As with most aspects of life, unless we make time f

“I will bless you . . . so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2 As children, we learn to say, “God bless you” after someone sneezes – or, if you are like me, it sounds more like a one syllable word, “Gablesyu.” Originally, the saying was to help ward off sickness and offer support, but over time this response has becomes habit rather than a courtesy. And in this day and age of quasi-political correctness and fear of offending anyone (or admitting we believe in God in the first place!), we might say something less “religious” like salud (Spanish: to your health) or gesundheit (German: health) when someone sneezes. How multi-cultural of us. Unfortunately, such responses remove us from our God-given power to offer our neighbors a blessing. Similarly, in our Episcopal tradition (from our Catholic heritage), one of the attributes bestowed upon priests at ordination is the ability to offer God’s blessing on people (and to a lesser extent, things).   The unintentional conseq

“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”   Psalm 29:2 The next ancient practice in following Jesus is worship.   Worship is a unique activity that invites mortals – the created – into a sacred space with the divine – the Creator.   It acknowledges our need, our dependence, on God to be loving, liberating, and life-giving.   We made the time to show our love and adoration through prayers and music, hearing the Word of God and reflecting on it, and then (in our tradition) enacting the sacred Feast to which we are called to partake and take with us into the world. Our Catechism offers this reflection: Q. What is corporate worship? A. In corporate worship, we unite ourselves with others to acknowledge the holiness of God, to hear God’s Word, to offer prayer, and to celebrate the sacraments. As a sacramental church, we believe in the sanctity of the seven Sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation of a Penitent, and Unct

This week we are focusing on prayer.   I thank Deacon Cathy for her talk at the Way of Love Quite Day held last Saturday, March 23 rd at St. Alban’s in New Brunswick.   She reminded the attendees that our very own Book of Common Prayer  (1979) does an excellent job of defining and explaining the various types of prayer that Christians practice.   If you are not familiar with the Catechism, it is set up in a Socratic style of question and answer that flows very easily from one inquisition to the next. From “An Outline of the Faith (commonly called the Catechism)” on pp. 856-7 of BCP Prayer and Worship (we’ll get to Worship next week!) Q.           What is prayer? A.           Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words. Q.           What is Christian Prayer? A.           Christian prayer is response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Q.           What prayer did Christ teach us? A.           Ou