Rev. Valerie's Reveille

Lest we move too quickly to the NEXT season of the Church (which is still 4 days away!), we are given a wonderful opportunity in this last week of Advent to remember the apostle Thomas.  Unfortunately, he will be forever chained to the moniker “doubting,” which is true in so far as it goes, but doesn’t tell the entire story. Thomas only makes a name for himself in the Gospel of John.  He is mentioned in the other Gospels, but only in the list of disciples called by Jesus.  However, in John’s Gospel, he is the curious one, asking the questions no one else is brave enough to ask.  When Jesus is explaining to the disciples of what will happen after his death, and offhandedly states, “And you know the way to the place where I am going” (John 14:4), it is Thomas who confesses, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5).  I think that everyone in the room, except for Jesus, had the same question, but it was only Thomas wh...

It is right to conclude my musings about South Africa (at least for now) with the completely touristy game drives we did.  I will admit that when I learned that going on safari was part of this trip, I was thrilled.  Of course, I had somewhat of a stereotypical picture in my mind – pith helmet included – than what happened.  First of all, our accommodations were top-rate at a resort about 3 hours northeast of Johannesburg. Lush and modern, it had every amenity one could want, including a spa (which I did not use, but several of our group did).  It also had a “hide” build into a hill by the watering hole, which was also monitored by closed-circuit cameras and available to be view 24 hours a day on the TV in our rooms. I saw zebra, elephants and lots of birds enjoying the water. Back to my expectations of the safari.  I have a deep love for lions and I wanted to see a male lion in the wild.  I figured during the total of almost 8 hours we would be out, t...

  South Africa is an amazing country with such diversity in people, language and culture.  It is hard to know where to begin.  Our trip really began on Thursday, when our group were tourists.  We were supposed to start on Table Mountain (see previous post) but the wind was so bad at the top of the mountain that the cable cars were not running.  So instead we went to see Seal Island and the Cape of Good Hope (obligatory photo on Facebook), and the African penguins at Boulders.   On Friday, we were both tourist and pilgrim as we started our day learning more about the reality of apartheid and how it effected the citizens of all races, particularly the Blacks and Colours (usually those not native Africans or of mixed heritage).  We went to the District 6 Museum, and infamous area in Cape Town where the white government forcibly removed the Black residents and moved them to a different location far away from their homes without any remuneration fo...

After many hours in transit, I am happy to report that 17 of us from the Diocese of New Jersey have safely arrived in Cape Town, South Africa.  And, even after all of those hours, that is about as much as I have to report!  Fortunately our travel was fairly smooth, even with a rather close connecting flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. I did learn that the word "sawubona" is Zulu for "I see you."  It is also the title of the in-flight magazine for South African Airways, as well as a traditional greeting.  It reminds me of the greeting used in the movie "Avatar." I wouldn't be surprised if James Cameron used this melodious language as as inspiration for the Na'vi. It is quite a powerful connection to be seen by someone - just like God sees us in our perfectly imperfect forms and loves us anyway! The picture above is of Table Mountain, which we will visit tomorrow.  I am sure our hotel (which is very nice!) is somewhere in this picture, but ...

People seek God’s presence in their lives for a number of reasons, but most often I hear a deep need to find connection and peace in the midst of chaos. These are valid, sensible needs and, even if they are not your primary reason for coming to church, they are a great way to develop our relationship with God.  I believe that it is important to set an intention when we worship, focusing our energy on what is important to us and for us in that moment.  During this Advent season, I invite us to set our intention to seek peace and quiet in our hearts, minds and spirits. Our primary interaction with each other and God each week is our Sunday morning Worship.  I have seen an unsettling pattern of people arriving later and later each week.  Services start at 8:30 am and 10:30 am.  We want to be respectful of your time, so we so we begin the service at the designated time.  The entire service is important and we want you to experience all of it.  Perhaps...

With Thanksgiving only a week away, it might be surprising for some to hear Sunday’s Gospel lesson from the twenty-third chapter of Luke. While turkey, pumpkin pie and football predominate our thoughts and TVs, there is Jesus being crucified.  Huh?  That seems a bit out of sync – because it is.  This Sunday is known as “Christ the King Sunday,” when the Church remembers (as I did a week ago) that Jesus is still Lord of all.  And yet sometimes we forget that to claim that title, Jesus died from a brutal, state-sponsored execution – by crucifixion. Good Friday is not the only day of the year when we need – and should – contemplate the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by his death on the cross.  As the hymn says, with “signs of ending all around us” (WLP 721) the latter days of autumn offer a special opportunity for us to consider Jesus’ death; just his death.  Even more, we need to be honest about our feelings about his death. Too often in our cultur...

Much has changed in an historic presidential election last night, but one thing has not changed – Jesus Christ is STILL Lord of all!  Jesus’ words from last Sunday’s Gospel need to be proclaimed again: "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:27-31 This is not an easy path to follow.  Americans proclaim justice as an enduring virtue, but what Jesus is describing here is mercy. It is merciful to love when it would be easy to hate.  It is merciful to support your neighbor when it would be easier to ignore or abuse them.  It is merciful to give without expecting anything in return.  ...

In early September, the Roman Catholic Church declared that Agnes Bojaxhiu – more commonly known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta – was a Saint, with a capital “S”.  The process that the Roman Catholic Church uses to declare someone a “Saint” is called “canonization,” in which the person is vetted by a group of people to ensure that the person led a Godly life and (at least the lore goes) has two miracles attributed to his or her ministry.  While this is a noble task, it is one that I have severe theological issues with and would like to clarify our Anglican tradition on the subject. With all do respect to St. Teresa of Calcutta (not to be confused with St. Teresa of Avila!), we all are saints !  The tradition of declaring that certain people are somehow better than others is indeed just that, a tradition that was started centuries after Jesus walked on Earth.  The problem of selecting a few “special” people and raising them up is that it gives the rest of us leave ...

I’m taking a risk today and writing about the election.  My hesitancy isn’t because I may upset some people (I will not endorse any candidate), but that the atmosphere around the election has become so emotionally charged that well-intentioned people find it difficult to even think about politics without feeling anxious, suspicious or even fearful.  We cannot, as Christians, accept that type of human-created fear.  Regardless of who is elected this year, we need to claim our joy as Christians and do what we should do best - PRAY! Forward Movement, the publishing house that prints Day by Day and many other evangelism resources, saw an opportunity to call upon all Christians, especially Episcopalians (it is an Episcopal institution), to offer prayer for our country, our elected officials and ourselves for 30 days prior to the election.  That started last Sunday on October 9 th , so I apologize for being 4 days late, but I know God will forgive.  You can find...

I am mindful that as I write this, there are many in Haiti who are facing catastrophe on a scale which I am completely unfamiliar.  For those whose lives have been reduced to the core of simple survival, we pray you feel God’s presence. For those in the Bahamas and lands further north preparing for the storm, we pray you feel God’s mercy.  For those who are mobilizing to respond to the needs of all those affected by Hurricane Matthew, we pray for God’s speed.  If you feel prayer is not enough, I encourage you to offer a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development www.episcopalrelief.org  or the Red Cross.  Such a storm reminds us of the barest parts of our faith, seeking to find meaning that can sometimes disappoint.  Why would a loving God hit such a poor nation with yet another disaster in less than a decade?  Some will offer (erroneously, I believe) that sin caused such a situation.  I do not believe that the Haitians are any worse or bet...

I remember my first visit to a planetarium.  It was a school trip to the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, which was exciting enough. And yet the opportunity to sit in these weird seats while the sky spun around me was truly awesome.  I recall feeling really small after that experience (and indeed every time I’ve been to a planetarium since) because the program reminded me of just how small a part I am in an extremely large universe.  It puts things into a perspective that is helpful.  It doesn’t diminish my cares and occupations to seem meaningless, but it does remind me of just how big God is.  God is the Creator of all – ALL – and I doubt we have even scratched the surface of what that means. In the latter part of the Season after Pentecost, we will take the opportunity for the next 5 weeks to highlight in our liturgy what it means to be in relationship with the Creator, what position humans have in Creation, and how w...

Today, September 21 st , is a red-letter day because it is the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.  Or at least it is on my Church Calendar. On my more secular calendar, the notation is that today is the U.N. International Day of Peace. I have a feeling that both events will go unnoticed by the majority of people today, but that shouldn’t prevent us, as people of faith, to celebrate and draw a connection between them. The tradition of making important words stand out in red ink started in medieval time, and they became known as rubrics .  For those of you who are real Church geeks, you will know that we also call all the instructions in the Book of Common Prayer about how to offer liturgies are also called rubrics , however in most modern copies of the BCP, they are italicized and not written in red (although I have seen some versions that do use red!).  The practice of using red to signify something important continued with the printing press, and it is a...

A couple of weeks ago, our Minister of Music, Thomas Williams, chose the song “Give me oil in my lamp” for the Gradual song before the Gospel Reading Luke 12:32-40, where Jesus mentions bridesmaids and their lamps.  It was a fun song that I don’t remember singing before, but it seemed that several people at church did. Well, this week we are supporting the Jesus Way Day Camp from Crossroads being held at our longtime partners in ministry, Christ the King Lutheran Church. Lo and behold – what song do they sing? “Give me oil in my lamp!”  However, like any good Christian camp song, it has a couple of extra verses in it that are a bit different from what we sang during worship. “Give me wax for my board to keep me surfin’ for the Lord. Cowabunga!” “Give me gas for my Ford to keep me truckin’ for the Lord. Honk Honk!” As you might imagine, the kids love the silliness of these verses (and hand motions, of course), but more importantly, they are learning about the j...

I am always impressed by Christians who are willing to witness to Jesus at work in their lives whenever and wherever.  This happened recently at the Olympic Games during an interview with David Boudia and Steele Johnson, who had just won a Silver Medal in Men’s 10M Synchronized Diving. The reporter asked the pair how they had prepared for this event that has been dominated by the Chinese, who set an Olympic Record Score in the event to win Gold.  In his response, Boudia said something about Jesus, but it was so quick, I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly, something about, “because I know Jesus, it would all be OK, no matter what happened.”  In that moment of heightened emotion, I was impressed he thought about Jesus, but it seemed like a side comment. Then Johnson responded, and while I cannot quote him directly, he essentially said that, like David, because he knows Jesus, the result of the competition would not change who he was, but it was a blessing and honor win ...

“N ow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen .” Hebrews 11:1 Several years ago, on some road trip, I remember seeing a license plate from Missouri with the inscription, “The Show-Me State.”  Since I was born and raised in New Jersey, I had little to no idea about what Missouri was like or why it would require tangible evidence.  I would later learn that this adage came from U.S. Congressman Willard Vandiver in an 1899 speech, where he said, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” From the point of view where “actions speak louder than words,” this requirement seems less of a demand than a reasonable request.  None of us want to be taken as a fool or considered gullible.  Promises are great, but until we have hard evidence that the promise is being kept, we will remind skeptical. The above ...

Charles Allen Gilbert’s drawing “All is Vanity” is an eerie optical illusion of a woman sitting in front of a mirror which also looks like a human skull, seen here .  The title of this work is taken from the beginning of the Hebrew Scripture book Koheleth (sometimes spelled Qoheleth), or in most Christian Bibles, the book of Ecclesiastes.  This book is part of the Wisdom literature, such as Proverbs and Job, but it rather unique in its dreary outlook on the human experience. Whereas Job eventually receives restoration of his life and faith in God, Ecclesiastes offers no final redemption, only understanding that God is present in the journey and focusing on an ultimate goal denies the importance of seeking God in the first place. Gilbert’s drawing captures the fleeting pursuit of beauty while summarizing one of Ecclesiastes’ conclusions. Death is inevitable.  No amount of toil trying to avoid it or deny it will make it disappear.  And yet the point is not death, ...

As technology becomes more accessible and user friendly, it is important for us in the Church not to eschew it out-of-hand, but engage with it in appropriate and helpful ways.  Indeed, we have been doing that at St. Barnabas over the past month or so, using our projector to show images relating to the Scripture readings and saving paper by projecting the prayers of the people. The Episcopal Church (that international entity that we are local outlet of) has also embraced a new age of sharing our stories by producing some excellent videos of ministries of the Episcopal Church.  I invite you to take a few minutes and view some of them for yourself and see the creative ways faithful people are engaging in the world today, sharing Christ’s love and hope with all. The videos can be found here. I mentioned reading Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy a couple weeks ago.  You might be interested in a conversation our State Senator, Corey Booker had with him a couple of wee...

Unfortunately, I did not see the video from our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael Curry, before worship this past Sunday morning so I was not aware of his request that we offer prayers for our country and ourselves.  While we did pray, it was not quite as elegant as the one suggested by PB Michael.  Granted, God does not judge prayer on style, but because it is so fitting, I’ve reprinted it here for your edification and use: O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 815) It has been an emotional week, first with the initial traumas a...

Christians are no strangers to sacred feasts – in fact we celebrate one every time we gather around the altar for Eucharist.   It is a transcendent time of being in communion with God, with the holy, while grounding our faith in the tangible. Our most sacred feast, Easter, is proceeded by 40 days of fasting, which we call Lent.  It is a period of self-reflection and devotion, usually expressed through a “fast” of some sort.  Many talk about what they “give up” for Lent, such as chocolate or swearing.  Such actions are to help us remember what we are doing, but are only as helpful as we allow them to be . You might be asking why I’m writing about Lent in the middle of summer, when we are in the midst of “Ordinary Time” and Lent does start until March 1, 2017 (mark your calendars now!). I am drawing a connection to our season of Lent and the Muslim tradition of Ramadan, the month of fasting offered in commemoration of the Qur’an being revealed to the prophet M...